The sky was covered with thick clouds, and the howling wind blew snowflakes down on the vast land.
Zhou Yu led a few soldiers up the hill and saw a vast expanse of white and a large river running through the snowflakes. He pointed at a manor to the east of the road and asked: "Whose family is this big manor?"
"It's the Lu family's manor." The soldier stepped on the ice and said: "It was originally a run-down country squire's family. It was destroyed by thieves and soldiers. Now it has been rewarded to the Lu family."
Zhou Yu stopped talking and looked into the distance, thinking deeply.
The climate was colder than in previous years, and some states and counties reported that people were freezing to death, but they were actually dying of hunger and cold. Although this happened in the Yingxiang area, it was organized.
If you look carefully, you can see that the snow is swirling and falling. There are rows of wooden houses in the nearby countryside, some of which have collapsed due to the heavy snow. However, there are faint voices of people, who are mobilized to shovel the snow, and there are temporary porridge sheds.
Fireworks rise.
Zhou Yu showed a smile. This was organized by the nearby county magistrate, providing food and clothing to keep out the cold. Then he suppressed his smile and looked into the distance.
The mountains, rivers and plains in Yingzhou are covered with snow, and the ponds and lakes are all frozen. Only Taiping Lake in the south does not freeze.
Viewed from a high altitude, there are no waves in the water for eight hundred miles, and the vast lake surface is as smooth as a mirror. Ninety warships are gliding northward on the green water. Although the sails are lowered against the wind, the propellers still leave a short trail of white waves at the stern.
Thus maintaining speed.
This is the adaptive training of the expanded Han Navy. Recently, the Xiangzhou Navy has been tightly harassed. Taiping Lake is the only place where Sun Xinbo does not dare to provoke.
Looking at it, Zhou Yu said: "Go down and meet the fleet."
At that moment, a speedboat sped out. It was said that the fleet's sailing attracted some fish to follow, and among the battleships, the speedboat docked on the flagship.
After a simple exchange of information, the rope ladder was thrown down from above.
Go up the gangway to the top floor, observe the entire fleet from the highest point, estimate the actual combat strength in your mind, and imagine that the enemy is the Xiangzhou Navy.
"It's a bit...not optimistic."
At the same time, Lu Xun came over and boarded the rooftop of the ship, where he saw a slender and muscular figure: "Captain"
Zhou Yu stood leaning on the railing, holding a blue paper crane in his hand, frowning and thinking about something. After a while, he asked: "What do Boyan think of the iron-clad ship?"
"It's very useful." Lu Xun replied, a little regretfully: "But it's too little."
"Oh... tell me."
Lu Xun was a little confused as to why Governor Zhou wanted to find him, but when Shangguan asked, he started chatting: "The practicality is obvious. The motor and sailboat uses hybrid power to reduce the difficulty of controlling the ship. The source of soldiers is easier to obtain than traditional sailors. As long as the Taoist soldiers have undergone some training."
丨You can take up the post... Our navy has expanded six times in half a year, and now every position on the ship has double the manpower, training and learning, this is the advantage of getting started quickly."
"The number of battleships itself has tripled, and their shape has changed - the hull has increased, and thin iron plates have been installed at key points on the bulwarks. The displacement of the new battleship is twice the original, but the maneuverability has not been reduced. On the contrary,
Increase it by half, and coupled with the range of the thunderbolt, it will be easy to completely defeat enemy ships in battle."
Lu Xun paused as he spoke. Seeing that Zhou Yu had no expression and seemed not to listen carefully, he became even more confused. He still said: "It's a pity that the number is too small. There is no way to compare with the 2,000 warships of the Xiangzhou Navy... The river is not conducive to us using our speed.
After disrupting our formation, the flood can drown us."
Zhou Yu just listened quietly, the smile in his eyes flashed away: "The quantity depends on the investment of the shipyard. The navy cannot compete with the army by grabbing the budget, unless it can show real results... In your opinion, how about
Against the enemy?"
"Introduce Taiping Lake." Lu Xun stood up straight, his temperament changed from gentle and elegant, and his eyes were sharp: "The lake is wide, and the speed and range of our ships can be used to seize the advantage. The range of the new thunderbolt can completely defeat Cai Chaoshui.
The division's thunder sail - the thunder sail is a magic attack. A small thunder sail can only reach one or two miles, and a large battleship's thunder sail can reach five miles. How can it be compared with the eight miles range of our new thunder ballistae?"
"Or the heavy thunder sails of the Dangkou ship can reach the attack limit of ten miles of the Hongwu ship, but we also have the second-type curved thunder ballistae, which can attack the limit of twelve miles... With the advantage of range, once the salvo is completed, no matter the outcome, the outcome will be different.
Stay, rely on speed to escape, seize the upper wind for a second salvo, and there are no casualties at all - I think this is the tactical reason why the lord is trying his best to develop new power and new ship weapons."
There was a round of applause, and Zhou Yu clapped his hands and looked admiringly at the navy general: "What you said is very insightful, but it's a pity that there is no place for you in this fleet."
"..." Lu Xun's body stiffened, his face turned pale, and he didn't know how to reply.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and Lu Meng called out: "I've seen the governor before. Boy, your face looks very ugly..."
Lu Xun glared at this guy fiercely, regained consciousness, and looked at Zhou Yu, waiting for his next words.
"Ziming came just in time and was ready to write a letter of resignation." Zhou Yu said with a smile.
"Well……"
Lu Meng suddenly became speechless. He looked at his colleague Lu Xun and then at his superior Zhou Yu: "Is this... your order?"
Zhou Yu's bad taste was fully satisfied with the reaction of these two people, and he smiled: "It's not my decision, it's the Lord's decision."
