In the following months, countless people disappeared in the chaos in Jiangnan, some died in war and some died in escape, but the disappearance of the large number of masters of the national craftsmen was a matter of what the club had planned. These people were taken to Taiwan by their whole family without exception. Some were grateful to the club, some were reluctant, some were half-spoken, and even a few people refused to leave their hometowns. For these people who refused to leave, the club chose to be tough and kidnapped directly. Most of them were just talking, but there were really strong personalities. Once they chose to die, the sent people just watched them hang themselves.

If you don’t use it for me, you can’t use it for enemies. This is the attitude of the club towards these people.

The watches and optical craftsmen in Nanjing Suzhou, their superb skills not only bring the club the military weapon - telescopes and the ability to produce watches by themselves, but also speed up the development of precision components such as flintlock machines and gears. The former means flintlock guns, while the latter brings more convenience to the club's improved hydraulic machinery and the planned normal pressure steam engine.

The copper smiths in Tongling, Jiangxi will accelerate the production efficiency of the Jinguashi Gold and Copper Mine and increase the production of strategic resources urgently needed by the club. The Jingdezhen core imperial weapon factory was directly attacked by the defeated soldiers hired by the club. The defeated soldiers received silver and sold hundreds of craftsmen in the imperial weapon factory and nearly 2,000 taels to the club for 20,000 taels. The group of people was organized to go south and enter Guangdong. The Fenghuo Kiln masters, who were most valued, were specially escorted to Nanjing first. They would go to Dongfang Port in the north together with the craftsmen robbed from Wuhu to participate in the work of the iron smelting plant.

In the 17th century, the Wuhu blacksmith who knew iron best in China and Jingdezhen, who knew fire and refractory bricks best, cooperated with the blast furnace of the club in Dongfang Port, which was enough to break the barriers to the road to steelmaking.

The larger batches were transferred were weavers and dyers with skilled skills in the towns of Nanzhili. The mulberry gardens in Taiwan have been widely distributed, and silkworms and silk dyeing and weaving are urgently needed for the craftsmanship of these people.

Until Zhejiang fell, the total number of clubs immigrated by more than 300,000. This time, it was not only the most immigrated by clubs, but also the most valuable time.

In early April of the first year of Hongguang, the special mixed fleet set out to fight.

The Chongming port was crowded with people, and people gathered by the water to cheer and praise the community fleet that was about to set out. Everyone knew that this fleet from the Eastern Federation was going upstream to resist Zuo Liangni and guard against the Qing Dynasty. The people sent these elite soldiers who protected their homes with the greatest enthusiasm.

The Special Mixed Fleet has hundreds of ships, including 12 flat-bottomed notification ships as the core, and 35 sand ships carry elite troops and food. In addition, it is a sailing fleet composed of more than 50 fast crabs. This is the main force of the Special Mixed Fleet. For this reason, all the inland fleets in Taipei and the base camp arrived.

The Yangtze River has not yet reached the peak period, and the water level of the Yangtze River is low, which is not conducive to the operation of the Special Mixed Fleet. Fortunately, the tides gathered by dry water are more powerful. From the estuary of the Yangtze River to the Zhenjiang area, they are affected by sea tides. Until the tide surge is at the highest point, the Special Mixed Fleet of the Society takes the Fast Crab Fleet as the lead and enters the Yangtze River. Li Mingxun chose the notification ship Diamondsnake as the flagship. The Special Mixed Fleet sails close to the deeper southern channel according to the water depth distribution of the Yangtze River channel.

The lower reaches of the Yangtze River are wide, and it looks endless from a distance, like a vast ocean. In fact, there are strands of sand and sand beams. The deep waterway is flooded with only one line, twists and turns, and unpredictable. Even locals cannot guarantee that they can't be sure of it. From Chongming to Jiangyin, the special mixed fleet took three days. During this period, the ships were stranded dozens of times, and they were dragged out by fast crab boats with a draft of more than one meter. Fortunately, the water surface of the Yangtze River has few reefs and many sand banks. Even if it is stranded, it will not damage the ship. It was just originally applied to the waterline to prevent the coating of marine creatures such as barnacles and shipworms. However, these creatures cannot survive in fresh water, so there is no need to worry too much.

When we arrived at Jiangyin Ebizui, the mountains were steep and the river was thriving into the river. The river was magnificent. Going back to Shandong, there were turbulent flows. Fortunately, the club hired a large number of local ships and fire. Many ships came and went to hear that the special fleet was going to fight upstream, so they made way for the sailing route, and some helped to drag the stranded ships.

The special-mix fleet is always difficult to move. There must be sand beams and sandbanks where the channel is gentle. It is common to strand. When the channel is narrowed, the water flows rapidly and the flow rate of four knots makes the notification ships and sand boats in the special-mix fleet helpless. The wind is stronger, and you can also rely on the drag of fast crabs. If the wind is smaller, you have to anchor and wait for the wind.

