That night, after Yang Zhen finally figured out He Tingbin's identity, he also dispelled some of his previous doubts about him, so he could discuss many ideas candidly.

The first one is to hire Dewes and his crew for his own use.

Although Guo Xiaowu and the hundreds of sailors from Yingzhou Island selected by Guo Xiaowu are already familiar with the layout and structure of the giant Dutch plywood ship and have mastered the basic skills of driving and using it,

But Yang Zhen wants more than that.

Yang Zhen not only hopes to rearm it and use it, let it join the navy of Jinhai Town, and even become his current flagship, but Yang Zhen also hopes to imitate it and copy it, thus greatly improving the Jinzhou Shipyard's capabilities.

Shipbuilding technology.

Jinzhou Shipyard can currently build battleships.

It has just reached the level of four hundred material ships,

If Shen Zhixiang and the others follow their plan, they will gradually trial-build a 1,000-material, 1,500-material battleship, and the final goal is to build a 2,000-material battleship.

It will probably take three to five years to implement the entire plan. Although Yang Zhen's requirements for naval warships are not as urgent as the upgrade and iteration of muskets and artillery, he also hopes that the shipyard in Jinhaizhen can shorten the time.

this process.

Nowadays, the spread of plague among the Kyushu vassals has inadvertently contributed to the Dutch Nagasaki Merchant's donation of ships to Yingzhou Island. With such a God-given opportunity, Yang Zhen naturally could not let go of the opportunity to achieve leapfrog development of the navy.

For this reason, he wanted to hire Dewes and his crew for his own use, not to use them on the warships to teach guns and artillery or to guide the navy in combat, but to use them in the Jinzhou Shipyard to attack Dutch plywood ships.

imitation of above.

In order to repair plywood ships with complex structures anytime and anywhere, the armed merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company generally carried models and drawings of the ships.

When Guo Xiaowu and others were commanding the plywood boat back to Lushunkou, under the guidance of Dewes and the translation of He Tingbin, it was through these things that they were able to quickly become familiar with and master the giant plywood boat.

control skills.

Nowadays,

These things come in handy and can be used to imitate and copy Yang Zhen without completely dismantling the "Nassau".

He Tingbin was not surprised by this incident.

Because when Yang Zhen asked about Dewes' salary, especially when he asked He Tingbin about the salary of captains, sailors, clerks, and employees of the Dutch East India Company, he had already thought of this section.

In this regard, He Tingbin was also very optimistic and promised Yang Zhen on the spot that he would privately inquire about DeWeese's attitude and promised to do his best to persuade him to stay.

But He Tingbin also reminded Yang Zhen that people like Dewes are not kind people. Such people only recognize money and not people. They have no loyalty at all. Once someone offers a higher price, they will betray their existing employer at any time.

, so once you use it incorrectly, you may hurt yourself.

Regarding He Tingbin's worries, Yang Zhen smiled and said nothing.

Who is a person like Dewes behind the scenes?

Yang Zhen knows much better than He Tingbin.

Naturally, there is no credibility at all.

Yang Zhen used it in shipbuilding instead of naval warfare.

That's what prevention is about.

And Yang Zhen predicts,

It will only take him a year and a half at most. As long as the Jinzhou Shipyard chaired by Shen Zhixiang builds the first plywood ship, Dewes and his men will be sent out of the country by Yang Zhenli.

Of course, if some of them are really determined to stay in Jinhaizhen to work for themselves for the sake of high salary, Yang Zhen wouldn't mind leaving some behind.

Of course, in addition to the small matter of asking He Tingbin to use a high salary to lure Dewes to stay, Yang Zhen also asked He Tingbin about another thing that night that surprised everyone present.

This was the second thing that Yang Zhen proposed to discuss with everyone that night, which was to take advantage of the opportunity to seize Kyushu Island and its surrounding islands.

As a result, as soon as Yang Zhen's idea was proposed, it aroused opposition from almost everyone present in Jinhai Town.

"The governor wants to take the Japanese slave Kyushu Island?"

"The Wonu Kingdom is not the He Ning Kingdom, Commander-in-Chief!"

"There is a plague in the Japanese slave country. Is the time right? Commander?"

"Yes, Governor, the Qinglu side has not been solved yet, is it appropriate to make another strong enemy?"

Under Yang Zhen's continuous encouragement, the generals under Yang Zhen's command have dared to express their thoughts frankly when discussing matters together.

Therefore, every time there is a discussion, someone will put forward various opinions to Yang Zhen.

This was the cause planted by Yang Zhen himself, so he had no choice but to accept the consequences, but overall, he was happy to see this kind of scene.

For him, if a plan is put forward and no one objects, it may not be correct, and if there are different opinions, it may not mean that it is wrong.

On the contrary, only by clarifying all the opinions and objections of the generals under his command, putting them together, and then making the final decision can it be possible to truly unify everyone's thoughts and gain the understanding of the opponents.

In this way, the final execution will be more efficient and irreversible problems will not occur.

For example, regarding the issue of attacking the Japanese slave country, Yang Zhen himself was actually a little undecided. The people's surprise, concern, and questions raised to him were actually within his expectation.

After all, the Wonu Kingdom was different from the Chao and Ning Kingdoms, and they almost destroyed the Hening Kingdom back then. It took the Ming Dynasty to mobilize soldiers and horses from all over the world to compete with them before they could fight them back.

Going even further, the Japanese pirates, who were not part of the serious army of the Japanese slave country, invaded the entire southeastern sea area and found peace.

