Chapter 28 is a bit of trouble, no income anymore

  （0028）

  The current fire lance of the Ming dynasty is actually not very useful. The loading speed is slow, and the accuracy is also a big problem. Moreover, it is greatly affected by weather conditions. Now in the dry season, it's okay, but once it rains, the use of fire lances will be severely restricted. The battles on the Liaodong front line have proven that at critical moments, cold weapons are still effective.

  If conditions permit, Zhang Zhun is prepared to equip the guards with cannons of over 100mm caliber, with a range of no more than three kilometers. The key is that the explosive power must be great, and solid shells are not allowed. Of course, if it can reach five kilometers or more, that would be even better. Among the three types of cannons currently used by the Ming army, Zhang Zhun is not very satisfied with any of them.

  The caliber of the tiger cannon is too small, the range is too short, and the power is too small, it's not practical and needs to be improved. The majority of bullets fired by the Frankish engine are solid, and the explosive bullets have limited power, also requiring improvement. The red jacketed cannon has immense power, can attack cities, and kill enemies, but unfortunately, it's really too heavy, requiring war horses for transport. It's not suitable for mobile warfare, only for attacking or defending cities.

  As for black gunpowder, Zhang Zhun was still very familiar with it. As long as there were enough saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal powder, he could formulate different types of black gunpowder. As for how to formulate ammunition, that was also completely problem-free, at an expert level.

  The original black gunpowder is not very powerful, which is the main reason why firearms cannot completely replace cold weapons. However, if carefully mixed with some special ingredients such as copper oxide, the power of black gunpowder can be increased by a factor of two immediately. One kilogram of black gunpowder mixed with copper oxide is enough to blow up a bus.

  Cannons made from oxidized copper black gunpowder are absolutely stunning in terms of lethality when used with explosive shells. One such shell is equivalent to thirty soldiers equipped with muskets. The killing power against densely packed enemies is much greater than that of solid shot. It's especially useful for defending cities, firing into swarms of enemy troops has an absolute effect.

  In this era of warfare, the favorite tactic is to overwhelm with sheer numbers, and even the Eight Banners of Manchuria are no exception when attacking a city. A dense army of attackers, if hit by explosives a few times, would suffer unimaginable losses. However, the conditions for manufacturing gunpowder are not currently available, as Yangjia Village lacks saltpeter and sulfur, so this plan will have to be put on hold for now.

  The key to resolving the battle for the guards is still to rely on the three-pronged spear.

  During this period, Zhang Zhun conducted a comprehensive ideological construction of the guard team, with two lectures every day, also extending for more than thirty minutes compared to before. Modern armies attach great importance to ideological indoctrination, and Zhang Zhun would not neglect it.

  He instilled two main ideas in the guards. One was the basic content of Chairman Mao's military thought. The other was Great Han chauvinism. The former was to help the soldiers establish their confidence in rebelling against and overthrowing the corrupt Ming dynasty. The latter was to counter the increasingly powerful Later Jin Tartars and guard the Central Plains.

  In terms of discipline, the "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention" are excellent laws. Because the soldiers in the guard unit were all truly poor people who had suffered from the oppression of government officials and local tyrants, they would not feel any ideological resistance when implementing the "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention". On the contrary, they took pride in such discipline from the bottom of their hearts. This is one of the biggest characteristics of the guard unit.

  In terms of discipline in the troops, Zhang Zhun invested a great deal of effort. The combat effectiveness of the army comes largely from strict discipline. Qi Jiguang's troops were more capable of fighting than Yu Dayou's because the Qi family army had very strict discipline, with the entire team retreating together and beheading anyone who did not follow orders. At the same time, they marched and fought without harming a single hair on the civilians' heads, earning their support. The part of the army under Yu Dayou's command could not achieve this.

  In the imperial army, discipline was also a watershed in battle. The troops of Sun Chuanting, Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng were relatively strong because they had better discipline and stricter rewards and punishments. In contrast, the troops of Zuo Liangyu, Liu Zeqing and most of the Ming army were undisciplined, worse than bandits. Such troops would inevitably rebel, have internal conflicts and disobey orders.

  In the "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention", Zhang emphasized the first item:

  All actions are subject to command.

  The warriors of the guard, all from Yangjia Village, are fighting for Yangjia Village and have no problem with that. But what if the battlefield expands in the future? What if the battles to come have nothing to do with Yangjia Village? Will they still be as proactive as they are now? This is a question Zhang Zhun needs to consider. It's essential to instill the concept of obeying orders from now on.

  The guard of honor also conducted comprehensive training on the formation.

  Formation training is not just for show, nor is it merely to temper the willpower of soldiers, but rather to cultivate a sense of collective honor, to cultivate everyone's coordination spirit, to cultivate team cohesion, and to cultivate the basic temperament of soldiers.

