Chapter 421 Jingzhou’s response
The Manila-class sailing ship can be said to be a masterpiece that has the effect of connecting the past and the future. However, its construction difficulty is much simpler than that of the later wind valve battleships. Especially now that Liu Feng's men are developing miniature Manila-class battleships.
This is also a helpless move. You must know that the largest warship today is only about 2,000 to 3,000 stone. If converted into displacement, a ship with 3,000 stone is only about 180 tons. of drainage.
As for the Manila-class sailing first-class battleship, the smallest one has a weight of 1,800 tons, and most of them are more than 2,000 tons. When fully loaded, it is close to 2,200 tons.
Therefore, the sailing ship that Liu Feng successfully developed at this time only had a displacement of tens of tons, but it was very suitable for sailing offshore and within the Yangtze River. When necessary, it could also sail on secondary rivers such as the Huaihe River, the Yellow River, and the Jingjiang River. You can also get in.
Now the two newly produced ships were all assigned to Xuezhou and Zheng Bao's fleets by Liu Feng's order. After the sea trial was successful, the formation went south to join the Fujian battlefield. The next six ships are all prepared to participate in the Battle of Jingzhou.
Depending on subsequent needs, we will carry out production equipment.
Next, Liu Feng took a boat to Yuzhou Island.
Now only the saltworks workers are left here, and the local fishermen and indigenous people have been moved to the mainland.
This is a necessary secretive measure, because now the entire Yuzhou Island has become Liu Feng's largest snow salt producing area.
Liu Feng used the salt field method to open up a large number of salt fields on Yuzhou Island, then supplemented it with various brine filters, and finally the firing method.
Nowadays, the annual output of the salt fields on Yuzhou Mountain Island is more than one hundred shi per acre. Just from the hundreds of acres of salt fields that have been opened up, the annual output of snow salt is tens of thousands of shi, which is even more than in the past. production of coarse salt.
Furthermore, the cost of this salt field drying method is much lower than that of cooking. Because the fuel required is significantly reduced, the manpower required is also significantly reduced, thus greatly increasing profits.
The only thing you need to be careful about is the confidentiality system. Fortunately, Liu Feng split the entire salt field drying method into steps and adopted an assembly line operation. It is strictly forbidden to inquire about each other.
At the same time, a lot of manpower has been deployed on Yuzhoushan Island and at sea, specifically for counter-espionage and counter-espionage operations. It can be said that they are strictly guarded to the extreme.
After Liu Feng completed his inspection and returned to Qu County, Quan Cong sent a secret report from Jingzhou.
Quan Cong joined Liu Feng when he was still in Wanling, and Fan Shun joined him at the same time. The two loved each other and donated large areas of land and household registration, which won Liu Feng's appreciation and love.
Afterwards, Liu Feng took Quan Cong and Fan Shun with him, and recommended Quan Rou, Quan Cong's father, as the eastern captain of Kuaiji, and Fan Fu, the father of Fan Shun, as the eastern captain of Kuaiji.
This result can be said to be a happy one for everyone.
Liu Feng's series of actions in Kuaiji deeply shocked many powerful nobles in Jiangdong. Especially people like Quan Cong, who were far-sighted and ambitious. They saw that Liu Feng had very low tolerance for the powerful nobles hoarding land, and they even chose to discriminate against such scholars in employment.
Taking the four major surnames in Jiangdong as an example, the donation and sale of land by their families was an obvious watershed.
Before this, they were suppressed and monitored by Liu Feng. After that, the four major surnames almost embarked on the fast lane for promotion together.
Quan Cong felt passionate after seeing this, so he would not hesitate to break up with his father, but also lead the family to transform and seek a future with the land. Otherwise, the final result may be the loss of both people and land.
"My lord, a secret report from Jingzhou."
Quan Cong was tall and strong. He walked up to Liu Feng, glanced at Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, and carefully handed over the two silk books. Go to Liu cover.
Liu Feng took the silk book, opened it, and started reading. Mi Zhu quietly took two steps back, and at the same time pulled Mi Fang down, who stretched her neck to watch.
********
Time went back to half a month ago. Liu Biao was shocked to hear that Liu Feng was aggressively expanding his army in Jiangdong, and he urgently summoned his close ministers for discussion.
When everyone was gathered, Liu Biao passed on the information in his hand. Starting from Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, Liu Pan and others began to read it in turn.
"Xidu, what do you think of this matter?"
The first person Liu Biao asked was Kuai Yue. He was a man of outstanding ability, resourcefulness and extraordinary knowledge. Liu Biao was most convinced and even a little afraid of him.
It can be said that in the entire Jingzhou, only Kuai Yidu's ability is something Liu Biao thinks he is inferior to.
Kuai Yue straightened up on his seat, bowed respectfully to Liu Biao, and replied: "With Yue's view, there is nothing to worry about."
"Oh?"
< br>Hearing Kuai Yue's answer, Liu Biao felt relieved and continued to ask: "Why does Yidu have this opinion?"
