I don’t understand how a person from Guangdong (or Guangxi) can have such a hatred for the Jurchens. But one thing is certain, Yuan Chonghuan really wants to drive away the Tartars.

Arriving at sea by boat, Yuan Chonghuan was very envious of Li Xiao's five-masted sailboat. He was especially envious of the cannons made of pure copper, which were all money.

Although the Folangji cannon purchased by the imperial court in Macau was also very expensive, in terms of price, it was still not comparable to Li Xiao's bronze cannon.

"If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools. Your Excellency is really willing to spend money to defeat the Tatars." Stroking the bronze cannon in his hand was like stroking a woman's thigh.

Really not wanting to see his disgusting look, Li Xiao reluctantly put down the crab in his hand. In September, the big flying crabs in the Bohai Sea are really fat. They are all yellow and taste delicious.

"It's not that I'm willing to spend money. It's just that the current casting technology is not up to par. The cast iron cannon is too brittle and the barrel is easy to explode. Copper has good ductility and will not explode."

"Uh...! What is ductility?" Yuan Chonghuan asked with eyes wide open like a curious baby.

"...!" Li Xiao was at his wits end now. He couldn't help Mr. Yuan with his knowledge.

"It's just toughness!" Li Xiao didn't care whether Yuan Chonghuan understood it or not, he sat on the chair and picked up the crab again.

In the imperial examinations these days, what scholars study are eight-legged essays. The so-called examination means writing articles that no one can understand.

I don’t know if ghosts can understand it, but Li Xiao can’t understand it anyway.

At the end of the imperial examination, this is the only thing that came out of the imperial examination. Master Yuan in front of me is an example. Although he is well-read in poetry and books, he lacks a basic understanding of natural science!

Cannons can be made from cheap cast iron, but who the hell are using copper? I really want to make a better cannon, and Li Xiao also knows the structure of the howitzer. But howitzers require special gun steel, and the smelting technology these days

, tell me where to find gun steel.

Even hundreds of years later, the production formula of gun steel is still a state secret. How could Li Xiao, a big-headed soldier, know the formula of gun steel.

"This cannon is much larger than the red-haired men's Folang machine cannon, and it should hit farther than their cannons." Yuan Chonghuan looked at the cannon carefully, as if talking to himself.

This is a bit insightful. Mortars are actually not suitable for naval battles. Li Xiao used to use mortars to fire volleys to ensure a poor hit rate.

There is no need for it now. There are twenty brass cannons with nine on each side, one on the bow and one on the stern. For warships of this era, as long as they are targeted by Li Xiao's five-masted ship, no one will escape.

Even at sea, you can continue to use cannonballs to kill enemies on the shore.

The most powerful thing is that in just a few days, Mr. Yu and his men built two turrets on the front and rear decks, and the turrets can rotate fully 360 degrees.

Although the power still relies on human power, the problem of the cannon's steering is finally solved.

When the ship docked at the Shanhaiguan Pier, it immediately caused a sensation. The Ming Dynasty did not have such a large official ship, and the Shanhaiguan navy thought it was a red-haired warship. It vigilantly sent a dozen small boats to surround Li Xiao's ship.

Wander around.

Although they were two miles away, it was really easy for Li Xiao to send them to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.

"These are the only ships our Shanhaiguan navy has?"

"Sir, the Shanhaiguan Navy is incomparable to other naval forces. They are truly naval forces, just like the navy of Marquis Chen of Shandong. Although they are branded as the Ming Dynasty Navy, they are actually their own.

The ships were built with their own money, and the people on the ships were naturally their subordinates. Therefore, the warships of the Shandong Navy are larger than those of our Shanhaiguan Navy."

Speaking of the Shandong Navy, Yuan Chonghuan looked depressed. Although the Governor of Jiliao was in charge of the defense of Jizhou, Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places.

But Shandong Navy is an exception!

