When the Wugang Naval Division was established, it was quiet, and there was no fanfare when it operated, but it silently took on the responsibility of shipping and waterway inspection.

After all, in addition to the water in Wugang, from the Shuangjiang Estuary of Shaoyang County to Zijiang River to Dongting Lake, it is not Zhu Shunming's territory, so it is natural to be low-key and restrained.

But this is not Zhu Shunming's nature, nor does it conform to the reality of the development of the south.

In the southern region, where there is abundant water power and rivers crisscross the country, there is no water division, especially the inland water division, which is like walking on one foot, and the jump is not high.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was able to raise troops from the south and drive the Mengyuan Tartars all the way to Mobei, and the inland water division played a great role in it.

Without a water division, without the victory of the water war, without defeating Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng and other heroes in the water war, how could there be a later sweep of the Mengyuan and the establishment of the Han family?

Therefore, before the cavalry was developed on a large scale, Zhu Shunming decided to develop the naval army first - the inland water division and the offshore fleet.

Zhu Shunming now doesn't even have an outlet to the sea, and it's a bit far to talk about the naval fleet. But the shelves of the river division can be erected first. The formation of combat effectiveness of the navy is not a matter of one or two years, but a process of long-term accumulation and exploration, such as the design and construction of ships, the familiarity and control of ships by sailors, the use of weapons in naval warfare, the technical and tactical drills of naval forces, and the research and development and manufacturing of naval weapons...... It's all long and hard.

It was with this kind of thinking that the Takeoka Mariner was born.

The foundation of the Wugang Sailor Division is only dozens of flat-bottomed sand boats of one or two hundred to one thousand stones from the former boat gang, and they are all old ships of more than ten years, tattered and creaking, and the canvas is sewn and repaired like a hundred clothes.

As for the water war - the boat gang is rampant and domineering in Wugang Prefecture, who dares to blow up with the boat gang without opening their eyes? The most common tactics used by boat gangs when bullying people are scare, rockets, hitting boats, and jumping gangs. There are no ship combat weapons such as slapsticks, trebuchets, and artillery, let alone use them. As for the knowledge of solid shells, flowering bullets, grape bullets, chain bullets and other artillery, many boat gangs have never even heard of it.

Zhu Shunming screened the boat gang, and it was impossible for thousands of gangs without great evil to be disbanded on the spot, otherwise thousands of families would lose their sources of income, and tens of thousands of people would have no food and clothing.

Pulling up the shelves of the Wugang Naval Division, the people who can be built can enter the combat system, and the rest of the people enter the miscellaneous shipping system, which can be regarded as a beginning for the construction of the Naval Division.

The shipping system was slightly reorganized and immediately put into operation. After all, the material consumption of nearly one million people in Wugang Prefecture and Chengbu County mainly depends on water transportation. The industrial products produced in Chengbu County and Jiu'an Town must also be sold to Changsha and Wuchang by water.

No one has no skills, but Zhu Shunming has silver. Zhu Shunming's announcement of recruiting sailors spread throughout Huguang with the fleet and the exchange of merchants from all over the world. The monthly salary of more than three taels of silver is very moving.

Those who can build ships, those who can sail, those who can handle the pulp, those who can raise sails, those who can anchor, those who can jump, those who can throw stones, and those who can handle artillery...... Even as long as you can swim, you will not refuse, at least three taels of silver or more per month, and ten taels of Anjia silver.

Zhu Shunming's recruitment notices were posted everywhere, without any scruples, and his actions gradually became high-profile.

………………

Peng Qinghu's ancestor was a native of Anhui, and he fought with Emperor Taizu in the south and the north, and experienced the key battle between Taizu and Chen Youliang - the Poyang Lake Water Battle.

Later, Peng Qinghu's ancestors followed Taizu's navy to settle in Dongting Lake, settled in Changde Mansion, and reproduced.

