In the western suburbs of Kaifeng, between the golden waters of the Bian River, there is a pool in a low-lying area. It was during the autumn and winter of the second year of Qianyou that Wang Pu was ordered to dig for training for the Han navy.
The pond is more than thirteen miles around, running north-south, with a long east-west diameter, and is used to guide Bian water for irrigation. A dam is set up in the south to connect Jinshui, which is used to discharge floods and relieve emergencies. At the beginning, more than 40,000 soldiers and civilians were recruited to build this pool. It took about two months and cost 30 million yuan.
The new pool is not specifically named, so it is simply called "Xinchi". After the pool was completed, Liu Chengyou allocated money and food to build more than 300 large and small warships on the side of the Bian River. He also selected young men who were familiar with the water from the Forbidden Army and the Central Plains and Huaibei states to organize and train the navy army. In addition to the soldiers recruited from Jingbei Prefecture County, we have just gathered 7,000 naval troops, named Jingjiang Army.
As for the commander of the Jingjiang Army, Liu Chengyou thought about it repeatedly and transferred him to Xiang Xun. Liu Chengyou had no choice. The north really lacked generals who were good at naval warfare, so he directly hired outsiders. Liu Chengyou was not at ease. After all, he had spent a lot of money to build a "naval army".
Using Xiang Xun can be regarded as "using water when there is a drought", which is a bit like rushing a duck to the shelf. However, Liu Chengyou also asked for advice in person. Although it was a bit embarrassing, Xiang Xun still gritted his teeth and agreed, vowing to train into a naval force.
Of course, Liu Chengyou also knew not to push too hard. In order to reduce the pressure on Xiang Xun, Liu Chengyou mobilized a group of military academies from southern counties such as Xiang Xun, An, Ying, and Fu to go north to assist Xiang Xun in training the navy.
Xiang Xun, who received Liu Chengyou's mission, felt deeply that he had a heavy responsibility. After the warships, officers and soldiers, money and food were fully equipped, he took more than ten navy generals with different origins and devoted himself to the training of the Jingjiang Army.
As far as Liu Chengyou knew, when Xiang Xun was the commander-in-chief of the navy, he knew his own shortcomings and was not ashamed to ask his subordinates. He took two commanders from Xiangyang as his teachers and asked them for advice. He also reviewed military books, studied ancient and modern naval combat cases, summarized his experiences and gains and losses, and actively discussed with his subordinates on training, formation, and engagement. At the same time, Xiang Xun also took the initiative to learn knowledge of astronomy and geography, and went to the collection to check the hydrology of national rivers, especially the Jianghuai area...
The general took the lead, and the officers and soldiers followed suit. After more than half a year, the ragtag crowd that was originally like a pile of loose sand gradually began to look like a navy army.
The ship maneuvering, formation, and boarding operations were all in good shape. Liu Chengyou made several inspections, or so it seemed.
The new pool in Jichun has a pleasant scenery, with green fields and green trees. Ten miles around Xinchi are designated as royal gardens. On weekdays, an army of iron cavalry trains and cruises in it. In fact, this is to prevent the training of the navy from being spied on.
The news about the excavation of the lake and the training of the navy cannot be concealed, but the specific situation of the navy can be hidden if possible. As a temple calculator, you should think more about it. Regarding the news from Jinling, the emperor and his ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty did not take it seriously when they heard that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty was digging a pond in Kaifeng to fill it with water to train his navy.
Only Han Xizai advised Li Jing to be careful of the Northern Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, Li Jing trusted Han Xizai and could not tolerate Han Xizai's attitude of "I am right" in admonishing him. As a "good teacher and friend" of the Han Dynasty, Feng Yansi also laughed and said that the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty dug a pond on the ground to train troops.
Although he only smiled, there was no reaction at all. Li Jing also sent his minister Li Deming as an envoy to Kaifeng to contact him about joining forces to attack Chu. Liu Chengyou ordered Tao Guhaosheng to entertain Li Deming and asked him to report back to Li Jing. If the Tang troops entered Chu, the Han troops would follow.
Obviously, after taking the bait, Southern Tang was more active than Liu Chengyou imagined. It was March, and Tang Ting had already begun preparations to send troops into Chu.
The sunshine is warm, the breeze is gentle, and the surrounding scenery makes people feel comfortable. This time, Liu Chengyou's family went out for an outing. The queen, the noble concubine, and the wise concubine all came with the prince. This time, Liu Chengyou did not forget to bring his eldest son Liu Xu with him, and the queen, Fu, took care of him personally.
In the distance, a camp was set up. When the grass was growing and the orioles were flying, Concubine Gao and Concubine Zhe Xian were flying kites and running into the wind. Concubine Gao, in particular, was laughing and chatting, and her beautiful body was shaking. .....
