Chapter 112 The Ming navy fleet shocked all officials, and Liu Bian led the army in person!

When all the officials in the court followed Liu Bian to the Yellow River, they were completely shocked!

His face was full of horror!
Because on the Yellow River, stretching for dozens of miles, there are warships docked, and it is estimated that there are probably thousands of them!
Thousands of warships!!!

Even the "Huainan Navy" and "Jingzhou Navy" had fleets of only a few thousand ships.

Now, thousands of fleets suddenly appeared in the imperial court, which made everyone unbelievable and even unexpected!
It should be noted that the water network in the north is not dense and will freeze in winter. Even the mighty Yellow River cannot withstand the freezing temperatures.

After the ice forms in winter, the road can be unobstructed.

Therefore, the Yellow River is not a natural barrier in the strict sense. Throughout China's history, the northern forces could march straight into the south, and the Yellow River could not stop the cavalry.

Only when we faced the Huai River and the Yangtze River did we stop looking at the river!

For this reason, the North rarely developed naval forces, and most of the battles were conducted by infantry and cavalry.

On the contrary, in the south, because of its dense water network and the natural barriers of the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River, there were many naval battles!

Without the navy, we will be greatly constrained in the south!
Therefore, most of the Han Dynasty's naval forces were stationed in the south, such as the Jingzhou Navy and the Huainan Navy.

Even Xuzhou and Yangzhou have naval forces!
However, after Yuan Shu occupied Huainan, relying on the power of the Yuan family, the law of the jungle swept across the country, and the Huainan navy became the only one in power.

Now that the imperial court wants to move south, the navy is indispensable!
Therefore, after the Qingzhou Navy under Liu Bei annexed Yuan Shao’s Bohai Navy in Hebei, it gradually grew stronger and became the main attacker for the imperial court to send troops south!

But even so, the Qingzhou Navy only has nearly a hundred warships!

I thought that with the logistical support of the court and a naval force of nearly a hundred ships, advancing both by land and sea, we might be able to fight against Yuan Shu in Huainan!
But who knows!!!

When Liu Bei took office in Xuzhou, his Qingzhou navy had just arrived at the mouth of the Huai River when it was ambushed by Yuan Shu's Huainan navy, and almost the entire army was wiped out!
This is tantamount to destroying the court's goal and idea of ​​sending troops south!

All the officials in the court advised to postpone the march south and to recuperate for three to five years, in order to develop the navy.

With the court's current control and cohesion, it will only take three to five years to develop a navy of nearly a hundred warships and march south!
but! !! !!

What all the officials in the court had not expected was that, without them noticing, His Majesty had secretly formed a naval fleet!
And it’s not nearly a hundred ships!
It’s nearly a thousand warships!!!
This is a battleship, it’s not the number of soldiers, not the weapons and armor, it’s the battleship!
The construction of a medium-sized ship takes three to five years at most, or one and a half years at least.

Even if the whole country were to mobilize, it would take at least ten years, or even longer, to build nearly a thousand warships!

And now-

It seemed to appear out of thin air and suddenly appeared in front of everyone!

"My dear ministers, do you think the imperial court's strategy of sending troops south should be postponed?"

Liu Bian looked at the stunned ministers and asked calmly.

As he held a high position and held the power of life and death, Liu Bian had developed the psychological quality of being able to remain calm even when faced with a mountain collapse.

But even so, looking at this navy fleet of nearly a thousand ships, his heart was filled with excitement and high spirits!

You must know that the "Ming Navy" fleet he drew has a total of 3800 ships!
The reason why he only summoned nearly a thousand ships was not because he didn't want to, but because - the Yellow River couldn't hold them all!
The Yellow River is silted up, the riverbed is raised, and the draft is too shallow, making it difficult to accommodate those large ships!

