Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 509 Military Power Exchanged for a Royal Title

The two men took the thin booklet, and saw on the cover that it was titled "Outline of the Planning of the Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty". They immediately exchanged a glance. Just from the title, they knew it was no ordinary book. Lu Jin had actually compiled an outline specifically for this purpose, which showed how much importance he attached to the navy.

The first page inside contains three painted flags: the national flag of the Ming Dynasty, the flag of the Holy Martial Army, and the naval ensign. The naval ensign has a red background with blue and white waves below and a yellow rudder wheel above, with a gold star in the center. Below that is a textual description of the specific design.

The Navy is an independent branch of the Holy Martial Army, with a Naval Headquarters at the army-level. The chief officers are the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief Instructor, both of whom hold the rank of Marshal. There are also several Deputy Commanders-in-Chief under the Commander-in-Chief.

Chief of the Naval Staff, in charge of training and operational planning, as well as naval academies, with the rank of Admiral;

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, in charge of one person's base construction and operation, with the rank of General;

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, in charge of ship equipment planning and construction, with the rank of Admiral;

The above is the leadership team of the Naval Headquarters. Below it are three major fleets: the North Sea Fleet, responsible for the waters north of the Tsushima Strait; the East Sea Fleet, responsible for the waters north of Guangzhou; and the South Sea Fleet, responsible for the South China Sea waters from Guangzhou to Malacca.

Each fleet has a Fleet Headquarters, which is at the army group level. The chief officers are the fleet commander and the fleet chief training officer, both of whom hold the rank of admiral. There are also several other adjutants, similar to the headquarters.

Below the fleet are the squadrons, or detachments as Lu Jin called them. Each detachment is equipped with about ten warships of 'third class' or above. The detachment is at the corps level, and the commander is a general. Each major fleet has at least three to five bases and squadrons under its command, and no more than ten.

In other words, each major fleet should have at least 30 to 50 main battleships, and at most 100. The three major fleets combined would have 100 to 150, and at most 300 battleships.

Is this a large number? Of course not. It's comparable to the British Royal Navy in history. During the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Britain had 175 sailing battleships. And this number only counts ships with 74 guns or more; smaller ships are not included in the statistics.

By the time of peace following the war in 1815, Britain had only retained 99 battleships. After all, it was a long-standing tradition for Britain to immediately reduce its military after a war. Around 100 ships was roughly the number that a country of Britain's size could sustain in daily operations, and could temporarily amassed troops if needed in wartime.

When the two first looked at the organization and number of ships, they didn't think much of it. According to Lu Jin's plan, the entire navy would only have a little over a hundred ships, at most three hundred.

Now, the three naval regiments of the Holy Martial Army alone have thousands of ships. Even if we don't count the river warships under Sang Shijie and Miao Youzhen, just the sea ships led by Bai Guangtai number in the hundreds, far more than the more than one hundred ships planned by Lu Jin. Looking at it this way, it seems that the reorganized navy is just so-so.

But when they turned to the next page and saw the so-called five-class ship classification, they realized the seriousness of the problem.

The inscription reads: "First-class main flagship, with three through-deck gun decks, equipped with more than 100 long guns, carrying 600 to 800 personnel, named after the province."

Second-class ships have two continuous gun decks, carrying more than ninety guns, and are named after the provinces.

Third-class ships have two gun decks, carrying more than seventy guns, and are named after prefectures;
Fourth-class ships with two gun decks, fast cruisers carrying 52 guns, named after counties;
Fifth-class ships, with at least one gun deck, carrying no more than 40 guns, were scout ships used for reconnaissance and messenger missions, and were named after towns.

Supply ships are named after lakes, amphibious transport ships are named after mountains.
After reading it, the two looked at each other again, did a rough calculation in their minds, and immediately exclaimed, "Wow!"

Upon seeing this, Xia Yu immediately said, "Your Majesty, if we follow this organization, each squadron will have about ten third-class or higher warships. If we calculate based on ten ships, wouldn't that mean that just one squadron would have more than seven hundred, or even nearly a thousand, heavy cannons?"

