Ming politicians

Chongzhen 13th November [-]th.

The weather is fine, and despite the cold winter, the fiery atmosphere of Penglai City actually shows the breath of spring. All warships and patrol boats are parked in the large military port. It is impossible for the shipyard to stop so many already built The completed giant ships, more than five ships after completion, slid directly from the shipyard to the nearby military port.

Penglai City has long been heavily guarded. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter the designated area, occupying half of the military port and barracks in Penglai City. The navy officers and soldiers are closely guarding. Today is the day when warships and patrol boats officially start trial voyages. This is a special day. Those days were extraordinary for Jiangning Camp.

Because of a comprehensive change, the Jiangning battalion in Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou has a different organizational system. The coach has once again become the governor of Jiliao, Su Tiancheng. The soldiers are fully adapted and take it for granted. As for being in Liaodong In the eyes of many soldiers, Hong Chengchou, commander of the Jiangning Battalion, and Qin Sande, the supervisor, have always needed to obey Su Tiancheng's command.

There are quite a few people who participated in this test voyage. The officials of the supervisor, the magistrates and Tongzhi of Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou, and the magistrates and county magistrates of prefectures and counties all came to Penglai City. This was Su Tiancheng's request. He It is to let all officials have a sense of belonging. Any major event that happens here is related to everyone, and no one can stay out of it. Su Tiancheng often warns many officials that everyone's efforts are linked together. , The warships and patrol boats built by the shipyard are for the use of the navy. The construction of Weihaiwei Wharf is to maintain these expenses. Not to mention the Yantai base, the artillery developed is to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the army. Governments at all levels.Through our own efforts, we can improve the lives of the people, create a better environment for the Jiangning camp, and at the same time make the combat effectiveness of the Jiangning camp stronger, and promote the faster development of Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou.Without any link, things will be difficult to achieve perfection.

As for the person in charge of the shipyard and the base, and the officers above the commander of the Jiangning battalion and guards, there is no doubt that they will participate in this trial voyage.

The sea trial ceremony is very simple. The key is to test the power of the warships and patrol boats. This time the sea trial lasts for ten days. The formation of warships and patrol boats departs from Bohai Bay and enters the Yellow Sea.When returning to the voyage, the formation of ten warships and patrol boats went directly to Weihaiwei Wharf to participate in the opening ceremony of the pier, and the rest of the warships and patrol boats returned to the military port of Penglai City.

Su Tiancheng will personally participate in this trial voyage.

Someone once suggested whether to choose Lushun as the destination for this trial voyage.Although we are not planning to attack Lushun, we must also be familiar with the path.Su Tiancheng did not agree. He believed that the main task at present was to build peace, gather strength, and attack Lushun prematurely, which would be detrimental to the development of Dengzhou and other places.The reason why he made this decision was because Su Tiancheng didn't take Houjin's navy seriously. In terms of the equipment of warships and patrol boats, Houjin's navy was not qualified to compete.This is like a cold weapon facing a hot weapon, there is no hope of victory.

The warships of the Jiangningying Navy just have artillery, which makes anyone frightened. If they are fighting at sea, the two sides do not need to get close. Only relying on artillery, they can destroy and sink the opposing ships. Such an overwhelming advantage, So that the Jiangningying Navy can dominate the sea in the shortest time.

After dominating the sea, the next step is wealth rolling in.

At Chen Shi, Su Tiancheng boarded the Penglai No. [-] warship.

The formation of warships and patrol ships was carried out in accordance with the suggestions of David and others. Each series of fleets has ten warships, ten patrol ships, five medium-sized Haicang ships, and twenty ships. A formation was formed, and all the ships were named Penglai, and then serial numbers were compiled, which represented the position of the ship in the middle of the formation. For example, the Penglai No. [-] warship was a ship in an absolute command position, and the Penglai No. No. [-] patrol ship, obeying the dispatch of the command ship, assisting the command.

The three fleets participating in the trial voyage this time were named Penglai, Yantai and Weihai respectively.

Those who will stay in Weihaiwei to participate in the port opening ceremony are the battleship formation of Weihai.

Those who followed Su Tiancheng on the Penglai No. [-] warship included Qu Qingze, Deng Hui and others.

Warships and patrol boats can carry an average of 500 sailors and officers. The Haicang ship can accommodate 100 sailors. The first trial voyage is fully loaded. Three warship formations can accommodate The Navy's officers and soldiers reached more than [-] people.

A detailed division of responsibilities has also been carried out within the navy.

The naval divisions of the Ming Dynasty did not have a unified standard in terms of the rank of officers and soldiers. This was also because the courts had different understandings. After distributing money, since the imperial court has no fundamental understanding of the role of the navy, naturally it will not consider the rank of the navy officers and soldiers.

