On the morning of the eighth day of the sixth month, Shi Lang suddenly received a notice that Pang Yue was going to summon him. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Shi Lang, who learned the news, was somewhat surprised. Because since the last time he led the team to capture Shi Fu, he has not received a new task, and the broken military camp has returned to Chenzhou to recuperate, he has almost completely become an idler, and usually assists Zhang Yunli in the General Staff Department to do some things. Although it was leisurely, it was also a little boring, especially for people like Shi Lang who were not willing to be lonely, so after receiving the notice, he did not stop at all, and immediately went to meet Pang Yue.

"My subordinates have seen the handsome!" In the study of the Dusi Yamen, Shi Lang saw Pang Yue and saluted.

"Oh, the Marquis is here?" Pang Yue put down the book in his hand, "Sit down!" I came to you to discuss something casually. ”

"Yes, Dashuai!"

"It's been a bit of a fit in the General Staff Department lately, right? I heard Zibin say, you have given him a lot of good ideas, and he wants to keep you in the General Staff Division! ”

Hearing Pang Yue say this, Shi Lang was also a little embarrassed, and said, "Vice Marshal Zhang has won the award!" The General Staff Division already has its own way of doing things, and its subordinates have just gone, and they can't help much. But these days have been a little leisurely, and the subordinates are busy people, and they are indeed a little uncomfortable. I always wonder when the big handsome will have a new task to show. ”

Pang Yue smiled: "The Marquis has always been so honest! Do you know what I have come to you today? ”

Shi Lang hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head: "My subordinates don't know, I hope the handsome don't blame you!" ”

Having said that, the excitement that flashed in Shi Lang's eyes did not escape Pang Yue's eyes in the end. But Pang Yue remained silent and continued: "It's okay! Then I'll get straight to the point. I ask you, if we Huguang Town is about to form a water division. And it's a marine sailor, do you have any suggestions? ”

"Sea Mariner?" Although Shi Lang was a little mentally prepared, he was still taken aback, "Our Huguang Town's station is not coastal, how can we have a sea sailor?" Could it be that my town is going to adjust the defense again? ”

"If you don't adjust your defense, you don't have to think about whether you can have it." Pang Yue said, "I'm asking." If Huguang Town is about to set up a marine division, what advice do you have for me? You are from Fujian, and you served in Zheng Zhilong's army. The understanding of the sailors, especially the sea sailors, is far more than the rest of the generals in our Huguang Town, so I asked you to ask. You don't have any worries, just say whatever comes to mind. Just say what you think most directly! ”

Hear here. Thinking of Pang Yue's decision to let the broken military camp return to Chenzhou to recuperate, but let himself come to Guangdong with the army, Shi Lang's heart swelled with excitement, and his thoughts flowed: The marshal specially asked me to stay before, and today he asked me about the matter of the sailor, is it to ......

But Shi Lang is also a person who is very good at controlling himself, although his heart is surging, his face is still calm as usual, and after sorting out his thoughts a little, he said: "In the eyes of his subordinates." The formation of a marine sailor has many benefits for my Huguang Town. The subordinates will talk about the two most important points. First of all, once there is a sea sailor, the 10,000-mile sea frontier will no longer be a barrier to our progress, but will become a thoroughfare for us to gallop across the country and a place to show our talents. What's more, now that the Tatars have just entered the Central Plains, although their land troops have been able to succeed for a while, their naval divisions, especially their sea forces, are lacking, as long as our army can establish a strong maritime naval division, then ......"

Before he knew it, Shi Lang had already walked to a hanging map, crossed Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang with his hand, and finally reached Shandong and Liaodong, and then continued: "One day, our army will be able to bypass the inland areas where the Tartars are strong, and launch an attack directly on these areas by sea. With such a long coastline, the Tartars must have been overwhelmed and exhausted, but our troops were able to calmly find their weak points and land. Once successful, the situation will be opened quickly, and even if the attack is not smooth for a while, you can calmly retreat along the coastal road. Taking a step back, as long as the naval division is dispatched, even if it does not take the initiative to land and fight, it will inevitably form a great deterrent to the Tartars on land and contain their available troops, so as to support the operations of our land division. ”

Speaking of this, Shi Lang realized that he seemed to be a little out of shape, and hurriedly said: "The subordinates are presumptuous, please forgive the sins!" ”

Pang Yue laughed a few times and waved his hand: "It's not the first day that the Marquis has come to Huguang Town, don't you know my Pang someone's temper?" I talk to people who only talk about useful things, and I don't care about the mess. Go on, hurry up! If you are so twisted, how can you carry a heavier burden in the future? ”

As soon as he heard the "heavier burden", Shi Lang suddenly felt a little more energetic, and hurriedly said: "What the handsome teacher taught is that his subordinates will continue to sacrifice ugliness." The second benefit is in the sea trade! ”

"Haimao?"

