Huang Taiji said in a heavy tone: "I originally hoped to annihilate the Lushun Ming army in one fell swoop, and then free up my hands to slowly clear the islands of the Dongjiang River, so as to recover a stable southern Liaoning, but now the result is very different from the plan, isn't it a sigh?" ”

Huang Taiji's face changed a few times, and he said with some discouragement: "The only way to outwit Yang Bo is now, and you can't fight a war of attrition with him anymore!" ”

Yue Tuo's eyes lit up, and he said, "Your Majesty is ready to separate the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Kingdom?" ”

Huang Taiji shook his head and said to the two with a wry smile: "Although Sun Tzu's Art of War strongly advocates the use of the room, what is the five rooms, I don't know the way of it, throughout the Han Dynasty and the past dynasties, there is actually not much effect, especially for Yang Bo, a leading general, the use of the room is naturally to be used, but after all, you can't put all your hopes on this, this is the original words of Fushun Forehead." ”

Seeing the puzzled look of the two, Huang Taiji explained: "Those sour rot like to play this kind of trick the most, such as Yue Shaobao, who was respected by the Han people back then, did he die under the anti-plot?" This person insisted on welcoming back the second emperor, and also mixed with the prince, not to mention Zhao Gou, no matter how mediocre the emperor was, he couldn't tolerate this kind of general, just like Yuan Chonghuan, Ming Guo chopped him, that is the crime is true, what does it have to do with the anti-plot? These birdmen are putting the blame on us, Yuan Chonghuan is like a woman in the boudoir, so that he can speak loudly and put gold on his face, and I Baba's plan to divide the world? Is he worthy? ”

Haoge smiled: "Khan Ama is too mean, if this person lives a few more years, Ming Guo is only afraid of ......"

Huang Taiji shook his head and said: "The Ming Kingdom has seven hatreds with me, so the old Khan can't afford to bully Xingshi to crusade against him." The Ming country is vast and rich, and the people are thousands, although the hundred-legged insects are dead but not stiff. Sun Tzu's Art of War begins with a clear preface; Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the place of death and life, and the way of survival, must not be overlooked! I hit the big with a small one, how can I pin my fate on the enemy to have a few more mediocre and incompetent people? ”

The two of them solemnly said yes.

Huang Taiji said again: "The sheep tiger skin is not enough. It is difficult to achieve the courage of the phoenix, and the two poems say that people like Yuan Chonghuan can be promoted again and again by boasting about Pingliao for five years. Isn't it strange that the official is the governor? There is no pity that Yuan Chonghuan died, and there are still many Wang Chonghuan and Li Chonghuan in the Ming Kingdom. These people want to talk to me. Have I ever looked at them with a straight eye? I wanted to talk to Mao Wenlong, but unfortunately that man was full of tricks, while making peace with me, he came to steal my people, fortunately, God learned from it, this person who violated the yang and yin finally died, and also moved a big stone in my heart, as for this Yang Bo. You can only outwit it......"

On 10 March, Yang Bo, who had finished his tour of the Dongjiang islands, finally returned to Lushun. The greatest achievement of this pacification of Phi Dao is to completely control the prosperous trade area of southern Liaoning, which is bordered by Korea in the east, Liaoning in the north, Haigai in the north, Tianjin in the west, and Denglai in the south, which will bring hundreds of thousands or even millions of profits to the Lushun Commerce and Trade Division every year.

This trade road used to be mainly by land, taking the route from Shanhaiguan to Liaoxi, since the war in Liaodong, this trade route was transferred to the sea, the main commodities are North Korea and Liaodong specialties, and there are some imperial court prohibitions such as iron, sulfur, gunpowder, weapons, etc., and Tianjin, Denglai, Huai'an's sea grain transportation has created many smuggling opportunities for merchants to make profits. At that time, it was common for merchants in these places to carry hundreds of thousands of silver at a time, because the Ming Dynasty had ordered to cut off the trade between gold and Ming, and the sale of gold and local products was regarded as illegal, and the goods were scarce and expensive, and these Liaodong specialties were even marked with gold in some places in the Guannei.

