Zhao Xingde revealed some of the Han army's plan to seize Suzhou Guannan. Li Sihai listened with a gloomy face, and secretly cursed the Han army for occupying the magpie's nest, but he had to suppress his anger, frowned and began to think about countermeasures.

Occupying Suzhou Guannan as the foundation, Jingluo Haijiang is a plan he has considered for more than a month, who expected to be drawn from the bottom of the kettle all of a sudden. If Suzhou Guannan is in the hands of the Liao army, there may be a possibility of seizing it. But it was the Han army that wanted to occupy it. This makes people helpless. The purpose of the Chengying battalion to Liaodong was to assist the Han army, so that it could deal with Liaojin and not be wiped out or even annexed. Although General Quan has great autonomy over how to complete the military affairs of the detachment, if he fights and seizes the fundamental place of the Han army, the Protectorate will not be able to explain it. If the 8th Battalion was stationed in Guannan, Suzhou, it could have requested a separate port to be fortified in case the sailors needed it. However, if the Xia army could not possess the entire Guannan of Suzhou, it would not be safe to set up the main port of the Xia State Naval Division there after all.

After Zhao Xingde finished speaking, Li Sihai's expression also returned to calm, and he only sighed lightly: "What a pity." He took a sip of tea, closed his eyes and tasted tea for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "Is the eighth battalion going to enter Suzhou with the Han army?" ”

"We will continue to operate the southern part of Taibai Mountain and the Yalu River." Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice, "Although there are tens of thousands of acres of wasteland in Guannan, Suzhou can be reclaimed, it is still too small compared to more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians. We're not going to join in the fun. Although that side is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the goal is too obvious, and heavy troops are needed to deploy defenses, and it is conceivable that as long as the Han army has always focused on that side and cannot develop into the hinterland of Liaodong, it will face the problem of insufficient grain and grass. When the time comes, it will be up to Captain Li to escort grain and grass and fire cannons on the sea to help him hold the key passes. ”

Li Sihai suppressed his anger and nodded: "It's easy to talk about the matter." He was silent for a moment and asked, "Captain Zhao's decision to stay here is also dismissive of the Han army's decision." ”

Zhao Xingde didn't answer directly, only sighed, and took another sip from the teacup. According to the military order of the General's Palace, he was fully responsible for assisting the Han army in Liaodong, and Li Sihai led the eighth battalion to deliver grain, grass and ordnance from the sea to respond. Therefore, according to common sense, Li Sihai could not directly contact the Han army, nor could he judge the strategy of the Han army. Zhao Xingde would not easily discuss this issue with him.

Li Sihai nodded knowingly, did not continue, and changed the topic: "Captain Zhao has taken in a lot of people, just to cultivate the wasteland, and to guard against the enemy's harassment from time to time, I am afraid that the grain and grass will not be self-sufficient, and it still needs to be transported by sea." When it comes to the supply of grain and grass, there is a look of smile in his eyes.

Zhao Xingde smiled helplessly: "Exactly, I also want Captain Li to help strongly." ”

Li Sihai waved his hand and said with a smile: "Why should you and I be polite," he tapped his fingers lightly on the table and muttered, "I have a way here, which can be said to be the best of both worlds, so I took it out and discussed it with Captain Zhao." As far as I know, His Majesty and the General's Mansion are interested in expanding the number of sailors, and there are oak trees everywhere in Liaodong that are decades old, or even more than a hundred years old, which are the best timber urgently needed for newly built ships. What's more coincidental is that the Taibai Mountain and Yalu River, which the Eighth Battalion now occupies, not only have high-quality timber suitable for shipbuilding, but also are full of ditches. Anyway, instead of the sea ships carrying food and ordnance to empty back, it is better to transport the high-quality timber back to the shipyard in Yuntun Port. ”

When it came to shipbuilding, Li Sihai's eyes flashed, "This wood is hoarded there, and it has to be left for a few more years before it can be used." He cleared his throat, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile to Zhao Xingde: "Cut down wood from Liaodong, transport it out, and we will build a water division, exchange it for money, and buy grain in Annan, Dali and Song to go north to Liaodong, and it will be tightly matched and not wasted at all." Moreover, the income from logging is definitely much higher than that of cultivating wasteland, if this thing can be done, Captain Zhao will no longer have to ask the General's Mansion to allocate grain to help the people. ”

"That's a great idea!" Zhao Xingde stroked his palms and praised, arching his hand towards Li Sihai, "Thank you for your advice!" ”

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say," Li Sihai looked at Zhao Xingde and said with a smile, "You and I jointly signed a letter, and it shouldn't be a big problem to get the consent of the Protector Mansion." I also have a consideration, the timber is transported to Yuntun Port in Annan for a long time, although it can also be used, but it is still a little expensive, it is better to set up a shipbuilding branch in Liaodong nearby, I originally intended to choose the site in Suzhou Guannan, but now I have to consider it separately. ”

In order to feed the tens of thousands of people collected by the eighth camp of Chengying, Zhao Xingde can be said to have racked his brains and thought hard about various ways to make money. The mountains and forests of Liaodong are full of towering giant trees, and compared with logging and reclamation, it is simply a business, Zhao Xingde hopes that the more wood in Liaodong for shipbuilding, the better, and immediately nodded in agreement, and thanked Li Sihai repeatedly.

