Guo Dajing had already thought about the future, the funeral of the soldiers, and their families. After the new policy was launched, 4,500 soldiers were recruited before the year, which was 500 more than the quota.
This is the maximum that Guo Dajing can support with his current financial resources and materials after repeated calculations.
At this time, the benefits of a large population were seen. The Liao civilians received and the population dispersed from each island provided a relatively sufficient supply of troops.
After gritting his teeth again, Guo Dajing finally decided to double the number of cavalry. Liu Xingzuo and Liu Qishi were excited, but also a little worried.
"Including the two hundred cavalrymen from Lushun Fort, we make a total of six hundred. It should be effective in next year's war." Guo Dajing said with a fake smile on his face, "The cavalry is no better than the infantry. The training cycle is long, and it is too late to practice now.
.”
Liu Xingzuo pondered for a moment and said: "If it is launched before spring plowing, there will still be two or three months before the newly expanded cavalry should be able to complete the training."
"After the New Year, we should pay close attention to training and strive to build combat effectiveness." Guo Dajing stood up and said with a smile: "It will be easy for a few days during the New Year. This year has been quite tiring."
Liu Qishi opened his mouth. He originally wanted to ask about replenishing the cavalry equipment, but he thought he would have to go there after the New Year, so he should leave Guo Dajing alone and let him rest and relax!
Guo Dajing walked to the door, stopped again, turned around and said: "We need to have a festive atmosphere during the New Year. Firecrackers will definitely not be used as they waste gunpowder. Bring out all the gongs and drums and hold a torch parade on New Year's Eve. Think about it again."
What other entertainment?"
"There must be people on the island who can walk on stilts. There are still a few days to celebrate the New Year, so there is still time to make it now." Liu Xingzuo thought as he said: "It's also possible to sing and dance."
Liu Qishi scratched his head and said: "The torch parade is just for fun. Find someone to paste a few big heads, make a few props, and walk around the village, that's pretty much it."
Guo Dajing nodded with a smile and said: "Okay, that's it. You all arrange people to do it. I'll gather some people and pile snow to make a few shapes."
Snow sculptures were considered a novelty at the time. They didn't have to be too big or too detailed. Just put some pavilions, snowmen, or animals on them and put a lantern on them.
After the explanation was completed, Guo Dajing and the other three people went separately to make preparations.
The atmosphere of the festival is not to whitewash peace, nor to make it too grand. It is just to let the soldiers and civilians have fun and relax, to unite and enhance the morale of the people.
The people are struggling to survive and are always busy. In order to make a living, how can they have the leisure to engage in entertainment?
It’s the New Year, so don’t be lifeless, depressed and depressed.
Guo Dajing believes that celebrating can make soldiers and civilians fuller in spirit and make them more energetic in looking forward to the new year.
There is no problem at home, but this is not enough. The troops and civilians on the entire island should be immersed in the joy and laughter of the festival.
For this reason, Guo Dajing also ordered that each family be given a bottle of wine. With meat, wine, and celebrations, this new year will be celebrated like this.
Guo Dajing left the military camp, came to the house, and went directly to the workshop of the Zheng family and his daughter.
The production of telescopes has accelerated again, almost one per day, which means that two lenses can be ground in one day.
Proficiency was one reason, and soliciting the opinions of the Zheng family and his daughter and arranging two apprentices to help was another reason.
Transparent crystal has been used up, and glass materials are now being used. The refractive index of glass added with lead oxide is greatly increased, and the conditions for making telescopes are met.
Although the yield of optical glass is lower than that of transparent glass, it is free from the constraints of transparent crystal and the quantity is not required to be too high, which is enough to make telescopes.
"I have met you, sir." Zheng Sitong and Zheng Yan'er saw Guo Dajing coming in and hurriedly bowed and saluted.
Guo Dajing smiled, raised his hand, and said, "No need to be polite."
After sitting down, Guo Dajing glanced at the table next to him. There were five or six ready-made telescopes.
At this rate, the goal he promised to allocate to Dongjiang Army officers before the war starts next year will definitely be achieved.
"Nothing else, I came here to see your preparations for the New Year." Guo Dajing took the tea brought by Zheng Yan'er, nodded his thanks, and asked.
"Your Excellency has distributed enough things for our father and daughter to celebrate the New Year." Zheng Sitong bowed with gratitude and replied, "There is nothing missing. Please rest assured, Your Excellency."
Guo Dajing smiled, took out a few taels of silver, put it on the table, and said, "If you don't want to tell me whether you are short of money or not, just don't tell me. This little money is considered as a New Year's subsidy. You can spend it."
