There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

After clarifying the organizational structure of the palace, various departments began busy department formation and operation.

Lin Fengzhi began to visit various places in Xi'an to check the situation. He first went to the headquarters of Zhenming Ordnance Factory, which had been relocated from Jiazhou.

Ordnance factory director Fang Zilin, technical director Zhao Zhixue, deputy director Li Yingyuan and others accompanied Lin Feng to inspect the production workshops of Type 39 breech-loading rifles and stainless steel artillery.

After moving to Xi'an, Zhenming Ordnance General Factory further expanded its scale, and also retained part of its production capacity in Jiazhou, and its total output has tripled.

Lin Feng focused on the development of generators. Currently, there are still many technical bottlenecks and progress is very slow. However, the mastery of basic knowledge has taken a big step forward.

From steam power to electricity, this is an epoch-making progress, and there is no rush. Lin Feng told them to study patiently and not rush to produce results.

In addition, after considering the next step to capture Nanjing and Songjiang, the Zhenming Army will definitely have to face the ocean. Lin Feng specifically told them to study and build larger ships on the basis of improving the steam engines that sailed on the Yellow River, so as to prepare for the next step. The Yangtze River is ready to enter the ocean.

After leaving the Zhenming Ordnance General Factory, Lin Feng went to inspect the Second Mobile Combat Division stationed near Xi'an.

Fang Xiaoyu came up to him excitedly and saluted, "I've met the prince!"

"No need to be polite, Xiaoyu. I have appointed you as the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. You have been promoted to the rank of general and have become the highest-ranking officer in our Zhenming Army. You have to shoulder the heavy responsibility!" Lin Feng encouraged.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your training and trust along the way. I will do my best to repay Your Majesty for your great kindness." Fang Xiaoyu said gratefully.

Lin Feng checked the barracks facilities and the training situation of the officers and soldiers of the Second Mobile Division along the way, and affirmed: "Xiaoyu, you did a good job in training, everyone is very energetic!"

"Your Majesty, our Zhenming Army has good treatment and good food. Of course we are full of energy. We are all waiting for your order to set off to fight immediately. We have already been holding back our energy."

Fang Xiaoyu asked for orders. They had been training recently and had not participated in operations such as the capture of Henan and the raid on Nanjing. They had long been impatient.

"Haha, don't worry, there will be a battle soon. You continue to practice well." Lin Feng replied.

"Really, Your Highness, are we going to fight Zhang Xianzhong? We must be the vanguard this time!" Fang Xiaoyu immediately argued.

"You're going to hit whom at what time, and everything follows orders. Don't you understand?" Lin Feng ordered.

"Yes! I beg the prince to give the order as soon as possible!" Fang Xiaoyu was still unwilling.

"You, just wait, there will be an important task for you in the next step." Lin Feng could not resist this kid's repeated requests for tasks, but still revealed some information to him.

Fang Xiaoyu's Second Mobile Division was originally responsible for monitoring Zhang Xianzhong's department. The last time the Xi'an Combat Division was formed, they did not recruit people from their division, so the proportion of veterans was the highest.

The rows of fine steel artillery in the barracks are shining brightly, and there are also many breech-loading rifles installed. The weapons and equipment are also top-notch among the divisions. They will definitely be mobilized to be the main force next time.

Zhenming Palace, Qinzheng Palace.

Lin Feng renamed the palace where he handled official duties the Palace of Qinzheng, urging himself to be diligent in government affairs.

After spending two or three days inspecting various ministries around Xi'an, Lin Feng hosted his first military meeting at the Qinzheng Hall where he proclaimed himself queen.

"Everyone, everyone supports me as King Zhenming, which marks that our Zhenming Army has officially entered a new stage of fighting for the world. Today we will hold a military meeting to discuss the next main direction of attack. First, the Intelligence Department will report on the surrounding situation." Lin Feng He spoke.

Guo Zheng, who was newly promoted to the title of head of the Intelligence Department, stood up and began to explain the surrounding military situation based on the large map hanging in the hall.

