Then he took the prince's warrant, opened the Jinchuan Gate, and came to the Longjiang Bao Shipyard.
He slept for half the night in the Tiji Yamen of the shipyard. At midnight, his eldest cousin woke him up.
After breakfast, Zhu Zhen got dressed and, surrounded by his guards, arrived at the dock outside the shipyard.
At this time, it was not yet the fourth watch, the sky and the earth were pitch dark, but the lights on the dock were brightly lit, and the ten newly commissioned warships of the municipal fleet were ready to go.
Yu Tongyuan and Liao Dingguo led the generals to wait on the dock for a long time. The mid-autumn river breeze was already quite chilly, but their hearts were burning.
The soldiers had been looking forward to it day and night, and finally this day came...
~~
Previously, they received a letter from the pirates, demanding that a huge ransom be paid within a month, otherwise they would kill one person a day.
But one month was obviously too tight. Excluding the time spent traveling, there was no time to maintain and repair the ten warships at the Bao Shipyard and put them into sea trials, not to mention casting and installing cannons and training and running-in.
But this is not a problem for His Highness the King of Chu. His Highness is well-organized.
Zhu Zhen asked Mr. Luo to write a reply to the pirates. Not only did he express his willingness to pay the ransom, but he also offered to pay double the ransom as long as they did not abuse the captured crew members and ensured that they all returned safely.
!
The main theme is a sense of heroism. Anyway, there is a group of wealthy people behind bars who pay for it...
At the same time, Zhu Zhen suggested that five million copper coins was too heavy, and it would take at least seven hundred carts to be pulled by an ox cart, so he suggested paying in gold instead.
I don’t know how the pirates reacted when they received the letter. Anyway, Yu Tongyuan, Liao Dingguo and the others were shocked first. They had been in the army for half their lives, and they felt that they had already seen through the things in the army. It is said that a commander should love his soldiers like his sons, but which one
Do you really take the lives of your men seriously?
Everyone was so moved that they secretly said that they had no choice but to take refuge with a child. Unexpectedly, the blessings of their father and brother in heaven would actually allow them to encounter the Lord. They secretly made up their minds, no matter whether the rescue was successful or not, they would follow His Highness for the rest of their lives.
.
A month later, they received a reply from the pirate. The pirate was indeed very happy. His tone even became much more humble because of His Highness's generosity.
They said that as soon as they received the letter, they stopped the "forced labor" of all their crew members and treated the sick and wounded, but they could only return the bodies of the dozens who had died before.
In addition, the pirates deeply agreed with His Highness's proposal to replace copper with gold, and felt sorry for their lack of knowledge. Therefore, the original one-month period was canceled and changed to two months later, near the Flower and Bird Island in the north of Hangzhou Bay.
goods.
Zhu Zhen wrote back to express his agreement.
After going back and forth, I gained an extra month. Everyone worked day and night, hurrying and slowly, and finally completed all preparations for the expedition before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
~~
"Your Highness!" Yu Tongyuan and others saluted neatly to the prince riding the bull.
Zhu Zhen supported the bull's back and jumped off the Lamborghini.
There was a bang, and His Highness the King of Chu forgot to wear heavy armor. He was not paying attention and almost knocked one of his subordinates.
Fortunately, my eldest cousin had quick eyesight and quick hands, and supported His Highness, so he didn't make a fool of himself.
Zhu Zhen straightened the golden swallow-winged helmet on his head, coughed and asked, "Are you all ready?"
"Report to Your Highness, everything is ready!" Yu Tongyuan pretended not to notice His Highness's mistake and said loudly with his head raised.
"Okay, let's go." After Zhu Zhen said calmly, he held the seven-star sword on his waist and walked towards the gangway.
"Your Highness, you don't need to go." Yu Tongyuan hurriedly followed and persuaded: "Guns have no eyesight, and naval battles are more dangerous than infantry battles! Your Highness has a body worth thousands of dollars, how can you put yourself in danger?!"
