"Is it better than all other countries?" Lilianu nodded knowingly, and after that, Randy showed off his administrative system.

"The officials of our country are not hereditary aristocrats, nor are they randomly assigned by their superiors, but after systematic study in the academy, through practical investigation, familiar professional knowledge can be appointed, just as the judge must understand the laws of the empire, if you want to be a tax officer, you must be familiar with commercial tax rates, accounting, the mathematics of calculating the correct tax, etc., if you want to be a ruling official, you need to know philosophy, political science, economics and so on, of course, the vast majority of people are not so powerful, If you can master so much knowledge and specialize in only one subject, you will serve as a more subordinate and specialized official. ”

Lilianu nodded yes: "I see, if this is the case, it is indeed very good for the country, maybe the Norman Empire does have a lot to learn." ”

"Yes, because that's the empire I'm proud of!"

Randy eventually ended the conversation with these words, and over the next few days, Randy had several more conversations with Lilianu in different places, and the more they talked like this, the more Lilianu felt that Randy's talent was remarkable, and the Norman Empire had begun to surpass Rome in many ways, so the Greek princess's idea of change became stronger and stronger, but Randy did not tell her that Rome and Norman were different.

Norman is an emerging country, and everything is prosperous, like a white picture scroll, which can naturally be smeared by Randy at will, but Rome is an ancient country full of heritage, like a work that has already been formed, and it will be counterproductive if you don't pay attention to it, destroying the original artistic conception.

"The turmoil caused by the forces of reform and the forces of the old is often more devastating in the end than caused by foreign enemies."

Re-boarding and Lilianu reluctantly parted, accepting Lilianu's shy kiss on the lonely deck, while thinking: "If Rome itself is not wrong, I want to conquer Rome, there are indeed many difficulties, but what if Rome itself goes wrong?" ”

——————————

It has been five days since leaving Rome, and the mentality of the sailors and soldiers of the Norman fleet has gradually begun to recover, although the new Rome of Constantinople is beautiful, which can be called the largest city in Europe, but Krakow of the Norman Empire is actually about the same, in addition to Krakow, several companion capitals of the Norman Empire, as well as the emerging port city of Kherson, in terms of prosperity, it is not much worse than Constantinople, if you talk about defense capabilities, the Norman Empire is now making every effort to build the absolute defense circle of Moscow, It is definitely stronger than Constantinople, and Smolensk, which was ceded from Moscow, was sworn by Randy to become the world's first fortress, and Oslo, the largest military city in the empire, has the reputation of a Norman barracks, which is another atmosphere.

Therefore, the soldiers and sailors also looked fresh at first, and then they didn't feel anything, they were like turtles in several other countries, directly blinded by the glory and wealth of Constantinople, and the soldiers who were arrested for violating the law and discipline in a few days were as many as hundreds, and a few were beaten to death by the citizens of Constantine because of rape, which almost caused a war between the Crusaders and the Greeks.

As a result, in the end, nearly 1,000 people in the other five countries deserted, and they didn't know where they went, and the most run was the temporary conscription of Bavaria, accounting for more than half of the total, which made Henry, Duke of Bavaria, feel disgraced, and at the same time more determined his idea of reforming the political and military.

A sound of footsteps of military boots stepping on the deck appeared behind Randy, Randy turned around and looked, it turned out to be the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Apraksin, different from the first generation of old marshal Carter's newly factory pirate riffraff, this admiral is dressed quite formally, boat-shaped hat, military badge, epaulettes, ribbons, command knives, navy half-phoenix uniform, waterproof military boots, meticulously dressed, although the defense is close to zero, but there is no situation where the commander-in-chief of the Navy has stepped forward to fight bayonets in these years, so there is nothing wrong with his dress.

Like Nelson, the commander of the North Sea Fleet, he was born in a military academy, more formalized, more courageous in combat, and extremely combative, but on the contrary, he was also more dogmatic, did not know how to be flexible, and was quite resistant to coastal raids and the like, which made Randy quite dissatisfied, although the other party had the ability to command naval battles up to six stars, but Randy only arranged him a position as the commander of the Baltic Fleet.

