New Shun 1730

Seeing that Li Jiusi seemed quite satisfied, Liu Yu wanted to let him say a few good words after he returned, so he took him to watch the tactical exercises such as volley gun shooting, artillery firing, grenadiers and skirmishers cooperating to attack small forts.

After watching for seven or eight days in a row, there was no repetition, and Li Jiusi watched with relish.

The day before leaving, he watched the soldiers' salaries again.

At the private banquet in the evening, Liu Yu asked tentatively: "Duke, did His Majesty say anything about the official school of Jinghai Palace and the navy?"

The navy is actually not complicated.

The complicated thing is the trade with Japan. Lin Yunwen quickly sold all his shares in the south. This year, it is considered a huge profit from the trade with Japan. He wants to take the money out to the south for dividends.

But now this joint-stock maritime merchant group has not been officially named. Liu Yu has to go to the capital to present this matter to the emperor.

He wants an exchange: hand over the Qingzhou Army to the emperor and teach the Qingzhou Army's training system to the emperor. He has no interest in the army in exchange for control of the navy.

This is not difficult. Liu Yu is the only one in the court who knows about the navy at his level. He is also the only one who can make money through trade without "competing with the people for profit".

Trust is something that needs to be maintained for a long time. The Qingzhou Army, especially if it performed well during the pacification of the Dzungar Khanate, is a bargaining chip that can maintain trust.

The difficulty of the navy is that during the time he is in the northwest, he needs someone who doesn't mess around.

As long as the shipbuilding and training are done step by step, it's just a matter of finding someone to look after the scene.

The levels of the few confidants under his command are far inferior.

If he is not bound by rules to recruit talents, the confidants under his command will definitely be useful, but he is afraid that the emperor will let someone who knows nothing come here to mess around.

Li Jiusi seemed to be drunk, but in fact his mind was very clear. After hearing this question, he knew what Liu Yu was worried about.

He did not say anything, but said: "Shou Chang, Shou Chang, this Qingzhou Army is very good. You have to think about one thing clearly, do you want to use the army to become a marquis, a general or a prime minister? Or do you want to use the navy to accomplish things?"

Li Jiusi saw the training of the Qingzhou Army with his own eyes, and he knew very well how powerful such an army was. He trained the Beijing Camp and knew very well that this army was no longer on the same level as the Beijing Camp system.

In all dynasties, if a general wanted to accomplish something, he had to have a strong army under his command. This achievement is not about rebellion, but about making military achievements.

If it is like Qi Wuyi of the previous dynasty, if it is like the Western Army of the Song Dynasty. Although Li Jiusi saw the peculiarity of the Qingzhou Army with his own eyes, it was a bit difficult to achieve combat effectiveness after the replacement of generals.

With such a Qingzhou army in hand, there will be many places to fight in the future, and it is not difficult to make meritorious service and be rewarded.

As for the navy, Li Jiusi did not know Liu Yu's true intention to engage in Japan and Southeast Asia, and thought it was just a saying.

In this way, in his view, the navy is a thankless job.

The Western navy is very strong. In the past, they were able to transport thousands of soldiers from tens of thousands of miles away to the South Seas, which shows their ability.

There are threats at sea, but if the navy of Dashun is strong, there will be nothing to do.

If the navy is strong, the Westerners will not dare to fight.

If they dare not fight, the navy will seem meaningless.

There will be no military merit.

From the perspective of an elder, he hopes that Liu Yu can think clearly.

Should I choose the navy? Or choose the Qingzhou soldiers?

Even if the emperor trusts him, after Li Jiusi saw the Qingzhou soldiers and warships firing at the same time, it is impossible to hand over both armies to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu does not need to think about this problem, and he does not care about this matter.

When the new army is formed, he must lead it in the first battle.

He must fight well and destroy the Junggar, and even more so, he must scare the Russian Empire and shock the courtiers and generals of this dynasty, so that he can truly learn from the strengths of the Westerners.

Now we are still qualified to "combine the East and the West to seek victory".

If it is another twenty or thirty years later, we can only "learn from the barbarians to control the barbarians".

Talents are not crops in the field. They can be planted in spring and harvested in autumn.

The lifeline of Dashun's reform is in the southeast coast, not in the northwest.

The key is, how long will the northwest fight last?

"Duke, I am just a training officer. I have handed over the training skills to others. The Qingzhou Army is not the Liu family army, and I think Duke is also clear about this. The matter of coastal defense is what I really care about. This time when I return to Beijing, please tell me that I want to go back to the capital to report to His Majesty on the training. His Majesty... His Majesty should appoint a deputy general to come. Once the matter in the northwest is settled and the main force of Junggar is destroyed, I will still take charge of the navy."

Li Jiusi understood that Liu Yu wanted to hand over the military power and prepare in advance, and he was not afraid that the court would panic because of the soldiers in his hands, but he did not want to stay in the northwest for too long.

