Yang Zhen's practice of taking his wife and children to visit the poor in front of Baiyin Mountain soon won him a higher reputation among the villagers in various villages.

Of course, he did not go simply to gain the reputation of being a so-called caring village for immigrants.

On the one hand, he needs to have an in-depth understanding of the actual situation in each camp before the war begins.

After Yang Zhendong came back from his expedition to the Japanese Nu Kingdom, although he listened carefully to the reports from Zhang Degui and others and knew that the villages in Jinhai Town and Denglai Town had indeed achieved an unprecedented bumper harvest, he did not believe what he saw, so he was not reassured after all.

Only when he can actually see that the immigrants' households have warehouses and cellars full of harvests, that they can have enough to eat and keep warm in the winter, will he feel truly at ease.

After all, the coming war will not stop easily once it starts, and it cannot end within three to five months.

If the progress is not ideal, it is very possible to stay for another year or two.

In the original history, the decisive battle of the Ming and Qing Dynasties that took place in the Songjin area started from the Qing Dynasty's garrison in Yizhou City in the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign, and lasted for nearly 15 years until the Ming Dynasty completely retreated to Shanhaiguan in the 15th year of Chongzhen's reign.

Three years.

In the original time and space, it was the Qing Dynasty who plotted against the Ming Dynasty, starting with the siege of Jinzhou City, setting up ambushes and deceptions step by step, luring the Ming Dynasty to mobilize heavy troops to rescue Jinzhou, and then turned an offensive and defensive battle to save Jinzhou into a decisive battle.

In the original time and space, the Qing Dynasty had a huge advantage in terms of number of troops and overall strength in all aspects.

Although the Ming Dynasty had certain strategic advantages for city defense, it was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, command, and morale.

Now the offensive and defensive situation of both sides has been somewhat reversed, but it has not been completely reversed.

In this life, Jinhaizhen joined forces with all the troops in western Liaoning and became the attacking party, while the Qing Dynasty became the defensive party. This is indeed a bit reversed.

However, the Qinglu, who were the defending side in this life, were far stronger than the Ming army's defending side during the decisive battle of Songjin in the original time and space.

At the same time, Yang Zhen's troops and Zu Dashou's troops, as well as Xuanda's troops who may have to go out to fight in large numbers, and various troops from Jiliao Governor's Mansion under Hong Chengchou, the affiliation relationship is too complicated.

As the attackers, although they jointly obeyed the orders of the imperial court or Hong Chengchou, they were separated by mountains and seas. They rarely conducted joint operations in the past, so they could not be regarded as unified in their orders like the attackers in the original time and space.

of the whole.

For this reason, Yang Zhen was not optimistic about the subsequent joint operations of various troops on the Western and Eastern Fronts.

Of course, what Yang Zhen was not optimistic about was not the final result of the Northern Expedition to the Qing Dynasty, but he was still optimistic about this.

Otherwise, he would not agree to launch a decisive battle of this scale.

What made him feel pessimistic was the process of coordinating operations between the Western and Eastern Fronts. This process was bound to be a complicated and long process.

Yang Zhen had even made up his mind to rely on his own power from Jinhai and Denglai Second Town to complete his mission of regaining Liaoshen.

As for the troops and horses in western Liaoning, it is best if they can help. It doesn't matter if they can't help, as long as they don't cause trouble for themselves.

It was precisely with this point in mind that Yang Zhen wanted to have a basic idea of ​​the conditions in various settlements under Jinhai and Denglai Second Towns.

At the very least, Yang Zhen needs to know the basic manpower and food storage situation.

Once the war continues for a long time, such as two or three years, then the existing manpower in each camp will be potential soldiers, and the existing grain reserves will be potential military rations.

Of course, regarding the issue of military rations, Yang Zhen would definitely not engage in a surplus ration collection system until the last resort.

He preferred that after the villagers in each village who had not served in the military paid their dues for public grain, the Assistant Camp Affairs Office would spend money to purchase the surplus grain from all the villagers.

After all, Yang Zhen's hands are not particularly short of real money now. When the critical moment comes, he can spend it all.

All in all, he did not want the protracted war to follow and trigger famine or other chaos within Jinhai Town.

On the other hand, Yang Zhen took his wife and children deep into the immigration settlement to explore the conditions of the people in the settlement, and was also setting an example and rules for other generals and generals.