Apraksin himself knows that His Majesty the Emperor is not satisfied with his actions, but he still stubbornly adheres to his own philosophy, and firmly believes that gold will always shine, this crusade Randy has to dispatch troops and arrange a large number of naval ships, at this moment the Black Sea Fleet is not yet useful, and the commander has not been selected well, so he had to let Apraksin take his fleet south to serve as the commander of this combined fleet, so the admiral is very excited, holding back his strength to fight a few good battles, Let His Majesty the Emperor see his ability, and look at him differently from now on.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, it seems that there are enemy troops, and it is preliminarily judged to be pirates." Apraksin handed the telescope to Randy.

Randy stretched out his hand to stop him, pulled out the one on his waist and put it in front of him to adjust it, and then saw several galleys flying black skull flags in front of him, slowly approaching the Imperial army.

"Are those guys looking for death?"

The Norman Navy has not encountered a small group of pirates before, but the average pirate is only one or two ships, and the larger pirate group is only about five, and the pirate gang of more than a dozen ships is already equivalent to the level of the pirate king, and how many warships are there in the fleet under Randy's command? After removing the Norman warships that were transporting soldiers to Cyprus and blockading ports along the coasts of Syria, Egypt, etc., there are now two hundred ships with Randy!

Although only 50 of them are warships, the remaining 150 are trough transport ships, but this is already quite remarkable, when Xerxes attacked Greece, the five million Persian army was only equipped with 800 ships, and the naval warfare of this era is not as cruel as the age of firearms, no artillery is a tragedy, the white-knuckle combat of this year is still the mainstream, although ordinary soldiers are not as suitable for sea combat as professionally trained sailors, but they are really touched by the other side on the ship, and it is not without the power to resist.

In naval warfare in this era, one ship counts as one, and in Randy's calculations, he has fifty improved road gun ships, early artillery ships, and a heavy HMS Victory.

But these were calculated in the eyes of the other party, and the Normans had two hundred large ships.

After seeing this terrifying lineup, those large and small pirate gangs were basically scared to death, how far and how far they ran, of course, they did not dare to attack the Norman battleship, the Norman navy, which was already idle, did not recommend using them as targets for good training, the ballistae equipped on the battleship, the heavenly flame infusion, the iron artillery crossbow, and the heavenly flame jet used in close combat, as well as the early cannon that was not in range enough, but the power was amazing, so that the Luman battleship did not need to take the broadside battle, can hit the opponent from a distance without any risk.

In terms of power, whether it is a newly-built, physics-based, streamlined fast sailing ship, or a modified ballista battleship with dual power of sails and paddle wheels, it is faster than the old galleys.

During this time, Randy couldn't remember how many pathetic pirate ships had accumulated, and the average pirate ship couldn't escape after seeing the Norman fleet, but this fleet took the initiative to come over, so Randy had such a question.

"The subordinates feel that this may be the other party's trap! Your Majesty, you see, these ships on the other side are all fast ships, although as pirates, speed is indeed a very important factor, but it is rare for pirate groups to use small fast ships as their own ships, because the carrying capacity of this kind of fast warships is simply insufficient, and they can't fight a tough battle, and the correct formation should be a mixed formation, with several fast ships entangled in the prey, and large warships following up. ”

"So these warships should be bait, trying to lure us into pursuit, and then enter the other party's encirclement, right?" After Randy looked around, he didn't see where the other party's boat was fast, and he knew that he was not an expert, so he turned to Apraksin and asked.

"Lord Mingjian, that's what your subordinates think." Apraksin nodded yes.

The boats were getting much closer, getting closer to the point of being visible to the naked eye, and a few idle sailors working overtime, seeing the pirate flags flying high, began to cheer, sinking the poor boats of the other side, and watching the pirates scream in the water, which can be regarded as the best pastime in the boring voyage.

There will already be sailors ready to attack!

"So what do you think it should be?" Although Randy is proud, he is also self-aware, and it is the best way to leave unfamiliar things to a professional to take care of, although Randy is excellent at land battles, he has never experienced naval battles, so he asks Apraksin what he means.

Originally, Randy thought that Apraxin was eager to fight, and most of them would say that they would plan and catch them all, but this admiral was beyond Randy's expectations.

"My subordinates feel that for the sake of your majesty's safety, we shouldn't pay attention to those ships, just fire ballistas to drive them away, and there is no need to pursue them."

