As they strolled and chatted, everyone gradually became familiar with each other. When the night deepened, Xiao Ruxun announced the start of the grand welcoming banquet. Everyone ate and drank together. Although it was not as good as the food during the New Year, it still surprised the naval officers and soldiers. They had not expected that Admiral Xiao would give them such a good welcoming banquet.
The only flaw in this otherwise perfect situation was that there was no wine. These proud and valiant soldiers loved wine the most, but everyone saw that Admiral Xiao did not mention wine or drink. The generals and soldiers also did not drink. The Koreans also did not drink, so they were too embarrassed to mention it.
Later, a few foolishly bold people came forward to ask if Xiao Ruxun had any wine. Xiao Ruxun smiled and replied, "Other than on New Year's Day and at the celebration banquet for completely defeating the Japanese pirates, the military is not allowed to drink. Anyone found drinking will be severely punished with 30 strokes, and the second time will be publicly beheaded."
These calm words were like a gust of cold wind blowing over them, causing them to shiver from the bottom of their hearts all the way to the surface of their skin. When Xiao Ruxun said this, he was smiling, but it suddenly made them remember that Xiao Ruxun was a general who killed without batting an eye. He had tens of thousands of heads under his command. Presumably, he would not mind taking one from them.
Chen Lin and Deng Zilong also felt a chill in their hearts. They remembered that there was not a single general in the military who was younger than Xiao Ruxun, but they were all submissive to him. It was enough to show Xiao Ruxun's methods. At this moment, if the navy ran into the muzzle of the gun and was used as a model, it would not be easy for him as a general.
After half relaxing and half carefully enjoying the welcoming banquet, Xiao Ruxun decided to hold a military conference after the lunch break. He gathered all the generals of the navy and had the military judge announce the contents of the army's military laws, such as how to break the military laws, how to punish them, how to count them as meritorious service, how to calculate rewards, and so on. Xiao Ruxun was very clear that these aspects had to be stated in advance and could not be mixed in. Otherwise, problems would definitely arise.
After the announcement of the military laws, Xiao Ruxun invited Yi Sun-sin to participate in the navy's operational conference with him. He officially announced the strategic plan to capture Tsushima Island and cut off the Japanese pirates' supply line. This lifted the spirits of the navy generals and made them realize that this would be a fierce battle at sea and that there would definitely be a lot of gains.
"Previously, the Japanese pirates had tried to transport supplies through Jeolla and Gyeongsang, but due to General Yi Sun-sin's bloody battle, the Japanese pirates had no choice but to abandon their plan to transport supplies through Jeolla and could only travel through Gyeongsang. This greatly reduced the marching speed and combat ability of the Japanese pirates. If we further cut off the supply route from Tsushima Island to Pusan Harbor, we can trap the Japanese pirates in Pusan."
Xiao Ruxun punched the location of Pusan on the map.
"Previously, General Yi Sun-sin tried to attack Pusan Harbor, but his plan was betrayed by a traitor and he was ambushed by the Japanese pirates, so he did not succeed. But this time, we have gathered the power of 500 warships. We must take Tsushima Island and then attack Pusan Harbor. We will destroy the Japanese pirate navy and completely trap the Japanese pirates in Pusan, preventing them from returning and forcing them to surrender. After that, there are more things for the navy to do.
So this time, I will be very useful to the navy. Whether the navy wins or not, whether the navy is sharp or not, will directly affect the outcome of the army. I will not allow any factors to affect the navy's combat ability. So, Commander Chen, please explain the navy's specific equipment in detail. "
Xiao Ruxun threw the topic to Chen Lin.
Chen Zhao nodded and began to explain the composition of the navy under him.
"The navy under I is made up of the Guangdong navy and the Zhejiang and Fujian navy. Most of them are boats. The main boats are No.1 and No.2, with a draft of 12 feet. No.1 boat has 500 materials and is the largest warship. There are 17 boats. No.2 boat has 400 materials and 63 boats, making a total of 80 boats. They carry one Dafa Gong, six Large Francs, three Bowl Cannons, sixty Spray Barrels, ten Fowling Cannons, as well as fire arrows, fire bricks, gunpowder barrels, knives, spears, bows, and arrows. There are 65 people in total.
