"Wait!"

Li Kan, the defense envoy, interrupted Wu Yuantai's statement and asked with a concerned face: "Is General Zhu Daolin, who commanded Dengzhou to quell the rebellion, really as reported by the Bailing Island Naval Army, personally led dozens of warships to transport the new army to Phi Island?" ”

Wu Yuantai replied truthfully: "My subordinates specifically asked General Wu about this, and General Wu bluntly said that General Zhu was on the island, and General Zhu also knew that the two of his subordinates were visiting, and he also sent the chief of the guard to bring a message to General Wu and General Jiang: If we have any doubts, we need to submit official documents, or send envoys to the capital to negotiate with the Ministry of Rites, but he will not see us." ”

Li Kan's long black eyebrows trembled twice: "What is the reason?" ”

"I didn't say the reason, my subordinates speculated in vain, General Zhu Daolin was a second-grade military attache given by the Ming Emperor, the new chief military officer of Dongjiang Town, and the general Fengguo, with both land and water armies under his command, the total number of officers and soldiers is as high as tens of thousands, and the strength is not under Mao Wenlong back then."

"Over the past year, there have been such rumors: General Zhu is strong in martial arts, full of strategy, proficient in business, rich and rival the country, even if he offends the most powerful Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty, the Donglin Party still recognizes his talent, it can be seen that he is completely different from the previous General Mao Wenlong, it is estimated that he will act in accordance with the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty and show his dignity." Wu Yuantai boldly stated his speculation.

Li Kan and Shen Jingzhen looked at each other speechlessly again, and each saw the helplessness and worry in each other's eyes.

Wu Yuantai paused for a moment and continued: "According to the reports of General Wu and General Jiang, the total number of officers and soldiers of the newly formed Dongjiang is 7,800, and they are divided into 15 battalions according to different branches of the army. The salaries of the non-commissioned officers were also uniformly distributed by the quartermasters dispatched by the military department, and the officers basically did not have to worry about anything, only to think about how to train and how to fight. ”

"All the officers and men of the battalions were armed with flintlock pikes, and the two artillery battalions and two cavalry battalions, with a total of 2,300 officers and men, were armed with flintlock muskets with slightly shorter barrels, and had more than 50 guns that could be pulled by horse-drawn carts, because there were not enough horses. They offered to buy war horses from us! ”

"The young General Jiang told us very seriously that if we could sell them 10,000 high-quality war horses, they would give us 500 flintlock pistols with a range of 150 paces, in addition to the silver they paid for the horses......

"The subordinates guessed that all the flintlock muskets they were equipped with should have reached this astonishing range."

Li Kan, who is very knowledgeable about firearms, gasped, opened his eyes wide, and asked extremely nervously, "Can you be sure?" ”

Wu Yuantai smiled bitterly and nodded: "Before parting, General Wu Jicheng took the hands of his subordinates and sent out an invitation, saying that they would hold a large-scale live-fire training on the first day of the fourth month. We warmly invite our side to observe and correct the situation, so as to enhance the understanding between the two armies and deepen mutual trust! ”

After the subordinates left Phi Dao, they repeatedly speculated about their intentions, but they never understood the essentials, and the only thing that was certain was that the new Dongjiang army still had good intentions, which was very different from the Dongjiang army under Mao Wenlong, at least in terms of strict military discipline and the education of the main general. It is a hundred times stronger than the original Dongjiang Army. ”

Li Kan was not as optimistic as Wu Yuantai, and he immediately discussed with Shen Jingzhen in a low voice how to write a chapter to report to the Hanyang royal court in the south. So that the panicked king Li Liang and the courtiers made a decision.

As for whether to send important ministers from the DPRK and China to meet with General Zhu Daolin Zhu, or to send envoys to the capital of Daming to find out the news, it is not up to the two of them to decide.

After Li Kan and Shen Jingzhen finished discussing, they gave encouragement to Wu Yuantai and Cui Minghe, who had worked hard, and ordered them to go back for the time being and closely monitor the movements of Phi Dao. If there is any abnormality, report it immediately.