Now, can I attack the Wonu Kingdom and occupy Kyushu Island with only Jinhaizhen's own strength, or even half of it at most?

Yang Zhen himself actually had doubts about this.

However, the Japanese slave country, especially Kyushu Island, suffered from a large-scale plague, and the Japanese slave population of the Kyushu vassals was almost destroyed. It was a rare occurrence in a century. It was a pity to miss such a God-given opportunity.

This made Yang Zhen feel very confused.

"As the saying goes, if God doesn't take what he wants, he will be blamed for it. Japanese pirates are our ancient enemies in the Ming Dynasty. The Kyushu vassals were the main source of Japanese pirates back then. Now, the land has been punished by God. First there was the Shimabara and Amakusa Rebellion, which reduced most of the population.

, since last winter, the plague has been raging, and the population has once again lost countless people, how can such a good opportunity be missed?!"

Facing the surprised opposition from his generals, Yang Zhen further strengthened his idea.

Others didn't know the harm that the Japanese slave country would do to China hundreds of years later, but Yang Zhen knew it clearly.

Now is the time when his illness is threatening to kill him. How can we be so merciful and hesitant to look forward and backward?

For Yang Zhen, even if he cannot capture the entire Kyushu Island this time, it would be good to even capture a part of Kyushu Island to gain a foothold there, or even to extort a batch of gold and silver wealth from the Tokugawa Shogunate.

All in all, I must not just stay out of the matter, sit back and wait for the Tokugawa shogunate to react and redistribute or calmly integrate the forces of the Kyushu vassals.

Because in this case, the Tokugawa shogunate far away in Edo may be a blessing in disguise, benefit from it, and become stronger, thereby making it more difficult for them to conquer the Japanese slave country in the future.

"But Governor, we now have Jirharang watching over Zhenjiang Fort, and Dorgon holding troops to the north of Fuzhou City. In addition, the imperial court may need to dispatch troops from Jinhai Town to cross the sea and go south to the Central Plains to pursue the rogue bandits.

, how can we still have the strength to send troops and horses to attack the Japanese slaves?"

Zhang Degui heard that Yang Zhenxin actually had the idea of ​​​​expedition against the Japanese slaves. His brows were furrowed and his face was wrinkled together. Although he did not express his opposition, his whole body was full of opposition.

"Old Zhang, I can understand your worries. Don't worry, the conquest of the Japanese slaves is just an idea. It's just a brewing period now. Don't worry, I will make arrangements calmly once the court's decree comes down.

"Furthermore, the so-called conquest of the Japanese slaves is not to fight against the main force of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Japanese slave kingdom, but to use the Yingzhou Island we operate as the base camp to occupy the outer islands of the Kyushu vassals.

"In the end, whether we want to invade Kyushu Island and whether we can swallow Kyushu Island in one go will be decided at the right time. In short, you can rest assured that I will never fight an uncertain battle. I will definitely not do anything with high risks and low returns.

of!"

What Yang Zhen said in the end was actually the truth.

Except for He Tingbin, who had recently pledged his services to his subordinates, everyone present had been following Yang Zhen long before he took charge of Songshan City.

Of course they know Yang Zhen's habit and style of making plans before taking action and never fighting an uncertain battle.

Therefore, as soon as Yang Zhen said these words, everyone looked at each other, and those who originally wanted to say something also shut up.

However, at this moment, He Tingbin, who was previously shocked and speechless by Yang Zhen's thoughts, suddenly said:

"You're right about your humble position. The governor really has great ambitions! I remember that when Yan Siqiyan, leader of the alliance, was in Hirado, he also summoned the Tang maritime leaders in the Wonu Kingdom to plot to seize Kyushu and completely eliminate the trouble of Japanese pirates in our southeast!

"It's a pity that the plan was not kept secret at the time, and the news leaked out before the Yan Alliance leaders gathered together. As a result, the Tokugawa shogunate mobilized troops to round him up. Although the matter failed to succeed!

"However, there may not be no chance of success now. If the governor only captures a part of the Kyushu vassals and uses it as a springboard for conquering the Japanese slave country in the future, then things will not be difficult to handle."

Speaking of this, He Tingbin suddenly drank a full cup of sweet potato roast, put the cup on the Eight Immortals table, looked at Yang Zhen with bright eyes, and said:

"Dutch! The governor can contact the Dutch! The governor of Jinhai Town has a strong army and strong horses, but the things that General Zhang was worried about just now cannot be ignored. After all, there are still Qing captives in the north, and we need to leave enough troops and horses for defense!

"But if the Governor joins forces with the Dutch and gives half of the lands and cities of the vassals on Kyushu Island to the Dutch, I can imagine that the Dutch will not refuse the Governor's good intentions!"

"Dutch?!"

"Yes, they are Dutch!"

Facing He Tingbin's sudden suggestion, Yang Zhen was a little confused for a moment.

He never thought about joining forces with the Dutch to conspire against the Japanese slave country.

For Yang Zhen, who accidentally traveled to this era, the Japanese slave country has always been on his list of conquest and destruction.

It's just that he never thought that this matter had to be done by others, because he always felt that it would only be meaningful if he did it with his own hands.

But now that He Tingbin said this, after the shock at first hearing, Yang Zhen suddenly became enlightened.

Yes, your own strength may be enough to take over the Goto Islands, Hirado Island or Iki Island. If you work hard, you may be able to cut off a piece of Tsushima Island, but if you want to occupy Kyushu Island in one fell swoop, then quickly

I'm afraid it's not possible to fill the area with large-scale immigrants.
To be continued...