Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 605 Hiring the Nanyang Fleet
In the port of Hoi An, there are teams of strong men recruited from all over the country. There are thousands of people, which makes the port of Hoi An, which was originally occupied by the Nanyang Fleet, extremely congested.

Many of these strong men who were forcibly recruited were dressed in rags, at least in rough linen clothes, and they didn't have any weapons in their hands.Most of them are farmers or vagrants, and only such families are easy to become victims and be pushed to the front in times of war.

A general in light armor with a sword pinned to his waist was frowning as he patrolled the street. Looking at the noisy army of new recruits, he became more and more worried.

"You, I'm talking about you. How old are you?" Ruan Youyi, who was on patrol, found a recruited recruit with a haggard face and a somewhat stooped figure, so he couldn't help but stop and ask.

"Back to the general, the younger one is fifty to six this year." Said the obviously old soldier.

"Fifty to six, you are so old, why did you still apply for the draft?" Ruan Youyi said in surprise.

"The young family used to have two strong men, but the eldest fell ill and died at the beginning of the year, and the second broke his leg when he went hunting in the mountains. But the government said that when we registered last year, there were two men, and one of them had to serve in the army. , I also suspected that the boss escaped to avoid military service, and wanted to dig up the boss’s grave. The deceased is the oldest, and the old farmer dared to agree, so he had to come to the military service by himself.” The old soldier said.

"It's unreasonable. Although it is the autumn of our Ruan family's life and death, we can't force the old man to go to the front line. After this war is over, I will settle accounts with them. Old man, you don't need to go to the front line today, just stay here Wait until we return in triumph." Ruan Youyi said to him.

"No, I fought with Lord Ruan when I was young, and now I miss the battlefield very much. I want to do my part for the Lord Ruan in the sky and protect his descendants." The old soldier shook his head resolutely, Not going to run away.

Ruan Youjin was a little moved and helpless, the Ruan family had really reached the end of their rope, and even the retired veterans had to rejoin the battlefield.The Ruan family, with a population of only 60, has fewer and fewer troops to mobilize, and it lost a lot of men last year.After this battle, next year, even women and children will have to grow crops in paddy fields to support food for future survival.

After leaving the resolute old soldiers, Ruan Youyi patrolled around Hoi An Port. Most of the soldiers here were just gathering numbers and serving as cannon fodder.Only a small number of strong soldiers underwent short training during the preparation period, using cold weapons and matchlock guns, and only some of the elite soldiers led by Ruan Youjin were equipped with flintlock guns from the Kyushu Army.

"We have a total of 7253 soldiers, sailors, and handymen in this expedition, of which [-]% are recruits." The official in charge of counting the number said to Ruan Youyi.

"How many Nanyang Fleet are they going to send to go north with us?" Ruan Youyi asked.

"According to the officers they contacted with us, they will come out in force, four formations, and the number of thousands of people." The official said.

"It seems that they didn't break their promise, and they are still willing to help us deal with the Zheng family. As long as we follow the Rilihaikou into the inland river and cut off their grain road, they will definitely ask us for a truce." Ruan Youyi said.

"My lord general, why do you think Lord Zheng knows that the Kyushu Army is likely to help us, and we have the advantage over the water, so why did we take the initiative to go south? The ending this time is nothing more than the same as last year." The official asked again.

"Princess Zheng is not without his careful thinking. Our new lord was first established, and he wanted to test our depth and make us very uncomfortable." Ruan Youjin said as he walked, "Their national strength is stronger than ours, even if it is futile this time, Being tossed by them like this, our national strength is even weaker, and the cost of hiring the Nanyang Fleet is too high. Every time we hire them, we have to bleed a lot. Last time we lost the privilege of Hoi An Port, this time we have to bear several million Two debts, what about next time? We will soon have no price to be able to hire the Nanyang Fleet. The next time Lord Zheng calls again, what conditions will we use in exchange for the support of the Nanyang Fleet?"

After these days of thinking, Ruan Youyi finally came up with a "reasonable" explanation for why Lord Zheng would go south at this time.Not only Ruan Youyi, Ruan Fuxi and others also agreed with Ruan Youyi's idea, and they all believed that Lord Zheng did not intend to win the war this time, but to disgust the Ruan family and drain the Ruan family's national strength.

"Since the Zheng family is trying to consume us, why do we still have to fight so aggressively? And we still ask for the full support of the Kyushu Army regardless of the millions of dollars on our back?" the official asked in puzzlement.

"This is the cunning of Lord Zheng. He has come here with all his strength. If he finds that we don't have the help of the Kyushu Army, or only a small number of Kyushu Army is invited, they will definitely turn the action of consuming us into a full-scale attack and defeat the long-term leader in one fell swoop." De Lei, drive straight in." Ruan Youyi said earnestly, "Zheng Bing is really an old fox with ulterior motives!"

"Hiss... as expected of the old fox occupying the north, fortunately, the general has seen it through." The official admired.

"Hey, what's the use of seeing through, this is Zheng Bing's conspiracy, we have to act according to their ideas, this is the most uncomfortable part." Ruan Youyi said.

After inspecting Hoi An Port, Ruan Youyi had a certain understanding of what troops his opponents had and their general combat effectiveness.Now he and Ruan Youjin belong to the Ruan family's double walls, and he and Deng Qianlong led the counterattack of the Zheng family's Yulin army from the waterway.

Deng Qianlong has already led the sailors of the Daqin sailing battleship aboard the Daqin sailing battleship.The Daqin sailing battleship with more than 50 naval guns is the warship with the most advanced firepower in the Nanyang region, and it is also the warship with the most fierce firepower. It was manufactured in southern Liaoning according to the specifications of the British sailing battleship in the late 18th century.

In addition to the Daqin sailing battleship, there are also three sailing battleships of the same size as the Daqin, the Dawei, Dazhao, and Dahan, forming four formations.Each formation has frigates and supply ships.With such a powerful fleet, there are almost no opponents in the South China Sea. The only threat to them is probably the storm and tsunami in the Pacific Ocean.

"Commander, the four formations are all ready, and our supplies are enough to fight for three months." Daqin's adjutant said to Deng Qianlong.

"Three months is more than enough." Deng Qianlong looked down at Hoi An Port from the deck of the Da Qin with a telescope. The houses in Hoi An Port seemed relatively small. "We will come back here soon. A supply base in Nanyang."

(End of this chapter)