On the second day after seeing off Hong Chengzhuan and his party, Yang Zhen came to the pier outside the south gate of Lushun again at around midnight.

This time, he was seeing off Yuan Jin, Qiu Zhenhai, Yu Liangtai, and Hu Changhai and Gao Chengyou who came to see him after hearing the news.

After these people gathered together, they gathered in the bay at the entrance of Lushun, forming a huge fleet of more than 500 large and small seagoing ships and flat-bottomed sand boats.

Yang Zhen hoped that they would gather together and sail to the coast of Songshan together, and then transport all the supplies, supplies, food and equipment that had not yet been moved there across the sea at one time.

Only after completing all the tasks of crossing the sea and moving the defense, he could make comprehensive arrangements and deployments for the defense of the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, and then he could start to concentrate on launching a new offensive to the north.

Hu Changhai and Gao Chengyou came to Lushunkou to see Yang Zhen in order to obtain new imperial appointments from Yang Zhen.

And Yang Zhen didn't let them go in vain. As expected, he made new adjustments and promotions to their positions.

Hu Changhai was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Changxing Island branch of the Jinhai North Road Naval Battalion, and led his navy to continue to garrison Changxing Island to provide maritime reinforcements for Fuzhou City.

Gao Chengyou was also appointed to the Fuzhou Bay Guerrilla of the Jinhai North Road Naval Battalion. He led his navy to move to Beixunkou at the mouth of the Fuzhou River. He assisted the General Guards at Guibei Road and served as a guerrilla for all soldiers in Fuzhou City.

The horses retreated into the sea after the road.

Beixunkou, the outlet of the Fuzhou River, was originally an important garrison of the Ming army. There are many abandoned and dilapidated forts, ports and wharves. After renovation, they can be settled ashore.

Yang Zhen's arrangement also fulfilled Gao Chengyou's wish to leave Hu Changhai and station himself ashore.

Of course, Yang Zhen's new arrangements and appointments for them cannot be truly implemented until they return from Songshan with Yuan Jin, Qiu Zhenhai, Yu Liangtai and others.

On the third day of February in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Yuan Jin and their huge fleet were sent away. Yang Zhen, accompanied by Zhang Degui and others, bypassed a small bay and went to inspect the old site of Lushun Beipuo City a few miles away on the other side.

.

Lushunkou was operated by the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years. In addition to the two forts in the north and south of Lushun, there are forts, forts, docks, warehouses and barracks along the bay coast.

After Lushunkou fell into the hands of the Manchu Tatars in the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, these piers, docks, warehouses, and barracks were not completely destroyed.

After the Manchu Tatars sent troops to Lushunkou, they not only rebuilt the Nanbao City in Lushunkou, but also carried out extensive construction work to build more forts, forts and barracks.

Nowadays, these forts, forts and barracks around Lushunkou have naturally become places where Yang Zhen's troops can garrison and station.

The reason why Zhang Degui, Yuan Jin, and Qiu Zhenhai were able to settle down the first batch of troops, materials, wages and equipment that had moved from Songshan within a few days was that, in addition to the fact that they had done a lot of solid and detailed preparations for the census before, they also worked with Lushun

There are a large number of ready-made fortifications, barracks and warehouses in the mouth.

Many barracks and warehouses have not been abandoned for a long time and can be put back into use with a little renovation.

As for some that were severely damaged, such as the North City of Lushun, they had to tear everything down and start over. Using the original foundations and stones, the Lushunkou Iron Works, gun factory, and ammunition factory were built on the original city site.

.

From the start of construction in November until the arrival of Yang Zhen and his troops, for three full months, Zhang Degui, Shen Zhixiang, Pan Wenmao, and Wang Shoutang led the men who had been transferred from the early stage to guard the troops from Fuzhou, Jinzhou and Lushun.

Thousands of old and weak Manchus and their former slaves who had not been killed were recruited from inside and outside the city, and the walls of the northern city of Lushun, which had been abandoned for six years, were generally restored.

Of course, it is said to be restored, but in fact it is just the restoration of a city wall.

As for the city walls, rows of simple sheds and simple factory sheds were built simply.

When Yang Zhen followed Zhang Degui to the south gate of Lushun North City, Pan Wenmao and Wang Shoutang were waiting there with a group of people.

Yang Zhen got off his horse and greeted everyone. He looked up and saw a stone embedded above the south gate with the word Jinghai engraved on it. He smiled and said:

"Jinghai? This is a good name!"

Zhang Degui, who was accompanying him, heard this and immediately said: "Captain, this northern city was destroyed by the Manchu Tatars in the sixth year of Chongzhen. Before it was destroyed by the Manchu Tatars, it originally had two gates. The north gate faced the land and was called Weiwu Gate.

, the south gate leads to the sea and is called Jinghai Gate.

"This time the wall was rebuilt. I knew the governor's intention to restore the old things, so I asked around. From Hu Changhai, Gao Chengyou and others, I learned the original names of the north and south gates of Lushun North City, and had them carved on them as they were."

"Well, very good, very good! How big is this city? Well, what is its circumference?"

"The specifications of this city are exactly the same as those of Nancheng. We built it on the original city site with stones and rammed earth. The original circumference was one mile and two hundred and eighty paces. Beizhong and others still kept it as it was, except for the north and south urns, which have not yet been built.

.”

"Only one mile and two hundred and eighty steps?"

After listening to Zhang Degui's introduction, Yang Zhen quickly did the math in his mind.

