Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 889 - 734

Chapter 889: 734

After entering April, The Court and the people within the capital and beyond started to shift into war preparation mode.

With the issuance of an imperial edict in early May by Princess Yu Hongchang, the Jianguo, appointing Li Xuan as the ’Great General Zhenbei’ with control over all military affairs and operations in the Meng Wu direction, the entire northern Jingying and Weisuo Institute began to make preparations upon hearing the news.

On May 25th, thirteen battalions of Shenji Camp totaling 130,000 men, twelve battalions totaling 120,000 men, the five army camp with 60,000 men, as well as 90,000 elite infantrymen from the north Zhili and the Jizhou Weisuo Institute all successively entered the front lines near Xuanfu.

Of these 400,000 men, apart from the Shenji Camp and one division of the ten battalions which were fully equipped with firearms, the rest of the forces were also all equipped with the old-style muskets improved by the Shenqi Union.

The cavalry of the Zhihuishi Divisions from Jizhou Town, north Zhili, Shandong, and Liaodong were also gathering towards Xuanfu. Not only did their total number reach 150,000, but each soldier also had two horses.

Last year’s great victory at Xuanfu significantly improved the storage volume of warhorses in the Jin Dynasty.

After the busy spring farming season, Li Xuan had also mobilized 350,000 civilians to ensure logistical support.

Moreover, The Court levied an additional 120,000 cavalrymen from the grassland tribes that had submitted to the Jin Dynasty, bringing the total cavalry strength to 270,000.

Along the canal, transport ships were as numerous as clouds, with large quantities of grain and fodder being continuously sent to Xuanfu Town and Datong Town.

At this time, The Court was also bearing the burden of another large-scale warfare in the Xi’an direction involving over a million people.

If this had happened in previous years, The Court’s finances would have collapsed early on.

But this year, thanks to the issuance of the new coin, The Court was still more than adequately funded to supply two separate war efforts simultaneously.

The Ministry of Works minting division was able to produce currency worth several hundred thousand taels of silver yuan and aluminum coins each day, which were continuously shipped to the south in exchange for the grain needed by the army.

Naturally, The Court’s Changping warehouses and charity granaries could not provide so much grain, but the local landlords and magnates could.

In the years following the Tumu Fort battle, most regions in the Jin Dynasty enjoyed good weather and abundant harvests. Each and every one of these landlords and magnates had reserves accumulated over several years, with full granaries.

Originally, after May of the reform year, a second poor harvest in the Huguang area and other regions seemed inevitable. The local grain merchants and magnates were eagerly hoarding in anticipation, planning to make a fortune during the impending grain shortage or to expand their industries.

However, starting from this month, The Court introduced a massive amount of the ’Fenyang potato’ and ’Guanjun Potato’ to the market.

The local government offices exchanged rice and wheat directly from the people at prices so low that it was shocking.

Apart from a daily limit on the Guanjun Potato, the supply of Fenyang potatoes seemed endless and boundless.

Although these potatoes, also known as tubers, did not have the best taste, they were filling enough.

According to the official price set, one stone of rice could be exchanged for ten stones of Fenyang potatoes.

For the common people, they would rather have potatoes for three meals a day to stave off hunger than accept the exploitation of the merchants and landlords.

Moreover, once exchanged, they could also be grown at home.

As a result, in the major grain-producing areas of Huguang and Jiangnan, grain prices fell instead of rising after the large-scale disasters.

Some local magnates who sensed something was amiss hastily sold their grain reserves to The Court.

Although the price of this grain was slightly lower than the market rate, it at least ensured their profits.

In the Jiangnan region, anyone with insight realized that grain prices might collapse in the coming months, so it was better to sell early.

For this reason, while supplying the military operations in Shaanxi, The Court was also able to fill the granaries along the Great Wall to the brim.

At the same time, the Ministry of Works’ Junqi Bureau and the Neiguan Bureau’s Inner Weapon Staff Bureau were also busily manufacturing revolvers.

In terms of manpower alone, these two organizations actually had far greater human resources than the Shenqi Union, with a staggering 200,000 craftsmen on record, spread between Beijing and Tianjin.

Although both institutions were normally rife with corruption and an undisciplined workforce comparable to rotten wood, when The Court was resolute and with sufficient financial and grain support, these two organizations still managed to produce an astounding output.

From mid-May, a total of 250,000 revolvers had been delivered in batches to the military camps in Xuanfu.

Li Xuan was not at all worried about the quality of these firearms, simply because the most important components of the revolvers—the ’barrel’ and ’cylinder’—were all cast by the steel foundries of the Shenqi Union.

The Junqi Bureau and the Inner Weapon Staff Bureau were mainly responsible for polishing, making the gun handles, rifling the barrels, installing the flintlocks, assembling parts, and engraving Runes.

So even if the quality of these guns was low, they wouldn’t be prone to barrel explosions.

Besides, with Yu Jie, the Shaofu, personally overseeing the production, the workers at the Junqi Bureau and the Inner Weapon Staff Bureau wouldn’t dare to cut corners in this revolver order.

Li Xuan had tested a few of the revolvers himself, and they were quite satisfactory.

Furthermore, the Junqi Bureau and the Inner Weapon Staff Bureau even had spare capacity to use the steel plates provided by the Shenqi Union to produce a large number of human and animal-drawn side carts.

On June 3rd, Li Xuan officially set off to the north, leading his personal guard unit to Xuanfu.

And on the very day he was about to leave, Shaosiming Yuan Taiwei came to see him.

Hongshang had been recuperating for over half a year. Although her injuries hadn’t improved much, her complexion was no longer as pale as before.

However, upon meeting Li Xuan, she appeared hesitant and found it difficult to speak.

Li Xuan looked at her with a kind and puzzled expression, "Shaosiming, do you have something you wish to discuss? Please feel free to speak."

At that moment, Lord Huang, serving as the guard by his side, merely glanced at Shaosiming and thought to herself, I recognize that expression all too well.