In the past few days, Lin Jue and everyone have been busy with the expedition. Grain and grass are not a big problem, although part of the military rations transported from the Luoyan Valley have been misappropriated, but with the smooth navigation of shipping and the recovery of the market, the continuous transportation of grain from the south is enough to ensure supply.

Although the number of soldiers and horses of the Luoyan army was not replenished much, the number of soldiers and horses who arrived from various places was very limited, and the local state capital did not have many troops, so in fact, there were less than 50,000 soldiers and horses who came to the capital. But this is actually not a big problem, the Luoyan army has never relied on many to win, but relied on elite soldiers and strong generals to win by strong means and resourcefulness. At the beginning, the 100,000 army dared to go out of the mountains, not to mention that now the total strength has exceeded 150,000.

The real problem lies in the replenishment of ammunition for the various firearms on which the Wild Goose Army relied for victory. The manpower of the Funiu Mountain Arsenal has been relocated to the capital. After coming, Lin Jue ordered them to start work quickly to replenish the ammunition consumed. However, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and Liang Qi has reported to Lin Jue many times for this matter, and his scalp is bald. It's because of the shortage of raw materials. Gunpowder, iron ingots, and various other auxiliary raw materials. These things are now in short supply, and Lin Jue has a lot of silver in his hand, but he can't buy these things he needs. Liang Qi had already sent people to buy everywhere, and searched almost all the raw materials in the gunpowder workshops, fireworks shops, and blacksmith shops around Gyeonggi, but he didn't get much.

Therefore, the Luoyan Military Arsenal is actually in a state of semi-operation. I got a batch of raw materials and started to make some. It's like a cow peeing. It was completely impossible to move with all its might to complete the requirements of the Falling Goose Army.

Lin Jue realized this problem a few days ago, which was actually an important reason why Lin Jue was unable to send troops for a long time. Lin Jue does not fight unprepared battles, firearms and ammunition are the capital of the Luoyan Army's battle, if these materials are not ready, can they fight with the Jurchens for cavalry, and they can't fight hand-to-hand combat? Isn't that what the Jurchens mean? Lin Jue's requirements are actually not high, at least the ammunition and firearms are enough to support a big war, and it will not be anticlimactic.

Lin Boyong learned of Lin Jue's predicament at a Lin family banquet, he didn't say anything at the time, and took a boat back to Hangzhou that day. A few days later, a carrier pigeon flew from Hangzhou, and the contents of the letter made Lin Jue overjoyed. It turned out that Lin Boyong quietly returned to Hangzhou to buy materials such as gunpowder and iron ingots for Lin Jue. He did not make a statement in front of Lin Jue, but only informed Lin Jue after inquiring about a large number of these materials that Lin Jue needed in Jiangning, Suzhou, etc., this is Lao Cheng's serious style. Until the matter is resolved, never boast about Haikou, just think of a way. Things will only be said when they have eyebrows.

Lin Boyong's letter said that these are all materials hoarded by some businessmen privately, and they have to pay a high price to buy them at this moment. Unless Lin Jue forcibly requisitioned it in the name of the imperial court, but Lin Boyong did not recommend doing so. Those who do that

It is true that the hoarders can only hand over the supplies according to their lives, but this is just a hammer business, and the supply will be completely cut off. Lin Boyong's suggestion is to buy it at a high price in the name of the Lin family, which not only solves the urgent need, but also can open up this supply chain. Let these businessmen take the initiative to find these materials for Lin Jue, and they will be able to supply these materials to the Luoyan Army in the future. It is obvious that the Falling Wild Goose Army will need the supply of these raw materials for a long time in the future, because these things are consumed extremely quickly.

Lin Jue really wanted everything to stabilize in his heart, and he had to nationalize the raw materials of gunpowder and iron ore and prohibit private circulation. Because he knows that with the Falling Goose Army turning on the heat. The precedent of weapons warfare will soon be followed. No matter how well the secrecy is done, it will inevitably spread in the end. Therefore, it is necessary to control the raw materials such as gunpowder and fine iron in the hands of the imperial court to prevent the spread to the greatest extent. At the very least, people with ulterior motives will not be given the opportunity to be equipped with firearms on a large scale, and such harm is unimaginable.

But at the moment, it is clear that the conditions are not ripe. Therefore, Lin Jue agreed with Lin Boyong's suggestion. He immediately asked Liang Qi to send someone to go south with a huge sum of 500,000 taels of silver to purchase these materials. For Lin Jue, this can be regarded as solving the biggest problem in front of him.

