New Shun 1730

It was mid-October when Li Jiusi, Duke of E, arrived in Weihai.

After the welcoming ceremony, Li Jiusi, Duke of E, and his entourage watched a volley of artillery fire from a sailing ship.

The rumbling sound of the cannons and the thick smoke, accompanied by the towering masts of the two warships, made Li Jiusi see the threat of Western ships for the first time.

The scattered gravel and loud noise on the mountain scared the two sons of the Beijing Camp nobles who followed Li Jiusi off their horses.

Li Jiusi steadied his horse, stared at the two warships on the sea, and asked after a while: "Is this a large ship of the Western barbarians?"

Liu Yu shook his head.

"Return to the Duke, this is a small ship."

Li Jiusi did not ask any more questions, but nodded silently.

Liugong Island is not far from the capital. After bypassing Weihaiwei, it is Bohai.

If the Westerners had such a powerful fleet in Bohai, although he did not know about the interruption of the canal transportation mentioned by Liu Yu and Li Gan, he could think of another threat.

Few people in the court knew about the establishment of the navy, and they just thought that the Jinghai Palace official school was just a school.

Many people didn't care much about it after hearing from the emperor that the Jinghai Palace official school would not compete with the imperial examination for official quotas.

The household government did not pay, and the emperor paid the treasury. As long as it does not compete for official quotas, this matter is not a big deal, and there is no point in discussing it.

Li Jiusi didn't care much at first, but now he saw that he was still depressed, as if a hammer was hanging in his heart.

Li Jiusi sent the people around him away and called Liu Yu to a place alone.

"Shou Chang, His Majesty sent me here this time to talk to you about something. Since you have hired craftsmen from France, you need to hurry up with the shipbuilding. I heard that such a warship is very expensive?"

Before Li Jiusi came, the emperor told him about the situation in Weihai, and he knew that Liu Yu spent 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver on such a warship.

The amount was so large that it really made him astonished.

However, Liu Yu said that this was not a large ship of the Westerners, which made him worried.

Liu Yu didn't know how much the emperor and Li Jiusi had said, so he could only say: "This is a long story. A warship costs 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver. The Westerners must have asked for too much. Merchants talk about profit, so they can't lose money and ask for half the money more."

"Now I have hired some French craftsmen, and there will be some better craftsmen in a few days. They are French officials. If we build it ourselves, it shouldn't be too expensive. But shipbuilding is not a matter of one day or one night, even if you have money, it's useless."

"If you don't dry the wood in the shade first, a ship will rot in seven or eight years at most. If it is dried in the shade, it may be used for fifty or sixty years. Shipbuilding is expensive, and there is really no way to rush to build it now. We can only wait a few more days. It's also a good time for the craftsmen to practice and learn. Now there are two more ships being built, and this is also the wood accumulated several years ago."

Hearing Liu Yu say this, Li Jiusi's expression was a little relaxed.

The emperor already knew the price of buying two ships, but he was a little horrified by the price. If it were someone else, they would definitely think that it was lost, but since the emperor did not use the money from the treasury, and he only invested that little money, the emperor still believed Liu Yu's offer.

This terrible price made the emperor agree after reading Liu Yu's memorial about trying to make it himself.

The memorial did not explain the problem of self-made, so before coming, the emperor talked to the Duke of E about the navy and asked the Duke of E to come and check it out.

Hearing that Liu Yu was already trying to build two ships, Li Jiusi was relieved. He asked again: "How much wood is stored? Although I don't understand, I know roughly that this wood is not just any wood that can be used." "Replying to the Duke, this matter really can't be rushed. The navy is not a matter of one day or one night. Please make sure to tell His Majesty when you return. The British planted oaks decades ago for shipbuilding and used them a hundred years later. If it weren't for the control of America in these years, the trees would not have been cut down for tens of millions of years. It is not easy for the British to build ships. Even if our dynasty cannot learn from the British to plant big trees decades in advance, the navy is not a matter of one day. One night. "

Speaking of this, Liu Yu bowed in the direction of the capital and said: "Depending on your majesty's great fortune and wisdom, we fought against Luosha in the north and recovered the land of the former Nurgan Dusi. There are lush forests there, and there are some oaks that several people can't hug, which are suitable for shipbuilding. Without Nurgan and Liaodong, it would not be easy to build large ships. "

"I have been accumulating wood in recent years. Now these craftsmen have just learned from Western shipbuilders, and these two warships will be practiced first. As long as there is enough wood and enough craftsmen, there should be no problem in building ships. It's just that the court needs to invest money..."

Li Jiusi didn't know what Liu Yu had done in Japan, and thought that the emperor had only given some internal treasury.

Thinking of the cost of tens of thousands of taels per ship, he also understood that without the support of the treasury of the household government, it would be impossible to form a fleet capable of defending Bohai and protecting the capital.

Some things were not convenient to say at this time, so Li Jiusi said: "Let's talk about this later. Let's go to the island first and take a look around. Is the place where you built the fleet on the island?"

"No. There is a lack of water on the island. And some of the Western craftsmen hired this time mostly use water power to saw wood. Therefore, the shipbuilding site is not on the island. Do you want to go and take a look?"

"No. Since it is not on the island, let's take a look later. Let's go to the island first."

"Yes."

After agreeing, he quickly arranged a boat and took Li Jiusi to the island.

As soon as he got on the island, he saw a team of soldiers waiting in two rows.

