Guo Dajing didn't care much about this, as long as he could get the information. It was unlikely that Mao Wenlong would reveal all the secrets.
Of course, with the intelligence network handed over by Liu Xingzuo, the capabilities of the Jinzhou Military Intelligence Department cannot be underestimated.
At least in the intelligence war against Jianlu, Dongjiang Town is stronger than Jianlu. This is mainly due to the fact that the occupied area is small and easy to manage in a closed manner.
But Jianlu was completely victorious in the intelligence war against the Ming Dynasty.
Guo Dajing could predict that before taking a detour to enter the pass, he would send many agents to sneak into the Ming Dynasty and act as internal agents in key cities, such as Zunhua, Santunying and other places.
It is still the old trick used by the old slaves after the rebels rebelled against the Ming Dynasty. They should open the door and break the city within a few seconds. But compared to the lax defense in the Gyeonggi area, it is still very effective.
It's a pity that it's useless even to think about it. The court won't listen and the emperor won't believe it. They just wait for the good news about Yuan Dushi's five years of peace in Liao Dynasty!
I can already see the shadow of the store in the distance. There is a lantern hanging at the gate, but there are no lights in the house.
Guo Dajing must have fallen asleep, so he slowed down his horse speed, not wanting to wake others up with his rapid hooves. When he was some distance away from the door, he got off his horse and walked to the gate.
A soldier ran up and knocked lightly on the door knocker. After just two clicks, the small door opened. A clerk looked over and immediately smiled with a smile on his face, nodded and bowed in greeting, and opened the door.
"Are the ladies resting in the back?" Guo Dajing asked casually.
"My lord, only the second lady is resting in the back." The waiter reported truthfully, "She also told me that no matter how late my lord comes back, she will be waiting for you."
Guo Dajing was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a moment, he guessed that Fujino Hide was playing tricks on him and somehow coaxed Axiu to rest elsewhere.
It was already midnight, and Guo Dajing suddenly felt warm in his heart. He asked his clerk to place the soldiers in place, and then strode into the backyard.
Although there is a large warehouse in the backyard of the merchant house, and Fujino Hide has never stayed here overnight, the rooms are sufficient, with several rooms.
When it was being built, Hide Fujino had already designed it and had the idea of having the whole family stay here for leisure.
As soon as Guo Dajing walked into the backyard, he saw dim candlelight coming from the window of a room. Then, the door creaked open, and Hide Fujino walked out wearing a cloak.
The starlight was shining on Fujino Hide's face with a bright smile, and he waved to Guo Dajing mischievously, as if his conspiracy had succeeded.
This little goblin, Axiu is far from being vindictive with her. Fortunately, our old Guo family is not into harem fights.
Guo Dajing shook his head and strode over with a smile. We have experienced hundreds of battles, and we are still afraid of you? Let me see if this general doesn't beat you to death.
………………
It was daylight, and Guo Dajing had already gotten up. He was sitting in front of his desk, sometimes thinking, sometimes writing, and formulating new plans.
Fujino Hide got up earlier and happily went to the kitchen to cook a tonic soup for her husband. He put enough mutton and wolfberry in it, and Guo Dajing was sweating from the meal.
Then, she ran to Lin's Store and told Guo Dajing that she would not come back until dawn and was catching up on her sleep here.
Okay, let's fool Axiu to save her from having a grudge and feel uncomfortable.
Guo Dajing also wanted to have a quiet environment so that his ideas could be clearer, so he could finalize the plan as soon as possible and send people to implement it item by item as soon as possible.
King Qin, although it was a great achievement, Guo Dajing didn't care about it at all. Moreover, in the Ming Dynasty, "leaving the place of trust without purpose and without ancestral law" was a serious crime.
Of course, Guo Dajing believed that this crime would not be pinned on his head.
At that time, the capital city was in crisis, and it was not clear whether Chongzhen sent out any imperial edicts, but several military towns rushed there after hearing the news. For example, Mangui, the general of Datong, Hou Shilu, the general of Xuanfu, etc.
Since the goal is not to be King Qin, but at most to enter the capital under this banner, the target of the march is not Beijing, and the battlefield is not in the capital.
Zunhua and Santun Camp were the choke points for the advance and retreat of Jianlu. Guo Dajing looked at the map carefully, his eyes wandering, and finally settled on a place along the coast.
