"Is there any dispute among you about asking for help from Japan?" Li Ye asked again.
"There is a little controversy, but not much. I am against asking Japan for help. I have been to Japan twice. I can feel the Japanese people's ambition, but others cannot feel it and do not believe what I say, including our king.
, he supports asking for help from Japan, because Japan’s reinforcements will be faster, and the Tang Dynasty’s reinforcements will not arrive until next year at the earliest.”
"Do you think Japan will send troops to support you?"
Yang Chengqing nodded, "The possibility is very high. The leader of Japan, Fujiwara Nakamaro, prepared to invade Silla a few years ago. He built 500 ships and stationed 30,000 troops. Later, the plan to invade Silla was cancelled, but their war
The ships and troops are still training and can cross the sea at any time. They have no excuse to send troops, but our request for help gave them a rare excuse, so these 30,000 Japanese soldiers may have arrived in the Bohai Kingdom, and I am very worried about this!"
Li Ye walked a few steps with his hands behind his hands: "How big are your ships, and how big are the Japanese ships?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the sea-going ships of the Bohai Sea country are about three thousand stone, and there are more than two hundred of them. Their styles are the same as those of the Tang Dynasty. The Japanese sea-going ships are about two thousand stone. They are also called turtle ships, and they look like turtles.
flexible!"
Li Ye thought for a while and asked: "You took the sea route from Bohai to Datang. You should pass through the Tsushima Strait between Japan and Silla, right?"
"Yes, that is the only way to go."
"Didn't encounter a storm at sea?"
Yang Chengqing shook his head. In fact, we took the route used by the Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty, that is, we traveled close to the land. First we went to the coastline of the Bohai Kingdom, then we walked around the entire Silla Peninsula, crossing the East China Sea and arriving at Dengzhou. The journey was calm and calm.
, can’t encounter real stormy waves.”
"Never met?"
"Basically yes, our guide said that he has been following this route for twenty years and has never encountered a hurricane."
Yang Chengqing paused and continued: "We met the Tang army on Tamluo Island and got supplies and fresh water."
Tamna Island is today's Jeju Island. It is a small link and branch in the entire Liaodong strategy. It is a chess piece arranged in advance to destroy Silla. The five thousand troops and thirty sea ships from Donghae Island are deployed in several
They stationed in Tamna Island a few months ago.
In addition, Tamna Island is also a strategic node of the sea route. Currently, the safest sea route to Silla, Japan and the Bohai Sea is to follow the coastline to avoid sea storms. Tamna Island is the transit supply point of this sea route, which is somewhat similar.
The feeling of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
"How is the garrison on Tamna Island doing now?"
"It's not bad. There used to be a band of pirates on Tamna Island, but they were destroyed by the Tang army. The nearby sea area feels safe. Otherwise, we would always be on tenterhooks."
Li Ye nodded and inquired in detail about the internal affairs and military affairs of the Bohai Sea. He also learned about the distribution of the Mohe, Goguryeo, Han, Khitan, Xi, Turk, Shiwei and other ethnic groups in the Bohai Sea. He also inquired about the taxation and agricultural situation, and basically understood the situation.
The bottom line of Bohai Country was cleared.
Li Ye was very satisfied with Yang Chengqing's cooperation, so he asked someone to accompany him back to the east hall of Honglu Temple to rest.
However, Wei Jiansu stayed, accompanied by Duan Xiushi, the privy envoy who met Yang Chengqing.
Li Ye ordered people to fetch the map of Liaodong stored in the staff room.
Currently there is no sand table in Liaodong, only a detailed map drawn by the Andong Protectorate, including the current Bohai Sea and the Whale Sea, and even parts of Japan and Silla appear on the map.
This map has been revised many times and is currently the most accurate map of Liaodong. It has become the basis for Li Ye's strategic deployment of Liaodong.
It can be clearly seen from the map that the original homeland of Goguryeo was occupied by the Tang Dynasty and became the territory of the Tang Dynasty. It was basically divided by today's Imjin River. To the south of the Imjin River was Silla, and to the north of the Imjin River belonged to the Tang Dynasty.
Anton Protectorate.
