After the training, the Combined Naval Division returned in two columns.

In the sequence of the combined naval division warships, more than 80 warships will be divided into three armies according to their speed, so as to avoid heavy and slow ships dragging down the faster warships. The first column consisted of more than 20 old warships, which, although old, had a large number of ships and numbers, and their combat power should not be underestimated. This column was called the Naval Division. The second column was composed of four Han gunboats and more than a dozen newly-built warships, the newest warships and the fastest speed, called the Left Army of the Naval Division. The third column consisted of more than forty merchant ships converted from warships, the hulls were large but not strong enough, and the speed was also the slowest, called the Right Army of the Naval Division.

The left, center, and right armies were led by three commanders, all of whom were sailor officers who had been operating warships all year round and were familiar with maritime tactics. Li Heng, the former commander of the Liangzhejiang Road Water Division, was appointed as the commander of the Chinese Army, the Han general Tong Yunjie was appointed as the commander of the Left Army, and Yang Qin, the former commander of the Henghaixiang Army Naval Division, was appointed as the commander of the Right Army.

When the Nanhai Naval Division was first established, in addition to the three deputy governors of the system, there were many vacancies in official positions. Liu Zhijian, Ding Ban and other generals who followed Zhao Xingde into the South China Sea Naval Division, although they were not born as sailors, but these people won the trust of Zhao Xingde, and they had the courage to do things, and they obtained the official position of commander of a ship. These officers did not disappoint Zhao Xingde, in the previous training, the performance of the warships under their command was not bad, but some old sailor generals were slack, Zhao Xingde repeatedly warned them, and then demoted or even removed them. The commander of the sailor is the captain of a sea ship, and his authority on the ship is extremely heavy, and if he loses this official position, even if the rank is not reduced, the status will be very different. Therefore, the commanders of the ships did their best in training.

The pressure is transmitted downward layer by layer, so that the requirements and punishments of the sailors are severe to the point of harshness. Every time I went out to sea for training, each ship was in command of the sailors in the bottom cabin, and the tension was no different from that of a real war. After the training, the two armies on the right and in the center formed a main column, the left army formed a fast column on the side, and when more than 80 warships returned to the port, that is, when everyone was most relaxed.

Zhao Xingde knows the way of "one piece and one relaxation", and never engages in any "surprise attack" or anything like that when he returns. On the contrary, when he returned, from Zhao Xingde himself to the commanders of each ship, they all wrote a marching diary in the rear cabin to summarize the gains and losses of this sea training. The "tigers" take a nap, the "jackals" are lazy, and the vast majority of the "monkeys" on the decks can completely relax.

The wind was blowing and the sails were hanging, and the ships were moving very smoothly, and with only a few sailors on duty, they were able to maintain the course and the distance between the ships.

Most of the warships of the South China Sea Naval Division were Guangzhou ships and Fu ships, with high bows and knife-like bottoms, and extremely deep drafts, which could easily run aground on the shore. The pilots were Han warships, and the helmsman was so familiar with the shipping lanes of the Ryukyus that he could pass through the reef with his eyes closed. One of the ships split the water, and the ripples rippled to both sides, and before the ripples could close, the second ship ploughed the water again, and then the third and fourth ships......

More than 80 tall ships lined up in two columns, such a magnificent scene would attract attention and even cheers even in such large ports as Quanzhou and Guangzhou. However, the officers and men of the South China Sea Naval Division were accustomed to this, and they seized the time to enjoy this rare leisure. The closer you get to land, the more seabirds there are, and the shallow waters are clear, with fish looming between the corals and reefs on the ocean floor. Some sailors have their lines lowered from the side of the boat and may catch a big fish or two before they return to port. An additional dish for the tooth festival at night.

Some sailors gathered under the deck to drink, and the fresh water stored on the ship was easily spoiled and smelled, and not only the officers, but also the ordinary soldiers could be given some light wine mixed with water to quench their thirst, but the quality of the wine was different. Jingdong Road "Liquan" and the "Fengquan" wine sweat of the former division of Bianliang Hall are called the double walls in the tribute wine. Folk moonshine is rampant, but there is no comparison with these two tribute wines. Generally speaking, it is good to drink "Fengquan" in the army, but in the South China Sea Water Division, there are more people who pretend to be Sven, and "Liquan" is also more popular, but unless there is a big victory or a festival, ordinary soldiers rarely taste the taste of this legendary tribute wine.

Occasionally, not far off the sea, several dolphins jumped out of the water, and there was a cheer among the sailors at the stern.

It seems that no matter what the sea is, dolphins represent luck and sharks represent death.

In the same way, wherever there is light, there is darkness, and without the darkness of hell, there is no light in heaven.

Before returning home, the officer announced the name of the sailor who had committed the mistake and the corresponding punishment. Most of the time, the punishment was to scrub the deck, and the old sailor was in charge of supervising it. Strict military discipline has been recognized and consciously maintained by officers and men, indicating that the United Naval Division is no longer a group of stragglers. Officers and men generally believe that if they violate military discipline and go unpunished, then the sailors are no different from pirates and boat people. In the same way, only by doubling the severity of punishment and humiliation will those who obey military orders feel that their efforts are "meaningful".

