Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 295 Joint Operation
Yang Lian blinked, then slowly stopped scrutinizing him. "I didn't say I didn't trust you, and I certainly won't raid your house. I just want to know why the cost of construction in Liaodong is so much higher than inland."

"It might be the price of silver," Li Chenshu breathed a sigh of relief. "The silver exchange rate has been falling. Lately, most prices in the city have been doubled. If we were using copper coins, the price difference wouldn't be that big."

"Silver prices are indeed falling." Yang Lian nodded slightly. He had heard this complaint more than once while chatting with soldiers in various military camps. After three levies on Liaodong and several rounds of treasury payments, Liaodong was indeed a bit too rich in silver.

While Yang Lian was thinking, Sun Chuanting also helped to speak up: "The Ministry of War is manufacturing in large quantities, while our production has only recently resumed. Many craftsmen just returned from various places before the New Year. After we produce a few more batches and the workers become proficient, the working hours should be able to be reduced." He has been keeping an eye on this place, asking a small question every three days and inspecting it every five days. He knows very well whether there is corruption here.

"Yeah." Yang Lian stopped dwelling on the cost and asked, "How many were produced in the first batch?"

"A total of 127 gun barrels were drilled in the first batch," Li Chenshu replied, "and all of them were used to make muskets. The second batch will have about the same number."

"No defective products? All of them are qualified?" Yang Lian asked in confusion.

"A gun is not like a sword or a gun. If there is any problem, it is difficult to find it immediately. But we have inspected it. Before delivering it to the warehouse, each musket was fired ten rounds in a row. None of them exploded." said Li Qianshu.

He Shixian also said: "At least until now, I haven't heard of any reports of explosions."

Li Qianshu added, "The name of the craftsman was engraved on the barrel of each gun. If the barrel exploded before firing a hundred shots, the craftsman would be held accountable."

Compared to its caliber, the wall of the bird gun's barrel is very thick. As long as the government provides enough materials and it is properly maintained, the barrel will not rust, so it is unlikely to explode.

"Can the output be increased?" Yang Lian asked again.

"Honestly, it's not easy." Li Chenshu shook his head regretfully. "We only have so many skilled blacksmiths. If we divert them to making bird guns, the production of other weaponry will decline. Right now, we must first ensure that every soldier in Shenyang has at least a spear with an iron tip and an iron-clad round shield. Even the Standard and Special Battalions are still short of two thousand sets of armor."

"Hmm? I remember that most of the armor produced in Liaoyang was allocated to Shenyang, Fengji, and Hupi. There are nearly two thousand pieces now. Is there still a shortage of so many?"

"Yes," He Shixian said. "After Yang Jinglue's defeat, there wasn't much left in the Liaodong armory. It was all buried in the ice and snow, leaving that old wild boar skin with nothing. In all of Shenyang, only my servants and the cavalry of the Left Wing Battalion were fully equipped with armor. In other battalions, only some of the cavalry and even the officers had armor."

"Hmm," Yang Lian asked, "what about the cannons? Can our craftsmen imitate the cannons that the Westerners sent as tribute?"

"It can't be made," Li Chenshu denied directly. "The craftsmen looked at it. They said that if we want to make that kind of cannon, we need a larger furnace and mold. The conditions in Shenyang are only suitable for casting small cannons."

The so-called small cannon was a short-barreled, small-caliber cannon. It was slightly more powerful than a bird gun, but not much more so. A burly general like He Shixian could even pick it up and fire it hand-held.

The conditions in Liaoyang were slightly better, and some medium-caliber cannons could be cast, which He Shixian could not lift, but the output was also worrying.

After the Liaoyang Shenji gunpowder depot exploded two years ago, many guns and cannons were destroyed, and most of the inventory was sold out immediately. In order to quickly fill the vacancies in the artillery positions in cities and forts across Liaoyang, Liaoyang's production capacity was mostly focused on small cannons rather than medium cannons.

"Okay, I get it. Let's go look somewhere else." Yang Lian sighed inwardly. The facts he saw repeatedly proved one thing: Liaozhen didn't yet have the strength to attack. But the wind in the capital was increasingly leaning towards urging war.

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Liaoyang. Headquarters of the Military Governorate.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiong Tingbi had a stern face that had lost its roundness. In front of him stood two generals with their heads bowed. They were the commanders of the two southern troops, Chen Ce and Qi Jin.

Chen Ce and Qi Jin were old acquaintances. They had worked together remotely during the War to Resist Japanese Invasion and Aid Korea.

At that time, one of them served under Liu Ying, the other under Chen Lin. They didn't have much of a friendship, let alone any animosity. Now, with Chen Lin dead and Liu Ying killed in battle, the two men had become independent commanders. But even the commanders had to bow their heads before General Xiong, listening to his instructions like children. Even among the three, Xiong Tingbi was the youngest, only in his early sixties.