"Dashuai Mingjian!" Shi Lang said, "Since the opening of Longqing, private overseas trade has been recognized by the imperial court and has gained a legal status. Since then, the overseas trade of the coastal provinces has flourished and flourished, and the profits of all kinds are unimaginable. Since the Longqing period, I don't know how many maritime families have become extremely rich by this method, and have accumulated a strong family foundation that has lingered for several generations. However, although the maritime trade is quite profitable, the risk is not small, once there are unforeseen circumstances, it is not known to lose money overnight. Especially in recent decades, the Central Plains has been in turmoil, the imperial court has been overwhelmed, and the sea bandits have been surging. Many of the fleets of maritime merchants encountered pirates on the way, and they lost all their money, so they asked the imperial sailors near the sea to take care of them. At the beginning, Zheng Zhilong relied on this to make his fortune, and every time the fleet that went to sea paid a sum of gold and silver to him, he could insert the banner of the Zheng family to ensure that the sea route was safe. In addition, the Zheng family's own fleet also often went to sea to trade. Day after day, year after year, the wealth accumulated is naturally innumerable. At present, people like Zheng Zhilong and other people who once held the sea sailors have been killed in battle or surrendered to the Tartars, and most of their subordinates are torn apart and their vitality is greatly damaged, and the previous monopoly situation has been broken. And if our army can seize this opportunity and build up a naval division with sufficient strength as soon as possible, with the current status and prestige of the commander, who will dare to be the enemy of our army's naval division again? In this way, our army's sailors can also accumulate huge wealth through sea trade. Dashuai will never have to worry about food and salary again! ”

"Good idea! As for the former point, it doesn't matter, after all, it is for the needs of war, and it is difficult for outsiders to say anything. The latter point is debatable, you must know that the current imperial court has only relaxed the restrictions on private maritime trade, and I, as an official of the imperial court, will be the future Huguang Town Sailor and the imperial court's army, if I carry out maritime trade privately, wouldn't it be a violation? Pang Yue asked deliberately.

Shi Lang said disapprenously: "This is a handsome man!" Since the opening of Longqing, there have been almost countless generals and generals of the offshore sea division who have carried out maritime trade privately, and how many people have really been held accountable? As long as the form is not blatant and can dredge various joints, it can basically be safe. At this point, the subordinates believe that the adults will definitely be able to deal with it calmly. Moreover, when his subordinates said something that should not be said, the marshal first repelled the Tartars who invaded the south, and recently pacified Liangguang, as if he had become the minister of the humerus of the Ming Dynasty. At present, when the son needs the marshal to serve the country, he will never worry about these small things. ”

"Okay, I got it. But that's just the kind of thing to say here, but you must not spread it! Pang Yue said, "Since there are so many benefits to establishing a maritime sailor, it must be quite difficult, right?" Tell us what you think next! ”

"Dashuai is right," Shi Lang said with a light sigh, "Although there are many benefits to establishing a sea master, the whole process is very difficult. First of all, a large amount of silver is needed, when Zheng He's father-in-law went to the West, the largest treasure ship in the fleet, that is, the No. 1 fortune ship, one will need tens of thousands of taels of silver, that is still in the Yongle period of strong national strength and abundant materials, and the current cost will be much higher. Although the treasure ship is large and bulky, it is not suitable for naval warfare, but it can accommodate a large number of people and materials, and it is indispensable for long-distance sea trade. In addition, the cost of each of the No. 2 Fu ships, which were used for naval warfare, was at least five or six thousand taels of silver, not including the cost of installing weapons such as artillery, guns, and rockets. In an encounter with the enemy at sea, one of the key factors in victory is the sharpness of the artillery, so it is useless to install those small cannons used in land warfare, and it is necessary to use large-caliber artillery. For example, the Hongyi cannon of more than 18 pounds or the heavy Furlong cannon of thousands of pounds, etc., as well as auxiliary artillery such as bowl guns and thunder guns, all add up to far more than the cost of the warship itself. In addition to the main warships of this kind of naval warfare, a large number of small and medium-sized warships such as grass skimming ships, sea cangs, and cangshan ships are also needed in the naval fleet. Add to that the miscellaneous costs of hiring sailors, maintaining ships, etc., and the amount of silver required is even more staggering. The subordinates roughly estimated that if the adults only needed to build a small coastal defense sailor, they would also need four or five hundred thousand taels of silver. But if this is all there is to it, it is meaningless to build a naval division, the garrison of our army is not coastal, and there is no need for a naval division to defend it. But the cost of building an ocean-going navy capable of sustaining long voyages and deterring coastal clearance is likely to be nearly tenfold, not including subsequent maintenance costs. Such a large sum of silver, for my Huguang Town, I am afraid it is not something that can be raised in a short period of time. ”

At the moment, Shi Lang didn't know that Pang Yue had made a windfall of more than one million taels, so he was very worried in his words. Now Huguang Town basically has a few spare money left every year, and if you want to rely on the allocation of the imperial court, I am afraid you will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey. And although Pang Yue has made a fortune recently, his mood is not much better. As Shi Lang said just now, with the location of Huguang Town, it is meaningless to establish a small naval division for coastal defense. And if you really want to establish an ocean-going sailor, I'm afraid that more than one million taels of silver may not play a big role.

Although he thought so in his heart, Pang Yue didn't express it too much on his face, just lowered his head and silently paced a few steps in the study, before he slowly opened his mouth and continued to ask Shi Lang: "The cost of building a sailor is expensive, but compared to the gold and silver required, I'm afraid other difficulties are more difficult, right?" (To be continued.) )