Boxes of goods were transported to the dock and loaded onto the horse's back by the horse team.

At this time, a Qing Dynasty official, surrounded by a group of soldiers, came to the edge of the dock and asked, "How many times will be sent this time?"

"Report to Lord Hong, there are 5,000 kilograms of copper and 3,000 kilograms of sulfur!" A Western missionary bowed.

When Hong Chengchou heard the words, he frowned, "Why are there so few?"

Through maritime trade, the Wu Yue Kingdom obtained hundreds of thousands of kilograms of copper and hundreds of thousands of kilograms of sulfur every year. In contrast, the resources obtained by the Qing Dynasty were pitifully small.

"Sir Hong, the Mu Ao country is just a small vassal state in northern Japan. The land is barren. They secretly traded with us on the Tokugawa shogunate, so the supplies they can provide are very limited." said the missionary John Cho.

The Qing Dynasty was a relatively closed regime and did not understand external things.

However, the threat from external forces forced the Qing Dynasty to contact firearms and Western barbarians to achieve military reforms.

During the Chongzhen period, there were many missionaries in Beijing. After the Qing army entered the pass, these people were quickly incorporated by the Qing court.

Originally, these people were of no use to the Qing court, but with the use of firearms, they were gradually entrusted with important tasks by the Qing court.

Wars are consumption. In the past, cold weapons were mainly used. Now, after the Qing Dynasty equipped a large number of firearms, how to ensure the supply of gunpowder is an important factor related to the victory of the war.

Hong Chengchou said in a deep voice: "The Wu Yue army blocked the sea. Although the imperial court established a harbor in Vladivostok and secretly opened a route, the Wu Yue Kingdom was very powerful in Japan. Sooner or later, they would find that the Qing Dynasty obtained copper and sulfur from the northern part of Japan."

As he said that, Hong Chengchou paused and said melancholy: "Besides, the imperial court was defeated in Gaizhou, and the Wu Yue army approached Liaozhong. If there was a mistake in Liaozhong, the line opened now would be cut off by Wu Yue army."

Chan Jo-Wang understood Hong Chengchou's intention and said, "But, the supplies of Mu Ao Country are indeed limited!"

The Muro Country is located south of Hokkaido and north of Honshu Island. It is an external daimyo of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It belongs to the marginal force of the shogunate and is the object of suppression. The domestic resources are poor and it is indeed difficult to provide much material.

Hong Chengchou pondered for a while and said decisively: "Raise the price for the guards of Mu Ao Yin Dazhongzong, harvest the goods, and try to buy as much military funds as possible before the freezing of Vladivostok."

As long as the price increases, the merchants are profitable. Hong Chengchou believes that the materials in Japan will flow to northern Japan.

After speaking, Hong Chengchou sighed, "There is not much time left for us!"

...

In Gaizhou, the Wu Yue army camp gathered together to beat the three-way drum. In front of the central army's tent, the Wu Yue army generals gathered in front.

"My generals, come in!" A guard raised the curtain and said to everyone.

The soldiers lifted up the curtains and lifted the sides of the curtains to reveal the scene inside the large tent. Zhao Ming was wearing a military uniform and stood in front of the map.

Behind him was a large sand table, with several military officers wearing military uniforms and large-brimmed hats arranged around the sand table.

At this time, many generals entered the tent in sequence, lined up in two rows, saluting to Zhao Ming's back and said, "I will meet your highness!"

Zhao Ming turned around, glanced at everyone, and waved: "Everyone is free from tribute!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Everyone stood up straight and raised their chests.

Zhao Ming then said, "I summon you to come here today to discuss the situation outside the pass." Zhao Ming looked at several participating soldiers and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Report to your Highness, you are ready!" Yu Yin said.

Zhao Ming nodded and said, "Then let's talk about it!"

Yu Yin gave Zhao Ming a gift, then picked up the wooden pole and said, "Your Highness, thank you Governor, generals! Now, the total number of people and horses in Wuyue Kingdom outside the pass is 90,000, of which 30,000 Korean troops are in Lianshan Pass, and 60,000 elite troops are in Gaizhou and Liaodong. The Qing army is 120,000 outside the pass is 100,000."

Zhao Ming looked at Yu Yin holding a wooden pole and drawing on the sand table, pointing out the locations of the Qing army and Wu Yue army.

Zhao Ming asked: "With the current military force of this vassal, are you sure to take down Shenyang and Liaohe Plain!"

Yu Yin shook his head, "Your Highness, I'm sorry, I'm very frank, it's probably difficult for me to occupy Liaozhong in the future!"

Zhao Ming said: "Say your reasons!"

Yu Yin said: "Your Highness, a flat horse in the Liaozhong Plain is conducive to the galloping of cavalry. Even if the Qing army fights us, we will not be able to deal with the Qing army severely. If the Qing army does not fight with us, it will be even more difficult to eliminate the Qing army! Furthermore, although we have 90,000 troops, of which 30,000 Korean troops, we can only restrain a small number of Qing army, which is useless and even need to dispatch troops to support us."

There were many cavalry in the Qing army, so it was indeed not easy to annihilate the Qing army on the plains.

The cavalry came and went like the wind. As long as the Qing army did not make mistakes, it was indeed difficult to seize the Liaohe Plain with the current situation.

Zhao Ming frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, "It seems that if we want to defeat the Qing army and capture Liaozhong, our vassal must train a powerful cavalry!"

Xie Qian couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, cavalry training is not a matter of one day or one night. Training a cavalry will last for at least three or five years. Now that the battle is imminent, it is obviously too late to wait for the cavalry to be trained."

Zhao Ming nodded slightly, turned his eyes to Yu Yin, Zhang Jiayu and other staff members, and asked, "What are the plans for the Joining Military Department?"

Zhang Jiayu went out and clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I have a discussion."

Zhao Ming raised his hand and signaled, "Sir, can you tell me."

Zhang Jiayu said: "Your Highness, there are 120,000 Qing soldiers outside the pass, but the outside is deserted, and most of the supplies are transported within the pass. I suggest raiding the western Liaoning, establishing strongholds, and ramming the Qing army's food route. If the food supply is not sufficient, the Mongolian cavalry will inevitably withdraw to the grassland for food. At that time, the Mongolian cavalry will withdraw and your highness will have a chance to seize Liaozhong."

Zhao Ming nodded slightly, "This strategy is feasible!"

As a member of the army, Zhang Jiayu proposed the idea that many generals led troops to fight and immediately thought about the feasibility of the strategy.

Xie Qian said again: "Your Highness, this strategy is indeed feasible, but when implemented, the progress may be very slow! The Qing army has already stationed troops in western Liaoning, and even if the Qing army is blocked from transporting grain from western Liaoning, the Qing army can still detour through Mongolia."

Zhao Ming actually did not ask to seize Liaozhong immediately, the main purpose was to restrain the power of Shunzhi and create opportunities for Ajige.

Zhao Ming pondered for a moment and decided to say, "This policy is implemented! The Joint Army Department contacted the navy. Xie Qian, you mobilized a group of elite troops to cooperate with them and prepared to attack western Liaoning. Before the Qing cavalry was poor and they retreated, all units should not act rashly, especially the cavalry should step up training and wait for time."
Chapter completed!