Outside the Hanyang Gate in Ezhou, the east is white, the morning sun has not yet risen, and the river is covered with a hazy morning mist.

There were not many people on the shore to see them off, and a group of officials separated a few high-ranking officials from other idle people. At first glance, it seems that the eunuch in the capital is bidding farewell to his friends, but if someone sees it, he will be surprised. On the pier trestle, His Majesty and the Prime Minister stood together, watching a building ship slowly sail away from the dock. Chen Xiang's face was still calm, but His Majesty's face couldn't hide its gloom.

After the Prime Minister urged him to set off, Zhao Xingde went to the table, in addition to briefly expounding the strategy of the sailors and asking for a group of civil and military officials, the focus was also on the construction of the home port of the sailors in the South China Sea. Sailors were required to build their home harbor for the mooring of warships, the construction of seagoing ships, and the housing of their families. Therefore, Zhao Xingde asked the imperial court to assign some port areas in some coastal states and counties to the South China Sea Naval Division as a defense area. It mainly includes Yangzhou, Mingzhou, Quanzhou and Guangzhou. These four states were the main ship yards for sea ships, and they were also the places where most of the maritime trade of the Song Kingdom gathered. The sea distance between the ports is quite equal, which is convenient for the movement of warships from north to south, and to the south can go deep into the South China Sea and even expedition to the southwest sea. Zhao Xingde only casually mentioned at the end of the twist and turn that he would go to Yangzhou with his family to take office.

After thinking about it again, Chen Dong still agreed to Zhao Xingde's table. Although the state capitals mentioned in the song are very important. However, around the port area, there are Huaixi Army, Henghai Navy, and Zhenguo Army, and in addition, there are also a lot of regimental training in prefectures and counties. The Sailor Port Area is just a lonely piece and does not pose a threat to the overall situation. The Ministry of War changed its division and rule, making it clear that the waters patrolled by the Henghai Navy and the South China Sea Navy Division were bounded by the Yangtze River, and warships crossing the border must obtain permission from the Privy Council.

The stations of the Nanhai Navy Division are all places where the state and county gentry are strong. Especially in the Huainan two roads, when the Liao army went south, the officers and soldiers were invincible, and the gentry of the prefectures and counties organized regimental exercises to protect themselves. At the time of the Great Rites Discussion, many Huainan scholars and politicians were still willing to submit to the salt tax, and Lu Yunsun and others have been criticizing the government. Zhao Xingde estimated that as long as they did not interfere in local affairs, after weighing the pros and cons, they still chose to cooperate with the sailors, after all, the behavior of the Great Eating Sea Bandits has aroused everyone's public indignation, and they can't prevent it.

The matter of the princess's entourage, Chen Dong thought about it a little, but Zhao Qi was very angry, because until this time, who was in the main room in the mansion of the Marquis of Wuchang was still confused. It's good that Li was detained by Xia Guo, but after his wife was reunited, what was the royal face?

Zhao Huan stood on the tail floor of the boat, the wind was strong on the river, she wore a golden peacock coat, sable scarf, still thin in the cold wind, as if crumbling, the wind blew away. Ezhou disappeared little by little at the end of her vision, she still reluctantly looked at the direction of the dock, biting her lip, her eyes full of tears. From childhood to adulthood, among several brothers, Zhao Qi loved her the most, even if she was angry, she finally agreed.

Zhao Xingde felt the softness in his hand cold, and whispered in her ear, "Let's go back to the room first." ”

Zhao Huan felt slightly warm, she nodded, and Zhao Xingde led herself back to the cabin, unconsciously her cheeks were slightly hot. Although the ship was large, it was full of more than 600 officers and sailors. It would be very inappropriate for Zhao Xingde and his wife to live in two cabins, so they could only live in one large cabin. The cabin is divided into two rooms, the inner room is where the princess and her husband live, the outer room is the flower hall during the day, and the palace maid on duty lives at night.

After sending the princess back to the cabin, Zhao Xingde came to the meeting hall in the shipbuilding, where more than a dozen people, including Xu Xiaoyun, the young superintendent of armament, Zhou He and Meng Ying, the staff officers, Ma Yuan, Liu Wengu, and the cadre officers Feng Shu and Ding Ban, were already waiting in the hall. When all the staff saw Zhao Xingde coming in, they got up together to greet each other. Zhao Xingde went straight to the handsome position, arched his hand to everyone, and said in a deep voice: "It is precisely because of the difficulty of national affairs that the Ministry of War has sent all the talented and handsome men to listen to Zhao's account, and everyone is gathered together, no matter where they came from in the past, now everyone is in the same boat, when they work together to prepare for the construction of the sailor, Jingping Haibo, and open up thousands of miles of sea frontier for the Great Song Dynasty!" ”

"Yes!" The staff officers agreed in unison, and then everyone sat down to discuss the matter.

In order to eradicate the pirates as soon as possible, the imperial court fully supported the South China Sea Naval Division. Chen Dong was worried that the time was pressing, and the supervisor of the shipyard made a stumbling block for Zhao Xingde, and he missed a major event, so he specially sent Xu Xiaoyun, who was shocking the southeast official shipyard, to listen to his account. In addition to building five gunboats for sailors, the shipyard also bought 30 merchant ships in the style of fortune ships and Canton ships and converted them into warships, and built a shipyard and a women's wall on the deck, and placed a cannon fire in the front and rear, each carrying two or three hundred people. In addition, the military headquarters also mobilized more than 100 small sea warships, such as arsonists, sea falcons, and loach boats, from various water villages, and even the boats and men were under the control of the South China Sea Naval Division.

