On the edge of a seaside cliff in Shangyang Fishing Village outside Yongcheng, Yunze and Yue Pengju stood in front of the cliff, with nearly a hundred guards behind them. Ahead is a sea. There is a small harbor on the seaside below.
This is the port used by people in the fishing village when they go out to sea. There are some small fishing boats docked at the seaside, and the fishermen are collecting nets and moving fish.
It looks very calm here, with gentle wind and waves on the sea level, and a clear blue sky.
"Brother, we don't have a navy. We have no way to deal with the enemies overseas. If this continues, it won't be long before all our maritime trade is lost."
Yue Pengju looked a little solemn. He also knew the importance of maritime trade to Danyang City. As Danyang City's overseas business became more and more frequent, it originally attracted many overseas businessmen.
Many Westerners came to China to do business through the sea route here. This was due to the Scots and Gauls who returned. Of course, the main reason was that merchants from the Western Regions brought most of the goods to the West.
Compared with the dangers on land, those countries that have great advantages in navigation choose to come to China by sea.
Originally, many Western businessmen came by boat to trade two months ago, and after them, many Westerners also came.
But not long ago, pirates suddenly appeared and destroyed and killed many caravans that came over. Now, almost no caravans dare to come over.
Yunze listened to Yue Pengju's report. He looked deeply into the distance and said calmly: "Have you found out the situation outside this sea area?"
Before Yunze came, he asked Yue Pengju to investigate the situation in the outer sea. Although he does not have his own navy now, it does not mean that Yunze is helpless against those Hebrews.
When Yue Pengju heard this, his expression became serious, and he quickly said: "After inquiring from many parties, I have understood the situation. After those Hebrew people retreated here more than a month ago, they arrived at the outer sea. They occupied the outer sea. There are several connected islands. The total number of warships is thirty. In addition, the total strength should be more than 40,000. "
"Most of them are slave soldiers from the island country, and the remaining less than 5,000 are Hebrews. In addition to the Hebrews, there are three pirate forces in the outer sea. They are the Sea Lion Gang and the Flying Fish. Party, and the final group of black thieves.”
"Among the three pirate forces, the Sea Lion Gang, the Feiyu Party and the Black Pirates Group, the strongest is the Black Pirates Group. The Sea Lion Gang and the Feiyu Party combined can almost compare with the Black Pirates Group. I heard that the Sea Lion Gang and the Feiyu Party With the help of the Hebrews, they have launched a war against the Black Bandits, and they want to annex the Black Bandits."
"Judging from the actions of the Hebrews, they probably want to integrate all the forces in this outer sea, completely cutting off our opportunities to go to sea, and completely cutting off our trade routes."
"Speaking of it, among the three major pirates overseas, the Black Pirates Group has the best reputation. They never bully the sea people, and even help the sea people when they are in trouble. Even if they rob passing merchant ships, They always only collect some money and never harm anyone's life, but the other two pirate groups are different. They do almost all kinds of evil, including burning, killing, looting, and often harassing the seaside people."
"If they are really allowed to mix with the Hebrew people, the people on the seaside may not have a good life."
Speaking of this, he looked at Yunze solemnly. If the Hebrew people were to complete this matter, they would really never have any chance again. Unless a naval force capable of confronting the Hebrews can be built in a short period of time.
But this is simply impossible. Not only is the construction of warships time-consuming, laborious and expensive, but also the recruitment of navy soldiers is a big problem.
Moreover, if they wait until the formation of the navy is completed, it will take at least two years. During these two years, they will definitely not be able to make any money from the maritime trade route.
"Is there a navy here in Yongcheng? After all, it's impossible for Shi Ren to be indifferent to those pirates overseas!" Yunze looked at Yue Pengju and asked.
Yongcheng is close to the sea, and pirates are rampant in this area. Yunze does not believe that Shi Ren will ignore it. Even if the navy is not too large, it must at least be able to resist.
Unless Shi Ren feels that sea defense is not important. However, having said that, in this era, I am afraid not many people pay attention to coastal defense. Even if they are pirates, they only plunder the ships traveling along the coast.
Or perhaps plundering the fleets of other countries traveling between China and Xia.
Of course, if these fleets want to invade China, the final result will still be a landing, and there will be no naval battle. The possibility of not building a naval division is not impossible.
When Yunze asked this question, he felt that he might have asked nonsense.
At this moment, Yue Pengju said: "There are six large ships at Chuanshan Port, which were originally used to resist pirates. However, after the navy organized by Yongcheng fought several big losses against the pirates, these ships All the warships are abandoned there. Moreover, there is a shipyard there, which is specially used to build large fishing boats."
Yunze looked happy when he heard this. There are large warships ready-made, but they can be slightly modified. Moreover, if a steam engine is used, the speed of the ship will be infinitely faster.
Although there are only six ships, and half of these warships may be broken, if repaired, there may be a few more that can be used.
However, the Hebrews had thirty warships, which were still large ships more than one hundred meters long. Just building a few warships was probably not enough, but it was better than nothing.
Yunze quickly asked Yue Pengju to lead the way, and they rushed to Chuanshan Port. When he saw six warships at the port, Yunze was stunned. The warships were about sixty or seventy meters long and fifteen or sixteen meters wide.
The hull of the ship is not big, nor is it small. Compared with the ships of the Hebrew people, it is certainly small. But it is much bigger than those large fishing boats.
However, what left Yunze speechless the most was that these warships seemed to be in disrepair. At least two of them were probably useless even if they had been repaired. If the remaining ships can be properly repaired, they can still be put to use.
As Yunze's eyes flashed, he said to Yue Pengju: "You immediately go to the shipbuilding craftsmen to repair these warships. In addition, let the iron-making workshop in Jiaxing make a large amount of iron plates and use the maximum manpower. , repair these ships within at least a month, I will draw you some drawings later, and also ask Danyang to transport a few steam engines ready for sale. Let them slightly modify the steam engines. "
Yue Pengju's eyes brightened when he heard this. Although he couldn't understand what Yunze wanted to do, he put the iron plate on the steam engine. Plus the artillery made in Danyang City. Even if only four ships can be repaired by then, I am afraid that they may defeat the thirty warships of the Hebrews.
He nodded, quickly responded, turned around and was about to leave.
Before he left, Yunze said to Yue Pengju: "The affairs here will be left to you. You can recruit some sea people who are familiar with water and train them into an army. It is best to recruit more than three thousand people."
"In addition, I will go to sea and go to the Black Pirates to have a look... By the way, you can send an order to Danyang and ask them to transport more manufactured artillery. Also send as many weapons and ammunition as possible."
Yue Pengju looked stunned when he heard this. His face changed slightly and he wanted to stop him. He guessed what Yunze wanted to do. But before he could speak, Yunze interrupted him.
"I have made up my mind. You don't have to persuade me. Even after we have repaired these four warships, it is still difficult to fight against the Hebrews. If we can persuade the Black Thieves to join, we will definitely have greater confidence. Moreover, the Black Thieves The pirate group may become a weapon for us to defend the sea."
Yunze became determined to conquer the gang of thieves.
