Guo Dajing pondered for a moment and said: "If there is an opportunity next year, I will be ready to help General Li Weiluan regain Jinzhou. With this hundred miles of land, tens of thousands of Liao people can be settled."
"Occupation is not a problem, can we hold it?" Mao Wenlong glanced at Guo Dajing and said with a half-smile: "You also mentioned opportunities, what kind of opportunities will they be?"
Guo Dajing scratched his head and said: "The general is making all-out preparations. Whether or not to take action depends on changes in the specific situation."
After pondering for a moment, Guo Dajing continued: "Shuai Mao once said that Jianlu was surrounded on all sides and the overall situation was not optimistic. We will attack North Korea this year and may attack other places next year to relieve the trapped situation. The general will say it at the end
The opportunity is to see how Jianlu will act."
The Guanning Army in the west of Liaoning, Dongjiang Town in the east of Liaodong, the Mongolian tribes in the north, and the North Korean blockade in the east. This was the situation of the Later Jin Dynasty at that time.
Now, North Korea has sworn an alliance with Jianlu and is virtually neutral, which has created loopholes in the four-party blockade. But Jianlu still has to take action to change the unfavorable situation.
Mao Wenlong lowered his eyes, thought for a long time, and said in a deep voice: "It's either Liaoxi or Mongolian Hu Duntu. In my opinion, it is more likely to attack Hu Duntu."
If Ningyuan and Jinzhou cannot be captured this year, Jianlu must also know that Jiancheng's artillery is not so easy to deal with. Besides, there will be gains in the battle, and there will be nothing to grab if they attack Jinzhou or Ningyuan.
As for Dongjiang Town, it is basically on the island, so Jianlu has no choice but to attack it.
To analyze and judge Jianlu's movements, it's actually that simple, just use empathy.
If I were Huang Taiji, I would definitely defeat the enemies around me one by one.
North Korea is the weakest, so conquer it first; the Mongolian tribes are not strong, and they can still rob a lot of cattle and sheep; the castles and turrets in western Liaoning are full of turrets, so don't touch them until you break your head and bleed; Dongjiang Town is a scourge, but
Can't catch it.
And Guo Dajing also knew that Huang Taiji had another intention after conquering the Mongolian tribes, which was to clear the way for plundering the capital.
Of course, Huang Taiji may not have this idea now. It is just that as the surrounding situation changes, the conditions gradually become available, and he has to carry out military adventures due to the great famine.
"If we attack the Mongolian tribes, the rebels will most likely launch in the spring." Mao Wenlong narrowed his eyes and said, "Dajing, hurry up and prepare. When the time comes, I will also give you a helping hand."
In spring, all things sprout, the temperature is not too high, Jianlu is more adaptable, and horses have green grass to eat. It is indeed a very suitable time.
Guo Dajing bowed and thanked him, feeling a little more confident.
The troops on Guanglu Island and Lushun alone were not particularly sufficient to occupy Jinzhou and defeat Jianlu's attack. If Mao Wenlong could send troops from other islands to assist in the battle, the certainty would be even greater.
Of course, Guo Dajing and Li Weiluan could also ask friendly forces for help based on their face, but it was not as legitimate and reasonable as Mao Wenlong's direct order.
After all, this is not reinforcement, but coming to help in the war. Not only must there be enough troops, Guo Dajing must also mobilize people to come by boat and build a line of defense at Nanguan in the shortest possible time.
Thousands of troops returned to Lushun. Mao Wenlong waited for news from Chen Jisheng and also sent people to conduct reconnaissance and collect information on the movements of the captives in Jinzhou.
Thousands of men and horses were not idle, and they built the Lushun Fortress according to the drawings and plans.
Although Guo Dajing did not think that Jianlu would come to attack Lushun, he had to be prepared and never be careless.
In the process of helping to build it, generals such as Guo Dajing and Li Weiluan continued to discuss and made some improvements, making the Port Arthur Fortress worthy of its name.
Even if it were Guo Dajing who came to attack, after thinking hard, there was no good way. The only option was to besiege for a long time, or to use human lives to gnaw this hard bone bit by bit.
Of course, if you have Hongyi cannon or heavy siege artillery, you can naturally destroy the fortress with artillery fire, although it will take a lot of time.
But Jianlu didn't have such high-tech equipment. The old artillery captured from the Ming army had a short range and low power. Apart from the advantages of direct fire and weight, it was not much more powerful than the heavy trebuchet.
During their breaks, these generals would often get together to eat, drink, and chat. Relationships are cultivated, and Mao Wenlong was also happy to see his officers get along well with each other.
"Big fish, weighing thousands or even tens of thousands of kilograms?" Regarding Guo Dajing's description, the generals were all surprised and doubtful. Yu Liangtai, the captain of the Changshan Islands, was especially obvious. His mouth was wide open and he couldn't close it for a long time.
