Guo Dajing nodded in agreement and casually asked about the situation on Phi Island.
Obviously, the actual situation was not as easy as he saw, but it was not as tragic as starvation everywhere.
The imperial court has done an incredible job, so it is enough to cut off the pay, and the financial constraints are justifiable. But if they don't even provide food, doesn't it mean they want to starve the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang to death?
Guo Dajing didn't know whether it was intentional or not. But he knew that in the eyes of the superior emperor and court officials, the life and death of the common people and Qiu Ba were really not what they cared about.
"Shuai Mao repeatedly sent memorials about this, complaining about his difficulties, but the court received no reply." Chen Jisheng said with a wry smile: "I heard that it was because Wei Zhongxian lost a huge amount of money, and the court was anxious to make up for it."
Guo Dajing sneered slightly, it would be okay if he was so poor that he really had no money. But the actual situation was not like this. Chongzhen's strange thinking and operations were indeed not something ordinary people could guess.
"Stop talking." Chen Jisheng waved his hand, as if he could wave away all the worries and depression, and said with a smile: "I will have someone arrange a place for you, and find some familiar generals, and let's have a drink together in the evening."
Guo Dajing stood up and said with a smile: "General, I haven't seen my friends for a long time, and I really miss them. I also brought some food on board, and I will have people unload them for cleaning."
"Do you need to bring your own food and drink when you come to Pi Island?" Chen Jisheng laughed, patted Guo Dajing on the shoulder and said, "You can just go back and invite the generals tomorrow, there is no rush to do it tonight."
Guo Dajing smiled slightly awkwardly and bowed to accept the order.
………………..
In two days, the invitations were all over, and Guo Dajing returned the invitation, and also called Lin Tianyou to eat, drink and spank with the generals. The relationship must have become closer, and it also paved the way for the Lin family.
Naval General Zhang Tao and Guo Dajing met for the first time, but after drinking twice, their relationship quickly warmed up under the deliberate friendship between Guo Dajing and Lin Tianyou.
Seeing Zhang Tao's love for the telescope, Guo Dajing reluctantly gave it to him. Zhang Tao was so moved that he almost burned the yellow paper and chopped off the chicken's head.
The navy seemed to be only transporting troops, but Guo Dajing was well aware of its potential and hoped to use its strength to achieve greater victory in southern Liaoning in the future.
Whether the coastline freezes in winter and requires naval patrols to prevent enemy troops from crossing the ice to attack. Or entering Liaohe, Taizi, and Hun rivers from the Sancha River and attacking Liaoyang and Shenyang from waterways, the role of the navy is huge.
Guo Dajing learned about the strength of the navy from Zhang Tao. There were many ships, but few of them were suitable for sailing on the open sea. Most of the artillery on the ship were Qianjin Franchise machines, and the rest were mostly old artillery pieces.
Guo Dajing was quite interested in the breech-loaded Franco machine gun.
Although there is a problem of air holding, so the range is not far, the advantage lies in the speed of fire. It can be fired from another nest, and fast artillery can complete the operation in a very short time.
If you use shotgun shells, it is very effective in dealing with Jianlu's intensive charge at medium and short range. At least, it is much stronger than something like a pine tree cannon.
Since the Ming Dynasty obtained the Fo Lang machine gun, it has begun to imitate and improve it, and has successively developed naval guns, city defense guns, tank guns, field guns and other artillery pieces in various sizes and types, with a total of more than 30,000 guns.
By the end of the Jiajing period, the Folang machine gun had become one of the main equipment of the Ming army.
"A few hundred kilograms of Fran cannons!" Zhang Tao nodded and said: "The navy uses less of them, and most of them are in the hands of the army. I estimate that there are fifty or sixty of them!"
After finishing speaking, he looked at Guo Dajing doubtfully and asked: "Do you want to use it to arm the troops? I think the several hundred kilograms of Fran cannons have too short a range to withstand the impact of Jianlu's cavalry."
The small and medium-sized Fran cannon has a fast rate of fire, but a short range. The enemy's cavalry may have already rushed in front of you just after firing a shot.
It weighs a thousand kilograms and is too bulky, making transportation, erection, and adjustment very inconvenient.
But Guo Dajing wanted to use it for defense. The Fran machine gun fired shotgun shells, and it was designed to be used for charging infantry. It was equivalent to a dozen muskets, right?
Moreover, of course, there are conditions to resist the cavalry attack, and it is relatively resistant to obstacles such as horses and Wugang chariots.
"It may be used next year, but not necessarily. We'll talk about it then." Guo Dajing was vague, but he had already decided to request Mao Wenlong to transfer twenty or thirty guns and add gunners to operate them.
Zhang Tao didn't ask in detail. Anyway, he had already expressed his opinion on how Guo Dajing would arrange the battle, and he didn't want to get too involved.
