The itinerary has been decided, and all matters in Lushun are also on track, so he doesn't need to continue to worry about it, but Xie Hong didn't set sail for the sea immediately, he was still waiting for information, information about the movement of the grassland. [Full text reading]

With the complete victory of the naval battle, he has enough confidence to completely control Jiangnan, and Jiangnan's forces occupy half of the sky in the court, and after they are defeated, the remaining stubborn forces will not have to worry.

According to the original plan, after solving Jiangnan, it is time to look beyond the Ming Dynasty, and among the surrounding forces of the Ming Dynasty, the most powerful and tricky are the Tartars on the grassland.

The Tartars live on grass and have no fixed residence, and because they raise a lot of livestock, and have a very high mobility, they have appeared in different names and faces in all dynasties, and have always been the confidants of the Central Plains.

And the Mongolian Tatars who once occupied the Central Plains were the best among them, Taizu and Chengzu made many expeditions, but they never completely wiped it out, and Xie Hong didn't think of a perfect solution for a while.

What's more, before solving the court problem, he has no time to take care of it, and all he can do is to strengthen the garrison of Xuan and Ji towns, so as not to give the Tartars a chance.

It's just that the plan never catches up with the changes, and the waves are not settled, and the Tartars somehow have foresight and made such a big move at this juncture.

If the Tartars really enter the Kou in a big way, then it is really difficult for them to go to sea alone. Xie Hong shook his head and smiled bitterly, recently, there have been urgent letters in the capital one after another, and it is not only Tang Bohu who sent the letters, but even people like Wang Shouren, who are so calm, have sent several letters in a row.

There is only one content, which is to urge himself to return to Beijing as soon as possible to appease the second brother who is about to move. In this way, I am also self-inflicted, the effect of the opening of the sea is very good, but the side effects are also very strong, a certain animal lover has been obsessed with kangaroos and giraffes, and has been thinking about catching two heads as mounts.

Of course, this may just be an excuse, Zhu Houzhao is good at everything, but this idle problem is not good, even the popular football in later generations can't completely indulge him, maybe this is the problem caused by too high talent and can't find an opponent.

No matter how attractive the sport is, if there is no opponent with enough weight, it can only be lonely as snow. Xie Hong was very considerate of someone's feelings, but reason told him that now was not the time for the emperor to go out of Beijing, and the change in the Tatars was likely to lead to the transfer of Zhengde's interest, after all, in history, his second brother had gone out of Beijing and went to Biansai to fight.

However, now is the time to pursue the victory and completely solve Jiangnan, if you miss this good opportunity, then you don't know when you will wait next time and how much you will pay, Xie Hong is a little unwilling. It's not impossible to appoint someone to go, but if you change someone, the scale may not be able to be grasped well, and it is a dilemma.

"Brother Hong, are you going to sea again in a few days?" The little girl came over at some point and suddenly asked in a whisper.

"Maybe." Xie Hong nodded absentmindedly.

"Then, do you remember what happened to Yue'er last year?"

"Remember...... what he promised, Xie Hong couldn't remember for a while, but he responded noncommittally.

"Great, you can go to the sea to play, I'll tell Qing'er and Sister Ling'er, let them pack up quickly......" The little girl is also a man of action, cheering and running away, and when Xie Hong looked up blankly, and finally remembered her promise, she couldn't see her figure anymore.

There are so many people who want to go to sea to play, in addition to the second brother, there is one at home, look at it, Daming's sea ban policy is so unpopular.

Xie Hong didn't care, there was no danger in this operation, just let a few little wives go out for a walk, the scenery of Lushun was good, but after being transformed into an industrial zone by himself, it was immediately lowered to a notch, otherwise how to say that industrial civilization has advantages and disadvantages?

The problem is still with the Tartars, if they really want to come, they must return to the capital, even if they can't persuade the second brother, they have to follow him, so they can rest assured.

"Brother Xie, Datong and Xuanfu have replied!" Jiang Bin swept in like a whirlwind, bringing the news that Xie Hong had been waiting for for a long time.

"What the hell is going on on the prairie?" Xie Hong couldn't wait to ask while opening the letter.

Jiang Bin laughed and said: "Haha, it's a good thing, dog eats dog, Tatar and Warat are fighting again......"

"Huh?" Xie Hong was stunned, it was normal for the tribes on the grassland to attack each other, just as Duoyan Sanwei also went to war with the Tatars every year, there was nothing strange, but at this time, it was really a coincidence that such a full-scale conflict occurred.

Warat is a branch of Mongolia, simply put, it means Western Mongolia, their rise was in the Yongle years, Chengzu several expeditions to the north, the Tatars were greatly weakened, so Warat took the opportunity to enter the steppe, and then the Tatar Department has been in a hostile state.

