Chapter 231 War Preparation

Li Wei has been back to Liaodong for more than a month. The first thing he did when he returned to Liaodong was to take Qianqian as his concubine. This was a natural thing. The concubine ceremony was very simple and low-key. Only his three wives, concubines and children were present. Qianqian gave Ye Zitong a cup of tea. Ye Zitong drank the tea she was polite. Qianqian's identity was officially changed, and the children's name for her was also changed to Si Niang. In just one night, she completed the transformation from a girl to a young woman.

Except for her, Qianqian's change in her identity almost has no feelings for others. She is still the housekeeper's responsibility at home, and she still handles all the trivial matters of all sizes at home. At this time, Li Wei had no time to enjoy the joy of family at home. The clouds of war were quietly floating towards the sky of Ming Dynasty.

He received information that the King of Qin sent general Han Wu to lead a 100,000 troops across the Yellow River and headed north into Shanxi, and joined the King of Jin's army. The imperial army stationed in Shaanxi and Shanxi did not dare to stop it, and closed the camp and allowed it to pass through. In fact, they also received secret orders from the court to not interfere with the internal strife of the kings.

The King of Jin also sent 150,000 troops. The Qin and Jin armies joined forces and arranged them to pacify Dingzhou and Jingxing, and the troops were directed to Hebei.

At the same time, the imperial military system also underwent major changes. The imperial court deployed one million troops from seven provinces including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Huguang, Henan, Shandong, etc., all transferred into the capital, leaving only a few scattered soldiers to maintain public order. This million troops merged and reorganized with the original 500,000 troops in the capital, and formed the 15th Army. They named it Jinwu, Qianniu, Canglong, Yingyi, Huben, etc., and ordered the general to lead the troops and directly responsible to the emperor.

However, while the court was actively preparing troops, it also issued an order of zen. As long as the vassal kings were willing to give up the guardians or reduce the scale of the guardians, the court would treat the abandoned vassal kings with favor, including actually enjoying all taxes in the vassal state and minting silver coins by themselves. In addition to the prince's successor, the second son could also be named kings in another place. The kindness was of great importance. This was Zhu Yunwen's first benevolence and righteousness, and the order of graciousness was indeed effective. The six kings, including King Lu, King An, King Shen, King Gu, King Tang, and King Han, responded first, and gave up all the guardians in the country and protected by the court's army. However, the responders were all Xiao Wang. Not to mention the strong vassal kings such as Qin, Jin, Yan, Zhou, and Shu, even the lower vassal kings such as Xiang, Chu, Qi, Liao, and Dai, they ignored them. On the contrary, they expanded their troops and prepared for war.

Due to the poor effect of Zeen Ling, fierce quarrels also occurred within the court. Ministers such as Ye Tianming, Bao Zhao, Zhuo Jing, Guo Ren, etc. were pragmatic, advocated increasing taxes, stopping the mobilization of officials, increasing military expenditure, storing military rations, taking back private mines, and restricting commerce. Ministers such as Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, and Fang Xiaoru formed a reformist faction. They demanded that the reform be carried out to the end, advocated reforming the official system, reducing redundant staff, expanding the imperial examination, and reducing taxes. In particular, Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng even advocated restoring the Zhou system, using Zhou rituals to regulate the country, and using etiquette and benevolence to build the foundation of the country. The two factions had fierce arguments in the court, and the two sides were evenly matched, and no one could convince anyone.

At this time, Liaodong also began to prepare for war. Li Wei recruited 50,000 troops in Goryeo to train on Danluo Island. At the same time, he expanded the arsenal and produced a large number of flintlock rifles and breech guns. He began to purchase large amounts of military strategic materials in the mainland without restraint. In addition, in early May, he officially took over the Weihaiwei, Chengshanwei, Jinghaiwei, Dasongwei and other four guards on the Shandong Peninsula, and actually occupied the Shandong Peninsula. His secret letter to the court said: "All Shandong soldiers were transferred to the capital, causing Shandong defense to be empty. Not only did the King of Qi take advantage of the situation to expand, but he also left a passage for the King of Yan to go south. He also guarded the Shandong Peninsula, which was to establish a barrier for the court."

May of the 28th year of Hongwu was spent in chaos and turmoil. In June, the preparations for various vassal kings gradually reached a climax.

The third shipbuilding factory located in Lushun Port is particularly lively today. Today is the day when the fifth treasure ship of the shipyard was launched. There are three shipyards in Lushun. The first factory mainly builds the main warships such as the welfare ship and the Guangchuan Ship. The second factory builds the ocean-covered ship for transporting materials and the army. The third factory builds the treasure ship. Since its establishment last year, four new treasure ships have been built. Today is the fifth treasure ship launched. In addition to the two already, there are seven treasure ships in Liaodong. These seven treasure ships will become the main force of the Liaodong Navy.

