Zhenguan Crown Prince Li Chengqian

Chapter 79 The Great Tang Needs a Navy Division (1)

East Palace
Li Chengqian had just finished his breakfast when Heng Lian came in to report the arrival of Prince Hejian and Prince Rencheng.Hearing that the two brothers had come together, Li Chengqian asked Heng Lian to lead them to the study first, and then he went there after washing up.

Seeing Li Chengqian coming in, the two quickly got up and saluted. "Forget it, sit down, why are my brothers being polite. Since I became the prince, you two have not even entered the door, it is really meaningless."

Hearing what Li Chengqian said, the two coughed a few times, looked at each other and sat down.

"Your Highness, you don't know. After my old man was impeached for the matter of Stone City. Except for errands in the Yamen, I didn't rush there, for fear of causing trouble to my father."

"You are timid. You were afraid of wolves and tigers. What's the matter? Didn't the second uncle say nothing? But you are better than me. Ever since my royal father married that goblin, we haven't had a good life. ", Li Jinghuan chattered aside.

Li Chengqian knew about his affairs, his mother and concubine left early, and King Ren Cheng took another room. Who knew that the mother-in-law was really up-to-date, and gave birth to Li Daozong's third son, named Li Jingkuo.

Since then, Li Jinghuan and his three brothers and sisters have not been treated very well.Don't the common people often say that one room smells bad and the other room smells fragrant?Later, it became even more excessive. Li Jinghuan's stepmother actually encouraged Li Daozong to go to the emperor and asked for his youngest son to be his son.

This made Li Shimin very angry. Everyone knew that he took the throne from his father and brother, so they were naturally very disgusted with his brothers taking the throne.

Not only scolded Li Daozong, but also issued an order to Zongzheng Temple not to allow Li Jinghuan, the stepmother, to be the concubine, and downgraded Li Jingxuan from a concubine to a concubine.

"Second brothers, those are trivial matters. I don't know if the two brothers want to come out and do something practical."

"Your Highness, the brothers are really envious of your ability to let go of the horse on the battlefield. Do you want us brothers to be transferred to the sixth rate?"

Li Jinghuan asked excitedly, who doesn't know that Li Chengqian's six rates don't look like they are on guard, it's a real field trip.

The soldiers are all strong young men selected in a hundred, well equipped and strictly disciplined. Many people say in private that this is the second Xuanjia army.

Li Chongyi shook his head and said: "I'm afraid you guessed wrong. My father told me that His Highness wants some good sailors, so I will come to the East Palace to listen to the tune."

Papa Li Chengqian groaned a few times, and then said: "Chongyi is right, I asked the two elder brothers to come here today to ask how much you know about the navy."

Li Xiaogong is one of the few masters of water warfare in the Tang Dynasty, and Li Jinghuan was originally taught by King Hejian, so he is also familiar with water warfare.Seeing that Li Chengqian was talking about business, Li Jinghuan immediately stopped laughing.

After pondering for a while, he said: "Water warfare is the most important ship, and a good ship is the first condition for victory. Take Yang Su's extermination of Chen in the former Sui Dynasty as an example. The Northern Army has never been good at water warfare, but Yang Su supervised the construction The five-tooth warship makes up for this deficiency. But our Tang Dynasty doesn’t pay much attention to the navy, and we still use old-fashioned wheel ships. The reason is that the five-tooth warship is too expensive, and we can’t afford it.”

Li Chongyi nodded: "Yes, during the reign of Wude, when my father assisted Gonghu, he also used wheeled ships. The combat methods of water warfare are collision warfare and boarding warfare. Bows and arrows are the main ones, and the sailors on the boat are divided into swords and shields. Soldiers, archers, boatmen.

Sword and shield soldiers are responsible for defense and "jump gang" fighting after ships approach, and archers are equipped with bows and arrows, daggers and cover shooters.The boatman manages the advance and retreat of ships. "

Li Chengqian nodded after hearing this, it seems that his two cousins ​​really got the true biography of Li Xiaogong.As for why she always looks bad in front of people, it's just because she was born into a royal family and couldn't help herself.

"The Great Tang navy's ruined palace is known, especially in recent years, the military focus has been on the north, so the brothers of the navy have suffered a lot of grievances."

"Last year, locust plagues spread all over the 27 prefectures in Guanzhong. If it weren't for Du He's temporary private fleet, we don't know when the food would be shipped back."

Hearing what Li Chengqian said, Li Chongyi and his brothers looked bitter. It seems that the crown prince wants to use the navy as a food delivery team. Datang has repeatedly launched troops in the north in recent years. It seems that those brothers in the navy have no future. .

Of course, Li Chengqian could see the expressions of the two of them, and he also knew that the two brothers had been in the navy for a long time, and it was hard to imagine that they were a bit sad.

"Don't worry, my two brothers. I won't let those warriors who have fought many battles go to work as porters for nothing. It's really shameful that such a big country doesn't have a decent navy. In addition, the cost of land transportation is too high. It is also necessary to establish a military supply line over the water."

"At the same time, we can eliminate those pirates who can rob us in the Great Tang sea area, and open up business routes on the sea. This is better than rowing in the inner sea."

Hearing what Li Chengqian said, the faces of the two brothers changed. It is better to fight than to be idle, and you can earn some military merits.Although it is not comparable to the Sixteenth Guards, no matter how small a grasshopper is, it is still meat.

"Your Highness, as far as I know, Du He and the others were all transported from Linyi. If we go by sea, our current broken ships will not work in the open sea."

Li Chengqian waved and said: "I know that if you let brothers drive such a ship out to sea, wouldn't you let them die. I want to choose a suitable deep-water port and build a group of fleets that can adapt to ocean operations. Find out today Brother is here for this."

"Is Your Highness going to build a five-tooth warship?" Li Jinghuan couldn't sit still when he heard about building a new fleet.Originally, I thought that all the skills I learned from my uncle were in vain, and I didn't know anything else, so my life was nothing more than just getting through the day.

But what Li Chengqian said was too tempting. If he could command the fleet of the five-toothed warship, he would wake up laughing from his dreams.

"Is the five-tooth warship suitable for operations in the open sea?" Li Chengqian asked this question. Since the five-tooth warship came out, has it ever fought in the open sea? It is all wandering in the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.Although Li Chengqian has never been in the navy, he still knows the difference between the inland river and the outer sea.

Li Chongyi thought for a while: "Your Highness, there are not many inland rivers and outlying seas. For example, the waves in the inland rivers are far less powerful than those in the outer seas. In this way, a ship building as tall as the five-yad ship would be easier to capsize. .

This is also the reason why ships in the open sea do not have too high ship towers.Therefore, the minister thought that if new ships were to be built, this was of paramount importance. "

Li Chengqian touched the ink, and then asked: "Is there a sample of the warship of the Five Fangs Fleet? We brothers don't know if we are here."

After hearing this, Li Jinghuan immediately said: "The Ministry of Industry has it, just send someone to come."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but patted his forehead, and said to Henglian who was beside him: "Why are you still standing there, hurry up to the Ministry of Industry and bring all the warship samples they have."

(End of this chapter)