I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 57 directly crushes Mao Chenglu.

Chapter 58 directly crushes Mao Chenglu.

Chapter 057 "Quickly—"

Chen Ying originally intended for Su Mei to inform Mao Wenlong, but as soon as he uttered the first word, he realized the problem and waved his hand, saying, "Su Mei, pour me a cup of tea!"

"yes!"

Upon hearing that Mao Chenglu had escaped from prison, Chen Ying immediately realized that Mao Chenglu, the personal guard commander, was going to rebel, and that a rebellion would break out within the Dongjiang Army.

However, upon closer reflection, it seems unlikely.

The Dongjiang Army was founded by Mao Wenlong. Under his command, Dongjiang Town was established for four years, with his core troops following him. To be fair, Mao Wenlong was a relatively fair general. Yuan Chonghuan criticized him for creating a "Mao Family Army," but a careful look at the resumes of the Dongjiang Army generals reveals that those who led the 197-man raid on Zhenjiang under Mao Wenlong's command were basically all promoted.

During the more than three years that the Dongjiang Army was in arrears with its military pay, the Dongjiang Army did not cause any disputes over pay or mutiny. The Dongjiang Army experienced a series of mutinies, and the second commander-in-chief, Huang Long, had his nose cut off. This shows that Mao Wenlong had strong personal charisma.

Historically, he was killed by Yuan Chonghuan, but the reason actually lay with himself. Just as Yang Yi killed Wei Yan, Wei Yan died because of his personality. Similarly, Mao Wenlong also died because of his personality.

But now that Mao Chenglu's betrayal of Mao Wenlong has been exposed by Chen Ying, Chen Ying has not made public the affair between Mao Chenglu and Mao Wenlong's concubine in order to save face for Mao Wenlong.

Now that Mao Chenglu has escaped from prison, has the Dongjiang Army been infiltrated by Mao Chenglu?

The answer is no. Even after Mao Wenlong was killed, Mao Chenglu wanted to become the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang Army, but he could not control the troops outside his core retinue. During the Dengzhou Rebellion, Mao Chenglu first wrote a letter to surrender to Huang Taiji, but Huang Taiji ignored him.

So—most likely, Mao Wenlong is fishing for information, looking within the Dongjiang Army to see who is aligned with Mao Chenglu and who is aligned with him. He is now trying to eliminate the internal crisis within the Dongjiang Army.

This is actually a good thing for Mao Wenlong, and also a good thing for the Ming Dynasty. After all, someone who eats the food of the Ming Dynasty and still wants to destroy it is a waste of food if he lives another day.

"Sir, please have some tea!"

"Thanks!"

Chen Ying figured out the details of Mao Chenglu's prison break and gradually calmed down. Just then, a young girl came to Su Mei's side, lowered her voice, and began to speak.

Su Mei's expression changed drastically: "My lord, something terrible has happened! Our guards here have received orders and have already retreated—"

"Holy crap—"

Chen Ying couldn't help but swear. Mao Wenlong, that guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who looked so upright, actually knew how to be dirty. He actually wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work.

Indeed, when Chen Ying heard that the guards of the General's Mansion had withdrawn, he immediately realized that Mao Wenlong wanted to use Chen Ying to kill his adopted son, Mao Chenglu.

Because the evidence Chen Ying publicly presented only proved that Mao Chenglu fled in fear of battle once, this crime cannot be considered a crime at all. If Mao Chenglu was punished for this crime, Mao Wenlong would not have been able to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang Army.

From the time Mao Wenlong established his town in the first year of the Tianqi reign until October of the second year, for nearly a year, Mao Wenlong and the Dongjiang Army, which he armed using the people of Liaodong, had no fighting power whatsoever. They were carried by Nurhaci like a chicken from Liaodong to Korea, and then from Korea to Pi Island.

Currently, which officer in the Dongjiang Army at the rank of centurion or above isn't being pushed to the brink of extinction by the Jurchens? If Mao Chenglu were to punish them on this charge, I'm afraid all the officers in the Dongjiang Army would feel insecure, and morale would waver.

If morale is low, the team cannot be led.

More importantly, the fact that Mao Chenglu had cheated on Mao Wenlong could not be made public, because Mao Wenlong also had his pride.

So here's the question: Was Mao Chenglu released through Mao Wenlong's arrangement, or perhaps through a rescue by Mao Chenglu's confidants? Was this a test by the Dongjiang Army generals to gauge Mao Wenlong's attitude?

Now that Mao Wenlong has transferred the guards from the General's Mansion, he is giving Mao Chenglu an opportunity. The person Mao Chenglu hates the most is not Mao Wenlong, but Chen Ying. Once Mao Chenglu makes contact with his troops, he will immediately attack the General's Mansion.

This is also why Mao Wenlong kept Chen Ying around. As long as Mao Chenglu led his troops to attack the General's Mansion, Mao Wenlong could punish Mao Chenglu on charges of rebellion.

Of course, there is another layer of meaning, which is that Mao Wenlong is a martial artist by origin and has always believed in force. Why would he be willing to talk to Chen Ying?

Wasn't it because Chen Ying, in front of hundreds of Dongjiang Army generals, directly shot Mao Chenglu with a musket and threatened Mao Wenlong?

Mao Wenlong has always believed in force. The generals he promoted were all incredibly capable. Any one of them, such as Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming, Chen Zhong, and Ma Fu, could easily hold their own against the elite Jurchens in battles with fewer than a thousand men. However, in large-scale wars with more than a thousand men, they were somewhat lacking.

"Chen Daniu, Chen Daniu————"

Upon hearing the commotion, Chen Daniu hurried over: "Commander, all the guards outside have been withdrawn, not even a sentry left. The brothers have already checked, and there are only 103 of us left in the mansion, plus—the more than 20 servants and cooks who were originally with the General's Mansion."