"Thank you, sir."
It was Zheng Yan'er who answered first, which made Guo Dajing stunned for a moment, but then returned to normal with a smile on his face. It seemed that this girl did have something she wanted to buy.
As for the grocery store on the island, Guo Dajing did not expect to make money, it was just for the convenience of the military and civilians on the island.
On the island, most daily necessities are rationed. The people don't have much money, but the soldiers do have some salary, and wine is the best-selling commodity.
After Zheng Yaner thanked her, she asked, "Mr. Guo, will the library on the island be getting new books?"
Guo Dajing nodded and said: "In May or June next year, the Lin family's merchant ship will come to the island again and may bring a batch."
Zheng Yan'er seemed to smile with satisfaction, took the two lenses, held them in front of Guo Dajing, and said: "The daughter of the people discovered that one lens can help my father see things clearly, and the other lens can help the daughter of the people see things clearly."
Guo Dajing reached out and took it, looked at it, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zheng is presbyopic, and you must be short-sighted."
Zheng Yaner blinked her big eyes, confused and full of confusion.
Guo Dajing thought for a while and felt that it would be difficult to understand just by talking about it, so he took a pen and paper, drew a diagram and said: "This is the human eyeball, this is the retina, and the scenery passes through the eyeball..."
Zheng Sitong also came over curiously to listen to Guo Dajing's lecture.
"This thing is called glasses, and they come in two types: nearsightedness and farsightedness. They can bring convenience to many people." After Guo Dajing finished explaining, he drew a simplified diagram of a pair of later generations of glasses, "The frame is made of metal, and the hook is hung on the ear.
…”
Zheng Yaner let out a long breath. Although she heard many terms for the first time, she still understood some of the principles.
With her eyes flashing, she glanced at Guo Dajing, and she was shocked. She didn't expect that this general knew so much knowledge, which was simply unheard of.
Zheng Sitong was also full of admiration and asked respectfully: "Master Guo, are you going to sell these glasses in the future?"
Guo Dajing smiled and waved his hands and said: "I am a soldier. Marching and fighting is my duty. I will not do this small business. If you and your daughter are interested, you may make money by opening a shop after returning home."
Zheng Sitong smiled bitterly, not sure when he would be able to return to his hometown or settle down somewhere else.
Guo Dajing turned to look at Zheng Yan'er and kindly reminded: "Don't read in the dark, don't read for a long time, look at distant scenery more, the degree of myopia will be alleviated. Otherwise, it will get worse and worse.
Is it better to go out wearing glasses?"
Zheng Yan'er's face turned red, she bowed and thanked her: "Thank you, sir, for reminding me, I'll save it for you, the daughter of the people."
After Guo Dajing finished his tea, he stood up and left. The door was pushed open and Lin Wan'er ran in holding Qin in her arms.
"Brother Guo is here too!" Lin Wan'er didn't seem surprised at all. She really treated Guo Dajing as her elder brother.
Guo Dajing was a little helpless, and forced a smile and said: "Celebrating the New Year outside is not as lively as at home. The conditions on the island are limited, and I feel wronged by Miss Lin."
"It's very good!" Lin Wan'er said nonchalantly: "With Yan'er and the maid, there's a lot of food and drink. No one cares about how you want to celebrate the New Year."
Okay, I was overly worried. I guess your two brothers also knew about it, so they safely put you on this island.
Lin Wan'er put down the piano and asked curiously: "Third brother, I heard that there are celebrations on the island during the Chinese New Year, such as torch parades and so on?"
"It's a lively and festive event." Guo Dajing said, "But it's not as lively as the big towns in the mainland. It's a theater troupe and a social fire."
"As long as it's lively," Lin Wan'er laughed and said, "Yan'er and I will also participate. If we don't have a torch, we can just carry a lantern!"
Guo Dajing nodded and said, "It would be better to carry a lantern."
Torches are the simplest. If you want to hold a lantern parade, you need candles and lanterns, so there will be fewer participants.
Lin Wan'er pointed to the qin and said, "It's just gongs and drums, no need to play the qin or the sheng?"
"I want something with a loud sound. Well, the piano is not suitable for such a large-scale event." Guo Dajing politely declined: "If Miss Lin is interested, Guo will be all ears during the New Year party."
Lin Wan'er pouted and said, "What will happen if I just play the piano?"
Guo Dajing hurriedly explained: "Everyone who attends the party has a performance. If he doesn't perform, he will be fined with alcohol."
Ha, this is interesting. Lin Wan'er's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.
