Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan arrived late.

In this regard, although Yang Zhen appeared to be very calm on the surface, behaved calmly, and chatted and laughed with Yuan Shu and others who came to see him off, in his heart, he was actually quite panicked.

No matter what the sudden cause is, if one of Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan cannot leave the city smoothly, or cannot come as agreed, it will be a big trouble.

Pan Wenmao was unable to come to the coast to board the ship with Yang Zhen's large group of people because he had to boil leather glue and use the boiled leather glue to purify the soil salt at a critical moment.

at.

But if it was because of this that he failed to leave the city smoothly in the end, then Yang Zhen's previous arrangements and efforts would have been in vain.

This is because the purified saltpeter crystals that are mixed with leather glue and boiled together are the most important raw materials used in Yang Zhen's plan to make the ignition powder for the "Lumi gun" and other imaginary "flint gun" ignition powders.

.

Without this ignition powder, the flintlock gun that Yang Zhen asked Zhang Guogan to find someone to modify would immediately turn into a big joke!

There were many types of firearms in the Ming Dynasty. During the Wanli period, when the imperial court imitated the "Lumi Gun", some firearms experts also proposed the idea of ​​"Flint-Fat" guns and the design of "Flint-Fat" muskets.

However, the design of "Suifa" was not finalized and mass-produced, and it was not popularized.

Is it because no one in the Ming Dynasty understood and saw the advantages of "Suifa"?

of course not.

Is it because the manufacturing process of the "flintlock gun" is too complex and cannot be produced at the level of the Ming Dynasty?

Of course not.

The level of manufacturing technology in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was very high, but the reason why flintlock shotguns or flintlock firearms could not be popularized was because although they were very advanced in design, they could not be used in reality at all.

Advantages that should be brought into play.

Without high-quality flammable ignition powder, no matter how advanced the design concept of a flintlock gun is, it will not be as reliable as a matchlock in practical use.

Therefore, for Yang Zhen, finding a way to obtain high-purity nitrate is the fastest way to improve the ignition powder and further improve the power of black powder under the current circumstances.

If he hadn't unexpectedly discovered that Pan Wenmao, an old soldier, had made Benwei's gunpowder for improvement, then he would have prepared to do it himself, relying on some memories from later generations to find a way to do it himself.

Fortunately, in the Liaodong Army of this era, there are still many skilled craftsmen and talented people. As long as you look for them carefully and are willing to reuse them, these people can still play a role.

This time, Yang Zhen had high hopes for Pan Wenmao's purification of fire salt and improved gunpowder, and he absolutely did not want him to have any accidents at this juncture.

Of course, if Pan Wenmao created this high-purity saltpeter crystal, but Zhang Guogan had an accident, then Yang Zhen would also be in big trouble.

Because high-quality saltpetre was produced, and thus high-quality ignition powder was produced, the purpose was to use it on the modified flintlock "Lumi Gun". But if something happened to Zhang Guogan and he did not get on the ship, then it would be considered

, it doesn’t make much sense at the moment.

Therefore, while Yang Zhen was waiting, he was even a little annoyed at one point. He was annoyed about why he was so impatient, why he had to ask Pan Wenmao to produce some high-purity saltpeter today, and why he had to make an extra step - asking Zhang Guogan to "kidnap" that person.

To the blacksmith and his son.

Can an ordinary person still stay in Ningyuan City, a bustling city, and run a medium-sized blacksmith shop in these war-torn years?

If they had no relationship with the ancestral family in the city, or the ancestral family's in-laws, the Wang family, this blacksmith shop would have been raided and bankrupted by the fearless tyrants from Liaodong!

The fact is almost exactly the same. Although it is slightly different from Yang Zhen's conjecture, it is still very similar.

When Yang Zhen took a few soldiers, accompanied by the fleet garrison officer Yuan Jin, they boarded the last large ship. As soon as they left the simple dock, they saw a team rushing along the Ningyuan River in the direction of Ningyuan City.

Centaur.

The group of people did not rein in their horses until they reached the makeshift pier on the coast, but the leader was still baring his teeth and yelling curses.

But the sea breeze was blowing hard and the waves were so loud that Yang Zhen couldn't hear what they were shouting at all.

However, looking at the small boat that was approaching the fleet not far away, and looking at Zhang Guogan who was hurriedly climbing up the hanging ladder to a large ship, Yang Zhen was in a very good mood and was not affected at all.

Seeing the furious look of the cavalry on the shore, and thinking that from now on his fate would be in his own hands, Yang Zhen suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter!

The frustration, depression, depression, and unhappiness of the past few days were all swept away with a burst of extremely joyful laughter!

From then on, whether it was Governor Fang Yizao or Commander-in-Chief Zu Dashou, if Yang Zhen wanted to fuck them, he could fuck them; if he didn't want to fuck them, he didn't have to fuck them!

"It seems that Mr. Yang is in a good mood! He doesn't seem to be worried at all about Jinzhou and the tens of thousands of Tatar troops outside Songshan City!"