It sounds pretty good, although he is extremely eager to obtain meritorious service, but he puts the safety of His Majesty the Emperor first, it is indeed a loyalty, but judging from the data given by Enides, Apraksin, who has a loyalty of four stars, will not rebel under ordinary circumstances, if the conditions are favorable or the matter is urgent, it is not certain, such an ordinary person, in fact, cannot catch up with the level of ordinary generals.

"Showmanship?"

Randy swept over the admiral on the other side, but the general, who was quite well-groomed, didn't move at all except for a few slight twitches of his eyelashes, and stood up straight meticulously.

The corners of Randy's mouth turned up and a smile appeared, no matter what this guy thought, anyway, this idea is not bad for Randy, just do it.

"I commend you for your loyalty, my general, and do as you say."

Apraksin nodded and gave a military salute: "Yes, my lord, I will go and convey your order immediately, although the strength of the other party is insignificant, but my subordinates still implore the lord to return to the safer bridge, or return to your cabin to rest, the deck is too dangerous." ”

"You're too worried, my general, the other party is just some small thieves, but I have the most powerful and deadly fleet of this era, my ship is the greatest warship in the world, if you have been afraid, you can't be a good general."

Randy's ship, HMS Victory, is the best embodiment of the Norman Empire's technological and industrial prowess.

The 3,000-ton heavy warship can be compared with the modern first-class warship in terms of classification, the extremely strong hull can resist the attack of wind and waves, bows and arrows, flames, and even artillery to the greatest extent, and the bottom of the ship is also reinforced with a layer of copper skin, and several important parts have also been specially reinforced with steel sheets, and the magnificent hull looks like a fortress floating on the sea.

It's a pity that the fly in the ointment is that because the Norman Empire's gunpowder weapon technology is still not up to par, so although this battleship has a sufficiently complete defense, but the attack power is not as strong as that of modern warships, at this time the large battleship with three decks, there are fifty-four gun emplacements on the left and right, but the number of guns that can be placed is not so much, and now the Norman Empire's most mature bronze cast short-barreled cannon, thirty guns, twenty-two cast iron long-barreled cannons, large thirty-two-pounder guns, one bow and one stern, In total, there were only fifty-four guns.

Of course, this is already extremely powerful, and the mainstream artillery warships of the Norman Empire are now only equipped with eight guns, and they are all short-barreled cannons.

In addition, although this battleship is extremely strong, it is actually not suitable for ocean voyages, too cumbersome hull makes this battleship's travel speed very slow, although I don't know the three masts, and the masts are also supported by dense sails like clouds, but the speed of this battleship is still not fast, but it is not much worse than the ancient galleys, and the battleship that encounters the enemy will not lose its fighter because of its speed, and it is absolutely impossible to escape, as Randy confidently, The warship that can sink this warship in this world has not yet been made!

"Subordinates are taught!"

Apraxins knelt down on one knee and made a big salute to Randy, and Randy quickly picked up the general, and then looked at the Enides interface, Apraxine's loyalty rose by one star, and there was also a grateful trait, which made Randy secretly proud, he was still very charismatic as a leader.

Immediately after Apraksin returned to the bridge to give the order, several fast galleons on the flanks of the fleet quickly adjusted their direction, and the ballistae placed on both sides of the ship quickly aimed at the target, because these fast sailing ships were small in size, and the power of the ballistae placed was not very large, but it didn't matter, the experienced Norman captain quickly made the right choice, and several large crossbow arrows that had been repeatedly smeared with heavenly flame oil were taken, ignited, pulled the trigger, and shot towards those warships.

"What's that?"

A few pagan pirates on the opposite ship, who spoke an alien language, wrapped their heads and upper bodies with strips of cloth, and wore shorts, saw several large ships coming across and fired strange weapons at them, and they immediately panicked.

Although the brigs were small ships in the Norman Empire's battle sequence, for other countries, such a ship with a displacement of two hundred tons was large enough to carry a few dozen pirates and could only be killed in an instant against such a warship.

"It's a ballista! Hurry up and avoid it! The pirate who had fought the Norman navy shouted loudly.

The sailors and slaves paddled desperately, while several of them tugged at the reins of the sails, trying to raise the sails, speed up, and finally dodge the attack in a thrilling way.

(End of chapter)