The first capital battleship of 1,800 materials has been preparing for the final delivery, and Xiong Chu has not found anyone who can accept it, and he has been suffering from headaches for more than ten days.

In April of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Zhong Guozhu led an army of 480 people, and after a month and a half of climbing mountains and mountains to come to Manmo City, Prince Xiong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiong Chu smiled at the reception banquet: "I grew up in the north, and when I saw water, my heart was empty. Lord Xu built the warship, but no one understood. When you left Luoyang and went south, you have been learning the command of the water master in Dongting Lake, and ten years have passed, and it is up to you today. ”

"Lord Xu and their four boat ponds started construction at the same time, and now they have completed one main warship of 1,800 materials and three main warships of 1,200 materials. Whether we can fight or not, we are all laymen. It's flood season, and the Irrawaddy River is the wetst, so all four warships have been launched. ”

Zhong Guozhu smiled and shook his head: "My lord, it's not that I said discouragement, although I have a warship, I can't say that I can fight right away." This is completely different from the cavalry and archery troops, and it is not possible to go into battle with a war horse. ”

"Of course, the four hundred and eighty men I brought can operate a warship to fight, but they must not be used like this. These people are the seeds of our future sailors, and they must not be sacrificed lightly. Instead, we should recruit sailors, form real sailors and train them, and then we can talk about combat. ”

Xiong Chu nodded: "I have prepared 20,000 recruits with good water nature for you, how to form a water division, you are an expert, of course you have the final say." But there is one thing you have to keep in mind that our future combat targets are the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial fleets. ”

"Fighting in the river is only temporary, and the future battlefield is on the sea. How to fight across the sea, this is a question that you should pay attention to. The seas are stormy, and bigger and better ships are needed. But you can't build bigger ships here, so you need to drive the enemy out and take the port by the sea. ”

Zhong Guozhu did not continue to talk about the problem of the water master, but reported another matter: "My lord, there has been a large-scale drought in Nanyang and Runan in Henan, and the tragic scene is the same as the scene you saw back then. All the bark and grass roots were eaten, and the old, weak, sick and disabled were also eaten. ”

"Emperor Chongzhen was very generous, and even issued an edict of 3,500 taels of silver to help the victims of Shanxi and Nanyang. To be honest, even I don't know how these 3,500 taels of silver should be relieved in the face of hundreds of thousands of victims. ”

"Since there was no relief, the victims began to rebel again. Prime Minister Lu Xiangsheng led the general army Zu Kuan, guerrilla Luo Dai and other troops to aid Chuzhou, and won the battle with the peasant army at the Wuli Bridge in the east of the city. The Chuang Wang and Chuang General have returned to Henan and Shaanxi. ”

However, the officers and soldiers of the Ningxia Wei guard station mutinied because they did not have military pay for three months, and even the military rations were cut off for two months. As a result, the officers and soldiers of the guards besieged the official office because they had no food. The governor of the right to the capital of the imperial history Wang Ji, because he was unable to raise military salaries, was beheaded by the mutinous soldiers. ”

"Military advisor Miao Sanguan believes that as natural disasters become more and more severe, the imperial treasury is empty, and there is no way to provide disaster relief. Millions of victims could not be resettled, and complete chaos in the world was inevitable. I hope that the lord must make plans early, otherwise it will be too late to regret it. ”

Zhang Yuxiu, who had been listening, suddenly preemptively said: "Lord, since there is a large-scale famine in Nanyang and Runan, can we let Miao Sanguan and Peng Wuying use the reasonable status of the prince to play a trick for the imperial court, and at the same time communicate with the Guilin Mansion and gather hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to us?"

