Chapter 735 Wu Zijuan Liaodong

“Take your time, there has to be a process.” Feng Zuo squinted his eyes and looked into the distance.

The snow is white, and the dark masses are tree nests mixed in the snow. Even the best horses may not be able to get up in the mud at any time when the weather comes out.

This is where the Tieling Guards are located. From Hoi'an Fort, go north to Dongzhou Fort and then to Fu'an Fort. This line is already the front line bordering the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the troops led by Shuerhaqi and his son are stationed on the border. Outside the wall, but very close to the Zhou army, they can receive support at any time.

 Zhao Lijiao, who had been recommended to the court by Feng Tang as the deputy commander of the separate defense forces, led the army and stationed nearly 10,000 troops here, which was also the key to the future.

This time Feng Tang came here to summon Shuerhaqi and his son to discuss how to make Jianzhou Right Guard truly become a fulcrum of the Zhou Dynasty outside the Liaodong border wall with the support of the Zhou Dynasty.

"In Brother Keng's words, these fire blunderbuss and bird blunderbuss are all used for training. To put it bluntly, they are to let these soldiers learn how to use them, how to operate them skillfully, and improve the shooting frequency and speed. This is all Brother Keng's fault. He told me repeatedly, I don’t know where he learned it from." Feng Zuo said slowly.

"Uncle Zuo, Brother Feng is so talented that no ordinary person can match it. Back then, I was just dying, but Brother Feng dared to swim out of the water gate with me to ask for help. You said it was someone else? Who would dare? ? It’s too late to save your own life, why are you going out of the city to ask for help?”

Zuo Liangyu reached out and threw the blunderbuss in his hand to a soldier beside him, and clapped his hands, "So people are different. I, Zuo Liangyu, have no other abilities, but I can't make mistakes when I read people. Brother Feng is born to do great things. Otherwise, how could he pass the Jinshi examination at the age of fifteen?"

Feng Zuo also laughed dumbly at Zuo Liangyu's words.

"Brother Keng said that this was from a book written by the Western Yi people that he got from a merchant in Yangzhou. I don't know if it is true or not. It is said that this kind of tactical and military book can't even be read by the Western Yi people." Outflow is the right thing to do, and the introduction is so detailed, requiring every movement to be practiced hand to foot, front, back, left, and right, with no deviation at all. Before, everyone didn’t think so, but now it seems that we really have to follow what he said.”

I followed the master to Liaodong. The climate here is really harsh. Fortunately, I am used to staying in Datong. It is colder here, but the food and grass security is better. In addition, the master is coming to Liaodong this time. The preparations in all aspects were relatively sufficient, which even made the old brothers who came from Yulin and Datong feel that they were on the right track.

However, Feng Zuo still felt some changes. For example, the master paid more attention to many of Brother Keng's opinions. This situation began after the rebellion in Western Xinjiang. Many times, the master would even go to Beijing to ask for Brother Keng's opinions. My son's opinion.

"It depends on what you think of it. This group of soldiers are all veterans. Although they are more proficient in the use of firearms, their courage is much worse. In my opinion, it is better to recruit a new group of new soldiers to practice. Maybe I can still take on important responsibilities in the future.”

Zuo Liangyu looked down upon the so-called "elites" who were left after the original group of fire rifle soldiers were abolished. He believed that these people had been hanging around in the Liaodong Army for many years and could not be used at all. Now that they are newly built, It should be completely overhauled.

 “What, you want to go?”

Feng Zuo raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Brother Feng wrote to me and said that he said that the importance of fire gun soldiers will become more and more important in the future, especially when self-made fire gun soldiers start to be equipped in large quantities. He hopes that I can bring one of these troops. ." Zuo Liangyu pondered for a while before saying.

"Oh?" Feng Zuo also knew that this boy had a close relationship with Brother Keng and had always been in contact. Unexpectedly, Brother Keng actually suggested that Zuo Liangyu train a firecrackers, or even give up the personal army.

"Brother Feng's words have never been missed. Uncle Zuo, you have also seen it. In just half a year, such a fire gun soldier has become somewhat impressive. If you can give me such a chance, I think maybe I can really be like Brother Keng." As I said, we will train a different firearms camp." Zuo Liangyu looked at Feng Zuo, with a bit more perseverance and determination on his face, "So I plan to find a time to tell you, uncle Zuo. Help me put in a nice word in front of the adults."

“Then why don’t you ask Brother Keng to speak to the adults for you?” Feng Zuo was slightly moved.

"Brother Feng can show me the way. I don't want to let him worry about everything." Zuo Liangyu shook his head decisively, "I want to do it myself."

When Feng Zuo, Zuo Liangyu and his party returned to Kaiyuan City, Feng Tang had already inspected the entire Kaiyuan Road.

This is also his first priority as the new governor of Jiliao and the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Town, which is to reach all six roads in Liaodong Town under his command.

"Xilong, this road is crucial, and it is also the key to directly blocking Jianzhou Jurchen. As long as you don't have problems here, Nurhachi will never be able to easily get on the line with the Mongols, the Horqin people, and the Khalkha Mongolian tribes. No matter what, it all depends on our faces."