"I've told you so many times. You must restrain your subordinates and maintain good neighborly relations. Is it that you don't understand me, or that they don't listen to you? You're fighting again. Last time, his people hit your people first, and this time, your people hit his people first. Are you just children fighting?" Xiong Tingbi first pointed at Qi Jin and then at Chen Ce, and then the other way around.

"You're still looking for a fight? What the hell! With your behavior, you're always fighting each other. If something happens, you'll probably just watch from the other side of the river." Xiong Tingbi puffed his beard and glared, not looking like a top scholar at all.

"." Qi and Chen didn't know whether this was a question or a rhetorical question, so they didn't say anything. Instead, they kept their heads down and nodded from time to time.

"Where's the wood? Speak!" Xiong Tingbi said in a shocking voice.

"Of course we won't sit idly by and watch the fire!" Qi Jin was so shocked by Xiong Jinglüe that he shrugged.

"What about you?" Xiong Tingbi turned and looked at Chen Ce.

"Zuo Tang, I think we should just have the natives and Zhejiang stationed separately and train separately. That way, out of sight, out of mind, and there won't be any conflicts or chaos," Chen Ce suggested cautiously. He felt that combining the natives and Zhejiang was a bad idea. Fortunately, the north and south weren't combined. Otherwise, old grudges and new ones would be combined, and if someone with ulterior motives instigated a fight, it would be possible.

"No!" Xiong Tingbi certainly considered separating the local and Zhejiang provinces to reduce unrest and trouble. But he wanted to increase mutual understanding so that they could fight together.

Because the two forces each had their own strengths, the Zhejiang soldiers were skilled in handling firearms, but were mostly newly recruited soldiers with a noticeably weak fighting spirit, while the local soldiers were brave and fearless, able to hold their positions despite high casualties. If they were properly coordinated, for example by mixing the local and Zhejiang forces and letting the local soldiers serve as the vanguard for the Zhejiang soldiers, the sum of their strengths would surely be greater than their sum of their strengths.

"If you can't even do such a small thing, what are you doing as a commander? Just station them together! You must make the two troops as close as one family. No room for negotiation." Xiong Tingbi said in an extremely tough tone.

"Yes," Chen Ce replied dejectedly. His men came from the Shiqu and Youyang Xuanfu Divisions, two factions that were not on good terms with each other, let alone coexisting harmoniously with the Zhejiang troops.

"Yes." Qi Jin also responded.

"I've thought about it for you. We'll have a few literate soldiers from each side stationed in the other's military camp to serve as interpreters and explain each side's taboos. Once both sides understand each other, they can be careful not to violate the other's taboos and seek common ground while reserving differences." Xiong Tingbi's expression shifted, changing to one of anticipation. "You two should discuss and communicate more. If you have any good ideas, feel free to tell me. I'm counting on your cooperation."

"Yes." The two old men looked at each other and nodded sullenly. They didn't want to chat with Xiong Dajinglüe anytime.

"Restrain your men and stop fighting. I'll come to inspect them regularly," Xiong Tingbi warned. "In short, until the southern troops can't unite and fight, they won't be able to advance north."

"Yes."

"Go back." Xiong Tingbi waved his hand. "I'm leaving." The two men bowed to Xiong Tingbi.

Shortly after the two left Xiong Tingbi, before they even left the government office, Chen Ce exclaimed to Qi Jin, "Your soldiers are so easy to manage."

Qi Jin shrugged. "Easy to manage. A bunch of greenhorns. I have to go through the trouble of training them from scratch, unlike you, who can just pick them up and use them right away."

Chen Ce curled his lips and said, "Wow, that's easy to say. The people over there are Han Chinese after all, and we can communicate directly. Unlike me, I can only command the local soldiers through the chieftain. Without the chieftain as an intermediary, I can't command them at all."

Qi Jin smiled wryly and shook his head, his expression a gentleman's sympathy. As they walked side by side to the door, Qi Jin took the initiative to ask, "How are you going to deal with those soldiers who caused trouble?"

"The same thing. Reprimand the chieftain and let them handle it." Chen Ce said, "It's hard for me to intervene directly. It could easily cause trouble. What about you?"

"Of course they were beaten with sticks. Arrested them all." Qi Jin did have an advantage in this regard. At least he could directly let the servants arrest the troublemakers without having to rely on junior officers.

"I don't think they need to be too harsh. Just a few slaps will be enough to show their respect. Otherwise, it will make it difficult for them to do their jobs in the future. They might even take their anger out on each other, thinking it's the other's fault that they're being punished." Chen Ce said, "I've heard this argument from the chieftain before."