"It's all Chengying Paoze, what are you doing so politely." Li Sihai said angrily, he also figured it out, although he couldn't occupy Suzhou Guannan, he simply supported the eighth battalion to sit on the foundation of the Yalu River in Taibai Mountain, and at that time, this piece of lonely Liaodong would inevitably need to be answered, and the sailor would not worry about being useless.

Zhao Xingde suggested that not only sea boats should be built, but also some shallow gunboats suitable for cruising on the river, specifically covering the walled city near the river, and bombarding his mother with heavy artillery on the water in case the enemy army came to attack. Although Li Sihai didn't know how to artillery, he felt that his style of play made a lot of sense. In addition to cooperating with sea vessels on the shore, shallow gunboats can also go up the river and fight deep into the hinterland, and the status and role of naval divisions have been greatly enhanced.

These two people have a little sympathy for each other, and after getting acquainted, they don't have so many scruples. After talking about the matter, Li Sihai leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Captain Zhao, you have accommodated so many people here, do you have a list of prostitutes?" My brothers have been floating on the sea all year round, and when they reach the ground, they always have to find a place to vent their anger. ”

"Prostitutes?" Zhao Xingde was stunned.

Li Sihai smiled hesitantly and said in a deep voice: "But I have always only allowed these rabbit cubs to find clean bodies." He paused and then asked, "Is there a roster?" ”

"This," Zhao Xingde was a little embarrassed, spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "Really not." ”

"Then it's troublesome," Li Sihai touched his chin, "If you allow these guys to go down and get the flower willow disease, you will be in trouble." He muttered in a low voice again, "Okay, I'm not talking about you, this roster must be there." One is willing to fight, one is willing to suffer, anyway, you can't help it, it can only be Dayu to control the water, it is better to be sparse. Zhao Xingde's expression was a little strange, he couldn't say it was good, he couldn't say it was bad, and the glorious image of the senior captain of the Chengying Army collapsed in his mind. Not long after sending Li Sihai away, Zhao Xingde sat in the tent, considering the cooperation plan with the fourth battalion of Chengying, but he couldn't help but smile, sighed, and shook his head again.

About half an hour later, Kim Chang-tae returned to the camp and came to see Xingde. He first made a detailed report to Zhao Xingde about the situation of the Phoenix Cottage during this period of time, and then suggested that two battalions of garrisons should be selected and trained among the people to solve the problem of insufficient troops in the headquarters of the Chengying Battalion.

"Although we have more than 30,000 people, Ding Zhuang has more than 6,500 people, but these people have never practiced martial arts, and most of the time they usually spend most of their time clearing wasteland and farming, and it is difficult to really pull them to the battlefield. And the people of Liaodong have some heroes in the Central Plains, and it is a pity that they also succumb to these mediocre people. In my opinion, it is better to select 1,000 elites, train them into two battalions of garrisons, and usually guard the places where they are reclaimed, which is not only a force in wartime, but also a supplement to the sergeants of our battalion. With these garrisons, the sergeants of our battalion can be relieved from their daily tedious tasks. ”

Jin Changtai coughed twice, he sat down and kept talking, his throat was dry, Zhao Xingde handed him the teacup, Jin Changtai took a sip of tea, and continued: "There is also an advantage to the selection of garrisons, if these garrisons are given a monthly salary of twenty buckets of food, it will greatly exceed the rations of ordinary Ding Zhuang's family, and the people envy the benefits of the garrison." Everyone is self-motivated, and they will be more diligent in their martial arts training in the future. ”

After finishing speaking, Kim Chang-tae looked at Zhao Xingde with burning eyes. This strategy of establishing a garrison camp was the result of his painstaking thinking over this period of time, because the Chengying Battalion was isolated in Liaodong, and the number of sergeants lost was one less, and ordinary regimental training could not replenish the consumption of sergeants at all, and only the establishment of this garrison camp between sergeants and ordinary regimental training was a long-term solution.

Zhao Xingde pondered for a moment and muttered: "There is no problem with regimental training, if a garrison camp is established, can it still be said that it is reasonable?" "The garrison camp is made up of soldiers who have been freed from labor, and although they do not have the status of sergeants, they are real troops.

Jin Changtai nodded and said: "It shouldn't be a big problem, nominally, they are still part of the Han army in Liaodong." It's just obeying our orders. He had already thought about this question many times, and the answer at this moment also blurted out, "We can truthfully report the situation here, if the military government really disagrees, disband the garrison camp, or hand it over to Wang Hengzhi." He smiled confidently, "As long as the Protectorate still has a little brain, he won't do such a self-cutting thing." ”

"Hmm." Zhao Xingde nodded. Having said that, because the new battalion involves increasing the number of lieutenants, that is, it may change the power structure of the Protectorate itself, so the Protectorate is extremely cautious and even disgusted with all plans to expand the battalion. Therefore, the number of battalions of the summer army has always been maintained at a "reasonable" level. If the garrison battalion had the name of the Liaodong Han Army, it would be easier to speak.