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The total strength of the Zheng army is still 40,000 people, of which 35,000 people followed Zheng Xunrui to Huai'an, and 5,000 people stayed in Xi'an, Shaanxi, but this is already the two mergers of the Yulin border army, in terms of the number of troops, the Zheng army has become the most powerful army in the Ming Dynasty, even if it is the Ming army stationed in Shanhaiguan, the combat effectiveness can not be compared with the Zheng army.

Zheng Xunrui will not be satisfied, in his opinion, the total strength of the Zheng family army is not enough, especially when responding to the Jin Tartars after the war, the disadvantage of the army will be completely exposed, the Manchu Eight Banners of the Later Jin, the Mongolian left and right battalions and the Han army, the total strength has exceeded 200,000 people, if these people are overwhelmed, the Zheng family army will not be able to deal with it at all.

It should be said that the main opponent of Zheng Jiajun has become the Houjin Tartar, as for the Liukou, he does not dare to fight with Zheng Jiajun, but Zheng Jiajun has a more fatal opponent, that is, the imperial court, which Zheng Xunrui knows well, there have long been such signs in the court, some people secretly impeach Zheng Jiajun, trying to decompose Zheng Jiajun, such impeachment, I am afraid that it will attract the attention of the emperor, once the situation becomes calmer, the emperor and the court are afraid that they will take measures against Zheng Jiajun.

The soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, Zheng Xunrui will not be afraid, and there is a way to deal with this qiē.

"Young master, the more than 8,000 people captured by the Cao Gang were selected by Hong Mingcheng and 3,000 people entered the Hongmen, and the remaining 5,000 people are still imprisoned in the Wei Cao Bingding barracks, and the subordinates selected 4,000 people from them to join the Zheng family's army, and the rest were sent home, so that they are not allowed to make trouble in the future."

Zheng Xunrui didn't nod for the time being, in fact, he had long been concerned about the young men of the Cao Gang.

These people have a certain ability. Compared with ordinary people, they have good military qualities, and with a little training, they can kill the enemy on the battlefield, and it should be said that Zheng Jiajun can absorb these people, which is a great thing. But there are also drawbacks in it.

The young and strong of the Cao Gang are still good in terms of discipline, but the biggest problem is that these people used to be treated very well, if they entered the Zheng family's army, the military salary of two taels of silver per month would definitely not be satisfied, unless they were able to make meritorious contributions on the battlefield and get the reward of silver. Otherwise, they can only rely on military salaries every month, and there will be no other income.

You must know that these young men of the Cao Gang had a lot of income in the past, after all, the Cao Gang is to meet their needs, so that they can work hard.

What's even more annoying is that these people don't have much faith, and if they enter the Zheng family's army, they must spend a lot of energy training.

Seeing that Zheng Xunrui didn't speak for the time being, Zheng Jinhong spoke again.

"The subordinates know the young master's worries. These days, his subordinates and Yang He have been in contact with Li Hu, the leopard, and the viper, the former deputy gang leader of the Shanyin Gang. I also discussed with Xu Jikuang, and his subordinates and Yang He thought that Zheng Jiajun could train these young men of the Cao Gang very well, not to mention that the young men of the Cao Gang themselves were good, except for those who were a little older, and let them go home. The rest of the young men are not to be dismissed for a short time, lest they cause trouble in the locality. ”

Zheng Jinhong said this, and Zheng Xunrui nodded slightly.

"Well, you have that kind of confidence. I'm relieved, but you remember, the Cao Gang Qingzhuang joined the Zheng Family's army, and they must train hard, focusing on ideological correction, Zheng Family's military discipline and military regulations are very strict, if they are violated, the punishment is not ordinary. ”

"The subordinates will definitely strictly train the young and strong people of the Cao Gang with Yang He, and if there are unqualified people, they will be resolutely eliminated and punished."

After Zheng Jinhong left, Xu Wanghua entered the study, holding the letter in his hand.

"My lord, this is a letter from Lord Yang."

Zheng Xunrui did not open the letter first.

"Mr. Xu, how is Hongmen operating, I have always been a little worried, Hongmen can't transfer so many people in a short period of time, and can only choose from the young and strong people of the Cao Gang, if you don't pay attention to it, these people make trouble, it's a headache."

"My lord relaxes, Hong Mingcheng is doing very well, among the young and strong people of the Cao Gang, there are indeed a few thorns, and the subordinates did not expect that Hong Mingcheng personally dealt with these thorns, when Hong Mingcheng inspected last month, he taught these thorns a lesson, and they couldn't get up on the ground, his subordinates and Xu Jikuang saw it with their own eyes, Xu Jikuang was very emotional, saying that the adults are full of talents, and it is not something that the Cao Gang can compete with, and Hong Mingcheng knows the rules of the rivers and lakes very well, and he is very skilled in dealing with the internal affairs of Hongmen, In less than two months, the interior of Hongmen was completely stabilized. ”

Zheng Xunrui smiled, he already knew about this matter, Hong Mingcheng's skills are not ordinary, not what the Cao Gang Qingzhuang can deal with, and Hong Ming's cost is to practice the family, and he is also a thousand generals in the Zheng family's army, and there are hundreds of brothers under his command, these people are obedient to Hong Mingcheng, and some of them also followed to Hongmen, Hong Mingcheng relies on such strength, coupled with his own experience, in a short period of time, it should not be a big problem to subdue the Cao Gang Qingzhuang.

