After two days and two nights of traveling southward, Yuan Mai's fleet arrived at the Mengjin ferry on the bank of the Yellow River.

Xu Shengde, who had been guarding the gate in Mengjin and forming a sailor, personally led more than a dozen ships to go up the river and come to greet him.

The warships of this era are roughly divided into four types, from small to large, they are four types: boats, ships, fighting ships, and building ships. The boat is the smallest wooden boat, light and flexible, suitable for driving on the rivers with low water flow in the north, and each boat can carry about 40 officers and soldiers.

The ships that were a little larger than the ships were the ships, which were medium-sized ships, each capable of carrying more than 200 officers and men. Unlike the boats, which are made of pure wood, the ships are covered with iron sheets at the nose and flanks, which greatly increases the sturdiness of the boat.

However, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything in the world, and while increasing its own sturdiness, due to the increase in the weight of the boat, it can only walk on rivers with large water flows, such as medium-sized rivers such as the Yellow River. If you want to enter Jinyang by boating north, it is estimated that the current of the Fen River is not enough to carry the weight of the ship.

The fighting ship is an upgraded version of the ship, the hull is larger, the metal is more wrapped, there are protective railings on both sides of the ship, the soldiers on the ship can hide under the protective fence and release arrows, the defense is greatly enhanced, each can accommodate 500 soldiers, it is considered a large warship, it can only walk on the Yangtze River, which is deep and wide, and the northern rivers are not enough to undertake the driving of the fighting ship.

As for the building ship, it is the giant of the warships, comparable to the aircraft carriers of later generations; If you want to build one, you don't have to work hard in three years and two years. It's impossible. Compared with the fighting ship, the hull of the building ship is not only wider, but also protected by iron sheets around the hull and even on the deck, making it more defensive.

A building ship can carry about 1,500 soldiers, and the transportation capacity is amazing. More advanced than the fighting ship, the building ship is composed of two floors, and a platform is created on the deck, which can be used to live on it, and can also be boarded for long-range shooting, so that the archers on the ship can shoot longer. Covers a wider area. Defense is also stronger.

Due to the wide sails, the ship can travel much faster on the water than other warships, but the requirements for the water level are also stricter. On land, only the water of the Yangtze River can carry its walking. The vast sea is where the building ship comes in.

"Childe. You see. The fleet on the opposite side waved the banner of 'Xu', and it is estimated that Xu Wenxiang led the team to greet him! Zhou Cang's eyes were sharp, standing at the bow of the boat. From a distance, he saw the oncoming ship and reported loudly to Yuan Mai.

Yuan Mai heard the sound and came to the bow of the ship to look into the distance, only to see more than a dozen ships on the opposite side from far and near, waving flags, and sure enough, with the word "Xu" flag, it seems that this is Xu Sheng's newly built warship, which does look more majestic than the one he is riding.

A moment later, the two flotillas approached.

Xu Sheng ordered the ship to get close to Yuan Mai's walker, jumped into the boat that Yuan Mai was riding, knelt down on one knee, and said: "The last general Xu Sheng visited Gongzi, and I heard that Gongzi was promoted to assassin Shi, which is really gratifying!" ”

"Huh...... Wen Xiang hurry up, please get up, half a year apart, you seem to have built a large scale! Yuan Mai picked up Xu Sheng and praised him with a smile.

"Please follow me to the ship to experience it, driving on the water, the ship is much more stable than walking!" Xu Sheng got up and invited Yuan to buy it on the ship to experience it.

Yuan Mai readily agreed, took a big stride, and jumped onto the ship. Xu Sheng and Zhou Cang followed, and then ordered all the ships to turn around and head east, heading towards Mengjin Water Village.

Although the water of the Yellow River is turbid, the river surface is more than 40 zhang wide, and the water depth is more than 3 zhang, which can be used for the raft to travel. Due to the wide hull, the ride is much smoother than walking, and the feeling of bumps and wobble is greatly reduced.

"This ship is really well built!" Yuan Mai stood at the bow of the boat, staring at the receding reeds on both sides of the Yellow River, and praised it from the bottom of his heart.

After a meal, fifty or sixty ships came to Mengjin Water Village. Looking from afar, I saw that the warships on the water were connected, the flags were fluttering, and the sailors built by Xu Sheng had begun to take shape.

After more than half a year of development, this naval division has expanded from the initial 3,000 to 4,200 people, with 18 ships, more than 50 ships, and more than 30 civilian transport ships. Compared with the Cao Junshui Division, which was stationed fifty miles upstream and at the Heyin Ferry across the Yellow River, it was much larger in scale and became a force to be reckoned with.

After receiving the wind and washing the dust, Xu Sheng invited Yuan Mai to board the warship and watch the sailors drill. Yuan Mai readily agreed, and inspected the team surrounded by the generals, but saw that the boats on the river were coming and going, driving like flying, and with the waving of the order flag, changing various formations, and prohibiting the order, which was quite orderly, which made people move after watching it, and admired Xu Sheng's water warfare ability.

"Yes, it's much better than I imagined, General Wen Xiang really has a lot of experience in water warfare!" After Mingjin withdrew his troops, Yuan Mai applauded.

Xu Sheng smiled embarrassedly: "Back to stab Lord Shi, the villain's position is not a general, but a captain of the water division!" ”

"Oh...... It turns out that Wen Xiang has always been a school captain? I was negligent! Yuan Mai patted his forehead and looked apologetic, "During this time, I have been busy with important military and political affairs, and I have neglected the water master, and it turns out that Wen Xiang's position has not changed." Since you are the supreme commander of the water division, you naturally can no longer be a school captain, and from today on, you will be promoted to the middle general of the water division and lead all the water divisions in the state! ”

Zhonglang will be a kind of military general official position between the general and the captain, the rank is equivalent to the general, slightly lower than the general, and generally will add two words in front of the official position to make modifications, such as the five facial features of the Lang General, the Tiger Ben Zhonglang General, the Yulin Zhonglang General, etc. Now that the princes are combined, Zhonglang will be more common, some have great power, some have very little power, and this all changes according to the preferences of the princes, and so on.

As for whether the official position of "Sailor Zhonglang General" exists, Yuan Mai is not sure, but he just improvised it on a whim. In this era, there will be many Zhonglang with various titles, Xu Sheng leads the water division, and the word "water division" is crowned in front, which is also said in the past!

"Thank you Lord Assassin Shi for your support, Xu Sheng dares not to swear to death in revenge!" Xu Sheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and fell to the ground to thank him.

Yuan Mai patted Xu Sheng's shoulder and encouraged: "Wen Xiang doesn't need to be polite, train the water master well, if there is a need in terms of financial resources and materials, even if he sends someone to speak to me, he will definitely give full support." In the future, our sailors will be expanded to tens of thousands, or even tens of thousands, not only to cross the Yangtze River and sweep the east of the Yangtze River, but also to cross the sea in the future! ”

Xu Sheng promised: "Don't worry, Lord Thorn Shi, Xu Sheng will do his best to build a male master on the water for you!" ”

Stayed in Mengjin Water Village for one night, the next day, Yuan Mai left the fleet on the shore, took more than 100 followers, and rushed to Wenxian on light horse, the distance between the two places was only 60 miles, and after more than two hours, the group entered the county seat of Wenxian. (To be continued......)