novelSusiti Chapter 88 Li Wenmao, the Red Turban Army
Chapter 88 Li Wenmao, the Red Turban Army
Chapter 88 Li Wenmao, the Red Turban Army
Jiujiang Town.
This place belongs to Nanhai County. Although it is called a town, its jurisdiction is much larger than that of a town due to its developed economy. It is even known as "Little Guangzhou".
Since the beginning of the year, when this place was occupied by the Red Turban Army, the Red Turban Army set up numerous water fortresses on both sides of the Jiujiang Canal and blocked the waterway with wooden stakes and sunken ships to defend against the Qing Navy.
Of course, at the same time, they also managed to prevent the "Chengfeng" and "Polang" ships on the Xijiang River from entering.
Inside the water fortress, the Red Turban Army's naval soldiers watched the two large ships warily. The fire ships were ready; as soon as there was any movement from the other side, they would be ignited and sent downstream.
"Tang He, drop anchor. You and your men stay on the ship."
"Tell Jianwen to turn his ship, the 'Breaking Waves,' around and point its cannons at the lower reaches of the West River. I don't want the Qing navy to sneak up on me!"
Hongwu put away his monocular telescope and looked at Rong Hong and Hong Rengan. "Gentlemen, would you like to stay on the ship first, or come with me to meet Marshal Li Wenmao?"
Rong Hong smiled slightly: "Of course I'll go with you to see it."
Hong Rengan also laughed and said, "My brother is the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Marshal Li's Red Turban Army respectfully regards the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as an ally, so it is only right that we go to pay our respects to him."
The three boarded the small boat on the side of the boat. After the boat was slowly lowered into the river, Hongwu gripped the two wooden oars and said, "Hold on tight!"
The two had just grabbed the edge when they saw Hongwu's arms suddenly bulge with muscles. Then, the small boat beneath them shot off like lightning and soon arrived in front of the water fortress.
Hongwu stood up, looked at the Red Turban Army soldiers in the water fortress, and said in a booming voice: "Hongwu of the Xinghan Hall of America,
Yung Wing, accompanied by Hong Rengan, a cousin of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Heavenly King, has come to pay a visit to Marshal Li Wenmao!
"We have come here to discuss arms trade; please allow us to pass!"
Inside the water fortress.
Upon hearing this, the Red Turban soldiers holding bows and arrows looked at their captain.
"Captain, it doesn't seem like the foreigners are here."
"Did they claim to be from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"
"It seems so. They even said they were here to do business."
The team leader was also completely bewildered and unsure of what to do. After a moment, he decided to shift the blame: "You guys stay here and keep an eye on things, I'll go report to the vanguard officer."
After saying that, he hurriedly ran to the military tent where the vanguard officer was located.
The vanguard officer of the water fortress was also taken aback upon hearing this. After discussing with his strategist for a while, he said, "Let's bring the person in first and ask if they have any proof of identity."
"Send another person immediately to inform the marshals and ask them to make a decision on this matter."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the gates of the water fortress were pulled up, revealing a waterway that was not very wide.
Hongwu rowed the small boat in.
At the dock of the water village, a tall, thin man in armor was waiting for them with more than a dozen soldiers whose heads were tied with red turbans.
The soldiers, some carrying spears and broadswords, others with muskets and bows on their backs, watched the three men warily.
The tall, thin man sized up the three men, who had short hair and were dressed in Western-style clothing, then cupped his hands in greeting and said expressionlessly, "Jiang Yuan, the vanguard officer under the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy, greets the three of you."
"Do any of you three have any identification documents to prove your identities?"
The three of them went ashore, and Hongwu took out a letter from his pocket and said, "There is a letter of introduction from Chen Wang, the leader of the Red Turban Gang."
The soldiers nearby loosened their swords, took the letter, and then presented it to the vanguard officer, Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan put away the letter and said, "I would like to ask the three of you to stay in this water fortress for a while. Once the Marshal has confirmed your identities and is willing to see you, I will let you leave."
"Strategist, take them to the camp for a temporary stay, and make sure they don't go hungry."
After saying that, he hurriedly turned and left.
The three were led into a tent, which was clean, but judging from the messy details, it must have been cleaned in an emergency.
Rong Hong found a chair and sat down, then asked Hong Rengan, who was sitting next to him, "Qianyi, which marshal was the Grand Marshal who commanded the land and naval forces that vanguard officer mentioned earlier?"
Qianyi is Hong Rengan's courtesy name. After these days of heart-to-heart talks, their relationship has become increasingly intimate, and they simply address each other by their courtesy names.
"It should be Marshal Chen Xianliang, who commanded most of the Red Turban Army's naval forces."