But now the entire Liaodong has been lost, the territory of the Tang Dynasty has been compressed to Pingzhou in the south of the Western Liaoning Corridor, the Andong Protectorate has been divided between the Khitan and Silla, and Silla's sphere of influence has expanded northward to the Yalu River.
Li Ye's Liaodong strategy is to use three to five years to wipe out all the forces in Liaodong, including Silla.
"Your Highness, the situation in Liaodong has become complicated!" Wei Jiansu whispered.
Li Ye nodded and said with a smile: "But the turmoil in Liaodong is also an opportunity. When we end, the overall situation will be decided."
Duan Xiushi said to the person next to him: "Inform the Liaodong intelligence scout immediately and find a way to detect the situation in Bohai Country. I want to know if the Japanese army is already in Bohai Country?"
"Wei Chen obeys the order!"
Li Ye thought for a while and then said: "Also, notify the navy in various places that vehicles and ships with more than 5,000 stones of stone will gather in Dengzhou."
"Follow the order!"
Duan Xiu performed a courtesy and left in a hurry.
Li Ye then smiled at Wei Jiansu and said, "There happened to be a breakthrough at the steam engine. Let's go and see it together!"
Wei Jiansu said happily: "It is said to be a monster machine. I don't know much about it. Let's go and have a look!"
The steam engine was noisy and was no longer in the engineering school. Instead, a large shed was built on the bank of the Wei River to the north of the spear, surrounded by high walls.
Of course, it is difficult to build a steam engine. Even if Li Ye drew the schematic diagram, it still took nearly two years to develop and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Currently, steam engine construction is under the charge of Yao Chunshan, the commander of the Ordnance Supervisory Agency, and his apprentice Wei Jincheng. Wei Jincheng is currently the deputy commander of the agency.
When Li Ye returned from Youzhou in August, 90% of the work was completed. Now two and a half months later, it has basically been successful.
When Li Ye and Wei Jiansu came to the factory, they happened to be burning a boiler. Water vapor poured into a huge iron cabinet through the pipes, driving a pair of piston rods to move back and forth.
Yao Chunshan was a famous mechanism master in the Tang Dynasty. He designed many complex mechanisms. He was the one who designed Li Ye's secret room in Wubenfang.
He was also the one who built the gravity clock that appeared last year. He took a group of apprentices to work as apprentices. Currently, hundreds of gravity clocks have been built, and every state capital has a gravity clock.
Yao Chunshan also went through ups and downs in building the steam engine. Many principles were understood, but the materials were not in place, such as the pipes for transporting steam and the chimney for emitting steam and soot. Finally, they were made of white lead and copper alloy.
For pipes, white lead is zinc. It was refined in large quantities in the Tang Dynasty and was generally used to cast coins, Buddha statues and decorations. When made into copper alloy, it has good ductility and is suitable for making pipes and chimneys.
Yao Chunshan sighed and said to Li Ye and Wei Jiansu: "There was an explosion at the beginning of the year, killing two craftsmen, and the completed steam engine was also blown up. This was the worst time for us."
"Why did it explode?" Li Ye asked.
"A large amount of steam could not be discharged, and the boiler exploded when it could not bear it. Later, we installed a chimney and a valve. If the pressure is found to be too high, the steam must be discharged in time. All experienced boiler operators are very important. We
In specialized training.”
Li Ye nodded silently. Without various instruments, he could only rely on experience.
Next to him, Wei Jiansu asked: "How many units were built before and after?"
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, a total of seven units were built. In fact, the fourth unit was successful. It has been continuously improved since then. Now it is the seventh unit. I mainly observe how long it can run continuously. It started running yesterday. This is very important. Just in case.
If it breaks down at sea, you will be in big trouble."
"How long do you think it can run continuously?" Li Ye asked.
Yao Chunshan quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, it will take at least two months. If the mortise and tenon joints are strong enough, then there is no problem in running it continuously for more than three months, or even half a year. I am considering the worst result."
Li Ye nodded. The entire internal parts of the steam engine are made of copper. Like furniture, the most important thing about a steam engine is its sturdiness. Currently, there are no screws and nuts, so the shell can only be cast in one piece as much as possible, and the parts inside rely on traditional
The mortise and tenon technology prevents it from suddenly falling apart after running for a period of time.
Li Ye said slowly: "I hope to hear the good news that you have successfully developed it next spring."