After talking with Liu Qiao for a long time, Liu Jun also had a clearer understanding of the situation in Beijing.

"The emperor is still waiting for you to enter the palace to meet you, so I won't stay longer, and I will come to the house for a meal when I have time, and we will talk about it." Liu Qiao looked at his nephew and said, the situation between the DPRK and China is becoming more and more complicated, at this time, no matter what aspect, their uncle and nephew should be more close.

After sending Liu Qiao away, Liu Jun returned to the Zhennan Hou Mansion given by the emperor. In the huge Hou Mansion, now only his brother Liu Jian lives, and in the examination at the beginning of the year, he also won and became a new science and technology jinshi. His ranking is not low, and he is also a second-class cijinshi. Because of Liu Jun's relationship, he also became a Shujishi and entered the Hanlin Academy.

Knowing that Liu Jun had returned to Beijing, he came back early, and the brothers chatted together for a while, and then had a light meal.

The soldiers brought the python robe and jade belt and waited for him to change his clothes.

Seeing that Liu Jun refused to take off his sackcloth, Liu Jian asked in a low voice, "Second brother, is it appropriate for you to wear this filial piety robe when you enter the palace to see the saint?" ”

"What's wrong with that."

"The white linen scarf must always be replaced, after all, it will be exposed on the outside of the gauze hat, and it is disrespectful to be seen by the emperor when His Majesty sees it."

Liu Jun waved his hand, "It's nothing to see, the country rules the world with filial piety, and the emperor can't say anything." ”

Bai Xiaoyi's white linen scarf was worn in the python jade belt, and Liu Jun went directly to the palace to see His Majesty. It was still Wang Zhixin who came to pick him up, and the two rode side by side, escorted by a large group of guards, to the palace.

Wang Zhixin is Cao Huachun's godson, and the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty are the largest and most powerful group of eunuchs in the past dynasties. Once the eunuchs are powered, they are often unsupervised, and many of them do not have a good Taoist outlook and self-control. In the end, it will be corrupt and out of control, and the civil officials have always had a bad impression of them, and they will attack if they don't have an accident, and they will step on a few feet if something happens, so the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty have always had a bad reputation.

The eunuchs relied on each other in the palace to stabilize their strength by taking in their sons. Even when you are old, you will have a successor to protect yourself in your old age. Cao Huachun is old, and he is not in love with the stack, he took the initiative to return to his hometown several times, and finally went to Nanjing to retire this year, but he also served as a Nanjing garrison eunuch.

On the Jingshi side, Wang Chengen took over the eunuch who was in charge of the seal, and there were four other eunuchs below. But he still holds the power to approve the red. Wang Zhixin took over the post of Admiral of Dongchang, although his power was inferior to Wang Zhien, and he was also regarded as an upstart among the eunuchs in the palace.

Liu Jun looked at Wang Zhixin, a tall and burly eunuch, very strong, with slightly dark skin and a high nose, which made people think that he might be a little mixed-race. He was wearing a bright red python robe. Wearing a big cloak, it is very majestic. According to the information he got from Liu Qiao. This eunuch is the most wealthy, and among the eunuchs in Beijing, he is also the richest person, and it is said that his family wealth is no less than one million taels of silver. However, this person's ability to do things is good, and he is very valued by Cao Huachun and Chongzhen, and even this year his son and nephew have been rewarded with hereditary martial arts.

"I've worked hard for the princess." While speaking. Liu Jun casually handed over a silver ticket.

Wang Zhixin took it with a smile and glanced at it quickly.

The national exchange of 50,000 silver dollars at the sight of the Sihai Bank, the smile on Wang Zhixin's face became more eager, Zhennanhou's background was really refreshing, and he had received money sent by Liu Jun several times before. But this time, 50,000 yuan at once still made him very happy.

"Master Hou, you are too out-of-the-box." Wang Zhixin said, "My godfather carefully explained to me before he went to Nanjing, and in the future, the affairs of the Hou Ye will be my business, and I will definitely be serious, why do you need this." ”

"Why does my father-in-law want to see me? It turns out that when Gonggong Cao was in Beijing, I would not give you any of the filial piety he should have. I prefer to make friends, the prince should not give this face, right? ”

"Hou Ye is a happy person, I have made this friend, and if Hou Ye has something to do in the future, just tell me."

Although it is a big crime for a courtier to hand over to the eunuch, but now in this great world, which person with a little power has nothing to do with the palace? Even Donglin and even those who came after the resumption of the society are quite smart enough to make friends with eunuchs to help.

Wang Zhixin took Liu Jun all the way to the Imperial Garden, Liu Jun thought that the emperor would see him in the imperial study, but he didn't expect to come here. In a beautiful lotus pond, there is a winding road that retreats straight to the water pavilion in the center of the pond.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhennan asks to see you."

In the pavilion, Chongzhen was eating watermelon with more than a dozen important ministers of the imperial court and watching the goldfish in the pond.