Hong Rengan thought for a moment and replied, "Marshal Li Wenmao is the Grand Marshal who commands the land and naval forces and manages the provisions and supplies. Marshal Chen Kai is the General of Andong who commands the land and naval forces, manages the provisions and supplies, and is also the leader of the alliance."
Hongwu, who was listening behind him, chuckled: "Your cousin's Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has kings everywhere, and his Red Turban Army has marshals everywhere. It's a direct lineage."
"Where are there kings everywhere? Besides, the two situations are different."
Hong Rengan argued, "Once my cousins achieve power, they naturally want to enfeoff various princes; otherwise, how can they appease their old brothers who have fought so hard?"
"Besides, so far, only eight kings have been granted titles, which isn't too many."
"The Red Turban Army was originally an alliance of uprising armies from various places, each commanding a group of people. The leaders were of equal status, and their positions were naturally similar."
There are only eight now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future.
Zeng Tai, observing this through Hongwu's eyes, silently thought to himself.
After 1859, Hong Xiuquan bestowed the title of Great King upon ten people, including Hong Ren.
After 1861, in order to balance power and win over the hearts of the people, as long as they were veterans from Guangxi, members of the Hong clan,
Even those who donated money and grain could be granted the title of king; at least 252 such individuals have been verified.
Of course, some say that a total of more than 2,700 princes were conferred titles, but there is a lack of direct evidence and the titles cannot be verified.
Ancestral Hall in Jiujiang Town.
Since the Red Turban Army occupied this place at the beginning of the year, it has become the Red Turban Army's command post.
Several marshals regularly commanded their troops and discussed military matters here.
Inside the ancestral hall.
Li Wenmao sat on the left, holding Chen Wang's letter in his hand, his brows furrowed.
This was a tall, imposing man with a dark complexion like Zhang Fei, a red turban tied around his head, and a green theatrical costume.
Opposite him sat a man with a slightly fair complexion, who said slowly and deliberately, "Merchants from America, accompanied by a cousin of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Heavenly King, want to do arms deals with us."
"Second Brother, this whole thing sounds incredibly far-fetched!"
Li Wenmao folded the letter and placed it on the table, saying slowly, "We've dealt with Chen Wang a few times; he's very cunning."
"The fact that he could write a letter to introduce them means that the other party does indeed have the goods, but I am still a little uneasy."
"
"Second Brother, since we both suspect something's amiss, what's the point of saying anything more?"
The fair-skinned man immediately stood up and said, "I'll have my men take care of them right away, and while I'm at it, seize their two large ships!"
"Xianliang, come back!"
Li Wenmao quickly said, "What if it's true? If the Heavenly King's brother is killed, this matter can't be resolved peacefully!"
He paused, then asked, "Where is he now?"
"They're resting in the water village."
"Let them come over," Li Wenmao said. "We'll only know if it's a trap when we see them."
"Furthermore, I'd also like to see just what kind of person this Chinese businessman from America is."
Before long, the three of them entered the ancestral hall.
Leading the way was a middle-aged man, burly and with short hair. His movements were clean and efficient, clearly the work of a seasoned killer who had taken many lives.
He was followed by two people, both dressed in Western-style clothing.
The three of them walked into the tent and bowed in greeting.
The middle-aged man at the front spoke first: "Hongwu of the Xinghan Hall of America greets the two marshals."
Li Wenmao raised an eyebrow slightly.
Xinghan Hall, what an interesting name.
"sit."
He raised his hand, and waited for the three to sit down before slowly speaking: "I am Li Wenmao, and this is Chen Xianliang, Chen Yuanshi. I have read Chen Wang's letter. He said that you are from America and have foreign guns and cannons that you want to sell to us."
Hongwu nodded: "Exactly."
Li Wenmao stared at him for a moment: "Let me ask you, what kind of business do you do in America?"
Hongwu said, "Gold mines, arms, logging, finance—do whatever makes money."
Li Wenmao sneered: "Although I've never been abroad, I've seen the greedy faces of foreigners. In their countries, would they let us Han Chinese do such lucrative business?"
Hongwu laughed and said, "Marshal Li's insight is remarkable; I admire him greatly."
"But this is simple: kill all the unwilling white people, and the Han people will naturally be able to do business over there."
O
Sitting above, Chen Xianliang scoffed, "Such arrogance! You think you can just kill me like that?"
Hong Rengan, who was standing to the side, said, "Marshal Li may not know this, but what this Brother Hong Wu said is true."
Just before he came to pay his respects to the marshals, his ship had already sunk a British warship at sea, and dozens of Qing naval soldiers who were blocking his way in front of Jiujiang Town were also killed by his cannon fire.