Everyone thinks I'm bragging, but I don't have Governor Yuan's problem.
Guo Dajing looked solemn to show that he was serious and was not telling lies. "On Haiyang Island, I am going to build a fish processing workshop first. One hundred and eighty people will be enough."
"Fish meat can be pickled or smoked, and can be preserved for a long time; whale oil can be refined, or used for lighting, or made into oil bombs, as weapons for fire attacks. You are the first to invest in shares, and you will benefit first. It is just to mobilize some ships and manpower to take out
Just some salt."
There are ships on each island, and there are only a few large ones. Guo Dajing felt that he could not just contribute his own efforts and help others, but he could also get benefits by involving other generals.
"There is no problem with the ship and the people." Qiu Zhentai, the captain of Shicheng Island, touched his chin and said, "Anyway, we have a lot of free time, so we can't waste it."
Guo Dajing smiled and praised: "Old enemy has a vision. Although fishing can be done all year round, if you want to fish in large quantities, as long as it is still in the spring and autumn. Even if there is a military operation, it is not a mobilization of the entire army."
Shang Keyi chuckled and said: "I think we'd better organize a special fishing fleet. The more we fish, the more skilled we become, and the more we harvest."
"Okay!" Guo Dajing slapped his thigh hard and said: "Gather a group of fishing teams composed of sailors and fishermen. The more they work, the more professional they will become and the more skilled they will be. As for the equipment, Guanglu Island is responsible for providing it."
When it comes to fishing, Guo Dajing mainly wants to hunt whales, so he adopts offshore whaling and uses ocean islands as his base. In this way, he can operate a single ship, and it is naturally better to cooperate with multiple ships.
The scale of ocean-going whaling is so large that no whalers, transport ships, refrigerated ships, oil tankers, whalers and whale tugboats can afford to do it.
As for equipment, you can ask Mao Wenlong for some crossbows, which are bed crossbows, modify the arrows, tie them to ropes, and add buoys to indicate the direction.
In addition to weapons for hunting whales, it is also necessary to add a pulley lifting device to the ship. For Guo Dajing, this is not a big problem.
"That's it -" Qiu Zhentai thought about it and said, "Then I will send out four boats, one large, one medium and two small. As for the people, I will send sixty first."
"I'm the same as my old enemy." Yu Liangtai praised him and did not overpower Qiu Zhentai. Everyone looked good.
Li Weiluan kept listening with a smile. When he saw Guo Dajing's gaze coming over, he said, "Lushun can't lag behind, just send the same ships and the same number of people."
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "Shuai Mao has promised to build two large ships. I didn't want to be in the limelight, but this suggestion was made by me. As the major shareholder, how about we buy two more small ships?"
Raising his hand and pressing it down, Guo Dajing added: "No matter how big the harvest is, Mao Shuai will get 30%, and we will share the rest equally, how about it?"
"Dajing, you are really a brother who settles the scores." Qiu Zhentai laughed, patted Guo Dajing on the shoulder, and said teasingly: "You are the major shareholder, you have the final say."
"It's all up to you to do the equipment and training, and you have the final say on how to allocate it." Yu Liangtai nodded in agreement, and judging from his expression, he didn't take any gains too seriously.
Li Weiluan also expressed his position on behalf of Lushun. The ship and people were handed over to Guo Dajing, which relieved his worries.
You guys, when you hear about big fish weighing thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds, you still take it as a joke. Once you taste the benefits, you should stop thinking so!
Guo Dajing was not polite. When he was ready to return to Guanglu Island, he sent people to Haiyang Island to build the base first. After the people and ships were in place, equipment was installed, and short-term training was conducted, the fishing company began to operate normally.
It would be a pity to hunt whales just for their meat. Skeleton oil can be used to make high-grade candles, whale oil can be used for cooking, lubricating oil, soap, cosmetics and perfumes, and bone meal can be used as fertilizer...
If utilized well, whaling can become an industry. Think about it, ocean-going whaling often requires staying at sea for several months. Without huge profits, who would do it?
There is no need to worry about ships and weapons. The ancient Eskimos still used kayaks, barbed javelins and leather ropes for whale hunting!
Moreover, adding an industry can be regarded as an effective use of manpower and material resources for Dongjiang Town. Otherwise, most of the navy's ships and sailors would be idle, and they would have to eat even if they were idle.
In other words, if you catch more or less, you will make money, and the initial investment is nothing to Guo Dajing.
Guo Dajing's understanding of the Dongjiang Navy also strengthened his thoughts.
At that time, they were called sailors. To be precise, Gu Xi was just a sailor. They were only responsible for operating ships and transporting supplies, and their combat effectiveness was negligible.