The new first assistant Zhou Yanru, the second assistant Wu Fu, and four auxiliary ministers such as Ni Yuanlu, in addition to Zheng Sanjun, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Fu Zonglong, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Liu Zongzhou, the capital of the imperial history, and other important ministers of Jiuqing are also there.

"Your Majesty."

Chongzhen stepped forward and personally helped Liu Jun up.

He looked Liu Jun up and down, "Ciye, I haven't seen you for more than half a year in the blink of an eye, you have lost some weight." At this time, he saw the Mai in Liu Jun's robe, "The festival mourns and changes." ”

"The minister entered Beijing in violation of the order, and asked His Majesty to surrender."

"Filial piety comes first, the country rules the world with filial piety, Hou Ye is so filial to the two teachers, how can he be guilty of his father, he only feels gratified. Since you set out on the expedition, you have successively broken through the Jinfu Prefectures, annihilated thousands of Tartar captives, and rescued more than 200,000 people of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Chongzhen gave Liu Jun a seat.

Zhou Yanru asked Liu Jun, "After the Hou Ye entered Liao, he sang triumphantly all the way, and captured several states in a row, and the situation was gratifying, but why did he abandon the two states without a fight, and then retreat to Jinzhou?" Why not take advantage of the victory and head north? ”

Liu Jun looked up at Zhou Yanru and said loudly, "Looking back at Lord Fu, the most important thing in commanding troops is to know the other side and understand the situation. We must not be careless for a momentary victory, nor can we be discouraged and panicked by a momentary defeat. It is indeed gratifying to lead troops into Liao to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and even break through the cover and other places, but it does not mean that we can ignore the Jianyu. ”

"Fighting, when you save yourself and then seek to kill the enemy and destroy the captives, in this way, you can be long-term, Lord Shoufu, do you say?"

Zhou Yanru smiled slightly, "I just feel that I missed a great opportunity to expand my victory." ”

"The last time Jin Fugai's victory, it was like a punch hitting an unprepared enemy, although he won, but the punch has been used for the old. Retracting your fist at the right time is not to passively avoid fighting, but to accumulate strength. Hit a second punch. At present, our soldiers are sweeping the Tatars on the islands along the coast of eastern Liao, and when they are pacified off the coast, they will land and sweep the areas along the Jinzhou River to the Yalu River in the next stage. ”

"The meal must be eaten in one bite, and the battle must be fought step by step. Small wins can be big wins. ”

At this time, Wu Fu spoke. "What Hou Ye said is very reasonable, to fight, you have to be commanded by a general with rich experience in the battle formation, and I will not command blindly if I am a layman who is far away in Beijing and does not understand the battle formation. It would be good if we had done a good job of logistical supplies and raised good food and wages. ”

As soon as he said this, Zhou Yanru's face was a little ugly. Wu Fu's words seemed to be talking about himself, but in fact, he was accusing Zhou Yanru of being a layman and meddling in an insider's mind and blindly commanding.

But in front of the emperor. He didn't want to be angry, so he had to hold it in his heart. But they are more and more dissatisfied with Wu Fu, and since they entered the cabinet, this Wu Fu has been working with him everywhere.

Wu Fu continued, "I heard that Hou Ye has achieved such an impressive record in this attack on Liao, all because of the benefits of Western artillery? It is said that it was the giant ship cannon that Hou Ye obtained when he broke the Hongyi in the southeast sea last time, and those cannons far surpassed the Hongyi cannons of the imperial court? ”

Liu Jun smiled. He knew that the imperial court would definitely have the idea of fighting these artillery.

"There are three main types of cannons cast by the imperial court today. Hongyi cannon, Franc cannon and general cannon, these three kinds of cannons, Hongyi cannon because it was derived from the sinking of the Dutch merchant ship, so it was named Hongyi. The 3,000-pound Hongyi cannon cast by the imperial court is actually equivalent to about 12 pounds of cannons in the Netherlands and other countries. Nowadays, the warships of Western countries have generally used 18-pound, even 24-pound and even 32-pound cannons. It weighs five or six thousand catties, and the firing range is larger and farther. ”

Liu Jun explained to Chongzhen and others the types of artillery and the caliber scale of various countries, and Chongzhen and others who listened to it were amazed.

"The wall of Gaizhou collapsed after only a moment of bombardment with artillery?" Wu Fu and the others exclaimed that they had heard a report earlier that the new artillery was sharp. I still don't believe it, thinking it's an exaggeration. But now it seems that it is all true.

"Such a sharp weapon, it should be equipped for Ning Jin's soldiers and horses." Fu Zonglong, the secretary of the military department, immediately said.