"Although we are not rich here, the climatic conditions are much better, and there is no shortage of water, which is what the people of the Central Plains need most. As long as the people can endure hardship, they will be able to cultivate more terraced fields, and it will certainly be no problem to feed people. ”

Xiong Chu smiled bitterly: "Master Zhang's idea is indeed very good, but it is really whimsical." Not to mention hundreds of thousands, even if it is a great migration of 100,000 people, it is not a very simple problem. I have seen the great migration in the Mongolian steppe, and it is so difficult for more than 100,000 people to move. ”

"The victims of the Central Plains are not the same as those of Mobei, because the victims of the Central Plains really have nothing, unlike the grassland herders who still have a few sheep to deal with for a period of time. If we were to evacuate the victims, we would need at least more than one million stone of grain after more than 3,000 miles of travel. ”

"However, Lord Zhang's mention is very good, we can't watch our people change and be indifferent, we can save one person is one person, so we have to do it as a thing. Huo Lianshan, immediately sent an eight-hundred-mile expedited to let the old master and Peng Wuying try it. ”

Feilong Island is a river island.

The Nanmao River (Ruili River) joins the Irrawaddy River at Inyuwa and then forms a mid-river alluvial island not far downstream.

After Zhong Guozhu inspected along the river, he decided to establish his own naval base in Jiangxinzhou.

Xiong Chu heard what Zhang Yuxiu said: The flying dragon is in the sky, and it is good to see the adult. So it was improvised as "Flying Dragon Island".

Regarding Prince Xiong's doubts, Zhong Guozhu explained: "Don't be surprised, the scout camp has come with news that the river starts from here, and it turns out to be straight to the south, and the whole journey is two hundred miles without the slightest turn. And not far from Feilong Continent is a large canyon, sixty miles long, and the narrowest place is only thirty zhang wide. ”

"If the enemy goes up the river to attack our city of Manmo, as long as a battery is set up on the Miadam Heights in front, no shells are needed at all, and stones and logs can be thrown directly down to sink the enemy's warships. In such a straight and narrow waterway, the enemy did not have the slightest chance to turn around. ”

Of course, Xiong Chu knows the truth of "one husband is the key, and ten thousand people are not open", and he is also very satisfied with the sailor base selected by Zhong Guozhu.

As long as the upstream exit of the Grand Canyon is blocked, even if the south gate of Manmo City is guarded.

Therefore, Xiong Chu gave an order, and Huo Lianshan ordered Yang Huxiao's cavalry battalion to build a Degang Fort at the entrance to Degang at the entrance of the upper canyon, and deployed four newly cast rear-loading guns here.

In order to cope with this Tokuoka Fort, a fort was also built in the Miadam Heights to the north, forming a double ghost slamming the door.

In the salient of the Nanmao River to the east, the Myitsone Fort, the Menglong Fort, and the Xibu Fort were also built to watch the southeast of Manmo City, and at the same time defend the south side of Nankan City.

The new artillery used this time, of course, was not cast in white copper. Meng Fan used white copper, which was specially tailored for warships. And it is covered with white copper to prevent rust, and the inside is still cast iron.

The land-based forts were all molded in red sand, and then the five-inch guns cast in cast iron, together with the gun carriage and chute, weighed 3,200 catties.

According to Xu Fengxian's suggestion, Xiong Chu delineated four levels for the main warships of the future naval division:

Conquest level (ocean): more than 3,200 materials, equipped with 20 5-inch guns, 32 4-inch guns, and 48 3-inch guns.

Dangkou class (cross-sea): more than 1,800 materials, equipped with 16 five-inch guns, 24 4-inch guns, and 24 three-inch guns.

Dinghai class (occupy the island): less than 1,800 materials, equipped with 10 5-inch guns, 12 4-inch guns, and 12 3-inch guns.

Pingman class (offshore): below 800 materials, equipped with 10 4-inch guns, 12 3-inch guns, and 24 tiger squat guns.

Fushou class (guarantee): 2,400 materials, 3,600 materials, two kinds of flat-bottomed sand ships, logistics transportation and troop transportation.