  Five days have passed, and the guard team has basically formed a cohesive unit, with each task having its own person in charge. For example, ideological and political work was also handed over to Zou Mingjia for repeated emphasis. In a relatively closed environment, repeatedly instilling certain ideas can be very effective. Zhang Zhun only needs to propose new theories, new perspectives, and new systems during the two lectures every day.

  In terms of intelligence, it was mainly handed over to Haozi to be in charge.

  Yan Fei's sudden attack made Zhang Quan realize that just focusing on Fushan City was not enough, he also had to pay attention to the reactions of Jimen County and even Laizhou Prefecture. The current guard team only had eighty people, and if a rogue wave came from outside, it could easily overwhelm them all. Of course, with the current military strength of various government offices in Shandong, it was not easy to stir up a massive wave either.

  However, meticulous intelligence work is extremely necessary. At the very least, informants should be stationed in Renjiatun, Hounantun, Houbentun, Zhaojiatun and other places north of Yangjiatun to closely monitor the movements of Fushan City, Jimoe County and even Laizhou Prefecture. If these villages had been infiltrated with informants beforehand, Lei Lao San's surprise attack would not have had any effect.

  At the same time, I should have figured out all the details of Fushan City.

  To kill Wang Shixin, we must attack Fushan City, this is certain. Wang Shixin bears a heavy burden of blood debt and will not be taken alive without a fight, there is no doubt about it. How to attack Fushan City requires careful study. The firearms of Wang Shixin's household troops are not easy to deal with, especially when used for defense. After taking down Fushan City, how to respond to the imperial court's counterattack is also a problem that needs to be studied in advance.

  Besides, killing Wang Shengyu is not just the poor military households of Yangjia Village. Yangjia Village is just a more prominent village, other villages also want to share the benefits. Since they want to share the benefits, they have to take up arms and rise up in resistance together to attack Fushan City. Those who wait for pies to fall from the sky will not even get a single copper coin from Zhang Quan.

  Haozi is familiar with the three teachings and nine schools, and there are many doors and paths. Let him quietly go to investigate the situation of other villages and make some preliminary understanding, which is extremely necessary. Zhan Yingwei was killed by Wang Shixin, his former companions can't just watch him being killed, right? If each village can organize dozens of people to participate in the attack on Fushan City, the momentum will be very grand.

  "Mouse, ask more, listen more, speak less. Understand?"

  Zhang Zhun instructed and said.

  "Yu Lin Ge, don't worry, I'm good at gathering information."

  Haozi went confidently.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, all sorts of information began pouring in from all directions and gathering at Zhang Zhun's place.

  After Lei Lao San was eliminated by Zhang Zhun, Wang Shi Xin realized that Yang Jia Tun was not easy to deal with. To prevent any unexpected events, he ordered a strict blockade of Fushan City, and the city gates were basically closed. Wang Shi Xin's household troops, as well as other henchmen like Hei Bao, patrolled the city walls day and night, fearing an attack. Wang Shi Xin also organized the household troops of other military officers, and recruited some idle rascals, arming them to guard the city tightly. Within a short period, he had gathered around 300-400 people.

  Because of the strict access control, it was impossible for Huozi and others to easily enter Fushan City. However, Fushan City couldn't completely cut off contact with the outside world, and Huozi still managed to gather a lot of useful information. He also successfully arranged two insiders within the city, who could cooperate to some extent once Zhang Zhun launched an attack on Fushan City.

  "Not bad!"

  Zhang nodded in approval and praised Haozi.

  The conditions for attacking Fushan City are not yet ripe, so Zhang Zhun lets Haozi continue to work hard and develop more internal responses.

  "Taking down Fushan City, you are the first-class merit."

  Zhang Quan encouraged his son.

  The mouse went with great satisfaction.

  On the evening of March 15th, Zhang Zhun was training the guard troops when Yang Rui suddenly arrived.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Zhun asked.

  "It's a bit of trouble." Yang Rui replied with concern.

  It turned out that Yangjia Village's salt had no one come to purchase it, and the inventory was very serious.

  Yang Kaidi gathered the backbone military households to discuss back and forth, but still couldn't come up with a good idea. Everyone had no way to solve it, so they could only seek help from Zhang Zhun.

  The salt from Yangjia Village used to be sold to Lao San, the salt smuggler. Everyone would send their private salt to Zhaojia Village in the north and hand it over to a man named Lei Tong. They would exchange money for salt. Although each catty of salt was only worth a few cents, it was still an income. Now that Lao San is dead, no one comes to buy the private salt from Yangjia Village anymore, and the military households in Yangjia Village suddenly have no income.

  Actually, outside Zhaojiatun, there are still many salt bandits active. However, the people of Yangjiatun do not dare to transport salt to the outside, as it is also a chaotic and war-torn place outside, with each salt bandit having their own sphere of influence. There are also the salt inspectors' salt soldiers, who are equally cruel and ruthless. If they encounter them, things will become dangerous. At that time, not only the salt but even people's lives will be in great danger.

  "Where did the salt smugglers usually sell their private salt?" Zhang Quan asked calmly.

  "Jimo Camp." Yang Rui replied.

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