Qinhuangdao is an ancient city with a long history. Qin Shihuang visited Jieshi in the east, carved the "Jieshi Gate Ci", and sent Lu Sheng from Yan to go to the sea to seek immortality. He once stayed here and stayed here, hence the name Qinhuangdao.
Qinhuangdao Port is located on the coast of the Bohai Sea, with Yanshan Mountain in the north, Old Dragon Head where the Great Wall enters the sea in the east, and Beidaihe in the west. The port is wide and deep, with calm waves and no freezing or siltation all year round. It is a natural port in northern China.
However, Qinhuangdao belonged to Funing at the time and had not yet opened a port. I don’t know if it could be used directly as a port.
Today's ships cannot compare with the giant ships of later generations in terms of size and draft, so they should be able to dock at Qinhuangdao.
Guo Dajing wrote down his question and drew a "?" sign. This meant that he needed to send people or ships for on-site inspection.
From Qinhuangdao, go directly west through Yongping and Qian'an, which is Zunhua. It is the shortest distance and the fastest way to cut off the Jianlu retreat.
Oh, not necessarily. The distance from Tianjin to Zunhua seems to be about the same.
What is placed on Guo Dajing's desk is a colorful wall map, but it is a high-definition map that was taken out from the space and has never been seen by outsiders.
From Tianjin to Zunhua, you have to pass through Ninghe, Kaiping, Yutian or Fengrun and then reach Jizhou or Zunhua.
Since the distance is about the same, it seems safer to go to Tianjin. After all, Tianjin is already a large port with complete facilities, and large ships can dock directly.
Of course, there are defenders in Tianjin, but it is just a small trouble. With their strength and armament, although they are known as Tianjin Town, they will not cause any obstacles to the sudden landing of the army.
The decline of the inland army is an obvious fact. When Yuan Keli was the governor of Denglai, the ships and troops stationed in the town were sent to the Dongjiang River. But now, Dongjiang Town only needs to dispatch thousands of troops and dozens of warships to sweep Denglai.
.
But all this was covered up, and only after Jianlu took a detour to enter the pass, the true colors were revealed. Jianlu galloped freely and could be said to be invincible. Even the cities of Zunhua and Yongping fell with one drum.
Since then, the weakness of the Ming Dynasty has been fully exposed, and the Jianlu invaders have entered the pass five times to plunder, as if they were in an uninhabited country, and even attacked as far as Jinan.
Guo Dajing shook his head vigorously, getting rid of more distracting thoughts and forcing himself to focus on the battle plan.
The total number of men and horses in Dongjiang Town is nearly 50,000, the left and right auxiliaries have 12,000 each, and the front and rear auxiliaries have 10,000, plus the cavalry battalion.
Although there is still an expansion of manpower, both planting and production need to be done. Under balance, Guo Dajing estimated that it would only be 50,000 or a few thousand at most.
Next year, a great famine will break out in the areas under Jianlu rule, and a large number of Liao people will escape. But in terms of time, there will be no time to organize, train and form an army.
In this case, excluding the men and horses left behind, the number of troops that can fight across the sea is only about 30,000 at most.
Thirty thousand should be enough. It's not like running to fight with the Jianlu in the field, but occupying the strategic city and intercepting the Jianlu who want to return home with a full load.
Whether it is landing in Qinhuangdao or Tianjin, the most important prerequisite is the navy's carrying capacity.
How many people and horses can be carried at one time? If it is launched twice, how much time will it take?
Guo Dajing is relatively familiar with the navy in Dongjiang Town.
As a rough estimate, it should be no problem to carry 20,000 horses at a time. If it is 30,000, the number of ships may not be enough.
But this is nothing. There is still more than a year to build more ships, mobilize the fishing fleet, and even hire ships from the Lin family, Korea, Japanese, and Western barbarians.
This problem was solved, and Guo Dajing had to calculate the grain, grass, supplies, weapons and ammunition to be carried when dispatching 30,000 horses.
If you don't have enough space, just transporting the baggage will be a headache.
Yes, since it is arranged in advance, of course you can send people to set up warehouses along the way to store supplies. In the name of merchants and warehouses, it must be feasible.
There should be no problem with grain. Buy in small batches in large quantities, or open a grain store as a grain merchant. Other supplies may be a bit troublesome. You can't just run around with bombs installed, right?
Even if food is guaranteed, the logistics and transportation pressure on the army will be greatly relieved. Of course, if Guo Dajing wants to launch a ruthless attack and plunder from the villages, towns and cities along the way, it will be a last resort.
