Li Zicheng could not wait for the news of the Ming army's movements, and his heart became more and more uneasy, and he almost gave up his attention to the development of industry and commerce in Lanzhou, and concentrated all his attention on the expansion of the army.

In mid-May, Shen Dao asked to see Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng didn't talk nonsense, and said directly: "Shen Dao, how far has the training of the recruits expanded this year been?" ”

"Back to the Metropolitan Governor, his subordinates are here for this matter," Shen Dao couldn't sit down, and said busily: "Li Ji's fourth battalion and Zhou Bin's fifth battalion have completed the expansion, and the recruit training has been completed, and they have begun to mix with veterans, and it is estimated that in less than half a month, they will be able to form combat effectiveness!" ”

"Half a month?" Li Zicheng pondered, now he can't see the movement of the Ming army to move west, and in half a month, there should be no problem, so he nodded, "What about the other two battalions?" ”

Shen Dao didn't understand Li Zicheng's thoughts, but the Metropolitan Governor had paid special attention to the military in the past few months, and he felt a lot of pressure, so he hurriedly said: "The recruits of the third battalion Qin Danian Department and the sixth battalion Ma Youshui Department have completed the initial training of rifles and are about to enter actual combat training, but the rifles they train are basically borrowed from the fourth battalion, and it is difficult to improve the speed of training. ”

Li Zicheng frowned.

The production speed of rifles is insufficient, not only the problem of manpower, but also the production speed of pig iron and red copper. ”

"There is a batch on the road, about 8,000 catties, in addition to 10,000 catties left in Jianzhou, Mr. Tang said, to keep the road to repair ......"

"The matter of building the road, let's talk about it slowly, let Mr. Tang's people build the roadbed first, and then give them pig iron later!" Li Zicheng estimated that it would be impossible to complete the construction of the highway between Sichuan and Longyou for a while and a half, and the roadbed should be built first, and the time for road repair would not be delayed.

"The subordinates understood, and the subordinates immediately sent people to transport the pig iron from Jianzhou, so they could deal with the Firearms Bureau first!"

Li Zicheng nodded, "Where's the ammunition?" Is there enough ammo? How much does the Firearms Agency store? ”

Shen Dao's face changed, and he said: "Back to the Metropolitan Governor, the bullets in the inventory of the Firearms Bureau have less than half a month's output......

Li Zicheng understands that during this period of time, the recruits are all in drills, and naturally consume a large number of bullets, and it is reasonable for the bullets to be good, the veterans maintain their combat effectiveness, and the recruits improve their combat effectiveness, which are inseparable from the drill training, if the bullets cannot be guaranteed, the rifle is not as good as a burning stick, and once it enters the fighting stage, it is easy to break.

In any case, strategic deployment must be guaranteed! He raised his eyes and asked, "The three battalions on the front line, is the ammunition supply sufficient?" ”

"Xi'an, Guguan, and Hanzhong were just replenished a month ago, not only with bullets, but also with mountain artillery, which should have just arrived, and there should be no shortage of ammunition!"

"Send a message to Qin Danian, Ma Youshui, and Song Wen, try to save bullets, and in addition, during the training, collect the bullet casings, how much can be collected," Li Zicheng said: "How about Zhou Bin and Li Ji, is there enough ammunition?" ”

Shen Dao nodded and said: "These two departments have entered the stage of mixing veterans and recruits, mainly tactical training, this is the last and most critical moment to become an army, bullets must not be missing, otherwise, it will reduce the overall combat effectiveness of the army, and the subordinates will ensure the supply!" ”

"It seems that the lack of ammunition is only the expansion of the third battalion of Qin Danian and the sixth battalion of Ma Youshui," Li Zicheng said: "These two regiments are about to enter the stage of tactical training, and they also need a large number of ammunition ......."

Shen Dao lowered his head, arched his hand and said, "The subordinates are incompetent......"