"Push harder, wipe it clean!"

The overseer's sailor shouted, and the guilty sailor could only kneel on the ground and scrub the deck over and over again. Large beads of sweat, constantly falling on the deck, they had to be wiped clean, and the slightest unsightly stain would have doubled the punishment for these hapless sailors. The wooden deck has long been extremely smooth, and under the scorching sun, it has a metallic luster, as if it is not wood, but a glossy copper plate.

To the punished, these overseers are the real demons. When the officers are not on the deck, they are particularly imposing, stepping on the polished deck, "picky" to the point of outrageousness, they are simply playing tricks. The condemned often wanted to kill not the Great Eater or the officers, but the old sailors who oversaw the work, but they could only think about it, and they did not dare or could resist these evil spirits. The sea is vast, and the space on the ship is small, so there is no place to run. Sailors who have committed a crime are very vulnerable in any ship, or rather, far more so than sympathetic.

Sailors lived a hierarchical, demanding, unsympathetic life. If the "bastards" fail to prove that they are up to the task, they may be punished until they are completely kicked out of the sailor or die in disgrace. On the other hand, the "bad seeds" changed their ways and adapted to the harsh life on the warship, and they agreed with this life, and then became the same as other sailors, and even became friends with each other. They will cooperate tacitly when operating the sail line, give their backs to each other in battle, or compete for the errand of the overseer, and make bullying the "bad seeds" a rare pleasure in the boring life at sea.

If there was a gentleman's way among the sailors, its brilliance now shines only on the officer's cabin.

Each ship had a large cabin for the officers' deliberations, which was completely free from the stench of the lower cabins, and there were two large rows of wooden shelves on each side of the bulkheads, and instead of weapons, books and atlases were displayed. The abundance of books on each boat is no less than that of ordinary scholars.

On the return voyage, most of the officers of the Sailor Division would gather in the cabin to celebrate the completion of another military mission, or to laugh at the officers on other ships. They will taste Tegong's "Liquan" light wine, and at the same time politely talk about topics such as "A gentleman has nothing to fight, he will also shoot", or argue to what extent is a "gentleman", the prime minister, the privy envoy, and the governor of the navy are undoubtedly counted, and ordinary generals, I don't know if the command of a ship is counted? If an ordinary scribe joined the discussion among the sailors of the South China Sea, he would definitely think that he had come to the wrong place, and the topic here was even more "mysterious and mysterious" than the discussion of some state studies.

The officers are not all for the sake of vassal elegance, and they are not unconcerned about the government, but they know that there are many people who have been convicted for their words in the history books. When Zhao Xingde presided over the morning and evening talks, he limited the topic to "the way of a gentleman", so most of the officers followed the rules and did not want to talk about the affairs of the government and party disputes. If someone insists on stirring up a sensitive topic, they will either have few responders, or they will arouse the disgust and isolation of other officers, or they will somehow make enemies for themselves. Talking about such a mysterious topic as "the way of a gentleman" is simply a great way to pass the time.

Officers who are not interested in talking can read a book, play chess, or lean against the porthole with a glass of wine in their hands and enjoy the sea breeze and seabirds. In short, the voyage of returning from sea training was the most relaxing and pleasant moment for everyone in the sailors. However, there are always exceptions to everything, and Du Blowhorn sat in the corner of the cabin, his brows twisted into a Sichuan character. He served as the Banner Consul General and the commander of the Tooth Barracks. Although this official position is not high, it is extremely important, and it will not be held by non-most trusted ministries. However, if he fell into the eyes of people he didn't know, he would definitely mistakenly think that he had made a big mistake in the sea training, and if he went back, he would be severely punished with a hundred military sticks, and then he would take off his military robe and kick out of the sailor.

"Master Du, what kind of stuffy wine do you drink alone?"

Zhou He smiled and patted him on the shoulder, Du Fujiao looked up at him, his face was full of regret, and sighed: "Alas, there is no regret medicine in the world." Zhou He's words seemed to remind him, he tilted his neck and poured the wine in the cup into his throat, quite a bit of the taste of borrowing wine to dispel his sorrows, shook his head, sighed, and didn't say anything.

"What can't you let go?" Zhou He became even more curious, "Big brother, you name it, if our brothers can help, there is no ambiguity?" ”

"You guys?" Du Fujiao rolled his eyes, looked at Ding Ban and the others who heard the sound, and said, "You are not like me to buy land and buy a house near Yangzhou, but the money cannot be withdrawn, and you missed the opportunity to buy South China Sea stocks in vain, alas, do you know that in just a few months, the South China Sea stocks have more than doubled, if we don't buy a house at the beginning, if we buy stock bonds, 100,000 will become 200,000." People make a lot of money, we can only watch, when I think of this, my heart hurts like cutting flesh and dripping blood. ”

Author: I'm sorry, I can only wait for tomorrow, and when I think of not being able to fulfill my promise, the author is like cutting flesh and dripping blood.