At the beginning of September, the important town of Huaidong, outside the city of Yangzhou, on the canal.

In the Yangzhou Canal section, several warships rushed to the north, and on one of the warships in the middle, Zhao Hong stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the scene on both sides of the river, his brows furrowed.

On both sides of the canal, the people in shabby clothes and yellow muscles looked like beggars, plowing the fields; Naked, swarthy, filthy, half-grown children catch fish and play in puddles on the shore; Charred grass, collapsed houses and piles of rubble are visible from time to time; A few sparse fields are mixed with countless wild grasses around them, and some farmers are boredly tending to some green vegetables, which seem to be the only bright color in the world.

Even the willow trees on both sides of the canal have basically been cut down and burned down, and the few remaining trees are scrawny, crooked, and unshaped.

Who made Yangzhou City, which is full of flowers, enchanting and charming, and on a moonlit night with 24 bridges, look like this?

Wrapped around his waist for 100,000 yuan, he rode a crane down to Yangzhou.

How cozy, how chic. But if it was Yangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was estimated that it would be time to return disappointed.

"Huaizuo Mingdu, Zhuxi is the best place, and the saddle is less stationed at the beginning. Ten miles of spring breeze. The wheat is green. Since Huma peeped into the river, the waste pond arbors, still tired of talking soldiers. ”

On the bow of the ship, Zhu Duanchang, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites and the former secretary of Dali Temple, the deputy envoy to Jin this time, was touched by his heart and unconsciously chanted it.

The reason why the warship did not stop in Yangzhou was also because Yangzhou was dilapidated, and they went all the way north, stopping at the Gaoyou Army and the Xuyi Army, and crossing Surabaya to enter the Jinjing.

"During the Jiading period, the Song and Jin wars were frequent, and Yangzhou became the place of fierce battles in Huaidong, which was dilapidated, and it was no longer the Yangzhou of the year. The upper reaches guard Sichuan, the lower reaches guard the two Huai, and the defense of the river is insufficient. Yangzhou has become like this, and it is conceivable how the east side of Huai is plugged. ”

Li Tang said with a dark face.

As the captain of the embassy guard of the envoy Jin, he was responsible for the safety of Zhao Hongyi and others. As for the warships and soldiers guarding the north, they came from the Zhenjiang Naval Division.

"One day, Yangzhou will regain its prosperity!"

Zhao Hong couldn't help but burst out.

The three major frontier theaters of the Southern Song Dynasty, Sichuan, Xiangyang, Zaoyang, Hanshui, and Huaidong. Yangzhou is an important town in Huaidong, Huaidong is restless, and Yangzhou is difficult to survive. Yangzhou is not prosperous, indicating that the Southern Song Dynasty is restless, then it is really like in history, and the canopy will be wiped out in Yashan.

"Zhu Gong, you are strong in the palace, and you remember it in your heart. Aren't you afraid that Shi Miyuan will retaliate against you? ”

Remembering that Zhu Duanchang supported himself as the crown prince in the main hall, Zhao Hong joked and expressed his gratitude to the old comrades.

"Afraid of what? The old man is over the age of six, and it's time to give office. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not established as the crown prince, will he watch the treacherous and chaotic government? The strong and the weak are weak, and my Great Song can't go on any longer. ”

Zhu Duan often stroked his white beard, and he was very emotional.

Zhao Hong bowed slightly. There are people in the DPRK and China who understand, and no one is a fool.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, listen to the old minister's words, just then it is easy to break. Since you are already the prince of the Great Song Dynasty, why do you have to compare the length of time with the queen? Take a step back and open the sky, don't capsize in the gutter! ”

Zhu Duanchang took a step forward and whispered in Zhao Hong's ear.

Zhao Hong was slightly startled. There is no such thing as an impermeable wall. It seems that the quarrel between him and Yang Guizhi has spread out.

"Zhu Gong, the country is easy to change, but the nature is difficult to change. I'm afraid I can't change my donkey temper! ”

Zhao Hong laughed at himself.

Yang Guizhi's domineering and disdain made his little heart unbearable, even if the jade was burned, he would not tolerate it.

Why can she humiliate herself again and again? Is it just because she is the queen of the Great Song Dynasty?

"His Royal Highness the Prince, the old man will not be mistaken. One day you become the son of heaven in the Great Song Dynasty, and my Great Song Dynasty will have a chance to come back to life! ”

Zhu Duan often strokes his white beard, and talks nonsense in a serious manner.

"Zhu Gong, although the road is tortuous, the future is still bright. I'll do my best! ”

Zhao Hong said sincerely.

If he can really ascend the throne as the emperor, he may really be able to change the fortunes of the poor and weak Great Song Dynasty.

"Your Highness, count the romantic figures, and look at the present dynasty. The old minister has confidence in you! ”

Zhu Duanchang said with a smile.

