First Prince of Ming Dynasty - Chapter 757

  Chapter 757 Fleet

The treasure ship is very large, with its mast soaring into the sky, which is enough to show the power of the Ming Dynasty. Not only is it magnificent and majestic, but its firepower is also extremely high. On the fourth floor, there are 23 artillery positions on each side of the ship’s side, and it is equipped with Sai Xingfei. That is, mines, it can be said that they are not ahead of the world.

   There are also relatively old-fashioned firearms such as fire dragons, fire sprayers, fire thorns, iron mouths and fire harriers.

  Knowing that the prince is knowledgeable in military affairs, Jiang Yinhou carefully talked about the two years of naval combat training. They even tried the tactical coordination of hot and cold weapons on Japanese pirates.

  Jinghai Marquis Wu Zhen has a deep understanding of this point. Nowadays, the regular navy of Ming Dynasty is also gradually improving its weapon equipment, but the accuracy of firearms is really a big problem, and in the end it still has to be close to the battle.

Zhu Biao got off the treasure ship happily. The shipyard officials were afraid that His Royal Highness would be tired, so they hurriedly took the opportunity to say that they had arranged wine and food, and wanted His Highness to rest and watch for a while. They were a little tired after climbing up and down like this, not to mention nobleman.

  Zhu Biao naturally didn’t feel tired at this time. He greeted other ships, but there were no donkey censors like Yushitai here. No one dared to confront them before persuading them.

   “What is the organization of the fleet after it goes overseas?”

Jiangyin Hou replied: “It consists of three divisions, the largest one is the boat division, which is divided into five battalions, the front, the rear, the left, and the middle battalion. The second is the amphibious troops of His Highness Xinzhong, which are used for landing operations. They have both infantry and cavalry. The last is to carry the officials of the Ministry of Rites, Hanlin. The ceremonial group of academicians is responsible for establishing diplomatic relations with overseas countries and promoting trade.”

Dozens of ships of different styles appeared in front of him while he was talking. Regardless of the smaller ones, they can be roughly divided into five types, treasure ships, horse ships, transport ships, seat ships, and war ships. The core of it, no need to mention it any more.

The horse clipper ship is smaller than the treasure ship, but it also has eight masts, thirty-seven feet in length and fifteen feet in width. In addition to being equipped with artillery and guns, the main function of this ship is to raise war horses and carry weapons and military supplies for the fleet. supplies.

  The battleship has six masts, is twenty-four feet long and nine feet four feet wide, and is equipped with firearms. It is mainly a sea-going ship (eight scull boat) used by some generals and ceremonial regiments, and is used for fleet **** and landing operations.

   There are two types of transport ships, grain ships and water ships. They have seven masts and are 24 feet long and 12 feet wide. They can carry about 16,000 stones of grain or fresh water.

  Zhu Biao instructed: “It’s nothing more than food, just prepare more, but fresh water is not easy to store, so you must pay attention to it during this trip.”

   “With the method of distilling seawater taught by His Highness, and the storage of a lot of alcohol in the past two years, and the supply chart left by the Yuan Dynasty, there should be no problem.”

  There are many types of warships, most of which are five masts, 18 feet long, 6 feet 8 feet wide, small tonnage, and flexible. They are used in surface mobile operations and are the main force of naval warfare to ensure the safety of navigation.

   There are other ships, such as guard ships, order ships, scout ships, etc., as the hub of the entire fleet, making the command clear, advancing and retreating, and defending, as solid as gold.

After looking at all kinds of ships in one breath, Zhu Biao stood on the shore and let out a breath of foul air against the lapping waves: “In a few days, the Japanese Palace will bring the Crown Princess to worship Zhaoxiao’s pure and pure Fuji Sensational Concubine, and enshrine her Divinity.”

   “No, I will arrange it now.”

This **** is also Mazu, the most prosperous **** of incense believers in the coastal areas, and the ocean is imminent, no matter what the purpose is, it should be named the God of the Sea. .

  It is not that there are other suitable gods, such as Yuguo, the earliest sea **** of the East China Sea, Buting Huyu, the sea **** of the South Sea, Yu Jing, the sea **** of the North Sea, Yanzi, the sea **** of the West Sea, or the Dragon King of the Four Seas who was popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

But all these have passed, and now the incense is thin, but Mazu, which originated from Song Xingyu Yuan, is now booming, and the scope of functions is also very suitable, including escort, counter-invasion, rainfall, disaster relief, childbirth, commercial protection, etc. every aspect.

