East Zhejiang Naval Academy is located on the south bank of the Dabo River, five miles east of Qingyuanfu City, an important town on the southeastern coast of the Song Dynasty. Because it was run by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, it was also called the Naval Academy of the Song Dynasty.
The Naval Academy of the Song Dynasty is located on the south bank of the Dapi River. There is a ferry in front of the door, and it is only more than 20 miles away from the sea. Via the Dabo River, warships go all the way to Dinghai Port Naval Dazhai.
Zhao Hong stood on the deck and looked at the sea north of Zhoushan, where several warships from the Coastal Planning Department of the Song Dynasty were practicing. Compared with the old naval training, the warships that now have firearms only have more shooting skills and tactical training subjects.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Shanxiang and Wu Qian, are here to see you."
Zhao Shanxiang and Wu Qian boarded the ship to pay tribute to Zhao Hong.
"How much material does the navy's training warship have? How many artillery pieces are installed?"
Staring at the warships practicing on the sea, Zhao Hong secretly shook his head.
This warship probably only has a dozen or so cannons.
"Back to Your Majesty, the warship currently being trained is of six hundred materials, loaded with fourteen large and small artillery pieces and four large muskets."
Wu Qian saw that Zhao Hong looked unkind and quickly continued to explain.
"Your Majesty, an artillery weighs about a thousand pounds. If it carries thirty or forty cannons, it must be at least a thousand, five hundred pieces of warship. A warship carrying thirty or forty cannons is too large and too slow to turn the rudder at sea. difficulty."
Wu Qian said in detail, Zhao Hong was slightly startled and blurted out.
"What if I changed the hard sail to a soft sail?"
In his memory, on his desk later in life, there was a small model of a sailboat, which was the soft sail.
Moreover, in his memory, during the Age of Discovery, all large sailing ships in the West had soft sails.
"Your Majesty, I haven't tried it. But it sounds good. I can let the navy officers try it."
Wu Qian's scalp was numb and he told the truth.
Hard sails become soft sails. In this way, not only soft sails need to be made, but also the training mode at sea must be changed.
"Hard sails are used in offshore waters, soft sails are used in oceans, with a triangle sail in the front, a longitudinal sail in the back, and a horizontal sail in the middle. I will draw it for you in a while. The navy of the Song Dynasty must use soft sails if it wants to travel across the ocean!"
When it comes to talking nonsense, Zhao Hong is as good as anyone.
Can a warship be called a warship without forty or fifty cannons?
To conquer the ocean, you must switch to flexible and fast soft sails. After all, the latter ushered in the Age of Navigation.
The Naval Academy of the Song Dynasty was expanded on the original private garden address. It is large-scale and has complete teaching facilities. Many instructors were transferred from the Jinling Lecture Hall, so the Naval Academy is known as the "Little Jinling Lecture Hall".
The Naval Academy of the Song Dynasty had one principal, who was naturally the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Hong, and the vice-principal was Wu Qian, deputy envoy for coastal affairs. There are dozens of teachers and instructors in the Naval Academy, all of whom come from martial arts and various departments of the imperial court. Together with the handymen, there are more than a hundred people.
The courses at the Song Dynasty Naval Academy are divided into cultural courses and navigation courses. The professional knowledge in the academy is the same as that in the martial arts academy, but the knowledge at sea is much broader. In addition to studying the "Seven Books of Martial Arts" such as "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Sun Bin's Art of War", "Six Tao", "Wei Liao Zi", "Sima Fa", "Wei Gong Wen Dui" and "Three Strategies", there are also geography , algebra, geometry, hydraulics, astronomy, climatology, drawing, surveying and artillery drills, etc. At the same time, students also need to study Chinese classics. The purpose is to "teach the classics so that they can understand the true meaning, and use the literature to help them understand and judge people, so that they can be wise and cultivate their fundamentals." After completing the course, students will have to go on board for internship in order to connect with theory. actual.