Zhao Hong smiled dumbly, turned his gaze to the wasteland on the east side of the canal, looked at it for a moment, and subconsciously asked:

"Zhu Gong, what are those soldiers doing?"

On the huge wasteland, countless Song army soldiers were clustered around, and it was a mess. In the open space in the middle of the crowd, more than a dozen young men in short and energetic suits, you come and go, and they seem to be bowing.

In the Song Dynasty, the army was popular in Keju, and I didn't expect to be in Yangzhou Biansai, and I was fortunate to witness it with my own eyes.

"Your Highness, this is Yangzhou's Tianxiong Army, and its commander Zhao Kui is the younger brother of Zhao Fan, the prefect of Yangzhou. The Zhao brothers were born in famous families, and their father Zhao Fang was once the envoy of Jinghu. The brothers Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui studied under the disciple of Zheng Qingzhi, the great Confucian Guozi Xuelu, and they were all famous generals with both wisdom and bravery. ”

Chen Duanchang introduced Zhao Hong.

Zhao Hong nodded slightly.

Yangzhou is already the border of Huainan, and the Zhao brothers can guard here, at least they are not mediocre.

Zheng Qingzhi, the teacher of Zhao Guicheng, the heir of King Yi, and the countryman of Minister Shi Miyuan.

She is a beautiful woman, but it is a pity that she is a thief. It's a shame, really.

"If he is really a famous general, he will not tolerate Li Quanqian in every way! The subordinates only listen to the Zhao brothers, do they really think this is their private song? ”

The guard Hu Datou suddenly interjected and came in.

"Zhao Kui has four white tigers at home, and he eats dozens of catties of meat every day. After eating and drinking, if you have nothing to do, you will gamble with the soldiers, scatter some money, and buy people's hearts. Is this also a celebrity? Then His Highness should have been! Me too! ”

The guard Zhang Fan said with a hippie smile.

Chen Duan often smiled embarrassedly, and Zhao Hong was also embarrassed.

This pair of poisonous tongues, if Xu Sheng is present, it will be even more lively.

Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui brothers, who are famous in history, killed Li Quan and were reused by Song Lizong, Zhao Guicheng, and Zhao Yun. However, after Duanping was defeated by the Mongol army and the success of the defeat, the two seemed to have fallen silent.

However, the Tianxiong Army only listened to the Zhao brothers' moderation, which seemed to be a very bad sign.

Could it be that if other generals are replaced to command the troops, the Tianxiong Army will not be able to command?

Sweeping his gaze to the warship, Zhao Hongzai looked at it carefully.

This kind of vehicle and boat, relying on manpower to step on the paddle wheel to row the water, although fast, a day down is only a hundred miles. Although it is no longer in this era, in Zhao Hong's eyes, it still feels too slow.

There are no planes, ships, trains, no nuclear power, no fuel engines, and there should be steam engines.

If you really want to go to the sea, you have to go south and north, thousands of miles away, you can't always rely on sails, right?

"Li Tang, big head, how are these warships fighting?"

The warship is old and dilapidated, there is not even a single artillery, so it can only fight hard at close range, take human lives to fill it, and ignite the oil sails.

"Your Highness, this is a river boat, only four or five hundred materials, of course it is much smaller. If it is a sea ship with thousands of materials and two thousand materials, it can carry five or six hundred people or thousands of people, then it will be majestic! ”

Thinking that Zhao Hong disliked the small warship, Hu Datou immediately mentioned the sea ship.

A 1,000-material sea vessel has a displacement of about 300 tons. 2,000 is about 600-700 tons. During the Age of Discovery, Western warships were all about 500 tons. In this way, 1500 sea ships is the reference standard for the size of naval warfare ships.

"There are only two or three hundred warships and five or six thousand sailors, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and they have to be assigned to so many water villages by the sea. If you really start a war, it's useless! ”

Li Tang shook his head and pointed straight to the point.

"Your Highness, do you think that the warship is not very powerful, and it needs to be equipped with firearms to be effective?"

Zhang Hong said with a smile on his face.

"Not bad! When a warship is equipped with artillery and firearms, it is a strong ship with sharp guns, like a tiger with wings. At that time, there will be thousands or even tens of thousands of warships floating on the ocean, and the navy will have hundreds of thousands of hundreds of thousands of sailors, and that will be the real sailors! ”

Zhao Hong couldn't help but say it.

How can it be considered an empire without colonies? Without a navy, how can you conquer the world?

Moreover, with the increase in population and the decrease in per capita land, how can we achieve long-term peace and stability without diverting the crisis?

Hundreds of thousands of hundreds of thousands of water troops!

Zhu Duan was often at a loss, and Li Tang, Hu Datou and others all shook their heads.