Guests like Lin Wan'er were usually just fine, but Guo Dajing couldn't be left out in the cold during the Chinese New Year. There were also Fujino Hide and his daughter, the Zheng family and his daughter, and Guo Dajing planned to treat them to a banquet, which was considered polite and considerate.
There will also be gatherings in the army, and Guo Dajing is also prepared to entertain those Korean martyrs to show his closeness.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Guo Dajing took the telescope, stood up and left.
………………..
During the Chinese New Year last year, Guo Dajing thought of the painful experience of struggling to survive in the cold wind, and he was distracted for a moment.
If he hadn't been possessed by time travel, Guo Dajing of the Ming Dynasty would have become a corpse in a snowdrift in a pit.
There is also Axiu who is bringing vegetables to herself and talking about the fresh rice outside. Li Xiucheng, who raises his head from time to time and interrupts, has a very low chance of surviving.
"It should be a big snowman, so tall -" Ronger stretched out her hand and raised her face to describe the exaggerated height of the snowman.
Guo Dajing ate the pancakes, smiling and saying nothing. He just wanted to listen to these relatives talking and laughing, and see them happy.
Li Xiucheng added accurate data beside him, "There are two people tall, so we need to build a shelf and repair it!"
Axiu looked surprised and said, "That's a novelty to see."
"It will definitely be piled up during the Chinese New Year." Rong'er said, "There will also be a torch parade, and almost everyone on the island will participate!"
Thousands of torches form a long, bright dragon, meandering along the island's roads. You have to stand high to see the spectacle, right?
Guo Dajing said with a smile: "There are also big-headed dolls, stilts, and gongs and drums. It must be very lively."
Rong'er's mouth opened wide, her eyes filled with excitement and surprise. This was a lot more information than she knew. She had to tell her little playmates and let them envy her.
Axiu glanced at her husband and guessed that he had arranged the arrangements. It had been many years since the Chinese New Year had been so lively and joyful.
Thinking of the pain and struggle in the past, Axiu's eyes became even more tender. It was all thanks to the man that she had the good life she has now.
I hope that next year will be better. I pray that God will bless my husband and keep him safe from disaster and illness. Everything goes well.
Guo Dajing didn't know that his wife was praying for him, and she was still talking about things that made the children happy, "On the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, there are also lantern riddles to guess, and you will be given a prize if you guess the right one."
"What kind of prize?" Ronger asked anxiously: "Brother Jing, is this your decision?"
Guo Dajing nodded helplessly. Who could do this if he didn't pay for it.
"The prizes won't be very valuable, it's just for fun." Guo Dajing said, "If Rong'er and Xiucheng are short of anything, they can buy it directly with their New Year's money!"
"Give me back the new year's money?" Axiu looked at her husband in shock.
Guo Dajing patted his wife's hand gently and said with a smile: "You all have it, and you can give it to me when you celebrate the New Year."
"Okay, okay!" Ronger almost applauded, "Whoever says the best auspicious words will give the most to Brother Jing."
Guo Dajing laughed, thinking that this was the best thing to do. Giving some broken silver and letting the children buy it by themselves was more satisfying than asking them what they needed and taking it out to them directly.
Axiu smiled, all her belongings were in her hands, and she didn't care about the new year's money. But this was her husband's wish, for a happy occasion.
Of course she didn't know that the one hundred and eighty taels of silver in her hand meant her entire wealth. But to Guo Dajing, it was just a drop in the bucket.
But Guo Dajing's ambition is not here. If he doesn't work hard now, where can he hide when the building collapses and the ground is smelly? Even if he is rich, what's the use?
You can think of yourself as a noble person serving the country and the people, but you can also think of yourself as yourself and work hard. Only when your destiny is closely linked to the country and the nation can you have a steady stream of motivation.
……………..
Shenyang.
The Khan Palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, full of festive atmosphere.
In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, a famine broke out in the areas ruled by Jianlu, but they managed to survive by attacking North Korea and Ningyuan Jinzhou.
But Huang Taiji was not satisfied with this. He was sitting in his study, reading official documents, and the approaching festival could not make him feel comfortable.
The reason is also very simple, that is, his road to becoming emperor has not gone smoothly this year. In fact, the three Baylors have even become wary of fear.
"Tens of thousands of Liao people are fleeing again." Huang Taiji sighed depressedly, leaned back in his chair and stroked his forehead.
Although Huang Taiji did not take the Han people in Liaodong under his rule seriously, he also realized that Houjin needed slaves and labor. Otherwise, who would farm the land and provide the grain and grass materials needed to launch military operations?