“Your Majesty, I must say that this military canned food is a great invention for the army. It will greatly reduce logistical pressure and enable soldiers to fight in distant places. The only drawback is that glass bottles are very inconvenient to transport and are easily broken.”
In the General Staff Department, Luo Quan raised his concern.
Xiao Ming was looking at the Great Yu Empire’s sand table terrain. Hearing this, he felt quite helpless. In truth, he was aware of the drawbacks of glass canned goods, but for now, the fastest way to obtain canned food was to produce glass canned goods. Because attacking the State of Chu was imminent, having something was better than nothing.
And while producing glass canned goods, he had not given up the idea of manufacturing metal canned goods. However, establishing a metal canning production line was much more complex than a glass canning production line.
That was why he chose to first establish a glass canning workshop. Even if the army no longer purchased glass canned goods later, this workshop could still produce canned fruits to sell to the common people as commodities.
As for the metal canning process, it involved the manufacturing of tin-plated sheet metal cans, which included two processes: tin plating and metal canning.
To achieve this combination of processes, a combination of chemistry and machinery was required. Precisely because of this, the production of metal cans would probably lag behind glass cans by more than half a year, and he could not wait that long.
Fortunately, this process was not too complex. There were many methods for tin plating, the simplest of which was immersion tin plating.
This method involved immersing iron sheets into a solution containing tin salts, causing tin plating to deposit on the iron surface according to the principle of chemical displacement. Tin was non-toxic, so it could safely store food. After all, direct contact between food and iron would cause rust. This tin plating process was invented in the early 19th century in contemporary times.
Besides the tin plating process, there was the canning process, which was much more complex than tin plating. The reason he entrusted it to Lin Wentao was for him to produce a machine called a seaming machine.
When producing canned goods, iron sheets would be cut according to the size of the can. The body of the can would be rolled in the seaming machine, emerging curled into a can. Then, by crimping, the bottom and lid of the can would be assembled and sealed.
“I understand what you mean. However, this is currently the fastest method. You two should try using it for now. Once metal canned goods appear, you will be comfortable,” Xiao Ming said.
His purpose in coming to the General Staff Department this time was not specifically for canned goods, but to formulate a military plan against the State of Chu.
Luo Quan’s eyes were filled with anticipation. He greatly valued this easily portable canned food. Having campaigned for so many years, he deeply understood what this canned food would bring to the army.
“Since that is the case, I am relieved,” Luo Quan said, stroking his beard and laughing heartily.
Then he walked over to Xiao Ming and said, “Your Majesty, I believe one thing needs to be done before attacking the State of Chu.”
“What is it?”
Luo Quan walked towards the map in the General Staff Department. He pointed at the barbarians in the north and Japan on the Korean Peninsula. He said, “As far as I know, the Prince of Chu has always had secret dealings with the barbarians, and the Cao family also has business dealings with Japan. If the main army marches south, the barbarians and Japan might seize the opportunity to cause trouble. Therefore, I believe we must stabilize the border threats before attacking the State of Chu. Qi Guangyi is watching the barbarians, so they won’t cause much trouble, but what if Japan takes the opportunity to attack?”
Xiao Ming nodded, “If I attack the Prince of Chu, these two hungry wolves might come up and take a bite. However, if I deal with the wolves first, the State of Chu will surely not dare to send troops, because that would make them rebels.”
“Precisely. That is what I was thinking,” Luo Quan said.
In fact, Xiao Ming had long intended to deal with Japan. However, wars had to be fought one by one. Now that the barbarians had fallen, Japan became the northern concern.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, “I will issue an order to Yue Yun, instructing him to blockade the waters between Japan and Goryeo, cutting off communication between the Japanese pirate army in Goryeo and their homeland. Then, I will have Ye Qingyun annihilate them in one fell swoop. After all, without grain and fodder supplies, their morale will surely dissipate.”
“Using the navy at this time would be most appropriate.” Luo Quan felt at ease.
Xiao Ming looked at the southern part of Goryeo. He would no longer give Japan an opportunity to provoke war. In his era, the initiative in war was held firmly in his hands.
Having settled this matter, Xiao Ming, Luo Quan, and the staff discussed the specific operational plan. Then, this plan was issued from the General Staff Department in Xiao Ming’s name, heading respectively to Dengzhou and Haigucheng. After the northern war ended, they each returned to their own garrisons.
Three days later, the news arrived at the Dengzhou naval base. Upon receiving Xiao Ming’s order, Yue Yun immediately assembled his fleet, preparing to head to Japanese waters.
“Excellent! Now we can finally let the Japanese navy taste the power of our new shells!” Yue Yun was full of vigor.
Ever since the naval fleet was fully re-equipped with the new shells, he had been eager for battle, ready to fight at any moment. The power of the shells made him very confident, as they had used them during the pursuit of pirates.
Just a few shots were enough to sink a pirate warship, proving their formidable power.
In his opinion, the Japanese navy was no different from pirates. They were no longer afraid of pirates’ wolf pack tactics, so they were not afraid of Japan’s wolf pack tactics either.
At the same time, Xiao Ming’s order also reached the Haigucheng Grand Camp.
After reading the order, Ye Qingyun stretched. He said, “Assemble eight thousand men. We have work to do.”
“Work?” The division commanders looked at each other.
Ye Qingyun said, “His Majesty wants us to proactively provoke war with Japan, drive the Japanese pirates on Goryeo territory back to their homeland, and completely control Goryeo.”
Everyone immediately cheered. A division commander said, “Army Commander, are eight thousand men enough?”
“With the shoddy firearms Japan uses, if eight thousand men can’t even cause trouble, then you and I might as well go home and plant sweet potatoes,” Ye Qingyun cursed.
Another person asked, “Then how should we provoke them?”
“What reason do we need for provocation? Just hit the Japanese pirates hard and then occupy Kuomubridge. This is the only passage from here to southern Goryeo.”
Everyone nodded. Currently, this stone bridge spanning the river was occupied by Japanese pirates, who often used it to invade Goryeo territory.
In Haigucheng, they often heard about Japanese pirates secretly crossing the river to plunder.
So, Ye Qingyun had long harbored suppressed anger. Now, this imperial edict finally gave him an outlet.
Thinking of this, he roared, “What are you still standing there for? Immediately bring your best soldiers and best weapons! This time, we will make the Japanese pirates understand what kind of powerful nation they have provoked!”
The group of warmongers immediately burst into laughter. They quickly drew out the elite from the army, preparing to capture the bridge.
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair