"Transporting troops?" Wang Kui was stunned for a moment, probably a little stunned by Changsun Hong's idea of jumping from business to military at once: "Why did the second brother suddenly think of transporting troops?" ”

"It's okay, just talk about it." Changsun Hong was full of interest, looking at the short and thick cargo ship suitable for inland shipping: "The cabin of this kind of ship is as big as a basket, and it must be able to hold many people." ”

"There are a lot of people pretending, but the imperial court transports troops, so you don't need this." Wang Kui looked at the cargo ship and dismissed: "Although the cabin is large, it is not breathable and ventilated, and many people stay below, and sooner or later they will suffocate to death." ”

"Oh?" Changsun Hong patted his head and asked with a smile: "It's that I'm not careful." Can my brother tell me, what kind of ships are used in the army to transport troops? ”

"Of course it's a warship, it's long and wide, and there are air holes in the bulkhead, so no matter how many soldiers are hidden in it, it's okay." Wang Kui explained: "Moreover, the warships not only have sails, but also are equipped with overturned carts, which are stepped on by the boatmen, trampled like the wind, rolled on the wheels, and sailed like arrows. The bow of the ship has ramming angles, all of which are iron, some of them are like a farmer's plow, and it is as easy as cutting tofu with a knife when it hits an enemy ship. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Kui's face was pale, and he was obviously very proud of the warship: "What did you rely on when Yu Yunwen quarried in the first battle, and 18,000 Song soldiers won a complete victory against the Jin army of 150,000?" It's the naval army that my Great Song Dynasty has not met with opponents. ”

Changsun Hong grew up in Sichuan, and what he saw the most was the waterway of the Sichuan River, because of the terrain restrictions, the water flow was turbulent and the waterway was narrow, which was not conducive to the entry and exit of large ships, so the largest ship he saw was only the official ship at his feet. The navy on the Sichuan River generally uses only flat-bottomed boats that can accommodate dozens of people, and the warships mentioned by Wang Kui have a deep draft because of the use of overturned cars, so they have not been used in the reef-covered section of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and naturally Changsun Hong has not seen it.

At this time, when I heard Wang Kui mention it, the eldest grandson Hongcai heard about it for the first time, so he took the opportunity to ask again: "My navy is so fierce, why didn't I let the Xichuan envoy also equip some?" ”

"Of course, the important weapon of the country must be used and managed centrally." Wang Kui shook a folding fan in his hand in a chic manner, making a slow fan style, he is a civil official as a military general, some literati are the leader, the folding fan is a must for literati to pretend, of course Wang Kui must have one.

"The warships of the Great Song Dynasty have always been used exclusively by the envoys along the river, and others are not allowed to move without permission, otherwise they will be punished by military law, reported to the imperial court, and will be beheaded." Wang Kui used his other hand that did not hold a folding fan to make a neck-cutting action: "In addition, the manufacture of warships is expensive and the craftsmanship is superb, and there are only a few shipyards that can be manufactured. ”

I see, Changsun Hong nodded.

I thought that Wang Kui also had a warship in his hand, but it was like this, and he was a little disappointed.

However, Wang Kui shook his fan and said the next sentence, which made him hopeful: "But the invasion of the border by the Beiyu is serious, and the threat to Sichuan is very great, I want to make a break to the Privy Council, transfer some shipwrights to Gongzhou Mansion to set up a shipyard, and build some warships that can be used upstream, in order to deal with the possibility of the Beiyu going down the river. ”

As soon as the words fell, the eldest grandson Hong on the side slapped the window frame, and the strength was so great that it seemed that even the boat was shocked.

Wang Kui was shocked for a moment, and then heard the eldest grandson Hong laugh loudly: "Pole to pole, brother should be like this, with the warship, the waterway that the Beiyu peeps at is equivalent to being blocked, and the traffic can be strengthened when there is no war, there is a hundred benefits and no harm, or the elder brother is thoughtful, hahaha!" ”

Wang Kui looked at him inexplicably, smiled awkwardly, and didn't know why Eldest Sun Hong was so happy.

