Li Tianyang stayed in the R&D Institute for almost a week, and then returned to Bengang to meet with the representatives of the Bengang Alliance who had been waiting for a long time.

In the past few days of delay in the R&D Institute, Li Tianyang not only instructed the staff of the R&D Institute to further expand the canned technology, but also told Chengcai what he knew about trains, ships, textile machines and other technologies, trays.

Although Li Tianyang does not know the actual operation mechanism of trains and ships, in the case that the steam engine, which plays the most important role in these operation mechanisms, has been invented, the method of converting the work of the steam engine into actual kinetic energy is actually difficult for these elite talents in the research and development institute.

Don't forget, Hongmen actually already has a gear bearing transmission mechanism, and with a little change, it can produce a ship and train that can use steam to move.

Of course, a more efficient and practical steam engine conversion method can not be studied overnight, but this does not prevent Li Tianyang's reminder that the members of the R&D Institute can open their brains, avoid countless detours, and get a clear goal.

For example, in terms of ships, the first steamship in history used a steam engine to drive a paddle wheel on both sides of the hull to do work, but the knowledge brought by Li Tianyang from later history allowed the R&D Institute to transform the paddle wheel into a propeller at the bottom one step earlier, so that it took at least one less detour.

Of course, because the price of missing this step is the more complex transmission mode and sealing technology that followed, which also made the first steamship driven by the steam engine move back for almost a year, which is exactly what it has to gain and lose.

However, at this time, Li Tianyang didn't care about the relationship between gain and loss, he only needed to tell Chengcai what he knew about the use of the steam engine to Chengcai and them, and he didn't need to worry about the next thing.

The only thing he needs to worry about is that he will invest more funds and raw materials in the R&D Institute in the future, so that he has no worries.

Subsequently, Li Tianyang, who returned to Bengang, in addition to meeting with the representatives and patriarchs of the Bengang Alliance, also visited the glass, cement, ceramics and other workshops built among the Yushan tribe, the Black Panther tribe, the Zhuluoshan Society and other tribes, and visited the various tribes of the alliance at the same time.

With the dense cobweb-like road system between the various tribes of the alliance and Bengang, it originally took at least half a month to walk through the entire alliance tribe, but now it only takes more than a week, and in one day, Li Tianyang can visit at least a dozen clan members in turn.

In this regard, in addition to the distance between Bengang and the Lake tribe, the distance between Bengang and other alliance tribes can only be reached in half a day under the rapid march, forming a real alliance with Bengang as the center.

Whether they want it or not, the Bengang Alliance has actually become a vassal body of the Hongmen, even if about half of the high-level members of the Yushan clan are now united with Black Panthers, Laker and many other alliance tribes, but under the Hongmen's silent political, cultural, economic and other infiltration tactics, even if they take precautions against the Hongmen, they can't stop the fate of being annexed by the Hongmen.

After returning to Keelung Town, it was already the beginning of April, and this trip to Bengang was of great significance to Li Tianyang, not only witnessing the formal formation of the epoch-making steam engine, but also witnessing the gradual integration of the indigenous people of Dayuan Island into the Hongmen system and becoming one of the living forces under his command.

The peasant rebellion of the Ming Dynasty became more and more erosive, gradually spreading from northern Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places to the southwest, and even penetrated into the Sichuan Shu land in the land of abundance at the beginning of the year.

At this time, Gao Yingxiang, who claimed to be the king of Chuang, was in full swing, and his subordinates gathered Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, who were known to Li Tianyang, and ravaged the entire northern land.

The members of the spy warfare station who were sent by Li Tianyang to the peasant army are now the generals of a battalion under the command of Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, and there are many other guerrillas and generals.

If the members of the peasant rebellion army planted by the spy war are gathered, the peasant army in their hands has even exceeded the number of the current army of Hongen.

Of course, the overall strength of the armed forces is not only determined by their numbers, but also has a deep relationship with the quality of its soldiers and armaments.

Hongtang's expansion of the army has made the Hongmen army now have an army of nearly 30,000 people, of which the Fujian government is still registered with the original more than 10,000 people, and now they have been assigned to the Penghu Water Division by Li Tianyang.

The Hongtang whale, shark, leopard, and the newly established swordfish department, each with a team of almost 5,000 people, have never been registered in the roster of the Fujian government, although the official is vaguely aware of it, but now that the Hongmen weather has been completed, and Li Tianyang spares no effort to deal with it, the Fujian officialdom is turning a blind eye and ignoring it.

And Wu Daofu's isolated Ryukyu sailors, although they have been secretly restrained by the Ryukyu Shangfeng King over the years, but with the gradual growth of Hongmen, it still allows it to gradually expand the team to 5,000 through the Iriomote Mishima and Ryukyu routes, and its soldiers are not inferior to Hongtang Sibu.

The deployment of the peasant rebellion army in advance has brought too much convenience to Hongmen, and the recruitment of Qi San and others is now becoming less and less dangerous because the members of the spy war station are gradually gaining power in the peasant army, and they are walking in the territory controlled by the peasant army.

The north is plagued by natural disasters for many years, and most of the rebel armies are not engaged in production, and the source of their supplementary grain and grass is either to clean up the gentry and landlord houses among the local forces, or to coerce the local peasants and sweep away the grain and materials in them.

However, the consequences of this were serious, so that in the riots of the past few years, because of the loss of a stable source of grain and grass, it had to carry out guerrilla warfare many times, the purpose of which was to make up for its lack of grain and grass by clearing more areas.

Hongmen's current strength, whether it is the area of cultivated land or economic reserves, because of its natural geographical advantages, can be said to be full of granaries and full warehouses.

The two rooms and the abundance of money allowed Li Tianyang to expand the strength of the Hongmen with great hands, and as the Luzon Islands were incorporated into its territory of influence, the three islands of the Ryukyus and Iriomote began to develop, etc., Qi San's recruitment and absorption of the Ming people also intensified.

Using the peasant army's most scarce grain as a way to open the way, Qisan and their hands could come and go freely in the areas controlled by the peasant army, transporting a large number of desperate and homeless troops to Iriomote Mishima, Omoto Island, Ryukyu Island, and other places, enriching the population of these places.

(End of chapter)