At the beginning of the civil engineering change, the one who caught Ming Yingzong was Wara, and it should be regarded as their peak at that time. In the following decades, in order to compete for the throne of the Khan, they fought with the Tatars many times, all of which were downwind, and gradually retreated to the west, so the steppe changed masters again, and in the Hongzhi and Zhengde years, the greatest threat to the Central Plains was the Tatar leader Boyan Mengke.

"Will there be fraud?" Xie Hong has put a lot of effort into the grassland situation, and the reason for this is also known at a glance, but he always feels that it is a bit too coincidental.

"Probably not, right?" Jiang Bin scratched his head, if someone else said this, he would definitely scoff at it, but at this moment he was a little hesitant, "Warat and Tatar are also fighting every year, every few years, let me think about it, well, when Hongzhi was thirteen years old, the fire screen crossed the line and committed Datong, and then there was a big fight between the two sides, and when I looked at it, it was almost time to fight the second one." ”

"Is this all right?" Xie Hong was very surprised, the Tartars were really chaotic, and there were rules for such things as infighting.

"Datong does business with the Tatars in private, only gives silver, and sells everything, so the relationship between the two sides is good, and the Tatar department rarely goes to Datong to plunder." Jiang Bin sneered: "But the fire sieve is far away, this good thing can't be his turn, can he not be red-eyed?" Therefore, they often come to the east, and if there are few people coming, it is a small fight, and if there are many people, it is a big fight. ”

"In that case, then I'm relieved, let's go as planned." Xie Hong thought about it repeatedly, and finally made up his mind, and ordered one after another: "Brother Jiang, call all the old brothers, and then pick some from Liaozhen, make up the number of thousands of people, and board the ship immediately." In addition, tell General Lu Si to prepare for his departure, and let Master Lin come to see me. ”

"Okay." Jiang Bin replied with a smile.

Master Lin is the firearms craftsman in Xuanfu, he can not only fiddle with gunpowder, but also proficient in casting, and Lushun's artillery project is in charge of him.

"Master Hou, are you looking for me?"

"Master Lin, how is the progress of the land artillery?" Xie Hong asked bluntly.

"According to your design, Master Hou, I have tried to install wheels for the nine-pounder gun, and the gun carriage has also applied buffer facilities, but the cannon itself is too heavy after all, and it can be pushed on the newly built roads, but if it is in a place where the road conditions are poor, it will be difficult to pass. It was pulled by a cart, and there was no problem in unloading it and erecting it after arriving at the battlefield. ”

"That's ......" Xie Hong frowned, now the main application range of Lushun's artillery is on ships, so when developing, firepower and rate of fire are also preferred. Although the land artillery is also being developed, the manpower invested is relatively small, and there are many factors to consider for the land artillery, so the progress is not ideal.

"What about the new firecracker?" Xie Hong asked again.

"There has been a lot of progress, the power and range have increased a lot compared to before, and within a hundred steps, it can already penetrate armor such as leather armor and cotton armor, and cause effective damage, but it's just ......" Lin Bai peeked at Xie Hong's face.

"It's okay, just say it." It seems that it is not satisfactory, Xie Hong sighed secretly in his heart, waved his hand, and motioned for the other party to continue to report.

"The subordinates are foolish, the breech gun you said, Master Hou, it is not a law for a while, but according to the subordinates, the current firearm is much stronger than the one in the army, if it is rushed, with the efficiency of our workshop, it can be ...... in a month"

"That's it, Master Lin, it's Ben Hou who is too anxious, I don't blame you for this." Xie Hong was indeed a little disappointed, but he showed it, after all, this research and development is a bit advanced, and he can't help anything except put forward the concept, from the beginning of research and development to the present, but in just one year, the main energy is still on artillery, which is inevitable.

"Master Lin, you don't have to worry about it, you may not be able to use it for a while anyway, even if there is a case, the capital is also prepared, it doesn't matter." Seeing Lin Bai's anxious look, Xie Hong comforted him a few words, and then asked, "How many land cannons have been cast now?" ”

"There are ten gun carriages, and thirty ordinary ones." Lin Bai replied like a stream.

"You prepare, load these cannons on the ship, send them to Tianjin, and then transport them to the capital, so that Wu Qianhu can divide some good hands and follow them together."

"Yes, Master Hou." Seeing that Xie Hong's tone was a little hurried, Lin Bai did not hesitate and left.

"Someone ...... coming"

"Yes, Master Hou." There were pro-soldiers who responded.

"Bring a message to Xuanfu and tell Zhang Zongbing that no matter what happens, he will focus on stability, don't underestimate the enemy, except for the emperor's will and the warrant of the marquis, no one's orders need to be ignored by him, as long as the Xuanfu is safe, he will have no fault. Remember? ”

"Remembered."

That should be foolproof, right? The border army of Xuanfu is already elite, and there are no Wenchen in the way, even if the Tatars strike hard, the situation should not get out of control, Xie Hong raised his head and looked at the south, it is better to make it easier first and then difficult.

(To be continued)