Li Zicheng didn't have time to pursue Zhu Changzhu at this time, because in the area of Ningbo in eastern Zhejiang, Fang Guoan and others elected Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, as a prisoner and were fighting against his troops.

He wondered that his policy of cracking down on the gentry and landlords had almost ceased as early as in Shaanxi, and of course, there were not many gentry in the area under his control. But now, in Zhejiang, these gentry still have to rise up against his rule.

Therefore, he had to use his main forces to deal with the enemy in eastern Zhejiang, because he also needed the Qiantang River as a cover to resist Li Yan, who might go south at any time. As for Zhu Changzhu, who also became a prisoner, he didn't know it at this time, and even if he knew, he could only solve it one by one.

At this time, Li Zicheng's only satisfaction with his policy was probably to dispose of Zhu Ming's vassal kings. However, the number of vassal kings he eliminated was obviously not enough, and the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were everywhere, and if he pulled out any one, he could be the emperor of the prison country to resist his rule, and he still needed to continue to work hard.

What he didn't understand was that even if the gentry wanted to oppose him, the common people in Zhejiang didn't seem to support him, and few people came to join the army in his ranks. However, he also knew that this was not five years ago, and it was useless to use those rabble, so there was no large number of people to coerce.

At this time, he was thinking about whether to dispose of Zhu Yousong first. The edict of persuasion issued by Zhu Yousong was not obvious. Except for those places where there were few garrisons to surrender, the rest of the places still had to be attacked by his troops to take them.

And Zuo Mengeng, who led the troops to attack Changsha, found that he might fall into the siege of Zhang Xianzhong at this time. Zhang Xianzhong's tens of thousands of troops have been chased after him in the rear, and it is said that the tens of thousands of troops transferred by Zhang Xianzhong from the south are also about to arrive.

At this time, his army was no longer the 200,000 army in its heyday, and was pursued by Li Zicheng all the way, scattered and fled. He had less than 80,000 horses left, and his morale was still relatively low.

Therefore, Zuo Mengeng did not dare to stay in Huguang and continue to fight hard with Zhang Xianzhong, but took advantage of the fact that Zhang Xianzhong's encirclement had not yet formed, and quickly fled to the southeast with his troops and moved in the direction of Fujian. Although Fujian is mountainous and poor, there are no strong opponents there, so it should be relatively easy to settle down. As for Zheng Zhilong, he really didn't pay attention to it, how capable a pirate leader could be in the inland mountains?

At this time, the various forces in the south were in a mess, but the northern region, under the rule of Li Yan, was basically free of the chaos of war, and all places quickly settled down, and the people were working hard for themselves.

At this time, Li Yan was listening to the report of Zhang Han, the commander of the naval army, about the construction of vehicles and ships.

"The shipyard has rebuilt a vehicle and ship," Zhang Han reported seriously: "The lowly post has also personally tried the sea offshore, but the effect is not good." When the wind is downwind, the paddles of the vehicle and ship are too slow, which not only does not speed up the ship, but also slows down the ship. In the headwind, although the ship can barely move forward, it is too physically demanding for the sailors to hold on for too long. ”

Li Yan frowned and asked, "Are you using human power?" Why not animal power? Even if it's a two-hundred-gauge boat, can't fit a few mules, and their corresponding forage? ”

Zhang Han replied cautiously: "It can be put down, but the ship is bumpy on the sea, and the livestock are afraid that it is difficult to adapt, but it is not as good as the sailors." ”

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, and then laughed self-deprecatingly: "Oh, that's it." It was me who was wrong, I made a mess, and you reminded me well. ”

"Don't dare to be humble, please forgive the generalissimo." Zhang Han hurriedly pleaded guilty.

Li Yan raised his hand: "You are not wrong, you don't have to ask for guilt." Who's right and who's wrong, the facts speak, I haven't been on the ship again, so naturally I can't understand the situation on the ship as well as you. If you don't explain the reason today, and really do what I want, then I will really remove you in the future. Here, I only ask about right and wrong, and there is no other evasion, if you can't be outspoken, it will be your dereliction of duty. ”

"The generalissimo has taught me that the lowly duty has been written." Zhang Han said gratefully.

Li Yan nodded and continued to discuss the topic of cars and boats, but he spoke much more calmly, not as stern as he had just now. "Regarding the speed of the propellers, it can be solved by gears of different sizes. A large gear and a small gear are docked, and the large gear turns once, but the small gear can turn several times. As for the problem of labor-saving, it can be achieved with leverage, but it also depends on the size of the ship. ”

"I don't understand this." Zhang Han replied: "Generalissimo, let's ask someone more knowledgeable to solve it." ”

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "In this way, I will transfer some craftsmen from the craftsman institute and go to the shipyard to have a look." You are responsible for coordinating the communication between them and the shipwright and getting them to discuss concrete solutions. ”

"Obedience."

Li Yan reminded: "We must let the two sides fully communicate, fully consider the carrying capacity of the hull, and do not take things for granted." Are you clear? ”

Zhang Han clenched his fists: "I understand, the humble position must allow the two sides to fully communicate, and there will be no jokes." ”

"How's the expansion of the Mariner going?" Li Yan then asked.

"More than 1,200 people have already entered the camp. In the newly recovered Jianghuai region, coastal fishermen could only participate in the sailors. And the generalissimo gave the most food and salary to the officers and men of the naval division, so the recruitment of sailors went quite smoothly. Zhang Han said with relief.

There are more than 1,200 people, which is not as many people as a county who have signed up to join the army, but for the sailors, it is already a big gain. In Shandong before, not only did they not participate in the naval division, but even the officers and soldiers of the naval division wanted to serve in the army instead. Fortunately, the policy adjustment was timely, otherwise, the naval division may only be able to maintain a very small force, which is simply not worth mentioning for the Wanli Haijiang.

"What about the warship?" Li Yan then asked.

Zhang Han replied: "Several small serial boats have been built, and the paddles of the vehicles and boats have also been installed on them. Due to its light weight, the boat can sail at high speed on water. It is as fast as an arrow from a string, and it is difficult to be intercepted by enemy ships. Among them, the small boat is loaded with **, quickly rammed and nailed the enemy ship, and after igniting **, the main ship can quickly evacuate, which is a good way to break the enemy. Coupled with the long-range strikes of the trebuchets on our warships, Humility believes that as long as there are enough ships, we can defeat any enemy, including Zheng Zhilong in the South China Sea. ”

Li Yan shook his head: "Small boat combat is just an expedient measure, building a huge ship and galloping across the ocean is the ultimate goal." ”

"However, to build a big ship, you must not only have huge trees, but also craftsmen." Zhang Han said honestly: "After a long time of humble searching, the craftsmen only heard that the ancestors could build big ships with more than three masts, but no one could build them. The sea ban has been so long that the technology of building large ships has been lost. ”

Li Yan said disapprovingly: "The skills of the ancestors did not fall from the sky, but also after slowly exploring and accumulating. Let the craftsmen of the shipyard cooperate more and communicate more, and over time, they will definitely be able to build a strong and durable ship. ”

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