Liu Chengyou didn't have time to appreciate the beautiful scenery. His eyes were still on the new pool, where dozens of Han navy ships were practicing in attack formation.
Under the protection of Ouchi's guards, he asked Xiang Xun to accompany him and rode lightly on the bank of the new pond, walking slowly from south to north.
As for the navy, Liu Chengyou is basically just an armchair warrior. Although he doesn't have much of a reputation, looking at his fleet formation from a distance and his soldiers up close, his demeanor is touching.
"Xingmin, you have lived up to my expectations. Every time I watch the navy, I have a different experience. The navy is gradually becoming more and more mature!" Liu Chengyou pointed to the navy marching in the pool, waving flags and shouting endlessly, and said to the navy. Xiang Xun said.
Xiang Xun is nearly forty years old, and his less than one year of naval service seems to have made him three years older.
Hearing Liu Chengyou's words at this time, I felt that the emperor was a little optimistic. He rode on his horse and struck directly: "To be honest with you, your majesty, the new pool is still water, which cannot be compared with the complex water conditions of the river. Rapids, undercurrents, rocks, etc. There are dangers that cannot be easily overcome by the troops of Jingshui. We are still far away from becoming an army!"
Hearing Xiang Xun's conservative answer, Liu Chengyou expressed his appreciation for his rationality and calmness: "It seems that I made the right decision to choose Xingmin as the general. It is a last resort to use land generals to command the navy and laymen to lead the experts." However, it is indeed even more rare for a general to actively study and make progress!"
Since he followed Liu Chengyou, Xiang Xun has been praised a lot. Only this time, he was not as calm and indifferent as before. He sighed and responded: "Your Majesty uses the navy to serve me. I deeply feel the heavy responsibility. I can only work conscientiously. Do your duty faithfully and repay Your Majesty!"
Nodding, Liu Chengyou said: "Just what I said to Xingmin, the Jingjiang army will be of great use in the conquest of Huainan in the future!"
His eyes lit up, Xiang Xun hugged his fists, and said passionately: "Even though our army lacks actual combat, I can't guarantee it, but in terms of the soldiers' training and daring to fight, they will definitely be better than the rebel army!"
"Listen to this, cheer up!" Liu Chengyou said, thought for a while, and then told Xiang Xun: "The next naval training should be to go out and enter the river, and ride on the turbulent river. Actual combat experience may not be available. , but for other things that should be familiar and practiced, don’t relax!”
"yes!"
Xiang Xun lamented to Liu Chengyou: "I am better at foot and cavalry in the north. When it comes to water warfare, we have to count the southern countries. As far as I know, it is common for the southern princes to conquer with thousands of warships and tens of thousands of soldiers." In the north of our country, there are only a handful of people who have recorded it since the Three Dynasties. The largest one was during the fierce battle between Liang and Jin on the Jiahe River. Infantry and boat maneuvering..."
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou said: "For this reason, the training of the navy is indispensable. It is not enough to conquer Huainan with strong infantry and cavalry troops. Even if we can win it, we don't know how much more it will cost. Puppet Tang Navy We only need to move some of the tens of thousands to the Huai River and cross the two sides of the river. Without the navy to support us, it will definitely cause great trouble to our army."
"What your Majesty said is true!" Xiang Xun agreed.
"And if I want to completely wipe out the southern countries, I need to rely more on the power of the navy. The training in Xinchi is just a small fight. After we capture Jingnan, we will train in the river gorges, and even build sea ships to go out on the sea. ..."
After listening to the emperor's grand plan, Xiang Xunzai bowed and sighed: "Your Majesty's grand plan makes me fascinated!"
After briefly chatting with Xiang Xun about naval drills and deducing some naval tactics for conquering the Huaihe River, Liu Chengyou still had more to say, but had to let him go. It has already made the harem unhappy. We agreed to go out for an outing, but we caught a general discussing it non-stop.
"Guan, come and fly the kite with me!"
Xiaoniang Zhe smiled and rode up to Liu Chengyou's side. She was still holding the thread in her hand, and a beautifully made paper kite was hanging high in the blue sky. Zhe Xiaoniang's riding skills are indeed good. She pulls the string with one hand and rides the horse with the other hand, which is very stable.
Liu Chengyou became interested and drove his horse to follow him. They galloped through the wilderness and entered a dense forest on the edge. Soon, the kite broke its thread and floated down in the wind. The emperor and the lady were riding a horse together. It was too difficult to ride the horse, but there was no problem in fulfilling their sibling desires.
As a result, the accompanying guards were suffering. Since they were concentrating on protection to prevent accidents, they did not dare to look more, which was very embarrassing.
It is rare for an official family to be dissolute, and even the open-minded and generous Lady Zhe is extremely shy...
When Liu Chengyou returned after enjoying himself, looking at Lady Zhe, who was huddled in his arms with a blush on her face, the queen and the noble concubine were all a little unhappy.
