Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 377
In the arsenal under the jurisdiction of the Ordnance Bureau in Liaodong City, boxes of wooden boxes loaded with gunpowder and bullets were loaded onto a carriage and transported to the railway station in Liaodong City.Some of these important materials were transported to Mulen Lake and Yuyuer Lake in the north, and some were transported to Dalian Port in the south.

"In the past few days, the military department has suddenly sent a military order. The amount of gunpowder required has really reached an astonishing level. It is enough to start a massive war. It will be divided into two batches, the north and the south. The army lord intends to fight on two fronts Is it?" The officials of the arsenal muttered to themselves while recording the supplies shipped out of the factory.

The Ordnance Bureau is a logistics department and has no right to intervene in the strategic arrangements of the military department. Their responsibility is only to transport the materials to the designated location in time according to the list of materials provided by the military department.

"When the cannon is fired, the gold is ten thousand taels. The materials we have shipped out these days are worth 10 taels of silver." Another official also had the same feeling, "The inventory accumulated after two years of hard work has gone to less than half. .”

"This is a resolution from above, and it's not our own money. We should register carefully and make no mistakes. Otherwise, if something is missing, we will be entangled endlessly by people from the Finance Bureau."

Liaodong City is the industrial center of Liaodong, and it is as important as Jinzhou City, the power center, and Dalian Port, the foreign trade center.Due to the proximity to Anshan Town, many mines and smelters have moved to this vicinity.This batch of firearms and ammunition to be transported to Dalian Port was loaded on dozens of trains, and then transported to Dalian Port.

In the north, there are heavy soldiers gathered near Yuer Lake, and almost all the Mongolian tribes in the southern part of the country are involved in the upcoming war. In the south, there are also troops secretly gathering in Dalian Port.It's just that this batch of assembled troops is not infantry and cavalry, but the Beiyang Fleet that has been acting low-key in the North Sea.

Two sailing battleships with 54 guns, Da Chu and Dayan, were moored in Dalian Port.Among them, the formation of the Dayan was stationed in Dalian Port for a long time, and the Dayan was called back from the Ryukyu Guard.In addition to the two sailing battleships, there are also several cruisers, frigates and some merchant ships.

There were about twenty ships in this group, the most eye-catching one was not Da Chu and Dayan, the two largest sailing battleships, but an iron-clad merchant ship painted black.This iron-clad ship has a huge black chimney with a steel texture, and the hull is painted with "Yongchang" in large characters in white paint.

For the people in southern Liaoning who have only seen wooden sailboats, iron-clad boats are still a novelty.However, with the flood of new things such as trains and street lamps, these ordinary people can easily accept them.

"Look, that's the government's iron-clad ship Yongchang, isn't it the fourth time it's been here this month?" The workers on the pier started talking.

"Is the Yongchang really made of steel? Is it so heavy that it won't sink into the sea?"

"I have transported goods up there, and touched the deck and hull with my hands. It feels cold to the touch. It must be made of steel. I just don't know how much steel such a big ship needs."

"Is it really made of steel? Is it a cargo ship or a warship?"

"Cargo ship, look at the flag of the Far East Trading Company on the Yongchang, not the flag of the Beiyang Fleet. It is obviously a large cargo ship operated by the government. It was also said to be a passenger ship a while ago, but it was later changed to a cargo ship. There are only a few cannons on it, so it’s definitely not a warship anyway.”

The workers talked a lot, but it was just some gossip they got, and it didn't matter.

A large number of ships are concentrated in Dalian Port this time, obviously there is an important operation, and only some people at the top of the Beiyang Fleet and the Ministry of the Navy are aware of this operation.

"The Ministry of the Navy has received an order from the Ministry of the Navy. Our Beiyang Fleet is responsible for protecting this group of merchant ships, including the Yongchang, and going to Nagasaki Port in the East Kingdom for trade." Shi Daxuan, the deputy commander of the Beiyang Fleet, faced the Dayan and Dachu. Said the captains of the two formations.

He was Zheng Zhilong's former subordinate, and he is still Zheng Zhilong's adjutant now, but the difference is that he has the Admiralty and Chu Yun directly under the command of the Admiralty.

"Deputy Commander, I have doubts. Although these merchant ships are not as powerful as our gunboats specially built for naval warfare, many of them are also armed merchant ships. Some have more than a dozen bronze cannons, and some have a few cannons. It is our Yongchang The No. [-] iron-clad merchant ship was pulled out to the sea of ​​Dongying Kingdom alone, as long as there is no close combat, there is no ship that can sink it, why do we use almost the entire Beiyang Fleet to protect them?" The captain of a frigate asked puzzled road.

"You don't need to ask about this for the time being. When there are other arrangements in Nagasaki Port, it will be regarded as an exercise of our Beiyang Fleet." Shi Daxuan didn't explain much, "After the supplies are loaded, we will set off immediately!"

Not only the merchants of the Liao Army, but also the merchants on the merchant ships that are about to set off with the Beiyang Fleet are still kept in the dark.They were businessmen who were going to Nagasaki Port for trade, but they suddenly received a notification from Chu Yun.Chu Yun promised that if these businessmen set off with the Beiyang Fleet, they could make huge profits.In view of the considerable returns obtained from the cooperation with the Liao Army, these merchants joined forces with the official merchant ships of the Liao Army.

"What kind of medicine do you say is sold in the gourd of the Liao army? Why did you take us with you? Could it be that there are pirates in the North Sea?" A businessman muttered on his merchant ship.

"As far as Liaodong in the north and Nanyang in the south, almost all the pirates have been suppressed by the Liao army. It is impossible that there will be pirates so rampant that they need to use the power of ten warships of the Liao army to escort them? With these ten warships Ships, not to mention pirates, are more than enough to wipe out a big name in Dongpu." Another businessman on the same boat shook his head.

"Then this is strange, could it be..." Suddenly a businessman had a bold idea, "Is the Liao Army really going to fight against the name of Dongpu?"

"Don't talk nonsense about this. We are just businessmen. They are taking our little ships to fight against Japan?"

After the ten warships of the two formations of the Beiyang Fleet received a steady stream of supplies such as gunpowder, ammunition, fresh water, and food from the pier, the planks connecting the pier were pumped onto the ship, and the sailors and soldiers pulled up the sails in an orderly manner. .

The chimney of Yongchang, the only strange steam iron-clad ship, billowed black smoke, forming a unique scenery.

Residents near the seaside of Dalian Port curiously watched this fleet of unknown purpose leave Dalian Port and sail into the eastern Pacific Ocean.Except for Zheng Zhilong's last fleet expedition to the south, they have rarely seen the fleet of the Liao Army make such a big move.

(End of this chapter)