Outside Yangzhou City, on the Grand Canal that winds northward, at this time, at least two to three hundred watercraft are lining up and meandering over.
Zhu Guobi, who was familiar with water transportation, would have been surprised if he saw these ships. Because these ships are not ordinary ships, but specially selected large ships that have been reinforced and modified. A number of baffles in the shape of city wall crenels were installed on both sides of the canal. There were holes in the baffles, and long oars protruded from the holes and rowed neatly, driving these large canal boats to move slowly and slowly. Heading towards Yangzhou City.
Obviously, these two to three hundred watercraft have now become warships that can sail and fight in the rivers. Although they are not as good as the armed sandships of the Shachuan Gang, let alone the half-Chinese and half-Western warships of the Zheng family. In comparison, these warships converted from canals also have their own magical uses.
The fleet approaching Yangzhou City was personally led by Lu Zhenfei, the governor of water transportation and governor of Huaiyang.
After March of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, among the remaining local governors of the Ming Dynasty, Lu Zhenfei, the governor of water transportation, was definitely one of the most powerful. Because the Governor of Water Transport was in charge of a special force called the "Grain Transport Army", he also served as the governor of Huai'an.
The so-called "grain transport army" was actually the "squad army" responsible for managing the canal and transporting grain to Beijing, that is, the garrison army who took turns to serve. The soldiers came from various guard posts along the canal, and the number at the peak was 120,000!
In the 16th year of Chongzhen, when Lu Zhenfei became the governor of the canal, the section north of the Huaihe River was already difficult to pass. The number of the canal army also dropped sharply to more than 30,000, and the number of canal ships under its control was also reduced to a few. Hundreds of ships.
However, 30,000 men and hundreds of watercraft, plus the grain hoarded in Huai'an and the fortified city of Huai'an, were enough to make Cao Governor Lu Zhenfei a powerful governor.
After the news of the fall of Beijing came, Lu Zhenfei, who had a large amount of grain in hand (in the chaos of war, grain was more valuable than money!), immediately began to reorganize the grain transport army, eliminate the old and weak, recruit brave men, and build equipment . Thirty thousand "strong soldiers" were quickly organized, and the Dashun army led by Lu Bizhou, Wu Su and Dong Xueli, the former Ming officials who had defected to King Chuang, were defeated. And beheaded Lu Bizhou and Wu Su!
However, Lu Zhenfei, who had 30,000 "strong soldiers" and hundreds of cannons, was not very interested in the "Qin" Chongzhen king, because he already knew how powerful Zhu Cixiang was through the letters of his old subordinate Shen Tingyang. Moreover, he is an official from Beizhili, and his hometown was occupied by the Tatars! Therefore, supporting an emperor who can defeat the Tatars and regain his hometown is far more important than being foolishly loyal to Chongzhen.
Besides, Zhu Cixiang is a legitimate prince! Emperor Chongzhen destroyed half of the country. Shouldn't he follow the example of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and step down from power, allowing a capable prince to come to power?
Therefore, he was unwilling to wade into the muddy waters of Shi Kefa from the beginning. After going to Dengzhou to inspect with Ma Shiying, he became more sure that Zhu Cihong was the master of ZTE, so he found an opportunity to sneak back to Huai'an.
Later, Zhu Cixiang protected Chongzhen and went south. When he passed through Huai'an, he conveniently gave him the title of "Kennan Qu Zhou Bo", added him as the prince's young master, and asked him to continue to guard Huai'an. He also generously allocated him 500,000 taels of silver to let him Reorganize and recruit troops on your own.
At the same time, Zhu Cihong ordered Lu Zhenfei to draw 250 strong and durable ships from the "grain transport army" and modify them. Each ship was equipped with 40 sailors, and all were sent to Yangzhou for use.
So Lu Zhenfei now personally led 250 watercraft and 10,000 sailors to Yangzhou City to pay homage to Zhu Cixiang.
When Lu Zhenfei's boat docked steadily at the Dongguan Pier in Yangzhou, he found that the area around the terminal was heavily guarded. A large number of East Palace guards were surrounding Zhu Cihong, who was dressed in military uniforms, waiting for him to disembark on the pier.
"Old minister, I would like to extend my sincere greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Jin An!" Lu Zhenfei didn't dare to neglect. He quickly got off the boat, ran to Zhu Cixiang, and bowed down.
"Get up, get up, Lu Zhitai, please get up quickly." Zhu Cixiang quickly stretched out his hand to help old Lu up, holding his hand with a smile and said, "I didn't expect to meet Zhitai in Yangzhou so soon. .....250 canoes and 10,000 sailors are all ready?"
"Everything is ready," Lu Zhenfei pointed to the long queues of canal boats on the canal and said to Zhu Cixiang, "the 250 canal boats have been modified according to Qiantose's instructions, and they are also equipped with the latest Strong sailor!"
