So Liu Haojia picked up the wine bowl and said: "In the future, everyone will eat from the same pot, and we must help each other! I have written down what I said today, and you will also be able to see my words and deeds in the future, so I won't say more. ! Come on, let’s have another glass of wine!”
After speaking, he clinked the wine glass with everyone, and then drank it all in one gulp! When he saw that everyone had also drank the wine, he took a piece of deer tendon and chewed it slowly in his mouth and said, "How many ships do we have in the entire Denglai Navy now?"
Li Wenliang said: "There are now more than 400 large and small warships and transport ships, but only more than 200 can be really used."
Liu Haojia asked: "How come there are so few? What happened to the other ships? Are they broken?"
Li Wenliang looked a little embarrassed when he heard this, but before he could speak, Zhang Zhiyong had already said loudly: "Some of the problems have no money to repair, so they can only drag them to the shore. Also, because the money appropriated from above is not enough, we can only Rent the boat out to help people transport goods!”
Everyone looked a little nervous when they heard Zhang Zhiyong reveal the truth so straightforwardly, fearing that Liu Haojia would get angry. However, Liu Haojia didn't seem to hear it and said directly: "How many people can be used now? What is the proportion of firearms?..."
Liu Haojia and everyone chatted while eating. It took almost half an hour to get a thorough understanding of the entire naval situation! At the same time, the question made everyone sweat on their foreheads!
They originally thought that the young marshal might not understand water warfare, but they didn't expect that everyone would understand it after he asked a series of questions. These questions were not even thought about by experts, let alone asking them! So after asking the question, everyone had taken back the last bit of contempt and became much more respectful!
In Liu Haojia's opinion, the current situation of the Navy is not very good! There are many ships and many people, but the ships are seriously damaged and the guns and cannons are also old! And we haven’t practiced for a long time. Everyone is busy helping people transport goods and fish so that they can earn money to repair ships.
Liu Haojia can understand this. Not to mention training, the Navy costs a lot of money just to put it there! If you want the navy to have combat effectiveness, you need to practice, but practice is like a bottomless hole that no amount of money can fill! If there is no training, no ship repairs, and no equipment replenished, combat effectiveness will be out of the question!
And there is another very important point. Li Wenliang just reminded him that the salary due last month has not arrived! This month it’s almost time to pay wages, but there’s not a hint of news from above!
Liu Haojia knew that this was a way for civil servants to manipulate him! They will not let Liu Haojia control the entire navy easily, and the easiest way to control the army is food and salary! The soldiers have no food and pay. Who is willing to listen to the commander? When the navy is desperate, the civilian officials only need to reissue part of the money that should have been issued long ago, and all the military morale will fall to their side! So this is the first problem he should solve!
Thinking of this, Liu Haojia said: "You just said that there will be no food and salary for almost two months, and I can be sure that there will be no food and salary in the next few months! This is a common method used by civil servants!"
A somewhat thin officer said with a gloomy look: "There is nothing we can do about it. The civil servants of the imperial court have the final say!"
Hearing this, Liu Haojia sneered and said, "They think they have the ability and means, but they don't know that I already have a way to deal with it! By the way, how many servants did each of you bring with you when you came to Beijing this time?"
Li Wenliang said in a low voice: "Young Marshal, we don't have servants in our navy! Everyone on the ship is a brother, otherwise we can't fight this battle!"
Although what he said was cryptic, Liu Haojia understood the reason. Because the navy and the army are different, if the army just grabs people at random and stuffs them with knives, they can be driven to the battlefield. Therefore, the generals of the army withheld their salary, part of it was used to support their families, and part of it was put into their own pockets!
But the Navy fights on the sea, and the entire warship requires everyone to work together to fight, so they can only rely on each other! Moreover, survival at sea depends entirely on ships, so if officers exploit ordinary soldiers like the army, as long as one soldier has a grudge and cuts through the ship planks or sets fire to them in the middle of the night, a whole ship of people will be waiting for death! So this forced the navy's team consciousness!
Thinking of this, Liu Haojia said: "Then you won't just come by yourself, right?"
Zhang Zhiyong said: "That's not possible. We brought more than twenty brothers with us! It was Duke Wei who told us to bring them with us. I don't know why?"
Liu Haojia laughed when he heard this and said: "Wei Guogong really counts every step he takes! He has already guessed what I am going to do!"
After speaking, he looked at the widened eyes of everyone and said: "The banknote I gave you just now is a banknote from Jingshi Bank. That bank is the property of my uncle Gu Ning! Tomorrow you gather your people and follow me to the bank and withdraw 20 Transport ten thousand taels of silver back! Then tell the brothers, don't be afraid if the civil servants don't pay you, we have plenty of money! To be honest, I wish they didn't pay us, so that we don't have to suffer from their arrogance, and we don't have to listen to them Take command!"
Everyone was stunned by the 200,000 taels of silver that Liu Haojia threw out lightly! However, there was a living treasure, Zhang Zhiyong, who said loudly and happily: "Great! I can't stand the arrogance of those civil servants for a long time! Marshal, if you can provide the navy with food and salary, even the rebel brothers will follow you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped again by Li Wenliang! After whipping him, Li Wenliang said hurriedly: "Young Marshal, this guy is full of nonsense. Don't pay attention to it!"
Liu Haojia waved his hand and said: "It's okay, we are all our own people here, and we can't spread it outside. Just be careful in the future! Now let me tell you what you should do when you go back with the money?"
Everyone also fell silent and listened to him with open ears. Liu Haojia said slowly: "The first thing is to repay the brothers! And, starting from today, our navy will pay double the pay!"
Everyone's spirits perked up when they heard this. After all, everyone wants to put a few more taels of silver in their pockets! Zhang Zhiyong winked and was about to speak, but was stepped on by Li Wenliang! Then he held up his hands and said: "Young Marshal, I think it's inappropriate to pay double the salary! Not only does it cost a lot every month, it will also make other brothers in the army dissatisfied! Why don't you save this money and buy a warship gun?" gun!"
Liu Haojia said nonchalantly: "You don't have to worry about this! I will be responsible for raising the wages in the future. You just need to be responsible for fighting a good war! And if they are not satisfied, they can also pay double wages to the soldiers, and there is no stopping them. !”
