From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 961

On November 27, eight days had passed since arriving at Samju-ri. During these eight days, Zhou Yuan had basically completed the military control of the area north of the Taedong River and west of the Changjin River.

It is expected that around the 10th day of December, the complete secession here will be completed.

And intelligence from the south is also constantly coming.

The island bandits gathered 8,000 troops and fought fiercely with the 40,000 troops of the Kim Dynasty between the two cities of Wenqing and Chungju. They fought back and forth and almost tied.

The Kim Dynasty was really rotten, and this rottenness was reflected in all aspects. The combat effectiveness of the 40,000 troops was terribly low. It is said that many soldiers could not even wear warm clothes and were frozen to death.

According to Shenque's investigation, the reason was that the deputy commander of the Kim Dynasty embezzled 30% of the military pay. He did not expect this winter to be so cold.

When a country enters its final stage, all kinds of monsters and demons will appear!

But the most tragic scene was the plain and hilly area 200 miles north of Jishan. The Jin Dynasty gathered 80,000 troops here, occupied dozens of commanding heights and passes, and fought back and forth with more than 20,000 island bandits.

Reality is so ironic. The island bandits transported people back and forth, but there were less than 30,000 people in total.

The 120,000 troops gathered by the Jin Dynasty with all their strength had to use the most tragic way to resist the island bandits whose number was far less than their own.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was only a matter of time before the Jin Dynasty collapsed, because the internal rot was too serious.

There was a defection incident a few days ago. The generals of the Jin Dynasty took 80 personal guards and quietly boarded the ship with military pay and fled directly.

Every inch of land here is rotting, the morale of the army has long been in a mess, and people are easier to kill than pigs.

And Zhou Yuan finally waited for the person he wanted to wait for.

On the first day of December, dozens of Jianghu masters protected two middle-aged men to the Dingzhou general's tent.

It was snowing heavily that day.

Zhou Yuan walked out of the general's tent and stood in the yard waiting.

The door opened, and two old friends wearing thick cotton robes walked in quickly amid the snow.

The two saw Zhou Yuan waiting in the snow, covered with snow, and were stunned for a moment.

Then they looked at each other and bowed at the same time.

"Meet the Lord!"

Guan Lu and Zhang Fei were a little excited.

Zhou Yuan strode over and couldn't help laughing: "It's a long journey of thousands of miles, and it's cold and freezing. Would you like to have a drink?"

Guan Lu said: "Let's talk about business first, and then drink hot wine. Isn't it wonderful!"

"Okay, okay!"

Zhou Yuan pulled the two into the house, untied his cloak, shook off the snow, and sat by the stove.

"Sister Saint, go prepare hot tea, boil two pots of wine, and prepare a few hard dishes."

Hearing this, Zhang Fei jumped up first and said in a lost voice: "Absolutely not, how can we let Madam do this? We can prepare it ourselves!"

Li Yu'an couldn't help laughing, pointing at Zhang Fei and said: "You are still good at talking, no wonder you are much more handsome than the round-faced bearded man next to you."

This "Madam" was obviously very useful to her, and she went to prepare wine and food generously.

Guan Lu was stunned in the same place, touched his face, and wondered: "Is it round again? I haven't eaten much during this period!"

Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing and said: "Don't worry about this, Zhang Fei is a martial artist, what are you competing with him for, and your cheeks can be used as a shovel, it's not an exaggeration to say that you are ugly."

Zhang Fei laughed and said: "Old Guan, see, Madam still has good taste."

"Fuck you."

Guan Lu rarely said a swear word, and then got straight to the point.

"The five battleships and four cruisers of the Fujian-Guangdong Navy have all been repaired. In addition, three battleships of the Dutch fleet have also been repaired by us. Now we have eight battleships and four cruisers."

"In terms of the size of the fleet, we are undoubtedly the most powerful fleet in the Eastern world."

"But there is still a lot of room for improvement in the quality of our sailors, skills and tactics, and the control of warships."

"Fortunately, the South China Sea Military Academy is already in preparation. Nie Zairong has devoted a lot of effort to this and has hardly had a rest. , the finances of Fujian and Guangdong provinces are also supporting it. "

"Your Majesty is even more generous. He directly took out 50% of the autumn tax of Fujian and Guangdong provinces this year and allocated it to the Firearms Bureau and the Fujian and Guangdong Navy to rebuild the navy and produce guns and cannons."

"But this money is not enough. It is too difficult to maintain the expenses of eight battleships and four cruisers, not to mention that we also need to configure artillery ammunition and corresponding personnel."

"In the final analysis, everything is getting better, but money is needed everywhere."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said: "The positive impact of opening the sea has not really been reflected yetWe are not in a hurry to get out. The weather will clear up after these two years. "

"How many people did the Fujian-Guangdong Navy bring this time?"

Guan Lu said in a deep voice: "Four battleships and four cruisers, except for the Henggao ship, all were dispatched."

"The three battleships captured from the Dutch fleet are still being adapted and trained by the navy soldiers, and they are temporarily unable to perform combat missions."

"Now our fleet is repairing in the mountains and coastal areas, just waiting for the lord's order."

Zhou Yuan nodded slowly and chuckled: "In this way, the situation at sea is up to us, but there is no hurry. Wait until the Jin Dynasty and the island pirates fight enough."

"Send out cruisers to cut off their maritime supply and intelligence lines."

"This time, we have to close the door and beat the dog, and we have to hurt the island pirates!"

Zhang Fei said excitedly: "Do we have a mission then? To be honest, the Jianghu people under my command have been idle for two months, and they are a little itchy. They are planning to show their skills in Goryeo. ”

“After conquering Dongfan Island, they each received a huge reward, in terms of money, status, tax exemption for the family, and free school for their children. They reached the pinnacle of their lives.”

“So much so that they are all excited now, eager to make more achievements and bring honor to their family.”

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, “It just so happens that there is a mission. You don’t have much time to rest. You must set off the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

At this point, he pointed to the map behind him and said, “There is a genius in Goryeo. He has fought with me for a few moves. The opponent is very skilled.”

“At present, they have gained momentum and have successively occupied Xinxing, Hamxing and Yongxing, accumulating a lot of troops.”

“Their next step must be to take Yuanshan. I want you all to rush to Yuanshan, hide among the people, on the one hand, spy on intelligence, and on the other hand, look for opportunities to behead.”

“For the specific situation, you need to communicate with Shenque.”

At this point, Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, “Whoever can chop off Li Jingzhi’s head will be the first meritorious! "

Zhang Fei said excitedly: "Okay! We will rest tomorrow and set off early the day after tomorrow."

Zhou Yuan stood up and said loudly: "Let's go! Drink some hot wine! Eat meat!"

From the moment Zhou Yuan received the imperial edict and was about to rush to Shenjing, they had already started working together. Along the way, they were no longer just superiors and subordinates, but also comrades in life and death fighting side by side.

They worked together in their respective areas of expertise and forged ahead.

And they will continue to move forward!