The largest warship that has been completed now is exactly 1,800 materials, which is on the dividing line between the Dangkou class and the Dinghai class, and the Xiong Chu named it the Dangkou No. 1 ship, which is now the flagship of Admiral Zhong Guozhu.

The other three main warships are 1,200 materials, named Dinghai No. 1, Dinghai No. 2, and Dinghai No. 3 respectively.

The six warships currently under construction are all centipede ships of 500 materials, that is, the sharp-bottomed clippers that imitate the Portuguese colonial army.

There were only 480 instructors brought over by Zhong Guozhu, so 4,800 people were selected to enter the water division, and each instructor led 10 people to start intense training.

Xiong Chu originally thought that as long as the sailors were good in water and not afraid of death, they would be fine. Unexpectedly, after the start of the sailor training, he realized that he was simply an idiot.

Water exploration roadway soldiers, compass navigation soldiers, sail control anchor chain soldiers, flag signal soldiers, artillery combat soldiers, crossbow soldiers who receive the enemy, kitchen logistics soldiers, etc., all have different responsibilities.

If the sail is damaged, it is also necessary to use a long oar hand drive. As long as there is a problem in one link, a warship will basically be scrapped, and it will not be able to fight at all.

There is no way, the officers and men of the naval division are too hard, and there is almost no room for dodge in battle, and it is too dangerous.

Xiong Chu could only grit his teeth and decide: "The salary of the sailor is five taels of silver per person per month." For each level of promotion, the salary is doubled. Considering that the officers and men of the Navy Division had their own families, they could not take care of their families in normal times, and the salaries could be converted into rice and salt. ”

The Ma Bujun made every effort to build a stable defensive line, and the officers and men of the Navy Division trained intensively day and night, and it was two months in the blink of an eye.

In the middle of June, it rained heavily for nine days and nine nights around Manmo City, and the water and water of the river swelled.

"Master: According to the report from the spies, the heavy rain led to flash floods everywhere, and Ma Bujun could not move. However, Tarong of the Taungoo kingdom suddenly sent troops north, and a total of seven warships sailed up the river from Ava. Commanding this fleet was a captain of the Portuguese army, called Philip. ”

Huo Lianshan rushed into Xiong Chu's room with excitement on his face, explained all the situation in one breath, and then stood there and rubbed his hands.

"Look at you monkey-like, what do you mean?" When Xiong Chu heard that the enemy had suddenly sent troops, his heart suddenly became nervous: "The enemy is coming, what are you excited about? How is the construction of each fort, and have the defending troops arrived at the designated place?"

Huo Lianshan was indeed very excited, and he didn't care about Xiong Chu's attitude at all: "In order to form the fort, I specially drew out my own personal captain and formed a barbarian defense battalion, with a total strength of 6,000 people. The artillery of the batteries had long been in place, and the caves in the barracks and powder magazines had been dug and ready for battle at any time. ”

Xiong Chu nodded: "Order all the officers and men of Degang Battery, Miadam Battery, Junla Battery, and Yuvase Battery to immediately enter a state of combat readiness." The scout battalion was ordered to closely monitor the enemy's movements, to find out how big the enemy's ships were, and how many people they estimated were. You are a general on the one hand, and you have to be calm in your work. ”

Huo Lianshan turned around and went out, his mouth was not idle: "Am I not calm enough?" I have been here for half a year, and my Qinglong Yanyue Knife is about to rust. If it weren't for your old man coming to take charge, I would have pulled the team out a long time ago, and would I have waited until today to let the enemy hit the door?"

"Less nonsense, cut off the three rivers immediately, and ensure the safety of the water division base is what you should do. Xiong Chu angrily scolded at his back: "Do you know a fart? If you go further south, it will be all big rivers and rivers, and even the sea." If there were no naval warships, what would you fight? You have never seen the sea, and you don't understand what it is. ”

In fact, Xiong Chu has never seen the sea, only heard that it is so big.

Whether you have seen it or not, a defensive battle is inevitable.

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, and the first time to see the genuine content!I734