Now this golden corridor is controlled by Yang Bo, the task of the sailor is to strictly investigate any colleagues who dare to smuggle, the Department of Commerce and Trade sent nearly two hundred people to accompany them this time, they will mobilize some food, weapons to exchange mink, fox skin, Dongzhu, ginseng and other items on the islands of the Dongjiang River, or buy at a relatively reasonable price, and sell it to Huai'an Mansion is dozens of times the profit, this alone is enough to raise the expenses of the army, although the Tatar slaves fought to the death, but the business also has to be done, the Tatar slaves plundered all over the Ming Dynasty, and the silver obtained, gold, etc., are countless, all of them are worth thousands of tribal tyrants, there is no place to spend the silver in their hands, and they used to buy it through Korea from the merchants of the Ming Kingdom and the powerful generals of the islands. Now Yang Bo gave the Navy the most detailed list of embargoed commodities, as long as it was found that there were ships secretly carrying military supplies including weapons, iron, grain, etc., all the materials were confiscated, and all the personnel were sunk into the sea, as long as a few chickens were killed, presumably the merchants in Tianjin, Shandong, and Huai'an would restrain a lot......

There is no psychological burden to sell some luxury goods, although Huang Taiji has been severely warned several times, but the Eight Banners are still smuggling on a large scale, Huang Taiji's strict orders have no effect, and the poor luxury of those banner owners is not much worse than that of Ming officials, and the Department of Commerce and Trade sells table clocks, high wine, tobacco, ceramics, tea, etc., as well as other scarce materials such as private salt, sugar, etc., Yang Bo is also looking for craftsmen to start making glassware, which will also be the main commodity sold by the Department of Commerce and Trade in the future.

Xuanchuan's point is handed over to Phi Dao and the North Koreans to deal with, Lushun's table clocks, high wine, glassware and other places can not be bought, the price is set by themselves, other daily necessities because of the convenience of transportation, the price will be lower than other merchants, so that Phi Dao and the North Koreans will be profitable, over time, they will consciously unite around Lushun. In order to sprinkle a handful of salt on the overstretched grain reserves of Houjin, Yang Bo instructed the Intelligence Department to formulate a "grain for high-grade liquor plan", and in a highly classified workshop in Lushun, the purchased liquor was being liquid-distilled several times, and finally obtained high-grade liquor that ignited at the sight of fire. The wine could even be used to disinfect wounds on the battlefield, and the southerners may not be very accustomed to this spirit, but it was extremely popular when sold throughout Liaodong.

At present, the old lady Anton Wei Yao has sent his third son to settle in Phi Dao, specifically responsible for the sale of spirits to North Korea and Houjin, the plan for grain for high-grade wine is like this, first sell a batch to North Korea and Houjin, and begin to gradually reduce the supply after the market acceptance, and when those distributors of North Korea and Houjin still want it, then they must use grain to exchange, according to 50% of the amount of wine, a stone of wine requires at least five stones of grain plus the selling price, Yang Bo predicts, this is actually not a big problem for the nobles of Houjin, Because no matter how bad they are, they won't be able to starve. These tribal tyrants wanted to drink highly, and they had to exchange it for a lot of grain. The sailors blocked the flow of grain from southern Liaoning and Tianjin into eastern Liaoning, and the sources of food that could provide Houjin were greatly reduced. If the plan is feasible, not only will Lushun receive a large amount of silver, and the Grain Reserve Department will be able to receive a large amount of surplus grain for emergencies, but also have the spare strength to help the various departments of the Dongjiang River, and at the same time, the price of grain in Houjin will skyrocket, and the people will not be able to make a living, which will directly shake the foundation of the Tarslave rule. Count it all in one fell swoop.

