Meng Ke sent Cui Feng with 200 men as the vanguard, preparing to feign defeat and lure Gu Xiancheng over. However, when Cui Feng reached Tieshikou, which was still hundreds of miles away from Longnan County, Gu Xiancheng, like a frightened bird, fled and moved to Anyuan County, which had not yet recovered from the war and had extremely weak defenses. He had no intention of meeting Meng Ke's troops.
After experiencing the last disastrous defeat, Gu Xiancheng learned his lesson. He did not expand the army in Longnan County on a large scale. Instead, he followed the example of Ma Yongzhen and took the route of elite troops. After conquering Longnan County, he only recruited 600 young and strong men, which enabled him to move to other areas very quickly.
Now Cui Feng understood that his plan of faking defeat to trick Gu Xiancheng was just wishful thinking.
What is even more distressing is that after Gu Xiancheng took the route of elite troops, it became difficult for Cui Feng and his men to support themselves through fighting, because the enemy ran so fast that they would not even fight with you, so how could they support themselves through fighting
If you want to pursue, you can either bring your own supplies, or you can do what Gu Xiancheng did and rob the people to get food and supplies.
Cui Feng was in a dilemma when he stopped at Tieshikou. They only had a few days' worth of dry food with them. With this little dry food, they would not be able to catch up with Gu Xiancheng. Should they let the soldiers starve to death or allow them to plunder
Even Meng Ke who came later was in a passive position. The war in Ganzhou had just ended and the army was in short supply of daily supplies. This time, Yang Tinglin ordered them to go out to suppress the bandits, but they could not provide extra food and fodder, which put him in a dilemma of being unable to make a meal without rice.
As the saying goes, man is iron and food is steel. If you don’t eat for a meal, you will be hungry. How can you fight without food
After some thought, Meng Ke decided to give all the limited food and grass to Cui Feng, and let Cui Feng pursue Gu Xiancheng, while he and the rest of the troops went to Longnan County to eat and wait for food and grass support from Ganzhou.
In Huichang, Wang Gong had to deal with soldiers' "demand for pay" every day. The post station had become his place of house arrest. The letter he sent to the imperial envoy of Jiangxi Province received no reply, and the servant he sent to deliver the letter did not return either.
Wang Gong's soldiers harassed him day and night, and he was lucky not to have gone crazy. How could he cheat Qin Mu? He asked to see Qin Mu many times, but the answer he got was that Qin Mu was busy with official duties and had no time to see him.
Wang Gong knew very well that his life and death depended on Qin Mu's decision. In order to save his life, Wang Gong pretended to be a grandson and stayed in the inn obediently every day. As long as the soldiers guarding outside did not come in to torment him, for him, this was the happiest thing.
Qin Mu was really busy these days. In addition to training soldiers in the barracks, he also had to handle many government affairs in the county in person. At the same time, he also frequently came into contact with some businessmen.
Now the rock salt from Zhouyan brought him a steady supply of silver. Excluding the wages and allowances of the salt pond workers, his daily net income exceeded eight thousand taels. With the silver, it was time to consider building a logistics supply system.
No matter how well you train an army, if it does not have complete supplies of food, fodder and weapons, it will be like cutting off one's own arm, and its combat effectiveness will eventually be greatly reduced.
Especially when you encounter a tough or protracted battle, all your arrows and other weapons will be used up at the end of the day, and without stable logistical support, you can only turn around and run away.
After hearing that Xu Yingjie, the owner of Rentong Trading Company, had come to Huichang again, Qin Mu hurried back to the county government office from the military camp to meet the guest.
Xu Yingjie was in his forties, of medium build, with sword-like eyebrows and bright facial features, which made him look both elegant and heroic. To Qin Mu, he looked more like a well-read Hanlin scholar than a businessman.
As soon as Qin Mu entered the second hall, Xu Yingjie, who was waiting for him, immediately stood up and bowed: "I am Xu Yingjie, and I pay my respects to the county lord."
