Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 164: Building a Navy
"The factional strife in the court is getting more serious. I am not afraid that Chen Bangfu will file a petition to impeach me. I am afraid that he will use other military commanderies. For example, the Zhongzheng Camp, Zhongwu Camp, Zhongkai Camp, and Yudian Camp on the Huguang front will have nowhere to rely on if they are defeated. Chen Bangfu borrowed troops from our Zhaoyong Army to deal with Xu Biao. Will he use these military commanderies to deal with us? Even Sun Kewang's West Camp?"

Dan Chu's careful considerations made Fang Yizhi and Feng Lin feel ashamed of themselves.

This is not groundless worry. People say that history is rigorous, but real history is even more ridiculous than fiction.

According to historical records, Chen Bangfu led Li Chixin's Loyal Camp into Nanning to deal with Xu Biao. Li Chixin's strong army caused Chen Bangfu to be afraid of him. In order to deal with Li Chixin, Chen Bangfu tried to bring in Sun Kewang as a supporter and forged an imperial edict to confer Sun Kewang the title of King of Qin, causing the West Camp to confront the Yongli court.

"The Marshal is right." Fang Yizhi pondered for a moment and said, "At present, the prefectures, counties and cities of Nanning and Taiping have surrendered one after another. The most urgent tasks are, first, to pacify the various places, second, to expand the third infantry battalion, and third, to build a navy. As long as these three things are done, Nanning and Taiping will be secure and Chen Bangfu will never get involved again."

"Yes," Danchu nodded and said, "Placating the various places and expanding the army, these two things have been settled. The key is to build a navy, which is the most urgent task at present."

The significance of the navy is self-evident. With the navy, it is possible to communicate between Yong'an and Nanning, to bring Yong'an's universities, families, and factories to Nanning, and to eliminate Chen Bangfu's threat to the Zhaoyong Army.

"The commander-in-chief asked me to find naval talents, and I have already found a solution." Fang Yizhi replied, "There is a genius in Chongshan County named Ruan Tingfeng. His ancestral home is Jinjiang, Fujian. He is a hereditary thousand-household official and his family has inherited the art of naval warfare. It is said that his ancestor was a general under Yu Dayou. When Yu Dayou was exiled to Guangxi as the general, he brought the Ruan family to Guangxi to guard Chongshan."

Fighting a war is a technical job, especially naval warfare. If there are no professional naval warfare talents, it is nothing but a foolish dream to want to create a navy on the spot.

Most of Zhao Yong's troops were landlubbers, and there were no naval warriors among Tanchu's confidants. To establish a navy, he had to rely on outsiders.

"What are Ruan Tingfeng's abilities and character like?"

"The reputation is not bad. When Xu Biao stole power, he used Ruan Tingfeng to manage the navy. He fought against the enemy with a small number of people and never lost. Last year, Nanning was hit by floods and the hungry people had nothing to eat. Ruan Tingfeng embezzled military rations to help the people, and was stripped of his post by Xu Biao and returned to Chongshan.

"Afterwards, Chen Bangfu bribed Xu Biao's naval officers and set Xu Biao's warships on fire. Right now, Ruan Tingfeng is helping someone with accounts in a bank. I have sent someone to invite him. If he is willing, he should be in Nanning in the next two days."

"Well," Danchu hesitated for a moment and said, "In this chaotic time, he still dares to use military rations to help the victims, and he doesn't even care about his official hat. It's really admirable. His naval warfare ability should be no problem. He can also manage accounts, is proficient in writing and arithmetic, and must be talented in this area."

Two days later, Danchu heard that Ruan Tingfeng had arrived, so he went out to greet him.

I saw a man in his mid-thirties, with dark skin, a stocky build, coarse clothes and straw sandals. From a distance he looked like a farmer, but up close he seemed strong and powerful, with a resolute look and a serious expression. Although he did not have the demeanor of a valiant warrior, he had a calm and composed temperament.

Danchu couldn't help but think of a person: Yang Zaifu. In terms of appearance and temperament, they were so similar. He looked like a farmer, but he could kill people like crazy on the battlefield and intimidate the enemy.

"Tingfeng, I've heard a lot about you." Danchu called him, smiled slightly, and bowed.

Ruan Tingfeng returned the greeting and said, "Your Majesty is so famous. I am honored to meet you today."

Seeing that he was dressed in coarse clothes and straw sandals, he didn't look pretentious. Danchu invited him into the lobby to talk, and Ruan Tingfeng was not polite, but behaved generously and sat down calmly, neither stiff nor submissive.

Danchu secretly admired the potential of a great general. After a brief greeting, he got down to business and said, "I have the ambition to kill the enemy and serve my country, but I am short of naval forces. I want to rely on Tingfeng's talent to help me train the navy."

"I have inherited a thousand households and have enjoyed the grace of the country. Although I am idle in the countryside, I am still worried about state affairs every day. The commander-in-chief did not treat me as humble and offered me generous gifts. I will serve you wholeheartedly."

Ruan Tingfeng responded appropriately, neither servile nor arrogant, and Danchu was very satisfied.

"Tingfeng, I am young and energetic, and I don't like to stick to the old ways. The Ming Dynasty has existed for more than 270 years, but it has been defeated by the Tartars time and again. The most direct reason is that the army is old-fashioned and cannot defeat the new elite of the Eight Banners.