  It was half past noon, and Zhu Biao finally felt hungry, so he prepared lunch at the request of the Jiangyin Wardhouse, but it was still a special request to serve it on the treasure ship.

  Everyone has no reason to refuse, as long as His Highness can eat, everything else is easy to say, and the treasure ship is now on the sea, so close to the shore, even if there is a chance, they can protect His Highness to go ashore safely.

  Eating out is unavoidably cumbersome. After the accompanying **** tested the poison, the food was a bit cold, but Zhu Biao didn’t care.

During the meeting, I continued to talk with Jiang Yinhou and others, and learned that according to the division of labor, the personnel in the fleet are the flag army of the official school, the warrior, the sailor, the fire chief, the minshao, the helmsman, the bowl hand, the general officer, the clerk, the book operator, the astrology officer, Healers, iron anchors, wooden sills, building materials and so on.

  In terms of fleet command and dispatch, and based on the experience of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, a complete communication system was established. The ship was equipped with traffic boats, carrier pigeons, sound signals (gongs, horns, conch numbers, etc.), flags, lanterns and other equipment.

During the day, the fleet will hang and wave various flags and sails in an agreed manner to form a corresponding semaphore. At night, they will communicate with the number of lanterns hung on the mast and the hanging conditions of the lanterns at the bow and stern. Gongs or carrier pigeons communicate.

   In terms of logistics, there will be a large amount of beans and grains that are not perishable, as well as vegetables and meat that can be preserved for a long time after being pickled, dried and smoked, and a full-time fishing fleet.

  In addition, horse boats not only raise horses, but also grow vegetables to raise livestock and poultry to ensure that the soldiers can maintain a healthy body no matter how long they sail.

  ………

  After the meal, Zhu Biao waved away the crowd, leaving only Jiangyinhou, and asked him to take out the chart. This was not left by Song and Yuan, but drawn by Zhu Biao himself. Zhu Biao reached out and pointed at the area marked as the Strait of Malacca.

   “This is very important, and it must be completely owned by me, Daming.”

   “My minister is willing to take it for His Highness!”

   “The fleet will pass by this place, but you don’t need to take action. When the time is right, let Jing Haihou take it for me.”

  Because it was the first ocean trip, so I decided to take the Maritime Silk Road, that is, through the Indochina Peninsula and the South China Sea countries, through the Indian Ocean, into the Red Sea, to East Africa and Europe.

   Afterwards, we will proceed step by step. Sailing is not a career that is in a hurry for a year or two. Safety is more important than anything else. Da Ming can’t lose a few times with such a fleet.

  If there is a huge loss for the first time, it will be difficult for even Zhu Biao to put his national power into the sea. After all, most of the Ming Dynasty, except for the coastal gentry merchants, disdain overseas.

“Always remember that this trip is not for conquest of land, but for the establishment of diplomatic relations and trade exchanges. It is not a last resort. Don’t go to war. The country you pass through will give them the sea chart route from their country to our Ming Dynasty. In the Celestial Dynasty.

   “No.”

   The first thing is to make Daming the center of world trade. No matter what you want, you can get it here, so that even places where the Ming fleet does not reach will be attracted.

  Economy is the foundation of everything. Only when this goal is achieved, the rest will come naturally. Economic development will stimulate everything to flourish.

   It is also because of this that the fleet does not actually carry much goods. Fortunately, there are still merchant ships formed by the major merchant gangs and aristocratic families who will follow the fleet. They are the main force of the first trade.

  The main task of the fleet is actually one, to show off the troops in foreign lands, and to show the prosperity of the country!

   Only when the military is strong and the country is prosperous, is the basis of friendly trade. Otherwise, it is better to grab it by force than bargaining. Buying and selling without cost, as long as there is a chance and strength, who would not want to do it.

Zhu Biao leaned on the back of his chair and babbled to Wu Liang about all possible situations and coping strategies. Wu Liang bowed from time to time, but he couldn’t help but doubt in his heart. According to him, His Highness has never been in a boat before. How can you know so little about these things in the experience of going to sea?

  …………

  (end of this chapter)