"Mr. Xu, please don't be polite. I asked you to come all the way from Ganzhou because I have something I want to discuss with you in person. Please take a seat, Mr. Xu."
"How dare I, how dare I, it is my honor to be invited by Lord Qin. How dare I sit down in front of Lord Qin?"
Qin Mu sat down in the main seat first, then waved his hand and said, "Mr. Xu, you don't have to be polite. I'm busy with many things, so let's skip the formalities. Please take a seat."
"Then I will respectfully obey your orders. Your Excellency has summoned me here. What can I do for you?"
"I heard that Rentong Trading Company is the largest trading company in southern Jiangxi, with business covering Jiangnan, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, Huguang and other places. I want to make a deal with Mr. Xu. I will give you another 10% of the underwriting share of refined salt, a total of 30%;
From now on, I will no longer need cash from Mr. Xu for this 30% underwriting share. Mr. Xu only needs to help me find a skilled craftsman in smelting and casting, and help purchase some food, refined iron, cowhide and other materials. "
Qin Mu went straight to the point, leaving Xu Yingjie somewhat at a loss. Are the things Qin Mu wanted ordinary things? Xu Yingjie knew what he was going to use them for without having to think about it. According to the Ming Dynasty law, doing this is a capital crime.
The question is, does he have a choice
Although Qin Mu was an official, he was a county official, not a military supply officer. According to the law, he could not purchase these things. Qin Mu told him these things. If he didn't agree, who knows whether he could leave Huichang County today. After thinking about this, Xu Yingjie's forehead was slightly sweaty.
"Don't think too much, Mr. Xu. If you don't want to, I will never force you, let alone make things difficult for you. Well, it's not good to let Mr. Xu make a wasted trip. According to my speculation, Zhang Xianzhong will sweep across Huguang by August at the latest. Mr. Xu must have a lot of business in Huguang. If you believe my speculation, it's not too late to withdraw your business there now, otherwise you may have to give it away to Zhang Xianzhong for nothing."
"Sweeping Huguang?" Xu Yingjie looked at Qin Mu in surprise.
Qin Mu nodded and stopped talking. What he said just now was too direct, and he needed to give Xu Yingjie some time to digest it.
To his surprise, Xu Yingjie did not think about it for long, nor did he waste his words. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Lord Qin, for reminding me. Since Lord Qin thinks highly of me, how can I not appreciate your kindness? I am willing to make this deal with you."
Xu Yingjie was so decisive that Qin Mu liked him even more. He did not choose Xu Yingjie on impulse. He had learned about Rentong Company and Xu Yingjie from many sources before making today's decision.
The two of them talked for a long time, and after finalizing the details of the cooperation, Qin Mu changed the subject and said, "There is a girl named Li Xiangjun who came to Ganzhou from Jinling with Xu Dongjia's caravan. I wonder if Xu Dongjia has any news about his own caravan?"
"Something happened to the caravan on the way, but luckily they have returned to Nanchang two days ago. Sir Qin, rest assured that Miss Li Xiangjun is doing well. I have sent a message to the shopkeeper over there, asking them to take good care of her."
Qin Mu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mr. Xu said that the caravan arrived in Nanchang two days ago. I'm surprised how Mr. Xu got the news so quickly?"
"To be honest with you, Lord Qin, my Nanchang branch is no less important than the one in Ganzhou. We usually use carrier pigeons to deliver messages."
"Oh, no wonder." Qin Mu had long been aware of the poor communication conditions of this era, and he couldn't help but be concerned when he heard this.
He inquired about Li Xiangjun's situation. However, the information that could be transmitted by pigeon was limited, and Xu Yingjie didn't know much. Fortunately, he was sure that the person had arrived in Nanchang safely. According to the time, Su Jin and his party who were sent to pick up Li Xiangjun should also be arriving in Nanchang soon, which made Qin Mu feel relieved.