Just as the emperor asked him to tell Liu Yu, Liu Yu was too dismissive of Junggar, and it was obvious.

"Do you look down on Junggar so much?"

Liu Yu spread his hands and said, "It's not that I look down on Junggar. The matter of Junggar does not depend on how many soldiers the court has, but whether the court has the heart to manage the Western Regions again. As long as there is a will, it can be done. Is Junggar's army strong? Not at all. Junggar's problem is the long journey, and logistics is the big problem. As long as there is money and as long as there is a will, Junggar is not a problem."

"But the navy is a big problem. We are already behind the 600,000-ton warships of the Westerners, which means we are already 30 million taels short of stock. How long will it take to catch up? And I don't know the techniques of converting Fuchuan ships into warships. All sailors have I need to retrain, because it takes me several months to learn what the sails and ropes on Western boats are used for, and local sailors cannot use them directly. "

"But in the northwest, it is the first battle of the Qingzhou soldiers, and I have to go. Therefore, I asked the Duke to convey it on my behalf, and I also wrote a memorial to explain the matter. The memorial cannot explain it clearly, so I have to go to Beijing to meet the saint."

Li Jiusi was silent for a moment after hearing this, and had his own thoughts in his heart.

He saw with his own eyes the speed at which the Qingzhou soldiers changed formations, and an expert knew that this was a battle-ready force. Now that Liu Yu has been thinking about escaping so early, whoever becomes the first deputy general will have a bright future.

Since Liu Yu wants to retire, it is impossible for the deputy general to choose from among the people Liu Yu trained. Although Li Jiusi had selfish motives, he also knew that the emperor had the final say in such matters. Even if he was the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, he could not appoint him.

The mode of Qingzhou soldiers is available. Once the emperor wants to reform the army, whoever gets in touch first and becomes familiar with it will have an advantage.

If Liu Yu wants to retreat, then this deputy general will be the key figure in Liu Yu's future control of a new army of more than 10,000 people. I don't know who the emperor will entrust such a good thing to.

It has been extremely difficult to train soldiers since ancient times. This is the first time Li Jiusi saw that after the soldiers were trained, he tried every means to quickly hand over the military power. Is it possible that the gap between the navies has really reached such a precarious level?

"I will report this matter to Your Majesty. Since Shouchang has made up his mind, I won't say more. You chose the navy, and it is a good thing that the Qingzhou soldiers retreated early. But in any case, the northwest battle is of great importance, and you can't do it because of it. Just push out the Qingzhou soldiers and ignore the navy."

"Don't worry, Lord, I'll save you. I want to train a well-organized army that can be used when changing generals. It's just that the general must at least know the formation of the new army. This will take time."

"Well, it's good to know. Let's settle this matter for now. I will set off tomorrow and will visit various states and counties."

…………

As soon as Li Jiusi left, Liu Yu began to formulate a plan for the future development of the navy. Every year, he would write down a plan for investing money, storing wood, building ships, and recruiting sailors.

The battle in the northwest will last for who knows how long.

Judging from the military expenditure of nearly 10 million taels a year, the war should not last long, or it cannot last long.

But for fear of underestimating the enemy's aggressive advance and damaging the elite troops, and delaying the advance with the quasi-department, building forts slowly, this is really uncertain.

Originally, Qingzhou Bing was regarded as his stepmother, but since the stepmother would have to eat milk in the future, he could only endure his heartache and invested another 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver in Qingzhou Bing.

Customized some cotton coats, cotton gloves, leggings, leather hats, a four-wheeled carriage with a steering mechanism, and 800 pack horses to pull the four-wheeled carriage.

Fortunately, I can share a lot of the thirteen trade letters from Japan plus the money for smuggling rice. Although it hurts, I can only invest in it.

In the future, this Qingzhou Army may have nothing to do with me, and it is really sad to spend this money.

Part of it can be ordered and produced by yourself, and the other part is better to place an order directly in Songjiang and other places. The textile industry there is developed and it is easy to make.

He handed the list of purchases to Kang Bulao and asked him to withdraw money to prepare.

"By the way, Zhongxian, regarding the Qingmiao Law, how is Wen Deng doing?"

"Very good. Although some landowners who were lending money were dissatisfied, they did not dare to come to the young master's small camp to make trouble. A few were brave enough to hire a few troublemakers. I led some people to beat them up, and that's all. Be honest. Bai Yunhang will not speak to them."

Kang Busao took the long list and looked at the amount of silver on it, he was used to it. The money that has passed through his hands in the past few years has exceeded hundreds of thousands, and he has already organized his own staff team to manage it. This amount of money is nothing.

Liu Yu didn't hide next year's Northern Expedition from him. Kang Buzai wanted to see the sun setting over the long river and learn from the demeanor of the frontier poets in the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, he also knew that Liu Yu had too many things to do. As soon as Yu left, he had to take charge of many things. Even though he thought about it, he didn't even mention it.