"It's not your fault, there is no red copper, and it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice," Li Zicheng racked his brains, but he could not expand the production of red copper, in the current territory of the Mandate of Heaven Governor's Mansion, there is no large-scale copper mine at all, and almost all the red copper that can be used is used, except for the copper coins in the bank's inventory...... "By the way, tell Wencheng to put the copper coins in the bank inventory on top first, no matter how difficult it is, the bullets of the Firearms Bureau must be kept in stock for at least one and a half months. ”

"The Metropolitan Governor ......" Shen Dao was puzzled, "There is no sign of the imperial court going west, why is the Metropolitan Governor so ......?"

Li Zicheng shook his head, "If the storm you were expecting never came, it means that the storm is coming......

Sending Shen Dao away, Li Zicheng has been thinking about iron ore and copper mines, in the memory of later generations, there seems to be a lack of copper mines on the land of the central country, but there are many high-quality copper mines in Mongolia......

He has some impressions of iron ore, among the top ten iron and steel enterprises, Sichuan seems to have one: Panzhihua!

However, Panzhihua City seems to be at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan, before the passage of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, it was a place with extremely closed traffic, and Li Zicheng really did not know where it is now.

I don't know if this mountainous area is now under the control of the Heavenly Mandate Governor's Mansion, even if Zhao Guangrui's Ministry has already controlled this area, it will not be able to mine a large amount of pig iron for a while.

For today's plan, the only way to speed up and increase the mining of existing ores is to immediately send a message to Guo Shijun, asking him to expand the mining of copper and iron ore on the ground in Sichuan at all costs!

………………………………………………………………

At the end of May, he received a letter from Fang Yizao again, and Huang Taiji's attitude towards peace was still relatively positive, and the fortune teller Zhou Yuanzhong not only received many summons from Huang Taiji in Shenyang, but he also felt that Huang Taiji seemed to be a little impatient, and even rebuilt Guangning, and then exchanged markets in Guangning, he basically agreed.

Yang Sichang was overjoyed in his heart, but he knew that the peace negotiation was a major event, and there was no problem with Gao Qiqian and Fang Yizao dominating, but Zhou Yuanzhong was not an official of the imperial court, and it was really a bit inappropriate for him to come forward to talk with the Tartars, Zhou Yuanzhong could be used as a bridge between the two sides, but not as a formal messenger!

In addition, the matter of peace needs to be implemented by the Ming court, and sooner or later it will have to come to the table, and the emperor must issue an order to formally appoint a messenger, so that it is possible for the two sides to have an in-depth exchange of views......

If you can't face up to the reality and always let Gao Qiqian and Fang Yizao "deliberate" to act, you will not be able to reach a valid contract at all, and even if you reach a contract, you will not be able to execute it in the future.

He asked to see Zhu Youzhen twice in a row, but Zhu Youzhen was afraid of the opposition of his ministers and kept hesitating.

Yang Sichang was in a hurry, so he wrote a chapter a day, and there was only one thing on the chapter: to ask the emperor to appoint a formal envoy to represent the imperial court to envoy to the Qing Dynasty and sign a contract with the Qing Dynasty!

Zhu Youzhen was overwhelmed, and it happened that the first assistant Wen Tiren was dismissed, and the cabinet was empty, so he let Yang Sichang as a scholar of the East Pavilion, and Cheng Guoxiang, the head of the Ministry of Households, Fang Fengnian, the head of the Ministry of Rites, Cai Guoyong, and Fan Fucui, the Shaoqing of Dali, entered the cabinet together, and the new cabinet was headed by Liu Yuliang, followed by Fu Guan and Xue Guoguan.

Yang Sichang couldn't cry or laugh, entering the cabinet was what he dreamed of, but in the matter of negotiating peace with the Qing Dynasty, the emperor was prevaricating, not only could not make up his mind to face the courtiers, but also let Gao Qiqian and Fang Yizao act cheaply.

If this continues, when will it be the end? Yang Sichang felt that his great plan was being put down the drain step by step......

Yang Sichang is not ungrateful to the emperor, but the excerpt given to the emperor is correct, and he is becoming more and more impatient in terms of terminology, and even uses "hesitation" and "indecision".