Qi Jin felt that Chen Ce's argument made sense, so he nodded slightly and said, "How about this? We gather the troublemakers together, and then, in front of both sides, have them clearly explain their grievances. Then, we can impose a light punishment on them for disrupting military discipline. Finally, we can follow Zuo Tang's instructions and send interpreters to each side."

"Okay. Let's give it a try." Chen Ce nodded.

They walked and talked all the way, and did not ride horses after leaving the government office. As they were talking, a burst of rapid horse hooves suddenly came from behind them.

Chen Ce had sharp hearing. He looked back and found that the leader looked familiar.

"Is that the chief guard around Yang Zhongcheng?" Chen Ce nudged Qi Jin's arm with his elbow.

"It seems so. I remember it was a Liao general, his name seemed to be Zu Dashou or Zu Tianshou." Qi Jin also stopped and watched.

"Didn't Zhongcheng Yang go to Shenyang? Why is he back so soon?" Chen Ce said.

"Who knows." Qi Jin said, "Why don't we go back and pay him a visit?" After the news of Yang Lian scolding Xiong Tingbi for Li Huaixin spread, the generals' favorable impression of Yang Lian rose to a new level.

However, their favorable impression of Yang Lian didn't mean the Southern Army commanders would deliberately treat a Northern guerrilla general with courtesy. As Chen Ce mounted his horse, he said, "Central Minister Yang isn't here, so there's no need. Let's go back and settle this as soon as possible."

"Okay." Qi Jin also stepped on the stirrups to mount the horse and drove it faster.

--------

Zu Dashou lightly pulled the reins, and the horse under his crotch stopped steadily in front of the gate of the governor's headquarters.

He dismounted, first took out the package containing the confession and circumstantial evidence from the saddle bag and slung it over his shoulder, then took off another cloth package hanging next to the saddle and picked it up in his hand.

He walked towards the gate of the headquarters, carrying one thing on his shoulder and another in his hand. Because Zu Dashou had changed into his official uniform in advance, he entered the headquarters without being questioned.

He made his way to Xiong Tingbi, who was enjoying his afternoon tea in a moment of leisure. A cool breeze rustled his beard. He closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting to the fruit trees he had planted in his hometown of Jiangxia during his time off.

Thinking of the new dew on spring buds, a surge of poetic inspiration suddenly surged into his heart. In a few breaths, several wonderful words emerged. But just as he was about to complete the chapter, an abrupt call abruptly and rudely interrupted his thoughts.

"I pay my respects to the Left Hall!" Zu Dashou put down the letter and package, and then bowed to Xiong Tingbi politely.

"Hmm." Xiong Tingbi opened his eyes and frowned instinctively. "It's a bummer."

"Ah?" Zu Dashou was puzzled.

Xiong Tingbi raised his teacup and took another sip. His sudden displeasure vanished as the bitter tea washed down his throat. He didn't argue with Zu Dashou and simply asked, "Did Yang Wenru send you here?"

"Yes." Zu Dashou moved the head envelope and the package in front of him and said, "This is the head of the Seljuq rebel, along with his confession and circumstantial evidence. In addition, there is also the memorial from the Minister of Justice."

"Bring it out and show it to me." Xiong Tingbi narrowed his eyes and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Yes." Zu Dashou opened the cloth bag, lifted the wooden board, and slowly took out the head.

The gushing blood had long since dried, and the blood stains clinging to the smooth wound had mostly been absorbed by the refined salt, leaving the entire head a dismal color, even paler than a white person's skin. Fortunately, the eyes were closed, so it didn't affect Xiong Tingbi's appetite for tea.

"Well, put it back." Xiong Tingbi had seen this group of foreigners once before, and was particularly impressed by this half-Western, half-Confucian Jesuit interpreter. He confirmed the identity of the head at a glance. "Where are the rest of the people?"

"Who is it?" Zu Dashou asked back.

"Just other Westerners."

"Oh! When I left Shenyang, they were still imprisoned in the prison of the Pacification Office." Yang Lian did not give the task of escorting the Western mercenaries to Zu Dashou.

Xiong Tingbi nodded. "Okay, you've worked hard."

After Zu Dashou stuffed the head back in and covered it with a board, Xiong Tingbi said, "I remember you have a house in Liaoyang City, right?"

"Yes." Zu Dashou was from Ningyuan, and his family was mostly there. However, his father, Zu Chengxun, had a modest house in Liaoyang City in his early years. He would occasionally stay there when he came to Liaoyang for work.

"Go back and take a look, there will be a surprise." Xiong Tingbi said.

(End of this chapter)