Guo Dajing smiled bitterly and said: "With the skyrocketing prices, the general will feel that compared to food, silk is just a piece of clothing and has no effect on relieving the famine among the captives."
Mao Wenlong understood what Guo Dajing meant, lowered his eyes, rummaged around on the desk, took out a piece of information and handed it to Guo Dajing, saying: "This is a good deal, and the profit can be made several times."
There are only a few words in historical records about the Great Famine of the Later Jin Dynasty in the second year of Chongzhen, but careful analysis can reveal its seriousness.
"Manwen Laodang" records: "There was a great famine in the country, and the price of a bucket of grain was eight taels of silver. There were cannibals among the people. Although there was a lot of silver in the country at that time, there was nowhere to trade, so the silver taels were cheap and everything was expensive.
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"A good horse is worth three hundred taels of silver. A strong ox is worth a hundred taels of silver. A python satin is worth a hundred and fifty taels of silver. A piece of woolen green cloth is worth nine taels of silver. Thieves are on the rise, stealing cattle and horses.
People are brutally killing each other, causing great chaos in the country."
Taking a good horse as a reference, it usually costs around 20 taels. If you buy it from the Mongols, it can be a few taels lower. Compared with the price during the Great Famine of Houjin, it is already fifteen times. You say huge profits are not huge profits.
Grain, horses, cattle, and green cloth were definitely not sold to the Jianlu, but silk was regarded as a luxury product, and the Jianlu could only get a few pieces of clothing, or use it to win over the Mongolian tribes.
After reading the information, Guo Dajing smiled and said: "The general believes that the famine at this time is not the most serious and the prices have not yet reached the highest level. It is appropriate to say at least ten times the profit."
Mao Wenlong took a long breath and said, "It's up to you to do this. The less people know about it, the better."
"The general will understand." Guo Dajing bowed and said, "Mao Shuai, just don't worry."
Mao Wenlong suddenly felt relaxed, picked up the tea bowl and sipped the tea, and said with a smile: "The troops have been assembled and adjusted, and the ammunition and materials are all ready. You should finish the Battle of Zhenjiang first, and then think about making a fortune!"
Guo Dajing bowed and said: "Please also ask the commander-in-chief to send an order to summon all the generals for a meeting."
Mao Wenlong called his soldiers and sent orders to summon people. Guo Dajing stood up and presented a small box with a heavy gift to Mao Wenlong.
"The general has taken advantage of the commander-in-chief." Guo Dajing said with a smile: "The heavy weight also gave the general a small box."
Mao Wenlong chuckled and said: "Since I have such sincerity, even though I don't have the status of master and apprentice, you still have to teach me well."
"How can a general be a teacher?" Guo Dajing said nonchalantly: "Whatever you can learn from following a general, let him realize it on his own!"
Mao Wenlong didn't say much, nor did he open the box. He just reached out and patted it, then got up and went to the meeting hall accompanied by Guo Dajing.
………………
The breath of spring is already very strong, and the woods and grass on both sides of the Yalu River are blooming green, revealing a vigorous vitality.
The ships broke through the waves, and one after another, they sailed upstream and sailed boldly towards the Zhenjiang Fort River.
Even with other thoughts, Shen Qizhong and Shen Shuoqing stood on the deck, looking at the mighty soldiers in armor on the ship, feeling the tense atmosphere of the coming war, and they couldn't help but feel courageous.
When will North Korea also have such a majestic navy and such a mighty army?
As for Dongjiang Town, the Ming Dynasty Brigade located in a remote location overseas has already been able to fight against the Jiannu slaves. Will it have the power to destroy the country in the future?
The river wind blew on my face, which was moist and smelled of earth.
Guo Dajing saw the peninsula extending into the river in front of him. He couldn't help but raise his telescope and look at the situation on the peninsula.
The peninsula is not big, with at most two football fields, a few shabby houses, and a team of slaves.
The field of view of the telescope changed, and more Jianlu cavalry appeared on the shore, almost a hundred cavalry, moving with the movement of the ship, maintaining a surveillance state.
Although the land controlled by water made it difficult for the Jianlu to take precautions, the Jianlu were not too afraid. After landing, the infantry, whose footing was not stable, faced the attack of the cavalry, and it was a one-sided massacre.
With the mobility advantage of the cavalry, Jianlu was fully confident to attack quickly and drive away the enemies who landed on the beach.
Therefore, if there is no ship passing by on the river, Jianlu will mobilize in large numbers, and they can't afford to make trouble.
There are outposts on the shore and cavalry surveillance, which can provide timely warnings. This is enough.
The fleet circumnavigated the Ma Shi Peninsula and formed a semi-circle on three sides, leaving only one side leading to the shore.
The flat-bottomed modified sand barges towed by the big ships began to load soldiers and untied the ropes one after another. The sailors were manning the oars and were waiting for the order to be given.