No.4 boat is a sentry boat, mostly used to hunt enemies and engage in close combat. There are 100 boats. No.4 boat is a Hai Cang boat, slightly smaller than a large boat. It has a draft of seven to eight feet and is equipped with four Large Francs, three Bowl Cannons, six Fowling Cannons, fifty spray barrels, eighty smoke cans, ten cannons, fifty fire bricks, and two hundred fire arrows. There are 51 people in total and 50 boats.
There are also smaller boats among the Hai Cang boats called Cang Mountain boats. They have 30 people and are relatively small. They are higher than the water and have a draft of five feet. They have oars and are mainly used to chase enemies and take heads. They are mostly used for close combat. There are 50 boats. No.5 boat is a Wu boat. This is the most expensive boat in our navy.
This ship is the most expensive ship in our navy. Originally, the Wu ship was a type of ship unique to Dongguan in Guangdong Province. It was built with Ironpear wood, and its planks were seven inches thick, ten zhang long, and three zhang wide. It was as hard as iron, and would shatter upon contact and break upon impact. It could last for sixty to seventy years at a long distance, and fifty years at a short distance. It was extremely sturdy, and could even block the shells of Frang cannons. The only downside was that this kind of ship was very expensive to build. One ship required seven to eight hundred taels of silver!
There are only ten of these boats in our navy. They are specially used to ram Japanese ships. Regardless of whether they are cannons or muskets, they are unable to do anything to our Wu boats. There are also seven boats that are imitations of the Francs' centipede boats. There are also over two hundred different types of fire boats and motherships, all used for ram purposes. In total, we have 500 boats and 10,679 navy officers and men. "
After Li Shunchen finished listening, his eyes were filled with excitement. He opened his mouth and said, "The Heavenly Army's boats are so majestic and mighty. The Japanese pirates' boats are no match for them. The Japanese ships are small and light and have a shallow draft. Using our wooden houses and turtle boats to ram them, we were able to break them, not to mention the Heavenly Army's Great Fortune Boat. One boat is equivalent to three boats of the Japanese pirates. How can the Japanese pirates contend against us?"
When Chen Lin heard this, she felt slightly proud in her heart. She thought to herself, "How can a small country like yours be compared to my Celestial Empire?"
In the blink of an eye, Chen Lin, who hadn't been happy for long, saw that Xiao Ruxun's expression didn't look good. He was frowning. She didn't know what he was thinking, and her heart sank. She thought that Xiao Ruxun wasn't satisfied with her fleet, so she asked uncertainly, "Admiral, do you have any more questions?"
Xiao Ruxun sighed and asked, "When Commander Chen was describing it, did he mention the bowl gun?"
"The bowl gun? Yes? "Chen Lin was confused." Admiral, what questions do you have? "
Xiao Ruxun asked, "If this Supervisor doesn't remember wrongly, this bowl-muzzle gun has been around since the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. When Taizu founded the empire, he was already equipped with this bowl-muzzle gun. It's been more than two hundred years, and the infantry basically no longer uses this bowl-muzzle gun. But the navy still uses it? Why don't you replace it? "
"Huh?"
Chen Lin was dumbfounded. The navy also didn't understand. The admiral's frown was actually because of this?
"The bowl gun is short, uses little medicine, has a short range, and has little power. It's basically useless, far inferior to the Franco machine. Why don't you eliminate it? If you still use a firearm from two hundred years ago, aren't you being complacent? Don't use these bowl guns anymore. I'll give you one hundred Franco machines and fifty Franco machines from the army. Equip them on the ships.
Don't use something that's outdated, especially when there's something better. I heard that during the Jiajing period, the Daming navy fought with the Franco navy. At that time, they used these bowl guns and fire boats. Although they won, they were woken up by the Franco machine guns. That's why they introduced the Franco machine guns. Since it's useless and can't compare to the Franco machine guns, then just don't use it anymore. I'll ask Commissioner Song to write a letter to the court to completely stop the production of bowl guns. "
Chen Lin, Deng Zilong, and the navy generals looked at each other.
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