Even if there is no deforestation, low-stem crops such as soybeans, peanuts, and mung beans can be grown in many relatively sparse forest lands. Some Chinese medicinal materials can also be grown in forest lands.
There are 20 million acres of farmland. If you plant high-yielding crops, it will not be difficult to feed more than 100,000 or 200,000 people. Guo Dajing can think of the so-called foundation that will last forever.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Guo Dajing and others rode towards Lushun Fort, chatting as they walked.
"If Jinzhou can be recovered, at least tens of thousands of troops will be needed to hold it firmly." Li Weiluan said pointedly: "Then we will have to gather troops from several islands and station them here permanently."
When various ministries join forces, this involves the issue of command authority. If it is not Mao Wenlong or Chen Jisheng, someone must be promoted to at least the rank of staff general.
Guo Dajing pretended to be stupid and said with a smile: "Guo went to Pi Island a few days ago. Marshal Mao and Deputy Marshal Chen both support the action of regaining Jinzhou. I think they will come and take command personally."
Li Weiluan smiled and nodded, saying that to the point, Marshal Mao or Deputy Marshal Chen should be in charge of such a large military operation.
As for the future military commanders of Jinzhou, there is no need to think too much now.
"Last year, it probably started to thaw in late February." Li Weiluan said, "The time may be delayed earlier, but it won't be too long."
Guo Dajing said: "These are all within the plan. We should complete preparations in mid-February. How to fight depends on the specific situation."
After a pause, he added: "We also need to have a good idea of the combat capabilities of the various ministries participating in the war. What does Brother Li think of the proposal for a big competition after the assembly?"
Li Weiluan said with a smile: "I think it's very good. It will be an incentive for all departments to improve their combat effectiveness. It's shameless, and no one wants to lose in an ugly way, right?"
"I'm afraid of hurting the harmony." Guo Dajing was worried and said thoughtfully: "Then I thought about it carefully and felt that it seemed inappropriate to rank first and second."
Li Weiluan turned to look at Guo Dajing, waiting for him to express his thoughts.
Guo Dajing chuckled twice and said: "I'm thinking of making a few banners, maybe call them military flags. I'll take out a few projects and demonstrate them in battalion units. I'll give them one for both good and bad. According to my estimation, no matter how bad it is, it's fine."
You have available soldiers, just pay attention when assigning tasks."
"What does it say on the military flag?" Li Weiluan was very interested and asked with a smile: "Isn't it just a flag?"
Guo Dajing said: "Don't write any words, use animals or objects to express what the camp is good at. For example, Tiger Camp, Flying Leopard Camp, Qingshi Camp, Liehuo Camp, etc."
The Tiger Camp is good at attacking, the Qingshi Camp is good at defending, the Flying Leopard Camp may move like flying, and the Fierce Fire Camp fights fiercely...that's pretty much what it means.
Li Weiluan understood clearly that the competition does not need to determine the ranking, it is just a drill to understand the combat capabilities of each unit, so that he can know what he is doing during the battle.
But Guo Dajing hadn't finished yet, "In addition to battalion-based drills, I also want to set up individual awards, issue medals and rewards, and set an example for the military."
Li Weiluan high-fived and praised, saying: "That's great. If you set a model in the military, everyone has a goal, and they will train harder and harder."
Guo Dajing felt very happy when he heard the praise.
The military competitions in later generations, such as "training elite soldiers to win the first place", "refining elite soldiers", etc., when I think of those years, it really makes people excited and eager to try.
If conditions were not limited, Guo Dajing would even formulate more detailed rules and make military competitions a regular activity.
While he was talking, he had already arrived at Port Arthur Fort. When he saw that the city walls and trenches had been covered with rain shelters, Guo Dajing praised him repeatedly.
"The fort has also been built, and we are just waiting for the twenty Hongyi cannons to arrive." Shang Keyi said with great expectation: "There are more than Ningyuan, and the Lushun Fort is really impregnable."
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "That artillery is lighter and less powerful than Ningyuan's. But if used properly, it can definitely deal a heavy blow to the Jianlu. Let's go up to the city wall and have a look. I brought the artillery and let them fight again."
Survey the gun positions carefully."
"We are all amateurs when it comes to gunnery." Li Weiluan entered the fort, stood up and dismounted, and extended his hand to greet him. "The artillery positions are also constructed according to the drawings. There must be adjustments and changes that need to be made."
The drawing was drawn by Guo Dajing and the Portuguese Santos after consultation. According to Li Weiluan's judgment and the geographical location of Fort Lushun, the artillery positions were concentrated on the north and west of Fort Lushun.