"If a large fleet comprises three to five sub-fleets, then that large fleet would have three to four thousand heavy cannons? Wouldn't the entire navy, with all its ships combined, have over ten thousand heavy cannons???"

When Xia Yu calculated the number himself, he couldn't help but swallow hard. This was only based on the minimum standard of a little over a hundred ships. What if there were three hundred ships? Wouldn't that require twenty thousand heavy cannons? That seemed too outrageous.

The Holy Martial Army currently only has eight Imperial Guard Divisions, which is equivalent to eight artillery regiments. Each regiment has 64 cannons, totaling no more than 512 cannons. This is already enough to overwhelm the various Yuan armies and warlords. However, even so, the entire army's artillery is less than half the size of a single naval detachment. Just how powerful must this navy be?
Lu Jin, however, acted as if nothing had happened and said nonchalantly, "Yes, is 10,000 cannons a lot? You haven't even counted the number of coastal defense guns at the various naval bases. In some important ports and sea lanes, coastal defense gun bases will be set up in the future to defend against possible enemy naval attacks. Of course, it would be even better if we could take out the enemy forces in the open sea."

"But, but even if we calculate based on 700 people per ship, the entire navy would have at least 70,000 people. Add to that so many cannons, and the military expenditure would be a considerable expense. Moreover, besides the Japanese pirates, what other enemies at sea would the court need so many cannons to defend against?" Xia Yu asked, still quite puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately countered, "Alright, even if we're only talking about defending against Japanese pirates, if you were to devise a plan to prevent their attacks, what methods would you use? How many troops, supplies, and provisions would you need?"

"This"

Before Xia Yu could finish speaking, Lu Jin reminded him again, "And don't forget, the Japanese pirates' harassment range extends from the northernmost Liaodong coast all the way to Qiongzhou Prefecture. This entire area is within their attack range. How do you plan to defend this vast coastal region? Are you suggesting we build a Great Wall along the coastline?"

Xia Yu fell silent upon hearing this. Building a Great Wall along the coast was something only a fool would do, but setting up coastal defense forces in various coastal areas, with each force equipped with several patrol boats, would be feasible.

The problem is, China's coastline is so long. If coastal defense forces and patrol boats are to be set up everywhere, how many troops and ships would be needed? Would it really be cheaper than Lu Jin's planned navy?
In the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang did exactly that. He established a 200,000-strong anti-Japanese garrison along the coast, with each hundred households assigned a small patrol boat. However, it was all for naught, a waste of money and grain, and still couldn't defend against the Japanese pirates.

Just then, Bao Yu took the initiative to speak, "There is a saying in military strategy: 'Being prepared everywhere is the same as being unprepared everywhere.' This is something His Majesty said just a few days ago. Rather than setting up defenses everywhere along the vast coastline, it would be better to build an elite force that can penetrate deep into the ocean and keep watch at the enemy's doorstep."

"As soon as the enemy leaves the house, we'll knock him down with one blow. That way, only one person needs to keep an eye on the enemy, which is much better than having the whole family guarding our own courtyard. Otherwise, how can we even live our own lives?"

There is also a folk saying: "If you can be a thief for a thousand days, you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days." Your Majesty's book on quick military strategy also says that to gain the initiative in war, it is better to take the initiative and attack at the enemy's doorstep than to be on the defensive everywhere. This way, we can restrain more enemies with only a small amount of strength.

"Therefore, I support His Majesty's idea of ​​building a navy. As for military expenses, it's not like we can just take out all the money at once. Even if we did, it would take a long time to build ships and cannons. Skilled artillerymen and people proficient in navigation also need to be trained. We can build a few ships a year, a squadron every three years, and a large fleet every ten years. We can accumulate little by little and slowly build up our resources."

clap clap-

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately clapped his hands in praise, saying, "Bao Yu is right. In fact, building a navy is much cheaper than guarding the coast. Moreover, if you guard the coast, you can only passively defend. The Japanese pirates can come whenever they want, but building a navy and taking the initiative to attack is different."

