Chapter 65 Strategy Against Japan Li Yan returns

Zhang Zhimu and Emperor Chongzhen watched the information about Japan sent by Li Zhi, and also talked about Japan. It seems that Emperor Chongzhen has done a lot of homework and knows a lot about the situation in Japan. However, when Emperor Chongzhen saw the information in his hand, he admired the work done by the kiln gang people even more. It is a comprehensive collection of all aspects of Japan.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh: "Zhang Dongjia, your work is more detailed. In the past, we used to make decisions based on speculation about Japan. The first time I fought with the Japanese in Korea, I didn't know how many Japanese people came, and I kept adding troops to violate the taboo of soldiers. ”

"Now, the Japanese are engaged in a policy of locking down the country, and it is very difficult for our people to infiltrate it, and there are many indirect materials." Zhang Zhimu said.

"Zhang Dongjia, our threat is close to the Manchus and Mongols, and far away is the Japanese. None of them are soft. Emperor Chongzhen said, "For the Japanese, it can't be like for the Manchus." Eliminate the evil! ”

"Yes! The Japanese are a very difficult people to govern. It is estimated that their population now exceeds 18 million people. It's not easy for us to exterminate them all. But in any case, you have to convince them first. Zhang Zhimu said.

"So! We are fighting at several heads, and it is not good to divide too many troops! Emperor Chongzhen said, "Otherwise, so be it!" Our troops in Shanhaiguan are useless, let Wu Sangui follow you to send troops! ”

"Your Majesty! The troops at Shanhaiguan are still unable to move, and the situation outside the pass has just been calmed down, and the situation is not stable. The battle in the north will start next year, and there is Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan, which is also a fixed star there. Zhang Zhimu said, "We must have an army there to ensure the stability of the capital." The emperor can rest assured that we are not only studying how to deal with Japan today, but that our General Staff Headquarters has a special team to study the Japanese. When I have time, I will ask the emperor to go up and see what they are doing? ”

"Good! You just have to know what you know. Emperor Chongzhen was relieved to see Zhang Zhimu looking confident. He knew that the people of Yaogang never did things that they were not sure about.

After today's sports meeting, Zhang Zhimu came directly to the command center.

Zhang Zhimu saw that several giants of Yaogang were here, and Liu Yun, Li Wei, Li Jing, and Li Yunhe were also here.

After Zhang Zhimu sat down, Ouyang He introduced: "After our regiment landed on Ezo Island, it immediately launched an attack on Matsumae Castle. The attack went very smoothly, and the daimyo of the Matsumae Domain had already been captured alive, Matsumae Takahiro. Now Matsumae Takahiro has been convinced, and ordered all the samurai of the Matsumae family on Ezo Island to surrender. In this battle, they killed more than 200 samurai of the Matsumae Domain and captured more than 100 alive. ”

"Hmmm! That's to be expected. After Zhang Zhimu finished speaking, he asked, "How is their ammunition supply?" ”

"General Jiang Ji called back and said that the ammunition and food they brought were enough for the time being." "In addition, they seized a lot of grain. I don't think I need to worry about them for the time being. ”

"According to the character of the Japanese, they will not care about us taking back Ezo Island." Zhang Zhimu said, "Although we fought the Japanese back in the Korean War twice, they have not attacked again for a while. There are reasons why they have also hurt their vitality, and the bigger reason is that the stupid people have internal friction. Now that the Tokugawa shogunate has been ruling for a long time, it has also eased up. We will definitely have a new heart of intrigue against us. Now we have recaptured Ezo Island, which they have already occupied, like a monkey in the foot. The Tokugawa shogunate knew about this and would not give up. This time they also lost ten boats, and the Japanese will find a way to retaliate. In my opinion, I should remind the regiment commander who landed on Ezo Island not to divide the army too widely, because the Japanese will soon send troops there. Be prepared for war. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "Zhimu! It's all easy to do. Do we need to readjust our deployment today and solve Japan's problems first? ”

"I've been thinking about it a lot, and our hasty adjustment of deployment has completely disrupted our plans. I see that there is a plan that can be considered. We give up Ezo Island for the time being. After the Mongols in the north were eliminated, they concentrated their efforts on the Japanese. Zhang Zhimu made a suggestion.

