I am Da Song

At the same time that the Northwest Song Army was expanding its territory, the Southeast of the Great Song Dynasty finally bid farewell to singing and dancing, and the atmosphere turned into chilling.

The Southeast Shipyard in Suzhou has built a huge fleet of sailing battleships.

Zhao Huan personally inspected the empire's first navy in the firearms era at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The person in charge of commanding this fleet is Wu Jie, a famous general of the Song Dynasty.

It has to be said that the Song army is really full of talents. In the north, Han Shizhong led Jingsai cavalry to sit on the frontier and clean up Mongolia.

In the west, Zhang Xian and Wang Bolong led 10,000+ Song troops to expand the territory.

In the southwest, Liu Kai guarded Longyou and pacified the tribes of Tubo.

In the southeast, there is Wu Jie commanding the fleet, ready to go on an expedition to destroy the country.

After dispatching so many famous generals, the Great Song Dynasty still has the top famous general Yue Fei in the empire and the unparalleled military genius Yu Yunwen.

Under such circumstances, the prosperity of the Song Dynasty was as stable as Mount Tai. At least a hundred years before Yue Fei, there was no possibility of any changes in the Song Dynasty.

And the prosperity of an empire lasted for nearly a hundred years. Even Zhao Huan couldn't imagine how far the country had developed.

Today's empire's expansion to the outside world is obviously a sign of the beginning of the prosperous age.

A total of 240 sailing battleships were prepared in the naval fleet outside Suzhou City, and more than 4 naval officers and soldiers gathered on the deck to accept the personal inspection of the emperor.

This is the second army that the emperor of Song personally inspected besides the Shenwu Youjun.

Therefore, on the fleet, the morale of the three armies was like a rainbow, and groups of soldiers in uniform were lined up tightly, and the red formations covered the deck.

On the mast of the warship, the red flags of the Song Dynasty fluttered in the wind, and the entire fleet was well-organized and morale was high.

Wu Jie accompanied Zhao Huan and introduced to Zhao Huan: "Today's Jianye-class battleships are equipped with a total of 140 artillery pieces, and can carry a total of 750 soldiers, sailors, doctors, and craftsmen."

"These 750 people can be roughly divided into two parts, and there is no need for marine commanders, military doctors, and artillerymen on duty."

"As well as sailors, military chief officers, naval non-commissioned officers, and maintenance craftsmen who need to be on duty in rotation."

Each warship has 140 artillery pieces, and a fleet has more than 600 artillery pieces.

The navy is indeed a gold swallowing beast.A fleet has five times more artillery than two elite field armies.

But it is precisely because of this that this is the fleet that destroys the country.

A fleet like this does not stay on the coast as a yellow water navy.

The moment they built their army was to rule the seas and conquer faraway lands.

This kind of large naval warship can basically be said to be the only service in the Song Dynasty that needs to maintain all-weather combat capabilities. This is not because of frequent naval battles, but because of the unpredictable sea climate and sea navigation. Only by being on duty at all times can this warship be served safely and effectively.

With this level of all-weather capability, it is conceivable how far a fleet can travel.

Moreover, there are not only sailors and soldiers on the warship, but also a large number of military doctors and craftsmen.

It can be said that this is a mobile sea fortress, which integrates marching, camping, logistics, supply, rest and attack.

It has greatly solved the problem of logistics and supply of the Central Plains army.

Logistical constraints have always been the biggest constraint the Central Plains has faced since ancient times.

After all, the elite land that can be occupied is basically occupied, and it is often an expedition of thousands of miles to fight others.

This distance is enough for Su De to make a round trip.

Enough for those small countries in the Middle Ages to penetrate the entire continent of Europe, and pass through one principality after another.

You must know that once the logistical supply problem is solved, even in the era of cold weapons, the Central Plains army is almost invincible on the frontal battlefield.

No one is willing to attack the majestic formation of the Central Plains heavy infantry, the banner of righteousness.

Any enemy country knows how to fortify the wall and clear the country, bypass the main force, and harass the grain roads of the Central Plains army.

After all, it is impossible to win on the frontal battlefield.

If you can win, who wants to continue the stalemate in the war, it must be more romantic to rush up and break through the enemy's formation.

When the Tang conquered Goguryeo, during the Battle of Anshicheng, the Tang army had 5000 people, and the Goguryeo army had 15 people.

The Goguryeo army, who thought they had an advantage, felt that they had the chance to win, so they gave up defending the city immediately, and wanted to go out of the city to defeat the Tang army, and the first battle would determine the outcome.

But in the end, more than 5 ranks were cut directly, and more than [-] horses were captured.

The beheading level is as high as 10, and the unstated deaths and injuries must be at least tripled.Before and after, nearly [-] people were lost in World War I.

This is the absolute dominance of the Central Plains Celestial Dynasty on the frontal battlefield.

It can even be said that in the process of going to Nanyang, five hundred elite heavy infantry in the Central Plains can destroy a small country.

After having muskets, the difference in combat power between the two sides will be even greater.

So after inspecting the Quanquan Army, Zhao Huan said to Wu Jie: "The country has spent huge sums of money to build this invincible fleet. What I hope is that you can open up far-reaching territories for the country and show off my heavenly power. You must be loyal to the king. Pass on merit."

Maintaining 240 huge warships and a navy of nearly 20 people is a huge financial expenditure.

Even if the Song Empire had to bear such a huge expense, it would be a heavy burden.

If it can't generate huge profits and bring unparalleled wealth, then the empire's invincible fleet will be a heavy and useless expensive burden.

But Zhao Huan is still confident in this aspect. After all, Spain and Great Britain's Armada have exchanged huge wealth, and gold, silver, and spices from all over the world have continuously flowed into their countries.

As long as Da Song's fleet can spread all over the oceans, it will definitely help Da Song master the important sea routes and prosperous commercial routes everywhere.

Moreover, this fleet can not only be used to rule the sea hegemony, but also can be used to destroy the country.

Jiaozhi was the first target chosen by Zhao Huan.

Wu Jie saluted Zhao Huan solemnly, and said: "The minister will lead the king's division to wipe out all the local powerful vassals who do not obey the king's order, and the governor of the Jinghai Navy, and the king of Jiaozhi County will return to the Central Plains, and question the crime before the emperor."

Zhao Huan nodded and said: "I waited for you to report the victory early. It is spring now, and the southeast wind blows, and you can set off immediately. With the help of the monsoon, the fleet can go straight to Shenglong City in Jiaozhi. Completely wipe out Jiaozhi Rebellion, reset the state and counties to Vietnam."

"This battle is a battle to test the achievements of the navy. The destruction of Vietnam in the past dynasties has yielded hundreds of thousands of catties of gold. I hope that Qing and others can go far forward."

Hundreds of thousands of catties of gold are millions of taels. Although this figure is only a tenth, or even a few tenth, of the fleet's construction cost, it also has great symbolic significance.

It means that the navy is no longer just maintaining routes, but can also bring direct benefits to the court.

In the sound of Wu Jie's solemn promise, the fleet officially set sail and sailed towards the ocean. The shadow of the sails in the sky finally turned into an arc on the horizon, disappearing at the end of sight.

But everyone knows that this navy will not disappear, and the next time it returns, it will bring good news to the whole world and bring back unparalleled wealth.