Chapter 2192
"The situation is urgent and there is not much time left for us to prepare for war, so from now on, everyone in Daijiazhuang has entered a state of emergency, and Lao San and Shopkeeper Yuan will jointly direct the preparations."
Dai Yingda concisely set the tone for the current situation and formally handed over the command of the armed forces to these two people. He did not try to keep this privilege in his own hands, because he also knew that doing so would only be counterproductive to preparing for war.
Dai Yingda turned to Yuan Tao and said: "Shop Manager Yuan, regarding the situation of the rival Musketeers, Chengye has some information that may be able to help. Why don't we listen together."
"Oh? Then please ask Boss Yang for advice!" Although Yuan Tao didn't know where Yang Chengye's news came from, the more intelligence information he had about his opponent, the better.
Yang Chengye responded: "Don't take advice seriously. I can get this information because I used to have a personal relationship with Lu Kangtai, who trained and commanded the musketeers in Shanxi Salt Merchant School. He occasionally talked about this matter."
Yuan Tao said: "Lu Kangtai didn't shy away from this? Then he must think that Boss Yang doesn't understand this martial arts thing at all."
Yang Chengye smiled bitterly and said: "That's right. Because I am a layman on this. If he adds some exaggerated elements, I will not be able to tell the truth from the false. So I have always treated this as a joke and did not mention it to Mr. Dai. , so as not to hurt your own morale.”
Yuan Tao said: "Boss Yang, it doesn't matter. I have my own way of distinguishing whether it's true or false."
Haihan sent elite troops to Yangzhou for operations at the end of last year, and his opponent at the time was Lu Kangtai. Haihan had already made an assessment of the strength of his Musketeers. Yuan Tao believed that it would not be difficult to tell whether the information provided by Yang Chengye was true or false and how credible it was by comparing it with his own assessment.
When Yang Chengye saw Dai Yingda nodding slightly towards him, he said, "In that case, I will tell you what I still remember..."
Lu Kangtai has talked about related topics before. In fact, most of the time he has the intention of showing off his force to Yang Chengye. He hopes that in this way, he can subtly influence Yang Chengye's confidence in Huizhou salt merchants, thereby slowly drawing him into Shanshan Salt Industry. Come from the business camp. But Yang Chengye has no interest in this field at all. Most of the time, he goes in and out of one ear and doesn't take Lu Kangtai's show off too seriously.
However, after listening to it more times, Yang Chengye still had a certain impression of certain information that Lu Kangtai mentioned repeatedly. For example, Lu Kangtai mentioned that the instructors who trained musketeers for them were Spanish instructors, and their muskets were also purchased from overseas. These two channels that cannot be copied by Huizhou salt merchants are enough to improve their combat effectiveness. Leave your competitors far behind.
Although the Huizhou salt merchants had trained some musketeers, their tactics came from veterans of the Ming army, and the sources of muskets were even more varied, and the weapon systems could not be unified at all. Such a patchwork team, Of course they had no advantage against Lu Kangtai's Musketeers.
Regarding this information, Yuan Tao already knew something about it, especially the source of the opponent's weapons, which had been verified after conquering Hirado. It was indeed produced by the weapons workshop of the Hirado clan. Moreover, according to the sales records seized in Hirado, Shanshan salt merchants also spent a lot of money to purchase a batch of muskets at the beginning of this year, which was obviously used to rebuild the musketry team. Just the part mentioned by Yang Chengye is indeed extremely credible.
If it was just this information that Haihan already basically understood, it wouldn't be of much help. However, seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Yang Chengye mentioned other things.
Lu Kangtai seemed to be dissatisfied with the tactics taught by the Spanish, thinking that they were too rigid, so he later introduced military training instructors from the Hirado Domain. Although Hirado's musketeers tactics also originated from Spain, they have been improved by the Hirado clan and are more in line with the situation of musketeers in East Asia when fighting other arms.
Regarding this point, it was true that Yuan Tao had not grasped it before, so he immediately continued to ask. But this questioning also touched on Yang Chengye's knowledge blind spot. He didn't know the difference between the Hirado clan's musket tactics and the Spanish musket tactics. He could only provide this information.
