But there are still many issues in the northwest and northern Luzon that require him to make decisions on the spot. We can't just rush to the imperial capital for everything. "Ling Tianfang was a little anxious. From the Lord's letter, he had already smelled the strong smell of gunpowder. The previous visit of Kaman also made him feel the subtle changes in the situation. Although he could not fully understand it for a while, this There must be too much intrigue in the middle.
"Brother Ling, I heard that the training of the snow pigeon has made great progress?" Xiao Tang quietly whispered in Ling Tianfang's ear. This plan to cultivate, train and breed heterogeneous snow pigeons produced above the snow line of the Great Hengduan Mountains has always been listed as the top secret of the northwest military and political affairs. Ling Tian is responsible for the details. The main reason is that the traditional communication method using fast horses is not only slow but also inefficient. , and easy to be intercepted, especially in the military, once intercepted by the opponent, it will cause unimaginable consequences. Therefore, more than a year ago, Ling Tianfang, on behalf of the military, proposed a plan to cultivate high-standard heterogeneous snow pigeons. The express information transmission for the military was approved by Wu Feng, so the plan code-named "Arrow" was officially launched more than a year ago.
Ling Tianfang has always classified this plan as top secret. Only Xiao Tang in the government knows the progress. Even Su Qin has only heard about it and the specific situation is not clear.
The coniferous forest belt above the snow line in the middle section of the Great Hengduan Mountains produces a bird with extremely strong survivability. This bird not only flies fast, but also has excellent endurance. What attracts most attention is that it has extraordinary memory and can accurately Returning to their lair hundreds of miles away, few get lost. If this kind of bird can be domesticated and supplemented with necessary training, the speed and efficiency of information transmission can be greatly improved. However, it is extremely difficult to domesticate this kind of bird. So far, a pair of surviving snow pigeons have not been successfully trained. However, considerable progress has been made. It is estimated that in a period of time, there will be truly mature messenger snow pigeons for military use. superior.
Ling Tianfang glanced at Xiao Tang warily. Could this guy be planning something else? Not to mention that they are not yet fully trained, even if they are fully trained, there will only be a handful of them in the first batch. Even the most important aspects of the military are far from being satisfied, and it is impossible to consider getting them from the government.
Shaking his head, Ling Tianfang replied with a straight face: "It's still very early, and it can't even be said to be applied in actual work."
"No, I heard that there seems to have been a lot of progress. It is said that it has entered the final stage of trial release." Xiao Tang knew that Ling Tianfang was evil, he winked and smiled evilly.
"Who said that?!" Ling Tianfang was furious. He didn't expect that the secret he wanted to keep would be found out by the other party. Of course he was furious, but as soon as he said the words, he immediately regretted it. Isn't asking like this the same as telling him directly? Does the other party really have something to do? He immediately changed his words and said: "It's pure nonsense. Yes, there has been some progress, but it may take some time to fully apply it in actual combat." His tone also pretended to be sincere.
"Brother Ling, you are not the kind of person who is good at lying. You may be able to deceive outsiders with your appearance, but how can you deceive old friends like us? Brother Su, don't you think so?" Xiao Tang said with a face There was a look on his face that looked like a smile but not a smile.
Su Qin also laughed. He liked the atmosphere among his colleagues where they made some good-natured jokes for the sake of work, which allowed people to relax a little bit in the tense work. "Well, if Brother Ling has something to do, you should discuss it with Brother Xiao." , don’t hide it, his nose is very sharp, you can’t hide it from him.”
"Hmph, it must be that guy Lu Man. I was pestered by him last time to take a look. I wouldn't have agreed to him unless I considered that he was still the director of the Combat Readiness Department. It seems like it was indeed a mistake." Ling Tianfang Gritting his teeth, he said, "Brother Xiao, I won't hide it from you. This training has made great progress, but it may take some time before it can be fully put into use. First, the number of successes in this first batch is too small. The most urgent military needs are not yet met, and secondly, since some supporting facilities still need to be established in various places, I am afraid it will also take time."
"Well, Brother Ling, that's right. We all serve Mr. Li, and we must share the joys and sorrows together, right? If you have any difficulties, just ask, Xiao Tang will support him to the end." Xiao Tang looked righteous.
"That's enough, that's enough. Stop acting in front of me. I don't know what your plan is. I'm telling you, you definitely don't have a share in the first batch. Our army is still far behind. The second batch It depends on the situation." Ling Tianfang waved his hands repeatedly, not giving Xiao Tang much chance to speak.
"Hey, we don't have a share in the first batch. Even the second batch depends on the situation. Brother Ling, you are too protective of your army. At that time, you agreed in front of Mr. Li that the military and political affairs should be shared and the army should be given priority. . These few words of proper priority are just so many privileges. I won’t talk about the first batch. Even the second batch depends on the situation? I’m afraid Brother Ling is a little unreasonable." Xiao Tang said with a smile, listening It is said that it has been basically successful, and of course I feel comfortable.
"Humph, the affairs of the army are much more urgent than the affairs of your place. Of course, we must ensure it first." Ling Tianfang refused to give in.
"That's right, but some of the second batch should be taken out to consider the needs of the government. The government is also in urgent need of this stuff in many aspects." Xiao Tang looked solemn.
