Regarding the naval issue, Lu Yuan was deeply aware of this flaw as early as a year ago when he was still in the Changsha Kingdom and when he led the Three Kingdoms Alliance to confront the Ning Kingdom.
The Ning Kingdom could only send out 50,000 naval troops, so it directly divided Dongting County into two, isolating the Changsha Kingdom from the north to the south.
At that time, transportation between the north and south of Changsha was cut off.
Business travel was blocked at ports everywhere. The circulation of domestic government orders had to be delayed. To communicate information between the north and the south, martial arts masters were even sent to sneak across in small boats from the blockade of Ningguo Navy.
It can almost be said that as soon as the other party blocked the Yangtze River, it almost brought Changsha to a standstill.
These lessons are still vivid in his mind, and now that only half a year has passed, Lu Yuan has naturally not forgotten them.
But even though he knew that the Navy was important, he still kept this matter in his heart and felt deeply ashamed.
But if you want to start a navy, you need a lot of money.
But what Chu State lacks today is money.
"But now, Changsha's tax revenue will be balanced in two years. At that time, the five million taels of silver donated by Su and Nanhai can be used to support the navy.
Five million taels of silver, even if it costs twice as much as the army to support a navy of the same size, it can still support a navy of 50,000.
With these 50,000 naval forces present at that time, it may be difficult to compete with the Ningguo navy for supremacy on the Yangtze River.
However, it is still possible to rely on Baling, Tianmen, Xiangyang and other important cities along the Yangtze River and Hanshui River to block the enemy from outside the country and ensure smooth communication between the north and south of the country.
Being able to do this is enough. "
With this calculation in his mind, Lu Yuan gradually gained some insights.
Regarding the navy's request, he never expected to be able to rely on the navy to defeat Ning Guo and seize the land east of the Yangtze River.
The Ning State succeeded the Yue State, and the Yue State inherited the previous dynasty. Under the management of these Linhai aristocratic families, the entire Jinling court accumulated not too many naval talents.
The other party has accumulated more than two thousand years of accumulation. Is it possible to defeat the other party if you say you can defeat it?
Being able to defend the country, for him, the Navy has completed its mission.
For other things to contend with Ning Guo, he himself commanded the elite army, marched directly to Yuzhang and Linhai on the shore, and all the way to Jinling City.
Compared with the navy, which has no shadow yet, the land warfare, which he has commanded for more than ten years and has rich experience, is obviously more reliable.
However, although the army still mainly relies on it, it is indeed time for the navy to make preparations now.
At present, there is peace between Ning and Chu, although each needs time to recuperate and digest.
But in this era of great strife, no one knows whether war will come in the next moment.
But when the war breaks out between the two countries, the Ning navy marches in without any hindrance and divides the Chu country into two halves. This would be too embarrassing.
Therefore, it is necessary to first build a prototype of the navy, put up the shelf, and then slowly fill in the complete components.
As for where the money comes from?
Building a prototype navy is purely a matter of accumulating experience. You don’t need to recruit too many people, just five or six thousand people. Even including the cost of building warships, it is only four to five million taels of silver a year.
Now that Lu Yuan still has a lot of money in his private treasury, he can naturally pay it forward.
And next year, although those immigrants are still in the tax holiday, according to Sun Siwen, the commercial tax and tariff will be further increased, and they will be able to save a million taels of silver.
With this money, we can raise enough to raise 10,000 navy troops this year and next.
With the foundation of these ten thousand people, we can increase the number every year and expand the scale step by step. In ten years at most, we can cultivate 50,000 navy masters who are good at fighting.
There is plenty of time to plan slowly.
…
The planning strategy was decided here, and on the next day, Lu Yuan asked people to replace Chu Wei.
"I've met the king."
After Chu Wei arrived, he immediately saluted.
"Xiaowei is here."
At this time, Lu Yuan was writing the naval plan on the shore. When he heard the voice, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Didn't I tell you before? You are my disciple. There is no need to be so polite between master and disciple."
Although in his heart, the only truly close and trustworthy people in this world were Sun Siwen and Zhou Qing.
