met free Chapter 732 The Family Fortune Has Grown
Chapter 732 The Family Fortune Has Grown
Sun Yuanhua shuddered upon hearing this. It seemed that Chongzhen's life was doomed; Liu Ye would definitely do everything in his power to kill him at the hands of Li Zicheng. Sun Yuanhua believed that even if Li Zicheng didn't kill Chongzhen, Liu Ye would hold Chongzhen's head down with one hand and grab Li Zicheng's sword with the other, creating a fait accompli of bandit murdering the emperor. Then, under the guise of avenging Chongzhen, he would seize the political assets of the Ming Dynasty.
It must be said that his judgment was very close to Liu Ye's true thoughts.
Although he despised the actions of Emperor Chongzhen, Yang Sichang, and their ministers in secretly attempting to negotiate peace with the Tartars and in poisoning Liu Ye, who had rendered great service, Sun Yuanhua was, after all, a traditional scholar. The concept of the emperor being the guide for his subjects was deeply ingrained in his bones, and he could not easily let go of certain burdens in his heart. He couldn't help but sigh at the possible fate that might befall Emperor Chongzhen, but he was helpless because it was the general trend of the times, and he could not stop the thoughts of tens of thousands of people in the Qionghai Army.
After Liu Ye briefed the audience on the situation on the mainland, he began to listen to reports from his subordinates.
The military aspect is clearly the most important. Quartz, as one of the major military powers, was the first to step forward.
"Reporting to the General: The First Regiment has been carefully selected, with many capable men chosen from among the veteran soldiers. It has now expanded to over 10,000 men, and there are also over 20,000 new soldiers. In addition to reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land, they train twice a day. When needed, they can be deployed to the battlefield with a little training. These are just the elite troops we have repeatedly screened. If the situation becomes urgent, we can still pull out 10,000 to 20,000 able-bodied men from the 100,000 immigrants. They may be slightly lacking in age and physique, but they are still a good source of soldiers."
"In other words, the actual strength of the First Regiment has doubled, and the reserve force has reached 20,000, and even the upper limit can reach 40,000 if needed?" Liu Ye nodded and said with satisfaction, "Indeed, manpower is the most valuable resource. Without these people, no matter how powerful our guns and cannons are, they are useless. We can only stay in Guangdong and be tyrants, and dare not fight head-on with the bandits and Tartars."
The bandits relied on sheer numbers; before the large-scale migration, even exchanging ten cannon fodder for one soldier in the Qionghai Army was an unbearable blow to the Qionghai Navy. While the Tartars weren't numerous, that was only relative to the entire Ming Dynasty. If they wanted to fight to the death, the Eight Banners could easily muster 100,000 bannermen. Furthermore, with the help of Mongols, surrendered Ming soldiers, and even Koreans, they could easily reach a force of 200,000 to 300,000. Without absorbing population to expand the army, a force of tens of millions, even with a technological advantage in weaponry, wouldn't be enough to sustain several major battles. Back then, to deal with Abatai's small force, Liu Ye had mobilized his entire army. Now, with tens of thousands of active and reserve troops, plus forces in Shandong and Taiwan, they finally had enough strength to directly confront Huang Taiji and engage in a decisive battle.
As the most senior general, Shi Ying had long since tied his fate to the Qionghai Army. He was proud of the Qionghai Army's leapfrog development and said, "General, you are right. Back when we didn't have enough troops, a thousand men had to fight against 20,000 troops from Guangdong and cross the sea to fight against the entire city of Guangzhou. It was a life-or-death struggle with no way out. If we lost, we would have nothing. Later, whether we fought Gao Yingxiang at Qiuyu Mountain or fought against the rebels and Tartars in Shandong, we were always outnumbered and had no room to maneuver. Now that we are strong and well-equipped, we fear no one in the world."
Liu Ye was in a good mood and encouraged them, saying, "You deserve a lot of credit for the Army's current size. Thank you for your hard work."
Shi Ying gave a military salute: "This is what I should do."
With Xu Yifan and Su Hongtu absent, Li Fei naturally took the lead in the speaking order. After Shi Ying stepped back, he stepped forward and said, "General, the Marine Corps has proven itself in Liaonan. With the support of warships, it can play a significant role along the coast. However, a force of around a thousand men is far too small. I request the General's permission to expand the force."
This time, the Marine Corps demonstrated its prowess, achieving remarkable results with minimal force, thanks to the cooperation of the Navy. They successfully captured a stronghold in southern Liaoning, playing a strategic role in containing the Qing army's invasion. The effect even exceeded Liu Ye's expectations. Liu Ye felt Li Fei's request was reasonable. After a moment's thought, he nodded and said, "We have sufficient manpower now, and the fighting units should be strengthened. However, we don't need to increase the number of troops indefinitely. Special forces are not ordinary privates; they need to win through numbers. We should maintain an appropriate level, ensuring flexibility in wartime. How about this: expand the guard, special forces, and Marine Corps to two thousand men each. You can choose the men yourselves; I will guarantee the weapons and pay."
Lin San and Qin Tian were delighted; who wouldn't want their troops to be strengthened? They both stepped forward and, together with Li Fei, said, "Thank you, General."
Liu Ye chuckled and said, "Work hard. When we head north in the future, I expect the special forces and marines to play an important role."
After the military personnel reported on the progress or made their requests, Sun Yuanhua composed himself, stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, “General, everyone is very happy that the Qionghai Army is now well-equipped. However, I must offer a word of caution: when the Qionghai Army was only a few battalions, a few thousand men, the supply of firearms was not a problem. But by the time of the battle against Gao Yingxiang, the force had grown to over ten thousand, and meeting the needs of the newly recruited soldiers was becoming increasingly difficult. Just replenishing the losses after the war was enough to overwhelm the arsenals. Now, with tens of thousands of men, the existing craftsmen simply cannot keep up with the pace of expansion. Our Qionghai Army has one musket for every man, a dozen small cannons for every thousand men, and cannons for every five thousand men. Both the forging of muskets and the casting of cannons cannot keep up with the speed of expansion. Let alone firearms, we can't even keep up with the production of the short blades for the muskets…”
Liu Ye frowned, knowing that the contradiction between the arsenal's production capacity and the army's expansion speed was an unavoidable problem. This was reality, not some computer game where weapons could be created with a click of the mouse. Although we controlled the iron and coal mines, ensuring a stable supply of raw materials, the number of skilled craftsmen was limited. Weapon production couldn't prioritize speed over quality. Imagine if the Patriot rifles, mountain guns, and field guns, traditionally renowned for their superior quality, became as prone to barrel explosions as the imperial arquebuses and cannons, and if bayonets broke easily. Soldiers would lose trust in their weapons, and the Qionghai Navy's combat effectiveness would certainly suffer, becoming not far behind that of the regular troops.