This information was sent all the way to the Privy Council through the clipper, and Chai Ben, He Fang and others were really happy, and they went to the palace together after consultation.

Wen Yi just saw the content of the intelligence and guessed the thoughts of the two: "Don't think about the gunboat, it is impossible to build a new gunboat until the new cannon is successfully studied." ”

The two didn't expect his attitude to be so resolute and a little frustrated.

He Fang also wanted to fight for it, and said: "Baekje has been spying on our army all these years, and its heart is clearly revealed. ”

"In the past, we had the advantage of new sails, and they didn't dare to go to war. Now that they've developed a new type of sail, we don't have any advantage in the performance of our ships. ”

"Baekje's sudden closure of shipyards and large-scale construction of warships must be preparing for war against us."

"The Tsushima Naval Division only has four gunboats, and if Baekje uses a large number of warships to surround it, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to win."

Wen Yi looked at him and asked, "I don't lead soldiers, do you think I don't understand military affairs?" Let's not forget who built the new sails and who came up with the gunboats. ”

"Are the new warships so easy to maneuver? How long did it take us to barely get into the army? ”

"The Baekje talent has just been copied and wants to use it in a war before he has fully understood the operation technology, how powerful can it be?"

"It's Wang An who is stationed on Tsushima this year, right? Back then, he stood out for being good at manoeuvring boats. ”

"Oh, I remember that he made a name for himself by playing the Baekje sailors with the performance of a new sailboat. In front of such a veteran, I don't believe that the Baekje people can please him. ”

"Also, I know better than you how powerful the gunboats are, and with two hundred and eighty cannons on four ships, you can't lose this battle even if you fight it with your feet."

Chai Ben and He Fang were embarrassed.

Wen Yi saw that the words had arrived, so he changed his words and said, "I know that you are also thinking about the Tang Kingdom and want to strengthen the strength of the army. ”

"But you are not ordinary generals, and you must start from the overall situation when considering things...... Our top priority now is to further consolidate our national strength, not to blindly expand our armed forces. ”

"I also know that cannons are good to use, and the more gunboats you build, the better. But then what? Without a fight, these cannons are useless, and they will take up a lot of iron resources. ”

"Zhang Shangshu's hair is almost gray, so he barely managed to keep the output at five hundred tons, so why don't thousands of slaves die?"

"People's livelihood needs iron, and Dongning Island's infrastructure needs iron...... The cabinet has just submitted an infrastructure plan for Luzon, which is expected to cost thousands of tons of iron over the next five years. ”

"Now that we have a shortage of five thousand tons of iron resources, do you think it is appropriate to build gunboats that are not needed?"

"Instead of fighting with the civil government for the right to use this bit of iron, you should scatter all the troops out in search of iron ore. There are many islands in the south, many of which have minerals on them. ”

"There are reserves of gold, silver, copper, iron and coal, which is not small, and every time you find an iron ore, we can increase the output by 100 tons......"

"In this way, fifty percent of the iron ore found by the military will be handed over to you for use, and you can build whatever weapons you want."

Chai Ben said in surprise: "Really? ”

Wen Yi said: "I am the king of a country, can I still deceive you?" ”

Chai Ben said: "Okay, I'll send someone to find it." ”

He Fang interjected: "The military is all big and coarse, how can we know how to find mines if we are good at fighting, or the king will transfer some craftsmen to us." ”

Wen Yi said: "Go find Zhang Shangshu, I think he will be happy to cooperate with you." ”

After they left, Wen Yi picked up the information again, his expression solemn.

Xie Daoyun walked over from the side room and said, "Since you are worried about the situation on Tsushima Island, why don't you build more gunboats?" ”

Wen Yi said helplessly: "Here it is again, the reason I have said many times, I don't want to be verbose again." ”

"I'm not worried about the situation in Tsushima, I'm thinking about what to do after this battle."

Xie Daoyun pursed his lips and said, "Are you so sure that you will win?" ”

Wen Yi said: "Don't you think the same way? It is said that Baekje is dangerous, and only by building more gunboats can it be combated. ”

"Pretend to be a little bit like it, if you really feel dangerous, you should send troops to support it. One by one, they don't mention the things of support, and they take me for a fool? ”

Xie Daoyun said with annoyance: "It turns out that the problem is here, hey, I would have let them act if I knew it." ”

Wen Yi was angry: "Do you really think that I am reluctant to clean you up, ah?" ”

Xie Daoyun hurriedly came over to beat him on the back and said, "How dare I, you are the lord of millions of people, and you have a heavenly constitution in your mouth." ”

After the couple talked and laughed for a while, Xie Daoyun said, "Is the new cannon so powerful?" You have to wait for it to be researched before you can build a cannon in large quantities. ”

Wen Yi said: "With the same weight, the firing range is more than doubled, the rate of fire is tripled, and the life span is increased by six to seven times. ”

Xie Daoyun stopped talking, although she didn't know how to make cannons, but she still knew very well what this difference in data represented.

The new artillery has made such great progress, and in a non-war state, it is really unnecessary to build a large number of backward guns.

In the past, the cannon was poured, and it was easy to have small bubbles in it, as well as a large amount of impurities such as sulfur, which seriously affected the quality and life of the cannon.

In recent years, several new machine tools have been successfully transformed, and the process of manufacturing gun barrels has been improved, from simple pouring to casting and forging first.

Although the processing procedure is complex and more difficult to manufacture, the quality improvement is more obvious. Among other things, just a six- or seven-fold increase in lifespan is worth the transformation.

But again, the problem is that steel production is insufficient.

In the absence of a major threat of war in the Tang Kingdom, it was not a wise choice to use the few pieces of iron used to make artillery.

It is also forced to let the army find iron ore, but on the other hand, it is also a kind of training for the army.

In the absence of large-scale warfare, field expeditions are more effective than any training or exercises.

……

Returning to the direction of Tsushima, the Privy Council is not without any action in the face of a possible war. The two brigades of Li Zhong and Yueshan were transferred to Shanzhou Island as a countermeasure.

Wang Anlu also raised his vigilance, tightening inside and loosening outside.

The Wuheng Brigade stationed on Treasure Island was also ready to support at any time.

Just waiting for the Baekje people to enter the net.

While the Baekje Kingdom was stepping up the construction of warships, it sent more spies to spy on information, and was relieved to find that there was no change in Tsushima.

After three months, enough ships were finally built.

On this day, Fuyu Ju personally came to the camp of the water division.

Mu Lie reported: "In March, there were 230 large warships and more than 500 small warships and troop carriers. ”

Looking at the ships covering the sea, Buyeo said that he was full of spirit: "Okay, with such a large army, why not be afraid of the Tang people, from now on the sea will be my Baekje world." ”

Then he took off the sword at his waist and handed it to him, and said solemnly: "General Mu, please take care of this battle." ”

Mu Lie knelt on one knee, took the sword with both hands, and said, "I will live up to the king's trust." ”

At the sound of an order, nearly 800 ships of the Baekje Navy Division left the harbor and headed for Tsushima Island.