Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The Dutch blockade of Cam Ranh Bay naturally attracted the attention of neighboring countries and regions such as Quang Nam, Bin Thong Long, Ha Tien, and Jiading. The neighbors around Jinlan were once again convinced that Mingzheng's power was unfathomable while they were puzzled.

However, the outcome of the Battle of Jinlan Offshore must not be concealed by a draw. In order to deal with Tang Shenzhi and deal with the further crisis that may occur in the future, the Military Academy and the Department of Military Affairs almost quarreled. The two sides refused to give in, and the lawsuit ended In front of Zheng Kezang, Zheng Kezang finally made the ruling himself.

"Sent Tang Shenzhi to be reckless and destroy the division, and to start the war without considering the disparity in the enemy's combat power, resulting in the loss of troops and will remove the commander of the Guangnan (Squadron)." Officials of the Jinlan Dudu Mansion and the Guangnan Squadron did not dare to show their atmosphere. In front of him, a pedestrian from the Secretary of General Administration calmly read the decree in his hand. "Transferred to the Naval Academy to teach, to see the effect."

Tang Shenzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was dismissed, he was transferred to the Naval Academy without investigation. Obviously Zheng Kezang was lenient, so he immediately knelt down and bowed to the Huang Ben's decree in the hands of passers-by: "Minister Tang Shenzhi leads the order!"

Watching Tang Shenzhi receive the order from the passers-by, the people who accompanied him breathed a sigh of relief, but before the formation dispersed, they heard the passer-by say, "Wait a minute, my lords, here is another order from the Lord." .”

Another decree?Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, but the shock was nothing but shock, and they had to bend down again to listen.

"Guangnan officers and soldiers fought against the enemy bravely despite the large number of cannons on the red barbarians. Although there were losses, they were forced to retreat and the captives were forced to retreat. From the commander to the next level, they were awarded a copper medal for bravery and a commemorative medal for the Jinlan naval battle, and notified the whole domain as commendations. In addition, the officers and soldiers who were killed in the war wrote the stone to record, and the disabled and retired officers and soldiers were allowed to grant the local land and slaves in Jinlan."

All the officers and soldiers of the Guangnan Squadron from Tang Shenzhi down had tears in their eyes, they knelt twice and kowtowed six times: "I will thank the Lord for your grace."

"My lord attaches great importance to the content of your report." After conveying the will, the pedestrians were invited by Cai Tong and others to have a drink, and the people from the Military Academy here called the captains of the Guangnan Squadron for a meeting. "My lord thinks that the formation of two ships in one team is better than the three ships in one team of the current Navy, so after discussion with the Military Affairs Department and the Military Academy, it was decided to reorganize the various divisions of the Navy, with two ships in one team, Two groups make up a squadron, and two squadrons make up a squadron, and at least one squadron is organized at the fleet level, and the original notification ships are only organized at the fleet and squadron levels."

"Ma Chengzhi, so the Guangnan Squadron will also be expanded to eight gunboats?" Since the new squadron commander Tan Anshang was cruising in the North Japan Sea and did not arrive with him, Chen Bao, who is temporarily acting as the commanding authority, took the opportunity to replace him. asked. "Then when will the gap be filled?"

"It can't be completed for the time being." Ma Tao, who is called Ma Chengzhi, joined the army from the fifth rank, is the youngest son of the former admiral Xiao Qi Ma Xin, who was also born in Jiayin. Facing his own year, he confessed frankly. "Not only can it not be fully equipped, but the Taishan will be transferred to the Zhoushan Squadron to serve as the command ship, the Yushan will be transferred to the Fubo Fleet to serve as the admiral, and the Qinshan will also be transferred to the Northern Fleet to serve as the admiral. The three [-]-gun boats will be returned to the Guangnan Squadron to maintain the size of the fleet."

"Isn't this weakening the Guangnan Squadron?" In the Battle of Jinlan, two masts were first interrupted by the "Bantan", and then the passing "Cape Town" hit the burning "Gushan" Captain Wei. Fang yelled in dissatisfaction. "Dongning built eighteen [-]-fuel gunboats last year, so why can't they give us four now?"

"Yes, yes." If it cannot be expanded into two teams, Chen Baoshun's position will be very embarrassing, unless he is willing to demote himself from the captain of the [Jinshan] to the first deputy captain. "Guangnan has to take care of the vast sea area from Leiqiong to Lini. How can only four ships be enough, not to mention that the Dutch are still eyeing them, in case they make a comeback?"

"The Military Academy understands your situation, but the Military Affairs Department also has difficulties. Let alone the Zhoushan Shipyard, which can only repair ships, what the Lord means is that both Seogwipo and Ezo will build large ships in the future. Moreover, a shipyard in Ezo can only be used for half a year, so it will continue to build a shipyard in Kuwu. For this reason, Dongning has moved out of four shipyards. Now even if it is fully built, it will only produce nine or ten ships a year. That's all."

"Nine or ten are enough." Wei Fang muttered. "We only want half of it."

"One is to expand the Zhoushan Squadron and the Northern Fleet into an army first, and the other is that Dongning's ship materials have been exhausted." The production relies not on Taiwan's local forests, but on the ship boards dismantled after capturing the Qing army ships that attacked Taiwan for the second time. Now these old foundations have basically been used up, so Zheng Kezang had to move the shipyards out one after another. "The lord has decided that in addition to ensuring the materials used for the construction of the Zhen Guo Fleet, the Dongning Shipyard will temporarily maintain the speed of building six ships a year." The faces of the Guangnan Squadron who had just learned the inside story were horrifying, but at this time Ma Tao was shocked. smile slightly. "In fact, Jinlan's shipyard can be expanded completely, and it can completely build its own ships."