Since the beginning of the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign, Yang Sichang has led the imperial army to fight with Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and other rogue bandits, mainly in Sichuan.

In February, Luo Rucai arrived in Daning from Nanzhang and Yuan'an. General Qin Liangyu, a female official of Shizhu, was stationed at Baizi River in Luomen. Luo's army could not cross the river, and then moved to Kuizhou (Fengjie, Sichuan). Qin Liangyu led his troops to rescue and defeated the guerrilla Yang Maoxuan. Luo Rucai.

In mid-March, Luo Rucai fought with Sun Yingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, and others at Fengyiping in Xingshan, and was killed by more than 2,300 ranks of soldiers. Luo Rucai led his troops to escape from Wushan and met Zhang Xianzhong's troops.

Later, Yang Sichang led the army from Huguang to Shu, and ordered the Shu generals to guard Ba, Wu and other dangerous places. The imperial generals and the peasant army fought in Kuizhou and camped in Tutu Ridge. In order to preserve their strength, He Renlong did not fully participate in the pursuit.

In early April, the Ming army suffered a major defeat at Guanyinyan in Longnan, northern Sichuan. Zhang Xianzhong successively attacked Jingbi, Dachang and other places. Sichuan Ming general Zhang Ling led his troops to fight, but was killed in the middle of the attack. The morale of the Ming army was greatly reduced.

When Yang Sichang heard that the Shu army was defeated, he was shocked and angry. He ordered the execution of Dachang guard Shao Zhongguang and the arrest of Sichuan governor Shao Jiechun.

Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army then moved to the Hanzhou area and looted wantonly between Shifang, Mianzhu, Anxian, Deyang and Jintang. He robbed all the cities wherever he went and then left. The whole of Sichuan was greatly shocked.

In short, the Ming army suffered repeated setbacks in encircling and suppressing the rogue bandits, and Zhang Xianzhong's military strength continued to expand.

After listening to this, Lin Feng looked at the map and thought for a while, then asked: "Have you found any signs that Zhang Xianzhong's troops are preparing to attack Xiangyang?" "Last time, the prince told us to focus on this point, and our Tingfeng Guards also strengthened their focus. Zhang Xianzhong was very good at attacking in the east and in the west, and carried out mobile operations. The Ming army was unable to pursue them and was exhausted.

Zhang Xianzhong is temporarily unable to attack the big cities in Sichuan, and Yang Sichang's army has also been mobilized to Sichuan. It is very likely that Zhang Xianzhong's troops will jump out of Sichuan and attack Xiangyang while the imperial defense is empty. "

"What's the news from the court?" Lin Feng then asked.

"It can be said that the imperial court is in a state of turmoil with domestic and foreign affairs. There are three main pieces of information that need attention. One is that some time ago, Emperor Chongzhen forced his chief minister Xue Guoguan to death on the pretext of forcing his relatives to donate money and risk their lives, and ordered to promote the minister of rites Zuo Shilang and concurrent Fan Fucui, a bachelor of Dongge University, took over as the chief assistant of the cabinet.

The other was Chen Xinjia, the new Minister of War, who organized and trained a hundred thousand new troops with one million taels of silver donated by Xue Guoguan to the emperor's relatives.

The third thing is that because the court is seriously short of money, Bi Ziyan, the new Minister of Household Affairs, proposed an edict to increase the world's tariffs. The tariffs will be increased by one cent for every two taels. It is estimated that the country will increase by about 200,000 taels. "

"This Emperor Chongzhen is really pitiful. He raises taxes here and there to get 200,000 taels of silver, which is not even as good as the commercial taxes of our Zhenming Army." Lin Feng mocked.

"Corruption is rampant in the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen ordered a tax increase of 200,000 taels, and the subordinates dared to increase taxes and collect 2 million taels at every level." Guo Zheng interjected.

"Yes, it doesn't make sense for the Ming Dynasty to survive." Chen Yongfu, the former Henan military commander who served as senior counselor of the General Staff, said with emotion.

