After talking with Shen Weijing, Xiao Ruxun took the cannons back to the government office and found Yuan Huang, who was busy dealing with some matters.
"These are the main firearms of the Japanese pirates?"
Yuan Huang picked up one and weighed it: "It's slightly heavier than my Daming's musket, and it looks like it's a bit more powerful! I didn't expect the Japanese pirates to be ahead of the Daming in this aspect. "
Xiao Ruxun nodded: "Regardless of whether they are a small country with few people, in this aspect, Japan is indeed ahead of the Daming. They obtained the Franco's musket technology before the Daming and improved it to become the current musket. After the Daming obtained the Japanese iron cannon, he only copied it and did not improve it.
The musket Daming uses now is the iron cannon used by the Japanese pirates 20 years ago. It was used by the pirates, not by the Japanese army. It is unknown whether the Japanese iron cannon has improved in the past 20 years. We need to let the craftsmen take a closer look to know. Tomorrow, we will also test the difference between the iron cannon and the musket, so that we won't be at a disadvantage. "
Yuan Huang nodded with a heavy expression: "It seems that we need to start developing more sophisticated muskets. Otherwise, if our weapons are not as good as the Japanese pirates, that will not be good."
"Not necessarily." Xiao Ruxun shook his head: "The musket is, after all, an individual firearm. Its power is limited. Japan is a small country with few people and few resources. It is not as big as the Daming, so it can only develop this kind of individual firearm. The Daming has a lot of resources, so it can use cannons. From the information I received these days, I found that the number of cannons in the Japanese army is very small, completely incomparable to the cannons of the Daming. [0↑ 9 △ small ↓ say △ net] "
"This is good news." Yuan Huang looked at the iron cannon in his hand and said in a deep voice: "Since the Daming's musket and the Japanese pirates' iron cannons are from the Franco people, I wonder how sophisticated the Franco people's firearms are? Ji Xin, after this battle is over, we have to make contact with the Francis in Guangdong and Guangxi. We have to get the latest Francis firearms from them and show them. We can't fall behind! "
Xiao Ruxun agreed: "I already have a preliminary idea in this regard. We can't always rely on outsiders. Those who are not of our race must have different intentions. They may not necessarily give us the latest technology. We have to find a way to research it ourselves. We are the ancestors of firearms. We have been using firearms since the end of the Tang Dynasty. The Franco people's firearms were passed down by us. It's just that we haven't been working in one direction over the years.
I've heard that in the land where Franco's people live, their army only has two types of firearms: muskets and cannons, and they specialize in these two. But we, on the other hand, have blossomed in every field. We've researched rockets, grenades, guns, and cannons together. We have all kinds of firearms, but we don't focus on one thing. That's why we're lagging behind. After all these years of fighting, I feel that muskets and cannons are the most practical firearms. We have to make this clear to the imperial court. [0↑ 9 △ small ↓ say △ net] "
Xiao Ruxun held the iron cannon in his hand and kept looking at it.
Yuan Huang also quite agreed with Xiao Ruxun's philosophy and felt that he and Xiao Ruxun were very compatible.
"Did Shen Weijing find out the number of Japanese pirates in Pyongyang?"
"Yes, he estimated there to be around fifteen to twenty thousand people."
"That many? The North Koreans said 1,000 before. Isn't that just fooling us? "
Yuan Huang was a little surprised.
"That's why I absolutely don't believe any information provided by the North Koreans. I want to get the information myself." Xiao Ruxun said in a deep voice with a cold face, "We can't even let the North Koreans know too much about some of the military secrets. They have a spy in the court. Not only did he betray Zu Chengxun, but he also betrayed their own people. The North Koreans betrayed them when they attacked Pyongyang. If we don't find the spy before the war starts, this war will not be peaceful."
Yuan Huang looked around and said in a low voice, "Ji Xin, are you talking about Zu Chengxun's report?"
Xiao Ruxun nodded. "That's right. There are too many contradictions in that report. If we think about it carefully, we will definitely find that there is definitely something wrong with that Li Gui. I've tested Liu Chenglong and found that his expression was strange. He must know something, but he doesn't dare to say it. He's afraid of incurring the wrath of Daming. So, I've sent a few people to secretly investigate Li Gui. I reckon that we will be able to find some clues."
Yuan Huang looked at Xiao Ruxun with admiration. "It's a brilliant move for the court to make Ji Xin the commander. This old man hasn't seen a commander as comprehensive as Ji Xin in many years. The last one I saw was Qi Shaobao."
"Deacon Yuan, you praise me too much. However, we have no choice but to be cautious. It's not easy for Daming to start a war in North Korea. After all, it's not Daming's territory. There are still many people who oppose the war. Although protecting North Korea is equivalent to protecting China, once the losses increase, the anti-war faction in the court will definitely become stronger. At that time, the situation will change."
Yuan Huang narrowed his eyes and put down the iron cannon. He said in a low voice, "This old man has also heard about it. It won't be easy for this war to start. His Majesty's insistence on starting a war is probably because he wants to smooth things over. He doesn't want the court officials to be so stubborn about the matter of the Crown Prince. That's why the court officials are so opposed. Thinking about it this way, it won't be easy for this war to start."
Xiao Ruxun nodded and said, "That's why before I came, Shi Butang repeatedly reminded me that we can't have too big of a loss. If the losses are too big, he won't be able to resist the anti-war demands. At that time, he will probably use peace talks to resolve this matter. Although the Daming doesn't want peace talks, North Korea is not Daming's territory, and the court officials don't care about it. They won't be willing to Daming to shed too much blood and spend too much money for North Korea.
I'm valued because I saved the lives of a large number of soldiers in Ningxia. In the end, my army's losses were only about 3,400 people, which was much lower than the court's expectations. This saved the court a lot of money. If I can't do it this time, I won't have a good ending when I go back. That's why I got people to look for doctors who are good at treating wounds from swords and spears, and hoarded so many medicinal herbs. "
"This old man knows about this matter. Ji Xin's move is indeed beautiful, but no matter what, bleeding for the North Koreans is not something I'm willing to do." Yuan Huang said, "This war has no practical benefits for the Daming. At most, it will increase his reputation and stabilize the Daming's position. But it's a waste of manpower and money, and it won't be replenished. Instead, it will cost a lot of military and pacification expenses. It's really not worth it."
"Not necessarily."
Xiao Ruxun's words attracted Yuan Huang's attention.
"What do you mean?"
Xiao Ruxun pointed to the south and said in a low voice, "Xiao Nishi said that there are 15,000 soldiers in a corps. He said that there are eight corps in the Japanese frontline, which means there are 120,000 soldiers. According to common sense, 120,000 soldiers need at least 30,000 to 40,000 auxiliary soldiers to transport provisions and daily services, and maybe even more. Including the ships and navy that transport provisions between North Korea and Japan, the total number of the Japanese army is about 170,000 to 180,000, or even 200,000."
Yuan Huang frowned. "I'd like to hear the details."
"Manpower! Young and strong! "Xiao Ruxun's eyes shone with excitement." Since ancient times, what is the most valuable thing? Young and strong labor! That's the most basic standard to evaluate a country's strength. 200,000 young and strong. If the Daming suddenly has 200,000 more young and strong … not to mention 200,000, 100,000, what will happen? "
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