Nearly a thousand ships, most of which are small and medium-sized ships, are already the limit!
It should be noted that the truly terrifying part of the "Ming Navy" fleet is the "Fuchuan" which is like an aircraft carrier!
The large Fu ship is tall, with a pointed bottom, a raised bow and a tilted stern. It has two masts and three cabins. The deck is as high as a city and has guardrails on the sides.

Soldiers covered behind them and shot arrows and bullets at the enemy ships, threw fireballs, fire bricks and fire barrels, and rammed and sank the enemy ships with the current and wind.

The bow of the ship was equipped with one large tribute cannon, six thousand-jin falconets, three bowl-mouth guns, 1 thunder cannons, 6 squirt guns, 3 Rumi guns, 20 crossbows, 60 gunpowder crossbows, 10 rockets, 500 fire bricks, and thousands of cold weapons.

There are 64 crew members, 9 sailors, 55 soldiers, and the ship is organized into 5 A units.

The first is the Portuguese machine armor, who operates the bow gun and Portuguese machine, and throws fireballs and fire bricks at close range of enemies; the second is the musket armor, who specialize in shooting muskets; the third and fourth are javelin handlers, who also operate boats for close combat; the fifth is the fire crossbow armor, who specialize in shooting rockets.

...

Yes, you are not mistaken!

Firearms!!! Artillery!!!
This will not only crush the current warships of the late Han Dynasty in terms of size, but will also form a terrifying crushing trend in terms of combat style!

The late Han Dynasty was still in the era of cold weapons, but the "Ming Navy" drawn by Liu Bian was already in the hot weapons warfare mode!

Giant ship cannon!!!

There are also ocean-going treasure ships, which are even more huge and look like mobile fortresses!!!

None of these Liu Bians were summoned, and the Yellow River could not accommodate them either because the water was too deep!
...

"Gulu——"

The sound of swallowing saliva is actually very faint.

But if all the officials in the court and thousands of soldiers swallowed their saliva, it would be quite loud!

Everyone looked at the warships and was a little dazed for a moment!

It was not until Liu Bian's shouts echoed that they woke up.

"Hmm? Ah? Oh!"

Zhu Jun was stunned for a moment, then woke up with a start, "I was distracted for a moment, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Bian didn't care about these little things.

Zhu Jun and Lu Zhi and the others looked at each other, and everyone was a little suspicious. Finally, Zhu Jun couldn't help but ask:

"Your Majesty, these warships, when did you secretly manufacture them?!"

"How could it be a secret manufacturing? You are in charge of various departments. If there is really such a large-scale ship manufacturing, you must have discovered it long ago!"

Liu Bian burst out laughing. Nearly a thousand warships were secretly manufactured. The required docks, manpower, and material transportation were absolutely huge and could not be concealed at all!

This was the reward he got from the system lottery. Of course, it couldn't be so straightforward. He could use another method -

"This is a blessing from heaven!"

If it doesn't make sense and cannot be explained, then just leave it to God and ask for a blessing from heaven.

Anyway, feudal dynasties believed in metaphysics, this is basic operation!
Even the imperial power is based on "receiving mandate from Heaven"!
After hearing this, all the officials in the court suddenly understood!
The soldiers behind him and the people of the capital who came to watch, all understood immediately!
“Auspicious!!!”

They believe it firmly!

Not to mention the auspicious signs of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn that fell from the sky, even if they didn't, they still firmly believed in the auspicious sign of nearly a thousand warships that suddenly appeared!

Because Your Majesty is "appointed by Heaven" and Your Majesty is "the Son of Heaven's Mandate"!

Your Majesty is truly blessed by God!!!
"Yes."

Liu Bian looked at the nearly 1,000 warships, and said with great enthusiasm:

"The heavens saw that the imperial court was short of ships, and sent down auspicious signs to help the imperial court fight against the rebellion. My dear ministers, we have received the help of heaven, do we still need to postpone our march south?"

"unnecessary!!!"