Although there will be some delay in time, this will not affect the departure of the army. With the existing firearms, the troops can be sent to fight first, and the ammunition and firearms manufactured by the arsenal can be delivered to the army later. Just rush to make a batch of grenades and a swarm of rockets before the expedition, which is a cost-effective weapon. As for the shells of Kamui's cannon and the shotguns of the Wanghachi box, they are only symbolically equipped.

As the preparations progressed, the atmosphere became more and more tense. The people in the city also clearly felt the atmosphere of the army's imminent march, because the colonel's field in the north and east cities was full of soldiers practicing various tactics every day. The sound of shouting and killing resounded through the world, making people's hearts beat when they heard it.

The people are very conflicted in their hearts, they are worried about expectations, worried that this day has just returned to calm, Lin Dashuai will be going to fight again, if one accidentally loses this battle, wouldn't it be like Yang Jun's northern expedition back then, Da Zhou will fall into an embarrassing situation again, and the world will be in chaos. Many people actually preferred that Lin Dashuai would not mess with those Jurchens again. If they do not come against them, why should they provoke them? Of course, the vast majority of people are sensible. The Jurchens occupied the land of the Great Zhou, and this battle had to be fought. The Jurchens took advantage of the fire to rob and behaved badly, and the Jurchens had to be solved in order to have a peaceful life, otherwise they would always be around like hungry wolves, making it difficult for people to sleep and eat, and sooner or later they would still come to attack.

In the imperial court, the controversy about the expedition had subsided. The whole body was cheering for the Luoyan Army, and all the officials were also racking their brains for the raising of food, grass and materials for the Luoyan Army. Emperor Guo Kun personally went to the East Campus to inspect and train soldiers and horses on a certain day, and took out a box on the spot

The donation of gold and silver jewelry to military funds detonated a wave of contributions from top to bottom to the Luoyan Army. Guo Kun told everyone in public that these jewelry were the dowry of the Queen Mother and the things she had accumulated over the years. This time, for the sake of the army, they were all taken out. He also conveyed the words of the Queen Mother, even if these jewelry made a few sets of armor for the soldiers to protect their bodies, even if they bought some wound medicine to relieve the pain of the soldiers, it was all useful. The hearts of the soldiers who said these words were warm, and those who did not know the inside story were moved. Inspired by the behavior of the Queen Mother, the whole capital contributed money and materials one after another to raise money and food for the army.

Lin Jue was noncommittal about the behavior of Guo Kun and the Queen Mother. They were willing to pay the money out, and Lin Jue naturally accepted it. But for the money and food that the people spontaneously squeezed out from between their teeth, Lin Jue ordered that they would not accept anything, because the Luoyan army had not yet reached the point where they needed to scavenge money and food from the people to fight. If it really comes to that point, this battle will not be fought.

After more than 20 days of preparation, the date of the expedition was finally officially finalized on the 7th day of the first month of June. After Lin Jue entered the palace and reported the date of the expedition to Guo Kun, Guo Kun was obviously relieved. In the past twenty days, he asked Lin Jue no less than five or six times when he would send troops, and now he finally got the exact date. Guo Kun told Lin Jue that although he could not go with the army in person this time, he would sit in the capital and provide strong backing for Lin Jue. He also apologized to Lin Jue, about what he said in the water pavilion that night, he said that he thought about it afterwards and felt that he really shouldn't be suspicious of Lin Jue. He told Lin Jue that after defeating the Jurchens, when Lin Jue returned triumphantly, he would have a good relationship with Lin Jue, change himself, and be a good emperor. He will humbly ask Lin Jue for advice, and he will attach importance to any opinions Lin Jue raises, and he will definitely not disappoint Lin Jue. He also said that he would practice what he said before, he wanted to share the world with Lin Jue, he was only the emperor in name, and Lin Jue could be half of the master. He said that he had thought it through, he and Lin Jue were in a relationship of both glory and loss, and he Guo needed Lin Jue's full assistance, and no one could replace Lin Jue's position. He said that as long as Guo is on the throne, Lin Jue will be the eternal prime minister and privy envoy, and the eternal generalissimo of soldiers and horses. In the future, Lin Jue's son will also take over this position, and he will always form a fixed pair of Great Zhou monarchs and ministers with the Guo family. He also said that he would give Lin Jue a gold medal, and in the future, anyone in the Lin family could be exempted from crime with this card, go beyond the law, and enjoy the same extralegal treatment as the royal family.

In short, he said many, many words and made many, many promises. The attitude cannot be described as insincere, and the words cannot be described as insincere. Lin Jue smiled from beginning to end, looking at him like an idiot, and he didn't refute or agree, just looked at him with a smile, Guo Kun was furious in his heart, and he was angry when he saw it, and he couldn't wait to punch Lin Jue's smiling face.

After Lin Jue left the palace, he looked up to the sky and laughed, and the tears of laughter were about to flow out.