I have been staying in the military camp these days and haven't seen Qiao'er for a long time. I miss this mysterious little beggar. After sending Xu Yingjie out of the county government office, he went to the back office. Well, after a stable life and a normal diet, this girl is like a willow bud in spring. I haven't seen her for a few days. I'm afraid she has grown taller. I just don't know if her little chest has grown a little... ... ... .Ahem!
Qin Mu felt like a failure. He had been in the Ming Dynasty for several months. Such a long time would have been enough for him to have changed a few young models or small stars in the future. But now he had not even managed to seduce a single beauty from the Ming Dynasty. What a failure.
Who said that if you can't rest, you can't work. It seems that I have to find an opportunity to have a good rest. Sigh, when will Xiangjun arrive in Huichang... ... ... ..
But before he could enter the back hall, soldiers rushed in and reported.
"Sir, the rebel Gu Xiancheng is fleeing to Anyuan County. Prefect Yang has ordered the Huichang Qianhu Division to send troops to encircle and suppress him. General Ma asks you to go to the Qianwang Division as soon as possible to arrange for the suppression of the bandits."
Qin Mu didn't even get to see the little girl and had to rush back to the Qianhu Office.
Ma Yongzhen, Huo Sheng, Liu Meng and others were already waiting in the big tent. Qin Mu said as soon as he entered the tent, "Tell me the details."
Ma Yongzhen stood up and walked to the sand table, pointing at it and said, "As soon as General Meng's vanguard arrived at Tieshikou, Gu Xiancheng abandoned Longnan County and led 600 newly recruited young men to Anyuan County. General Meng ran out of food and grass, so he had to send Cui Feng with 200 men to pursue. Prefect Yang sent an order to let the Huichang Qianhu Division immediately send troops to suppress the rebellion from the east. No matter what, we must not let Anyuan County fall into Gu Xiancheng's hands again."
"Where is Gu Xiancheng now?"
"Gu Xiancheng passed Baishikou yesterday and is close to Anyuan County. It is hard to say where he is now, but if his target is Anyuan County, he should have reached Huangshantou according to the distance he traveled."
Ma Yongzhen was familiar with the topography of southern Jiangxi, and pointed out the specific locations of each place name to Qin Mu on the sand table.
After a brief thought, Qin Mu decided to personally lead Liu Meng, Ma Liuliang, Han Xiu and five other centurions to Anyuan County to suppress the bandits. Three of the centurions were combat soldiers, and two were responsible for logistics. The people of Huichang were suffering now, and they could not recruit civilians anymore.
Qin Mu's decision surprised everyone. Ma Yongzhen volunteered, "Sir, Huichang needs you to be in charge. Let me go. I am more familiar with the terrain in southern Jiangxi."
Huo Sheng was unwilling to be outdone, so he stepped forward and said, "Sir, please let me go. This time I promise to capture Gu Xiancheng for you."
"No need for that. Just focus on training the remaining troops. This time, I have decided to personally deal with this evil Gu Xiancheng."
"grown ups... ... ... "
"This is a military order."
Qin Mu's idea is very simple. Training together will never be as good as going to the battlefield together and experiencing life and death in order to win the support of the soldiers. He has always spared no effort in winning the hearts of the soldiers.
On the other hand, southern Jiangxi would be his base in the future. If he went to encircle and suppress Gu Xiancheng now, he would probably have to fight in many places. This would provide him with an opportunity to familiarize himself with the terrain and customs of southern Jiangxi and avoid empty talk in the future.
When Qin Mu led his troops to the battle, the Nanchang Rentong branch was in turmoil. Inspector Han Tiesan led his soldiers into the Rentong branch, shouting to capture the spies who were in secret contact with the bandits. They arrested anyone they saw and beat up any resistance.
When Li Xiangjun, who lived in the backyard, heard the soldiers shouting, she immediately had a bad feeling. Without thinking too much, she hurried out of the back door with her maid Xing'er.
Unfortunately, although she reacted quickly, Han Tiesan had already arranged soldiers to guard the back door in advance, and Li Xiangjun and her servants were caught as soon as they went out of the back door.
...