All the civil and military officials shouted in unison. If there was a "good omen from heaven" and thousands of warships were bestowed, and they still needed to postpone their march south, that would not be a temporary retreat, that would be a cowardly act!
Big man, no cowards allowed!!!
"In that case, my dear ministers, please follow me aboard the ship and take a look."

"promise!!!"

Ever since he drew the "Ming Navy", Liu Bian could no longer contain his eagerness to try!

He wants to lead the army himself!!!
He will personally lead the Ming navy, no, the Han navy, to march south!!!

Jingzhou Navy? ! Huainan Navy? !
So what if they are the two great naval forces of the Han Dynasty? ! So what if their military record is the best in the world? !
Facing the huge ships and cannons, the "Han Navy" will be nothing but a group of paper tigers!!!

Under the protection of many soldiers, Liu Bian boarded the largest ship, which was actually just a medium-sized ship in the "Ming Navy" system!

Climb high and look far!

Liu Bian saw the thousands of miles of hidden mountains in Beimang Mountain and the huge crowds of people watching the fleet.

His gaze followed the Yellow River eastward, and he seemed to see the turbulent sea and the Huainan Navy heading south to celebrate the great victory of the ambush!

Liu Bian stood at the bow and said in a loud and heroic voice: "Three days later, the royal army will march south! I will lead the army in person!!!"

"Wow—"

Liu Bian's voice was not loud, but everyone present could hear it clearly and distinctly, without missing a word.

In addition to his powerful martial arts skills that made his aura calm, Cao Zhengchun used his true energy to release it, which spread like a loudspeaker for dozens of miles, becoming Liu Bian's megaphone and loudspeaker!

Liu Bian is going to lead the army in person!!!
In fact, it was already a tacit understanding among the important officials in the court. But after all, it was not announced to the public!

But now!
In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, all the soldiers in the army, and the people of the capital, Liu Bian directly announced that he would lead the army in person!

This is more direct and brutal than any imperial edict!

"Long live your Majesty!!!"

"Long live your Majesty!!!"

"Long live your Majesty!!!"

However, unexpectedly, the whole audience cheered and cheered, and the sound shook ten miles away. It seemed that they were not horrified or worried about this, but were full of anticipation!
Strong Han, strong Han. The strong ones include not only the Han common people, but also the princes, nobles, and the rulers of a country!
This is a kind of backbone!
Looking at the dynasties in Chinese history, only the Han Dynasty valued integrity and shame, and had a backbone that stood tall and straight!
As for death, the Han people all perished because of their strength!
News from Jianghuai and Jingxiang has been heard faintly. Although the people only know a few words of gossip, they also know that the South is openly rebelling against the court!

In this case, then suppress it forcefully!!!

Let those traitors see what the supreme imperial power is!!!
Among the officials behind Liu Bian, such as Xun Yu and Xun You, they looked at each other with some helplessness in their eyes.

Liu Bian announced it in public, which was actually a gesture of "burning his boats"!
If it had been discussed in the court, these ministers would definitely have advised the Han emperor not to "put himself in danger" by saying "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall"!
but! !! !!

Now that Liu Bian has announced it in front of everyone, if they, as ministers, continue to advise him, it would be embarrassing for His Majesty!
You are not kidding!!!
As a subject, how can I allow my king to be humiliated? !
Therefore, Xun Yu and others could only go all out to arrange all the logistical support for the "imperial expedition" instead of advising His Majesty not to "put himself in danger"!
This is an open conspiracy!
Of course, Liu Bian was not reckless. He said that the royal army would set out in three days, not tomorrow!
Because it takes time for the soldiers to be familiar with these warships and operate them! It also takes time for the officials to mobilize the logistics and food!
These three days were spent in this atmosphere.

As the time for the imperial army to march south approached, military intelligence and battle reports from Jianghuai and Jingxiang were gradually spread.

There is no impenetrable wall in this world!

