Chapter 42 Fenglin Huoshan

As fast as the wind, as slow as the forest, as plundering as the fire, as motionless as the mountain.

A white propaganda banner of Wei Shu hangs in Liu Yun's study. The content on it is from "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. However, in Liu Yun's view, Feng Linhuoshuo is not only the mantra of the art of war, but also the principle of using Qi to act.

A man dressed in servant clothes was kneeling in front of Liu Yun's desk to report.

"...Director Du Zhuolin personally named and formed a special mobile team. The personnel are extremely capable. In name, they perform the task of monitoring embassies of various countries. In fact, they have been operating in official streets. All key departments have been monitored, and the residences of some congressmen have been monitored.

People from the Special Mobile Team were also found nearby. I don’t know what their purpose is. Should we arrest two people for interrogation?”

"Continue to send people to follow, don't alert the enemy. What are the recent developments on Ding Jieyun's side?"

"Lu Zixiang, He Pengcheng, Wang Zhen and Chen Jiayun of the Imperial Guard often went in and out of Ding's house and met in a secret place. Due to the tight security of Ding's house, there was no chance to find out more about the situation."

"Continue to inquire and try to find out the content of their conversation."

"yes."

"What is the recent connection between Zhu Tao and Ding Jieyun?"

"The two often visit each other, but on the surface it seems to be just for fun."

"Don't tell me nonsense like that. Get me the exact information. If that doesn't work, just put in a few more people. We'll still have enough manpower."

"Yes, there are still three groups as reserve teams. We'll do it right now."

"Go ahead."

"As commanded."

Liu Yun watched the leader of the Eagle and Wolf team retreat meekly, and then ended the majestic state he had maintained for too long, lazily leaning on the oak backrest inlaid with shark skin.

For six years, for the sake of his so-called dream, he took the most severe risks and committed treasonous criminal acts. He led a group of subordinates to work hard in this created time and space, and used the blood of countless people to build the foundation of a new empire.

At the same time, it also watered the tree of power of his group of people. Now, some branches on the tree of power are beginning to be dissatisfied with their current status and trying to obtain a position with greater power, so they are ready to take action, thinking that the arrangement is perfect.

But it still cannot escape Liu Yun's eyes and ears. Rational and powerful people will never relax their monitoring of competitors or potential enemies.

Liu Yun closed his eyes and felt a little tired. Blood is an inescapable theme. No one has the right to refuse it. It is either his own blood or the blood of his enemy. I don’t know who it is, using a dark melody, gently singing a silent elegy,

Comfort the souls who are destined to go to hell, but since you have come to the world, you cannot be entangled in the complex of death.

Liu Yun picked up the pen on the table and started playing with it. The melancholy in his eyes was fleeting. He could not tolerate even a little bit of weakness in himself. He used his subordinates as tools and treated killing as simple as removing pieces in chess.

Using power as a weapon to cut down all the obstacles that stand in the way of your ideals, this is the quality that a person who achieves great things should have. Kindness can only be rubbish that harms others and yourself.

The voice of the personal servant came from far outside the house: "Master, Prime Minister Wen is here."

"Please." Liu Yun opened his eyes, restrained all his chilling aura, and prepared to meet the other half of his soul - Wen Yi.

Wen Yi walked in silently, moved a chair casually and sat down. There was never any need for unnecessary politeness between them.

"You came to me because you want to talk about killing people." Wen Yi's voice was very calm, as casual as if he was talking about eating and sleeping.

"You are like a roundworm in my belly."

"Each other."

"Arrogant and powerful generals will get into trouble sooner or later, so it's better to strike first."

Liu Yun spread his hands: "That's natural, but if you kill one batch, there's no guarantee that there won't be another batch."

Wen Yi sneered and said: "Then keep killing. There will be more people available, including those who are full of petty calculations."

"I'm looking for evidence now, and more importantly, I want to know exactly who was involved."

"You don't want to accidentally kill a loyal minister."

"Of course, each of them is an extremely valuable asset."

"It could also be an extremely dangerous enemy." Wen Yi poured himself a glass of boiled water and swallowed it.

"It is difficult to find capable and trustworthy subordinates."

"Loyalty comes first. No matter how capable a person is, if he has evil intentions, he is still trash to us."

Liu Yun sighed: "Indeed, rubbish."

Wen Yi asked again: "Is your new officer corps almost ready?"

"Of course, they are all from military academies, have outstanding military exploits, and have great futures."

"Those so-called old comrades-in-arms know all your ins and outs. Giving away military power over a glass of wine won't solve the problem. You have to clean up the house first and then buy new furniture."

Liu Yun nodded expressionlessly: "The new furniture also has cleaning items such as brooms and dustpans. It would be perfect to use them to clean the old house."

"Since we have trained new people, of course we must use them at critical moments." Wen Yi said coldly, but his heart was in a completely different world.

These days, Wen Yi has been thinking about how to limit Liu Yun's power and gradually eliminate the influence of his boss behind the scenes, so as to truly form a political structure that operates according to a constitutional monarchy. A new democratic regime has been formed, and gods are no longer needed.

