The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 36 Who is our enemy?
If the Red Cannon can be made, the development of the story will be interesting.

Anyway, the Red Cannon will be used against the Nu Chief sooner or later, so why not use it sooner?
Before Yuan Chonghuan came to Liaodong, he used it first to give Nurhaci a surprise.

Liu Zhaosun decided to give it a try and let them build the cannon in a Buddhist way. As for whether the cannon would explode or not, and whether it could be used, it all depended on Mao Yuanyi's luck.

However, he must not let the Later Jin Dynasty take away the Red Cannon, otherwise he would become a laughing stock in the world of time travel.

The iron smelting industry has been very developed in the Liaohe Plain since the Tang and Song dynasties.

In addition to silk and tea, the main trade items between the Liao people and the Jurchen Mongols were various iron farm tools.

Although some of the goods were banned by the imperial court, merchants and military leaders in Liaodong, under the control of the imperial court, always found ways to sell the banned goods. They would then exchange them for cheap ginseng, mink furs, and medicinal herbs from the Jurchens and Koreans, and then sell them at high prices throughout Jiangnan, earning huge profits.

Under this trade system, the Jurchens, Liaozhen, and Korea all won, but the imperial court was the only one that lost.

In addition, exchanging ginseng and sable fur for iron products was also one of the reasons for Nurhaci's rapid rise.

The plan was finalized and it was put into action immediately. When leaving the city, Liu Zhaosun gave the abstract-style sketch of the red-haired cannon he had drawn last night to Mao Yuanyi, asking him to persuade Yang Hao to start making the cannon as soon as possible.

Mao Yuanyi, who was passionate about firearms, took the sketch of the red cannon and looked at it for a long time with his neck tilted. The monkey-catching-the-moon posture cured his lumbar disc herniation that had plagued him for years.

On that day, Yang Hao sent his servants to the camp south of the city to deliver food and fodder for the next ten days. He also told Liu Zhaosun that he had allocated silver and asked Mao Yuanyi to immediately build a red cannon.

Liu Zhaosun couldn't remember what happened between him and Yang Qing'er last night. He only remembered that the two women fought very fiercely. He was not yet ready to transition to the role of a son-in-law, but the governor spared no effort to support the future son-in-law, which made the Liaozhen army generals jealous.

How to defend Kaiyuan became a question that Liu Zhaosun thought about.

To answer this question, we need to think about another question first.

Who are our enemies? Who are our friends?
Now it has become a trouble for Liu Zhaosun.

Liu Zhaosun decided to start selecting soldiers from the Liao people according to Qi Jiguang's method of selecting soldiers.

At the south gate of Shenyang, an endless stream of refugees stretched from Hupiyi, sixty miles away.

After the bloody battle of Hunjiang and the soul-calling in Kuandian, Liu Zhaosun's name had become well-known far and wide, and people came to Shenyang every day to join the garrison commander.

March 21st was less than three months away from the historical Battle of Kaiyuan.

Liu Zhaosun stood on a hillside near the south gate of Shenyang, selecting the vast number of Liaodong refugees according to Qi Jiguang's selection standards.

Three thousand combat soldiers and five hundred cavalrymen, each equipped with armor and weapons, stood at the south gate of Shenyang.

The Eastern Army made a lot of spoils in the Battle of Hunjiang, including more than 1,320 sets of blue-bordered cotton armor, more than 530 sets of chain mail, more than 520 war horses and miscellaneous horses, and 2,300 long and short weapons of various types. In addition, many of the Liao people who defected along the way brought their own weapons, which was more than enough to equip the new recruits in front of them.

As for how to make these Liao people become combat-ready in a short period of time, the only thing Liu Zhaosun could think of was the new book Ji Xiao.

Liu Zhaosun discussed with Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi and decided to go to Kaiyuan in person to visit General Ma Lin.

Kang Yingqian's mind is not on the Eastern Route Army now. He wants to leave Liaodong as soon as possible. Even if he cannot go to Jiangxi, which he has been longing for, as long as he can seek to be transferred to Guangdong and Guangxi to be a county magistrate, it is safer than following the madman Liu Zhaosun.

When the military inspector heard that Liu Zhaosun was going to find Ma Lin, he was confused and worried that he would be led into trouble again.

"Ma Lin, thanks to his father's influence, rose to the rank of Lieutenant General of Datong. Later, he defected to Li Chengliang and rose to the position of General of a town. However, he lacks military strategy and considers himself a scholar, pretentiously preening. Why are you going to look for such a defeated general, Liu Shoubei?"

Qiao Yiqi also advised: "The Liaozhen's poor treatment of the superiors yesterday shows how arrogant and domineering they are. To be fair, the Eastern Route Army is currently in its prime, so we should take this opportunity to recruit more soldiers. Even if we can't hold Kaiyuan, we can slowly make plans later."