Lin Feng glanced at the generals participating in the military meeting and said: "Now that the enemy's situation has been basically clear, let's discuss the focus of the next step. Should we attack the Ming army first or Zhang Xianzhong?"

"Your Majesty, the morale of the Ming army is completely depleted. All the generals are determined to preserve their strength and are unwilling to sacrifice their lives in battle. Zhang Xianzhong and others should have the clear upper hand now.

If we attack the Ming army first, it may cause Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others to quickly grow in size, which will not be conducive to our next step in wiping out these bandits. "Wang Qin, the newly appointed general manager of the general staff, analyzed.

"I also agree with Manager Wang's opinion. Zhang Xianzhong and other peasant armies are running around, attacking cities and territories, and killing the people. They should be eliminated first." Huang Hongchang also agreed.

"Counsellor Chen, what do you think?" Lin Feng asked Chen Yongfu.

"The general feels that the rogue bandits should be defeated first. Once the rogue bandits are eliminated, as long as Yang Sichang is eliminated, I feel that I should be able to persuade other Ming generals to surrender and reduce the casualties of our army." Chen Yongfu replied.

"Okay, since everyone is on the same page, let's make up our minds to attack Zhang Xianzhong and other peasant armies first.

In order to unify the combat command, I announced the establishment of the Longnan Corps of the Zhenming Army, with Fang Xiaoyu serving as the commander-in-chief as the right commander of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.

The Longnan Corps has Fang Xiaoyu's Second Mobile Division and Hongtu's Third Mobile Division. This force is still slightly small, so I asked Li Xiongxing to lead a brigade of 1,500 people from the Guards Division to strengthen it.

Xiaoyu, you will march to Hanzhong Prefecture first, take control of the entire Hanzhong, and then keep a close eye on Zhang Xianzhong's march route from Sichuan to Yunyang and Xiangyang in Hubei.

If it is discovered that the peasant army is trying to enter Huguang again from Sichuan, immediately organize an interception and strive to annihilate Zhang Xianzhong's troops at once. " Lin Feng ordered.

"Yes! I promise to complete the mission assigned by the prince!" Fang Xiaoyu finally got the opportunity to be the main force and happily accepted the order.

"Your Majesty, after Commander Fang You took the order to go south, only the Xi'an Combat Division was left in Xi'an. As the seat of the royal palace, Xi'an cannot be carried for defense. There are still too many troops. I suggest that we need to further expand the army." Wang Qin suggested.

Lin Feng touched his chin when he heard this and said, "Mr. Wang's words are reasonable. Are there any ready-made replacement soldiers in Xi'an now?"

"Yes, according to the prince's order last time, 10,000 new soldiers have been recruited, all of whom have completed basic training, and 5,000 of the original surrendered troops of Xi'an Dusi have also been reorganized and reorganized." Wang Qin replied.

"Then we will expand based on the Xi'an Combat Division, transfer a brigade from the Yan'an Combat Division to strengthen it, and add 12,000 new troops.

The first combat division will be split into two divisions: the Hubei Combat Division 1 and the Xi'an Combat Division. The General Staff Headquarters ordered the Yan'an Prefecture to recruit troops to replenish the missing brigade of soldiers and horses in the Yan'an Combat Division.

Among them, Peng Xing serves as the division commander of the Hubei Combat Division 1, and the Xi'an Combat Division promotes Fang Xiaolin, the original deputy commander, as the division commander.

These two divisions have a large number of new recruits. During this period, they will focus on strengthening drills and carry out combat missions after the training is completed. "

"Yes! Let's implement it immediately." Wang Qin took the order.

"In addition, the remaining recruits will be formed to supplement the Xi'an Minzhuang Team to strengthen local self-protection capabilities. These troops will be commanded by the governor of Shaanxi. Ieyasu and your middle school desk are responsible for giving orders." Lin Feng explained.

"Understood!" Lin Jiakang accepted the order.

(End of this chapter)