Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 868
Ye Chen felt that Tang Xingwu's resourcefulness was really extraordinary, and at the same time, he thought of Hu Sanguang's report to him just yesterday, and couldn't help feeling deeply.

Hu Sanguang's report to Ye Chen said: "From the fact that Tang Xingwu was able to solve the assassination case in the Imperial City Square and dug out so many important secrets in the Holy Church in Xiangfu Kingdom, we can draw two conclusions or two conclusions. One possibility is that Tang Xingwu's resourcefulness is far higher than the previous prediction, so he was able to solve the case and follow the vines to dig out many secrets in the church. The second is that Tang Xingwu is probably the most important secret agent in the church. The reason why this case can be solved is because of sacrificing these secrets, in order to fulfill Tang Xingwu, the most important secret."

Ye Chen asked Tang Xing to accompany him today, in fact, because of Hu Sanguang's two judgments, he wanted to take a closer look at Tang Xingwu in person.Now, Tang Xingwu came up with such a clever plan, but it made Ye Chen feel that Tang Xingwu should have nothing to do with the holy hall.Because, Ye Chen absolutely does not believe that Yufeng will sincerely want to make Xiangfu Kingdom stronger.

Thoughts were spinning in Ye Chen's mind, and his face was naturally calm, and he said: "Your strategy is very good. After you go down, tell Hu Sanguang about the strategy. The Ministry of Security will come up with a detailed plan and present it to us. .”

"Observe the order." Tang Xingwu said excitedly.

...

...

In the second year of Tianding in Xiangfu Kingdom, on March 21, 1 bandits and more than 4 Liao soldiers who had been training in the teaching team of the training department had graduated. In three months, more than 100 of these [-] people were rode to death.But the result can be said that they have been "reborn", which is quite different from the original ones. Both in terms of ideology and discipline awareness, they have completed the basic transformation from bandits or foreign soldiers to soldiers of Xiangfu country.Afterwards, they will be assigned to various units, and after some time, the transformation will be completely completed.

The next step is to divert these people to the eight major legions other than the Tianwei Legion according to the plan made by the Military Hub Department many years ago.This process lasted until April [-]st. Half a month earlier than this day, the first batch of trainees of Xiangfu Military Academy had also completed their training and returned to their respective units or had already been assigned.This marks the complete completion of the third round of military reforms of the Xiangfu Kingdom and the establishment of the full strength of the nine armies, and it also means that the military strength of the Xiangfu Kingdom has entered a new stage.

Zhong Sanhe, Chang Podao, and Shi Lang successfully passed the graduation assessment, but their rankings were only in the upper middle, not outstanding.Among them, Zhong Sanhe was finally assigned to the special brigade and served as the deputy battalion commander of the special brigade's assault battalion.Of course, it was Bai Canghai who expressed his desire for Zhong Sanhe, and how could the Military Shuttle Department dare to reject Bai Canghai's intention for such a trivial matter.And Chang Podao was assigned to the newly established Volunteer Corps, serving as the commander of the infantry brigade, battalion and company.Shi Lang was assigned to a brigade, a battalion, and a company of the Black Wolf Army cavalry as the company commander. The nearly thousand horse thieves under his command also participated in the training of the teaching team with [-] mountain thieves, and nearly half of them were also assigned to him.

In addition, due to the addition of two new legions, the senior generals above the major general level have also undergone small-scale adjustments.Among them, the head of the Tianwei Legion defending Xia Jing was Hei Yue, the deputy head was Yang Yanguang, the former deputy head of the White Tiger Legion, and Yelu Hanye was the deputy head of the White Tiger Legion.The former deputy head of the Xuanwu Army, major general Huang Dongqiu, was promoted to lieutenant general, and promoted to head of the Volunteer Army, and the deputy head was Yelulu.Kong Lingshan, the former commander of the First Brigade of Cavalry of the Xuanwu Army who entered Wuzhou in the Liao territory with Zhan Xiong Wu's lone army, was recommended by Zhan Xiong Wu and researched by the Military Department because of his outstanding performance and outstanding ability. The deputy commander of the Xuanwu Legion was promoted to Major General.Of course, the officers below the brigade have also made some adjustments. They performed outstandingly in the battle with the Liao army a year ago, and those with outstanding abilities have been improved.

Although Yelulu and Yelu Hanye were very dissatisfied with only taking the position of deputy, they had nothing to do.Because they no longer have any bargaining chips in their hands now, whether it is the more than 1 cavalry that originally belonged to them, or the more than 1 people, they are basically out of their control now, and even their influence on these people is extremely strong. limited.To put it bluntly, if Ye Chen didn't want to keep them as a role model for the tribes of the Liao Kingdom, he would have killed them directly, and there would be more than [-] Liao cavalrymen and more than [-] Liao cavalrymen who had been divided into various legions. There can't be much trouble among the people.

...

...

"Congratulations to the head of the army for being named the founder of the county and being awarded the honor of Major General by His Majesty," said Su Zengshu, a military adviser of the Dajiang Gang.