Wu Yuantai and Cui Minghe hurriedly stood up and saluted, and Cui Minghe asked nervously: "I beg the two lords to show me, if the Dongjiang army on Phi Island sends people to ask for food, bricks, tiles and wood, etc., how should the lower officials deal with it?" ”

Li Kan smiled and looked at Shen Jingzhen, who pondered for a long time. Give a cautious reply: "Except for salt, iron, and weapons controlled by the imperial court, other goods can be sold to them, but you must send someone to carefully observe whether the new Dongjiang army is buying and selling fairly and with good intentions?" ”

"If there is an abundant stock of grain, you can sell some to them as appropriate, so as not to cause opportunistic cuts by merchants from all walks of life and cause food prices to rise!"

"Yuan Taixian's nephew, your naval camp is the closest to Phi Dao, so you should pay more attention, increase the number of coastal patrols as much as possible, and don't have a misunderstanding with the Phi Island garrison."

Wu Yuantai and Cui Minghe both agreed, bent down again and bowed slowly back.

The two of them left the dock outside the north gate and took a military boat down the river, and the three fast horses had already rushed out of the south gate and rushed to the Hanyang royal city with the recitals of Li Kan and Shen Jingzhen.

Eight hundred miles away in the north, outside the south gate of Shenyang City, two panting horses rushed across the snow-stained suspension bridge, and immediately the knight pulled out his waist and raised the flag high, and the city gate guards immediately flashed to both sides, and saw two mud-covered soldiers rush into the black city gate hole.

Half an hour later, the Blue Flag Banner Lord Amin, the White Flag Banner Lord Azig, the Red Flag Banner Lord Yue Tuo, and Belezir Harang rushed to Huang Taiji's Shuai Mansion and asked Huang Taiji and Dai Shan on the main throne in a row, why are you in such a hurry to call everyone here?

Huang Taiji waved his hand and ordered everyone to sit down, took the urgent report handed by Dai Shan, and said loudly: "The Lord of Jiulian City will send a second important urgent report, the army that suddenly entered Phi Island five days ago is the new army south of Jiangnan that broke through Dengzhou City. ”

"According to rumors from the North Korean side, Zhu Daolin, the commander of the Jiangnan New Army, who became famous for commanding the Battle of Dengju, is now on Phi Island."

There was an uproar in the room.

The anxious Azig urn asked loudly and angrily: "Is the Jiangnan New Army really equipped with all firearms and equipment as the legend says?" ”

So the discussion stopped, Huang Taiji, who had been bedridden for several days due to the cold, nodded heavily, subconsciously touched the big blisters at the corners of his mouth that had not yet scabbed, and raised the urgent report in his hand to solemnly tell everyone:

"Now it is certain that the Jiangnan New Army, which is equipped with a large number of Franc flintlock pistols and artillery, is between 6,000 and 7,000 people, and according to our speculation, they sailed to Phi Island on warships captured from Dengzhou, which means that the Jiangnan New Army stationed on Phi Island has the ability to fight water, which is very tricky!"

"What makes us even more puzzling is that we still haven't found out where the 4,000 remnants of the Dongjiang Army and thousands of displaced people who were originally entrenched on Phi Island have gone?"

"The whereabouts of the dozen or so spies we have sent to Phi Dao for several years are also missing, and we still have no idea what happened five days ago, and for several days all the ships, including the fishermen of North Korea, have not been able to approach Phi Dao, and our spies stationed in Tieshan have twice been used as merchants to load furs on cargo ships to Phi Dao, and they have been driven away by the warships of Phi Dao in waters two miles away."

"It can be seen that this army is acting strangely and well-arranged, and it is likely to cause us a lot of trouble like Mao Wenlong did four years ago, so we must gather everyone to come over and discuss countermeasures."

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PS: Thank you 77 white bears, I haven't found it yet, and Shan Qingying has a big reward! Xiaohuo continues to ask for subscriptions, tips, referral tickets, and monthly pass encouragement! (To be continued.) )