"Hongmen's affairs are safe, I am relieved, the next step should be to consider the matter of Zheng Jiajun, Zheng Jiajun has enough war horses, but the number of firearms owned is far from enough, especially artillery, Nanjing's Firearms Bureau, not far from Huai'an, I consider whether to take out a part of the silver for the development of firearms."

Xu Wanghua looked very surprised.

"My lord, Zheng Jiajun has a lot of firearms, as for artillery, if it can cost some silver, it can also be bought, and his subordinates don't feel that firearms are insufficient."

Zheng Xunrui shook his head again, he knew very well that the development of firearms was not valued by the imperial court at all, on the one hand, because the development of firearms was regarded as "KitKat" and "Xiazuo" and the like, and there was basically no financial support, and the craftsmen who were proficient in firearms were charged by the imperial court, and they did not have much status, and the second aspect was that the imperial court strictly controlled the development of firearms, and only the army could have firearms, and no one else was allowed to have them, and the third aspect was the lack of silver, and the imperial court had long been overstretched. There is simply no money to develop firearms.

After the Denglai Mutiny, the firearms bureau in the capital of Daming and Nanjing basically did nothing, and the loss of a large number of firearms and artillery made the emperor's view change heavily, and he no longer believed that firearms could defeat the Houjin Tartars.

Zheng Xunrui's purpose in developing firearms is completely different, what he needs is to improve firearms and artillery, for example, the flintlock pistol invented by Bi Maokang, the left waiter of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, which did not attract the attention of the imperial court at all, is actually a heavy progress in firearms manufacturing, as long as the flintlock pistol is well studied and continuously improved, so that it is not so difficult to fire, and the paper bullet case appears early, the flintlock pistol will become the dream of all opponents.

The second is artillery, but also to greatly improve, the most powerful Hongyi cannon, all are solid bullets, which is not much different from the ancient trebuchet, Hongyi cannon must be able to fire flowering shells, and the same as the Furlong machine, that is the real powerful artillery.

Of course, to do these things, you need a lot of silver, like water, to put into it to have an effect.

In terms of silver, Zheng Xunrui is not in a hurry for the time being, he can think of a way, and with the silver captured by the Cao Gang, he can support it for a long time.

"Mr. Xu, the development of firearms and artillery must arouse the great attention of Zheng Jiajun, my purpose is not to buy firearms from Xiyi, but to develop firearms by myself, and I need to develop the most powerful firearms, as for the direction of development, I have some considerations."

Xu Wanghua looked at Zheng Xunrui and was dumbfounded, if Zheng Xunrui hadn't said it himself, he wouldn't have believed that he would have been killed, Zheng Xunrui actually had a certain amount of research on firearms.

"Mr. Xu, I thought of John Tang, he is still in the Qin Heavenly Prison now, you can think of a way to transfer John Tang to the Caoyun Governor's Mansion to preside over the affairs of the Ordnance Bureau, this senior staff member is indispensable."

"This matter, the subordinates can be responsible for doing it well, the subordinates contact Tang Ruowang from time to time, in fact, he doesn't have much to do in the capital, Tang Ruowang also has some colleagues, all from Xiyi, and there is nothing to do in the capital."

"Well, there are also those craftsmen from the Beijing Ordnance Bureau, they have nothing to do if they stay in the capital, and the low treatment makes it difficult for them to support their families, you come up with a twist, I want to ask the cabinet deputy assistant Lord Zhang to help, and send these craftsmen to Nanjing, as for whether they go to Nanjing, that's another matter."

Xu Wanghua nodded, he vaguely understood Zheng Xunrui's plan.

"By the way, there is also Bo Yu in the Ministry of War, I heard that he is still a deputy envoy from Jiupin, and he can't even support his family, this person must be transferred, and Lord Bi Maokang, the left attendant of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, these people are all going to be transferred to Huai'an, no matter what method is used, give money where they should be given, anyway, these people must come to Huai'an."

Zheng Xunrui's words came to this, Xu Wanghua finally understood, isn't this a precursor to the establishment of the Ordnance Bureau, but it doesn't matter, as long as there is money, everything is easy to do, Nanjing's Ordnance Bureau has long been dilapidated and not good, the equipment there is complete, as long as you think of a way, take out some silver, some equipment can be transported to Huai'an, as for where the Ordnance Bureau is located, that is the next thing to consider.

After Xu Wanghua left, Zheng Xunrui opened the letter.

Looking at it, his face changed slightly, it turned out that the capital had adjusted the six Shangshu again, and the one who caught his attention was Yang Sichang, who served as the Shangshu of the Ministry of War, replacing Zhang Fengyi.

Yang Sichang is also a famous figure in history, and his evaluation is also mixed.

At the same time, Tang Shiji served as the imperial history of the left capital and officially took control of the Imperial Procuratorate.

This shows that the strength of the Donglin Party has increased, and there are Qian Shisheng and Hou Sui in the cabinet, and Tang Shiji in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

From this point, Zheng Xunrui saw through the emperor, didn't he just want to play balance. (To be continued......)