After settling down, admiring the pale faces of the two of them, he slowly said: "You two have to go to the North Sea and command a fleet by yourself."
"That...North Sea Fleet handed over by King Wei?" Lu Xun breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and frowned: "Wei has no maritime needs. I heard that the so-called fleet only has a dozen rotten ships, so how can it be divided into two?
branch?"
"This lord has his own plans." Zhou Yu suppressed his smile and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why, you are not happy?"
"No, no... I'm just wondering why the two of us are allowed to go." Lu Xun sneered, knowing that he couldn't refuse, and in the long run, it would be beneficial to him - he was in charge of a fleet, so he couldn't be reused, but
The qualifications of the two of them in the navy were not outstanding, at least the deputy commander Gan Ning had much higher qualifications.
"You two are the only ones who keep a low profile on weekdays, so it's most suitable... to prepare support for the beginning of the spring."
Zhou Yu burst into flames in his hand, burned the blue paper crane, and obliterated the message. In fact, he had just received the message from his lord, and he hesitated for a while before deciding on the candidate.
Gan Ning is more senior, but that guy has a high position, active personality, and appears in too many public places. He would attract too much attention...
Even if the fleet he built by himself has become less pure due to too many recruitment expansions in the past six months, there is no guarantee that Cai Chao will not bribe him.
Lu Xun was stunned when he heard this. He had a very keen sense of politics. He knew the recent situation. The Hanhou Mansion was a key surveillance target of the Cai Dynasty, both civil and military. Sometimes he would feel like he was being spied on when walking on the road. Without the means of the master's fairy clone, he could not pretend to be ordinary.
Can't hide it.
"It's just the two of us, or should we bring sailors? How to get there? Where's the ship?" He became enthusiastic and asked several questions in succession, but he was still not satisfied with the few small broken ships of the North Sea Fleet.
"Bring the sailors with you, use our own people, and ask the East China Sea Alliance for secondment." Zhou Yu nodded slightly and said, "The Lord has arranged manpower to respond. You can think more about how to cooperate."
Lu Meng also became serious when he heard this, thinking about any means of concealing the secret from the sea, and said: "Our navy is closed, and we board the ship for training and sailing for several months without getting off the ship. It is much easier to conceal the secret than the army. There happens to be a port and a group of ships handed over by the Northern Wei Dynasty.
For the reason of building a small fleet, Boyan and I pretended to go to the North Sea Fleet to take up posts. Across the grassland of the Northern Wei Dynasty, we quietly changed people on the North Sea Fleet. The Cai Dynasty did not have such long tentacles and could not feel the abnormality in the North Sea..."
Lu Xun was moved when he heard this, and asked: "I'm afraid it's not only the North Sea Fleet, but also the East China Sea Fleet that needs to be formed for the two of us?"
"It's good that you thought of it, don't mention it on any occasion."
Zhou Yu nodded and explained to the two of them: "The soldiers you brought over were all veterans listed on the death list. In fact, the soldiers are still alive, so we pretended to be new recruits.
"According to the cabinet discussion, after you two arrive in Stuning, you must make advance preparations for the spring reception without delay, so tonight..."
That night, the Han fleet docked at Taiping Port in Taiping County, Pinghe County. It was a rest period after the first stage of training. All the soldiers had a day off. Most of them spent the snowy night warming themselves up in military camps or restaurants and brothels. Few people noticed that they were missing.
Some figures.
At this time, when the sun is gone,
There is a manor near the river, and there is a forest further away. The light of the setting sun shines through the forest branches and falls on the west window. The light is very dim, with a bit of silence and depth.
Ji Caizhu sat steadily, closing his eyes and concentrating, and seemed to be thinking deeply. His mood was a bit complicated. This operation was carried out by himself, and it was now coming to an end.
The navy generals of the Hanhou Mansion can be mobilized secretly, but the ministers and generals are eye-catching, so there is no way to hide it from the public. It can be said that they are burdened by their great reputation.
But ordinary officials are different. Hanchen cultivated a group of experts who were not famous but were practical and practical. Some of them began to reduce their activities half a year in advance. In the past two months, they gradually disappeared from public places in Yingzhou. At this time, they all gathered in
Depart here.
But the host who went to Donghuang was not himself, but Governor Yan.
Governor Yan is a noble person earlier. Not to mention himself, even the Lord cannot be treated as an equal.
Now that I am on an equal footing with myself, I can see how time has changed.
But if the lord uses this person this time, he may regain his prestige in the future.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the bell ringing. Ji Caizhu stood up and went out with a solemn expression. He saw an official coming over and asked, "Are you all here?"
"They're all here, the latest batch of ninety-one people, totaling four hundred," the official said.
"How to notify the latest batch?"
"It's said that the yamen inspected every township and village during the New Year - the snow is heavy, so many people go to the countryside to inspect, and less than a hundred people are missing out of thousands. It's not a big deal, I'm afraid no one can notice it."
Ji Caizhu smiled after hearing this and asked, "Are there any old or weak people?"
"No, the old and the weak cannot bear the trek and fatigue. As before, these have been chosen, and all of them are young and strong."
Ji Caizhu stopped talking, pressed the hilt of his sword and said, "When you see someone, go immediately."
In the main courtyard of the manor, the gate was tightly sealed, and four hundred officials stood in line in silence. Ji Caizhu was in front, and his own soldiers followed him with swords drawn.
Seeing this man, four hundred officials saluted together: "Greetings to Mr. Zhu."
"Everyone, please stand up." Ji Caizhu took a step forward, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "I believe you know that I will transfer you to the Eastern Wasteland this time..."
As soon as these words came out, even though the officials had known about it not long ago, there was still an uneasy commotion.