"To put it simply, as long as one of these three fleets can be built, I am confident that I can destroy the entire Japanese nation! What is there to defend against?"

"Moreover, the navy is a force that can penetrate deep into the ocean; it doesn't mean that we won't need the navy after defeating Japan."

"You have all learned a lot about geography and looked at so many maps. The entire country of Dai Viet (Annam) is located by the sea, and all the important cities are also located along the coast. The Mongol Yuan Dynasty conquered Annam by land three times but did not gain any advantage. However, if Annam is conquered by sea, then Annam will fall into the same situation as we are in when we are guarding against Japanese pirates. Guarding everywhere is the same as having no defense at all, making it impossible for them to defend against us."

"Just as Bao Yu said, if they're constantly on guard against us, how can they possibly live their own lives? In the long run, their national strength will inevitably decline, and then we can wipe them out in one fell swoop and recover the lost territories of the Han and Tang dynasties. "And then there are the islands of the South Seas. They are not only important trade routes for developing maritime trade, but also have many unique products that are not produced in Kyushu at all. Without a strong navy, how can we incorporate the South Seas into the country's territory?"
"When fighting on land, you all know the importance and convenience of canals and waterways for transporting supplies. The sea is a natural canal, so why not make use of it?"
"As for the navy's military expenditure."

Lu Jin pointed to the word 'Royal' on the cover of the planning outline, "If the court doesn't provide the funding for the navy, I will use the imperial treasury to build it. But let's make it clear first: the court will not receive a single penny of the money the navy earns; it will all go into the imperial treasury."

The two were speechless for a moment upon hearing this. Xia Yu immediately asked in confusion, "The navy can make money?"

Lu Jin immediately tapped the map and said, "Although Japan is an island nation, it has many gold and silver mines. After we conquer it, we can send people to mine them. We can pay at least 4 million taels of silver to the court every year, and we can continue to mine them for at least 100 years."

"Four million taels every year for a hundred years? That would be four hundred million taels of silver!" The two gasped in shock.

"Japan has so much gold and silver?!"

"Yes, I know. I even know the exact locations of the gold and silver mines." Lu Jin nodded, then pointed to Brunei and Sulu in the South China Sea.

"And here in Borneo, there is a lot of oil. If we extract it, we can not only refine lamp oil and paraffin wax, but also make lampblack ink and printing ink. Just think how much silver we can earn every year just by controlling the country's lamp oil, printing and writing ink, and candles. And that doesn't even include other special products."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, and Xia Yu immediately said righteously, "The navy is a matter of national defense. It is a vital instrument for protecting the country's maritime borders. How can His Majesty be allowed to use the imperial treasury to pay for it? Even if the court is short of military funds, it should at least contribute a portion."

Upon seeing this, Lu Jin immediately laughed. It seemed these people were quick-witted; who said ancient Confucian scholars were necessarily pedantic?
On the seventh day of the tenth month, the plan to adjust the defenses of the garrison in various places was just finalized and was sent by Lu Jin from Dadu to all fronts. The troops immediately began to be mobilized and adjusted.

When Zhu Liangzu heard that Lu Jin was going to transfer his entire Second Army back to the south, he was quite surprised and went to find Lu Jin.

"His Majesty intends to transfer the Second Army back to the south?"

“That’s right. The Northern Expedition is over, but Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan in the south are still not under our control. What, do you want to stay in the north to guard it? How about I switch you and let Yang Jing go to fight in the south, while you stay to guard Liaodong?” Lu Jin said to him immediately.

"No, no, no, Liaodong and Mobei are both bitterly cold places. We'll be guarding them every day without fighting. All we'll be doing is hard labor like building cities and clearing land. I'd rather go and fight in Fujian and Guangdong." Zhu Liangzu waved his hand and said hastily.

"That's settled then. Give orders to all your troops to pack up and prepare to return to the capital with me this month," Lu Jin immediately instructed.

