Wentang

Chapter 716 The State of the Navy
It is naturally impossible for a huge team of tens of thousands of people to go together. Li Shimin took some people from Wuci (Dandong) Port to return to Beijing by sea and land on naval warships, while the large army went south by land.

This is not the first time Li Shimin has seen the sea, but it is the first time in his life to sail on the sea by boat.Standing at the bow of the ship facing the fierce sea wind, he was full of pride.

Especially the destruction of Goguryeo at the smallest cost just now made him even more complacent.

"Thousands of miles of sea and territory will also be surrendered to the feet of my Great Tang."

"Okay, what the sage said said my old Cheng is full of enthusiasm, and I wish I could fight the enemy right away." Cheng Yaojin's flattering skills are indeed very high, and he caught up almost instantly.

"The sea is really magnificent, which makes people feel proud." Li Ji also said.

Others followed suit.

Yue Shan was different from everyone else, he was always looking at the boats under his feet.

"What is the data of this ship?" Yue Shan asked.

"The length is 94 meters, the width is 21 meters, and it can be loaded... This is the best result after several years of verification by the shipyard. The wider the hull will affect the speed, the narrower the hull is easy to be capsized by the sails." Liu Rengui introduced .

Yue Shan nodded, no wonder the boat he saw this time was different from the boat he saw when he first came to Dizhou.Specifically, the earliest boats were too fat, and the current boats are more slender.

Originally, Datang didn't have special nautical ships, they were all inland river ships.The bottom of the boat is flat, and it should be made as wide as possible, so that it can carry more things and walk more smoothly.

Of course, there are also fast boats that travel fast, but they will be smaller.

After the establishment of the Dizhou Navy, Yueshan asked the people in the shipyard to study ships dedicated to the sea. Now it seems that those people really lived up to his trust and found out a suitable ship type.

"Is there a bigger ship?"

"We are still experimenting, but it is very difficult. The longer the ship, the higher the requirements for the keel. Although the pressure on the keel can be relieved by increasing the width, it will cause a serious drop in the speed of the ship." Liu Rengui said:

"We once built a warship that was 120 meters long and 35 meters wide, but its actual combat capability was far inferior to the one we stepped on."

"Especially after we installed the artillery on the warships, the bloated ships before were almost reduced to targets, and they could only be beaten. On the contrary, this kind of warships with both speed and load are more powerful in combat."

"Not bad." Yue Shan praised repeatedly: "You have done a very good job in Dizhou these years, far better than I imagined."

"Teacher, it's a great compliment. It's all because of the foundation you laid." Liu Rengui said modestly.

"Don't be modest, everyone can see your achievements." Yue Shan said.

"How many ships of this type were built in total?"

"A total of eight ships have been built, and two more are under construction. Two of them were given to the Shencheng Navy, one to the Quanzhou Navy, and one to the Guangdong Navy. Originally we had four ships, but a few days ago Another ship was dispatched to the Wu Ci Navy, and there are only three ships left." Liu Ren orbited.

"Well, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep those two ships." Yue Shan laughed.

This kind of big ship is a strategic weapon in this era, and it is impossible for the imperial court to put all of them in the hands of one team.It will inevitably be supplemented by other navies to keep the strength of several navies at a balanced level.

Speaking of this, my heart moved, and I said: "After returning, the research work on sailing ships will be suspended."

"Why?" Liu Rengui asked in confusion.

"You should have heard of steam engines, right?" Yue Shan said.

"I heard that it was invented by you, teacher. It is comparable to Zhuge Liang's wooden cow and horse." Liu Ren said.

"If the steam engine is installed on the ship, what do you think will happen?" Yue Shan asked.

"Ah? This... is it really possible?" Liu Rengui asked in surprise.

Although he has never seen it, he has also heard of a steam engine, which is said to be powered by boiling water.If it can be installed on a boat, then...

"I'll know if it works or not. When I left Beijing, I hired [-] craftsmen from the imperial court. They should all have mastered the manufacturing technology of steam engines by now. After returning to Beijing, I will send a group to Dizhou Shipyard. Take care of yourself." Settle them down." Yue Shan said.

"Here, I will definitely not disappoint the teacher." Liu Rengui said excitedly.