After returning to Lushun, Yang Bo was very busy, the court reward had not yet come down, and Yang Bo's ambition was not great. Zong Yuanfang, Yan Kunzhi and others are already promoting him to the general army of Denglai, and even a deputy general soldier can accept it, the guerrilla battalion is known as 3,000 soldiers, and the actual number of the Thunder Brigade has exceeded 10,000. Two battalions were brought back from Phi Dao alone. has not counted the number of auxiliaries, so Yang Bo unceremoniously asked the imperial court for the number of five or six deputy generals, as for whether the imperial court will give it, it is another matter......

Yang Bo revealed a little bit about the issue of rewards, and then put his focus on military and internal affairs; in addition to summing up the experience of this series of battles, it was also necessary to adjust the training program, and the current establishment of the Thunder Brigade still needed to be revised. The baggage battalion needs to be expanded, new weapons need to be developed, etc. Since the Jinzhou Isthmus is in our hands, the construction of various forts, the division of fields, and the peasant and soldier system must also be worked out as soon as possible......

Everything was complicated, and Han Yan'er, who was in charge of civil affairs, even left the meeting several times, because many things needed his decision, and Yang Bo did not have the energy to adjust the internal division of institutions and personnel appointments for the time being, so he could only wait for a while.

The most urgent military aspect is the summary and improvement of weapons, and the six-pounder gun has played a huge role in this series of battles, and the commander of the artillery battalion, Lu Ruohan, has risen to the top and his position has become more and more important.

"I have a few questions"

Lu Ruohan was not polite, stood up and talked eloquently: "First of all, the original six-pounder guns will be eliminated and replaced with iron and copper cores to prolong the life of the barrels, and second, regarding the formation of the heavy artillery battalion, my plan is that the heavy artillery battalion will be equipped with at least ten eight-pounder guns or twelve pounder guns, and another fifty six-pounder guns and thirty mortar guns, with an average of five horses and three gunners per gun in the whole battalion."

Yang Bo took over the plan written by Lu Ruohan, which listed the specific parameters of the eight-pounder cannon and the twelve-pounder gun, the eight-pounder cannon was similar to the Hongyi cannon captured by Houjin, the cannon diameter was 100 and 8 millimeters, the iron was nine catties and three taels, the firing range could hit nearly 800 paces with a solid iron, and the scattered bullets could hit 600 paces away, and the whole cannon together with the gun carriage weighed about 1,200 catties.

Yang Bo pondered for a long time, crossed out the twelve-pounder cannon, the twelve-pounder cannon weighed more than 1,800 catties, but the firing range was not much improved, the iron was about 12 catties, and there was no need for repeated production at present.

Seeing Yang Bo signing the plan, Lu Ruohan couldn't suppress the joy on his face, and Yang Bo's name announced the official establishment of his heavy artillery battalion as soon as he signed it!

"If all the copper core iron body is used, it may not be delivered until the end of the year at the earliest, which is not an iron mold pouring method, not so fast." Chen Jianghu looked at the plan and said with a sad brow.

"Recruiting Artisans"

Yang Bo said without raising his head: "In the Battle of Iron Mountain, the Tatars have begun to use the Hongyi cannon to suppress the defenders of our city, our countermeasures are very simple, use more and larger artillery to counter them, I said, the Tatars are a tribe that is very good at learning in battle, so I will let them continue to pay high shackles in their studies until they perish!" ”

"My lord, the small ones are really too busy" Chen Jianghu said with a sad face: "According to the requirements of the adults, the straight-bore guns should be equipped with at least two companies, that is, nearly three hundred guns, as well as the plan of five thousand flintlock guns, as well as the development of eight-pounder guns, as well as five hundred straight-bore short guns, and six-pounder guns......"

Hearing Chen Jianghu's bitter water, everyone looked at him with some sympathy.