Until the Zhenjiang section, the special-mix fleet finally encountered an interception by the Nanjing court, but it was not the navy from Jiangnan, but the warships of the Zheng family in Fujian. Li Mingxun sent an envoy to contact him and asked him to inquire. He then found out that Zheng Hongkui of the Zheng family had left a camp in Jiaoshanmen, a natural dangerous place in the Yangtze River, and stationed the troops forward. In the narrowest place downstream, a river defense was set up at the intersection of the canal and the Yangtze River to prevent the Qing Dynasty from crossing the river after the collapse of the north.

The sent envoys had not yet brought news, but the warships that were surveillance brought information. The waterways in Jiaoshanmen area were extremely complex, not only were the water flows fast, but there were also vortexes, which were extremely dangerous.

Li Mingxun thought that there would be many difficulties in entering Jiangnan this time, but he never thought that the Yangtze River channel alone would be so helpless. You should know that in the original historical space and time, the third-class battleship with a displacement of thousands of tons of Britain could reach Nanjing City, and the largest sand ship of the Special Mixed Fleet had a displacement of only 350 tons. Why is it so difficult?

"It seems that it's not possible without a steam engine." Li Mingxun sighed helplessly.

Half a day later, the messenger came back and brought an old acquaintance, Zheng Zhilong's eldest son Zheng Sen. Li Mingxun asked in surprise: "Brother Zheng shouldn't be studying in Nanjing Imperial College at this time?"

Zheng Sen smiled coldly and said, "I heard that the Eastern Federation of Nanjing mentioned that the Yi brigade was like the Yangtze River to help the war. The mentor sent me to come down to check it to prevent the robbery!"

Li Mingxun was slightly stunned and then smiled. He thought that Zheng Sen was sent by Zheng Hongkui, the head coach of the Zheng family, to contact him, but he did not expect that this guy was venting his anger for his teacher. You must know that after the establishment of the Hongguang court, he faced the threat from the Shun Army, warlords and the Qing Dynasty. The most important thing was the Yangtze River defense, which naturally attracted Zheng Zhilong. Not only did he let Zheng Sen enter the Imperial College, he also found a famous scholar in Jiangnan as his teacher, that was Qian Qianyi. He had humiliated Qian Qianyi in the Songjiang South Tower, so Zheng Sen was naturally unhappy.

"If we take advantage of the situation, wouldn't Suzhou be a better target? Why would our community fleet come here?" Li Mingxun explained with a smile.

"Does your fleet go to Nanjing?" Zheng Sen looked at the nearly 100 warships in Li Mingxun's hands and asked.

Li Mingxun smiled: "As the saying goes, a tiger father has no dog son, and your father Zheng Zhilong is also a hero of the southeast coast. Have you not learned much ability since you were influenced by it since you were a child?"

"What do you mean?" Zheng Sen glared!

Li Mingxun said: "Is it possible to go to Nanjing to rob? Is it a good thing to take advantage of the situation? Now Jiangnan needs more support from the fleet in Wuhu. Zuozhen rebels are one million soldiers and thousands of warships heading south, so our club naturally cannot sit idly by."

Zheng Sen's face relaxed a lot. He and Qian Qianyi behind him were afraid of having a special fleet to go to Nanjing. Now the Nanjing court's policy is to resist the war in the north, which means to shrink troops in the north and exchange space for time. All the elite navy troops from the Jianghuai, the Yangtze River and even Zhejiang went to the upper reaches, defeating Zuo Liangyu first, and then using the Yangtze River to prevent the Qing Dynasty in the north. In the absence of troops, this is a good way. In fact, the Nanjing court also did the first half, but no one expected that Jiangnan would collapse so quickly!

"Go to Wuhu seriously?" Zheng Sen asked hesitantly.

Li Mingxun pointed to the big sand boat behind him and said, "There are thousands of barrels of sugarcane, wine, 3,000 stones of bacon, and 30,000 stones of brown rice on the ship. These things are transported to Nanjing. Those high-ranking officials and nobles are afraid they won't even look at it. This is for Qiu Ba to eat. The place with the most Qiu Ba is Wuhu now!"

"Brother Li is a good deal..." Zheng Sen said calmly.

Li Mingxun smiled: "These are donated to soldiers from the Wei State by the community. How can we buy and sell? Now that the country is in trouble, how can I, Li Mingxun, make another fortune in trouble!"

"Why is Mr. Zheng making trouble for the club here? Are you afraid that we will steal the limelight from your Zheng family? Your Zheng family sent troops, and the court still gave food and salary. Even so, you plundered a lot in Jiangnan. The club sent troops and not only brought food and salary for their own, but also gave you supplies. Your Mr. Zheng is so slim, and for his own reputation, he actually disregards the safety of the world..." Zhao Sandao held the knife on one side and said coldly.

Zheng Sen's face turned red and he couldn't speak. What Zhao Sandao said was the truth. The Zheng family sent troops and the court sent food and pay, but the Zheng family's army was not very good. Not only did they plunder the people, but they even dared to rob the military pay sent by the Nanjing court to other military towns. Even so, the court and the gentry of Jiangnan were still quite grateful. But now that the community has come, that kind of behavior has become arrogant and domineering.