"So, my Zhaoyong Army will never follow the old ways and will constantly innovate. People often say that I am unconventional, but the Zhaoyong Army can win battles, which is enough. I want to build a navy, but I don't intend to follow the old ways. In your opinion, where should I start?"

This was a test for Ruan Tingfeng. He thought for a moment and said, "If you want to build a navy, you must first build warships. After deciding on the warships, you can decide on the organization, after deciding on the organization, you can decide on the formation, after deciding on the formation, you can decide on the tactics. Therefore, the most urgent task is to establish the warships. "In the Xijiang area, warships are mostly Boshan boats and wheel boats. After passing Xunzhou, the tributaries such as Qianjiang and Lijiang merge into the Xijiang River, and the water volume of the Xijiang River becomes abundant, which can pass large warships such as tower ships. These three types of ships have been through wars for a long time and are reliable and durable. If the general wants to build a navy in a hurry, he might as well build Boshan boats and wheel boats first, and if there is spare capacity, then build tower ships. "

Thinking of Yang Zaifu, Danchu suddenly had an idea for building warships, and said, "No. During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates ravaged the coast. Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were in charge of coastal defense, and the warships they built were all equipped with firearms, abandoning traditional warfare methods such as ramming and boarding.

"These are offshore warships, mainly Fujian ships, Guang ships, and Sha ships, all of which rely on firearms. The Zheng family of Fujian is known for its Fujian ships, and its dominance on the sea was actually based on the two gentlemen Qi and Yu.

"The inner river is shallow and narrow, so seagoing vessels are not allowed to sail. But warships use firearms as weapons and win with firearms. The principle is the same and it is also the general trend in the future. Tingfeng, I look down on Boshan boats and wheeled boats. Do you know why?"

Chen Tingfeng was very smart. He immediately reacted and said, "Boshan boats cannot carry guns, and wheeled boats can carry too few guns."

"Yes!" Danchu said, "The firearms used by the Boshan boats are jettisons, rockets, fire bricks, and bird guns, which can only be used for close combat. Although the wheeled boats are fast, the wheels take up a lot of space and there are too few guns.

"In the future, naval battles in inner rivers will be the same as those in outer rivers. Whoever has more, bigger, and stronger artillery will gain the upper hand and win. The Zhaoyong Army will establish a navy. Although it is an inner river navy, it must also strive for excellence. The warships must be able to carry artillery and must fire and attack the enemy first. I have an idea, and I will describe it to you now."

Chen Tingfeng was skeptical. He was born into a military family, so he didn't dare to create a warship easily. How could Cen Danchu, a layman, dare to speak so arrogantly?

Throughout history, there are generally two ways to carry guns on warships in the inner river: one is to build a huge raft, and the other is to build a large warship. These two types of warships have extremely poor maneuverability, are expensive, and are not practical at all.

But Dan Chu picked up a pen and paper, and while thinking and sketching, he quickly drew three warships and marked the necessary sailors, gunners and weapons on the side.

"Tingfeng, look, this is the warship I thought of. There are three types: the small ship is called Sanban, the medium ship is called Kuaixie, and the large ship is called Changlong. These three types of ships will surely be able to roam the Neijiang River in the future."

Ruan Tingfeng took a closer look and felt that it looked familiar: Isn’t this the centipede boat commonly seen in Guangdong?

The centipede boat is a type of paddle boat that can sail on rivers and offshore like the wind and is often used by Cantonese people for smuggling. Although the Boshan boat is also a paddle boat, its speed, displacement, and seaworthiness are not as good as the centipede boat.

Looking at the notes written by Dan Chu on the side, he clearly marked the number of sailors and cannons on each ship, which seemed very professional and amazed Ruan Tingfeng.

Version 3: Ten oarsmen, one rudder, one poleman, and two gunners. The guns are placed at the bow and stern of the boat, with two guns in total, which can be fired in a rotation.

Long dragon: 16 oarsmen, 4 oarsmen, 1 rudder, 1 poleman, 6 gunners. It carries 6 guns, one at the bow and one at the stern, and two on each side.

The Kuaixie had 28 oarsmen, 8 oarsmen, 1 rudder, 1 poleman, and 6 gunners. The cannons were the same as the Changlong, 6 in total, one at the head and one at the tail, and two on each side.

The camp system was also determined, with one camp consisting of one fast crab, one long dragon, and nine three-panel ships.

Version 3 is the smallest, most flexible, and has the fastest boat speed. The Crab has the same firepower as the Dragon, but has more rowers and oarsmen, and the boat speed is faster.

When going to war, Sanban and Kuaixie are mainly used as warships, and Changlong is used as the command ship.

Danchu didn't know how to fight on water either, he just found inspiration from Yang Zaifu and copied homework directly from the Hunan Navy. The Hunan Navy made the greatest contribution in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, and the main warships for naval warfare were the seemingly unremarkable Sanban, Changlong and Kuaixie, among which Sanban and Kuaixie were the most important.

Ruan Tingfeng observed for a long time and sighed: "It is said that the commander knows everything and can do everything. Ruan believes it today. The three-board is light and flexible, the long dragon has strong firepower, and the fast crab has the advantages of both. With this warship, the Zhaoyong army can travel across the Xijiang River."

(End of this chapter)