Yang Bo finally raised his head from the plan and thought for a while: "In this way, you hand over the Fire Gun Division to Chen Guojin to be in charge, and promote a few apprentices to be your son's assistants, you are responsible for the production of the six-pound gun, and the eight-pound gun is also drawn from the Artillery Division to be responsible for research and development, you go back and report how many people need to be recruited and how many materials to be purchased to Xiao Yulan of the Commerce and Trade Division, and ask her to calculate the cost and sign it for me." ”

Hearing that his son was also promoted to the head of the first division, Chen Jianghu's face was full of joy and nodded again and again.

Yang Bo said again: "Don't be happy yet, there is still a plan that needs to be produced here, you take it to Chen Guojin to study, and then let him report to me alone."

Chen Jianghu took it and took a look, and immediately took a breath, this plan is still related to the Fire Gun Division, it is about the development of large-caliber fire gun diagrams, Chen Jianghu recognized Yang Bo's handwriting.

Sure enough, Yang Bo said to the commanders of each battalion: "This summary, many of you want to increase the intensity of the battalion's firepower coverage, and the plan is already there, ready to produce a larger firearm than a flintlock gun, which I call a single soldier or a double bazooka, weighing about forty to sixty catties, with a diameter of about thirty millimeters, and about twenty to thirty pieces of filled iron, with a distance of at least one hundred and twenty steps, what do you think?" ”

As soon as Yang Bo's words fell, everyone was in an uproar, and Hu Mazi hurriedly asked: "My lord, how many of these large guns can a battalion be equipped?" ”

Yang Bo said: "The main purpose is to support the fire coverage between the artillery and the gun, and to fill the gap between the three shots, I think a battalion is equipped with ten guns, right?" Too many words add to the logistical difficulties. ”

Obviously, Yang Bo's suggestion could not satisfy the commanders of each battalion, and finally set to increase the number of twenty gates per battalion, and Chen Jianghu's face darkened even more......

At this moment, Xiao Wu hurriedly rushed in and said a few words in Yang Bo's ear, Yang Bo nodded to everyone: "You continue to summarize, see if there is anything else that needs to be added, and I will review them one by one when I come back." ”

Bi Fangji was pacing anxiously in the side room, and when he saw Yang Bo walking in, Bi Fangji hurriedly ran over and took Yang Bo's hand and said, "It's a big deal, be idle!" ”

"Father, what's the alarm?" Yang Bo was a little inexplicable, as the number of believers in the membership increased year by year, it was rare to see Bi Fangji's frightened expression.

"The Jesuits of Rome have sent Far East inspectors to inspect the missionary work of the Ming Dynasty"

Bi Francis said with some anxiety that he himself knew that after submitting to Yang Bo, these believers were currently accepting tampered doctrines that contradicted the teachings of the Jesuits, and there was no doubt that their days of freedom as heretics would soon come to an end.

"Oh?" Yang Bo was a little surprised, he didn't expect that the Jesuits in Rome would send people all the way to inspect the work, could it be that the results of Bi Francis's work had shocked them?

"Father Matteo Ricci said on his deathbed that I have opened a door for you, through which you can do many great things."

Bi Francis sighed and said, "There is no doubt that my credit is enough to shock Rome"

Yang Bo scratched his head and said, "Then, where are the Far East inspectors?" How much time do we have left? ”

"On the 12th of last month, I received a message from Fr. Guo Jujing of the Nanjing Prefecture that Fr. Fan Li'an, the Far East Inspector, as the special envoy of Pope Urban VIII, will arrive at St. Paul's Cathedral in Macao around the 20th of this month, and it is expected to arrive in the eastern part of the Ming Dynasty around mid-April."

Yang Bo exhaled, nodded and said, "Then don't worry, we still have time to prepare for this envoy."

Bi Fangji was a little stunned and said, "Time, what time?" ”

"Time to fool ......" Yang Bo is confident (to be continued......)