On New Year's Eve, generals should not run home to have fun with their wives or concubines, but should stay in the camp and go to the barracks or kitchens of the camp, sentry, team, and shed to show that they share weal and woe.

Only in this way can we be united.

In the same way, on the first day of the first lunar month, you should not just think about giving New Year gifts to your superiors, but go to the lowest level in your jurisdiction, visit the poor and ask about their hardships, and feel their hardships, so as to show your connection with the villagers under your jurisdiction.

Stand together.

Only in this way can the army and the people be united.

As long as these two points are achieved, the top and bottom have the same desire, and the army and the people are united, Yang Zhen does not believe that he will not be able to win the war in the future.

Of course, if Yang Zhen still has a little selfishness, then he would take his wife Qiu Bihan and his eldest son out for a walk and meet outsiders.

At the same time, it also allows outsiders to see the mother and son.

Because once the next war starts in full force, Yang Zhen himself will inevitably have to go to the front line again, either to Andong City to take charge, or to and from Zhoucheng to take charge.

One day in the future, it is even possible to lead an army deep into the hinterland of Liaoshen, or to take a detour and raid the real rear area of ​​the Qing Dynasty, that is, its northern hinterland.

Once this happens, Mrs. Jin Haibo and Yang Zhen's eldest son will need to stay and guard the rear areas of Jinhai Town, such as Lushunkou.

Therefore, letting them show up in public at this time will also help achieve this in the future.

They are always stuck at the front door and no one is aware of their existence. When the critical moment comes, they will not be able to play their role even if they want to.

Of course, this was not the only thing that happened in the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

On the first day of the first lunar month, Yang Zhen took his wife and children to the front village of Baiyin Mountain to see what was going on. Many people went to the main town hall to pay Yang Zhen New Year greetings, but no one was seen.

After the second grade of junior high school, Yang Zhen naturally couldn't avoid these interpersonal relationships.

Moreover, when various generals came to pay Yang Zhen New Year's greetings, it was not just a matter of paying New Year's greetings.

Many people actually took the opportunity of New Year greetings to report to Yang Zhen the progress of things they were previously responsible for.

For example, Zhang Degui took the opportunity of New Year greetings to report to Yang Zhen on the recruitment and selection of auxiliary soldiers for the gun-carrying team.

A total of 300 young people of appropriate age were selected from the applicants, and they were all selected from the nearest villages under the jurisdiction of Jinhai South Road.

It is scheduled to be the sixteenth day of the first lunar month for everyone to report to the camp, and then they can all participate in the normal training of the gunmen.

Wang Shoutang also took the opportunity of coming to pay New Year's greetings to report to Yang Zhen the progress of the Nine-Headed Bird heavy musket.

Yang Zhen ordered the gun bearers to be selected from all walks of life through shooting competitions. They have been in place for several days.

Even a year ago, it had been established according to the organization of three teams, nine platoons and thirty sheds, and auxiliary soldiers had been recruited at a one-to-one ratio.

However, the heavy muskets that were prepared to be equipped for them, commonly known as the Nine-Headed Bird, could not be delivered for a long time.

Although Yang Zhen did not send anyone to urge him, Zhang Guogan, who was ordered to also lead the gun team, ran to Lushun North City every two days.

Wang Shoutang didn't know whether Zhang Guogan kept urging him to go or not, and he didn't dare to ask if it was Yang Zhen who asked him to go.

So I took the opportunity to wish Yang Zhen New Year's greetings and reported to Yang Zhen the latest progress and the deadline for complete delivery.

The difficulty in the production of heavy muskets lies mainly in the forging and fine boring of the blunderbuss tube.

But this difficulty is only difficult at the beginning. After the craftsmen gain experience, they will pass it on from ten to ten, and soon the speed of forging and precision boring of the inner wall will increase.

Therefore, the technology or craftsmanship of forging and precision boring is not a problem at all, and it is only a matter of time before the complete delivery is completed.

Wang Shoutang reported the current progress to Yang Zhen. Including those previously provided to Baiyushan Camp, the Beicheng Gun Factory of the Iron Works has completed and delivered thirty-six Nine-Headed Bird heavy muskets.

Correspondingly, Wang Shoutang also explained to Yang Zhen why this heavy musket was named the Nine-Headed Bird.

