The Ordnance Bureau was built on the former site of Kang Lian's Mansion, adjacent to the canal in the east and only two miles away from the General Manager's Mansion in the west. The mansion occupies a huge area, second only to Zhennan Palace and the General Manager's Mansion. The Supervisor is Hu Guangcao. p>
Zhang Yangquan selected a strictly confidential area in the bureau and was responsible for the preparation and granulation of gunpowder.
In the past few days, he has allocated a sum of money to the Ordnance Bureau and asked them to buy all the saltpeter in the city and use it to make gunpowder in large quantities.
In addition to gunpowder, the Ordnance Bureau is also responsible for the manufacturing of a large number of weapons.
Spears, armor, swords, stacked shields, bows and crossbows are all important tasks of the Ordnance Bureau. The research and development of artillery is also a top priority.
The original manpower of the blacksmith workshop would definitely be too busy. Fortunately, the general manager's office had iron bureau, bank bureau, wood bureau and other yamen. Zhang Yangquan classified all the craftsmen in these yamen into the Ordnance Bureau, which made up for the shortage of manpower in the Ordnance Bureau.
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The level of these craftsmen is very high. Except for a few apprentices who were carefully trained by Hu Guangcao, no other blacksmith can keep up with them.
With the participation of these people, the scale of the Ordnance Bureau has increased significantly, and a large number of weapons can be produced every day.
The bureau is heavily guarded, with five posts per step and five hundred guards guarding the entire mansion airtight.
Zhang Yangquan walked all the way and came to the gunpowder workshop. This workshop is made up of five or six rooms that are opened inward. After entering, the view is extremely broad.
The workshop is divided into four areas, which are similar to an assembly line production method to prepare gunpowder. Each area is only responsible for adding one kind of raw material.
There are fifty workers in the workshop, all of whom are loyal and reliable people selected from the old villagers.
Their work is monotonous and boring, and it is a completely closed management, and there is a certain degree of danger, so Zhang Yangquan gave them a salary of eight taels of silver, which is higher than that of the craftsmen outside.
Looking around the assembly line, everyone is concentrating on their work, and the entire assembly line production is very efficient.
When we reached the end, there were several large wooden barrels placed in the corner, with gunpowder soaked in water piled inside.
These wet gunpowders only need to be dried, crushed, and sieved into particles to obtain the finished gunpowder.
After the inspection, Zhang Yangquan left the gunpowder workshop, walked around the weapons workshop, and then headed towards the General Manager's Mansion.
Before he arrived at the General Manager's Mansion, a messenger came galloping over on horseback, but it was Qin Lingjun who asked him to go back to the North Gate Camp.
Zhang Yangquan knew that something big was going to happen, so he changed his route and headed towards the camp.
When he arrived at the North Gate Camp, Qin Lingjun was waiting for him at the camp. After he got off his horse, he stepped forward and said, "Bian Yuanheng is here!"
Zhang Yangquan felt a chill in his heart and asked, "Are you here for Zhang Jiusi?"
Qin Lingjun nodded: "That's exactly why Zhang Jiusi plans to attack Gaoyou and hopes that we will send troops to help."
While the two were talking, they headed towards the Chinese military camp.
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said, "Do you think we can help?"
Qin Lingjun said: "Help!"
"Why?"
Qin Ling thought: "Gaoyou is located to the north of us. If Zhang Jiusi takes Gaoyou, it can serve as a barrier for our army."
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "The words of the leader of the village are exactly what I want. Let's go and listen to what Bian Yuanheng has to say."
When the two came to the camp, Bian Yuanheng held up his hands and said with a smile: "Congratulations to Guizhai for taking Jiangdu. The heroes of the world were all excited when they heard about it. My general is willing to form an alliance with Guizhai to fight against Yuan Dynasty together!"
Zhang Yangquan sighed: "Listen to Brother Bian's words, have you joined Zhang Jiusi?"
Bian Yuanheng said: "Yes, the day you captured Jiangdu, I went to Xinghua and became a Qianhu under General Zhang."
Zhang Yangquan knew that Bian Yuanheng was afraid that he would extend an invitation to him again and he would not be able to refuse, so he left in a hurry, feeling a little unhappy.
"In that case, let's talk business. I accept Leader Zhang's intention to form an alliance, but we are all rebels. It doesn't matter whether we form an alliance or not, so let's save these formalities."
Bian Yuanheng said with a smile: "That's right. There is really no need to go to any unnecessary lengths. Then I won't beat around the bush. Our army is about to attack Gaoyou, and I would like to ask General Manager Zhang to send troops to help!"
Zhang Yangquan glanced at Qin Lingjun, and the two of them were in a tacit understanding. Qin Lingjun immediately said with a straight face: "Our army has just captured Jiangdu and is recuperating. It may be difficult to send troops at this time."
Bian Yuanheng said hurriedly: "You don't need to attack the city, you just need to come to the city and contain our army for a while!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "What if Yuan soldiers come out of the city to fight with our army?"
Bian Yuanheng said firmly: "To be honest, our army has attacked Gaoyou many times. The Yuan soldiers are already exhausted and will never dare to go out of the city to engage with your army in close combat!"
Qin Lingjun tentatively said: "If they send troops, we will get a piece of Gaoyou's pie!"
Bian Yuanheng smiled and said: "Okay. If your army advances to Gaoyou City, what's the problem if we give this city to your army?"
Qin Lingjun said again: "We have mobilized our troops, but I wonder what your army will say?"
Bian Yuanheng smiled and said: "We don't have any other good things in Taizhou and Xinghua, only a lot of salt. If your army doesn't dislike it, we are willing to offer three thousand pieces of salt."
Zhang Yangquan couldn't help but feel excited. Salt was the hard currency of this era. It was not only edible, but also an important preservative. Salt was included in the salaries of many dynasties.
No matter in times of war or peace, salt is more expensive than rice. The price of salt in the Jianghuai region is already the lowest in the country, costing more than 200 yuan per catty.
Zhang Shicheng delivered 3,000 pieces of rock salt in one go, which is equivalent to more than 60,000 taels of silver, which is not a small sum.
"I also ask Bian Qianhu to wait for a while in my camp, and then I will give you an answer after discussing it with the soldiers."
Bian Yuanheng held up his hands and said: "Time waits for us not to wait, please make a decision early!" After saying that, he was taken to the branch by the soldiers to wait.
Qin Lingjun waited for Bian Yuanheng to go away before she said, "Why don't you agree to him directly?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "I suddenly remembered something. We Jiangdu only have 20,000 troops. If troops are suddenly sent out, will it be dangerous if Brother Wang Meng comes to make a sneak attack?"
Qin Lingjun smiled and said: "I forgot to tell you. Both Zhenjiang and Jiqing Mansion are building water fortresses and training naval forces. They are probably afraid that we will cross the river."
Zhang Yangquan was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but laugh.
This is the difference in mentality.
Brother Wang Meng originally had more than 30,000 troops, which were clearly stronger than his own, but he did not dare to attack Jiangdu. Instead, he divided his troops to garrison Zhenjiang and Jiqing Mansion, focusing solely on defense.
This is of course due to his cautious use of troops, but also because the fall of Jiangdu put a lot of psychological pressure on him. The same is true for the Yuan soldiers below, and their morale cannot be high.
On the other hand, when our own generals are rewarded based on their merits, the morale of the soldiers is high and the generals are vying to make meritorious deeds.
Because of this, although the military strength of the imperial court was several times that of the rebel army, it was often unable to defeat the rebel army.
With his worries eliminated, Zhang Yangquan sent someone to call Bian Yuanheng and agreed to his request for reinforcements.
Bian Yuanheng said goodbye happily.
Early the next morning, Zhang Yangquan and Qin Lingjun ordered 10,000 troops, took Wang Da and Hou Hou with them, and headed north towards Gaoyou Mansion.
Within two days, the army arrived thirty miles away from Gaoyou Mansion. The troops were stationed to rest and sent people to gather information near Gaoyou City.
