If the discipline training is successful, even with these tens of thousands of strong men who are accustomed to wind and waves, they will not let the Mongols gain the upper hand. But Jinghu still needs an elite regular naval force to serve as the core combat mission.

Not only must it be elite and capable of fighting, but it also needs the support of advanced weapons. Zheng Yunming still remembers a series of battles fought by the Taiping and Hunan armies on this river a thousand years later.

If it comes to being fierce and able to fight, the soldiers of the Hunan army may not be able to catch up with the boatmen and sailors in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so they can defeat the enemy, one is the strict military law, and the other is with the help of the power of Western wrought iron cannons.

Zheng Yunming naturally doesn't have any wrought iron cannons now, and it is already a gift from heaven to be able to get enough bamboo and wood cannons before the next wave of enemies arrives, or to be able to put some metal firecrackers into use.

Compared with advanced technology, Zheng Yunming would rather believe in what he has at the moment.

He turned sideways to Zhang Bo, who was still immersed in joy, and asked, "Is it clear what kind of ship is suitable for water warfare?" ”

"If you ask me, I'll ask the wrong person." Zhang Bo waved his hand and said: "After all, a certain family is just a cloth cloth, what kind of cars and boats, harrier boats, plywood boats, and comb boats, I only know the name of the road, but I don't know it." ”

"If you want to understand clearly, why don't you ask Liu Tingmei from Xiangyang?"

Zheng Yunming was stunned: "In this way, it is Liu Weng who knows these things?" ”

Zhang Yu grinned: "He was originally the commander of the Tiger Wing Army, and he knows these big ships and small ships best, so why don't you ask him to understand?" ”

The Tiger Wing First Army was originally a well-known northwest powerhouse, and performed well in the continuous wars between the Song and Western Xia. Since the southern crossing, the Song Dynasty rebuilt the Tiger Wing Army in Jingxiang, and formed a naval army while restoring the infantry army, so the control of the Tiger Wing Army has a certain understanding of water warfare.

"I see." Zheng Yunming asked again: "Then where are the warships in the Jinghu area built?" ”

"It can be built in every county along the river." Zhang Yu replied respectfully: "If it is said that it is made well, the craftsmanship of the local Yuezhou, Jianglingfu, Wuchang and Huangzhou is good." ”

Zheng Yunming turned his head to Han Feng and said, "You go back to Xiangyang and invite Liu Tingmei to come here to meet." ”

He got up and bowed his hand to the Dongting Qunhao and said: "In order to defend Jinghu, we have to establish a strong water fleet, of course, there is the unshirkable responsibility of the Metropolitan Division, and we must also rely on your strength, and the recruitment of the Jing'e Navy is all up to you." ”

Zhang Bo stood up with emotion, and bowed his hand and said: "Thanks to the fact that all the people in the Dongting can afford it, everyone in the Dongting Pavilion will obey their fate." ”

The crowd responded in unison: "Don't obey your fate!" ”

"Good." Liu Tingmei squatted beside the neatly stacked pile of wood and said.

Yang Luo asked, "What's good?" ”

"The wood is good." Liu Tingmei picked up a piece of wood and held it in his hand: "The board is straight, the wood is very thorough, there are no scars, if it is used to make a war ship, the ship must be strong and durable." ”

Zheng Yunming bowed down and asked: "Please Liu Weng come here, it is to ask for the ships needed to establish a naval army, I don't know anything about the naval army, and I don't even understand what kind of ships a naval army should have." ”

Liu Tingmei stood up and talked unhurriedly.

"When it comes to the ships of the navy, there is actually no essential difference between them and the army. There are all kinds of troops on land, and there are also various ships on the water. ”

"First of all, the main force of the land soldiers must be a huge number of foot soldiers, and the largest number of them are light soldiers without armor. Similar to this kind of light soldiers in the navy are oars and plywood boats, each carrying about 50 soldiers, using multiple oars, maneuverable, and saving materials to facilitate mass production. ”

"But this kind of ship has almost no cover, and it is very easy for the other side to kill and injure. Therefore, the iron-headed ships with the bow made of sturdy fir wood and leather on the hull were used to fight the vanguard, and such ships were operated by veterans and selected warriors in the navy, similar to the vanguard of the army, who fought first and did not care to die. ”

"When the iron-headed ship rushed into the enemy line, he used the gangplank to pin the enemy ship to himself and began to fight, and kept replenishing the sergeants with the foot boat. It is also possible to destroy enemy ships with compass boats carrying ramming wood. ”

"In addition to this, there are also flying ships that are faster than pulp ships to transport news and transport generals. Firewood boats are used to transport firewood, horse boats are used to transport horses, and various Fuyang boats are used to transport grain, grass and baggage, all of which must be protected by small boats. ”

"The main types of boats used are guns and sand guards, and if you are fighting in narrow waters, there is also a light and agile multi-oared boat that can be used."

"In addition, similar to the light cavalry in the army, it is widely used in the early engagement and pursuit of the enemy, called the water sentry horse, which is simple to make and extremely fast, but it is still the same old problem, there is almost no defense, and it all depends on the armor and shields of the soldiers on the ship."

"Slightly sturdier than the Water Sentry Horse, covered by leather, and equipped with ramming horns in front of it, the Iron Harrier is the same frontal assault battleship as the Iron Harrier, relying on a powerful impact to crush the enemy's fleet."