Guo Dajing had already seen the navy's large ships and thought that if the thousand-jin Hongyi cannons were installed, they would only be able to put six to eight at most, which shows the size of the ships.
The navy in the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, and Dongjiang Town can rule the roost. When going to the South China Sea, it is not enough to compare with those ships carrying dozens, twenty, or thirty cannons.
Of course, it is enough to defeat the Jianlu. This is also the main reason why Dongjiang Town is able to deal with the Jianlu at a disadvantage. If they cannot defeat the Jianlu, they will get on the ship and run to the sea.
Harassing the Jianlu cavalry and inciting the Liao people to flee were Dongjiang Town's main methods. However, they did not dare to go too deep because they were afraid of the combat power and mobility of the Jianlu cavalry.
At the same time, Dongjiang Town and other Ming armies have a weakness. The more troops there are in a battle, the smaller the probability of victory.
This may involve command issues, but Guo Dajing believes that the most important thing is that each department has different combat capabilities and different strengths and weaknesses in combat will.
For example, in the most famous Battle of Songjin in history, some people fled before fighting, and some collapsed at the first touch, making the entire battle uncontrollable.
It is precisely in view of this that Guo Dajing still has doubts about the support from various departments in Dongjiang Town. Don't be unable to help when the time comes, but it will only add chaos.
Zhang Tao accompanied Guo Dajing off the ship, with a bit of pride on his face. The Navy did have something to be proud of in terms of scale, although Guo Dajing thought it had fallen behind.
A ship was docked at the pier, and several people got off the gangplank, looking very arrogant.
"This is Mr. Shen." Zhang Tao introduced Guo Dajing in a low voice, "The fierce-looking one, let's go over and meet him!"
Shen Shikui, a merchant by birth, became Mao Wenlong's father-in-law because of his beautiful daughter, and became "Mr. Shen" as the soldiers and civilians on the island called him.
Guo Dajing nodded and followed Zhang Tao.
"I've met Mr. Shen." Zhang Tao walked closer, smiled and bowed to salute.
Shen Shikui nodded, with a smile on his face, and turned his eyes to Guo Dajing, slightly confused.
"Guo Dajing has met Mr. Shen." Without Zhang Tao's introduction, Guo Dajing introduced himself to his family and bowed to him.
Shen Shikui's eyes lit up, his smile became a little brighter, and he said: "General Guo, he is unparalleled in martial arts and bravery. He has been famous for a long time. I don't want to see him today."
"Thank you, Mr. Shen." Guo Dajing smiled and said, "If you are talking about being famous, I first came to Pidao and was still an unknown person, so I know Mr. Shen's famous name."
Shen Shikui laughed and said: "General Guo is running a prosperous business in Guanglu Island, and I admire him very much. Well, I want to discuss some business matters with General Guo. I wonder if General Guo has any free time?"
Guo Dajing was stunned for a moment, wondering what kind of business Shen Shikui wanted to discuss with him. Could it be that the mirror matter was leaked? This is unlikely!
In fact, Guo Dajing is also mentally prepared. There is no airtight wall in the world. Even if Mao Wenlong or others know about it, it doesn't matter, just make less money!
What's more, he didn't keep it to himself. Didn't the donated food cost money? Well, it really didn't cost much.
Seeing Guo Dajing in a daze, Shen Shikui couldn't help but laugh again and said: "It's not a complicated matter, it's just the kind of big fish that weighs tens of thousands of pounds caught by the Haiyang Island fishing fleet. The meat is fresh and tender, and the taste is really good."
Zhang Tao nodded and agreed: "Xiang veal is indeed delicious."
Shen Shikui smiled and said: "The quality is so good, I think it is a waste to just eat it as ordinary fish. If it can be sold to Shandong, the price should be good, and I can buy more food to tide over the difficulties."
Guo Dajing was a little enlightened, with a smile on his face, and said: "Since Mr. Shen has connections, it will be run by Mr. Shen. As long as I can get food in exchange, I and others will be happy. What's more, the fishing fleet belongs to Dongjiang Town. It’s not for me. If there are any regulations, I only need Mao Shuai to say so.”
It is true that the fishing fleet was organized by Guo Dajing, but it is also true that the ships and personnel belong to Dongjiang Town. Therefore, Guo Dajing does not want to offend Shen Shikui because of this. Isn't it just a matter of eating less whale meat? It's a trivial matter.
Shen Shikui couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he saw that Guo Dajing was so sensible. In his opinion, it was the minimum to exchange such delicious fish for grains one by one by weight. If he could sell more, that would naturally be his profit.
"General Guo is really refreshing." Shen Shikui nodded with a smile and said: "I don't know what price I can sell it for now, but it should be no problem to exchange one pound of grain for one pound. It won't make it difficult for General Guo and others. Wait. When Mao Shuai came back, I asked him for instructions to see what Mao Shuai would decide."
Guo Dajing bowed and said: "I will wait quietly for Commander Mao's orders and I will obey them without fail."