Since it is difficult to accumulate ammunition and supplies in the mainland, we can only use our unique advantages.
There is no way to deal with artillery. You can bring a batch of light Franco cannons with the army, coupled with a certain amount of ammunition. Bombs, rockets, and even gunpowder and lead can be carried by soldiers, and the space can accommodate most of them.
The storage of supplies in the space must be carefully planned. Only bring 10,000 dan of grain, and then load them all into ammunition. This is a large military warehouse, which can save hundreds of transportation vehicles and mules and horses pulling the carts.
Thirty thousand cavalry and cavalry should be the limit that can be dispatched. Moreover, the cavalry cannot be too many, and three or four thousand is basically the limit.
…………Gushi
Just as Guo Dajing was thinking hard and perfecting his plan, it was almost noon before he knew it, and several large ships slowly sailed into Dalian Port.
At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, it was desolate, but Dalian Port showed a busy scene.
Also for Guo Dajing, several sea-going ships belonging to the Lin family and Sherard, as well as ships from Japan that came to load goods, and several ships delivering fish, were either docked to unload or waiting for people to load, and they were all in the port.
"It's very lively!" Mao Shen put on his cloak, ran to the deck, stood next to Mao Wenlong, and exclaimed in novelty.
On the shore, there are many warehouses and people walking around; at the dock, goods are being loaded and unloaded, and people are noisy. Looking around, there are mountains, forests, villages, and roads.
"The scenery on the shore is also more beautiful than Phi Island." Mao Shen continued, shaking Mao Wenlong's arm, "Husband, do you think so?"
Mao Wenlong nodded and said with a smile: "Pi Island is a small place, and after so many years, so many soldiers and civilians have lived there. Even woodchopping is difficult, so it cannot compare with Jinzhou."
The ship slowly turned and headed towards the civilian dock. The noise gradually faded away and became increasingly quiet.
Even the docks are managed separately, which is very convenient and shows the level of management.
Mao Wenlong nodded secretly and did not let the soldiers hang up the command flag.
When the ship docked, several soldiers immediately appeared on the shore and came to check.
"I have seen Marshal Mao." The soldiers were surprised by Mao Wenlong's sudden appearance and hurriedly saluted him.
Mao Wenlong waved his hand and said: "There is no need to make it public, I don't want everyone to know about it."
"Yes, I understand, little one."
Mao Wenlong pondered for a moment and said: "Prepare the vehicle, I will go to the hotel myself."
The soldiers quickly took the order and ran to make arrangements.
Mao Wenlong called a soldier and asked him to take a look at the Guo family's store. If Fujino Hideru was there, he would let him know.
In Dalian, Mao Wenlong did not build a house.
However, when Guo Dajing was expanding the port, he built two pavilions, one for ordinary people to live in, and the other for higher-end guests.
Mao Wenlong also had official duties, so he couldn't accompany his concubine. Hide Fujino was his main bride, but they were familiar with her, so he had to ask her to help take care of her.
Several carriages quickly arrived at the pier, but their styles were very interesting and novel.
Ancient carriages generally had two large wheels, a flat plate with a hood, and people had to sit cross-legged or lie on their sides inside. Without shock absorption, it was not comfortable, and Guo Dajing thought it was a misfortune.
Therefore, he redesigned the vehicle and carriage with four wheels. The carriage had doors and windows, and the inside was equivalent to a sofa where you could sit with your legs stretched out.
This is relatively simple. The carriage is not very big. It is pulled by a horse and can seat two people inside. There are also some boxes and cages in the back.
In Jinzhou, this kind of horse-drawn carriage is not popular. It is only found in Dalian port and is used as a vehicle to pull people.
Carriages with the same shape also appeared in the officer's residential area, and the Guo family was naturally the first. Of course, comfortable carriages are increasingly favored by many officers' wives and young ladies.
"Husband, come up and sit down too!" Mao Shen had a curious face. He looked in front of the car door opened by the soldier, turned around and said with a smile: "Riding is very ostentatious, don't you want too many people to know about it?"
Mao Wenlong pondered for a moment and felt it made sense, so he stepped into the carriage and sat side by side with his concubine.
The wheels were whirring, the windows were covered with gauze curtains, and the cool breeze was blowing on my face. Looking at the scenery along the way was quite interesting.
Sitting in the car, Mao Shen looked out the window curiously, pointing out his hand from time to time to let Mao Wenlong see something new.
"What is this high tower used for? There are colorful flags hanging on it."