"Young Master, this money has been wasted. It is not a good thing to have to personally pay for national affairs."

Liu Yu was already in pain, and he was helpless at this time. He smiled bitterly and said: "There is no way. Everyone thinks, why do they have to pay for the war in the northwest? They won the Junggar, and they didn't get half the benefit. Besides, the land tax really can't be paid anymore. The increase, the increase, is all being added to the tenants. The court has no money. I have to pretend to save money by raising such a capable army in order to convince everyone in the court to prepare for the future military reform."

"In that ghostly place in the northwest, Cen Shen wrote in a poem: The north wind blows and the white grass breaks, and the sky is full of snow in August. Suddenly, like a spring breeze coming overnight, thousands of pear trees bloom. Beauty is beautiful, but soldiers suffer a lot, and this is We don’t know why we are fighting, and if we don’t even prepare the logistics, it will be even worse.”

"This money has to be spent when it's time to spend it. It's money for a bastard. If it's gone, we'll make it again."

Kang Bunuo smiled and said: "Young master, you are very open-minded. People save when they can and deduct when they can. Just the monthly consumption of gunpowder for training will make many people greedy for this money. I don't know what will happen in the future." , can we still guarantee such training?”

Liu Yu spat on the ground and cursed: "Does that need to be said? But after this battle, whatever you want, just put up a fight. I don't think I am the only good general in the world. , But with the money given by the court, who can afford to train every day? Come on, don’t worry about tens of thousands of taels of money, just go for it.”

If we can reform the military and put up a framework, that will actually be enough.

Prussia is known as the strongest army in Europe, but its actual situation is [the company commander gave 60 of the company's 70 local soldiers leave. Since the soldiers on leave did not receive pay, the money went into the company commander's pocket]

[The gunpowder in the battalion artillery ammunition was resold, and sand and iron filings were stuffed into the place where the gunpowder was originally stored]

[In the military camp, the officer made the soldiers work for profit. Soldiers can do any kind of work, even delicate crafts such as spinning.]

Eating empty wages, selling military supplies, and working as slaves for military officers are all available.

But if the military reform framework can be put up and the new tactical system is completely replaced, and if something big happens, if enough money is given to train intensively for several months, then there shouldn't be a big problem.

Whether the military can be reformed depends on the one-shot deal in the northwest battle.

In a short period of time, it was impossible for any external force to hurt Dashun or wake him up. Then we can only rely on the battle in the northwest as an introduction.

The pressure in his heart was huge, and he could only think about spending more money to buy a victory that would shock the world.

Soon after, news came from the capital that Liu Yu was able to enter the capital to speak to the emperor.

After arranging everything here, Liu Yu took out his account book and calculated the dividends due to the shareholder "Long Aotian" this year. The total was 130,000 taels of silver.

A team of cavalry was selected to accompany the escort and do this thing of taking off their pants and farting. Braving the first heavy snowfall of the year, I took a few followers and galloped all the way to the capital.

After entering the capital after several years of absence, Liu Yu went directly to see the emperor without going home first.

Put public before private, this is the rule.

He didn't directly talk about silver dividends first.

In the Nuan Pavilion of the palace, the emperor seemed to be in a good mood. He must have listened to Li Jiusi's report and thought that Liu Yu had accomplished a great job in military training.

I don’t know what Li Jiusi and the emperor said.

As usual, he stood up after cursing his mother in his heart and kowtow, and the emperor asked Liu Yu to sit down.

"I love your hard work in training the troops. After watching it, the Duke of E praised the Qingzhou Army and thought that the Qingzhou Army could be used. But whether it is because of the gold and jade that is defeated by others depends on the ability on the battlefield. What the Duke of Qi saw and heard in the Rakshasa Kingdom was also a reflection of the Western Army. The formation was greatly shocked. As you expected, the Rakshasa state affairs were in chaos."

"The Duke of Qi once said that the Rakshasa Kingdom moved its capital from Petersburg back to Moscow, which is like the story of Zhao Kuangyin's move to Luoyang and Zhu Di's move to the capital. I thought that the old party of the Rakshasa Kingdom had gained power and no longer had the intention to make progress. But I didn't expect that woman now. After taking office, he planned to move back to Petersburg. Duke Qi witnessed the coup, and that woman was a good one. "

"We must be on guard against the threat of Rakshasa. We must seize the situation in Dzungar. If we do not seize it, we will have long nights and dreams in the future. I thought about what you said about choosing a deputy general, and I think I might as well listen to your opinion. It doesn't matter if you say so, then Are there any useful talents in the Qingzhou Army? Since they are familiar with the new army, they can be used in any way."

It sounded like these words were full of trust, but Liu Yu said without thinking: "Your Majesty, please don't choose the deputy general from the officers of the Qingzhou Army."

"Either you choose your noble son to serve as a guard, or you choose Long Jin to serve as a guard. I said that day that we must organize a well-organized army. Even if the general does not know how to fight, it does not matter. You must do what you say."