The eldest grandson laughed for a while, full of joy still couldn't hold back, and patted the window frame to say that if the Privy Council approved this matter, he would definitely contribute money and efforts, not only to choose land to build a good house, but also to pick out some of the salt profits, pay the wages of the craftsmen, and support this matter with the greatest strength.

Although Wang Kui didn't understand why Changsun Hong was so concerned about this matter, but Rui Fuxiang's financier attached so much importance to it, as the highest military and political governor in Sichuan, of course he was happy to push the boat along the river, Sichuan's finances were tight, and there were places where money was used everywhere, and there were people who were willing to share the cost of shipbuilding, and he had no reason to object.

"But the ship has been built, you have to give me some, there is also a waterway between Dali and Sichuan, and the transportation of goods can avoid the trouble of walking the plank road." Changsun Hong added: "I also have to arrange for some barbarians to work in the shipyard and learn their skills. Brother, you know, the barbarians are not easy to manage, they will make trouble if they are full and do not do something for them, and it is better to let those energetic young barbarians work in the shipyard than to stay in the local area and cause trouble. ”

There is nothing wrong with this, there is a gap between the barbarians and the Han people since ancient times, there are official reasons, and there are long-standing reasons among the people. Resolving disputes between barbarians and Han people was often a major headache for magistrates.

Put the young barbarians in a relatively closed place like the shipyard, and there will be an overseer to take care of them, so there will be no trouble. Cheap labor can save a lot of money, which is indeed a double thing. Changsun Hong brought it up, as a matter of course.

Wang Kui thought about it for a while, and immediately patted his thigh and agreed.

The two agreed on a big event while talking and laughing, and both parties were very satisfied, so they celebrated with crowns and high-fived each other.

The mood became more and more pleasant, and it seemed that the boat was going more briskly. In the picturesque scenery on both sides of the strait, like the wind passing through the flat land, sail away.

The ship did not dock in Xiazhou, but continued to go east, this side is not the jurisdiction of Sichuan, Wang Kui, as a party envoy, it is inconvenient to disturb the magistrate, and he is not a person who likes to welcome and greet people. So along the way, except for some large docks to replenish food supplies, other places were taken by the boat to take a look.

After walking like this for a few days, I arrived at the border of Ezhou.

Ezhou is a big city, the geographical location is very important, not far from the south to the shore of the horse, it is the most important city of the Song Dynasty Xiangfan, the Jinghu system makes the division heavy troops here, the starting point of the Northern Expedition, generally also here.

Down the river to the east, you can go to Jiankang every day, the stone city stands by the river, once the city is broken, the Southern Song Dynasty is in Lin'an, it is under your nose, at that time, except for the emperor to flee to Liangguang or the sea, the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty has no other way out.

Therefore, in the city of Ezhou, there are the Jinghu system and the Yanjiang system and the embassy of the Yangtze River to stay in the yamen, although the official offices of these two yamen are in Xiangyang and Jiankang respectively, but there are personnel here, responsible for planning and scheduling.

When Wang Kui's official ship arrived in Ezhou, it was already evening, and the sun was twilight, and the afterglow was curling. There are a large number of ships moored at the wharf in Ezhou, which are much larger than the boats seen in Xiazhou, and it can be seen that the further downstream you go, the bigger the boats will be as the river becomes more and more open.

There have already been small officials who went ashore in a small boat to report to the local government, as a party to set up an envoy, this point is still needed, and generally the governor of Ezhou will personally go to the dock to greet him as a courtesy.

The boatmen operated the boat, slowly docked to the berth, a group of boatmen holding the artemisia, standing on one side, shouting loudly, stretching the artemisia to the stones on the shore, the artemisia was struggling, bending like a full moon, pressing the huge inertia of the ship on themselves, under the bulging muscles of the boatmen, slowly and properly brought the big ship ashore.

Wang Kui and Changsun Hong talked and laughed, went down to the deck along the floor of the second floor, and then looked up to see the little official standing in front, hurriedly took three steps from the pier and made two steps across the gangplank, and ran onto the boat.

(End of chapter)