The Shandong navy were all subordinates of Chen Lin, and Chen Lin was a famous pirate in Guangdong. Only when he was recruited over did he become an official.

However, these guys all have their own Xiao Jiujiu, and they are all bosses who listen to orders but not propaganda. They usually receive food and salary from the imperial court and help the imperial court manage the sea. They prevent foreign invaders such as Japanese pirates from invading. Their nature is not much different from that of mercenaries.

When Wang Zai was the governor of Jiliao in Jin Dynasty, he wanted to mobilize Chen Hailong's ships several times to imitate Li Xiao and attack the Tatar soldiers along the coast.

But Chen Hailong is more particular about business principles, so it’s no problem for me to send troops. Bring me the money!

This put Wang Zaijin in a difficult position. If I had money, I would have built my own ship. Why would I hire your ship?

The lawsuit was brought to the Ministry of War, which handed it over to the cabinet without saying a word. I usually receive Chen Hailong's filial piety, but now I want to do something dirty. I feel a little embarrassed.

The ministers in the cabinet are busy with official duties on weekdays. They selectively ignored this official complaint, and Chen Hailong became a marquis after all. In the future, we may all be able to make a fortune together, and there will be no grudges. Who is willing to give Wang Zaijin a poor man?

The ghost comes out.

Even Wang Zaijin’s teacher, Ye Xianggao, pretended that this incident had never happened. Until Li Xiao, Ye Xianggao and the eunuch party bosses reached an agreement, there was no reply to Wang Zaijin’s official complaint. This made Wang Zaijin

Very depressed!

Li Xiao knew about Chen Hailong, he was an old friend. His original ships were obtained in exchange for Tatar heads.

As for business principles, since everyone is in this circle, we still need to talk about them to some extent.

"Raise my handsome flag!" Li Xiao ordered, and Li Xiu immediately raised Li Xiao's handsome flag. A big handsome flag with the word "Li" written in black on a red background floated high at the top of the mast.

After all, I am also the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, so new officials still have to show off their prestige when taking office.

A low sound of a horn sounded on the sea, and it could be heard far away against the water. After a while, a small boat came out of the pier.

After a while, the boat came to the side of the ship.

"Is the boss here?" Mr. Wu, with Mouse, shouted loudly as soon as he climbed onto the deck from the gangway.

With sharp eyes, the mouse caught a glimpse of the highest berth on the second floor of the deck. Li Xiao was sitting at a table covered with white cloth, munching on a big crab as if no one else was watching.

"See you, Mr. Master!" Mr. Wu is still in his old habit. He is an old gangster who has been around all his life. He believes that the title of "Master" is more affectionate than Mr. Li.

The fifth master still held his fist and saluted, and the mouse had already knelt down. Unknowingly, Li Xiao had developed the majesty of a superior. When the mouse saw Li Xiao, he had the urge to kneel down!

"Get up! We are all old friends. When our family was in the most difficult time, it was you who helped us find a house so that our brothers and sisters could escape that disaster. Speaking of which, I have to thank you." Li Xiao pulled him up.

Got a mouse.

As a person, you must be grateful. Others have helped you, and you must not forget it easily.

"Thank you, sir!" The mouse was pulled up by Li Xiao, and he followed the example of the fifth master and bowed with his hands.

"Master, Mr. Mao asked me to pick you up."

"What are the actions in Shanhaiguan these days? What big things are going on in the capital?" Li Xiao was not busy entering Shanhaiguan. He first wanted to find out if there was any new news recently.

"Shanhaiguan is still calm, and the Tatars have not made any moves recently. After secretly signing a contract with the court, even the usual provocations have been reduced a lot. However, all banners are hoarding food and grass. It seems that there is a big move. I heard that they are going to deal with it.

Mongolia. I don’t know if it is true or false!

Cui Shangshu of the imperial court has just left, mainly to suppress those who oppose disarmament, Qiu Ba. He has been a soldier all his life, and now he is suddenly dismissed. The livelihood of many people has become a problem! There have been frequent troubles in the streets recently. Cui Shangshu returned to the capital.

