serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 477 Naval Battle

Contrary to the bright spring scenery in Beijing, Liaodong is still cold and windy, with snow covering the fields.

The tents outside Liaoyang City were so densely packed that it was impossible to see them all at a glance.

Outside the Chinese army camp, a group of soldiers from the Han army camp, whose ears and noses were blown red by the cold wind, were standing there with their hands in their sleeves and stomping their feet to avoid the cold.

A soldier from the Han camp said: "Damn it, the Zhou Dynasty's artillery hit so far. At that time, the Chinese army was five miles away from the city wall!"

Another soldier: "No! The Zhou Dynasty's artillery fire was quite accurate. One shot directly hit Prince He Shuorong's army flag. I don't know what happened?"

Another soldier said: "You don't know yet? Yesterday I heard from my fellow cook who was a cook that the Eight Banners generals guarding the Chinese army's tent have not eaten for two days. I am worried."

A Han military camp general came over and scolded in a low voice: "Damn! I'm tired of living! Who told you to talk nonsense here?!"

The soldiers of the Han army camp quickly lowered their heads.

Suddenly, the howling cold wind carried the faint cry of many people.
The general and the soldiers were all startled. They all stretched their necks and looked into the deep camp gate.

In the tent behind the camp of the Chinese army, Yongqi lay straight on the couch, his eyes closed, his face gray and white.

Zhengbai Qizuo Ling opened his eyes wide and stared at Yongqi whose eyes were closed. Suddenly he opened his arms and fell on Yongqi, crying loudly.

The generals of the Eight Banners were led to burst into tears together.

An Eight Banners general suddenly jumped up and shouted: "Revenge!"

All the Eight Banners generals stood up and shouted: "Revenge! Revenge!" and rushed out of the tent.

Zhengbai Qizuo came to his senses and shouted: "Don't move! We can't mess up our position at this time!"

All the Eight Banners generals were stunned and retreated to their original positions.

Zhengbai Banner Leader stood up, looked at Yong Qi, who had his eyes closed, and then glanced at the Eight Banners generals one by one, and then said seriously: "First stabilize the army, report to the capital, and then wait for His Majesty's decree. While attacking Shengjing City."

All the generals of the Eight Banners shouted in unison: "嗻!"

The eyes of the leader of Zhengbai Banner flashed fiercely: "We must keep an eye on the Han military camp and the Japanese people, especially the Han military camp. If there is any abnormal movement, we will destroy it directly!"

All the generals of the Eight Banners said: "Hey!" they all knelt down in response, kowtowed solemnly to Yongqi, who had his eyes tightly closed, then stood up and retreated.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the cabinet duty room, Jia Hu sat on the south kang and looked at Jia She quietly.

Jia She: "The current national policy is all about stability. All reforms must wait until the end of the war, at least one of the wars must be ended. Although a batch of property was confiscated from the homes of officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is far from enough to replenish the national treasury. huge deficit.

Now the imperial court is deploying troops in Liaodong, southern Xinjiang and northwest China at the same time. The monthly military salary is as high as 120 million. If military supplies such as food and grass are also included, then the monthly salary is more than 300 million taels. "

Jia Hu frowned: "You want so much?"

"This does not include the Yangtze River Fleet." Lin Ruhai added.

Jia She continued: "The existing silver deposits in the national treasury are only about ten million. Including the salt tax that has not yet been paid, it can only cover the expenses of the army for half a year at most. The emperor's idea is good, 'land to the tiller', But now is not the time. If the Central Plains is messed up, there will be problems with the tax revenue of the provinces, and major events will be missed. Therefore, we need to end the war first."

Jia Hu smiled: "That's what I said, don't worry, Uncle Pardon."

Jia She leaned over for a moment and then said: "As long as there is no chaos in the Central Plains, we can easily stabilize the situation. In addition to the war, there are two major events before us, one is Chun Wei Enke, and the other is Wu Chengxian And the Guangdong Navy. Chunwei Enke is simple, as long as it is fair and just." After saying that, he looked at Jia Hu again.

Lin Ruhai, Wang Hetang, and Li Shouzhong all looked at Jia Hu.

Jia Hu thought for a while: "As long as Wu Chengxian and the Guangdong Navy are willing to accept the reorganization."

After hearing this, Jia She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That will be much easier to handle. I still have something I want to ask the emperor for advice on."

