Han Shizu

Chapter 420 Jingjiang Army

In the western suburbs of Kaifeng, between the Jinshui River and the Bianhe River, there is a pool in a low-lying place.It was during the autumn and winter of the second year of Qianyou that Wang Pu was ordered to excavate it for the training of the Han Navy.

There are more than thirteen miles around the pool. It runs north-south and has a long east-west diameter.At the beginning, more than 40,000 soldiers and civilians were recruited to build this pool, which took about two months and cost 30 million.

Chi Xincheng, without a special name, is directly called "Xinchi".After the completion of the pool, Liu Chengyou allocated money and food to build more than [-] large and small warships on the side of the Bian River, and selected young and strong water-students from the Forbidden Army and the Central Plains and Huaibei states to organize and train the navy.In addition to recruiting soldiers from Jingbei prefecture and county, just now [-] sailors were gathered, named Jingjiang Army.

As the commander of the Jingjiang army, Liu Chengyou thought about it, thought it over and over again, and was transferred to Xiangxun.Liu Chengyou also had no choice. The north really lacked generals who were good at water warfare. Liu Chengyou was worried about using outsiders directly. After all, he spent a lot of money to build a "water army".

Using Xiang Xun can be regarded as "drought water will be used", which means to drive ducks to the shelves, but Liu Chengyou also asked about his meaning face to face. Although it was a bit difficult, Xiang Xun gritted his teeth and agreed, vowing to become a navy army.

Of course, Liu Chengyou also knew not to be too reluctant. In order to reduce the pressure on Xiang Xun, Liu Chengyou mobilized a group of military academies from Xiang, An, Ying, Fu and other southern counties to go north to assist Xiang Xun and train the navy.

As for Xiang Xun, he was given the mission of Liu Chengyou and felt a heavy responsibility. After the warships, officers and soldiers, money and food were fully equipped, he led more than ten naval generals from different origins and devoted himself to the preparation and training of the Jingjiang Army.

As far as Liu Chengyou knew, when Xiang Xun was the chief general of the navy, he knew his shortcomings and was not ashamed to ask his subordinates. He took the two commanders from Xiangyang as his teachers and asked them for advice.There are also many military parades, studying ancient and modern naval battles, summing up their experience, gains and losses, and actively discussing with their subordinates in training, formation, and battles.At the same time, Xiang Xun also took the initiative to learn the knowledge of astronomy and geography, and went to the library to check the hydrology of national rivers, especially the land of the Jianghuai River.
The chief general took the lead, and the officers and soldiers followed suit. After more than half a year, the mob that was originally like a mess of loose sand gradually took on the appearance of a navy.

The rowing of the boats and the battle against the board are all in good shape. Liu Chengyou has patrolled a few times, at least it looks like this.

The new pool in Jichun has a pleasant scenery, with blue fields stretching to the sky and shades of trees.The tens of miles around Xinchi are all designated as royal gardens. On weekdays, there is an iron cavalry army training and cruising in it. In fact, it is to prevent people from spying on the training situation of the navy.

The news of digging ponds and lakes and training sailors cannot be concealed, but the specific situation of the navy can be hidden if it can be hidden.Regarding the news from Jinling, the emperors and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty did not take it seriously when they heard that Emperor Han was digging ponds in Kaifeng to irrigate water to train the navy.

Only Han Xizai spoke up, telling Li Jing to be careful of the Northern Han Dynasty, but unfortunately, Li Jing believed in Han Xizai, and couldn't bear Han Xizai's attitude of "I'm the right one" to advise.As a "good teacher and helpful friend" of the great Han Dynasty, Feng Yansi also laughed at it, saying that the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty dug a pool on the flat ground to train troops, which was a great feat, and it was nothing to be afraid of.

Although he just laughed it off, it wasn't that he didn't react at all. Li Jing also sent his servant Li Deming as an envoy to Kaifeng to contact the joint army to attack Chu.Liu Chengyou ordered Tao Gu to entertain Li Deming, and ordered him to repay Li Jing, saying that when Tang soldiers entered Chu, the Han army would follow.

Obviously, after taking the bait, Nantang's side was more active than Liu Chengyou's side imagined.It was March, and Tang Ting was already preparing to send troops into Chu.

The sun is warm, the breeze is gentle, and the surrounding scenery makes people feel comfortable.This time, it was Liu Chengyou's family who went out for an outing. The queen, noble concubine, and virtuous concubine all brought the prince. This time, Liu Chengyou did not forget to bring the eldest son Liu Xu with him, and Empress Fu Shi personally took care of it.

In the distance, a camp was set up. When the grass was growing and the warblers were flying, Concubine Gao and Concubine Zhexian were flying kites and running against the wind, especially Concubine Gao, her beautiful body trembled with joy and laughter.
Liu Chengyou still had time to appreciate the beautiful scenery, his eyes still fell on the Xinchi, where dozens of Han navy ships were forming an attack formation and practicing.