With the collapse of the Ming Dynasty and the laxity of armaments, the Dongting Lake Sailor Division followed the decline, and by the Peng Qinghu generation, even life became a problem.

Last year's Wuling earthquake razed Peng Qinghu's home to the ground, killing two children and injuring the rest of the others, ranging from severity to severity.

Not only did the imperial court not provide disaster relief, but it also did not pay normal military salaries.

Fortunately, close to Dongting Lake, Peng Qinghu and his two teenage sons are both good in water and can catch fish in the water with their bare hands. The family relied on clear water fish to survive the cold winter.

After eating fish for a long time and without oil and water, Peng Qinghu's family wanted to vomit when they smelled the fishy smell.

"Xianggong, when will such a day be a head?" His wife He Shi worried: "Let's just get over it, what can Chu and Yang'er do?" Yang'er is still drinking milk, and Chu's milk is so small......"

"Dad, Dad, there is a way to live...... "The eldest son Peng Canghai ran in happily, holding a notice in his hand: "Baoqing Mansion Wugang Prefecture Zhaohui Water Club operates the boat, a monthly salary of more than three taels of silver, and a ...... of ten taels of Anjia silver."

Peng Canghai is over eighteen years old and is already a man. Because of his poor family and the fact that he is a military family, he has never married a wife.

Peng Canghai's younger brother Peng Canglang is sixteen years old, taller than his elder brother, and he also did not marry a wife.

The marriage of the two brothers became a top priority for the whole family. However, the family background is too poor, and the ancestors have been beautiful, so they can't let go of their figures, and they can't get high or low, so they keep dragging it.

By last year's earthquake, the family's house was razed to the ground, and the only wealth they had was wiped out, and getting married became a luxury.

The two brothers also put aside the idea of getting married for the time being, and the husband will save it.

The two brothers caught some fish and went to the county to sell them in exchange for some salt money, and when they encountered the news of recruiting crews in Wugang Prefecture, the second brother stayed in the county town to stare at the recruiting owner, and the eldest came back to inform the family.

"Is there really such a good thing?" Peng Qinghu hesitated a little and said: "The imperial court recruits soldiers, and it is only two taels of silver, and it may not be able to be paid in full." This...... What is the establishment of the Wugang Prefecture Water Division, and how can such a high monthly salary be issued? ”

"Dad," Peng Canghai gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Regardless of whether he is true or not, as long as he can eat enough, he will go and break through." You see, staying in the camp of the sailors, is there still a way to live? ”

"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about me and Canglang, and you should also think about Aunt Chu and my little brother. If this continues, when will my second brother and I be able to marry and have children? The little brother is hungry and crying every day, and he feels distressed when he looks at it. ”

Peng Qinghu hesitated for a long time, lowered his head, and sighed: "Eh, why did our family fall into such a field? Doesn't the imperial court need a navy? Could it be that the four seas are too peaceful? Forget it, don't want to ...... so much"

"Go ahead, it's my father who is sorry for you. Dad stays at home to take care of your mother and your aunt and brother, and you two brothers go to fend for themselves. You don't have to worry about your family. Eh......"

The seven-foot man was forced by life to bend over, and when he was less than forty, most of his beard was half white, and his face was full of wrinkles.

………………

Zhu Shunming's fleet recruited people who were familiar with water in the vicinity of Dongting Lake, and especially in Wuling and Baling, where the East and West Dongting Lake Naval Divisions were stationed, they made a lot of publicity and recruited manpower.

The armament of the naval division has not been valued for a long time, and the military households of the naval army are treated poorly; After a hundred years of peaceful development, the population of military households has increased greatly, and a large number of surplus people have no way out; Last year's earthquake caused the imperial court to be unable to provide disaster relief, and a large number of military households or fishermen suffered heavy losses and could not be sustained.

There are not a few military families like Peng Qinghu who were rich and prosperous in their ancestors, but now they are ruined.