When Qi Jiguang fought against the Japanese, he was able to take the main battleship with more than [-] people, and the captain was only the governor of the ninth rank. From this, it can be seen that the imperial court was not interested in the navy.

It would be unfair to determine the officers of the navy according to the number of troops in the army. A giant warship can accommodate up to 56 sailors. The banner governs 110 sergeants, the hundred households governs 120 and two sergeants, and the thousand households governs [-] and [-] sergeants. Therefore, the rank of the captain of a main battleship is not as good as that of a fifth-rank Qianhu.

This is definitely not good for highlighting the combat effectiveness of the navy.However, if the rank of naval officers is too high, it will not appear serious. Just imagine, after having hundreds of main battleships and giant patrol ships, the captains will be high-ranking officers. Also huge.

The Navy belongs to the Jiangning Battalion. Within the Jiangning Battalion, the officers must be equipped in the same way, and different officer titles cannot appear. This is not conducive to the development of the Jiangning Battalion. Therefore, after serious thinking, Su Tiancheng made it Decide.

The commander of the navy is half a grid taller than the battalions under the jurisdiction of the Jiangning battalion. As the commander of the capital, he also serves as the commander of the navy. The commander-in-chief of each fleet is the commander of the guard. The captain of the main battleship and the captain of the giant patrol ship are all with the identity of Qianhu, and the captain of the medium-sized Haicang ship is with the identity of Baihu. As for the small warships, there is no clear rank, because these small ships The ships are mainly used to assist the attack, and the personnel are all temporarily transferred.

This kind of configuration also caused a shock in the Jiangning camp, and all the soldiers understood that the status of the navy was not ordinary.

As for Sun Chuanting, the first navy commander, his status is even more prominent. The left deputy is the imperial envoy, and the Jiangning battalion commander is Tongzhi.

There are also some Jiangning battalion officers who don't understand, thinking that the navy can play a role in the sea for many years. The main task at present is to defeat the Houjin Tartars. Cavalry, infantry and artillery are the most important. The navy can only He is assisting from one side, and it is impossible to play a decisive role. Facing these arguments, Su Tiancheng has not explained for the time being. He is very clear that for the army, military achievements are everything. If you say too much about the rest, it will be considered bragging .

Ignition and firing of cannons is the tradition of sailors. Although Bi Maokang, William and others have developed cannons fired by impact, the traditional ceremony still needs to be maintained.

On the Penglai No. [-] battleship, there is a cannon. This cannon is fired in the form of ignition. There is such a cannon on the command ship of each fleet. This cannon is not used for attacking, but for to command.

Sun Chuanting personally took the lit torch and handed it to Su Tiancheng.

Su Tiancheng looked at the ready-to-go fleet, walked up to the artillery, and lit the fuze.

The artillery firing and the huge roar were the signal to set off. In an instant, the horn blew, and five giant patrol ships and five Haicang ships set off first, followed by the main battleship command ship, on both sides of the command ship, They are the Penglai No. [-] patrol ship and the Penglai No. [-] warship.

As the fleet set off, a huge roar appeared. This is the roar of all sailors and officers and soldiers. After nearly a year of training, this time, they finally boarded the real warships and patrol boats, and they are about to start cruising. This At this time, they are the real navy officers and soldiers.

Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi, and Li Dingguo were all on the Penglai No. [-] warship. They never thought of such an arrangement. In the past few months of the Jiangning Camp, they were never used to it, and slowly They were not particularly convinced when Zhang Xianzhong lost to the Jiangning Camp. They always felt that the Jiangning Camp had the status of a government, had sufficient military pay, and received all kinds of assistance, but Zhang Xianzhong was forced to leave. They left Shaanxi and went deep into Shanxi without any foundation, so they encountered a complete failure, but after entering the Jiangning camp for several months, they really realized why the Jiangning camp was so effective and why they completely wiped out the rebels Why, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, Lao Huihui and other leaders of the rebel army who are in full swing, will be planted under the command of Jiangningying.

The indiscipline of the rebel army is an unavoidable problem. There is no trace of all this in the Jiangning battalion. As ordinary soldiers, Liu Wenxiu and the other three saw the officers of the Jiangning battalion, and even the commander of the guards. , Train with the sergeants below, lead by example, the sergeant pays attention to his words and deeds, all he thinks of is to maintain the honor of the Jiangning battalion, and never allow harassment of the people.

All these circumstances made Liu Wenxiu and others understand why the Jiangning Camp was so brave and why they were invincible. Their inner thoughts completely changed, and they completely worshiped Su Tiancheng. (To be continued..)