Kuai Yue said with a smile: "Before Liu Xuande fought Yuan Gonglu last year, he only had 89,000 soldiers and horses. This time he went south to defeat Yuan Shu, pacify Liu Yao, and capture Sun Ce in one year. The casualties should be 40,000 to 50,000. "
Everyone in the hall nodded slowly after listening to Kuai Yue's words. It was obvious that most people agreed with Kuai Yue's view.
Kuai Yue continued: "But Yuan Shu's old army should have had one hundred thousand people, and Liu Yao's command also had fifty or sixty thousand people (including Zuo Rong and Xue Li, who were Liu Yao's subordinates at the time). Sun Ce was expanding his army in Wu County. There are also 50,000 or 60,000 people, plus the 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers who surrendered from Kuaiji. Even if the people in Danyang are not included, there are still 250,000 people. The battle is so fast, it is expected that there will be casualties. Not many. Among the 250,000 surrendered soldiers, there should be 150,000 available troops. "
After saying this, Kuai Yue raised his hand to Liu Biao: "Ming Gong, Liu Xuande's troops are only eight. Ninety thousand, the number of troops dropped at this moment is almost double. If they are not digested as soon as possible, they may be in danger of overthrow. "
"That's it."
Liu Fang looked stunned, but deep down he was not completely relaxed because of Kuai Yue's words.
Liu Biao turned to Cai Mao and gave him a look.
Cai Mao then asked Kuai Yue: "Yidu, Liu Xuande did have his reasons for expanding his army. However, after the expansion, his troops will number as many as 200,000, which may pose a threat to our Jingzhou." , so we must be careful.”
“Degui is too worried. "
Kuai Yue smiled and said: "Look at the distribution of Degui's troops. The main force may have rebelled north and is deployed on the front line of Runan and Peiguo in Yuzhou, or it may be dispersed and deployed in Kuaiji. , Yuzhang line, it can be seen that it has no plans for our state for the time being. ”
After Kuai Yue explained something to Cai Hao, he then said to Liu Biao: "In Yue's opinion, within half a year to a year, Liu Bei will gain a new state, and Runan will only gain it for two years, and he will expand his army so much." , the top priority now is to appease the local area and clear out the mountains and rivers, which undoubtedly requires a large number of troops. "
"What's more, there are two great heroes in the north, Yuan and Cao. They have many soldiers and elite troops, and each has their own advantages. If Liu Xuande doesn't deploy a hundred thousand soldiers, he may not be able to sleep well. "< br>
Liu Biao nodded slowly, and his frown gradually relaxed.
In the original time and space, although the Sun family had 60,000 or 70,000 troops, one-third or even half of the troops were always in the rear to clear out Shanyue.
Every time he went out to fight, Shanyue would also counterattack, destroy Soochow's infrastructure, and even besiege towns. If the trouble gets serious, Soochow will be forced to return to the army to put down the rebellion.
Liu Biao and Kuai Yue are also aware of these situations. Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there have been almost countless Shanyue rebellions. Although most of them are not large in scale, the number of times is outrageous, and there can even be hundreds of times a year.
After Kuai Yue's analysis, Liu Biao immediately relaxed.
But then, Kuai Yue suggested again: "Ming Gong, a few days ago, Governor Huang sent an official document requesting the expansion of the navy. Yue Yue thought that we should follow his proposal."
"Why is this?" Liu Biao asked in confusion: "Now Huang Zu has 20,000 naval troops. Isn't it enough to use them?"
Kuai Yue replied sternly: "Ming Gong, it has been stated in the intelligence just now that Liu Feng, Liu Bei's son, is currently stationed in Wanling, Danyang. He is expanding the naval force and dispatching sea ships to the expedition to Huinan. However, the remaining ships are Where are they? As we all know, the number of river ships is far greater than that of sea ships. I am afraid that there will be many navy ships. The crowd of twenty or thirty thousand must not be ignored. "
Kuai Yue's words reminded Liu Biao that Jiangxia, where Huang Zu was located, was indeed the key to Yangzhou's westward journey, but at the same time, it was also an important town in Jingxiang. If something happens to Jiangxia, the whole of Jingxiang will be shaken.
It can also be seen that what Kuai Yue said is factual and very thoughtful.
After listening to Kuai Yue's words, Liu Biao fell into deep thought.
Cai Mao interjected at this moment: "Ming Gong, Mao has something to say, I don't know whether to say it or not."
Liu Biao was interrupted by Cai Hao, but he did not show any displeasure. Instead, he replied seriously: "I wonder what De Gui's advice is? You can just tell me your own story."
Cai Hao cupped his hands and said: "Now Jiangxia There are already 20,000 naval troops, and the number has reached the same level as The Xiangyang navy was even."
At this time, the Jingzhou navy had a total of 50,000 people, of which 20,000 were the Jiangxia navy, and the other 20,000 were the Xiangyang navy. The last 10,000 were deployed in Jiangling and Yi, Nanjun. Ling, Yidao and other important rivers.
The leader of the Jiangxia navy was naturally Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia, while the Xiangyang navy was led by Cai Mao.
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At present, the Jiangxia navy is already on par with the Xiangyang navy. If it continues to expand, wouldn't it be even stronger than the Xiangyang navy?
As the boss of the Xiangyang navy, how could Cai Mao accept it?