Chongzhen looked at Liu Jun, "Jiye, how many of these cannons do you have in your hands?" Can you hand over some to Ning Jin's soldiers? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, there are not many long cannons captured by the ministers, and this kind of cannons are extremely heavy, and they are only suitable for fighting on ships equipped with equipment, and are not suitable for land transportation or defending cities. Because this kind of artillery has a straight trajectory, it is good at attacking cities and clumsy at defending cities. ”

"That's it!" Chongzhen dragged his voice, but obviously did not accept Liu Jun's statement. Obviously, in his opinion, Liu Jun was reluctant to come up with this kind of artillery. Before he could figure out how to get Liu Jun to divide some cannons, Liu Jun spoke again.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the cannon is not suitable for equipping Ning Jin's soldiers and horses, but the minister also has a kind of cannon in his hand that can be used by Westerners, which is very suitable for Ning Jin's army. This type of gun is lighter, but it can fire larger shells. For example, a ten-inch caliber siege mortar is only 2,000 catties with a gun truck, but it can project a 100-pound stone projectile 1,700 steps away, and can directly attack the city at a distance of more than three miles. ”

"Is there such a powerful thing?" Chongzhen couldn't help but exclaim.

With a range of more than 1,700 steps, it can throw stone projectiles weighing more than 100 catties, but the cannon weighs only about 2,000 catties. Those long cannons cannons can't move five or six thousand catties at every turn, and their movement will be very unchanged, but the distance of more than two thousand catties is lighter than the Hongyi cannons of the imperial court now, and five or six horses can pull and run.

"How many of these mortars do you have?" Fu Zonglong asked urgently.

"I have a few of these cannons in my hand, and I can pull out two for Ning Jin."

"Two doors are too few."

Liu Jun smiled, "Actually, this kind of cannon is not complicated, if there are enough materials, give me some time, I should be able to imitate a few, but the power may be slightly weaker." ”

"If you need any materials, let the Ministry of Engineering pull them out for you immediately, it doesn't matter if the power is weaker, make more." Chongzhen immediately ordered.

After getting a few large mortars, a group of people were still not satisfied, "Are there any other powerful firearms?" ”

"The minister can pull out some Franc machines from the army, as well as cannons such as killing captives and tiger squats."

"Are there only these cannons?" Fu Zonglong was a little dissatisfied.

Liu Jun said, "Although the Franc machine and other cannons are small, they can be suitable for close combat, especially when firing scattered bullets, which are very lethal." And this gun is light and suitable for mobile transport. There is no need for special training of gunners, and the accuracy requirements are not high, which is really a weapon to kill the enemy. A certain Central Plains suppressed bandits, and it was with such firearms that they broke the bandits. ”

Anyway, no matter what they say, Liu Jun will at most give some tiger squat Franc machines to Guan Ningjun, add a few more mortars, and don't even think about new cannons and howitzers, shrapnels, etc.

And this kind of cannon is very demanding for gunners, and if they are given a cannon, it is useless to have no good gunner. Besides, the Guanning army is mainly defending the city, what do you want those cannons for. In case it falls into the hands of the Qing army, it will block itself in vain. Moreover, the most important thing is to use artillery, and he believes that no one in Ning Jin knows how to use artillery well.

Just like during the Second Opium War, at that time, Humen and other coastal batteries in Guangdong were equipped with thousands of artillery pieces, but when facing British warships at sea, they often did not aim at all, but just fired all the shells indiscriminately, which was purely a waste of shells.

It doesn't matter if the tiger squats and waits for them to give them some, it's impossible to not bleed at all anyway. And now the artillery of the nine-headed bird can basically eliminate small cannons such as tiger squatting.

"Jiye, now you control Jinzhou in southern Liaoning, and you also control the islands along the coast of Bohai Bay, and you have a powerful sailor in your hand, and the imperial court has a new plan, planning to transport grain and grass from the sea to Ningyuan, hoping that you will send warships to escort you, do you think there is a problem?"

The imperial court is now mobilizing more than 100,000 troops into Liao, and the grain and grass need to be transferred from the Guannei, and the grain is transported to Ningjin by land, which is too far away, and the transportation is less and slow.

"Shipping grain and grass by sea is the last twist and turn before Li Qing dies." Chongzhen said.

From Shandong to Ningjin by sea, it is not a pioneering achievement, when Li Changgeng was still in the court, he once presided over the transportation of grain from the sea to Liaodong.

At present, a lot of the grain and grass transported by the imperial court to Guanwai are actually transferred from the southeast, first transported to Jingshi, and then transported to Ningjin. Before his death, Li Changgeng asked again to directly transport the grain from the southeast to Dengzhou, Shandong, and then ship it out to sea from there, and under the escort of the Beiyang Naval Division, it was directly transported to Ningyuan by sea. Save time and effort, but also save money and food.

For this task, Liu Jun accepted it without refusal.

Chongzhen personally took a piece of watermelon to Liu Jun, and this action made Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu and other important ministers see it in their eyes, and they all realized one thing, that is, the emperor's favor for this righteous son is far beyond their imagination. Mei and Li Erfuchen passed away, and Zhennanhai not only did not lose power, but became more and more favored.

"The queen and the crown prince know that you are coming back, and they are waiting to see you. You go to meet the queen and the crown prince first, stay in the palace for a while, our family has a reunion dinner, and rest in the capital for a few days before going back to southern Liaoning. Tens of thousands of troops in southern Liaoning are still waiting for you to preside, so I won't keep you more. ”

Liu Jun had to nod when he heard this, and when a eunuch came, he took his leave and went to see the queen and the prince. (To be continued......)