Mao Wenlong knew a little bit. Although it was the first time he saw the real thing, he smiled and simply explained: "That is a signal tower. The flag on it represents a certain signal and is used for communication."
Oh, Mao Shen didn’t seem to understand, and didn’t want to know more. It had nothing to do with her.
"Who is that person? His head is full of yellow hair..."
Mao Wenlong just took a casual look and said, "That's a Xiyi person. He has blond hair and blue eyes. His appearance is very different from that of the Ming people."
Blonde hair, blue eyes, sounds weird and scary.
Mao Shen quickly looked away and looked elsewhere.
It has only been half a year, but it has been built like this. Mao Wenlong looked at it and sighed secretly in his heart. Compared with Phi Island, when he first arrived here, he could feel the difference after only seeing a little.
"This car is very comfortable to sit in." Mao Shen reached out and pulled the small window, which could be closed or opened. She couldn't help but laugh like a child, "Husband, let me build one for me!"
Mao Wenlong smiled and nodded. What's the big deal? You can leave it just by opening your mouth. Why does it need to be specially made? Well, my concubine probably wants something more advanced and better-looking.
……………
Before noon, Axiu, Ronger and Fujino Hide hurried back to the store. Seeing Guo Dajing thinking and writing in the study, they didn't interrupt him and arranged for lunch.
Rong'er gained the most at the Lin's Store. There were several jars of candied dried fruits alone, and she was so happy that her face was filled with smiles.
Axiu just chose a few pieces of fabric and planned to make some clothes for her family. Lin Wan'er forced her to give her a few things so that she would not be criticized for being stingy.
Not many people knew that Guo Dajing had come here, and Guo Dajing was not in a hurry to meet the Japanese. It would be better for Hide Fujino to handle the buying and selling matters, and he would have more time to plan and prepare.
It wasn't until Axiu came to ask him to eat that Guo Dajing realized that it was already noon. Fortunately, the plan already had a rough outline, and he would just discuss it with Zhou Qing and others to improve it.
One person is short in wisdom, but everyone is wise in wisdom. Three cobblers are the equal of Zhuge Liang.
Guo Dajing knew that no matter how carefully a person thinks, there will inevitably be omissions.
"I haven't slept much, yet I'm still spending so much time. After lunch, I need to catch up on my sleep." Seeing Guo Dajing rubbing his eyes, Axiu quickly said with concern: "Let's all go to the front, so we can't disturb you."
Guo Dajing laughed, touched his wife's face, and said, "It's okay. After lunch, I have to go out and come back early in the evening to rest."
Axiu was not stubborn and accompanied her husband to the dining room, where the family sat down to eat and chat.
"Don't eat too much preserves. You need to brush your teeth before going to bed." Guo Dajing heard Ronger showing off and quickly reminded with a smile: "Otherwise, your teeth will be damaged."
Ronger nodded her little head and said, "Brother Jing has said it before, I remember it all!"
Guo Dajing smiled and gave Ronger a piece of fish as a reward.
"Tomorrow I will take Sister Xiu and Rong'er to visit the Japanese trading inn." Fujino Hide said with a smile: "When the Westerners come back, they will also buy a trading inn, and they will put some goods there, and you can also go and see them.
A strange thing."
Guo Dajing nodded and said, "You can just have fun, I have official business to deal with, so I won't accompany you."
Axiu actually doesn't want to go shopping anymore, but she is willing to see her husband every day. Since her husband wants to stay here temporarily, she can accompany him.
At this time, someone came from outside to report. Guo Dajing was stunned for a moment, and walked out with Fujino Hide.
"General Guo is also here. I have met the general." Mao Wenlong's soldiers quickly bowed and saluted, and repeated Mao Wenlong's instructions.
"Shuai Mao has really arrived in Dalian?!" Guo Dajing was surprised, but then he said with a smile: "You report back to Shuai Mao first, and tell Guo that he will rush to see you immediately."
The soldiers bowed to accept the order, turned around and left.
"Are you going to go too?" Fujino Hide was not sure and looked at his husband.
Guo Dajing nodded and said, "Don't rush, just finish the meal. We still need to discuss how to entertain you."
Returning to the dining table, Guo Dajing was thinking while eating. After eating, his thinking became clear and he had figured out a solution.
"The store not far from our home, give it to Mao Shuai!" Guo Dajing put down the bowls and chopsticks and began to explain the layout, "Send someone to clean it up and get some things for use. Let Mao Shuai stay today."