Besides, it is very convenient to reach Jiangxia from Xiangyang. It only takes more than ten days to reach Jiangxia by going down the Han River. If there is any trouble, it will be too late to mobilize the Xiangyang navy to dispatch reinforcements. So why should we use resources and troops? Where is the horse yielding to Huang Zu?
Cai Hao just said this nonsense, but Liu Biao completely understood what Cai Hao wanted to express, and Liu Biao also agreed with it.
Because the Huang family is so powerful that it has even surpassed the Cai family and the Kuai family.
Liu Biao is now known as the Lord of Jingzhou. He is actually the leader of the alliance elected by the Jingxiang gentry. Moreover, the four counties in Jingnan have not been very convinced by him. They only nominally submit to Liu Biao's official position of Jingzhou Mu.
Among the four counties in Jingbei, Jiangxia County has become Huang Zu's private territory, a true state within a state. All officials in Jiangxia are determined by Huang Zu, and he only needs to submit the decision to Liu Biao for approval.
What is even more exaggerated is that in the middle of last year, Huang Zu's son Huang She became the prefect of Zhangling again.
The so-called Zhangling County is a new county separated from Nanyang County. It has about seven or eight counties.
Its location is also very subtle. It happens to be connected with the northern part of Jiangxia County, and it is a barrier to the east of Xiangyang. It can be seen that Liu Biao's favor to the Huang family can no longer be increased.
But no matter how much you trust in favor, you must have a bottom line.
The bottom line is Xiangyang’s military power.
If Jiangxia's military strength is allowed to overtake Xiangyang, there is a real risk of Tai Ah's inversion.
"Ming Gong."
Bie Jia Han Song also stood up and cupped his hands at this time: "Huang Taishou also sent a letter, requesting Ming Gong to place Xunyang under Jiangxia's control, and at the same time ordered the spear army to also Delayed return, staying in Jiangxia is still under his control."
Liu Biao frowned slightly. He had great trust in Huang Zu, and even deliberately indulged himself in order to suppress the Jingzhou scholars.
The other party also knew this, so whenever he had the opportunity, he applied Huang Zu's eye drops in front of Liu Biao.
After Liu Biao pondered for a moment, he made a decision: "The spear army was sent to be wary of Liu Xuande. Since Liu Xuande is at peace with our state, there is no need to stay in Jiangxia for a long time. Xunyang belongs to Yangzhou, so he rashly It is also inappropriate to change the position. "
Liu Biao sent troops to reinforce him because he was worried that Liu Bei would completely break up with him and fight against each other.
Now Liu Bei actually held back, and Liu Biao did not want to start a war with Liu Bei, so he would not be stupid enough to change Xunyang County to provoke Liu Bei, so he immediately rejected Huang Zu's invitation.
"The Ming Dynasty is wise."
Biejia Huang Song immediately kowtowed and accepted the order.
However, Liu Biao's decision was not finished yet. He continued: "Huang Gongyuan wants to add ships and troops. He can approve the addition of 20 ships, 100 ships and 5,000 naval troops."
At this time, the navy was almost all amphibious, and it was not just water warfare. This also has a lot to do with the navy's reliance on gang jumping at this time.
Hearing that Liu Biao actually agreed to Huang Zu's request for more troops, Cai Mao opened his mouth to object.
"Degui, don't be impatient."
But Liu Biao raised his hand to stop Cai Mao from speaking, and continued: "Since the situation is tense, the Xiangyang armies also need to expand. I authorize you to expand the naval force by 10,000 people. , add forty ships and red horses Sixty ships."
Then he said to Liu Pan: "After Liu Hu returns, the spear army will expand to 6,000 men in the third battalion, and this matter will be left to you and Ahu."
Liu Pan was overjoyed and quickly got up to answer the order.
Cai Mao also reaped benefits. He accounted for almost half of the 21,000-strong army expansion this time. Naturally, he was quite satisfied and no longer opposed it.
At this time, Kuai Yue reminded: "Ming Gong, if this happens, we will almost expand the army by 20,000 people. The government's finances are quite difficult and it may be difficult to support it."
"Yidu, don't worry too much."
Liu Biao waved his hand, and then moved toward Kuai Yue His brother Kuai Liang ordered: "Zirou, for this expansion of the army, the expenses of the spear army and Huang Gongyuan's headquarters will be funded by my internal treasury. It's just Degui's headquarters, I have to trouble you."
Liu Biao in this time and space has much more money than in the original time and space.
The trade with Liu Feng brought him a lot of money, which not only added a lot of weapons and armor to his cronies, but also made his life much more luxurious than before.
But even so, Liu Biao still had a lot of wealth in his hands, which could be used to subsidize military expenses.
Kuai Liang hesitated and looked at Kuai Yue and Cai Mao.
At this time, Kuai Yue sat back again, looking at his nose with his eyes, his nose at his heart, and said no more. Cai Mao, on the other hand, nodded at Kuai Liang in a subtle way to show his agreement.
Thereupon, Kuai Liang bowed down to Liu Biao and obeyed the order: "Liang will obey the order of Duke Ming."
(End of this chapter)