The ones with real combat effectiveness in the navy are the gunners, or the marines after boarding the ship, such as musketeers, archers and the like.
This is very different from the navy that Guo Dajing imagined. It is estimated that it can only bully Jianlu. On the sea, even pirates cannot defeat it.
But upgrading the navy is not yet in Guo Dajing's plan. After all, food must be eaten bite by bite, and the road must be walked step by step.
"Oh, I gave 30% to our headquarters!" Mao Wenlong couldn't help laughing after hearing the gratifying report from Neding Dusi, nodded in thought, and said: "Then don't be stingy, give him two more ships."
The ship is ready."
Shang Ke bowed happily and said: "The general doesn't know what the commander-in-chief means, so he didn't dare to interrupt."
"Well, he told me about it before." Mao Wenlong smiled and said, "I didn't expect him to really take it seriously."
After a pause, Mao Wenlong said to Shang Kexi: "Vice Marshal Chen has sent good news. Nearly a thousand people have been beheaded in Kechang City and Manpu. In addition, Jianlu has also withdrawn from Jinzhou. This diversionary operation can be considered a success.
"
After being beheaded and promoted, there were only more than 300 prisoners among them, and the rest were all rabble-rousers who had their heads shaved and committed crimes.
Although Manpu was captured, the defenders gave up on their own initiative and fled across the river in advance. Although they were intercepted by the arriving Dongjiang Navy, they still managed to escape for the most part.
The key is that the Jianlu troops have withdrawn from the siege, and Mao Wenlong can report to the court. Because there are more than 500 Jianlu heads and hundreds of traitor heads, which is enough to prove that the Dongjiang Army has launched a real containment operation.
Mao Wenlong felt happy in his heart. Although he did not know that the emperor would reward him so much, the containment did not cause excessive losses to the Dongjiang Army. However, the direct attack on Liaoyang could become the highlight of the victory.
Obviously, he still had a vision and quickly promoted Guo Dajing so that he could use his abilities to bring glory to Dongjiang Town and himself.
And based on Guo Dajing's hatred for Jianlu, he will definitely take action. The results and gains in the future can also be expected.
"General, I will rectify the troops and escort the commander back to Pi Island." Shang Ke bowed happily and turned around to leave.
The construction of Lushun Fortress has been completed. Mao Wenlong took away the troops and had little impact.
Mao Wenlong took the victory document drafted by his master, reviewed it, wrote it down, sent an urgent report to Denglai and the court, and arranged for ships to transport the prisoners and heads.
Afterwards, Mao Wenlong summoned the generals and made arrangements.
In fact, Mao Wenlong had no specific plan for the next military operation in Dongjiang Town, and all ministries still focused on rest and recovery.
But there is one thing that makes the generals feel excited, that is, increasing the number of troops in each department.
Mao Wenlong was fair and distributed the troops in proportion according to the existing strength of each island. Even if Guo Dajing made another military exploit, he was treated equally.
Guo Dajing didn't care about this either.
The number of soldiers is only superficial. He must be capable and have the financial and material resources to raise more soldiers. Mao Wenlong doesn't care and is happy to see the results!
Therefore, Guo Dajing implemented the strategy of using all the people as soldiers on Guanglu Island, and even women had to receive training.
It won't be a burden until next year or the year after, when he either makes money from doing business or goes to Shandong to transport supplies and food to expand the army.
Now, although Guo Dajing has money, he basically spends it on purchasing weapons, equipment and grain and grass supplies.
After seeing off Mao Wenlong and the troops he led, Guo Dajing and other officers and soldiers from the islands stayed in Lushun for another three days to complete the construction and improvement of the fortress before boarding the ships one after another and returning to their respective stations.
………………
Beijing.
The news that the Jianqi troops had withdrawn from the siege of Jinzhou, the report of the victory of Ningjin by Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong, and the report of victory by Mao Wenlong were within a few days of each other and spread widely.
The common people did not know what was going on. They only knew that another victory was won in Liaodong and that the captives suffered numerous casualties, so they felt happy and at peace in their hearts.
There is no danger of closing the door, the war is still thousands of miles away, that's all.
Ordinary people still have to run around for a living. They only think about food, clothing, housing and transportation, and they really don’t have much energy to care about other things.
But in the court, they were arguing and even criticizing each other for the great victory of Ningjin. Party strife was really a chronic disease of the Ming Dynasty that was difficult to eradicate.
It is true that Inspector Yuan's performance in this battle was too unsatisfactory. If he can be said to have merit, Zhao led Jiao and the eunuch Ji Yong who guarded Jinzhou, as well as Man Gui, who led his servants to fight against orders, were all better than him.