"From the overall situation, Mr. Zhang's suggestion is a desirable approach." Ouyang He said, "We need an army to manage Japan. But it was not enough to completely conquer them. They have a population of more than 18 million. Last time, we gathered more than 300,000 troops, but our landing operation was completely in the enemy's country. They have no problem organizing one or two million people to fight against us. We need to be fully prepared to land in Japan. Saying that, Ouyang He handed Zhang Zhimu a telegram and said, "I see if Zheng Zhilong's opinion can be considered." Their suggestion said that it would take a long time for us to reorganize our army against the Japanese, and that it would be better to send them a naval army over. Taking advantage of our naval superiority and sinking all the ships they went out on is tantamount to cutting off their hands and feet. All the big cities in Japan are close to the sea, and we can bombard them with naval fire and subdue them all the time. If they don't obey, they will completely destroy their city. Zheng Zhilong said that they are very familiar with Japan's waterway terminals and ensure that this method will work. ”

"Great idea!" Zhang Zhimu praised and said, "Now the matter of Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan) is over." We left a warship to cooperate with the shore artillery to prevent the Red Hair from retaliating. Our steamers can all go north to fight the Japanese. Regardless of the effect, the Japanese can be contained. It doesn't affect our entire deployment. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "I also think this is a good way! I think we will also use a division of troops, plus marines, to occupy Edo (Tokyo) in Japan if possible. We have the support of naval guns, and there should be no problem in occupying some of their main places. Our navy also needs a base to recuperate, which can also lay a foundation for us to finally settle Japan. ”

"If you don't have any opinions, this matter is settled." Zhang Zhimu said, "Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong are responsible for the naval army's attack on Japan. Liu Yun drew up a plan as soon as possible. Then send it to Fan Chengkun. ”

"Yes!" Liu Yun agreed.

"That's right! Our four 5,000-ton ships were left for two to cooperate with the naval operations. One of the boats also had to send some supplies to Li Zicheng and them. There was a refrigerated ship, which was used as a cargo ship in a hurry, and it needed to be withdrawn, and there were two 1,000-ton steam ships, which were also built as fishing boats, and they also needed to be withdrawn. Lin Qing and the others have all done their trawl nets, and they have to carry out trawl fishing experiments. The refrigerated barges at Lingshui Wharf have also been prepared for a long time, and they can't always transport refrigerated mutton. When they catch fresh fish at sea, freeze it, and bring it back in a refrigerated boat. The people on our side can also change their tastes. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "Mr. Zhang is right, we have navigation technology, we can make full use of marine resources. I suggest that a few more whaling ships be built soon, whale oil is a good thing, you can refine precision lubricants, and cod liver can also be made into cod liver oil. The benefits of a whaling ship would be very good. ”

"That's right! I agree with Mr. Lu's suggestion. We can now build a cannon that shoots harpoons, and with this cannon, it's easy to shoot whales. Zhang Zhimu knows that there is no need to think about protecting the whale population for the time being, there is almost no threat to whales at sea, and there are many whales.

Li Yunhe, who had never interjected, asked, "Lin Qing, their plan for the next shipbuilding plan must be decided!" The 20,000-ton ship was not equipped with cannons and could only be used as a transport ship. Now our 304-mm cannon has also been successfully tested, and Li Wei and they have been testing again. It works very well. This time, we used nichrome alloy to make the barrel, and the barrel was plated with a layer of chromium. The weight of the entire gun was not much heavier than the original 203 caliber cannon. The next step in shipbuilding can be a cannon of this caliber. ”

"This 20,000-ton ship, it turns out that Lin Qing is going to install steel armor. It was we who suggested that they cancel. This ship is to be a transport ship. Let's try to build a ship this big. Also see if our boiler power is enough to set up. Zhang Zhimu said, "In the next step, I think we will directly build a steel-hulled warship." Now we have enough steel production. The warships were made of steel hulls, and the shipyards in Quanzhou continued to build wooden ships and used them for transportation. The Zhenjiang base is mainly based on steel-hulled ships. It is necessary to build 1,500 tons, 5,000 tons, and 20,000 tons. The ship uses the Fu ship system, which is more suitable for naval warfare. Ships of more than 5,000 tons will be able to use your 304 caliber cannons. ”

Ouyang He said: "Now we should hurry up and prepare, we will be able to go to sea in two years." We're going to go to the old homes of the red-haired fans, who used to come to our door all the time. If we don't go to look at it, it seems that there is no etiquette in our ceremonial state! ”

Li Wei took over and said, "Haha, let's bring them more shells." Let them know what it's like to be blocked by someone. ”

"Haha!" Everyone was amused by Li Wei's words.