"Yes!" Zhu Liangzu quickly agreed, but after agreeing, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he followed Lu Jin, looking as if he wanted to say something but dared not.

Lu Jin could roughly guess what he wanted to say, which was nothing more than wanting to be ennobled after the war was over. But Lu Jin deliberately didn't say it. While walking on the city wall of the palace, he pointed to the city outside and said, "The scenery here at Jishuitan is quite nice. The north is relatively dry and lacks water. It would be best if we could live by the water."

"After we move the capital here in the future, I will have the Ministry of Construction build you a royal palace here so you can retire here. What do you think?"

"Ah? This...this...is it a bit much to ask me to stay in the Prince's residence?" Zhu Liangzu was overjoyed to hear this, but he was unsure whether Lu Jin was testing him, so he spoke very cautiously.

Lu Jin, holding onto the crenellations of the city wall, looked towards Jishuitan and said, “What’s inappropriate about it? Although Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, once swore an oath by killing a white horse and said that no one but a member of the Liu family could be king, didn’t the Song Dynasty also have precedents of military generals being enfeoffed as kings for their merits?”

"I am not so stingy as to refuse even a princely title. But one thing must be made clear: in my hands, only Gongshu can be granted the title of Prince. However, it is possible for a military general with great merit to be granted the title of Prince of the County."

"However, I have one more condition."

"What are the conditions?" Zhu Liangzu asked excitedly upon hearing this.

"To posthumously confer the title of Prince upon your death is far too unsatisfactory. What is the point of posthumously conferring the honors you did not enjoy while you were alive? But you are still leading troops and a general with military power. Even if you are the commander of five army groups, you can only be conferred the title of Duke after this. I will confer the title of Prince upon you when you retire from the army and return to the capital to take up a civil post."

"Ah? I see."

Zhu Liangzu was a little disappointed upon hearing this. However, as the emperor, it was only a matter of time before Lu Jin took back the military power from these generals. Since the military power would be taken back sooner or later, exchanging it for a princely title was not unacceptable.

Most importantly, among the two army groups under his Second Front Army, the Sixth Army Group Commander-in-Chief is Liao Yongzhong, who will not listen to him at all. The Fifth Army Group Commander-in-Chief, which he personally leads, is Feng Sheng, whose elder brother Feng Guoyong is also Lu Jin's military advisor, so he is even less likely to listen to him. He also has Gao Yao, the chief training officer, to keep him in check. Even if Zhu Liangzu wanted to rebel, he could not mobilize any of his troops.

The system designed by Lu Jin tightly restricted him. If he was obedient and fought well, there was no problem. But if he dared to rebel, he could be sidelined in no time.

Since that's the case, there's no point in clinging to military power. It's better to wait until the war is over, get a princely title, and return to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury.

Lu Jin ignored his surprise and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I prefer to speak frankly, so as not to hide things, cause mutual suspicion, or make you overthink and cause trouble in the future."

"I remember telling you before the Northern Expedition that if you want something, just tell me. If I don't give it to you, that's because I'm stingy. But I absolutely forbid you from taking things from the people, especially their land."

"Of the five army commanders, you are the most greedy and lustful. However, as long as you don't make a serious mistake, I can tolerate you. Remember, there is no such thing as self-degradation in my eyes. Otherwise, don't blame me for not telling you in advance."

Zhu Liangzu quickly bowed his head obediently and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I remember all of that. You are overthinking it. As for the claim that he is the most greedy and lustful among the generals, I am truly wronged."

"Oh? Is that so?" Lu Jin asked in surprise. "When we captured Dadu, we captured a lot of palace women. If we kill all of them, people will say that I am cruel. If we release them back into the common people, they probably won't dare to take them and they might cause trouble. Therefore, I want to reward these palace women of the Yuan Dynasty to you generals and meritorious officials."

"Would you like to pick a few from them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liangzu's eyes lit up, and he raised his head, "Is Your Majesty's statement true?"

Upon seeing this, Lu Jin immediately kicked him, yelling, "You still say you're not a womanizer?!"

(End of this chapter)