Jia Hu looked at him: "What's the matter?"

Jia She: "The chief and deputy examiners and examination questions of the Enke Examination"

Jia Hu turned to look at Lin Ruhai: "The chief examiner of the general examination should be the country's abbot. As for the person who can do the Enke examination questions, the country's abbot should work harder."

For civil servants, it is an honor to be the examiner of the examination, not to mention that this is the first Enke examination in the founding of the country. Seeing that Jia Hu trusts him so much, he also leaves it to himself to formulate the Enke examination questions. Although Knowing that it was a letter of favor to his daughter, Lin Ruhai couldn't help but get excited and said: "I will do my best to do my job and find a few decent talents for the emperor!" "Yes."

Jia Hu turned his attention to Jia She again: "Leave the affairs of the court to the chief minister."

Jia She: "Yes."

Jia Hu suddenly remembered and looked at Jia She and Lin Ruhai, then at Wang Hetang and Li Shouzhong: "You all come here."

"Yes." Jia She, Lin Ruhai, Wang Hetang, and Li Shouzhong all stood up in a hurry and came closer.

Jia Hu said softly: "I plan to send troops to attack the Japanese country immediately after destroying Korea."

Jia She was surprised: "Your Majesty."

Jia Hu raised his hand: "The empire needs the minerals and labor force of Japan. Li Si has written. A large number of gold and silver mines have been discovered in Siberia. This requires a large number of miners. The Korean Tatars alone are not enough. The Annan people must keep their seeds." Earth, we can’t use troops in Central Asia for the time being, so Japan is the best choice!”

After a pause, "Japanese people are hard-working and are the best miners!"

Everyone was silent.

Jia Hu stood up and took a few steps: "Let's do this. I won't conquer the Japanese country personally. How about it?" He glanced at everyone.

Lin Ruhai lowered his head, but Wang Hetang and Li Shouzhong looked at Jia She.

Jia She stood there in silence for a long time, and then replied: "The empire rests on the shoulders of the emperor."

Jia Hu immediately interrupted him: "Uncle Pardon, please feel free. I cherish my life very much and will not go to the front line."

Jia She: "Please promise me that after the war in Liaodong is over, Emperor Luanjia will return to Beijing immediately and not to conquer Korea personally!" After saying that, he lifted up his robe and knelt down.

Wang Hetang and Li Shouzhong were startled for a moment, then knelt down.

Jia Hu was startled.

Lin Ruhai spoke: "I heard from the Empress that your Majesty promised to stay by her side this year. When the Empress had a difficult delivery, the mammies who delivered her for two hours were unable to come forward. It was only after taking Cui Shengdan that the mother and child were safe." As he said, His eyes were already a little moist.

Jia Hu walked quickly, then stopped suddenly, then waved his hand: "That's it." After that, he walked out.

Wang Hetang and Li Shouzhong looked at each other. This seemed to be a good way to solve the problem.
The sound of waves came from outside the cabin.

In the cabin, Bowling Hou Shi Nai was sitting by the window reading a book, wearing a tight-fitting leather jacket.

Suddenly, there was a rapid ringing of bells outside the cabin. The bells were getting louder and louder and more urgent!
Shi Nai was startled at first, and then jumped up suddenly. He remembered correctly that this was the bell that would be rung only when the navy encountered an enemy.

Thinking of this, Shi Nai grabbed the sword on the couch and rushed out.

The well-trained officers and soldiers of the Yangtze River Fleet ran to their respective battle positions as quickly as possible.

On the bow deck, the deputy commander of the Yangtze River Fleet was holding a monocular clairvoyance toward the vast sea.

Shi Nai looked at the sea: "What's going on?"

The deputy commander of the Yangtze River Fleet quickly scanned the sea surface and replied: "The scout just discovered the shadow of a warship ahead."

Shi Nai raised the clairvoyance handed to him by his own soldiers and looked at the sea ahead: "How long does it take to reach North Korea?"

Deputy Commander of the Yangtze River Fleet: "You can see North Korean land by tomorrow evening at the latest."

Shi Nai: "There's nothing!"

At this time, a roar came from the observation deck: "Enemy ships are found in the northeast! Enemy ships are found in the northeast!"

Shi Nai raised his clairvoyant eyes and looked at the sea over there, his whole body suddenly shook, and shadowy enemy warships appeared on the other side of the sea!
(End of this chapter)