Hearing this, Chen Baoshun had a look of sudden realization on his face: "That's right, it's true. There are many large trees in Guangnan and Laos, among which there are many good ship materials and keels such as teak, rosewood, sandalwood, and iron wood. With enough boatmen and shipwrights, this boat can really be built nearby, so that it can also share the worries of the Lord."

"Well said." Ma Tao applauded. "When it's time for the trial voyage, drive straight to Dongning, receive the cannons and sailors, and then you can form an army." What Ma Tao was talking about is exactly the check and balance method that Zheng Kezang painstakingly drew up after the shipyard moved out. In order to ensure his own overall control of the army, he declared to the outside world that it was because the capitals were neither able to produce cannons that met the specifications nor enough soldiers suitable for naval warfare. "By the way, there is one more thing to tell you." Ma Tao paused. "According to the master's wishes, each squadron and fleet must be organized into appropriate Fuchuan and large boats as transport ships."

"Transportation ship?" Tang Shenzhi asked suddenly after listening for a long time. "Programming into these slow ships is a drag"

"I know, I know." Ma Tao interrupted Tang Shenzhi's unfinished words. "However, the Lord has decided that all fleets and squadrons will be organized into a regiment of the Youlongxiang Division except the Zhenguo Fleet. These troops need transport ships for transfer." Ma Tao explained. "As for the headquarters of the Jinlan Dudufu, they will soon receive the official designation of the Fourth Regiment of the Youlongxiang Division."

"The fourth regiment?" Wei Fang exclaimed. "Isn't this different from the current Lu division's system?"

"That's right," Ma Tao admitted with a nod. "It's completely different, but at the beginning, the Youlongxiang Division was used to be attached to the Navy Division, and it is normal to be inconsistent with the Lu Division. The Lord even said that the Youlongxiang Division can actually be called the Hailongxiang Division. "

"Master Hai Longxiang?" Tang Shenzhi narrowed his eyes and thought about it for a while, and asked inquiringly. "Brother Guangyi, is it possible that the Lord has made some big plans recently? The expansion of Hai Longxiang's division is not for the purpose of going to land."

"This?" Ma Tao didn't know how to answer Tang Shenzhi's question for a while. After hesitating for a long time, he lowered his voice in order not to offend these same years. "I heard that someone in the Military Academy drafted a strategy according to the Lord's will, but it is said that the general chapter and the two colleagues objected to it. As for the specific strategy, why did the three bosses think it was impossible? OK, I really don't know."

Ma Tao's words made several captains present start whispering, yes, the strategy that the three top military officials unanimously opposed, this gimmick is no small matter, and everyone can't help talking about it.

After discussing in a low voice for a while, the captain of the [Qinshan] Xie Siqi suddenly raised his voice: "Could it be that the Lord is really going to land?"

"Landing, of course it's landing." Du Hu, the captain of [Yushan] echoed. "Back then, Shanglu frightened the elders, so when they heard the Lord said that they wanted to go to Lu, they all turned against it."

"It is indeed possible, but the lord would not be so unwise." Wei Fang had her own opinion. "Although the Tartars and the traitors failed to conquer Taiwan twice, there are still more than 3 Eight Banner and Green Banner soldiers guarding in the three provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Now there are only seven divisions in the Land Division of our domain, but only [-] horses. The disparity in strength is too great. "

"There is nothing to be afraid of more than a hundred thousand native chickens and dogs." Chen Baoshun raised his eyebrows. "Didn't our army fight more with less in the first battle in Qiongzhou?"

"One hundred thousand Qing captives is nothing to be afraid of, but what if the green camps from various provinces come in droves. Now is not the time for the San Francisco to make trouble. The Dongning of the San Francisco is an enemy of the world's 160 prefectures (Note: "Ming History Geography" records , including [-] in the Ming Dynasty government and [-] in Zhili Prefecture), how can it be consumed?" Tang Shenzhi shook his head. "Your Majesty's eyes are like torches, so you won't lose sight of the current situation."

"It's precisely because we can't afford it that we can't wait for the Qing to recover before attacking Dongning." Chen Baoshun didn't argue just because the opponent was his old boss. "Preemptively strike and then control others. Only by leading the war to the state capital controlled by the Qing can guarantee the safety of Dongning and encourage anti-Qing fighters from all over the world to join in the grand event."

"Participate in the anti-Qing grand campaign? With whom? Are they the gentry who are in a hurry? Or those old Ming dynasty who can only drag their legs? Or the remnants of San Francisco?" Tang Shenzhi curled his lips in disdain. "I'm afraid that when the time comes, we will lose our troops, waste our people and money, and they will just reap the benefits."

"Don't argue." Ma Tao didn't realize that his words would cause such a big controversy, so he waved his hands in fright. "The lord is born with wisdom. We can see what we think, and the lord will definitely see what we think. As for why we are preparing to land when we see and think, this is our speculation, and the second is that we can't see it. to the side."

"That makes sense." Wei Fang nodded. "We are all speculating now, and we can't take it seriously. Even if it is true, the sky will fall and there will be a big one to hold it. The bosses haven't nodded yet. When is it our turn to criticize the decision of the Lord? Alright, Alright, it’s not easy for brother Guangyi to come to Jinlan, let’s go, have some wine, have some wine.”