Lu Bingyi said: "After the trial voyage of our 20,000-ton ship, let's make two more trips to Sulu and get a little more guano back." That thing works really well in the field. ”

Zhang Zhimu said to Li Yunhe: "This time, our 5,000-ton ship defeated 30 Japanese warships with infantry guns and heavy machine guns. It is explained that heavy artillery is not necessarily used against wooden ships. If we install heavy artillery on our cargo ships, it will affect the stacking of goods, and in the future, we will have to provide cargo ships with practical weapons. ”

"A 12.7 mm heavy machine gun bullet hit a wooden ship with a big fist hole. Usually a wooden boat with a few rows of such bullets poses a threat. We can install a few more large-caliber heavy machine guns on the wooden boats. That thing has a good range. Li Yunhe said.

"I think so, do you remember the kind of heavy machine gun that I told you about with six barrels that can rotate?" Zhang Zhimu was talking about the kind of heavy machine gun of the Gatling mechanism, "You develop a six-barreled heavy machine gun with a 12.7 caliber barrel, so that a heavy machine gun has a very high rate of fire, and the wooden boat will be beaten into a sieve if he continues to shoot for a while." Also, you have to develop a larger caliber swivel barrel heavy machine gun. Such a weapon can be fixed to a ship and powered by on-board electricity. If a few of these things were loaded on the wooden boat, no one would dare to approach it if it was covered with thorns. ”

"Huh! Tell me what new weapons are you going to develop? Chen Yufeng asked.

"It's not a new weapon," Mr. Li said, "and we wanted to experiment with multiple barrel machine guns to increase the rate of fire." Later, I felt that it was inconvenient to carry, so I did not continue the development. In fact, it is to shoot in rotation with six barrels, the barrel rotates at high speed, the rate of fire of each barrel is not very high and it is not easy to overheat, and the rotation process is also a cooling process, and the overall rate of fire can be very high. It can generally reach 3,000 rounds per minute. ”

"Oh my God!" Li Wei said in amazement, "Yunhe hurriedly developed this thing. It can be used not only on ships, but also on gun trucks, airplanes, and speedboats. ”

"What Li Wei is talking about," Mr. Zhang said, "is that there is still a need to consider." It's too bullet-intensive. As soon as the trigger was pulled, a box of bullets went out. ”

"I see that it can be used on cargo ships and planes," Ouyang He said, "This guy pulls the trigger on the wooden boat and solves it." ”

Li Yunhe said: "There is no need to increase the caliber to deal with wooden boats, 12.7 is enough." No matter what kind of wooden boat it is, dozens of fist-sized holes are enough to choke. Besides, the people on the ship can't stand it even more! ”

Li Wei suggested: "It is inconvenient to install cannons on cargo ships, so can we install a few small cannons of 55 caliber on gun trucks and gunboats around them?" This thing doesn't take up much space, so it can be mounted on the side of the ship and shot straight at it. ”

"Hmmm! Li Wei's suggestion can be considered. That kind of cannon should be fine for a wooden ship to be aimed at it. Zhang Zhimu said.

Everyone said the same thing, and put forward a lot of suggestions. Zhang Zhimu likes this atmosphere very much, and everyone is full of confidence in the future.

Seeing that it was almost over, Chen Yufeng said: "It's okay to stop here today!" Liu Yun immediately drafted an order and sent it to Fan Chengkun. Let's adjourn! ”

Li Jing asked Chen Yufeng: "Uncle Shi doesn't care about eating so late?" ”

"Fuck off! There is no meal today. Chen Yufeng was not polite.

Chen Yufeng's reprimand caused a burst of laughter.