Seeing that the three members of the Dai family were obviously disappointed with this, Yuan Tao comforted him: "It doesn't matter. Now that we have this news, I will try to contact Zhoushan to see if the officers who have fought against the Hirado Domain's musketeers can provide us with some advice." What help.”
Dai Chengrong said: "If we send people back and forth from Zhoushan at this time, it will take several days. If the opponent starts early, we will suffer in vain."
Yuan Tao smiled and said: "Our country, Haihan, has the ability to send messages across thousands of miles. There is no need to send people back and forth to Zhoushan. If you hurry up, you can receive a reply within today."
"Messaging from thousands of miles away! I thought this was just a folk legend. It's not true. I didn't expect that your country really has this kind of magic!" Dai Chengrong was young after all. After hearing Yuan Tao's reply, he couldn't hide the surprise on his face.
"This is not some kind of magic!" Yuan Tao said solemnly: "We in the Haihan Kingdom call it science."
In fact, Yuan Tao didn't understand the principles of radio, but he had learned it several times during his promotion process, so he wouldn't be as shallow as an ignorant commoner. Technologies like radio that ordinary people cannot understand are all classified as "scientific" in Haihan. Most of those who are qualified to study "science" are talented young people who have been carefully screened in Haihan. Middle-aged people like Yuan Tao, who is almost 30 years old, are obviously not among them.
Dai Yingda sighed: "I think people like Shopkeeper Yuan who can master science will definitely be able to rise to prominence in Haihan Kingdom in the future."
Yuan Tao blushed, but he couldn't explain to them that it was not him who came to Yangzhou to operate the radio this time, but someone else, so he could only skip this issue for now.
As for the really key information about the opponent's musketeer composition and station location, Yang Chengye knew nothing about it, and Lu Kangtai would not be arrogant enough to tell him such key information. Calculated in this way, among the several pieces of information provided by Yang Chengye, only the last one is of some value.
But Yuan Tao did not comment on the value of these pieces of information on the spot, but seriously thanked Yang Chengye for his support. Although he is very confident in the people he brought to Yangzhou this time, if he can get better support and cooperation from Huizhou salt merchants, it will obviously greatly increase his chances of winning. Therefore, he still had to try his best to take good care of her as a human being.
Yuan Tao's war preparation project for Daijiazhuang is mainly divided into three parts. The first is the increase and consolidation of defense fortifications. Relying on the existing fortifications, the gate of Daijiazhuang facing the north can only be roughly guarded. If the opponent divides his troops to attack other places entering and exiting Zhuangzi, The passage is very likely to break through these areas where the defense is not strong enough.
Therefore, on the one hand, Yuan Tao needs to transform the existing defense fortifications, and on the other hand, he must add light fortifications such as Luzhai Juma, which are low in production cost, short in construction period, and quick to deploy. He also needs to deploy barricades at the traffic nodes in Zhuangzi, just in case of an outside attack. If the defense line is lost, you can also retreat to the inside to snipe the opponent. The main purpose of this is to slow down the opponent's attack rhythm. When the Golden Shield has sufficient ammunition and personnel, the slower the opponent's attack speed, the more calmly the defender can deal with it.
The second part is the reallocation of armed personnel. Yuan Tao did not expect that all the people under his command in Daijiazhuang would be able to fight with muskets, and it was unlikely that he could teach them the musket tactics used by Haihan in just a few days. Yuan Tao only hoped that these people could obey the command 100% during the war and not mess up their position.
This requirement seems a bit low, but he knows that the elites of these seven surnames will go to Zhoushan for training next, and those who stay in Daijiazhuang to overcome the difficulties with Jindun should not be that strong. . How to make good use of this group of people and give full play to their greatest role also requires Yuan Tao to spend a lot of thought.
The third part is the arrangement of protected objects. According to the cooperation content negotiated by the two parties in Zhoushan, the targets of Golden Shield's protection include the main members of the seven major surnames, but if they have to be dispersed to various estates to protect these target persons separately, it is obviously not the best solution to the problem.
Therefore, Yuan Tao suggested that the leaders of the seven major surnames be moved to Daijiazhuang as soon as possible for centralized protection. According to the information obtained by Yang Chengye, the opponent is likely to launch an offensive in ten days. During this period, it should not be too difficult for these wealthy businessmen to avoid the limelight in Daijiazhuang.