Liu Zhaosun knew the good intentions of the two military supervisors, but he was afraid that these two feudal bureaucrats would find it difficult to understand what he wanted to do.

"Thank you both for your kindness. How can we disappoint His Majesty's earnest expectations? A lord humiliates a servant and a minister dies. I and the Jiannu are sworn enemies! If you are concerned, you can take a boat to Dengzhou, Shandong, to supervise the army."

The two men looked at each other. They were not like the military leaders in Liaozhen who had no soldiers or power and had to rely on the imperial court.

The emperor's decree has not come down yet. If they abandon the Eastern Army and run away, the morale of the army will be shaken, which is a capital crime.

If the old emperor can’t deal with Li Chengliang, can he deal with these two military supervisors?

Seeing that the two of them had gloomy faces and were silent, Liu Zhaosun laughed secretly and continued:
"Yesterday, we saw that Liaozhen is not a monolithic entity. My strategy for defending Kaiyuan is simple. Besides the Red Cannon, we must unite all forces that can be united..."

Liu Zhaosun, using contemporary thinking, recounted the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, which he had studied in college, before two classical officials of the 1620s. Of course, he omitted any quotations about mobilizing the masses for revolution. Speak-out utterances of these were punishable by death.

The two military supervisors were dumbfounded after hearing this. Perhaps it was too much information, so they both stroked their beards and fell into deep thought.

The Liaozhen army was not a monolithic entity. Based on their closeness to the Jiannu, they could be roughly divided into three types:
The type that regards the enemy as the father, the type that is indecisive, and the type that resolutely resists.

Liu Zhaosun planned to take in some, win over some, and attack some.

In Liu Zhaosun's view, General Ma could be won over and become his friend.

The residence of the Kaiyuan general.

General Ma Lin, dressed in mourning, felt a little dizzy as he looked at Liu Zhaosun standing in front of him.

Ma Lin had just learned that Liu Zhaosun was promoted to garrison commander and might soon become lieutenant general. For a moment, he didn't know how to greet this young man.

Liu Zhaosun looked up at Ma Lin. This man was short and not as tall and strong as the Liao people. He was not a native of Liaodong, and his hometown was Xuanhua.

Marin was wearing mourning clothes at this time, and looked more like an old man selling twisted candy on the street than a general of a town.

There was no need for small talk between warriors. Liu Zhaosun looked directly at Ma Lin and said with a heroic air:
"General Ma, please accept my condolences. I heard in Shenyang that the Northern Army set up camp at Shangjian Cliff and dug trenches that day, strictly guarding themselves. They dug three circles of trenches, lined up firearms outside the trenches, and stationed cavalry outside the firearms. The cavalry all dismounted and formed a square formation inside the trenches. Despite such a strict defense, they were breached by the enemy. It is not the General's fault!"

Liu Zhaosun had been busy these days begging Liaozhen generals for food and troops to defend Kaiyuan. In the end, no one paid any attention to this small garrison. People said he was desperate for military merit. The Tartars were still in Hetuala, and the only people who appeared in Kaiyuan were just a few scouts. Besides, Kaiyuan City was high and deep, unlike the smaller cities of Fushun and Qinghe. General Ma could rest easy with the Xuan army at his command.

Of course, whether the Liaozhen military leaders believed these words was still a question, but Liu Zhaosun did not believe them anyway. So he temporarily put aside the matter of training troops and came to Kaiyuan to discuss cooperation with Ma Lin.

Ma Lin waved his hand, looked at Liu Zhaosun coldly, and stood up as if to see him off.

"You are Liu Jing's adopted son, a true young hero. Forget the polite words. I am old and can no longer fight. What do you want from Kaiyuan? I have no soldiers or food. Just ask Lord Yang for them!"

Liu Zhaosun laughed and didn't feel embarrassed. He had thought about the scenario of being rejected before coming to Kaiyuan.

He gently blocked Marin with his hand and continued:
"There are rumors in the court that General Ma has ties to the Jiannu and has harmed General Du. It's a shame your son was killed by the Jiannu white-armored soldiers at Shangjian Cliff. Liaozhen won't tolerate the Northern Army right now. The future of General Ma and these thousands of Xuanda soldiers is in jeopardy!"

Ma Lin slammed the table and stood up, his eyes cold, turning to his trusted servant beside him, Liu Zhaosun laughed.

"General Ma, wait a minute! This time I came to Kaiyuan not only to discuss cooperation between the Southern Army and the Xuan Army, but also to deliver someone to the General. The one who killed your son, Bayala, is in my hands!"

(End of this chapter)