Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty opened the Grand Canal, and the Song Dynasty benefited from it. There are three good bays and eight ferries around the Daimyo's Mansion, which can take advantage of water transportation.

In addition to the canal, there is also the Yellow River, which also runs through the Hebei East Road to the border between the Song and Jin countries, and flows into the sea in the east.

At some point, 30 miles west of the Daimyofu, at the confluence of the Yellow River and the canal, a huge shipyard was built.

The first-class cement staircase, which extends up along the river embankment for about two miles, is the huge "Yellow River Shipyard".

The Yellow River shipyard is about ten miles along the coast, with all the same cement walls, huge factories, and piles of wood. At the west end of the shipyard, two huge dockyards are used for repairing and building ships. In this way, the way of building ships in the dock is more than 400 years earlier than the earliest docks in the West.

In addition to some of the old shipwrights of "Panyang Affairs", there are craftsmen from the people, as well as craftsmen from the former water supervisor of the Great Song Dynasty, which constitute the technical backbone of the shipyard.

Even so, there are only more than 300 craftsmen in the entire "Yellow River Shipyard", which is much smaller than the major shipyards along the southeast coast and even along the Yangtze River. In general, the "Yellow River Shipyard" is more like a combination of a military dock and a shipbuilding.

The shipyard not only made boats, but also warships. In order to manufacture ships and at the same time reduce unnecessary waste, shipyards carry out shipbuilding construction according to ship design drawings. Drawing the ship first, then building the ship, is also a standard production process in the shipyard.

"Xianggong, the warships built today are the bottom of the lake, the cover of the warship, the head and tail of the sea, with forty oars, the rivers and seas and canals are indispensable, and the traffic is very light. This is also a reference to the ships brought by Huang Gong from Fujian. ”

Yang Fan, a bearded man, introduced the production of the ship to Wang Song in a regular manner.

Wang Song nodded. Quanzhou's shipbuilding technology is unique in the sea, and the Fuchuan is famous all over the world. Compared with sea vessels, the construction and construction of inland river warships are also completely different.

Sea ships are generally as tall as a building, with a wide bottom tip, high head and tail, sealed warehouse, deep draft, and strong resistance to wind and waves. The small tonnage and flat-bottom structure of inland river ships are also related to the gentle flow and shallow water level of inland rivers.

"Can a shipyard build a sea ship?"

Wang Song's words made Yang Fan smile bitterly.

"Xianggong, the craftsmen of the shipyard are mostly northerners, and they build boats on weekdays, and there are too few ships on sea. There are many seagoing shipbuilding craftsmen in Shandong, but Shandong ......"

Yang Fan didn't finish speaking, Wang Song understood in his heart that Shandong was Liu Yu's territory, and it was really difficult for some strong people to dig people.

"Moreover, the wood used in the sea vessels is very harsh. The keel at the bottom of the ship should be made of rosewood. This kind of rosewood can only be found in one or two local mountain forests in Mizhou, Shandong. The villain knows where to go and find it. ”

Yang Fan smiled bitterly: "Xianggong, such a toss, it is better to buy a sea ship from the south, such as Quanzhou, firstly, the price is cheap, and secondly, the quality of the sea ship is also guaranteed."

Wang Song took a long breath. It seems that we have to find a place to build a sea boat, and it is best to go to the sea, otherwise, if the sea ship is built, it will have to be dragged from the inland river to the sea

"Is this inland warship also watertight?"

Seeing that the shipwrights were laying out the watertight compartment, Wang Song was a little surprised. He didn't expect that today's warships have been so strict.

"Xianggong, this is nature!"

Yang Fan nodded, and said with a straight face: "If you want to fire artillery on the warship, it is a matter of life and death for the soldiers, and the watertight cabin must not be sloppy." To see if the watertight compartment is fastened to the bulkhead with a flat iron and hook nails; Also check whether the gap between the bulkhead plate and the hull plate is completely sealed with tung putty; Also check to see if the bulkhead wall panels are tightly combined. If the bottom of the ship is damaged, the battle can continue. ”

The length of the warship was ten zhang, the width was three zhang, three layers, two masts in front and rear, the main mast was a sail, and twenty oars on each side. The bow and tail of the ship are all pointed at sea, and it is an out-and-out warship, even if it is used in naval warfare. It can carry 150-200 soldiers, and there are no canopy windows on the ship to avoid fire and self-trapping. Heavy guns in the bow and 6 small cannons on either side.