Not long after, the scouts reported that there were 3,000 men and horses in the east of Gaoyou City, carrying a flag with the character "Zhang". They should be Zhang Jiusi's men.
Wang Daqi asked: "What the hell is Zhang Jiusi doing? He only sent three thousand people to attack the city?"
Qin Lingjun asked Tan Ma: "Don't the other three gates have soldiers and horses?"
Tan Ma replied: "No."
The monkey sneered and said: "These Tatars seem to be scared out of their wits. They were too scared to come out when they encountered three thousand people!"
Qin Lingjun glanced at him and said, "How do you know this is not Zhang Jiusi's strategy to lure the enemy?"
The monkey smiled and said: "When you said this, I remembered something."
Qin Lingjun said: "Huh?"
The monkey looked reminiscing and said: "When I came to Gaoyou to inquire about Xuzhou, I met Zhang Jiusi."
"Oh? What kind of person is he?" Zhang Yangquan also became interested.
The monkey said: "I haven't spoken to him, but I think he is a calm man. In addition, I also met a man named Li Boxheng, who is also a good man and respects Zhang Jiusi very much. I guess now
Also under Zhang Jiusi."
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "That's right, Zhang Jiusi is by no means an idle person. We may deal with him often in the future, so we must not underestimate him."
Qin Lingjun said: "Just because he can conquer a talent like Bian Yuanheng, it shows that he is extraordinary."
Wang Da muttered: "I don't think Bian Yuanheng is anything special. He is just lucky. If I encounter a tiger, I can kill it!"
Qin Lingjun was too lazy to pay attention to him and asked Zhang Yangquan: "Are we still going to march?"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said: "Let's march. I guess Zhang Jiusi left three thousand troops at the east gate just to reassure us."
Qin Lingjun suddenly realized, "He wants to tell us that the Yuan soldiers have become frightened. They don't even dare to attack three thousand men, let alone our ten thousand men!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said: "Since Zhang Jiusi still has time to consider such a trivial matter, it means that he has a plan in mind. This Gaoyou City will soon change hands!"
In a valley forty miles east of Gaoyou City, a wild goose was about to fall into the valley to rest when it suddenly noticed something and flew past the valley.
The sun is shining brightly in the sky, the sun is warm and the wind is calm, but not a single bird song can be heard in the entire valley.
Looking down from a high altitude, you will find that this valley has been occupied by an army of ten thousand people.
At a high point in the west of the valley, Zhang Jiusi looked up. Gaoyou City in the distance was so prosperous and beautiful, as if it was waving to him.
There was a burst of chaotic footsteps behind him, but a group of generals came behind him.
Lu Zhen was among them and said: "General, please come and report to me. Jiangdu's army has arrived ten miles away from Gaoyou City. They will be able to reach the city within an hour."
Zhang Jiusi didn't even look back and asked, "How does Jiangdu's army look like?"
Lu Zhen was stunned and did not answer for a while. Bian Yuanheng, who was standing relatively behind, said: "Jiangdu Army has always been well-trained, so its military appearance will not be bad!"
Zhang Jiusi's eyes flickered but he said nothing.
Li Boxheng said: "General, as long as Jiangdu's army is approaching, Buller will definitely run to the south gate to defend. We can act as planned!"
Zhang Jiusi nodded and was about to give the order when a calm and low voice sounded: "Brother, you have thought clearly. As long as we capture Gaoyou, we will definitely become the biggest thorn in the side of the Yuan army. Jiangdu's army did not help us out of good intentions!
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Zhang Jiusi was stunned for a moment and fell into silence.
Lu Zhen raised her eyebrows and said: "Zhang Jiuliu, how long has it been since this happened, and you are still saying this? Taizhou and Xinghua only have salt, no population, and no food. We can only grow stronger by conquering Gaoyou!"
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Zhang Jiuliu said calmly: "I am not denying the benefits of Gaoyou, but at the same time I want to remind everyone of the disadvantages of Gaoyou. Let me decide how to make the decision!"
Zhang Jiusi took a deep breath and said decisively: "Bo Sheng, pass the order and act according to the plan!"