Based on the topography, that was the most likely direction for Jianlu's main attack. Although the artillery was also equipped with a gun carriage and could move on the city wall, it was still somewhat inconvenient.
Generals such as Guo Dajing and Li Weiluan climbed onto the city wall. Santos followed with more than 20 artillery backbones. After entering the city, they began to inspect the artillery positions and survey the firing angle and range.
Xiyi's original telescope was given to Santos, but Guo Dajing now only holds the imitation one, and handed the other two to Li Weiluan and Shang Keyi with a smile, "Xiyi's telescope, the distant scenery can be seen more clearly."
Li Weiluan and Shang Keyi took it and imitated Guo Dajing's example of pulling the lens barrel. When the distant scenery came into view clearly, the two of them couldn't help but let out a sound of surprise.
After a long while, Li Weiluan put down the telescope and praised: "Following General Guo, I have learned so many things and my horizons have broadened a lot. I didn't expect that there are so many wonderful things in the world. They are really useful tools for commanding wars and reconnaissance.
"
Guo Dajing smiled and said, "It's indeed a good thing, but it's a pity that it's too expensive."
After a pause, he added: "Fortunately, we have been able to imitate it. Although it is not fast, by the time of the war next year, I will try to equip all officers in the military or above the garrison level."
"Then this -" Li Weiluan shook the telescope in his hand expectantly, with an expression like a child who got a toy that he couldn't put down.
Guo Dajing laughed and said: "These two are naturally given to General Li and General Shang."
Shang Keyi put down the telescope, thanked Guo Dajing, and said with a smile: "General Guo has provided so much help. Just saying thank you makes a certain family feel ashamed."
Guo Dajing waved his hand and said: "We are all members of the Dongjiang Army. There is no need to talk about the two families. As the saying goes: a single tree cannot make a forest. Just improving the equipment and combat power of a certain unit will not make a difference."
Li Weiluan nodded vigorously, convinced, and said: "General Guo is absolutely right."
Several people watched and discussed on the city wall, and the battle plan for the defense of Lushun Fort and even the recovery of Jinzhou became increasingly clear.
"On the island, there is even a shortage of stones." Guo Dajing smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly and said: "So far, more than 300 stone cannonballs have been made. If it can reach a thousand before the war, it will be the best."
"So, after the year, Guo plans to mobilize some people to come to Lushun Fort to use local materials to build it."
Li Weiluan slightly chinned his head and said, "Soldiers can also be mobilized here at Lushun Fort, and manufacturing can begin now."
"That's the best." Guo Dajing said with a smile: "A few artillery pieces and some artillery shells were brought here to prepare for this."
There is insufficient iron material, so it is difficult to make too many cannonballs. Stone bullets are slightly worse, but the difference in effectiveness is not obvious.
Shang Keyi pointed at the mud bombs stacked on the city wall and said: "There are thousands of clay bombs. We have tested them using the kerosene sent by General Guo, and the effect is very good."
Where did the kerosene come from? It was refined whale oil with sulfur powder, saltpeter powder, and some sugar added to it to make it thick and flammable.
This is different from the giant trebuchets seen in movies throwing asphalt stone bombs. However, Guo Dajing has also done experiments and the results are acceptable.
He had no place to get oil or asphalt. Traditional gunpowder arson was not suitable for mud bombs.
There are alternative methods, such as using rosin, or wrapping the mud bombs with weeds and sprinkling gunpowder. But these are more laborious and the effect is not very good.
Why use mud bombs, which are burning fragments that break apart to increase the lethality.
As for Governor Yuan's black technology - quilts wrapped with gunpowder, and the saying that "everything will be destroyed by sparks", Guo Dajing could only sneer at it.
In the words of Governor Yuan, the Hongyi cannon "corrupted for more than ten miles" with one shot!
Do you think it's a cluster bomb or a rocket launcher? That's just to deceive those shitty civil servants in the court and the shitty emperor in the palace.
"There are both explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, and the simplest stones to hit people." Guo Dajing laughed and said: "It is their luck that the prisoners did not come. If they did, General Li's troops would kill them."
nice."
Li Weiluan also smiled happily. After more than half a year of preparation, Port Arthur Fort has really become an insurmountable fortress. In this regard, Li Weiluan and others are becoming more and more confident.
Guo Dajing was also very excited. Just look at the Port Arthur Fortress, which is a bastion, a trench parapet, and a deep trench with wooden piles.
There are Hongyi artillery and trebuchets above the city, and light and heavy muskets and crossbows below the city. There are three types of artillery shells, and there will be thousands of them...
Times have changed!