Under the protection of Ouchi's guards, let Xiang Xun accompany him, ride his horse lightly on the bank of Xinchi, and walk slowly from south to north.

Regarding the Navy, Liu Chengyou is basically talking about it on paper. Although he can't see anything famous, his demeanor is touching when he observes his fleet from a distance and his soldiers up close.

"Xingmin, you really lived up to my expectations. Every time I watch the navy, I have a different experience. The navy is gradually becoming a success!" Liu Chengyou pointed to the pond and marched, the flag was waving, and the voice of the navy was endless. Xiang Xun said.

Xiang Xun was approaching his forties, and his career as a naval officer in less than a year seemed to make him three years older.

Hearing Liu Chengyou's words at this time, I felt that the emperor was a little optimistic. He rode on the horse and hit him directly: "To tell you the truth, the new pool is still water, which is completely incomparable with the complexity of rivers and rivers. Torrents, undercurrents, reefs, and so on. Such dangers cannot be easily overcome by the division of Jingshui. It is still far away from becoming an army!"

Listening to Xiang Xun's conservative answer, Liu Chengyou expressed his appreciation for his reason and calmness: "It seems that I chose Xingmin as the general, which is a correct choice. It is a last resort for the general to lead the navy and laymen to lead the experts." However, it is even more rare for the general to actively study and make progress!"

Since following Liu Chengyou, Xiang Xun has been praised a lot, but this time, he is not as calm and indifferent as before, and replied with a sigh: "Your Majesty pays the hand of the minister with the navy, and the minister deeply feels the heavy responsibility. Fulfill your duties and repay Your Majesty!"

Nodding his head, Liu Chengyou said: "Just to tell you what I said to Xingmin, the Jingjiang army will be of great use in conquering Huainan in the future!"

His eyes lit up, he clasped his fists to Xun, and said passionately: "Even though our army lacks actual combat, I can't guarantee it, but in terms of training and training, the courage to fight is definitely better than the bandit army!"

"Listen to this, cheer up!" Liu Chengyou said, after thinking for a while, he told Xiang Xun: "The next naval division training should go out of the river and enter the river, and ride the boat on the turbulence of the river. Actual combat experience may not be available. , but other things should be familiarized with and practiced, so don't relax!"

"Yes!"

Xiang Xun said with emotion to Liu Chengyou: "I am good at cavalry in the north. If we talk about water warfare, we have to count the southern countries. As far as I know, it is common for southern princes to conquer thousands of warships and tens of thousands of soldiers. And In my north, since three generations, there are only a handful of records. The largest scale is the time when the Liang and Jin Jiahe fought fiercely. The Jin army burned the beam boats. Infantry sailing a boat"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou said: "It is precisely for this reason that the training of the navy is essential. It is not enough to conquer Huainan with cavalry and cavalry. Even if it can be won, I don't know how much it will cost. If there are tens of thousands, we only need to move one part to the upper part of the Huai River, across both sides of the river, if there is no navy to support it, it will definitely cause great trouble for our army."

"What Your Majesty said is true!" Xiang Xun echoed.

"And if I want to completely wipe out the southern countries, I need to rely on the strength of the navy. The training in Xinchi is just a small fight. After Jingnan is captured, we should organize and train in the Jiangxia, and even build sea ships and send out strange soldiers on the sea. .”

Listening to the emperor's general plan, Xiang Xun bowed with emotion: "Your Majesty's grand plans and long-term plans make my ministers fascinated!"

He also briefly chatted with Xiang Xun about naval drills, and deduced some naval tactics for conquering the Huaihe River. Liu Chengyou was still unsatisfied, but he had to let him go.Already causing the harem to be unhappy, I agreed to go out for an outing, but I caught a general discussing it non-stop.

"Officials, come and release paper kites with me!"

Zhe Xiaoniang smiled, and rode her horse to Liu Chengyou's side, still holding the string in her hand, a beautifully made paper kite was already hanging high under the blue sky.Zhe Xiaoniang is also really good at riding, pulling the string with one hand and riding the horse with the other, she is very steady.

Liu Chengyou came to the interest, drove his horses to accompany him, galloped across the field, and unexpectedly entered a dense forest on the side.Soon, the kite broke its string and fell down with the wind, and the emperor and Zhe Niangzi became sharing a horse. The difficulty of riding a horse is too high, but it is not a problem to show off brotherhood.

In this way, it was hard for the accompanying guards. Since they were all focused on protecting them in case of accidents, they didn't dare to look too much, which was very embarrassing.

It's rare for officials to be promiscuous, even the open-minded and generous Zhe Niangzi is too ashamed
When Liu Chengyou returned after enjoying himself, seeing Zhe Niang, the empress and noble concubine who were huddled in his arms with a blush remaining on her face, she was a little unhappy.

(End of this chapter)