"Everything is for His Majesty, for His Majesty's great cause." Liu Jinyuan stood on the deck, with Dorotuo on his right.The two stared at the distant coast, thinking that the Xiangfu Kingdom established by Ye Chen was getting stronger and stronger, and suddenly felt an inexplicable surge in their hearts.Half a year ago, Liu Jinyuan received a secret order from Ye Chen, asking Du Qianqiu to be in charge of the affairs of the Wa Kingdom, and he was responsible for training the navy and forming the merchant fleet.

After more than seven months, he initially completed Ye Chen's will.With the 110 elite men he brought out from the Song Dynasty as the core, he recruited Japanese people, Jurchens, and annexed several pirates. According to the guidance and help of several staff officers sent by the Xiangfu Army, he established a group of [-] people. The Navy's Navy Corps has [-] large and small warships.Liu Jinyuan was appointed by Ye Chen as the commander of the navy army, Duoluo Tuo as the deputy commander of the army, and Su Zengshu as the chief of staff.

In addition, with the support of Feng Gang, Zuo Shilang of Xiangfu National Household Department and one of the three former gods of wealth in Huaxia Weifu, three caravans were formed, each with thirty merchant ships.Traveling between Japan, Goryeo, Jurchen, Liao, and Song, the first time I went to sea after the beginning of spring, I went back and forth in these places and earned more than 50 taels of silver, which can be described as huge profits.

However, the fleet on this long-distance voyage under his command went all the way south, crossed the East China Sea, came to the South China Sea, and finally appeared in the waters near the Jiaozhi State in the south of the Song State.

This time the navy only dispatched about half of them, with fifty warships, including twenty giant warships.Following the warship were forty merchant ships.These ships are filled with various commodities, including porcelain, silk, and books from the Song Dynasty, ginseng and medicinal materials from Korea, Japanese knives and folding fans from the Wa Kingdom, etc., and so on.

Of course, there were five thousand well-equipped navy soldiers led by Liu Jinyuan himself on the warship.

"Legion Commander, the envoy we sent to land in advance has never returned. The other party may not allow us to land, and they don't want to do business with us?" the military adviser Su Zengshu said.

Liu Jinyuan snorted coldly and said, "It's not up to them. Since our fleet has come all the way, these things on the merchant ship will either turn into gold, silver and jewelry, or turn into goods. It is absolutely impossible to return empty-handed. Send the order down." , ready to land in Cochin.”

While giving the order, Liu Jinyuan beckoned someone to spread out the latest sea chart in front of them.Every time they go to sea, there will be several "staff officers" to record various situations and draw brand new sea charts.

Liu Jinyuan leaned over to look at the chart, and kept moving his fingers on it, thinking about it.This map includes the nautical charts of the area called "South China Sea" in Jiaozhi and other countries. It is mostly based on hearsay and wind collection, and is not accurate.If it is the huge sea area collectively known as the "Great Song Sea" between Hangzhou, Koryo, and Wa, they can trust the sea chart. Here, Liu Jinyuan can only rely on experienced businessmen who have run through this waterway .

"Is there an island here?" Liu Jinyuan asked his staff officer.The staff officer is not just about recording information, it is as simple as copying and distributing documents. Now the scale of the navy's establishment is not very formal, and they are also responsible for sorting out all kinds of information and handing it over to Liu Jinyuan.

"This small island is called Cat Ba Island, which is very close to Hanoi. On the opposite side of Cat Ba Island, there is a deep-water harbor where our large ships can berthed." The staff officer who spoke was Izumi Saburo, a seafarer with the most experience in Japan. Businessmen are also very capable.Liu Jinyuan took him with him every time he went to sea.

"Are you sure?" Liu Jinyuan stared at Jingquan Saburo and asked in a deep voice.

"The villain once led a merchant ship here, so the villain can be sure." Saburo Izumi replied respectfully.

"How far are we from Cat Ba Island?"

"About seventy miles."

Liu Jinyuan pondered for a while, then suddenly stood up straight, clapped his hands, and said with a smile: "The order, the fleet is sailing to Cat Ba Island."

"Follow the order." The orderly replied loudly, and was about to send out the semaphore, when suddenly an orderly ran over quickly and shouted: "Report!"

Liu Jinyuan immediately put away his smile, lowered his face, and asked sharply, "What's the matter?"

"Report to the commander of the army, the ships ahead have spotted the Cochin's naval fleet, there are about fifty ships!"

The atmosphere on the deck immediately became tense. This was the first time that the fleet encountered a large-scale enemy during this trip. In terms of numbers, the number of enemy warships was about the same as that of our own, but their fleet belonged to the "Expedition of Laoshi". Moreover, he didn't know the enemy at all, and the terrain was not as familiar as the enemy. All this made everyone from Liu Jinyuan down a little nervous.

"Order the merchant ships to retreat, and the warships line up to meet the enemy!" Liu Jinyuan stood on the bow and shouted sharply.

The thundering drums of war sounded in the calm sea, and all the naval warships that received the order tensed up. The merchant ships put down the small boats used for communication, began to change their sails, and retreated slowly; the warships sailed to their own A total of fifty warships joined end to end and formed a triangular double-wing formation. The officers drove the soldiers into their positions. On all twenty large warships, 180 improved small catapults were arranged. Specially trained operators carefully handle the gunpowder packs at hand; in addition, there are 120 huge giant guns and crossbows that have been opened, aiming at the black spot in the distance.

(End of this chapter)