Chapter five hundred and sixty-eight of Chu's confidence
On the seventh day after Gan Ning arrived in Ganzhou, Bai Tu received Jiang Wan's invitation and Gan Ning's secret letter in Jinling...
After "Huang Tianji" joined, "real-time contact" has been almost achieved in Chu State. The only obstacle is that civil servants with a certain mental strength are needed to preside over the "Jingbao", so there are still some difficulties in popularizing it among civilians.
The more than six days spent, in fact, the most time was spent in Danzhou - from the seaside in the east, Kuai Ma to the port in the west, it took a lot of time.
After all, the infrastructure in Danzhou is far inferior to that in the mainland of Chu, and only a few important roads have been built.
As for maritime transportation, after continuous implementation and optimization of route records, the time from Kuaiji Road to Yizhou and Jiangdong Road to Danzhou can now be controlled within three days!
And as soon as the news reaches Jiangdong Road, it can be immediately translated into "precise reports" and sent directly to Jinling...
After Bai Tu read Gan Ning's secret message, he felt happy but also a little helpless.
Fortunately, the actual casualties of the navy were not too large. Gan Ning even brought back most of the target crops. It was just rubber trees and the like that had been tossed in the shipwreck once. I don't know if they could survive. Moreover, the voyage target was basically
Finish……
You must know that Gan Ning delayed his return for so long, and Bai Tu had even considered the scenario of "annihilation of the entire army".
And now the naval generals did not suffer too many casualties. Although it is a pity for the five thousand elite Ji Zao soldiers, the pain is not unbearable.
Now these losses, compared to expectations, have made Bai Tu feel very lucky.
And the helpless thing is...
Most of the fleet was lost, and even one cruiser was stranded. Now the returning navy only has more than 8,000 people.
The size of the navy does not depend on the number of people, but on the ships. In this regard, Gan Ning lost 80% of the combat power of the navy he led in this trip!
But the good news is that the 8,000 marines who came back not only have stronger psychological quality and toughness, but also 30% of them are human warriors, which is more than 2,000 people.
As long as Ji Zao has enough soldiers, he can quickly replenish his troops...
In recent years, due to the pressure from Wei's smuggler fleet, Chu State finally put its thoughts on "railway" on iron ships.
Now Yizhou Secret Shipyard has built a 20,000-ton armored ship and three 5,000-ton cruisers.
The "Jinxiu" brought back by Gan Ning only needs some repairs before it can be re-included in the list of warships...
There are also various warships that are incompletely armored or covered with iron, ten impact ships with a displacement of several thousand tons, more than twenty various gunboats with a displacement of hundreds of tons, and warships with a displacement of tens of tons.
Hundred!
These are considered the main battleships. They are fully manned and ready for war. They require about 6,000 generals and 30,000 Ji Zao soldiers.
Because of the superiority of Zhenqi engine technology, in terms of displacement, this is already the cutting-edge level of steam engine technology in the early 20th century. However, in terms of ship-based guns, the technology is still very primitive, and in terms of torpedoes, it relies even more on rod torpedoes-that is, in long-term
Install an explosive device on the pole and then ram it into the enemy ship!
Although the Chu Navy could recruit so many people before, it still had to mobilize elites from Liaodong and Donglai.
After all, the Navy has always been talking about quality, not quantity, and these big guys, Baitu is reluctant to show off to the recruits...
If they were to be transferred, not only would they be vulnerable to "weakness attacks", but it would also be unfavorable for confidentiality.
Now that the ocean-going fleet has returned more than two thousand generals, the navy has indeed suddenly become more comfortable.
However, to be on the safe side, Bai Tu still wrote to Gan Ning first, hoping to understand the psychological state of the returning navy.
If it's suitable, it's best to send it directly to Yizhou for assault training. If it's not suitable, it can only be sent back for training first. Bai Tu doesn't want to waste this elite team that has fought against nature all the time just because he has been too hasty.
…
As for the situation of the ocean-going navy after Gan Ning's move, it will definitely be "leaked" gradually, but it is just right!
Anyway, the other princes only vaguely knew that Chu's ocean-going navy had suffered heavy losses, but they did not know that its remaining effective strength could naturally play a role in "showing weakness to the enemy".
Only in this way will they have the confidence to fight Chu State head-on on the sea...
Otherwise, with the Qi ships, Qi bullets, crossbows, and artillery that were "leaked" during the Battle of Hanzhong, Wei may not dare to compete with Chu on the sea!
At this time, the princes from all sides, no matter how slow they were, had already noticed that Chu's army seemed to be entering a new stage, and was about to bring the fundamental rules of "war" to the next stage.
And this is not only an unknown territory for them in terms of tactics, but more importantly... the Qi missile crossbow and Qi ship are both things that they are unable to imitate now.
Even in the Wei State, because of "Chaotang reasons", Qiaojiangying had invested a lot in maritime vehicles and ships. Even Ma Jun had discovered the convenience of propellers, and there was not a big bottleneck in mechanical skills, but...
The State of Wei simply cannot afford to raise Zhenqi ships!
If this thing only relies on the generals' true energy, it will drain the entire Wei army of middle and high-level generals, and the scale it can support is also very limited. But if you want to use the true energy of the people... except for the Chu State, where is the true energy of the people?
If you don't have enough food, you still need to practice Qi to increase your appetite? I'm afraid you will lose both Qi and blood and die in a year or two!
Now the princes of all parties finally understand that the Chu State's previous intention to promote the cultivation of Qi among all the people was not to "forcefully consume food", but had a more important purpose.
Nowadays, no one except Chu State can resist this consumption...
It’s not just the reduction of grain taxes among the people that can play a role, the essence of Shennong, the grassroots promotion of intensive cultivation, various water conservancy projects, and those Qi farming tools that continuously create a virtuous cycle... are all from the Chu State.
part of "confidence"!
How can other princes have time to do this now!
Especially single-person Qi farming tools - Want to use Qi farming tools to improve farming efficiency? You need Qi! To practice Qi? You need grain! To increase grain production? You need Qi farming tools...
Even now that the uses of Zhen Qi Machine are gradually exposed, other princes can only envy and hate it.
Under this situation, if Wei is not given some confidence, he is afraid that he will continue to fight guerrillas with Chu on the sea.
After Gan Ning received Bai Tu's letter, he did not disappoint Bai Tu and took people directly to Yizhou to prove with actual actions that he could still fight!
This is indeed the case, and Gan Ning is definitely not trying to be brave...
In Gan Ning's words to Bai Tu - what the more than two thousand generals are worried about now is not the brutal battle and hard training, but the worry that the Chu State will no longer organize ocean voyages because of this "failure".
The brothers from Golden State and Wangchu are really separated!
Knowing the current situation of Chu's navy, the generals who returned from the ocean just wanted to dismantle Wei's navy and some smuggler fleet as soon as possible, and restore maritime hegemony as soon as possible, in order to make their next voyage...