He talked endlessly, but Zheng Yunming couldn't help frowning.

This is completely different from the powerful Southern Song Dynasty naval army in his impression.

In the online articles and discussions in the previous life, it was always talked about the wheels, tall building ships and sea ships as the symbols of the strength of the Southern Song Dynasty naval army, and it seemed that in the face of these huge water monsters, the small boats of both the Jin Kingdom and the Mongolian Kingdom were vulnerable.

"There is a clapper rod tied to the bow of the tall ship, as soon as you get close to the enemy ship, you will lower the pole and let the boulder at the head of the pole smash down, smashing the enemy ship to pieces!"

"The wheels of the cars and boats are flying, and they can advance and retreat freely in front of the clumsy ships of the enemy, and the enemy can only watch but have nothing to do!"

But what they don't mention is that these large ships are expensive and are not destined to be the protagonists of the water confrontation.

Zheng Yunming asked Liu Tingmei: "Why are all the wars going on small boats, what kind of big ships?" What about the giant ships of the sea? By the way, there is also the Mengchong warship, isn't it light and strong, and it is very powerful for attacking? ”

Liu Tingmei said with a smile: "The officials don't know the inside story of the Lu Dao Water Army, so they talk like outsiders." Although the appearance of the wheel ship and the sea tree ship is mighty, the production is also expensive, there are seven or eight four-car and six-car ships in each naval army, and dozens of head ships are already quite difficult things, they can only be used in the most critical places in the battle, how can they be easily put into battle? It is really the elite of the elite, just like the pro-soldiers before the unified account, once it is invested, it is a decisive battle. ”

"As for the Mengchong Clippers." Liu Tingmei said with a smile: "It is also the reason why the production cost is too high, it is usually rarely manufactured, and it is enough for the average sailor to have a paddle boat." ”

"That's trading the lives of the sergeants for a little lightness and material savings." Zheng Yunming said: "Don't worry about these in the Jing'e Navy, you must use Meng Chong in the army." ”

He doesn't have to worry about using money now, and there was originally 1.5 million yuan in the treasury of Xiangyang Mansion. During the Xiangyang Rebellion, the rebel army tried to storm the treasury, but was rushed by the two tortoiseshell formations of the Tulong Army, and they were scattered. All of these 1.5 million fell under Zheng Yunming's control.

In addition, in order to deal with the chaos after the war in Jinghu, the Governor's Office allocated 800,000 yuan from the Governor's Office to the Jing'e Metropolitan Commander's Division, so that he was responsible for managing the ruined prefectures and counties in Jinghu and rearmament.

He is now about the richest official in the entire Jinghu, and if he wants to build the best warship, he doesn't need to think about where the money will come from.

"Where's the weapon?" He asked, "What kind of weapons do you use in water warfare?" ”

"Water warfare takes precedence over bows and arrows." Liu Tingmei replied without hesitation: "The longer the range, the more powerful the bow and crossbow, the more suitable it is for fighting on the river." ”

"Would it be okay to carry the three-bow ballista onto the ship?" Yang Yu said with a smile.

"That's for the best." Liu Tingmei said: "In the past, the Tiger Wing Army also tried to produce warships equipped with ballistas, but the cost was always too great, and the manufacture of ballistas has cost a lot of money, and the scale of ships equipped with ballistas must not be small, and the two compartments add up, which is not as cost-effective as small boats."

"That's when you win the war, you can say it's a good deal," Zheng Yunming said: "If it is burned or robbed by the enemy, even a copper can't be recovered, so what can you care about whether it is cost-effective or not?" ”

He turned his head and instructed Yang Xuan: "Immediately order the craftsmen of Xiangyang and Jiangling to make bed crossbows for water warfare." Once it was built, it was sent to the shipyard in Yuezhou. ”

"In addition, I will also select a batch of high-quality ones from the newly made Wood General and the Large Bamboo General."

Zheng Yunming thought about it again, but still felt dissatisfied, and said: "Then send a thousand collars of iron armor from the treasury of Xiangyang Mansion" As soon as the words came out, Yang Luo, Liu Tingmei and Zhang Yu looked up at him together.

Zheng Yunming immediately knew that he had said the wrong thing, this was an old bureaucrat problem that he had grown up in the official eunuch's house since he was a child, and he casually ordered it before he thought about it, anyway, it was not his own family that was lost. But now that he is in charge of the army independently, it is better to give such a casual order.

He changed his words and said: "Allocate 1,000 collars of paper armor and 300 leather cards, and hand them over to the navy for later use." ”

Yang Luo responded, and asked again: "Have you ever considered the candidates for the generals and officers of the navy?" ”

Zheng Yunming asked in surprise: "Is there any other choice besides Liu Weng and Zhang Shipowner?" ”

Liu Tingmei waved his hand and said: "I am an idler in the mountains, how can this set of kung fu on the water be compared to Brother Zhang, it is better not to occupy the magpie's nest." ”

What he said was the truth of human feelings, since the 3,000 people were all from the surface of the Dongting water, the lord would naturally not be the second choice.

Zhang Yu was not polite, and immediately said: "It is incumbent on Lao Zhang to sit in this position of control, but there is one thing, I can only operate the ship, and I don't understand how to lead the troops to fight at all." ”

"It doesn't matter." Zheng Yunming said: "I sent someone to help you manage the army, I think, how about sending Peng Man?" ”