Even ordinary people know the bad news about Jianghuai and Jingxiang!
The governor of Yangzhou, Liu Yao, and other imperial officials were defeated by Sun Ce's navy from Jiangdong, who laid siege to Nanchang...

Liu Yao's request for help from Jingzhou was ignored, which aroused the anger of the loyal officials of the Han Dynasty. He was then suppressed by the Jingzhou navy led by the rebels...

Liu Bei's Qingzhou navy was ambushed by Yuan Shu's Huainan navy and almost completely wiped out...

Each and every one of these events made the people feel a little bit unbelievable, and they were immediately furious with Yuan Shu and other traitors!
If it were in the past, the people probably wouldn't even be angry, because they had to worry about their livelihoods and lived like zombies.

Where do I have the time, energy, and qualifications to empathize with the imperial court? !

The people at that time actually had some resentment and hatred in their hearts, resentment and hatred towards the court and His Majesty!
Strictly speaking, it is the previous emperor, Emperor Ling of Han, and the current Majesty is just being vented on. After all, they are all Han emperors, and the people hate the court for inaction, which has made life miserable for the people of the world!

But with the advent of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn, and the court's reform of the land-based tax system, the people gradually gained a livelihood and every household had surplus food.

To have surplus every year is not an extravagant wish!
If the warehouse is solid, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace.

Only when the people have sufficient granaries and are well-fed and well-clothed can they take etiquette into account and attach importance to honor and shame.

They were grateful to the court and the Han emperor, and finally they understood the difference between one Han emperor and another.

Your Majesty today is not the late Emperor Lingdi, but a wise ruler!
The people are actually very simple and honest. As long as you treat them well, they will be sincere and open-hearted. But if you treat them badly, the peasants will revolt!

Obviously, Liu Bian is very good to the people of the world!
The people were also willing to be sincere to Liu Bian and share the same hatred for the enemy!
Now, they are naturally united against Yuan Shu of Huainan and their fighting spirit is high!

The enthusiasm and fighting spirit of the civilians were so high that it infected the military officers and soldiers even more.

Morale is high and fighting spirit is high!
Amidst the intense preparations, three days passed in a flash!

The court is ready, and the royal army is marching south!
And the current Han Emperor, Liu Bian, is leading the army in person!

This day happened to be the first day of August, an auspicious time for traveling.

The weather was a bit hot, but it couldn't stop everyone's enthusiasm and the fighting spirit!
The Yellow River Port at Beimang Mountain was surrounded by common people and their families who came to see them off. As they looked at the nearly a thousand warships, a feeling of heroism arose spontaneously!

At the front of nearly a thousand warships, there was a particularly terrifying and huge warship——

This ship is a "fengzhou", which was sent by the Ming Dynasty to Ryukyu to enthrone the Ryukyu King and demonstrate the country's power.

The envoys recorded in 1532: the ship was feet long, feet wide, feet deep, divided into cabins, with five large masts erected in front and back, feet long and feet inches in circumference.

Converted into units, it is 47 meters long, 12 meters wide, 16.5 meters deep, 4 meters draft, and 12.5 meters above sea level;
Like a king of the sea!

And Liu Bian was on this "Sea King"!
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Liu Bian, guarded by his fellow officers and soldiers, came to the bow of the ship. Looking at the huge crowds of people below and the nearly a thousand warships behind him, he felt a sense of heroism and excitement!

The emperor leads the army in person!!!

Liu Bian’s long-cherished wish finally came true!
below.

When the people saw Liu Bian appear, they cheered like thunder!

"Long live your Majesty!!!"

at last.

The auspicious time has arrived.

"Set off!!!"

Liu Bian waved goodbye to the people and gave the order to set sail.

Nearly a thousand warships set sail.

They will go eastward along the Yellow River, and after entering the Yellow River estuary, they will flow into the Bohai Bay, then go around Chengshan Cape, turn into the Yellow River, and finally go deep into the Huai River estuary.

The target is Yuan Shu of Huainan!

……

(End of this chapter)