After talking about this matter, Yue Shan changed the subject and said again: "You have served in the Dizhou Navy for too long, and many ministers in the court have complained. You must be prepared for transfer."

"I'm listening to the arrangement of the sage...but, does the teacher know where to transfer me?" Liu Ren asked.

"The imperial court wants you to serve in the navy office. As you know, the Tang Dynasty lacks generals in the navy. Although the navy office has already been established, most of them are concurrently held by army generals." Yue Shan said:
"Now the scale of the navy is expanding day by day, and this grass-roots team can no longer support it. The imperial court intends to transfer some naval generals to serve in the Navy Office of the Privy Council."

"If nothing else happens, Li Xiaogong, King of Hejian County, will serve as the general of the Navy Yamen. You have two positions to choose from. One is the head of the war department, and the other is the head of strategic research. Which department do you want to work for? Think for yourself."

"Thank you teacher." Liu Rengui said excitedly.

Having worked in Dizhou for so many years and reading "On Sea Power" written by Yue Shan, he has too many plans about the ocean and navy in his mind.

It's just that the position of the governor of Dizhou is still too low, and there is no room for display.He had been waiting, waiting for a bigger stage, and now it finally arrived.

When he heard these two choices, he had already made a decision without thinking about it. The Strategic Research Department was the only place where he could fulfill his ambition.

Yue Shan said again: "But you don't need to worry. Now the prince is in Liaodong, and the Dizhou Navy is the strongest reinforcement. For the prince's safety, you will not be transferred in a short time. You still have enough time to arrange the things."

"Students understand."

The two masters and apprentices were engaged in chatting, when they suddenly heard exclamations from several distant boats: "Fish, fish, big fish."

Yue Shan and Liu Rengui also looked up, and saw a huge figure floating on the water, and then several huge water jets soared into the sky.

"Whale?" Yue Shan asked in surprise.

"It's the whales. There are a lot of whales in this water area. We often come here to hunt whales." Liu Ren commented.

Just as Yue Shan was about to say something, he saw a gigantic and unparalleled figure leaping out of the water, spinning half a circle in the air before falling heavily, causing huge waves.

"Oh!!!!!!" Li Shimin and others couldn't help exclaiming.

This scene was really shocking, not only them, even Yue Shan's mouth grew big in surprise.

"Cuilan, where's Cuilan?" Li Shimin looked left and right, and said quickly after seeing him, "Tell me quickly, what is this? Could it be the legendary Kun."

Yue Shan walked up to him and said, "Saint Shengming, it is the prototype of the Kun, but it cannot transform into a Peng. In order to distinguish it from the legendary Kun, the predecessors even named it the Whale."

"Kun, Whale, what an awe-inspiring power."

Someone couldn't help admiring, and everyone else seemed to agree.

"They should be invincible in the sea."

"If they hit the boat..."

"The ocean is just too dangerous to know how many dangers there are."

Seeing that everyone was exaggerating more and more, and even had a little negative emotion, Yue Shan frowned secretly.

Although he knew that it was impossible to stop Datang from conquering the sea with this negative emotion alone, but he still didn't want these people to be too afraid of the sea.

Thinking of this, he quietly approached Liu Rengui and asked, "Have you brought any whaling tools?"

Liu Rengui immediately guessed what Yue Shan was going to do, and said excitedly: "No, but the tools are not complicated and can be made."

"Is it troublesome?"

"No trouble, it won't take a quarter of an hour."

"Okay, wait for my news."

After speaking, Yue Shan returned to Li Shimin's side, and said proudly: "Human beings are the most powerful creatures in this world. Whales seem to be powerful, but they are just a piece of fat."

These words can be said to be against the crowd, which naturally attracted the attention of the crowd.But those who are familiar with him know that he is going to do something again.

Li Shimin put away the surprise brought by the whale, and said with interest: "What do you want to say?"

"I want to invite the sage to watch a performance. I wonder if you are interested?" Yue Shan said.

"Okay, what do you want to perform." Li Shimin's interest was raised immediately.

"It's boring to talk about it, just wait and see." Yue Shan deliberately put on a pass, and then said to Liu Rengui: "Zhengzheng, the saint has agreed, let's start your performance. Don't let the saint down."