"Okay, okay." Shen Shikui was full of confidence. He praised twice, then raised his hands and said, "Then I won't delay General Guo and General Zhang. I'll take my leave."
Zhang Shou and Guo Dajing hurriedly returned the gift and watched Shen Shikui lead the people away.
"Can one pound of grain be exchanged for one pound of meat?" Zhang Tao said meaningfully, then shook his head without saying much, clearly expressing some disdain for the price given by Shen Shikui.
Guo Dajing shrugged his shoulders and said: "Since it is an industry in Dongjiang Town, it is up to Mao Shuai to decide how to operate it."
Zhang Tao chuckled, stopped mentioning the matter, and invited Guo Dajing to have a drink. However, Guo Dajing turned his back and made him the host instead.
………………
When Mao Wenlong came back, Guo Dajing was taking Lin Tianyou and a group of generals to drink and bond again.
After listening to Chen Jisheng's report, Mao Wenlong knew what was going on. Seeing that it was getting late, he went back to the house to rest and prepare to see Guo Dajing tomorrow.
Back at the house, Mao Wenlong met Shen Shikui who came to talk about the matter.
"Exchanging the same amount of food? There is something wrong." Mao Wenlong was not satisfied with this condition. Can the meat and food be the same? If so, why bother?
Shen Shikui also knew that there was something wrong, and quickly added: "Because I don't know what price the fish can be sold for. If you exchange more, you will naturally have to pay more. It has not been finalized."
Mao Wenlong felt that it was a bit unreasonable that Guo Dajing had worked hard to build a fishing fleet and built an ocean island base, and then handed it over to his father-in-law all at once.
After pondering for a moment, Mao Wenlong said slowly: "In this case, don't sell all the whale meat you catch. You can try out the market with a small amount first. If the price is good, two-thirds of the output will be given to you, and the rest will still be required."
One point will be given to the generals who leave the ship."
Shen Shikui didn't fight for it and just nodded in agreement. In his opinion, this was already a decision that was quite biased in his favor. Although Guo Dajing fully agreed, Mao Wenlong still had to take into account everyone's thoughts.
"I would also like to trouble Marshal to tell Guo Dajing and give him the skeleton of the big fish." Shen Shikui said with a smile: "With the skeleton as a sign, I think the fish will be easier to sell."
Mao Wenlong nodded and said: "There is no problem with this. The Japanese commander is going to host a family dinner for Guo Dajing and Lin Tianyou tomorrow, so we can just decide these things together."
"Lin Tianyou?" Shen Shikui thought for a moment and asked, "But the Lin family in Jiaxing has a business store in Pi Island?"
"That should be the case!" Mao Wenlong said: "The imperial court cut off food and salary, and the Lin family purchased tens of thousands of grains of rice for Dongjiang Town, which was of great help. I came here just to get some convenience and trade with the Japanese country."
Trading with Japan would be huge profits!
Shen Shikui's eyes lit up, and he felt that this seemed like a way to get involved.
"Let's wait and see." Mao Wenlong seemed to see Shen Shikui's thoughts and waved his hand: "The Lin family has not troubled us yet, and we have not provided convenience yet. If you are eager to intervene now, it will appear that we are greedy."
"Yes, yes, you can't rush for quick success." Shen Shikui smiled a little and said: "The Lin family must have just taken the Liaodong route. Whether it will be successful or not, and how much profit will be made, it is hard to say!"
Mao Wenlong lowered his eyes and said slowly: "Maybe we will regain Jinzhou next year. If we succeed, Dongjiang Town will have tens of millions of acres of farmland. Even if the court is cut off from food and salary, it will not be as difficult as it is now. Remember, before that,
We must not create any resentment in the Lin family."
Once the operation started, it involved the mobilization of troops, and grain and grass supplies were the key. Mao Wenlong's meaning was very clear, and the help of the Lin family might be needed to regain Jinzhou.
"I understand." Shen Shikui nodded vigorously and said, "Before this, I will never contact the Lin family."
Mao Wenlong smiled and said: "A gentleman loves money and gets it in a wise way. You must know that Dongjiang Town is the foundation. Its strength and weakness will also directly affect the benefits obtained."
Shen Shikui still saw this clearly and reassured Mao Wenlong before bidding farewell to Mao Wenlong.
Mao Wenlong sent Shen Shikui away and thought about it alone for a while before finally making a decision.
The situation is stronger than the people. After this cut off of food and salary, it becomes particularly important to recover Jinzhou. All North Korea's farmland has been lost and must be compensated elsewhere.
Jinzhou's geographical location, topography, and the defensive facilities of Lushun Fort that Mao Wenlong saw gave him strong confidence.
Moreover, after more than half a year of replenishment and rest, Dongjiang Town's troops are now at full strength. With 34,000 to 5,000 troops, at least half of the mobile troops can be mobilized.