But for others, such as Lan Cai'er, Cui Changqing, and several of his true disciples, it would be absolutely false to say that they have no feelings at all.
Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect.
If you get along with someone for a long time, you will more or less develop a good impression of them.
Not to mention that disciples such as Chu Wei were extremely respectful to Lu Yuan and fulfilled the etiquette of disciples and monarchs without going beyond the rules.
Who else could he not love such disciples and ministers in his heart?
Therefore, in addition to Sun Siwen and Zhou Qing, who are close to the first echelon, people like Lan Caier and Chu Wei are in the second echelon.
Lu Yuan naturally also likes to be close to people.
"In front of Master, Lord and Father, disciples dare not exceed the rules."
However, in the face of his love, Chu Wei did not get carried away, but remained cautious.
"You." Seeing this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but smile, but he didn't embarrass the other party. Instead, he took out the navy preparation strategy he had just written on his eucalyptus and handed it to his disciple: "Here is a plan written by Gu Gang. I have a copy of the naval strategy, take it and take a look."
Chu Wei took the strategy and read it carefully.
After a while, after reading the content on it and reading it word by word, he put it down, looked up at his master and said, "Your Majesty, you want to build a navy?"
According to the strategy, Chu's navy will initially have 5,000 men, and will expand to 10,000 next year, and then another 5,000 every year. This will continue for ten years, and eventually a navy of 50,000 will be built.
This 50,000-strong navy will be divided into five armies, each of which will be commanded by a general. Above the Fifth Army Navy, there is a Navy Chief to command the Fifth Army Navy.
Judging from this plan, the status of the Navy is equivalent to that of the Forbidden Army, and they both belong to the military order directly under the jurisdiction of the Chu State.
Even in a certain sense, the status of the naval commander is higher than that of the generals of the Forbidden Army.
The reason is very simple. The navy is divided into five battalions, each battalion is led by a general. The Imperial Army of Chu was divided into nine armies, each of which was also led by a general.
However, there was no one in charge of the nine armies of the Great Chu Imperial Army. Each army directly took orders from Lu Yuan, the King of Chu.
There is a steward over there with the water division.
In this way, isn't this general manager a person of real power who is higher than the generals of the land and sea armies?
certainly.
Above the Forbidden Army, it is not that there are no higher-level generals. Isn't it the general Zhou Qing?
However, the position of general is responsible for overseeing the country's military affairs, which also includes the land and sea armies.
From this point of view, the position of naval commander has become a position second only to the general, and the second highest figure in the order of Dachu soldiers.
'At this time, my master called me here and was talking about this matter again. Could it be...'
When Chu Wei thought of this, his heart couldn't help but beat loudly.
This is the power of the second-ranking figure in the military, the commander-in-chief of the navy!
To say that he is unmoved would be an absolute lie.
Moreover, since he has become the naval commander, in terms of status, doesn't he become the second-ranking person in the master's sect, second only to his senior brother Zhou Qing?
This leap in identity cannot be ignored.
At this moment, Lu Yuan also spoke: "As you can see, Gu Yu is planning to build the Great Chu Navy. The last time we confronted Ning Guo, our Great Chu suffered from the Navy, and there was almost a risk of the country being torn into two.
It is enough to suffer such a big loss once, and it must not be allowed to happen again.
You are Gu's disciple, and you are also our great general. Your status is different from others, and you should shoulder more responsibilities.
Therefore, I am not prepared to leave the important task of building a navy to you.
Are you willing? "
With such a great thing in front of him, how could Chu Wei refuse?
So after hearing the words, he knelt down and said: "Your Majesty has an order, how dare I disobey it? Master, don't worry, I have disciples here, and I will work hard to build a naval army. If I don't die, Ningren Navy will show its power in our rivers."
When Lu Yuan heard this, he nodded with satisfaction: "Well, if that's the case, then you will first assume the rank of general and assume the position of commander-in-chief of the navy. When the navy is ready and the five armies are ready, I will give you another job. The rank of General of the Guard is to command the navy."
After the establishment of the new dynasty, the rank system of civil and military officials from the original Changsha State to the current Chu State was basically similar to that of the former Yue Dynasty.
If the civil servants don't talk about it, they will just talk about it as a military commander.