"Okay, okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded repeatedly, "The road control platform has done me a big favor again!"
"It is my duty to serve Master Qiantose."
Zhu Cixiang said: "If everyone is as good as Taitai, why worry about the country not being able to revive? Taitai, you have more than one government, so you might as well combine Yangzhou Prefecture. From now on, you will be the Governor of Water Transport and the Governor of Huaiyang!"
"I will definitely guard the Huaiyang Second Mansion for His Highness."
Zhu Cixiang nodded approvingly, and with another wave of his hand, he summoned Liu Zhao, the gunman who had served as the bow of the ship under Shen Tingyang, and a dark, muscular man with a pockmarked face.
"Your Majesty Liu Chongru respectfully invites His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Jin An!"
"Your Majesty Gu San Mazi kowtows to the Crown Prince!"
"Chongru" is actually the name of Fire Gun Liu! This dark "water thief" turned out to be from a Shachuan family. He had been doing business in Beiyang for several generations and had already accumulated a lot of family property. Therefore, his father also hoped that his son would become a successful person and wanted him to study and make progress, so he named him "Chongru". But this name is of no use. He doesn't like reading and doesn't worship Confucianism. Instead, he liked playing with muskets and artillery, and making a living at sea. He actually made a name for himself and became a famous general in the Haisha Gang.
And Gu Sanmazi is a big water bandit! He is not a pirate, but a water pirate who roams the rivers and seas. They were entrenched on the islands near the estuary of the Yangtze River and made a fortune by plundering passing ships. The terrain of the estuary of the Yangtze River today is different from that of later generations. The river surface is wider, and the Qidong and Haimen areas of later generations are still underwater. There was no "Big Chongming" later, but a "Little Chongming" plus a bunch of scattered islands and sandbanks, which were very suitable for water thieves to occupy.
Such a big water thief and the Haisha Gang were originally enemies, but Shen Tingyang suggested that Zhu Cihong pay a large price to recruit him.
Because this big water pirate is really capable, at least more capable than the navy of Su Song Commander Wang Zhiren and Zhoushan Commander Huang Binqing - the foundation of the army in this era is farmers and herdsmen, and the foundation of the navy is merchants and pirates and fishermen. The serious Ming army generals usually came from the garrison, either landlords or farmers. Of course, they were not good at navy errands, so at the end of the Ming Dynasty, all the navy soldiers who could fight were recruited.
The navy industry is also separated by mountains and rivers, and those who mix with Beiyang are the Haisha Gang - the sand ships of the Haisha Gang are the most suitable for Beiyang. Because there are rolling waves in the Beiyang (referring to the coastal waters of China north of the Yangtze River Estuary), pointed-bottomed boats are easily overturned by the waves, but sand ships are not afraid of such waves. So north of the Yangtze River Estuary is the world of Shachuan!
The Zheng family's large-scale ships are all pointed-bottomed, so they are suitable for traveling in the South and East Oceans, but they cannot travel in the Northern Ocean. Therefore, although the Zheng family is much stronger than the Haisha Gang, it is not involved in Beiyang trade.
As for Gu Sanmazi, he moved between the rivers and the sea, and his main range of activities was from the Yangtze River Estuary to Jiangyin. It might be more appropriate to say that he was a river thief.
Therefore, if Zhu Cihong wants to establish the Yangtze River Navy, he must recruit this river thief Gu Sanmazi!
"Get up, all get up," Zhu Cixiang smiled and waved to Liu Chongru and Gu Sanmazi, "The 250 watercraft and 10,000 sailors brought by the Road Control Army will be handed over to you two. All sailors will be incorporated into the new army navy. , receive military pay like other officers and soldiers of the Navy."
Overcoming Difficulties New Army The treatment of the navy is different from that of the army. Among them, the Beiyang Navy was contracted to the Haisha Gang. They did not pay military salaries or pay attention to equipment. They were directly given trade concessions and were run by Shen Tingyang.
The Yangtze River Navy has to pay salaries and benefits, and the lowest-level "guard" can also get a monthly salary of four taels of silver! However, the navy officers and soldiers will not allocate land - the navy will not recruit farmers, let alone use "squad troops", and it will not be able to operate the land after it is divided.
Zhu Cixiang added: "These waterships may not be suitable for combat, but they can transport food and troops. With them, my new army can travel along the Yangtze River like the wind. As for warships, it is best to use gunboats. The centipede boat with multiple oars (imitation of the Portuguese galley) is very good... I have sent Tang Ruowang and Li Zubai to Haao to purchase Hongyi cannons. By next spring, dozens of cannons should be shipped Come, I will give you 10 doors when the time comes.
In addition, I will give you five days to sort out the navy. The Yangtze River navy will be dispatched in five days! "