Zhu Youzhen was indeed hesitant, he hoped that Fang Yizao could negotiate a favorable result with Huang Taiji, but he also did not want to bear the infamy of "negotiating peace", and the black pot still let the courtiers carry it, so he kept all the excerpts of Yang Sichang, and neither opposed nor encouraged.

After a long time, the imperial court is discussing peace with the Qing Dynasty, and gradually become public in the court, and the crowd is excited for a while, and they have impeached Yang Sichang, and the most fierce reaction is the Shaozhan Shifu Zhan Shi Huang Daozhou, he not only impeached Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong, but also impeached Yang Sichang for "seizing love into the cabinet".

Clear-sighted people can know at a glance that Huang Daozhou's impeachment of Yang Sichang was actually against the peace negotiations with the Tartars led by Yang Sichang.

When Wang Chengen sent the official impeachment of Yang Sichang, Zhu Youzhen just flipped a few points casually, and then he was still on the side, unconsciously sighing.

Wang Chengen hurriedly lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty ......"

"It's hard to come up with a person who can do things, since Wen Weak served as the secretary of the Ministry of War, the rogues have almost disappeared, but these officials ...... They only have anti-aircraft guns, but have they ever come up with a solution? Zhu Youzhen's eyes were a little sloppy, he really couldn't figure out why Taizu raised these officials back then, didn't do anything, only acted like a mad dog, and bit people who did things......

Wang Chengen didn't dare to speak, but silently tidied up the scattered movements.

Zhu Youzhen was angry for a while, and then looked at the recitals of the officials, the top one happened to be the recital of the Zodiac Zhou, and before he finished reading it, he was not only furious: "This Zodiac Zhou, it is too inopportune, and it has only been back in Beijing not long ago, and it is very hateful to dare to talk nonsense, obstruct the plan, and win the name of being straightforward and daring to speak!" ”

He didn't comment, and he wasn't in the mood to look at other concerts, he got up and walked back and forth, his steps were extremely heavy, and suddenly, he couldn't help but sigh, "I have worked hard for the country, how can the people of Huang Daozhou know?" Win love, win love, if Wen is weak and keeps filial piety at home for three years, will you be the supervisor of Zodiac Zhou? ”

However, this is just his own talk, Yang Sichang can't hear it, and Huang Daozhou can't hear it!

Zhu Youzhen was under pressure from the ministers, and on July 5, he summoned the ministers on the platform of the Jianji Palace, personally acted as the arbitrator, and let Yang Sichang and Huang Daozhou debate in front of the emperor.

Although Yang Sichang was very good at military affairs, he was defeated in the face of Huang Daozhou's Taoism......

Zhu Youzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace and kicked over the wooden chair in front of him, "I'm angry, this zodiac week, it's really pedantic, I only know the Tao, but I don't understand the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, no wonder Wen Weak said, the words and officials talk about misleading the country...... 'seizing affection and seeing things' or 'seizing affection' examples have existed in all dynasties, why do you hold Wen Weak?" He's obviously coming for me......"

Zhang Yixian arched his body ninety degrees, and said busily: "Your Majesty, don't be like this kind of person, take care of the dragon's body......"

Zhu Youzhen was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Yes, I don't have the same general knowledge as these people, I don't want to see this person again, Yi Xian, the proposed purpose, the zodiac Zhou dynasty formed a party, plotted to kill Zhongliang, no monarch and no father, and was demoted to Jiangxi according to the judge!" ”

"Yes......" Zhang Yixian said busily: "Your Majesty, Huang Daozhou was demoted from the young Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu and a bachelor of Hanlin to Jiangxi according to the judge...... Downgraded six levels in a row, the ministers are afraid that ......"

Zhu Youzhen said in a deep voice: "Intention! ”

"Slave obeys!" Zhang Yixian shrank his neck in fright, the emperor was angry, how could he persuade him? Hurriedly trotted to the draft.

Zhu Youzhen severely punished Huang Daozhou, which was a relief, but the matter of the first peace between the imperial court and the Qing Dynasty was put on hold without restrictions!