When the Jianlu came to attack Lushun Fort, they would be shocked and suffered heavy casualties to understand this truth. This is not Ningyuan, not Jinzhou, but a purgatory of blood and fire.
In the distance, several carts were pulled by horses and slowly approached. The carts creaked under the weight of six thousand-pound red cannons. It was not as difficult as originally thought on the frozen road.
Guo Dajing stretched out his hand and pointed, and introduced with a smile: "The thousand-jin Hongyi cannon has an effective range of one mile and a maximum range of three and a half miles."
The generals have never seen the Hongyi cannon, but they have heard of it. The Ningyuan victory and the Ningjin victory are said to have relied on this cannon to repel the Jianlu.
Although I don’t know how powerful it really is, Guo Dajing’s simple description is already exciting. It can cover the trench breastworks under the city within one mile.
In other words, Jianlu will suffer more heavy blows when attacking Lushun Fort. The crossfire on the ground and on the city will make it difficult to get close to the city wall.
Li Weiluan looked at the cannon getting closer and closer, and took a long breath, feeling indescribably happy in his heart.
"This is the Hongyi Cannon." Shang Keyi whispered to himself, and couldn't help but raise the telescope to take a closer look as soon as possible.
Guo Dajing said: "This cannon is very powerful, but it is heavy and has a slow rate of fire. It is most suitable for defending the city. It is of little use in field battles."
"You can also attack the city." Li Weiluan said: "I heard that it can be used like thunder, which not only strengthens the army's power but also chills the enemy's courage."
Guo Dajing nodded. It did have sound and light effects and was very powerful in scaring people.
"Shuai Mao has agreed to dispatch French artillery from the army to assist in the battle." Guo Dajing added good news, "At least thirty. But I feel that it is not necessary to concentrate them all on Fort Arthur."
Li Weiluan knew several battle plans to regain Jinzhou. After hearing what Guo Dajing said, he knew that he wanted Franco machine artillery to be used in the battle to build the enemy's retreat.
As for the Franconian artillery in the Dongjiang Army, he also understood its performance. There were several in Lushun Fort, as well as old-fashioned bowl-mouth cannons, which did not have much effect on the defense of the entire fortress.
"How many reinforcements can Marshal Mao mobilize to assist in the battle?" Li Weiluan asked: "There are still five to six thousand mobile troops at the headquarters."
Guo Dajing pondered for a moment and said: "There is no problem with the navy. Marshal Mao has agreed. As for the land troops, it is similar to what you said, at least five or six thousand, and more is possible."
"It should be enough." Li Weiluan has estimated it countless times. Five to six thousand should be the most basic. He is not dissatisfied.
The cannon was pulled to the fort gate, the black muzzle pointed diagonally, and slowly disappeared into the fort gate, temporarily disappearing from everyone's sight.
……………………
Nanguan is the narrowest part of the peninsula, more than ten miles long, with the sea on both sides.
When Yuan Keli was still the governor of Denglai, he reported to the court that he wanted to cut off the land at Nanguan and divert sea water to stabilize it. The cost of dredging was about 100,000 taels.
Unfortunately, the imperial court had not yet approved it, so Yuan Ke immediately resigned, and no one mentioned the matter again.
Guo Dajing's original idea was also to build a defense line here at Nanguan to isolate most of Jinzhou; or to dig deep trenches and wide trenches and fill them with seawater to stabilize the defense.
However, as he understood and judged the combat situation and the strength of both the enemy and ourselves, he gradually changed his view and believed that such an arrangement was not enough to build an invincible foundation, and was even somewhat passive and conservative.
Defense without counterattack is tantamount to defense.
It is indeed necessary to establish a defense line at Nanguan. But it is obviously not enough to put all our hopes and chances of victory here.
You must know that after the base is built, immigrants will need to settle the area.
Once the defense line is breached, Port Arthur Fort may be able to be saved, but what will the people do? How much can they evacuate in a hurry? Will the achievements of the settlement be destroyed in one day?
Regardless of whether you are building a defense line or diverting water, you have to face one danger, and that is winter.
The coldness of the Little Ice Age was enough to freeze artificial rivers, as well as along the coast. Strict precautions must be taken to attack or bypass defense lines by crossing the ice.
In other words, digging trenches and filling them with water is not enough to form a barrier; it is not as good as the trenches and wooden stake array under the city of Port Arthur.
In this regard, Guo Dajing believed that the support point must be extended forward, and several defense facilities should be built north of the Nanguan defense line to intercept interceptions layer by layer and increase the difficulty of building an ice attack.
It is easy to bypass a defensive line from the ice on the coastal sea. It may only take a few miles or more than ten miles. When it comes to bypassing an area, the larger the area, the farther the distance needs to be.