Zhang Zhimu knew that under normal circumstances, Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He would leave everyone for dinner, and there must be something to do today. Sure enough, Ouyang He glanced at Zhang Zhimu. Zhang Zhimu didn't go out with everyone.

Everyone left, and Ouyang He said: "Li Yan has already gotten on the bus from Datong and will arrive tomorrow." Are you going to meet the emperor together? This is also better for Wu Sangui. ”

"Hmmm! I'll see you tomorrow. Chen Yufeng said, "The emperor will go to Baotou after tomorrow!" ”

"Are you all ready?" Zhang Zhimu asked.

"Li Yan, you can rest assured!" Chen Yufeng said.

Because the emperor knew about Li Yan's arrival at Shanhaiguan through his intelligence system, Li Yan must give the emperor an explanation after he returns, otherwise the first thing the emperor has to clean up is Wu Sangui. After the emperor told Zhang Zhimu about this, Zhang Zhimu immediately sent a telegram to Li Yan to tell him about the situation. Li Yan telegraphed back that he knew about it, and he would think things through and come up with a countermeasure. What Zhang Zhimu just asked was whether Li Yan had any good countermeasures.

Early the next morning, Li Yan came to Zhang Zhimu's office. Yang Yulin asked people to bring tea and leave. Zhang Zhimu asked, "How is Wu Sangui over there?" ”

"When I went over, Mr. Wu was very happy. He said everything is up to us. He agreed to start the concentrature of the army now. We arranged for the people who were compiled to go to Liaodong. We set up a new reclamation area there. The officers and men are all happy! In fact, the soldiers are really pitiful, they just want to have a place to eat when they are old. After hearing that we were going to take care of them, they were very close to me. Li Yan is also a temperamental person, and he is also a little excited when he talks about this.

"Wu Sangui has a lot of people!" Zhang Zhimu said.

"Actually, most of his people are garrison soldiers, and the ones who can really walk are about 100,000 people. I took a look and saw that the Guanning Iron Cavalry now has a certain combat effectiveness, but the officers and soldiers are all older. I suggest that Wu Sangui be reorganized into a cavalry corps and an infantry corps in accordance with our requirements. We'll send officers over after a while. Their officers all came to the kiln post for training. I want Wu Sangui to see for himself whether their officers can be qualified as officers in our army after training. Li Yan said.

"We are about to carry out large-scale construction in Liaodong, and it is best for the captives of Annam to be under their control and labor." Zhang Zhimu said, "But I still have to give the emperor an explanation for this matter." ”

Li Yan smiled and said, "I discussed this matter with Wu Sangui. He didn't quite understand why we were so afraid of the emperor. I can't tell him, I can only say that this is your arrangement! However, Wu Sangui's brain is also enough, and he personally wrote a letter to the emperor for me to bring back to the emperor. He said that we promised to help him arrange for veterans, and also gave them a lot of support and food. Please thank the emperor Zhang Dongjia! ”

"Hmmm! Just pick out the words clearly, and the emperor can't say anything! This is a major matter that the emperor can't do on his own, and the border pass needs to be solved urgently. Zhang Zhimu said, "Besides, the emperor doesn't dare to go too far with Wu Sangui." Now that's the only force of the emperor! ”

"yes!"

"Alright! We'll get back to that again. The emperor is going to visit Baotou tomorrow, let's go over to see the emperor immediately! Zhang Zhimu said.

When Zhang Zhimu and Li Yan were led into the room by the prince, Emperor Chongzhen stood up, and Li Yan immediately knelt down and saluted.

Zhang Zhimu introduced: "Your Majesty, this is General Li Yan, he came back from Shanhaiguan last night. ”

"Come and sit! General Li doesn't need to be polite! "In fact, Emperor Chongzhen still feels useful to Li Yan's big salute. At least it shows that Li Yan is a person who knows etiquette.