"I, Zheng Damu, are not such a traitor! If you can do this in the East and West, my Zheng family will do better. This time I will go to Wuhu with you to restrain military discipline, so that the people of Jiangnan can see who is the loyal and righteous person!" Zheng Sen pulled out the Japanese sword, slashed the ship's side with one knife, and said coldly.

After Zheng Sen said that, he took away his knife. Soon, news came from Zheng Hongkui from Jiaoshanmen that Zheng Sen would personally lead a small fleet to Wuhu with the club fleet, and the Zheng family fleet in Jiaoshanmen would also assist the club to cross the most dangerous Jiaoshan route.

Zheng Hongkui is now the highest military commander of the Yangtze River Defense and the strongest fleet in Nanjing. With the help of the Zheng family, the special-mix fleet was able to pass through Jiaoshanmen almost without any damage. However, a small fleet led by Zheng Sen also joined in and monitored the special-mix fleet to cross the Nanjing section and head to Wuhu Camp together.

In late April, the special fleet and the fleet led by Zheng Sen finally arrived in Wuhu.

At this time, Wuhu was a gathering of heroes, including the Jingying in Nanjing, the Zheng family's troops, the navy retreated from Jiangxi, Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo's towns, and the special gang fleet, the governor of all military affairs was Zhu Dadian, the Minister of War, and the commander of the navy was Li Mingxun's old acquaintance Huang Fei, and the land power was naturally dominated by Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo.

Although Li Mingxun is considered an outsider, he has a deep foundation in Wuhu, and the club is deeply involved with Zhu Dadian. When the club rose, the first batch of grain purchased was Zhu Dadian's greedy grain. With Huang Fei's relationship, he was naturally like a fish in water. Originally, Huang and Liu Erzhen were not familiar with the club and were still a little wary, but the grain and wine brought by the special fleet made everyone familiar.

The special-mix fleet was not late. When they arrived, Zuozhen's troops had arrived in Tongling, and the Wuhu camp was full of joy. Gai felt that there would be a big victory. The reason was very simple. Zuozhen did not understand naval combat at first. This time the army was blocked by the mountains in southern Anhui. The navy broke out and the side had already gained an advantage. It was in the downstream, and the tactical advantage was also obvious. What was even more exciting was that Zuozhen's leader Zuo Liangyu died in Jiujiang, and the camp was in charge of his son Zuo Menggeng. The army was disintegrated and the fighting spirit was low. That's right, all the generals thought they would win this battle.

"The spies came to report that there are probably thousands of ships of all sizes and large in Zuozhen Navy in Tongling, but most of them were temporary civilian ships, mixed together, and went downstream like a swarm, with no rules at all. The king's army had a Shicheng Fort in Digang, which could be used as a supporter. In this battle, there is a great chance of winning. I wonder who is willing to be the pioneer?" Zhu Dadian asked loudly during the military discussion.

Before the generals made a statement, Zheng Sen said, "Of course it was my Fujian Navy who was the pioneer!"

Zheng Sen was so reckless, which surprised everyone. Speaking of which, Zheng Sen was not a nobleman and had no official position, so he shouldn't have appeared here, but after all, he was Zheng Zhilong's son and was instructed by the Nanjing court. It would be fine to sit here, but it was not his turn to make a statement about the Fujian Navy's participation in the war. After all, on the Wuhu front line, the deputy general Zheng Cai was responsible for it.

Although Zheng Cai is the same generation as Zheng Sen, he is now over forty years old. He is a teenager who goes out to sea to do business with Zheng Zhilong. He is used to life and death and has always been steady in his work. Even in the Zheng family, Zheng Cai's tribe has great independence. He didn't want to take the lead, but Zheng Sen took the lead.

Seeing the generals looking at him, Zheng Cai clasped his fists and said, "It's all up to the orders of Lord Supervisor Huang, General Huang sent him!"

Zhu Dadian said: "Haha, Damu is indeed a young hero, and he is indeed a tiger father without a dog son!"

Zheng Sen was only in his early twenties, and under Zheng Zhilong's wings, his spirit was naturally high. He was praised by Zhu Dadian and felt quite heroic. He changed his tone and looked at Li Mingxun and said, "Mr. Supervisor, my Fujian Navy is willing to fight for the vanguard. He is only a few soldiers and few ships. I hope other navy support will be more sampans and more fast crabs, but there must be a large ship. I heard that the ships of the Dongfan Yi Brigade are strong, the guns and cannons are sharp, and the water battles are invincible. Can you invite the Dongfan Yi Brigade to fight? I think it will be a successor!"

Zhu Dadian had to look at Li Mingxun and Huang Fei. After all, his order to the special mixed fleet still required Li Mingxun's approval. Li Mingxun smiled: "I can fight just Zuozhen Miyayu, Damu can fight, so I can fight naturally!"
Chapter completed!