Seeing that he could not get rid of Xiao Tang's entanglement, Ling Tianfang rolled his eyes and changed the subject: "We will discuss this later. By the way, let's study the issues mentioned in Mr. Li's letter. It was mentioned in the article that the empire may undergo major changes within this year, and war is very likely to start. He will not be able to come back for a while. We need to actively prepare, especially military preparations and strategic material reserves, anytime and anywhere. Be prepared to deal with unexpected events. I think we may need to study this issue carefully and come up with a practical plan."
Xiao Tang secretly scolded the old cunning guy, but he was not in a hurry. It was all for the same goal anyway, and even some arguments were normal.
"As for the reserve of strategic materials, Lord Li discussed it with me and Lu Man as early as the year before last, and some preparations have been made. A considerable amount of food, fodder, clothing, weapons, vehicles, and medicinal materials have been reserved in advance, but after Part of it was consumed when the troops were sent to Northern Luzon. However, since the war in Northern Luzon was not long, the impact was not significant. Moreover, the Lord also said in the letter that eight million imperial gold coins would be received to support Northern Luzon. For economic construction, of course, it is impossible to invest all the funds in Northern Luzon at once. It also requires overall planning and construction is gradually carried out. We can make this time difference and temporarily use this fund for a period of time." When it comes to government affairs, Xiao Tang is methodical and eloquent.
"Other supplies can be prepared quickly, such as grain and fodder. The northwest region has had bumper harvests for several years in a row. People have a lot of surplus grain in their homes, especially those grain merchants who have hoarded a large amount of grain and fodder. It is not a problem to make up for it. Clothing, weapons, vehicles, medicines and other materials were not a big problem, except for horses. The original reserve of more than 10,000 horses had been requisitioned by the newly formed cavalry division, and a considerable number of them had to be purchased from abroad to meet the requirements. need."
"Now there are only a few stallions left in the military horse farm, and there is no way to supply excess horses in the short term. Even the two northern Luzon garrison divisions cannot meet the requirements for purchasing horses. If it is as the Lord said in the letter, we must immediately ask for it now." The Luobi and Mote people, and even the Gur and Tubu people, must buy them as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the war in the Central Plains begins, it is hard to say what these guys on the Tengger Grassland will think, especially since the adults have been If they stay in the imperial capital and cannot return to the northwest, they may have many other ideas." Xiao Tang was a little worried when he said this.
"The horse problem has actually been exposed when your Excellency requested the establishment of the First Independent Light Cavalry Division in the Northwest. Generally speaking, there is a considerable gap in horses in our northwest including Northern Luzon, especially the horses used by the cavalry. Even if there is a shortage of livestock for transportation, the establishment of Qingyang Military Horse Farm can only solve a very small part. The main problem is still relying on purchasing from the nomads on the Tengger Grassland." Su Qin thought for a moment. Start expressing your opinion.
"The main problem here is that although our northwest and Northern Luzon are vast, the only area suitable for grazing good horses is the northwest of Qingyang Prefecture. Once a major war breaks out, it will be difficult to recruit enough horses in a short period of time. , I am afraid that this will have to attract great attention in our future work. When I was on a mission to the Western Regions some time ago, I had estimated this point. I had already discussed this matter with Watt, and expressed that I might have to report to the Luobi people in the near future. To purchase a certain number of war horses to replenish them, he also agreed to the deal in principle and said that if he went back and reported to his uncle, there would probably be no major problems." Su Qin's thinking was also quite quick and far-reaching. As early as in the Yunxiu Villa on the outskirts of Bejia, he While discussing with Watt about destroying the military alliances among the Western Regions, they also discussed the purchase of military horses and reached a preliminary agreement.
"There are also those small nomads living in the northwest of Qingyang. I think we should also vigorously support their production, especially support them to vigorously develop animal husbandry. After all, we Tang people are not good at animal husbandry. Even if we want to learn, we can't." It will take a long time. So at present, we can only reduce our dependence on these nomadic peoples in the Tengger Grassland by vigorously supporting them." Su Qin finally put forward his own ideas.
"Well, Brother Su's opinion is thought-provoking. It will go wrong if we only work when we are in urgent need, and it is not in our interests to be controlled by others for a long time. Of course, we can only take these measures at the moment, but if there is a chance, we should take it seriously Consider how to change this unfavorable situation. Our Lord Li has lofty ambitions, but it will never work without strong military strength as a backing, and military strength without the important factor of war horses is just empty talk." Ling Tianfang drew parallels. , understood by heart, his ambition is greater and he has set his goal further.
"Okay, let's discuss the specific issues in detail when we get home. Otherwise, if we whisper here and put the business aside, Cui Wenxiu and the others will have opinions. This is our first pure cavalry division in the northwest. ." Xiao Tang interrupted the conversation between the two and said with a smile.
"Brother Xiao, I still have some ideas. Of course I won't say them now. The three of us will make plans carefully after we go back. Maybe you won't agree, but I have to express my ideas. This is very important. In addition, Sir The letter also talks about the issue of the Pancha people of the Indian Kingdom, the most westerly neighbor of Northern Luzon. Maybe we also need to discuss it and see how to deal with it more appropriately." Ling Tianfang put away his smile and said with a serious face. .