After Yuan Jin led Yang Zhen onto his boat, he quickly ordered his boatmen and sailors to set sail according to the pre-arrangement. At this time, he just returned to the bow deck and saw Yang Zhen looking towards Ningyuan.

Smile, laugh and chat with each other.

Yang Zhen left a very deep impression on Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin was originally a pirate from Shandong. After Yuan Keli became the governor of Denglai, he surrendered and subdued him. From then on, he was included in the Denglai Navy and became Yuan Keli's confidant in the Denglai Navy.

This Yuan Jin knew Yuan Keli's son Yuan Shu very well and knew that Yuan Shu had a very high self-esteem and would not easily follow anyone.

But this Yang Zhen was regarded by Yuan Shu as his only valued friend after he became the governor of Liaodong. This shows that this Yang Zhen is extraordinary.

But what is this person like? Yuan Jin will not completely listen to Yuan Shu's family. He has been in the pirate circle and has been in the official and military circles for so long. Although Yuan Jin's official position is not high, he has his own way.

It depends on people’s abilities.

Therefore, ever since Yuan Shu said that Yang Zhen was his friend and solemnly introduced him to Yuan Jin as his friend, Yuan Jin has been silently observing Yang Zhen's words and deeds.

His benefactor Yuan Keli passed away as early as the sixth year of Chongzhen. Otherwise, Yuan Jin would not have been a subordinate for so many years.

Yuan Shu, who inherited Yuan Keli's mantle, was just a literati. Although he liked to talk about military affairs and admired warriors, his official position was not high and he was a low-key person in the court.

This time, the imperial court appointed Yuan Shu as the governor of Liaodong. Before taking office, Yuan Shu tried his best to transfer Yuan Jin from Denglai to Liaodong.

If Yuan Jin wants to gain a foothold in Liaodong and develop further, he must make meritorious deeds as soon as possible. This will not only help him get promoted and develop, but also stabilize Yuan Shu's position in Liaodong and even the imperial court.

Therefore, Yuan Jin was observing. He wanted to see if it was possible for Yang Zhen and his party to accomplish the rescue and siege after they went to Songshan.

If there is a chance, even if there is only a 50% chance, Yuan Jin is ready to try his luck, give it a try, and take a gamble.

The key to whether it's worth the gamble lies in Yang Zhen, the person in charge - his temperament, resourcefulness, courage, and his plans.

Let's say that after Yang Zhen saw Yuan Jin arranging the sailing affairs, he walked on the deck again, came to him, talked to himself, and had the intention of making friends with him.

Therefore, after hearing Yuan Jin's conversation, he immediately responded enthusiastically: "Brother Yuan calls brother like this, but it's foreign! With a relationship like Mr. Yuan Shu, how can we be so polite between us? Let's talk about it.

In terms of age, my brother is only thirty years old this year. I think Brother Yuan is too old! If Brother Yuan doesn’t dislike it, how about we treat it as brothers? "

Yuan Jin couldn't understand the meaning of Yang Zhen's words. He happened to be thinking about getting closer, so he immediately smiled and said: "In this case, it is better to obey orders than to be respectful! Compared with his brothers, Yuan has wasted more than ten years. This year

That's right! Brother Yang, as an elder brother, you are polite!"

After Yuan Jin said this, he bowed slightly to Yang Zhen, which was regarded as brotherly friendship, and they met again. Yang Zhen also quickly followed suit, bowed and bowed, and returned the salute. Then the two looked at each other and laughed.

.

The reason why Yang Zhen valued Yuan Jin was because he knew that the navy was very important, but he himself did not understand the navy of this era at all.

Although Yuan Jin's fleet, strictly speaking, is not a navy at all. Apart from a few large ships equipped with a few Folang machines for self-protection, there are no weapons at all, but this time they went north to rescue Songshan.

However, the advancement and retreat of Yang Zhen's troops all depended on Yuan Jin's fleet.

If he survives this time and enters Songshan to garrison as he wishes in the future, then it will be very necessary to retain a fleet on the sea not far outside Songshan City.

Because after the siege of Songshan this year, Songshan City will be besieged again in just one or two years. At that time, it will be a real critical moment of life and death.

Yang Zhen and Yuan Jin both have the desire to make friends with each other, so when they chat, they are naturally very congenial, and it seems that they feel like old friends at first sight and cherish each other.

The two of them were chatting happily when Yang Zhan'ao, the captain of Yang Zhen's soldiers, came over quickly and reported: "Sir! Adjutant Zhang Guogan of the Musket Team and Adjutant Pan Wenmao of the Artillery Team requested help to board the ship and come to pay homage to your Excellency!"

"Okay! Send the order for them to come over!"

The naval standard bearer under Yuan Jin, who had followed Yang Zhan'ao to ask for instructions, heard this and saw that Yuan Jin was also nodding, and immediately ran to the end of the bed to convey the order.

After a while, the main sail of the boat Yang Zhen was on slowly lowered, and the speed of the boat began to slow down. Another large boat not far away gradually approached, and finally moved side by side.
Chapter completed!