, no longer need a dictator, no longer need military centralization. Moreover, the position of the boss behind the scenes is also a 'drug' to seduce ambitious people in Liu Yun's officer corps. Too concentrated power will make

Competitors broke pot heads, smashed bowls and ladles, and toppled roof beams. Wen Yi knew clearly that Liu Yun's status as the boss behind the scenes was achieved due to his officer corps with actual military power. He wanted to weaken Liu Yun's dictatorial status.

, we must first weaken the old officer corps. Now there is an opportunity for Ding Jieyun to make a move. The so-called borrowing a knife to kill someone, the person who lends the knife does not know that the knife is going to cut his own left and right arms. Wen Yi naturally adds fuel to the flames, and does not

'Revealing' a trace. Wen Yi didn't know that Liu Yun really regarded him as the other half of his soul. In Wen Yi's view, apart from the relationship between Liu Yun and him being childhood sweethearts, they only used each other. Wen Yi needed an ideal officer.

Regiment: Have solid professional knowledge, a perfect sense of honor, a strong sense of responsibility, and serve the country strictly within the framework of the system. A group of soldiers who can control the destiny of the country at will are definitely a potential disaster for the country. After being used,

, must be cleaned up in time.

A few days later, on the sea near Dalian, Army General Liu Yun, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Duke of Wuwei, was reviewing the naval spring drills accompanied by Vice Admiral Lin Taitsang, Commander of the Zhenyang Fleet and President of the Imperial Naval University.

The Chief of General Staff's ship was selected as the latest domestic cruiser "Burmese" in service. This is a light cruiser built by Dalian Second Shipyard. It was launched in September 1895 and officially entered service in February 1896. It has a standard displacement of 3620

Ten tons, with a maximum speed of 23 knots, equipped with two twin 150mm main guns, ten 120mm single secondary guns, and two twin 406mm torpedo tubes

, plans to build ten ships, and its sister ship "Thunderstorm" has been launched and is being outfitted.

"Commander Lin, what are the programs scheduled for today?" Liu Yun asked, stroking the brand-new snow-white paint on the bridge.

Lin Tai once straightened his body and reported: "Your Excellency, today we have three tasks: warships to attack moving targets, torpedo boats to attack ships, and destroyers to cover battleships.

"Well, let's get started."

"Follow orders."

The first to appear were the famous four battleships "Longwei", "Fengxiang", "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan". The four battleships were seen cutting through the waves in a single column. First, they were in front of the "Heavy Rain" ship.

They filed through, fired salutes, and then quickly drove to the target area, where a small target towing boat was slowly towing a floating target with a thirty-meter square canvas.

"Commander Lin? Have you arranged the target ship's route in advance?"

"No, the target ships all travel freely, but they usually go in a straight line."

"That's good."

The four giant iron-clad ships with golden dragon patterns on their bows quickly formed a formation three thousand yards away from the target ship, and the muzzles of the 305mm cannon were turned to the broadside - just like during the Dadonggou naval battle, "Zhenyuan"

, the main guns deployed on the left and right sides of the "Dingyuan" ship could still only use half of it. A row of flames spurted out, a heart-piercing loud noise spread, and a group of water jets splashed around the target. Liu Yun held up the telescope and muttered: "

Missed."

Lin Taizeng hurriedly raised his hands and said, "Sir, the target is too small. It is not easy for the bullet to land within ten meters of the target."

At this time, a small flag was raised on the target tow boat. Lin Taizeng took a look at it and said anxiously: "Sir, the people on the target tow boat came to report with flags that a hole has been opened in the target canvas."

"I guess it was shot with training bullets."

"yes."

"Has a live ammunition shooting been arranged?"

"It has been arranged that the four warships will bombard the floating target ship with their main and secondary guns later. Afterwards, the number of shells consumed and the time it takes to sink the target ship will be used as the judging criteria."

"Well," Liu Yun nodded with satisfaction, "Commander Lin, not counting combat, how many shells does each battleship destroy during training every year?"

Lin Tai once reported: "Take the Longwei ship as an example. Last year, the Longwei ship did not count battles. Just daily training consumed more than 200 rounds of 305 main gun shells and 550 rounds of 150 secondary gun shells.

There are several machine gun shells, and after Zhenyuan Dingyuan replaced the new main gun barrel, the annual main gun shell consumption is more than 200 rounds."

"Very good, we just need more practical training."

"only……"

"how?"

"Training funds are often insufficient. I originally wanted to send a ship to sail around the world to train ocean-going talents, but the Ministry of Defense refused because there was no financial support within the budget."

Liu Yun frowned: "I'll take care of the Ministry of National Defense. Which ships do you plan to send to circumnavigate the world?"

"One Feng-class cruiser and one training ship Wusheng, traveling from east to west, training as they go, refueling and resting in foreign ports. It will be completed in about half a year."

"Add a Jianbei-class armored coastal defense ship, and that thing can also sail long distances."

"As long as we go into the factory for some repairs beforehand, we can do the job."

"Ask someone to prepare a plan and apply to the Ministry of National Defense at the beginning of next month. I guarantee there will be no problem."

"Thank you, sir..."

"I should thank you. With someone like you commanding the fleet, I feel relieved."
To be continued...