His Royal Highness the Prince, bragging and not making drafts, but I really dare to think about it!

Early the next morning, the ship left the Gaoyou army and soon arrived at the Chuzhou Canal section.

The Song dynasty crossed to the south, and the Song and Jin basically took the middle stream of the Huai River as the boundary, the north of the Huai River belonged to the Jin State, and the south of the Huai River belonged to the Southern Song Dynasty. Chuzhou is only more than three miles away from the border Huai River, and it is a proper border town.

"A piece of Huaishui, the Northern Song Dynasty became the Southern Song Dynasty. My Great Song, why do you make me embarrassed? ”

Zhao Hong faced the rolling Huaishui in the south, and his emotions suddenly exploded.

"Your Highness, in order to prevent the Jurchen army from going south, Gaozong ordered Tokyo to stay in Du Chong to dig the Yellow River, causing the Yellow River to be diverted and seize the Huai River into the sea, not to mention the flooding of the Yellow River and the Huai River, and the blockage of the Beidi Canal. If the Great Song Dynasty wants to restore the Central Plains and use troops to the north, I am afraid it will not be easy. ”

Li Tang put on a black face and introduced the situation of the canal to Zhao Hong.

"Your Highness, good will be rewarded, and evil will be rewarded. The Jin people themselves created iniquity, and sooner or later they were destroyed by the Tatars. When the time comes, we will take the opportunity to restore the Central Plains! ”

Hu Datou followed and interjected.

"The Tatars are powerful, and the Jin people have retreated to the south of the Yellow River, so they can't be underestimated!"

As if to remind Zhao Hong, Zhu Duanchang beat the side drum.

"Since the Yellow River has taken Huai into the sea, the Yellow River in Henan has often flooded. This is because the terrain is low in the north and high in the south, so that the embankment of the Yellow River is piled higher and higher, and it has become an above-ground river, not to mention, and it often floods. If you want to do it once and for all, the Yellow River has to flow into the sea from Shandong. ”

Zhao Hong diverted the topic and brought up the diversion of the Yellow River and the flooding of the Yellow River

In addition, the Yellow River was diverted, and the canal could also be connected normally, no longer affected by the flooding of the Yellow River and the Huai River.

Zhao Hong shook his head slightly.

My future is uncertain now, and it's a little ridiculous to think about these things.

"Your Highness, you are really erudite, the old minister admires!"

Zhu Duan often looked at Zhao Hong in surprise, as if he had found a goblin.

Is there anything else Zhao Hong doesn't understand?

Zhao Hong shook his head and smiled, and looked to the east inadvertently, on that piece of inner lake, flags were fluttering, and some warships were practicing.

And to the east of the warship lake, surrounded by towering city walls, is the location of the Huaidong Preparation Division - Chuzhou City.

"Loyalty!"

The big characters on the military flag could be seen clearly, and Zhao Hong's pupils contracted slightly.

This is the Shandong Loyal and Righteous Army under Li Quan's command, which is difficult to control.

The evolution of a good rebel army into a warlord on one side is a historical feature under the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty, and it is also the sorrow of the times.

"Is Li Quan in Chuzhou City?"

As far as Zhao Hong's eyes could see, in the lake, on a tall warship, there seemed to be a woman looking at his own ship.

"Your Highness, Li Quan is in Qingzhou, Shandong. The defender of the loyal army in Chuzhou City is his wife Yang Miaozhen. ”

When Li Tang introduced, the tall warship in the lake rowed to the west bank of the lake, and the bow looked at a tall woman in a skirt.

"Yang Miaozhen!"

Zhao Hong blurted out subconsciously.

Li Quan sat in Qingzhou, Shandong, like a feudal town, and was no longer subject to the control of the Great Song Dynasty. Shi Miyuan is still supplying Chuzhou Yang Miaozhen with money and food, is he spending money to buy peace?

But if you think about it, the Southern Song Dynasty lacked national strength and weak military strength, and Shi Miyuan was afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and he had to rack his brains to deal with himself. This may be his best bet.

The distance between the two boats is two or three hundred meters, although Yang Miaozhen's face cannot be seen clearly, but she has a graceful posture and fluttering dress, and Yiran is a beautiful woman.

Zhao Hong arched his hand lightly in the direction of Yang Miaozhen, which could be regarded as a tribute to this famous person in history.

The Tao is different, and it is not conspiratory. It's a pity that fate will.

The people's livelihood is withering, the loyal and righteous army is domineering, the official army is difficult to control, and Huaidong is in chaos, which makes people feel confused.

On the deck of the warship in the West Lake of Chuzhou City, he noticed that a young man saluted him, and his bearing was extraordinary, Yang Miaozhen replied with a fist, and was suspicious.

This hurried passer-by is not small, and the ship is lit with the flag of Qincha, but I don't know where it is sacred?