I guess I went to hide for a while."

"How many people have been laid off?"

"About 60% to 70%. The only ones left were Zu Dashou, He Kegang, and Wu Xiang's army. The rest were sent back to their hometowns. The imperial court gave everyone land in their hometowns. Although they were all

It's a wasteland, but you can be exempted from paying taxes equivalent to your military age, and you don't have to serve the government's corvee. I think it's pretty good!

After all, it’s my own piece of land!”

"Then why are there still people making trouble?" Li Xiao felt that the treatment was pretty good, even though it was wasteland. But after the wasteland was opened up, taxes and corvee were exempted. It had to be said that the court treated these soldiers favorably.

"You don't know, the boss. Those who have land rights in Hebei, Shandong, and other places have gone home long ago.

But the homes of these soldiers from Liaodong have been occupied by Tatars. Now they can't go back even if they want to, and the court doesn't have any arrangements for these people. They just gave them some money and sent them away!

They are all people who have been serving as soldiers for a long time, who can run it? I heard that a few guys took their severance pay and entered the casino. They lost everything in three or two days, and now they are begging for food in uniform at the gate of the Yamen. This

He’s just here to disgust Mr. Mao!”

"How did Inspector Mao treat him?"

"Hey...! Master Mao was kind-hearted, so he gave some food to those people begging for food. It was really pitiful, and he even gave it to a few copper brothers."

"It's not bad!" As a soldier, Li Xiao didn't want these veterans to end up like this. Although their poverty was their own fault, after all, they had shed their blood and sold their lives for this country.

"It's not bad! The bad thing is that Governor Mao is kind-hearted. Now every day there is a large group of retired soldiers in front of the Governor's Mansion who want to eat and drink. It is considered good to give them some food and then leave. Some guys

After eating, they were still clamoring for money.

Now Mr. Mao is almost worried to death. It would be great if you, the boss, come here. We have to find a way quickly, otherwise something big will happen." Speaking of the soldiers making trouble, Mr. Wu also had a sad face. It can be seen that Shanhaiguan is indeed

It was very noisy.

"Didn't Commander Mao ever think about sending troops to suppress?" After all, they have the troops in their hands, so sending troops to suppress should be the instinctive reaction of the officials.

"Repression? These people are inextricably linked to the people in the military today. Whoever Mr. Mao sends will be willing to suppress them ruthlessly.

They are all Paoze who have been together for many years, and maybe they have had drinks and meals. To suppress them? They all think that their today is their own tomorrow. If they really force people to suppress them, there might be a mutiny.

.

Mr. Mao has only been in office for a few days. If a mutiny really breaks out, the guys in the court will never let go of Mr. Mao no matter where they are.

This time Mr. Mao sent me out to pick you up because he wanted you to stay in another hospital first. Otherwise, these soldiers might make trouble even if they know you are coming."

"So that's it." Li Xiao nodded. Although Mao Wenlong didn't cause any trouble, he still handled it appropriately. It was not easy to eliminate hundreds of thousands of troops at once without causing a big mess.

"How many people are surrounding the Governor's Mansion? Is there an organization behind it?"

"There are thousands of people, and the person behind the organization should be Gao Jin, Zhao's deputy general. Many of the leaders of the troublemaking soldiers are coming in and out of his house."

"Got it!" Li Xiao nodded, having an idea in his mind.

The trouble this time was not 80% but 10% caused by Zhao Lijiao. Zu Dashou was not dismissed, and Wu Xiang was not affected much. Although some of He Kegang's subordinates were dismissed, they can still be justified.

Only this General Zhao, even he was sent to the family.

Not a single member of his team was left. Fortunately, most of his people were from Hebei. Many people from Hebei returned to their hometowns to open up wasteland, otherwise he would definitely make a bigger fuss.
To be continued...