Among them, the first-class military rank is naturally the general, which is the first rank. This is not only a military rank, but also a military position, which can lead the country's military affairs.
The second rank is the two titles of hussar general and chariot general. These two generals are of the first rank. However, these two generals only have military ranks and no specific positions.
But according to convention, if a big character is added in front of two generals, such as General Hussar, then these two generals will be no worse than the general. He also has the qualifications to manage national military affairs.
Therefore, the second-class hussar and chariot generals have always been regarded by warriors as having the most respected positions after the general.
However, these two generals are basically not permanently set up. They are even always empty and will not be set up at all.
During the pre-Vietnam War, Bai Mengyang, the Marquis of Wu'an, was specially appointed as General of the Hussars due to his meritorious service, ranking higher than General Shen Qiu.
This is also the reason why the other party was able to negotiate various agreements with Lu Yuan on behalf of the imperial court when he was in Xiangyang.
Because of the position of General of the Hussars, he could represent the Yue Kingdom.
Further down is the third class, which is divided into five generals: front, rear, left, right, and guard. Among them, the generals of the front and four sides are all of the second rank.
These four generals are basically held by generals from the DPRK who are good at fighting, and they do not have specific positions on weekdays. When it was time to go on an expedition, he led the army and fought for the country.
As for General Wei, he has the rank of second grade.
This military rank is more respected than the generals of the Quartet, and has always been called General Yada. Just like the second-class two hussars and chariot generals, they are usually not set up and remain empty.
Now Lu Yuan has five true disciples besides Zhou Qing, namely Chu Wei, Li Liang, Han Shun, Zhang You, and Zhuang Hua.
Among these five people, Chu Wei, Li Liang, Han Shun, and Zhang You accumulated merit over the years and served as generals of the front, rear, left, and right respectively.
Among them, Han Shun served as the captain of Xichuan County with the rank of General Zuo and was responsible for the military affairs of Xichuan County.
Zhang You was appointed as the captain of Xiangyang County with the rank of right general and was responsible for the military affairs of Xiangyang County.
Chu Wei and Li Liang did not have specific positions. They were just raised in the capital, waiting for appointment on expeditions.
The last Zhuang Hua, because it was too late to break through to the first level, and the credit he borrowed is not enough, he is currently just added the rank of Jianwu General, taking up the post of Jinwu, leading 4,000 Jinwu soldiers of the capital, and is responsible for Baling City security and defense.
Therefore, if Chu Wei can be promoted to General Wei, then he will be one level higher than the other sect members except Zhou Qing in terms of rank.
In terms of power positions, one is General Wei, who is in charge of the navy across the country, and the other is General Quartet, who is only responsible for the military affairs of a county or has nothing to do when going on an expedition.
Tell me, is there a big difference here?
So when Chu Wei heard about this arrangement, he was so excited that he immediately said: "I will obey your Majesty."
Although his rank of Guard General will not be awarded until all 50,000 naval forces are established.
This could take up to ten years.
But compared to taking on the authority of being in charge of the nation’s navy, is this ten years long?
Chu Wei is only thirty-two now. Well, he is only four years younger than Lu Yuan.
So even if he waits another ten years, he will only be forty-two years old when he becomes General Wei.
Compared to the position of naval commander-in-chief across the country, this age is in his prime, even quite young.
With such a great future ahead of you, what's there to complain about?
Compared to Han Shun and Zhang You, who had a clear goal and were wandering around the local area, and Li Liang, who was still at home waiting hard to go on an expedition, Chu Wei was already much better off.
At this time, he was full of energy.
There was also light in front of him.
…
After leaving the navy affairs to Chu Wei, Lu Yuan didn't put much energy into it except taking time from time to time to read the official documents from this disciple reporting on the progress of the navy's preparations.
Not only that, but there is not much time to deal with various other domestic government affairs.
Because at this time, all his energy was focused on his queen.
From the beginning of Lan Caier's pregnancy in October last year to August of the first year of Shenwu, nearly ten months later, the queen finally reached the period of giving birth.
Especially in the past few days, according to experienced midwives, the baby will be born at any time in the future, and preparations must be made now.