What's more, the rigidity of this ship is much higher than that of ordinary boats. After all, these ships were originally used for maritime trade, and they could withstand the wind and waves at sea, so they naturally went on a rampage in the inland waters.

The key is that the warship is the bottom of the lake, the cover of the warship, the head and tail of the sea ship, and the rivers and seas canals are invincible, which shows the wisdom of the shipwrights.

Looking at the small and medium-sized warships with wooden wheels, Wang Song was amazed. This is the "Flying Tiger Battleship".

The "Flying Tiger Battleship" was made by Huang Shishun after being improved by the craftsmen of the "Yellow River Shipyard" after obtaining drawings from his friend Wang Yanhui. The "Flying Tiger Battleship" is a medium-sized warship, with four oars on both sides of the hull, each with eight paddles, carrying 20 to 30 soldiers, very light and agile, and can travel four or five hundred miles a day.

The craftsmen removed the ship's towers and only increased the height of the ship's side. The use of artillery by the loyal army was the priority, and the facilities that protected the archers, such as the erection tower, were naturally eliminated. This also makes the boat lighter and faster.

There were two guns on each side of the ship, one in the bow and one in the stern, for a total of 6 guns, two large and four small.

Because the "Flying Tiger Battleship" is a wheeled warship, using foot power, the vehicle and ship cannot sail in shallow water, nor can it be used for navigation, flexible and lightweight, and the sampan adapted to shallow water can be popular.

Each sampan boat had about 10 non-commissioned officers, one cannon at the bow and one at the stern.

Everyone behind Wang Song was full of emotion. Unexpectedly, the sailors of the Loyal and Righteous Army would soon be established.

On the sparkling river, ten huge warships lined up and moored on the river, with huge colored flags hanging on the masts.

On the river around the ten large ships, in addition to the more than 10 medium-sized warships that have been looted, the rest of the densely packed with more than 100 are the "Flying Tiger Battleships" and sampan boats.

Ten main warships with 1,500 sailors, 30 "Flying Tiger warships" with 600 people, 90 sampans with 900 sailors, and ten troop transport warships with 2,000 soldiers.

Not to mention the number of sergeants on the main battle ship, there were 14 guns on both sides of the ship alone, and half of them were heavy guns of five or six hundred catties.

A breeze blew, and the apricot yellow tooth flag fluttered in the wind, with a big "Song" character on the front and a "Wang" character of the same size on the reverse. From a distance, the font is clearly visible.

Although the warships in the army were already cruising on the canal and the Yellow River, and had repelled Yan Zongbi's troops and ordered them to retreat to Shandong, the establishment of the sailor division had extraordinary significance to the loyal army.

Land transportation can only be carried by horse-drawn carriages, manual packing, etc., which costs the people and money, especially in large-scale wars, and the burden is like a mountain, and it is really laborious to carry the vehicle on the shoulder.

Water transportation is easy to transport, safe and labor-saving, and fast, which can quickly transport soldiers to the front line of war and quickly put them into battle. The advantages speak for themselves.

Especially in Hebei, the canal and the Yellow River run in parallel, and the Zhanghe River, the Lishui River, the Hutuo River, and the Qinghe River are vertical and horizontal, and the water system is developed. This is now the frontier of the battle between Song and Jin, and when the cavalry of the Loyal and Righteous Army is not superior, the sailor is quite important.

Not to mention, the Grand Canal runs through the north and south of the river, and once the transportation is blocked, the goods from Lianghuai and Jiangnan cannot be transported to Hebei, which is also a fact that the loyal and righteous army cannot bear.

Zhang Heng's eyes lit up, and he muttered to himself: "I am loyal to the righteous army, and I finally have my own sailor."

Li Bao saw that everything had been settled, led everyone forward, hugged his fists and bowed: "Xianggong, the 5,000 sailors of the Loyal and Righteous Army have been assembled, and now the auspicious time has come, please come forward to worship."