Li Wenmao turned his gaze to Hong Rengan: "You are—"
Hong Rengan stood up and said solemnly, "Hong Rengan, a cousin of the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, greets Marshal Li."
Li Wenmao's expression shifted slightly, and he stood up, cupping his hands in return: "So you are a cousin of the Heavenly King, my apologies for my disrespect."
"But words are not enough. Does Mr. Hong have any physical evidence to prove it?"
Hongwu said, "After all this talk, the marshals still don't believe us. But I have evidence to prove it."
"Before I came here, I went to the Cantonese opera theater in Chinatown and asked the people in the opera troupe some things that only they and Marshal Li knew."
He paused, then looked directly into Li Wenmao's eyes: "Old Master Zhou Yongcheng, who sings old male roles: Wenmao, I don't blame you. I also had the people from the Sanyi Guild Hall help send back the two taels of silver I owed you. I don't know if you received it."
But I have another request: please help me find my granddaughter, Xiaohua. She got separated from us outside Guangzhou when we escaped, and I'm very worried about her.
"The one who plays the clown—"
"The female lead singer—"
"Singing the young male lead—"
Hongwu continued speaking one by one, delivering words of pleading, comfort, or cursing.
"Are you done talking?"
Li Wenmao's eyes were slightly red, and he said with a bitter smile, "I believe you, I believe you all."
Because of his uprising, the Cantonese opera profession was blacklisted throughout Guangdong by that old bastard Ye Mingchen, and anyone who had any dealings with him was persecuted.
I never expected that the next time I heard news about them would be from someone from America.
"It's good that you're still alive, it's good that you're still alive."
Li Wenmao quickly composed himself and said, "Brother Hong, since we're all on the same side, I'll be frank."
Hongwu said, "Marshal Li, please speak."
Li Wenmao tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "The Red Turban Army is indeed short of weapons, guns, cannons, and shells that can kill those dog soldiers."
"However, we are also short of silver. We did manage to extract some money from wealthy households, but this small amount is insufficient to support the army, purchase provisions, and forge weapons and armor."
To be honest, we don't have much money to buy your foreign goods right now.
Hongwu did not speak, but listened quietly.
Li Wenmao continued, "Brother Hong traveled all the way back from America, surely not to do good deeds."
Since we don't have the money, this deal probably can't go through.
He leaned back and said, "Since the three of you are here, why don't you stay in Jiujiang for a few days and take a look around?"
As for the sale, let's discuss that another day.
Inside the ancestral hall, the atmosphere became quiet.
We'll talk about it later? You're about to head to Guangxi, and it'll probably be even harder to do business there after that.
Hongwu thought quickly and then said, "Master Li, I don't believe you when you say the Red Turban Army has no money. I also don't believe you when you say this deal is unlikely to go through."
Li Wenmao raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What's your insight?"
Hongwu stood up, walked to the map hanging in the tent, and pointed to a location on it.
Jiujiang.
He turned to look at Li Wenmao, "Marshal Li, how long have the Red Turban Army occupied Jiujiang?"
Li Wenmao said, "More than half a year."
"More than half a year." Hongwu nodded. "Jiujiang is a bustling commercial hub, one of the most lucrative areas in Guangdong. The Red Turban Army has occupied it for more than half a year; how could they be short of money?"
Chen Xianliang stopped waving his folding fan, and his gaze became subtle.
Hongwu turned around, meeting their gazes, and said slowly, "The Red Turban Army isn't short of money, it's that they dare not spend it."
"What do you mean?" Li Wenmao's voice turned somber.
"Marshal Li, I can roughly guess what you're worried about."
Hongwu grinned and said, "The Red Turban Army is an alliance of various rebel armies. Each leader is in charge of his own area, and the money must be shared."
If you spend lavishly on imported guns and cannons for your own use, how can the alliance function? If you share some with others, you won't have enough for yourself. Caught in this dilemma, it's better not to buy any.
"Brother Hong is right, I do have concerns."
Li Wenmao sighed, "The Red Turban Army has over 100,000 troops. It looks impressive, but each leader has their own agenda. If I were to spend money and hoard it all, this alliance would fall apart tomorrow."
"But firearms are only effective when used together; when used separately, their power is less than that of a bow and arrow."
Hongwu smiled slightly: "So the solution is very simple, it doesn't cost any money."
Li Wenmao was truly stunned this time, and Chen Xianliang on the other side also stared wide-eyed.
"If you don't want money, then what do you want?"
"people!"
"people?"
"right."
Hongwu declared resolutely, "Young men, women, children—I want them all, as long as they are alive!"