In one month, Zhu Shunming recruited 2,000 skilled sailors in the area of Dongting Lake. Even the warships of the West Dongting Sailor Division were bought, and a large number of soldiers from the Imperial Court Sailor Division also joined Zhu Shunming's Sailor.

After all, Zhu Shunming gave real money, not to mention anything else, the ten taels of Anjiayin were given in cash, not a single discount.

The two brothers of the Peng family got 20 taels of Anjia silver, and immediately bought 200 catties of white rice, and the whole family drank a meal of white rice porridge happily, and the fishy smell in the stomach was excreted and neutralized. The extra money is enough for the whole family to live on for more than a year.

Peng Qinghu drank a rare two taels of old wine, shook his head and said, "Could it be that Grandpa Qi is recruiting soldiers again?" Only Grandpa Qi has such courage. Work hard, follow Grandpa Qi, and fight for a good future......"

………………

With real warships, coupled with a large number of skilled sailors and crew soldiers, Zhu Shunming's Wugang sailors finally had a little momentum of a regular army, and they were no longer a rabble.

The training of the sailors was as intense and frequent as that of the army, and even more arduous.

The arduous training of recruits is followed by frequent combat drills. A large number of warships frequently sailed and practiced in Zheshui, Zijiang, and Dongting Lake, and Xiao Zhongqi, the prefect of Baoqing, and Lei Qilong, the prefect of Changsha, were very nervous, and not only issued an official letter to question Li Timing, the governor of Wugang Prefecture, but also sent soldiers to guard against accidents.

Li Timing's reply to the official document said that the Wugang Naval Division was a subordinate establishment of the Wugang Guard, because the Wugang Guard's troops were transferred west to Yunnan, and the defense of Wugang Prefecture was lax, and King Min was worried about the mob attacking, so he paid out of his own pocket to contribute to the country. Fleet exercises are a normal means of training. There is also the big seal of King Min at the back of the official document.

When it came to the vassal king, Xiao Zhongqi and Lei Qilong were all silent. The vassal king is a taboo that cannot be touched by the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, and it must not be serious, it is neglectful at the lightest, and it is negligent at the worst.

Before King Min makes a bigger move, it's better not to act rashly.

Zhu Shunming couldn't wait to build a sailor, and he engaged in training with great fanfare, and his high-profile profile was unreasonable, just to show off his wealth?

Of course not. Zhu Shunming acted like this for soft expansion, for cultural export, and for the export of Jiu'an Town's culture.

The culture of Jiu'an Town has the deep imprint of Zhu Shunming's thoughts, with equal emphasis on industry, agriculture, business, learning and soldiers, rich life, people's self-confidence, freedom, and the rule of law.

The fleet stopped along the Dongting Lake and the Zijiang River, and the officers and men and crews entered and exited the county town and the capital city, with unique and upright clothing, novel and practical equipment, good supply, neither humble nor arrogant attitude, and super purchasing power...... All of them have attracted the attention and envy of the public.

Confucian culture has been inherited for a long time, and it has been used by all dynasties to rule the people's thoughts, and it is even more deeply rooted in the Ming Dynasty.

But no matter how good the thinking is, it can't resist the temptation of materialism, especially the years of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty who can't even eat enough; No amount of traditional thinking can stop people's desire for freedom; Nor can a rebalanced social class control people's desire for fairness.

The two boys of Peng Qinghu's family joined the Wugang Water Division, which immediately made his family on the verge of collapse into a well-off. Twenty taels of Anjiayin, five taels per person per month, is enough for a decent life for a few families.

The two brothers, who had no hope of marrying a wife, immediately became sweethearts, and the matchmaker who came to the door to be a matchmaker broke through the threshold.

The Wugang Navy Division's parade exercise continued to expand the commerce and culture of the surrounding counties, towns, and towns, and showed the people around Dongting Lake the rise of a new force group that was different from traditional culture, which naturally caused great dissatisfaction and sniping from the conservative forces.