The shore was already crowded, and more than a thousand craftsmen were waiting excitedly for the moment of going into the water. With the sound of a cannon, the baffle between the intercepted sea and the ship trough was removed, and the sea water poured into the huge ship trough, and the treasure ship was gradually submerged. At this time, more than a dozen water ghosts dived into the water, pulled out the wooden stakes of the fixed treasure ship, and the obstacles were removed. The treasure ship slid into the sea along the sink, stirring up a surging white wave. The shore was suddenly filled with joy. Amid the cheers, Li Wei was on this fifth treasure ship, and he would personally preside over the trial sail of the treasure ship.

According to the Liaodong Navy, a treasure ship means the emergence of a new naval guard. Each naval guard has 8,000 people, composed of a treasure ship, forty blessing ships and twenty transport ships, forming a huge mixed fleet. At present, there are seven treasure ships in Liaodong, and only seven naval guards. Together with the port garrison army, the Liaodong naval troops have 80,000 people, of which four are deployed in Liaodong, one is deployed in Gushan Guards in Goryeo, and the other two are deployed in Taiwan, which are Ping'an Guards and Taipei Guards. These 80,000 naval troops are the elites of the Liaodong Army.

The other guard ships of the seventh treasure ship have been built. Just wait for the treasure ship to join the fleet to officially become an army. The commander of the Seventh Navy Guard was a young officer, whose name was Zheng Hui. During the battle of the Eastern Expedition to Japan, he discovered the treasure of the Danei family. Later, he made many military achievements. After inspection by the Liaodong Metropolitan Commander, he reported to Li Weizheng for approval and promoted him to the commander of the Seventh Navy Guard last month.

At this time, the young commander was standing silently behind the general. In fact, although they were named the Ming army, their real loyalty was not the court, but the young commander who was less than 30 years old. The future and destiny of all the Liaodong army were in his hands. Just like the army of various vassal states who were only loyal to the vassal kings, the Ming Dynasty had actually entered the era of heroes competing for hegemony.

Li Wei was standing at the bow of the boat and looking into the distance with a thousand miles away. The vast Bohai Sea was basically dominated by the Liaodong army, but it was not absolutely true. In addition to Liaodong and Shandong Peninsula, there were two garrison sites with warships on the Bohai Sea. One was Shanhaiwei, the southernmost part of the Liaoxi Corridor, which was Shanhaiguan. It had more than 20 small warships, and the other was Tianjin Wei. This was the end point of shipping military food and materials. Currently, it had more than 100 ships of various types, mainly large transport ships. At the mouth of the Wei River, there were Dagu Qianhushou, where dozens of cannons were guarding the main road to Tianjin Wei.

In fact, Li Weizheng has decided to start with Tianjin Guards when entering Peiping in the future, but now he is hundreds of miles away from Tianjin Guards, and it takes two days to arrive when he sails. He is not the Tianjin Guards with a thousand miles away, but several fishing boats on the sea.

Li Weizheng frowned. Two years ago, he released the Liaodong sea ban and allowed fishing boats to go into the sea. At the same time, he also opened a route from Liaodong to Goryeo, running three official mail ships. However, it was a period of reform and relaxation, and he could not feel the arrival of war. Now, the clouds of war have been shrouded in the north, and Liaodong has also entered a period of war preparation. At this time, the fishing boats passing through the sea seemed out of date. It became a means for secret agents to enter and exit Liaodong.

As early as a month ago, when Li Wei was returning to Liaodong, he issued a blockade order and established dozens of inspection posts to deploy defenses on various passages entering Liaodong on land. As for the sea, he had a huge navy patrol, so he was not worried. But these fishing boats that came and went freely became a defense loophole for him. He thought of this problem a month ago.

"General Zheng." He shouted Zheng Hui behind him.

"I'm here!" Zheng Hui stepped forward and bowed to agree.

"Your Seventh Navy Guard will be deployed at the mouth of the Liaohe River in the future. My task is to patrol the Bohai Sea and strictly prohibit civilian ships from going into the sea at will."

Zheng Hui was stunned. He suspected that he had heard it wrong. After pausing for a moment, he asked carefully: "Does sir mean re-banned sea ban?"

Li Weizheng shook his head and said, "It cannot be called a sea ban. The sea ban has been opened, so there is no reason for banning it anymore. It is called wartime control. It is not allowed to go into the sea, but fishing must be carried out at a designated time and in a designated place under the surveillance of the military. Apart from that, no one is allowed to go into the sea."

"I understand."

Li Weizheng raised his eyes again. This time he no longer looked at the fishing boat, but looked into the West. He wanted to know what Zhu Di was doing at this time?

On the road outside the Yan Palace, on the avenue outside the Yan Palace, a team of cavalry surrounded Yao Guangxiao and rushed to the fork road. They turned their horses and entered the Yan Palace's special road, galloping towards the majestic palace not far away, stirring up the yellow dust in the sky.

