In late March, spring flowers fall and migratory birds return north.
After the war between Jiangsu and Zhejiang ended, most of the generals of Jiangdu Army also returned north to Jiangdu Prefecture.
Zhang Yangquan discussed meritorious deeds and rewarded him in the military camp in the north of the city. Xu Baisheng became the first second-level general of the Jiangdu Army to control the country. The other generals also received rewards.
Judging from the map, only the rebel army is left around Jiangdu Army, and there are no Yuan Dynasty cities.
Therefore, all the generals understand that there will be no war for the time being.
After returning to Jiangdu this time, they began to deal with private matters one after another. Some built houses, some picked up relatives, and some married wives.
Chang Yuchun's parents died and he was alone. After returning to Jiangdu, the first thing he did was to marry Lan Xiangyu.
In order to let Lan Xiangyu marry him gloriously, he approached Zhang Yangquan and asked Zhang Yangquan to preside over the marriage.
Coincidentally, Bian Yuanheng also came over at the same time and wanted Zhang Yangquan to help officiate the wedding.
After Zhang Yangquan and Qin Lingjun discussed it, they decided to officiate their marriage at the same time.
The wedding day is scheduled for the last day of March, and the wedding venue is arranged at the Military Academy.
Preparing for the wedding will take its own course, and the Bian family will be responsible for it. Zhang Yangquan and Qin Lingjun don't need to worry too much.
Since Qin Lingjun had a child, she no longer goes to the military camp and takes care of her children at home every day.
Although Zhang Yangquan also wants to spend more time with his children, Shen Wansan's matter also needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
A few days ago, he issued an order, ordering the Tongzhou garrison to transfer all fifty five-masted warships just made by the shipyard to Jiangdu.
In the next few days, he would go to the Ordnance Bureau almost every day.
Finally, on March 30, the day before the wedding, good news came from the Ordnance Bureau that the latest batch of artillery pieces had been built!
In fact, before the capture of Hangzhou, the Ordnance Bureau developed a new three-inch caliber artillery, which was still being tested at the time.
It was not until today that the first batch of finished products was finally produced.
A total of twenty new artillery pieces!
These new artillery pieces are eight feet two inches in length and weigh one thousand three hundred and fifty kilograms. Their bodies are dark and translucent, exuding a metallic beauty.
Just looking at the weight and caliber, you can tell that the power of this artillery is far superior to the old artillery.
The test firing was completed very early. The range is a hundred feet farther than the old artillery, and the power is several times more powerful. It can penetrate a five-foot-thick stone wall within one mile.
The current thickness of the city is only about one foot. With the power of the new artillery, it only takes about an hour to blast a hole in even the strongest city wall!
After the artillery was built, Zhang Yangquan immediately ordered them to be installed on the five-masted warship.
With heavy artillery and giant ships, this will become an invincible naval force!
Zhang Yangquan stood on the deck of a five-masted warship, facing the wind, looking toward the east.
He had a hunch that the Japanese emperor would refuse to release Shen Wansan, so the first enemy of this navy was probably the Japanese army.
Suddenly, the sound of wind was mixed with the sound of horse hoofs. Zhang Yangquan turned his head and saw a fast horse arriving at Heyuan Pier.
Immediately there was a tall woman wearing a white cloak, it was Qin Lingjun.
Qin Lingjun dismounted at the dock and quickly walked up to the deck. He looked at the sergeants who were carrying the artillery, and his eyes slowly locked on the artillery.
"Husband, is this a new type of artillery?"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "How is it, not bad, right?"
Qin Lingjun's eyes flashed and she said, "It does look a lot bigger, but how powerful is it?"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "Would you like to try a shot?"
Qin Lingjun hesitated for a while and finally shook her head.
"Forget it, looking at your expression, I know that the power is definitely not bad. You specially formed this navy army, isn't it without intention?"
"What do you mean by me?"
Qin Lingjun's eyes sharpened and she said: "Of course we are dealing with the Japanese!"
Zhang Yangquan laughed and said: "My wife still understands me. Yes, this navy is prepared for the Japanese!"
Qin Lingjun frowned and said, "Do you think Hou Daigo won't let him go?"
Zhang Yangquan did not answer, but asked: "Do you still remember that Qian Qian once mentioned Liu Ju?"
"Liu Ju?"
"That's right, she said that Liu Ju suddenly enlightened and offered many strategies to the Japanese lords!"
Qin Lingjun muttered: "Well, she seems to have mentioned it."