The reason turned out to be just that this kind of heavy musket can be loaded with nine projectiles used in ordinary bird muskets at one time, and its power is equivalent to nine ordinary bird muskets.

Knowing this, Yang Zhen was dumbfounded.

At the same time, Wang Shoutang also promised Yang Zhen to complete the construction and delivery of all three hundred nine-headed birds before mid-February.

Of course, Xiangping Bo Shen Zhixiang, who had been in charge of Jinzhou Shipyard in Jinzhou City and supervised the construction of warships, also came to Lushunkou on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and reported to his nephew and son-in-law Yang Zhen about the warships.

Latest progress on the ship.

As early as October of the 14th year of Chongzhen, under the auspices of Shen Zhixiang and with the personal participation of those Dutch red-haired ghosts hired with high salaries, the Jinzhou Shipyard was built in accordance with the size ratio of the Yingzhou.

The construction and sea trials of the replica have been completed, and the construction of the second replica is in full swing.

After the first replica came back from its trial voyage, many minor problems were discovered.

At the same time, when Yang Zhen sent Guo Xiaowu to lead people to inspect and accept the ship, he also put forward some suggestions for improvement based on the experience of using the Yingzhou during the eastward expedition to the Wonu Kingdom.

As a result, the first giant plywood replica of the Yingzhou was once again difficult to produce, and even the second identical replica that was about to be completed had to be revised and failed to be delivered as scheduled.

Although Yang Zhen did not send anyone to urge him, Shen Zhixiang himself was quite uneasy.

Because when Yang Zhen had just finished his Eastern Expedition and returned to Lushunkou, Shen Zhixiang had reported the progress to Yang Zhen. At that time, he could tell that Yang Zhen was quite disappointed with the Jinzhou Shipyard.

At that time, he also repeatedly promised to complete the second ship as soon as possible, and start construction of the third and fourth ships as soon as possible, and strive to complete the delivery of the fourth ship in April or May of the 15th year of Chongzhen.

Now, the manpower and materials for the third and fourth ships that Shen Zhixiang had promised so firmly have been assembled, and construction has begun.

However, the terrible thing is that the first ship has not been delivered yet.

For this reason, when Shen Zhixiang, Hong Chengzhu, Zu Zerun and others stayed overnight in Jinzhou City, he did not show up. Even New Year's Eve was spent on the big ship during sea trials.

Fortunately, there have been no further problems in recent sea trials, and the delivery standards have been fully met.

So before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month passed, I hurried to Lushunkou and reported to Yang Zhen again the progress of supervising the construction of warships.

This time, the sea trials conducted outside Jinzhou Bay were not only the first imitation ship, but also the second ship that was already a semi-finished product when Yang Zhendong returned from the expedition.

When reporting the situation to Yang Zhen, Shen Zhixiang was quite nervous, fearing that Yang Zhen might make other demands at once.

Fortunately, this time, Yang Zhen also felt that the matter was a bit delayed, so after hearing him explain the results of the sea trials, he directly named these two giant plywood ships of the same level as the Yingzhou.

They also called Guo Xiaowu and Yan Shengsan, and on the morning of the 16th of the first lunar month, they followed Shen Zhixiang to the Jinzhou Shipyard to complete the delivery and installation as soon as possible.

Among them, the first self-made giant plywood boat, which was copied in many twists and turns according to the size and proportion of the Yingzhou, was named Lelang by Yang Zhen.

As for the second self-made giant plywood ship that performed very well in the first sea trial, it was named Beiming by Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen assigned the Lelang to the Jinhai South Road Naval Battalion and handed it to Yan Shengsan as the flagship of the South Road Naval Battalion.

The Beiming was assigned to Yingzhou Island by Yang Zhen, and was planned to be taken by Guo Xiaowu to station near Yingzhou Island and handed over to Qiu Guangyi Shipyard for use as a major force to deter and suppress the vassals of Kyushu Island in the Japanese slave country. Killer weapon.

Yingzhou Island has an important position. On the one hand, it must guard against resistance or sudden attacks by the feudal vassals of the Japanese slave country Kyushu Island. On the other hand, it must guard against the colonists of the Council of Senior Members of the Dutch East India Company.

The best way to defend against these two forces is to have a strong naval force.
Chapter completed!