"Send all the servants and cooks to hide in the kitchen cellar."

Chen Ying stood up: "Mao Wenlong is truly a cunning villain. He's using us as bait to catch Mao Chenglu, that mad dog. We must fight this battle well today!"

"Rest assured, Commander, these brothers are no ordinary soldiers—"

"Do not underestimate the enemy."

Chen Ying slowly loaded the bullets and tucked them into his waistband: "Mao Chenglu must have some skill to become a personal guard commander. Brothers, as the saying goes, 'An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one.' When you came to Pi Island, you saw what kind of treatment the Dongjiang Army received, and what kind of treatment you yourselves received—"

Chen Ying's words shocked the soldiers. In the Dongjiang Army, only combat soldiers received only two liters of rations per day. But these soldiers in Shahe not only ate their fill for free, but also received five dou of grain and five qian of silver. Even Mao Wenlong's personal guards did not enjoy such treatment.

"Leave three flags at the front gate, two at the back gate, and the other five as reserves!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Remember, we're not aiming to annihilate the rebels, but to crush their spirits. The first volley must be brutal; let them see the power of our revolvers!"

The order was quickly relayed, and more than a hundred Shahe soldiers displayed astonishing training skills. In less than half an incense stick's time, the front yard was set up. Six large iron shields made of bread blocked the main gate, each shield supported by a wooden stick. In the gaps between the shields, twenty-four soldiers had two loaded revolvers tucked into their belts. Behind the roofs of the side wing houses, twelve crossbowmen silently set up their crossbows to break through the formation.

Mao Yuanyi walked up to him at some point, accompanied by seven guards, and whispered, "Boying, Mao Wenlong's move—is ruthless."

"You can't hold onto your position as general without being ruthless."

Chen Ying said calmly, "Brother Zhisheng, no matter what happens later, you stay inside the second gate—"

Mao Yuanyi smiled wryly: "Boying, although I am skilled in writing, I am even more skilled in warfare—never mind, I will stay here and support you."

As they spoke, the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps drew closer like thunder.

Mao Chenglu led the charge, his left knee wrapped in thick bandages, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace. Behind him followed a dense mass of over a thousand men, their formation still respectable.

"Chen Boying! Come out and face your death!"

Mao Chenglu roared hoarsely, "Today, only the ringleaders will be executed; those who surrender will be spared! Do not be buried with those eunuch henchmen!"

Chen Ying arrived at the main gate of the General's Mansion. The shields parted to create an opening, and Chen Ying said with a faint smile, "Mao Chenglu, you fool, if you don't run now, you won't even have a chance to run later!"

Mao Chenglu's eyes flashed with ferocity: "Charge in! Whoever skins Chen Boying alive will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Of that group of over a thousand people, more than a hundred stepped forward, each holding a spear over three meters long.

The pikemen raised their arms, and the pikemen immediately stopped and quickly formed a square formation, nine rows in total, with twelve men in each row, as they approached the gate step by step.

Chen Ying coldly stated, "This is the Dongjiang Town General's Mansion. Anyone who trespasses will be executed without mercy!"

The captain deliberately said, "Charge into the general's mansion and rescue the commander-in-chief!"

"Alas, in an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent!"

Chen Ying's arm fell.

"Bang bang bang bang——"

Just as the pikemen were less than twenty meters from the gate, the Shahe soldiers hiding behind their shields opened fire swiftly. Twelve men and twenty-four revolvers fired ninety-six lead bullets in just five breaths!

Bullets rained down on the attacking troops like a storm. The men at the front were struck hard, their bodies splattering with blood as they screamed and fell to the ground. The rebels behind them were so frightened that they hurriedly retreated.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast they were, they couldn't outrun a revolver. As the twelve soldiers quickly emptied their six bullets, the second team of twelve soldiers raised their revolvers, which were already fully loaded.

The first team of twelve soldiers retreated and began clearing the ammunition magazines and reloading bullets. As the second wave of twelve men finished firing, the corpses in front of the Dongjiang Town General's Mansion lay scattered everywhere. None of the more than one hundred spearmen who attacked survived.

Twenty-four revolvers, fully loaded and ready to fire again, were awaiting the arrival of the rebels at the door, who had already retreated beyond firing range. Mao Yuanyi's expression shifted from surprise to delight: "This—gun?"

Mao Chenglu's face turned deathly pale, and he stammered, "How is this possible—how is this possible—"

Chen Ying walked towards the door and sighed, "What a sin!"

To be fair, Chen Yingzhen didn't want to kill these Dongjiang Army soldiers. Unfortunately, even if he didn't kill them, they wouldn't have survived anyway. The outcome was already decided when they sided with Mao Chenglu.

Mao Chenglu's face turned ashen. He had counted the number of people Chen Ying had brought; at most, there were only about 130 men. After deducting the craftsmen and clerks, there were only a little over 100 soldiers capable of fighting.

Logically speaking, even a fully equipped centurion could never withstand an attack by 1,300 men, but this insane rate of fire completely overturned his understanding.

Mao Chenglu's face contorted in pain. Like a gambler who had lost everything, he bet everything: "The muskets will explode if they're fired for too long. Bring up our musketeers—"

"Boom boom boom—"

The roar of cannons rang out, and the distant Thunder Cannons opened fire. In just a dozen breaths, a full thirty-three shells landed on the rebel army under Mao Chenglu's command. The shells, carrying enormous kinetic energy, ripped open bloody alleys in the ranks.

And then, that was it. The 1,300 soldiers under Mao Chenglu's command collapsed.

In the distance, Mao Wenlong, who was watching the battle, was dumbfounded: "One hundred people fought against more than 1,300 people, and they were completely defeated in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

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