Li Yan got up, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" ”

After everyone sat down, the emperor asked, "How about General Li going to Shanhaiguan!" ”

Li Yan immediately stood up and said, "Go back to the emperor!" All the best. As he spoke, he took out Wu Sangui's letter and said, "Your Majesty, this is the letter that General Wu Sangui asked me to bring to the emperor!" ”

"Humph! Wu Sangui is still thinking about me? Emperor Chongzhen didn't recognize it coldly and said, "Present it here!" ”

The prince immediately took Li Yan's letter and sent it to the emperor, who took it and said, "General Li sit down!" ”

Li Yan sat down again at this time.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't immediately read Wu Sangui's letter, and asked: "General Li, I know you, you were promoted at a very young age, and your future is immeasurable!" How could they rebel with the thieves? ”

"The grass people are forced to be helpless!" Li Yan said and was about to stand up again.

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Sit down and talk!" ”

After Li Yan sat down, Emperor Chongzhen said: "Whoever rebelled said that he was forced to rebel!" ”

"Your Majesty, no one will rebel if there is a way out, and there will be a day when there is no tomorrow!" Li Yan replied.

"I have read your "Song of Persuasion", it is well written, and I can see that you have people in your heart. Now follow Zhang Dongjia is on the right path. "Emperor Chongzhen has not forgotten that he is the emperor.

"Emperor Xie!" Li Yan bowed and said.

"What do you think of the situation there when you get to Shanhaiguan?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

Li Yan was really hard to answer, and hurriedly said: "General Wu is very strict in governing the army!" However, in the past, there were too many arrears, and many things were also very difficult to handle. There are many veterans stationed at the border for many years who are homeless and very pitiful. But it takes a lot of money to arrange! ”

"Didn't you bring a lot of food this time?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"There are nearly 200,000 officers and soldiers in Shanhaiguan, and our food and salary can only solve temporary difficulties." Li Yan said.

"What do you think should be done? Most of the silver in the treasury of the Ming Dynasty was borrowed from you. ”

"I studied this matter with Mr. Wu in Shanhaiguan." Li Yan said, "We tried our best to help him arrange those old and weak soldiers." Let the veterans have a place to live in their old age. I also consulted Mr. Zhang about this. Next year, we will dig up the Songliao Grand Canal in eastern Liaodong and reclaim land. Next year, we need a lot of Annam's captives to come and work, and we can arrange for retired veterans to organize them to work. Veterans can earn a salary, and it also solves our needs for employment in Liaodong. The veterans were arranged, which was a good consolation to the brothers who remained. The remaining officers and soldiers were also streamlined and separated from the cantonments. The focus is to ensure that the elite soldiers are left with food and salary. Mr. Zhang also said that he would send some more food to the brothers in Shanhaiguan. ”

"Hmmm! Well done! If you don't arrange the veterans, who will be willing to guard the border in the future! "Emperor Chongzhen is very satisfied.

Zhang Zhimu hurriedly diverted this conversation and said, "Your Majesty! Last night we researched Japan. ”

"Oh! Do you guys have a great idea? "Emperor Chongzhen has also been thinking about this.

"Yes, Your Majesty! There is no war in our navy for the time being. Zhang Zhimu said, "We are ready to send a naval army to use the superiority of our naval army to blockade the Japanese archipelago." Many cities in such an island country as Japan are located by the sea, and we can use our superior artillery to shoot at these cities in Japan. Always subdued them, and chose the opportunity to occupy one of their ports as our base. That way we'll be able to watch Japan to death, and we'll go back and clean them up when we have time. We don't have to change our whole plan! ”

"You sailors have all gone to Japan, what should I do if those guys come back?"

"We can't all stop in Japan, just subdue them and leave a few ships to watch them." Zhang Zhimu replied.

"Hmmm! I knew you would come up with a good idea! Emperor Chongzhen said, "I'll go to Baotou tomorrow to have a look, and if it's too late, I won't see anything if it's frozen everywhere!" ”

"The hotel over there in Baotou and the hotel over there in Baotou Iron and Steel Plant are newly built, and Zhou Yuji is already ready to receive you!" Zhang Zhimu said.

"Humph! Dog things, when they arrive at the kiln, they will become fine! "Emperor Chongzhen doesn't know whether to praise Zhou Yuji or Ma Zhou Yuji.

Leaving Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang Zhimu and Li Yan came to his office together, originally wanting to have a good chat. But as soon as she entered the room, Yang Yulin said, "Hurry up and go to the command center!" Uncle Chen said, come back and hurry over! ”

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.