Like the Jinling Martial Arts School, students at the Naval Academy must first pass an assessment, and only those who pass the test can enter the Naval Academy. The meals, accommodation, clothing and other living and learning supplies for the students of the Naval Academy were all provided by the Song Dynasty court. The Naval Academy has a quota of 200 students, with a three-year semester, one year of cultural classes, two years of sailing classes, and occasional internships on warships. The school also uses this to assess the students.
It can be said that, in addition to Jinling Martial Arts Lecture Hall and Jinling Academy, the Song Dynasty Naval Academy was the third school launched by Zhao Hong that was related to the New Deal.
Now, standing in the teaching field of the Song Dynasty Naval Academy, looking at the young faces under the high platform, Zhao Hong, who was only twenty-two or three years old, let out a sincere sigh.
It’s great to be young!
The 600 students range in age. The oldest is no more than seventeen years old and the youngest is only fifteen. Three years later, they will be no more than eighteen or twenty years old. It is the best time in their lives to travel around the world and work for The Song Dynasty expanded its territory and shed blood and sacrifices.
Like the students at the Jinling Martial Arts Hall, the future of the Song Dynasty also lies with these young people.
Zhao Hong winked, and Wu Qian and others quickly brought up a "world map" and hung it on the shelf.
This "world map" was drawn by Zhao Hong based on his memory. He could still roughly draw the seven continents and five oceans.
"Students, you see, this is the earth we live on. Only 30% of the earth is land composed of continents and islands. The remaining 70% is covered by water, most of which is covered by oceans and other salty water bodies. I put It is divided into seven continents and five oceans. The seven continents are: Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, and Antarctica. The five oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Southern Ocean. Our Song Dynasty is in Asia. To the east is the Pacific Ocean.”
The students below were agitated. Someone raised his hand as if he wanted to ask a question, but Zhao Hong shook his head and refused.
"No refutation is accepted here. Only when you sail across the ocean on a warship of the Song Dynasty will you know that what I say is true!"
As for why the earth is round and why people can stand because of gravity, these questions will be pondered by them in the future.
"In China's Yellow River Basin, the cultivated land can support about 60 million people. During the Song Dynasty, when the Yangtze River Basin crossed south, it could support nearly 70 million people, which was already the limit. This also made life very difficult for the people of the Song Dynasty. Most people can only provide food and clothing. As for a good life, it is far from possible."
Zhao Hong looked at the students below and continued to speak.
"Therefore, if the people of the Song Dynasty want to live a good life, they must need more land to pass on the population crisis of the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, disasters and even wars will inevitably occur."
Wei Liaoweng and Wu Qian looked at each other with horror in their hearts.
From this point of view, Zhao Hong was going to go all out with force and expand his territory.
Zhao Tai, Du Xian and other Martial Arts Hall students looked at each other and murmured in their hearts. Maybe from now on, the Navy Department of Jinling Military Academy will only recruit Neijiang students.
"This is North America. It is larger than my whole China and is almost deserted. If we occupy this place, at least tens of millions of people can immigrate in less than ten years. This is the Nanyang Islands, with three crops a year, at least we can solve it. The livelihood of millions of people is a problem.”
Zhao Hong explained carefully, and the young students listened carefully. Even Wu Qian opened his eyes wide and concentrated.
The world is so big, he really wants to see it.
"So, if we, the Song Dynasty, want to be conquered by the sun and reach by rivers and seas, they are all Han territory. Without a strong navy, it is absolutely impossible."
The young students all pricked up their ears and listened carefully to Zhao Hong's deception.
"Dear students, what you are chasing is the stars and the sea, and the hundreds of years of prosperity of the Song Dynasty. I leave the future of the Song Dynasty to you!"
After Zhao Hong finished speaking, he bowed solemnly to all the students.
"Your Majesty, the Jinling Military Academy only recruits 1,200 students, and there is also the Navy Department. The Naval Academy has recruited 600 people at once. Isn't it too much?"