"Here." Liu Rengui said excitedly.

Then he retreated and left. After a while, several flags were raised on the boat, and soon the surrounding boats also raised flags.Soon the entire fleet began to slow down, and it took almost an hour for the fleet to stop.

The meaning of those flags is to stop the ship.

Li Shimin and the others didn't feel bored, they all observed the fleet's every move.It is very difficult to command a fleet of more than a hundred ships.

For example, at what speed to sail, when to slow down, when to speed up, how to stop the ship... The requirements for the fleet commander are very high, and one mistake is likely to be a series of "ship accidents".

A layman may not be able to see the doorway, how could Li Shimin and others not see it.Just the order to stop the ship is full of command art in their eyes.

When the fleet stopped in an orderly manner, Li Shimin praised: "Cui Lan is indeed a talented commander. I can't even command the ship to stop this time."

"I'm ashamed of myself." Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin and others said one after another.

"The sage is admirable, his ability is not enough to hold you back. You are just not familiar with the navy, if you give you a period of time to study, you will definitely surpass him." Yue Shan said.

"Haha...don't flatter me. I specialize in art. I don't think I can lose to others in land marches and wars. I really don't understand the navy." Li Shimin laughed.

"No." Yue Shan said seriously: "Someone once commented on you as 'unparalleled in the army since ancient times', I deeply agree."

"Oh, who said that?" Li Shimin asked.

"A great man is also the one I most admire and regard as a god." Yue Shan said in an adoring tone.

"Hiss..." Everyone gasped.

At first they thought that Yue Shan was flattering, but after hearing about it, they realized that this was not the case at all.His heartfelt devotion cannot be faked.

Who is Yue Shan?A child of the gods, a leader of the new school... His achievements were enough to be a saint in the pre-Qin period.I can't even imagine what kind of person he would be if he regarded him as a god.

If this person is still alive, then... I can't imagine.

"Who is it that you admire so much?" Li Shimin had a casual smile on his face, but was actually very nervous in his heart.One Yueshan is enough for him to have a headache, if there is one more...

As if he didn't know what they were thinking, Yue Shan said with deep regret: "That person is not in this world, we will never see him."

"Huh..." I don't know who it is, let out a long breath.

out of this world?It's great, it's nice not to be in this world.We are just a group of ordinary people, and we don't want to be in the same world as that kind of 'god man'.

Changsun Wuji pointed to the sky and asked, "Isn't it there?"

Yue Shan nodded and said: "It can be understood in this way."

"I see." Everyone was completely relieved.

Let me just say, how can such a god-man in the world turn out to be a fairy in the sky, then the explanation makes sense.

And judging by Yue Shan's appearance, he was definitely not an ordinary fairy.

You must know that when he mentioned his immortal master, his attitude was very casual, but when he mentioned this person, he was as devout as a fanatic.

It must not be an ordinary person who can make him like this.

Eh... No, what did we say just now?
It seems, it seems, probably... Yue Shan said that the "man of god" praised the saint as "unmatched in military power since ancient times"?
Wow... Everyone who reacted looked at Li Shimin in shock.

Li Shimin himself also reacted, and it was a bit difficult for him to be so excited.

"It's absurd, it's absurd, I... I, how can I be so powerful."

"The saint's military ability is obvious to all, and I believe everyone has the same idea." Yue Shan said.

"Yes, yes, no one can match the saint's ability to command troops and fight. My old Cheng admires the saint the most." Cheng Yaojin said in a rare positive manner.

Others also praised him one after another, saying that the sage was "unmatched in military power since ancient times" and he deserved his name.

Everyone brought up his great achievements in the past and praised them one by one, saying that without him, this troubled world would not know how long it would take to end.

Li Shimin couldn't close his mouth in a boastful smile.

After a while, several drums sounded, and everyone recovered from bragging about Li Shimin's great achievements.

Looking up at the place where the drum beats came out, I saw several fast boats sailing out of the fleet, and the direction seemed to be heading for the whale.

Everyone couldn't help but wonder, what is this going to do?
But soon they saw the most shocking scene in their lives.

(End of this chapter)