There are 5,000 sailors in the division, in addition to the 1,000 original canal Caoding, more than 2,000 are all sailors and boatmen along the Yellow River and the canal, and the rest of the 2,000 sergeants are directly transferred from the army, and these people are also the main force in the battle.

In China, the traditional launching ceremony is to prepare three animal sacrifices and pay tribute to the gods to pray for blessings. Although Wang Song is not superstitious about these, he is also full of solemn feelings. This is the reverence of human beings for nature, which is the result of China's thousand-year-old culture.

On the altar, the chief priest from the Caoyun Division read the sacrificial text, and Wang Song burned incense and sacrificed with a group of military and political dignitaries, and bowed to the gods of heaven, rivers, earth and ships. Everyone was solemn and religious.

Wang Song thought silently in his heart, wishing Jian'er to inspire the prestige of the country, the continuation of Chinese civilization, and forever honor my Han State.

After the sacrifice, Wang Song raised the order flag and shouted: "Open up!" ”

"Get out!"

The ships slowly sailed away, and the soldiers and civilians watching were cheering loudly at this moment. All the instruments played together, the firecrackers sounded in unison, and the shipyard craftsmen jumped and jumped, like children.

Wang Song nodded lightly, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a Chinese face, and a strong figure, Li Bao, the commander of the 20-year-old sailor, and Huang Feihu, the taciturn deputy commander, said goodbye one after another, leading a group of sailor generals to march towards the ships on the shore.

"Li Bao, we must find an outlet to the sea, and the army will be garrisoned in the future."

"Li Bao, Huang Feihu, the sailor will be handed over to you!"

Seeing Li Bao and the others boarding the ship, as the ships left one by one, Wang Song's heart was also full of expectations.

In view of Li Bao's historical reputation, although he knew that the other party was only in his twenties, Wang Song still did not hesitate to list him as the commander of the water division.

Wang Song admired his self-confidence and insight very much, and he overrode public opinion and appointed Li Bao as the commander of the water master.

Huang Feihu is Huang Shishun's family, steady and meticulous, taciturn, and dealing with death on the sea all year round. It is naturally appropriate for him to serve as the deputy commander and assist Li Bao.

The sailor was controlled by Li Bao, and Huang Feihu praised the painting on the side. The goal of this operation was to first sweep away the warships of the Jin army on both sides of the Yellow River and the canal, wait for an opportunity to rescue the officers and soldiers stationed in the isolated cities on both sides of the canal, as well as the people along the way, and form a flanking attack with the foot soldiers on the Hebei West Road, so as to pacify the Hebei and Hebei roads as soon as possible.

After pacifying the Hebei West Road, the sailors were also trained, and they could go south to Jianghuai and open up canals and sea routes.

Large and small ships sailed down the river, and soon entered the Yellow River and headed north.

"Xianggong, can this Li Bao be up to the task?"

Zhu Meng said that looking at the large and small boats going down the river, there was still some confusion in his heart.

"The times make heroes, and no one is born invincible."

Wang Song said with a smile: "Even if Li Bao makes a slight mistake, there is Huang Feihu on the side. There is no doubt in employing people, and there is no need for suspicious people, and the benefits of the artillery of the loyal and righteous army are enough to dominate the world, so you don't have to worry. ”

If Wang Song is not mistaken, this Li Bao is a famous sailor general in the history of the Southern Song Dynasty. This person once used 3,000 sailors to annihilate the huge naval division of tens of thousands of Jin people, and became a key figure in reversing the history of the Southern Song Dynasty. Such a character should not be wrong.

"To the victory of Weitang Island, the death of Yan Liang is not expected, the danger of Qiantang is worrying, and the treasure is great!"

To exist is to be reasonable. What can be recorded in the official history of the Song Dynasty will never be a person who is indiscriminate.

Huang Zong stood on the dock, looked at the rolling river, and said in a deep voice: "Xianggong, the Jin people are afraid of the heat, so they can only use troops in autumn and winter, and now the heat is about to go, and it is a foregone conclusion that the Jurchens will go south." You know what our army plans to do next."

Li Ruoxu and Zhu Mengshu both stopped and looked at Wang Song together.

"The soldiers will block, the water will come to the earth, and the decisive battle will be."

Wang Song nodded, his face was also solemn. A trip to Hedong and the support of the people greatly enhanced his self-confidence.