The students dispersed, and Zhao Shanxiang, the prefect of Qingyuan Prefecture and the envoy of the coastal system, smiled and complimented Zhao Hong.
As members of the Song Dynasty royal family, Zhao Hong's emphasis on the navy really surprised him.
"The ocean and the land are inseparable. If you want to occupy the land, you must pass through the ocean and have a huge navy. Ten or twenty years later, our Song navy will be everywhere on all continents and oceans. The flags of our Song Dynasty are flying in all the fortresses along the coast. In this way, the Song Dynasty can remain prosperous after resisting the Tatars."
Establishing a huge navy is equivalent to building a powerful maritime empire, allowing generations of Chinese to enjoy the dividends created by their ancestors. This is the foundation of the Song Dynasty's colonization.
"His Majesty's words made all these students excited. Even the old ministers are ready to take action. They wish they were born thirty or forty years earlier and followed His Majesty in all directions."
Although he is the envoy of the coastal system, he is actually just in name. The emperor valued young people, and he was willing to give way. With Zhao Hong's character, wars will inevitably increase significantly in the future. Let young people do these things of fighting and killing.
Zhao Hong pointed at the students on the school field and asked subconsciously:
"There won't be any problems with these navy students, right?"
The Naval Academy was about to start, and he was giving lectures at the martial arts hall in Jinling. He didn't have time to come over, and he didn't know the details of these students.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, these students have all passed the examination and all have clean financial records. They also have official and gentleman's bonds issued by their relatives. They are all good candidates, with good hearing and vision, clear speech, and smooth writing."
Wu Qian quickly replied. The students were all assessed by instructors seconded from Jinling Martial Arts Hall, which shows how much Zhao Hong values the quality of the students.
"How are they doing in school?"
"Your Majesty, except for a few who dropped out because they could not bear the boring study, the vast majority of the students performed well. The school stipulates that students are not allowed to resign or get married during their studies. If they gather to cause trouble or skip school out of fear of difficulty, they will be expelled. To be recorded, never to be hired.”
Wu Qian felt guilty.
Some students are so spoiled that they can no longer survive, so they can only be ordered to drop out of school.
"The Naval Academy is to train naval talents for the Song Dynasty. In the future, we will expand overseas, thousands of miles away. If we don't have a strong will, how can we endure loneliness, loneliness, and even face life and death."
Zhao Hong shook his head without any regret.
Those who are not determined will be best eliminated early to avoid endless harm in the future.
Ten years of army and a hundred years of navy. Perhaps it will not be until the day of his death that we can see the fully powerful colonial world of the Song Dynasty navy.
"Let's go to Liuqiu and have a look!"
Zhao Hong suddenly became interested.
What is the scene now like on that treasured island that has so haunted the Chinese people for generations to come?
"Your Majesty, we need to colonize the island only if we can't meet the demands. We don't even have a government office. It's better to wait until a government office is built before we go to the island."
Wu Qian put forward the suggestion tactfully.
Zhao Hong had no choice but to agree.
Liuqiu (Taiwan) in the Southern Song Dynasty was not yet a treasure island for later generations. Because it was isolated overseas, the natural environment was harsh. Not only were there many mosquitoes, but the miasma was serious, making it difficult for ordinary people to adapt. In addition to thousands of coastal residents on the island, there are also indigenous residents who practice slash-and-burn farming on the island.
It seemed inappropriate to go to "inspect" Liuqiu at this time.
"When Liuqiu opens a government office and builds a government, the food supply in Fujian and Zhejiang must be guaranteed. The main cultivated land in Liuqiu is along the southwest coast, where the government can build a government office. The north is a coal and iron producing area, and the island is rich in sulfur. Penghu The archipelago is a natural harbor and can be used as a naval base.”
Zhao Hong couldn't help but remind him again.
Liuqiu (Taiwan) has an important geographical location and can be used as a base for the navy to move south. Together with Qiongzhou (Hainan Island) and Champa, it can build the navy's coastal supply chain.