In the Ming Dynasty, one mile is one hundred and eighty feet, and one zhang is ten feet.

From this point of view, regardless of whether one mile is 500 meters in later generations or 600 meters in later generations, this one mile of 280 steps is at best one kilometer in later generations, which is about one thousand meters.

A square castle is equivalent to an equilateral quadrilateral. Calculated in this way, the length of a single city wall is only equivalent to 250 meters in later generations.

It is indeed a small castle!

Yang Zhen sighed in his heart, but did not say it out loud, but his wry smile that shook his head caught everyone's eyes.

When Zhang Degui saw this, he didn't know what Yang Zhen was thinking. He thought he was dissatisfied because he didn't build the urn city, so he quickly added:

"When Beiji and others were in Songshan City, they knew that the governor had different ideas about the construction of the Wengcheng, so they didn't rush to start the construction. Haha, today the governor is here to inspect the ordnance manufacturing, so why not settle this matter together.

It’s better for the humble ministers and others to start work as soon as possible!”

"Oh? Well, that's fine. You guys are very thoughtful. Well, it's still a bastion. There is a bay outside the south gate, and there is Nancheng on the other side of the bay, so there is no need to waste manpower and material resources. Mainly outside the north gate, we need to build both

The bastion and the forts on the nearby hills must also be restored.”

Yang Zhen was not very worried about the defense in the north of Lushun.

After all, there is Jinzhou City in the north, which is stuck in the throat of Liaonan Peninsula, and Fuzhou City, which serves as the outpost of Jinhai Town to the north of Jinzhou City.

However, if you are not afraid of ten thousand, be afraid of anything unexpected, especially since Lushun Beicheng will serve as the ammunition and ordnance base for the entire Jinhai Town in the future, it is better to be more fully prepared, the better.

Anyway, those Manchu Tatars captured from Fuzhou, Jinzhou, and Lushunkou, as well as these Manchu Tatar slaves, are now serving as slave labor in Jinhai Town, and it is impossible to let them idle.

When Zhang Degui heard what Yang Zhen said, he immediately replied: "I understand! In the past two days, I have arranged for manpower to advance a few feet north on the original Wengcheng foundation, excavate the foundation, prepare stones, and build the Wengcheng bastion! Governor, please

!”

After saying these words, Zhang Degui invited Yang Zhen to enter the city from the south gate.

Yang Zhen entered the city under the crowd of followers. What he saw was a large construction site crowded with people, and the smell of fireworks and flying dust that hit his face was choking on his mouth and nose.

In the front right, surrounded by a row of shacks, several blast furnaces almost as high as the city wall were exposed, three of which were spitting smoke into the sky.

"Captain, our current plan in the northern city is this. Can you see if this works? - From the south gate to the north gate, there is a big road, which is divided into two parts. On the right side of the road is the ironworks.

On the left side of the road is the ammunition factory’s territory!”

Zhang Degui led Yang Zhen into the city, walked straight along the ramp on the side of the inner gate, and led Yang Zhen to the wall of the south gate. Then he pointed to the bustling work scene in the city and explained to Yang Zhen with great interest:

"The half of the land occupied by the ammunition factory is to the north of the nitrate and sulfur factory. They make nitrate, prepare chemicals, moisten, press, dry, grind, and sift all of it there.

"The area to the south is the ammunition depot. Ammunition packaging, loading, storage, and storage are all done here. It is close to the south gate, so it is safer than the north, and it will be easier to get in and out in the future."

Yang Zhen heard what Zhang Degui said and saw that he was thinking so carefully and enthusiastically, so he had no objection. Looking at the rows of newly built houses on the boundary of the ammunition depot under the city wall, he nodded, then turned to the people following him.

Pan Wenmao on the side asked:

"Lao Pan, how is our current ammunition inventory? Is it enough? What is the biggest problem in ammunition production now? The ammunition depot is close to the bay. There is heavy fog and heavy humidity here all year round. How do you solve the moisture-proof problem?"

Pan Wenmao, who had been following him, saw that Yang Zhen had asked him a series of questions, and immediately bowed and said: "If I go back to the governor, first of all, with the gunpowder and nitrates and sulfur supplies that the governor brought over this time, there is no ammunition for the moment.

Question. Just like the big battle between Liaoxi Songjin and Liaoxi last October, there is no problem in playing two more games.

"However, I have heard that the Governor may need to recruit more troops to prepare for war. If the number of muskets, artillery and grenadiers is doubled or tripled, the existing ammunition base may not be enough according to the Governor's previous requirements."

Yang Zhen had not seen Pan Wenmao for several months. Pan Wenmao, who was originally a bit skinny, dark and wrinkled, is now not only thinner and darker, but also hunched over and with gray hair, making him look even older.

Seeing that he was as rigorous and meticulous as ever, Yang Zhen nodded immediately and only reached out to pat his slightly stooped shoulder, indicating for him to continue speaking.

"Second, the biggest problem currently hampering the production of our ammunition factory is the shortage of nitrate and sulfur materials required for dispensing. The smelting plant owned by Wang Tiju Iron Works can also provide some good sulfur with high quality.

, but the amount was too small. Wang Tiju searched all over Jinzhou and Lushun, but could not find any good pyrite.

"In addition to the various heads and craftsmen under the humble staff, the craftsmanship is already very skilled, including some handymen and slaves. Practice makes perfect. No matter how much material there is, we can make it into good gunpowder. As long as the problem of insufficient material is solved
Chapter completed!