"When you start to land, fire a few cannons to scare them away!" Guo Dajing pointed at the Jianlu cavalry on the peninsula and raised his eyebrows at Zhang Tao beside him.
Zhang Tao smiled and quickly issued an order. The side window opened, and the black muzzle was exposed, pointing at the enemy on the island.
It doesn't have to be killing or wounding. Jianlu's cavalry is not within the effective range, but it is within the farthest range. Jianlu must also be aware of the power of the Hongyi cannon.
The general waved his flag, and the ships waved their flags in response, and many soldiers even gave out passionate shouts. Their fine armor shone in the sun, and the sound shook the nine heavens, and their fighting spirit rose.
"Bang the drum, land!" Guo Dajing suppressed the excitement in his heart and issued the order in a deep voice.
The war drums rumbled, the rhythm was not fast, but it was exciting and high-spirited.
Shen Shuoqing subconsciously put his hand on his chest. He felt that the drumbeat and heartbeat were resonating, hitting his chest one after another.
More than thirty small boats started slowly to the sound of drums. Under the uniform shouts of the sailors, they rowed faster and faster, and finally turned into arrows, shooting towards the shore from three sides.
The boats are specially designed and built for beach landings. Each boat looks small and has a low draft, but it is double-decker.
The lower level is a sailor, sitting in a low cabin and rowing the oars. The upper level can carry twenty soldiers, and they can stand and shoot on the sides of the ship.
This kind of boat has a wide and flat bottom, which can not only land on the beach, but also cruise near the shore and shoot targets on the shore with muskets.
During the counterattack from Port Arthur and the Shiheyi landing, when the two red flags were copied, this type of landing ship had already been built, but in small numbers.
After a year of production, the number of landing ships has reached more than fifty, and they can launch a thousand people on the beach at a time.
The Jianlu cavalry on Mashi Island seemed very calm, jogging back and forth, observing the enemy's landing position and speed. They must be preparing to wait for the enemy to land, and then rush forward to cover them with arrows.
Boom, boom, boom!
The thunderous roar instantly suppressed the rumbling war drums. White smoke rose from the warships in the deep water. Several shells flew out at a speed visible to the naked eye, arcing in the air and hitting the prisoners on the shore.
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The battleship was trembling, and Shen Shuoqing's feet were unsteady. He reached out and grabbed the side of the ship to regain stability. When he raised his head, he met his uncle's serious eyes, and they were equally shocked.
The cannonball passed over the river, skimmed the bank, hit the ground, bounced up again, and crashed into a large row of Jianlu cavalry.
Because the ground was not hard enough, the cannonballs bounced several times and were already weak. When they hit the Jianlu cavalry, they were already at the end of their strength. But even so, they still killed and injured several Jianlu cavalry.
It's like bowling. If there's a long row in front of you, you can always hit one or two if you throw it over.
The Hongyi cannon is only equipped on the two flagships of the Dongjiang Navy, each with ten guns. It is the warship with the longest range and the most power.
A bombardment on the side, five artillery shells slammed into it, and the Jianlu cavalry was blinded at once. The charged impact, the rain of arrows, all the originally planned combat strategies were wiped out.
Seeing the chaos, Guo Dajing held up his binoculars, pursed his lips, and sneered.
With just a hundred and eighty soldiers, it was simply overestimating their ability to persist on Ma Shi Island. The first batch of musketeers to land was five to six hundred, and two volleys were enough to defeat them.
"It should be the Hongyi cannon." Shen Qizhong whispered to his nephew: "I didn't expect it to be equipped on the ship. It scared Jianlu."
Shen Shuoqing nodded vigorously and said: "Seize the initiative and frighten the enemy. Look, the Dongjiang Army has begun to land."
The bow of the ship suddenly stopped and landed on the shoal. A long springboard was quickly pushed down from the upper level and plunged into the muddy water along the fixed slide.
Zhao Shitou was the first to jump up, climbed onto the springboard with skillful movements, quickly went down, waded through the knee-deep river, and stepped onto the river bank after more than 20 meters.
The comrades quickly followed up and formed a small battle formation behind Zhao Shitou, with ten people in each row, a total of two rows. After setting their feet, they quickly checked their guns, and after confirming that they were correct, they continued to move forward.
A small group of musketeers quickly assembled under the guidance of the flag, and advanced fifty or sixty meters in depth as a hundred-man team. After that, they stopped advancing and were on alert facing Jianlu.
The landing ship quickly broke away from the shoal and moved towards the large ship in the river to pick up the second batch of landing troops.
The sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded, and Jianlu, who had adjusted himself in the chaos, launched an attack towards an infantry formation on the left.