Li Jiusi was also training in the Beijing Camp. Just looking at the spirit and height of this team of soldiers, he couldn't tell anything.

There are many tall and strong men in the Beijing camp, and they have the spirit and energy to stand there, but whether they can fight is another matter.

There were bursts of gunfire and rumbling cannons in the distance, and Liu Yu explained: "If the Duke wants to review, he can do it at any time. Now they are training, regardless of the weather. As long as the Duke gives the order, I will gather the troops."

"Oh? Anytime?" Hearing Liu Yu say this, Li Jiusi immediately became interested, but he knew what it meant to be able to do it at any time with a military order.

Dashun has several capable armies, but if tens of thousands of people can be quickly assembled and deployed without integration as long as an order is given, the entire Dashun may only be able to produce 20,000 to 30,000 such elites.

He saw that the guns of Liu Yu's soldiers were different from those of the Beijing camp, and he also knew a little about Liu Yu's booklet on new guns and new tactics, but he felt that an army might not be based on one or two weapons, but on discipline.

Since Liu Yu was so confident, he was also interested, so he said: "In this case, let's gather in the open space ahead."

"Yes, sir."

Liu Yu accepted the order. Li Jiusi thought that Liu Yu would have to go to the tent to make arrangements, but he didn't expect that Liu Yu would just call a few staff officers around him and said: "After one hour, all units will gather here. They must be able to board the ship and attack at any time. Each unit will be issued with ammunition and receive ten days of fried noodles."

After speaking, he took out his pocket watch and looked at it and said: "It is now 10:07 in the morning."

Several staff officers also lowered their heads to check their watches, and then they dispersed. After a while, a sharp bell sounded in the distance.

"Shou Chang won't go to the tent?"

"No need. Duke, there is a small mountain on this island, which can be overlooked. Duke may as well go up and wait."

"Yes. You said that all units should gather to be able to board the ship and attack?"

"That's right."

Li Jiusi nodded, secretly amazed in his heart.

One hour of time is not amazing. What was amazing was that Liu Yu said that they could board the ship and attack at any time, and they also had to have ammunition and food to support the army for ten days.

If this was true, even if the remaining troops were not good enough, it would be enough to show that this was already a strong army.

But...

"Did Shouchang know that I was coming and prepare in advance?"

"The army is a major event for the country. Naturally, we must be prepared at any time. The staff had already made various plans to be able to fight at any time. The fried noodles can be kept for a long time and cleaned every three months, but they can guarantee the army's use for ten days. If it is according to what the Duke said, it is not bad. I did prepare in advance, but it was not because I knew the Duke was coming, but because I prepared in advance when I was training."

Li Jiusi hummed, looked up at the hill in the north and said, "You can see the change of formation on the hill, but you can't see how the soldiers prepare. Don't go up the hill for now, follow me to the camp to see."

"Okay."

Liu Yu led the way, and several people rode to the military camp.

Just a glance, Li Jiusi felt something unusual.

There were naturally a lot of people, each busy, but busy but not chaotic.

The soldiers who were originally training heard the bell of assembly and quickly assembled into teams under the orders of various officers.

Like a strict machine, after counting clearly, they did not rush to their respective barracks, but lined up and returned to the barracks in an orderly manner.

Li Jiusi also took out a pocket watch and looked at the time. In just twenty minutes, the queues outside the barracks had been formed.

These soldiers were different from the soldiers in the Beijing camp. They all carried a square package behind them.

After lining up, they counted again, and each company quickly assembled at the location where they had been training all day and gathered into a battalion.

The battalion selected a company and lined up in four columns and walked towards the distance. The remaining teams stood there and were not silent.

Li Jiusi found that there were several half-grown children in each camp, beating waist drums or playing flutes, playing music that was not melodious and a little awkward. The soldiers in the line followed the rhythm of the waist drums and flutes, singing the song of the vanguard, or other strange songs.

"What's in the backpacks of these soldiers?"

Pointing to the back of the standing soldier, he asked.

"A quilt, a pair of shoes, and various things for washing."

"Where did the companies drawn from each camp go?"

"To pick up the gunpowder packs."

"Take me to see."

Following Liu Yu, they arrived at a barracks in the back, and the companies that came to pick up the gunpowder packs were lined up outside.

Someone shouted the names of the companies at the front door, and the people in the company lined up and each received seven or eight large gunpowder packs. After lining up, they quickly returned to the location of the camp.

Li Jiusi walked to the front and did not prevent these people from picking up gunpowder and lead bullets. Instead, he walked inside and opened a package at random.

Looking at the rolls of lead bullets inside, he took out one and twisted it, and found that it was a paper roll. There was a lead bullet wrapped in front of the paper roll, which contained a certain amount of gunpowder.

There were about sixty bullets in a cloth bag, enough for a war. Li Jiusi knew the magic of this thing at a glance. Soldiers did not need to measure it themselves, and each bag of gunpowder was fixed.

"Gunpowder cannot be stored for a long time, as it will get damp if stored for a long time."

Liu Yu smiled and said, "The Duke is overthinking. Sixty lead bullets only take three to five days of training. Although the cost is high, it is worth it. The gunpowder consumed every day is also a lot of money. It is not enough to rely on the salary issued by the court."

Li Jiusi laughed and said, "Shou Chang is still rich. If it were someone else, the gunpowder training could be saved. Ten lead bullets a day for more than ten thousand people is not a small amount."