Of course, it is unrealistic for these people to live in Daijiazhuang for a long time, so they can only hope that Yang Chengye's information is accurate, so that Huizhou salt merchants can hope to resolve the biggest threat from their opponents in the near future.
Dai Yingda fully supported Yuan Tao's opinion. Now that the Huizhou salt merchants have entered the gambling table, they can only place their chips on Haihan. To put it bluntly, if Jindun cannot bear it by then, then the Zhoushan authorities probably won't stand idly by. At least they have found a more stable backer.
"I will send people to inform the heads of each family to move to Daijiazhuang as soon as possible, and ask them to send their families to other places first, and then return to Yangzhou after the matter subsides." Dai Yingda immediately made a decision to cooperate with Yuan Tao's plan. suggestion.
"If you feel uneasy, you can send your family to Zhoushan to live temporarily for a while. You can get 100% protection there and no longer need to worry about safety issues." Yuan Tao simply gave a bolder suggestion. As for the expenses that will be incurred, Yuan Tao did not mention it. He believed that it would not be a problem at all for these wealthy salt merchants.
This suggestion is obviously more attractive. After all, it is the territory of the Haihan people, and the laws and regulations of the Haihan people are implemented there. Foreigners generally do not dare to cause trouble there.
"Then I will inform each family of this option and let them decide on their own." Dai Yingda still gave full cooperation.
None of these war preparations can be completed in a short time. After Yuan Tao finished speaking, everyone briefly discussed the details and then went about their own business. Only Dai Chengrong didn't leave. He would soon lead a team to Zhoushan and could no longer help him locally. However, he wanted to follow Yuan Tao before leaving to see how he planned and deployed Daijiazhuang's defense.
Yuan Tao's method is actually very simple, which is point-to-point connection. Two of his bosses were connected to Dai Yingda's team leader who was responsible for dispatching craftsmen and preparing materials, while the other two bosses were connected to Dai Yingfan's team leader. In this way, there is a person responsible for every job. He only needs to check the progress and discuss specific issues with the Dai brothers. He does not need to do everything personally.
"Shopkeeper Yuan is well-organized and I've learned a lesson from you!" After watching Yuan Tao's deployment work, Dai Chengrong felt that he had learned something from it.
Yuan Tao said: "Actually, it's nothing special. You have to do a lot of work outside. Practice makes you perfect. When the young master goes to Zhoushan, he should also learn content related to overall command."
Dai Chengrong asked: "Are these learnings considered the 'science' that Shopkeeper Yuan mentioned before?"
Yuan Tao frowned and responded uncertainly: "This...should not be counted, right?"
He knew that these working methods were not unusual. Most Haihan officials, whether civil or military, would receive relevant training when they were promoted. There was no threshold at all, and it was really different from the difficult "science" that required screening of trainees.
Dai Chengrong was slightly disappointed after hearing this. In his opinion, if he could learn one or two "sciences" in Zhoushan and come back, it might give the Dai family a whole new level of strength in the future.
The young man was not well-educated and could not hide things on his face. Yuan Tao guessed a bit of Dai Chengrong's thoughts at a glance, and immediately advised: "Young master, if you want to learn Haihan science from me, it is not impossible. It’s just that not everyone can learn this kind of advanced scholarship, and students have other selection criteria. I hope you can understand this.”
Dai Chengrong heard Yuan Tao say there was still a chance, and quickly asked: "I wonder what the selection conditions are?"
Yuan Tao smiled and said: "First of all, you have to become a Haihan nationality. If you are not a Haihan national, let's stop talking. Young Master, do you have such a big determination?"
"Ah?" Dai Chengrong was indeed a little surprised when he heard this condition.
He originally thought that Haihan might set various assessment conditions, just like the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, where talents were selected layer by layer, and finally a few smart people were selected to be qualified to practice "science", but he did not expect that the first condition turned out to be Nationality, this is indeed going to dissuade many people.
However, Dai Chengrong can be regarded as a person who dares to think and act, but he did not give up, but continued to ask: "Then what if I really become a Haihan nationality?"
Yuan Tao saw that he was asking seriously, but it was beyond the scope of his knowledge, so he could only prevaricate: "I can't explain this matter in a few words. After you go to Zhoushan, you can go to the civil affairs department to find out."
(End of chapter)