Soldiers from the Dongjiang Army have landed on three sides of the peninsula. The front can still be temporarily suspended, but the left and right wings have the possibility of cutting off the retreat of the 180 Jianlu cavalry.
Jianlu had a wishful thinking and used the maneuverability and impact of the cavalry to first defeat the enemy on the left, then turn around and attack the right, and finally the enemy in the front.
While the second batch of enemies has not yet landed, take out the first batch of enemies, frighten them, and delay the arrival of the main force from Zhenjiang Fort.
On the front and on the left and right wings, two hundred-man troops were disembarked. The infantry battle formations were arranged fifty or sixty meters apart, so that they could echo each other and form cross fire coordination.
The weapons distribution for the landing infantry was three to five to two, with heavy muskets accounting for three, light muskets accounting for five, and pikemen accounting for two.
Facing the rushing Jianlu cavalry, twenty heavily armored spearmen squatted on the ground, holding up their ten-foot-long spears diagonally, forming a forest of spear points.
This was Guo Dajing's view as the safest infantry battle formation. After all, he had little experience in resisting the attack of Jianlu cavalry without fortifications.
The length of the sharp spear will give the soldiers a sense of psychological security, and may also be more deterrent and deterrent to creatures like war horses.
As for using bayonets to resist cavalry, Guo Dajing felt that he could do it step by step and let the soldiers establish their psychological advantage first.
Boom! The first to fire were thirty heavy muskets, relying on their range advantage to strike preemptively.
Clouds of white smoke rose into the sky, and the powerful and heavy lead bullets caused considerable confusion to the Jianlu cavalry 70 to 80 meters away.
The power of the heavy musket is its greatest advantage. Whether it is a person or a horse, even if the hit is not a vital part, it will still cause great damage.
The men screamed and their horses neighed, and the Jianlu cavalry rushing in front fell on their backs, halting the momentum of the attack.
At this distance - Jianlu was riding a horse and using a short bow, but he was not within range of the bow and arrow.
"Fire!" Zhao Shitou roared loudly and pulled the trigger.
The roar of the light muskets was superimposed, and the power was astonishing. The white smoke rose thickly, and was quickly blown away by the wind in the air.
The Jianlu cavalry are all lightly armored, and heavy armored infantry are only used when attacking strongholds. For muskets, the protection of light armor is obviously not enough.
The war horses were neighing, the wounded soldiers were screaming, and the cavalry howled and continued to charge forward. Finally, within the range of the bow and arrow, Jianlu fired a clump of arrows.
The muskets kept firing, row after row taking turns firing.
From time to time, musketeers fell down after being shot by arrows, but the battle formation remained firm. The sharp forest formed by the spears was an insurmountable obstacle for the approaching Jianlu.
Boom! The characteristic loud noise of heavy muskets suddenly erupted, and another infantry formation launched an attack on Jianlu, stabbing Jianlu hard on the flank.
The Jianlu cavalry did not really want to rush over and engage in a bloody battle with the enemy. Their tactic was to use light cavalry to shoot quickly to disrupt the enemy's position first, and then charge rampantly to defeat the enemy.
During the Battle of Daling River, Jianlu used this tactic, "The horse soldiers fired arrows to attack, but the Ming soldiers remained motionless. The guns and artillery fought fiercely, and our army attacked them with arrows. The arrows fell like rain, and the Ming soldiers remained motionless."
Unable to stop them, they fled."
However, in the exchange of fire with muskets, Jianlu's proud cavalry shooting did not gain an overwhelming advantage, but suffered heavy losses.
"Charge and kill!"
Jianlu howled crazily, stretched out his bow and fired arrows, but the enemy on the opposite side could not see any fear or fear, all was a cold iron surface, which made people feel chilly.
The two infantry battle formations withstood the Jianlu attack, using continuous musketry fire and fierce counterattacks. The cross firepower caused the Jianlu to pay casualties every moment.
The four infantry battle formations on the front and right wing are advancing at an accelerated pace. After joining the battle group, there will be no suspense about victory or defeat, and the Jianlu army may even be in danger of being annihilated.
Jianlu, who was on alert along the shore and following the navy ships, was also rushing towards the peninsula, preparing to provide support to friendly forces.
The second batch of landing soldiers had already boarded the ship, and the ship started to accelerate towards Ma Shi Island.
Boom, boom, boom...
There was a loud roar from the ship, and cannonballs rose into the sky one after another, arcing and landing on the front, rear, left and right of the Jianlu cavalry who came to support them.
After a slight pause for a few seconds, explosions started to sound one after another. Clouds of black smoke rose in the flames of the explosion, and shrapnel shot into the air with a scream of death.
This round of artillery bombardment did not pursue accuracy or excessive damage, but it had a considerable impact on the actions of the Jianlu cavalry.
Buying time to allow more soldiers to land and join the battle will undoubtedly tilt the balance of victory.