Zhang Yangquan raised his chin and said, "You have seen Liu Ju, too. How could someone like him suddenly become enlightened? In my opinion, there must be capable people around him!"
Qin Lingjun muttered: "What do you mean..."
"The Japanese people will not provoke us for no reason. Liu Ju must be behind this instigation. If there are capable people behind Liu Ju to provide advice, then there must be a sequel to this matter!"
Qin Lingjun's eyes were stern: "So you think Liu Ju will definitely try to stop this?"
"This is just the worst plan I made!" Zhang Yangquan nodded, and suddenly changed the subject: "Of course, it may be that I am overthinking it. The Japanese guard does not know the relationship between Shen Wansan and me... …”
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves sounded again in the distance.
I saw a royal guard riding his horse to the dock, quickly ran onto the ship, and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, the Japanese reply has arrived!" He handed over a bamboo tube.
Zhang Yangquan reached out and took it, opened the cover, took out the letter, and read it silently.
Qin Lingjun was about to come over to look at it together, but Zhang Yangquan had already closed the letter with a serious look on his face.
"Hou Daigo won't really refuse to let him go, right?" Qin Lingjun changed color slightly.
Zhang Yangquan didn't say anything and silently handed the letter over.
Qin Lingjun took it and looked at it, with a cold look on his face, and said: "Mere barbarians dare to call us rebellious officials and traitors. Husband, you must teach them a lesson!"
"Of course we need to teach you a lesson, but..." Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "I have been thinking just now that if we want to use troops against the Japanese country, supply will be a big problem."
Qin Lingjun's eyes flashed and she said, "You can go find Cai Ye!"
Zhang Yangquan said blankly: "You mean that pirate?"
Qin Lingjun smiled and said: "I don't want to be a pirate now!"
"No more?"
"I heard from Qian Qian that since we communicated with Japan, Caiye's island has become a transit station and supply point. He has made a lot of money and no longer has to rob merchant ships!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said, "Well, in that case, he definitely doesn't want to see anything happen to Shen Wansan."
Qin Lingjun said: "Now that we have a supply point, who do you plan to send to fight against Japan?"
Zhang Yangquan pondered: "To use this new artillery, we will definitely need Geng San's Shenji Battalion. Geng San is one of them. But only sending him alone seems a bit uneasy..."
Qin Lingjun thought for a while and said, "Let Chang Yuchun and Geng San go together. Didn't he live in the Japanese country for a few months?"
Zhang Yangquan glanced at her and said, "Chang Yuchun is getting married tomorrow. Wouldn't it be a little unkind to send him to fight at this time?"
Qin Lingjun smiled and said: "It seems that you still don't understand people like Chang Yuchun. As long as he can fight, he will be willing to postpone the wedding if you ask him!"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's okay, anyway, it will take about ten days to contact Cai Ye, which is enough for him to get along with his wife!"
Qin Lingjun handed the letter back to him and said, "I'm going to talk to Qianqian, so that she won't have random thoughts after hearing the news." She turned around and left the ship.
Zhang Yangquan blew the wind on the deck for a while. When all the artillery pieces were installed, he called over a personal guard and said, "Go find General Geng San and come over."
The bodyguard promised and left.
More than half an hour later, Geng San came over with his guards.
His eyes seemed to be sucked by artillery, shining with a strange light. After a long while, he walked up to Zhang Yangquan, cupped his hands and said: "I will pay my respects to the king."
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "General Geng, what do you think of these artillery pieces?"
Geng San was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth and said: "Okay, very good!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "You have rich experience in using artillery. Please help me check carefully to see if there are any problems with these artillery. Let me know the result tomorrow."
I patted his shoulder, got off the boat and left.
Geng San waited for his figure to disappear and quickly began to test-fire the artillery.
After a while, the pier heard the roar of gunfire.
The sound of the cannons rang out three times before it stopped, and then Geng San got off the boat and left the dock.
His cheeks were extremely rosy, as if he were drunk.
This new artillery is so powerful!
Although the range has not been increased much, the power has been increased three to four times. The original cannonball was less than ten kilograms, but now it exceeds twenty kilograms!
Large cannonballs are especially important during naval battles, because small cannonballs make too small a hole and often require many rounds to sink a ship, while large cannonballs only require one or a few rounds!
Moreover, the larger the cannonball, the less likely it is to be affected by the sea breeze, and the accuracy will be improved.
What Zhang Yangquan said to him back then echoed in Geng San's mind.
"Your Shenji Camp will shine in the future!"
Today, Geng San finally understands the true meaning of this sentence!