It's about your own children, it's about the country's crown prince. In the face of such major events, naturally all kinds of things have to be put on the back burner.
Even the ministers like Sun Siwen, knowing that the queen was about to give birth, were all nervous and looking forward to it. From time to time, they made statements to ask Lu Yuan to pay more attention.
So in this atmosphere of tense anticipation, on August 25, the first year of Shenwu, just ten days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, in Linhua Palace, Queen Lan Cai'er of Da Chu King successfully gave birth to a son.
When the eldest son is born, the whole country naturally celebrates it.
Lu Yuan was so happy that he not only showered rewards in the palace, but also rewarded officials outside the palace and even the people in the country.
This cost another million taels of silver.
But it's certainly worth it.
Under these numerous rewards, the whole country sent heartfelt blessings to the newly born eldest son of the king.
Under this congratulation, Lu Yuan named his eldest son Lu He three days later, which meant that the whole country congratulated the birth of the king's eldest son.
This also includes his ardent hope that this eldest son, who was born with the goodwill of the whole country, can grow up smoothly.
And the eldest son of the king has lived up to the expectations of his father, officials and people in the country. He has been in good health since he was born. He is only one month old, weighs ten kilograms, and is extremely energetic.
"Yeah yeah..."
In the Changle Palace, which was specially designated for the eldest son of the king, Lu Yuan and Lan Cai'er, who had just finished confinement, were teasing their son, who had just finished his full moon.
Seeing the baby moving around in the queen's arms, Lu Yuan touched his little nose and couldn't help laughing when he saw the dissatisfied look on his face.
While laughing, his mood also quietly felt a different kind of feeling.
'Is this my son, the bloodline I left in this world, the continuation of my life? '
Lu Yuan looked at the little guy in front of him, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
There is joy, expectation, confusion, and even some fear...
Many emotions gathered together, making him a little overwhelmed.
It was the first time for the little guy in front of him to become a human being, but it was also the first time for Lu Yuan to be someone else's father. It was also the first time for both of them. He was really trying to catch up!
"Okay, if your Majesty keeps teasing you, He'er will cry."
Just as Lu Yuan's thoughts were wandering, Lan Cai'er next to him saw that his son was about to cry, and quickly slapped away his hand that was still teasing him, and said the angry person.
"Okay, okay, I can't do it anymore, I can't do it anymore."
Lu Yuan laughed twice, retracted his hand, and glanced at his son again, but he really didn't want to make him cry.
Otherwise, when this child starts crying, it would be really troublesome to try to comfort him.
Although he has only been a father for a month, in this short period of time, he has already experienced the horrors of it.
That is really more tiring than practicing martial arts and fighting on your own.
Not only is my body tired, but my mind is even more tired.
After finishing preparations for the little one, Lu Yuan looked at the time and then pulled the queen: "Cai'er, it's almost time. He'er's full moon banquet is almost ready at Qinghua Hall. Let's go there first. Don’t keep the ministers waiting.”
The birth of the eldest son and the successor to the country are naturally a great joy.
So in the capital, Lu Yuan invited the city's civil and military ministers and the country's dignitaries to hold a full moon banquet to celebrate the birth of the little one.
not only that.
He even sent envoys to various countries, intending to invite envoys from various countries to come here to attend the little one's birthday party in eleven months.
To do this for a newborn son showed that Lu Yuan was fond of him, but at the same time he was also a little confused.
But happy.
When the Chu State has an heir, not only the king is happy, but the ministers are also happy.
There are successors to Da Chu, and their wealth can be guaranteed to continue, and they no longer have no confidence in their hearts.
Therefore, the ministers also love and appreciate Lu He from the bottom of their hearts for bringing all this, so they ignore or support Lu Yuan's slightly outrageous things.
Your Majesty has a new eldest son, so let him go when your heart is high.
Anyway, just this time.
"Yes, yes, I almost forgot about this. Let's go quickly, don't waste the time."
Lan Cai'er was naturally very concerned about her son's full moon banquet, and when she heard the reminder, she became a little anxious.
Pulling Lu Yuan, the couple hugged little Lu He and hurried towards Qinghua Hall.