 Feng Tang's eyebrows were a little more stern, and he walked forward slowly with his hands behind his back. Zhao Shujiao followed closely beside him, slightly half a step behind.

The generals and guerrillas under his command were one or two steps behind. They could hear the conversation between the governor and the general, but they would not overwhelm the guests.

"Sir, Shuerhaqi's side is still too weak, and he is always outside the border wall. Although the number of cavalry on our side is not small, the quality of the horses is far less than that of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the level of training is not as good as that of the Jianzhou Jurchens. , The general is worried that once Nurhachi becomes murderous, we will not be able to respond in time."

Zhao Lijiao was the first to approach Feng Tang. Feng Ziying sent a letter to help him bridge the gap. Zhao Lijiao soon gained the attention of Feng Tang, who took office and urgently needed the support of local generals in Liaodong Town.

As a general of Liaodong Town who had been suppressed by Li Chengliang, Zhao Lijiao had always disliked Li Chengliang's style, but he still had to admit that Li Chengliang had made great contributions to Liaodong Town in the early stage.

However, as the situation changed and developed, knowing that Nurhaci was ambitious, instead of suppressing Nurhachi and supporting the Haixi Jurchens in time, he adopted a laissez-faire attitude. Unification was achieved and the demonic claws were extended to the Haixi Jurchens.

Li Chengliang even voluntarily abandoned the Six Forts of Kuandian, which also led to a sudden increase in the Jurchen's influence on North Korea. This was also the point that Zhao Shujiao was most dissatisfied with.

Of course, this cannot be said to be due to Li Chengliang alone. It was actually the insufficient investment in food, wages and military resources in Liaodong in the past few years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which seriously weakened the military strength of Liaodong Town, forcing Li Chengliang to adopt the strategy of shrinking and giving up.

"Well, Xilong's worry is not unreasonable." Feng Tang was also considering this issue. Although Shuerhaqi didn't have many troops, he did not dare to let Shuerhaqi's troops enter the border wall easily, and Shuerhaqi Once Qi and his son enter the border wall, their influence on the Jurchen side of Jianzhou will gradually disappear, which is what Feng Tang does not want to see.

Now as long as Shuerhaqi is outside the border wall, even if his strength is weak, the title given to him by the Zhou court as the commander of the right guard of Jianzhou is real. With this golden sign, he can put up a recruiting flag and recruit troops. Attracting those who were dissatisfied with Nurhachi in the Jianzhou Jurchen Miscellaneous Department to join him was what Feng Tang hoped to see most.

"What do you think is the best thing for us to do now, Xilong? I don't need to say more about the importance of Shuerhaqi, so we must preserve this force." Feng Tang looked at Zhao Lijiao.

Zhao Lingjiao did not hesitate for long, "What the general means is to support Shuerhaqi on the one hand and attract more people to join him in the shortest possible time. This requires all kinds of materials and food to strengthen its own strength and make it more powerful." In order to have a certain resistance capability as soon as possible, we cannot rely entirely on us. At least we can buy some time for us to arrive when we are attacked. This is one of them."

"Well, I have also considered this. Although Liaodong Town is poor, the governor can still find a way to squeeze out these supplies." Feng Tang nodded.

"We might as well let him and the Ula tribe form a joint force. Now the Ula tribe has just had time to take a breath. If Shuerhaqi can reach a compromise with the Ula tribe, the two families can temporarily form an alliance to fight against Nurhachi. After eating it in one breath, if Ye He's tribe can be persuaded, they can also let one of them come north to provide support. This is the second one..."

  Zhao Zejiao's suggestion made Feng Tang frown.

The idea is good, but it is difficult to implement in practice.

 First of all, the Ye He tribe will not easily send troops north to provide reinforcements. Once they leave their home base, the combat effectiveness of these soldiers will drop sharply, and the Ye He tribe will not take risks.

 In addition, the Ula tribe has suffered too much losses and is now quite weak. It is said that they are horns with each other, but once Shuerhaqi is attacked, it may be difficult for Buzhantai to provide practical support.

"Xilong, the governor can only do his best on this point, but I guess it will be difficult." Feng Tang hesitated, "The power of Shuerhaqi and his son must be preserved. This is a death order. If you are here If the strength is not enough, I will transfer the He Renlong Department to you and put it under your command. In addition, I will add 5,000 horses and 8,000 infantry to you within the next year to enhance your mobility and keep Shuerha. In the same year, I am confident that the Horqin people will be completely disconnected from the Nurhachi people..."

Zhao Shujiao's heart trembled. The other party said that there was no need for negotiation, and he also promised to provide such great support. If he wanted to shirk the responsibility again, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate.

"In this case, I will not take the liberty to ask the Governor for some muskets and cannons..."

"Oh?" Feng Tang was slightly surprised. This was the first Liaodong general who asked him to strengthen his firearms force, which made him very happy. "Okay, I will give you three thousand fire guns in the first half of next year. I will give you two thousand more muskets. I cannot guarantee the number of artillery pieces. We can only talk about it next year."

 (End of this chapter)