Xu Xiaoyun, the young superintendent of armament, said: "The pattern of the iron-bone whirling boat has been sent to the Yangzhou shipyard by a four-hundred-mile fast horse. Supplies are being prepared at the shipyard. This type of ship is similar to the Ironbeak Falcon ship, but the dock has not been built before. Therefore, it was suggested that the first ship should be reduced in size and only a medium-sized 2,000-material warship, more than 20 zhang long and about 5 zhang wide, with two barrel guns in the bow and stern, 10 barrel guns on each side of the deck, and 12 barrel guns on each side of the belly, for a total of 48 barrel guns. If the adults agree, the shipyard will cut the material according to the size of the pattern, make the iron power wooden turret, the woodyard will prepare various planks and components, and the ironworks can try to cast the fine iron keel and iron frame in advance, and forge the ship nails for later use. ”

"Good." Zhao Xingde nodded in agreement, "Then let's try to build a ship according to two thousand materials first." ”

Xu Xiaoyun mentioned the ship nails, and everyone's hearts were in the same place, and the eyes looking at him were a little different. Although Ma Yuan, Liu Wengu and others returned to Ezhou not long ago, the name of the iron-faced imperial history was also thunderous, but they did not expect to be a colleague of Zhao Shuai's shogunate with him. Xu Xiaoyun stood here with his eyes, nose, nose, and heart, and didn't see anything unusual at all. He is Wu Zilong's protégé, after the rebellion of Wu Sheng, the situation in the court is also quite simple, this time with Zhao Xingde to receive the warship, it is not only a great righteousness, but also an opportunity to stay away from the whirlpool. It's just that if you listen to it in Zhao Xingde's account, if you are mistaken for betraying your teacher for glory and changing your court, this misunderstanding will be difficult to explain.

"The fleet of Jingdong Road has anchored," Zhou Hebing said: "Four gunboats escorted twenty-five sand boats, and transported three thousand elite soldiers. ”

A hint of joy appeared on the faces of Ma Yuan, Liu Wengu and others. This is the seed that Zhao Xingde specially reported to the Ministry of War and transferred from the Tokyo Left-behind Division for military training. Whether it is the veterans of the Zhenguo Army or the Baoyi Army, they are all first-class elites. Ma Yuan and others came back from the Henan battlefield, and when they had a comparison, they looked down on other big battalions. The Ministry of War gave the South China Sea Naval Division 15,000 posts, that is, with 3,000 elite soldiers as the backbone, and then recruited more than 10,000 sailors on the southeast coast, plus more than 2,000 sailors transferred from other armies such as the Han army.

"Not bad." Zhao Xingde nodded and asked, "The yamen for recruiting troops has been built, right?" ”

"Yes, the Ministry of War has sent officers to build eight recruiting yamen in Haizhou, Yangzhou, Mingzhou, Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Tongzhou, Taizhou, and Guangzhou, and the other six states are limited to recruiting 1,000 sailors, except for Quanzhou and Guangzhou, which recruit 2,000 sailors each. Sailors were recruited in various places and initial training was carried out, and when the recruits were full, they were sent to the nearby shipyards, where the officers arranged the duties and training on the ship. Zhou He said carefully. His identity is known to Zhao Xingde and others.

Zhou He, as an old man from Jinwei Mansion, could have shirked this errand, but because of Zhao Huan's relationship, he still undertook it. The Song State and the Xia State formed a joint water division, although it was agreed that the water division was owned by the Song State. But the heart of guarding against others is indispensable. The imperial court made Zhou He an official and was especially responsible for recruiting sailors, which was tantamount to openly planting a nail in the South China Sea Naval Division. As a result, many of the locations are extremely difficult to arrange.

Zhao Xingde maintained a certain degree of politeness to him, but when it came to military affairs, he would never be tolerated and accommodating. Zhao Xingde also insisted on recruiting sailors in each state separately, in order to prevent too many fellow villagers on one boat, forming a party among the sailors, and crowding out other people of origin.

The military department offered a generous military salary of 70 guan a year, although it was 20 guan more than the ordinary forbidden army, but going to sea and fighting were extremely risky things. Zhou He was worried that he would not be able to recruit a good enough source of soldiers. "Fortunately", the trade routes were not smooth, and many sailors and apprentices were unable to make a living, and the threshold for recruiting the yamen was broken. Zhou Hedang has repeatedly reiterated the criteria for recruitment, which is to be a person with good eyes, a short and stocky person, and a flexible hand and foot.

When Zhao Xingde heard that the recruitment of sailors was going well, he sighed and asked, "How is the progress of the Sailor Academy?" ”

"Fortunately, although it is a martial arts, the Shangshui Master Academy ensures that the family has no worries about food and clothing. The imperial court also has a special grace, as long as the school has been completed for two years and the assessment is above average, it will be awarded to Chengxinlang from the ninth grade, which can be regarded as an official body. Therefore, the poor scholars in the states responded enthusiastically, and there were also those who entrusted people to make money. It is a matter of the sailor's plan, and those who dare to exceed the rules, once discovered, the lower officials will be severely punished one by one. However," Zhou He said hesitantly, "There is no dormitory in the Water Master Academy, so please ask the adults to show where it is built." ”

"Fasting?" Zhao Xingde smiled slightly, stood up and pushed open the window.

"What other houses are being built? The warship is the best house, the stormy waves are the best teacher, and for the soldiers, the battlefield is the best school. ”

Jiang Feng poured into the cabin with a unique fishy smell, and the generals were unconsciously refreshed, and the words in their ears were extremely clear. Liu Wengu took a deep breath of the humid air and said silently: "Remember, disciple, thank you for your teachings. He glanced at Ma Yuan, who smiled slightly and made a gesture of charging forward. They were all from the infantry army, and when they were transferred to the water division, they felt that everything was clueless, but at this time, they were full of confidence, and they followed Zhao Xingde to make contributions, and all difficulties seemed to be insignificant.