At this time, King Yan Zhu Di was secretly meeting with Zhang Xin, the commander of the Hebei commander, who was the left envoy. Zhu Di's vassal state was only in the Beiping area, and there were 200,000 imperial troops stationed in the Hebei area around him. Zhang Bing, the governor of Hebei, commander, Zhang Xin, the commander of the left envoy and Xie Gui, the right envoy, to strictly prevent the rebellion of the King of Yan.

Zhu Di has always followed the elite soldiers route. At the beginning, he had only 80,000 elite guards. Two years ago, he used deception to deceive 40,000 cavalry from the Jin and Liao. At present, he only had 120,000 troops. According to his plan, Li Weizheng and the two kings of Liao and Ning were in his capture. However, the alliance between Qin and Jin disrupted his deployment, making him dare not advance eastward to seize troops. He had to appease them first and then turn around to deal with Qin and Jin. In this way, his 120,000 troops seemed a little snatched. His vassal country had not had a large population and it was difficult to expand his army. Even if he could recruit soldiers from Hebei, it would increase his financial burden and lack training. Therefore, Zhu Di had the idea of ​​200,000 imperial troops deployed in Hebei. Now this army has been concentrated and is deployed around Peiping.

Of course, he cannot do it now. As soon as he seizes troops, he becomes the first among the vassal kings, which is just an excuse to attack him. Zhu Di secretly met with Zhang Xindi tonight, the purpose of using the way to go south to seize the King of Zhou's army, thereby disrupting the deployment of the King of Qin and Jin. Zhu Di has decided to start fighting against Qin and Jin first.

Although Zhang Xin was the commander-in-chief appointed by Zhu Yunwen, he had actually secretly defected to Zhu Di. Zhu Di expressed high hopes on him. After hearing the King of Yan’s words, Zhang Xin smiled and said, “Your Highness is a little worried. Even though he goes south, the imperial army will never stop him. We have received the emperor’s secret orders and ordered us not to participate in the battle between Qin, Jin and Yan. Therefore, we will not only not stop him, but also take the initiative to withdraw our troops and make way.”

Zhu Di sneered and said, "Zhu Yunwen's son is very relieved. What if I lead the army southward and occupy Henan and Shandong?"

"Although Henan and Shandong are empty, His Highness occupied two places, but he became an enemy from both sides. His subordinates thought it was inappropriate, and the court reached a consensus that the three kingdoms of Qin, Jin and Yan would not challenge the court before the victory or defeat was decided, so the struggle between the three kingdoms was also the hope of the court."

Zhu Di pondered for a moment, then said, "I already know the truth about using the Tao. You can't stay with me for a long time. Go first! Be careful not to let Zhang Bing and Xie Gui know that you have become my person."

"I will be careful and say goodbye to Your Highness first."

As soon as Zhang Xin left, Yao Guangxiao hurried in. He had just returned from the military rations of the school prosecutor. When he entered the door, he hurriedly said to Zhu Di: "Your Highness, I just received the news that Liaodong has once again banned the sea, and the people are strictly prohibited from raising pigeons. Our people may not be able to deliver the letter."

"Master, thank you all the way, sit down and rest for a while." Zhu Di ordered someone to serve tea. After Yao Guangxiao took a sip of tea, he smiled bitterly: "Master, let's not care about Liaodong for now, concentrate on dealing with the two kings of Qin and Jin!"

Yao Guangxiao was stunned, quickly put down the teacup and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I got the exact news today that Zhu Chuang had personally led 30,000 troops to Taiyuan. It seems that they are going to attack me."

Yao Guangxiao smiled and waved his hand gently and said, "Your Highness, although the army of Qin and Jin is large, the combat effectiveness is not strong, and at least half of them are mobs. Although our army is small, they are all elite soldiers. I am sure to defeat them."

Zhu Di shook his head and said, "Of course it's no problem to defeat them, but what we have to deal with is not Qin and Jin. He killed three thousand enemies and suffered 800 damage to himself. We both suffered both of them, but it was a disadvantage for Zhu Yunwen. How can my plan be realized?"

When Yao Guangxiao saw that the prince had just met with Zhang Xin secretly and knew that he had made a decision, he smiled and said, "Your Highness might as well tell me about the strategy and let me take a closer look for your Highness."

"I'm just thinking!"

Zhu Di stood up and walked quickly to the map beside the wall. He opened the curtain and pointed to the line of Jingxing with a wooden pole: "This is the main road from Shanxi to Hebei. Now it is controlled by the 30,000 troops of the King of Jin. Their army will enter from here, but I don't want to fight them head-on."

His wooden pole moved to the line of the Yellow River hundreds of miles away and sneered: "If I guess correctly, my brother of Zhou would also send troops to help Zhu Cheng, but he would not do his best and would definitely march slowly. I personally led 50,000 cavalry to Henan, first attack the King of Zhou, and force the two kings of Qin and Jin to go south to rescue."

"What then?" Yao Guangxiao asked without saying a word.
Chapter completed!