"How many cannons did the pirates have in total?" Zhu Zhen actually had an ideological struggle as to whether he should go into battle himself.
With his original character, safety must be the first priority. But under the subtle influence of his brothers, Xu began to feel that he could not stay back all the time. He had to go into battle when it was time to go into battle, otherwise how could he gain the allegiance of the soldiers?
In addition, there is another reason that scares people to death, so he must be on the boat. But because it will scare people to death, I can't say it for the time being.
"They really don't have many cannons, but they have to be prepared just in case." Yu Tongyuan urged.
"If anything happens, I might choke to death if I drink water." Zhu Zhen said angrily: "I'm afraid of this or that, so I'll just wipe my neck."
"But the battlefield...it is indeed very dangerous." Yu Tongyuan said helplessly.
"Nan'an Marquis, listen." Zhu Zhen stood still and said seriously: "This king is not trying to be a hero, but because I came up with the new tactics. And I have never used them before. If I don't get on the ship, the soldiers will
We will definitely be muttering in our hearts, whether this strategy can work or not, the King of Chu is not just talking about it on paper, right?"
"..." Yu Tongyuan was speechless because His Highness did the talking.
Time was so tight that they only practiced for ten days in total. They only practiced formations and never fired a single cannon on the ship...
Because firstly, they had to keep it secret, and secondly, they couldn't get enough shells and gunpowder in a hurry, so they could only save them for use on the battlefield. Therefore, the gunners relied on hand gestures, simulation training, and silent cannon fire.
Therefore, up and down, there was inevitably a lack of confidence. If it were not for the purpose of rescuing their comrades, the soldiers might even refuse to leave.
"So this time I must get on the ship. Only when the soldiers know that I am here will they have confidence. And confidence is the key to winning any war!" After Zhu Zhen finished speaking, he walked up the gangway without looking back.
"Your Highness..." The hesitant voice of Marquis Nan'an came from behind.
"What's wrong?!" Zhu Zhen was completely impatient.
"We are on the wrong ship. Which one is the flagship?" Yu Tongyuan caught up with him and whispered.
"Uh..." Lao Liu blushed and coughed: "I will get on this boat first and pay a visit to the brothers. Do you have any objections?"
"No, no." Yu Tongyuan quickly shook his head and said, "I will accompany His Highness to inspect."
~~
The soldiers were all surprised by His Highness's arrival.
I was even more happy when I heard that the King of Chu was going on the expedition with them. The doubts in my heart were instantly thrown away, and the morale was visibly increased.
The officers and soldiers had a very simple understanding. The life of a dignified prince was much more valuable than theirs, and the sum of their crew members was not as valuable as His Highness alone.
Therefore, His Highness's courage to board the ship shows that he has absolute confidence in his new method of warfare, rather than just talking about it on a whim. This will naturally make everyone feel more at ease.
After all, Zhu Zhen inspected the source of his confidence - the bronze cannons he had spent huge sums of money to install.
In order to maintain confidentiality and protect the expensive cannons, the carpenters at the Bao Shipyard also made boxes for each cannon. At this time, each artillery piece was lying quietly in the wooden box, and no one could guess what was inside.
What.
After looking at the lonely Zhu Zhen, he communicated with the gunners. Because there were too many artillery pieces and not enough gunners, it was not possible to configure a gun crew for each artillery piece as he expected. Instead, one gun crew was responsible for the left and right sides.
Cannon.
"Fortunately, there are still a few cases when two cannons fire at the same time." Liao Dingguo said sarcastically: "If that happens, just ask the sailors to come over and help carry the shells."
"Good guy." Zhu Zhen said after hearing this, this old Liao is really a born capitalist. He smiled at the gunners and said: "If he goes home to be a landlord, you must not go to his house to carry work, otherwise you will die of exhaustion.
"
"Your Majesty said yes, we took note of it." The gunners laughed.
Amid the chatter and laughter, ten warships unloaded anchors and set sail one after another, heading east along the rolling Yangtze River in the slightly bright morning light.
