This time, Ang Lee was going south to open up a new path of wealth. The responsibility was very heavy, so he did not want to bring his family. Only a few servants would be enough. In addition, the climate in Nanyang was special. It would be troublesome if his family was not acclimatized to the climate.
As for the troops, the scale and types of troops had already been determined. The capital needed to deploy a flying brigade and a fully-equipped armored artillery brigade. As for which troop to deploy, it still needed to be considered. More than 80% of the main steam gunships in Lai Zhou had to be deployed. In any case, there were no dangerous pirates in the American and Australian shipping routes. A fleet only needed one or two gunships to guard it.
In addition to these, Ang Lee also had to consider the issue of the newspapers in the Tang dynasty. Although the two of them had a full understanding of the working process of the newspapers in the Tang dynasty, the most important thing was the content of the serialization of the novels. There were less than ten days' worth of manuscripts for the latest serialization, and Ang Lee would be going south for a year or two. Therefore, before leaving the capital, Ang Lee had to prepare the manuscripts for many novels to prevent the quality of the newspapers in the Tang dynasty from deteriorating.
In order to complete this task, Ang Lee found ten fast writers and asked them to record the contents of each novel. When one of them was tired and could not write anymore, the next person would be immediately replaced. In this way, they would write at least thirty chapters a day. In this way, they could write two or three years' worth of updates in a month, which was enough for Ang Lee to return to the capital.
The work of stockpiling manuscripts began very quickly. It was not a problem to find ten literati who could write fast. In addition, after Li An finished drawing the blueprints of the aircraft carrier and landing ship, he immediately sent people to Canton to have the large shipyards in Canton immediately start the reconstruction. He wanted to produce these two powerful ships as soon as possible.
The work of selecting the main troops to go south also began soon. There was nothing to say about mobilizing the main gunships in Lai Zhou. He just needed to give the order.
As for the Sky Army and the Iron Armored Artillery Brigade in the capital, they needed to be selected. Li An's suggestion was to select the most powerful unit.
The Sky Corps' First Flying Brigade was the best in terms of training and combat strength. Ang Lee had taken a liking to this unit and had already decided to transfer it south.
The 1st Armored Artillery Brigade was the first to be established and had the strongest combat power. It had just been upgraded a few months ago, and its combat power had increased again. It was the ideal elite force to go south, and Ang Lee had already set his eyes on it.
In addition to these two core elite troops, they also needed to mobilize a lot of troops to occupy the important points overseas.
These troops could be transferred from the capital, and after arriving in Guangzhou, another batch could be transferred from the local area. It would be enough to gather about ten thousand men.
As for the logistics workers, it was even easier to prepare. They could be casually transferred from Guangzhou. There was no need to prepare them in the capital.
Now that he had an idea, he had to make preparations as soon as possible. He could not afford any delays.
Ang Lee first reported this to the Imperial Court. After obtaining approval, he immediately went to the airport and the garrison of the armored artillery brigade. He told them of the Imperial Court's decision and had them make all kinds of preparations to go south and open up the Maritime Silk Road at any time.
The commander of the Sky Corps' First Flying Brigade was a very outstanding Sky Corps soldier. He did not have a high background, but he was very strong. He was skilled in piloting airplanes and had been promoted from a small soldier to a commander.
The treatment of a commander of the Sky Corps was the same as that of a colonel of the armored artillery brigade, and it was comparable to that of a deputy general of the Dragon Martial Army. It was an extremely promising position, and his future prospects were limitless.
The commander of the Sky Corps' First Flying Brigade was surnamed Nan, and his given name was Xia. There were not many people with the surname Nan, so being called Nan Xia was even more surprising.
As for the colonel of the armored artillery brigade, Ang Lee knew him. He was Zhang Guangcheng, who had followed Ang Lee for many years. This fellow was quite strong, but because he was not good at pleasing high-ranking officials, he had been the colonel of the armored artillery brigade for many years. The only difference was that he had gradually been promoted to the colonel of the first brigade. In truth, being the colonel of the armored artillery brigade was not a low position, and the treatment was also quite good. At the very least, Zhang Guangcheng was satisfied.
"Assistant Minister Li, the Sky Corps' First Flying Brigade is heading south. The colonel of the armored artillery brigade, Erniu, has arrived."
The subordinate reported.
Ang Lee nodded. "Let them in."
Soon, Nan Xia and Erniu entered Ang Lee's office and bowed slightly.
"You should already know the Imperial Court's decree. This official called you here because I have something important to tell you."
"Assistant Minister Li, what is it?"
The two hurriedly asked.
"It's about training. Your previous training is not good enough. You have to retrain according to the requirements."
Ang Lee said seriously.
"Assistant Minister Li, how should we train?"
Nan Xia asked curiously.
Ang Lee paused and said, "Take the Sky Corps as an example. You have always taken off from a stable airport runway, but this time, there is no ready-made runway for you to use at all. Your runway is on a bumpy ship, which has higher requirements for take-off and landing. Therefore, you have to change your training method. The runway that imitates a ship is almost completed. When the time comes, your First Flying Brigade will train there."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li, this humble subordinate understands."
"Assistant Minister Li, how should we train the armored artillery?"
Erniu asked eagerly.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and replied, "We will take the sea route to the south this time. The armored artillery will always be loaded on the ship. When the war starts, they will be driven out from the ship's hold and land on the beach. Therefore, you have to train the armored artillery to get on and off the ship, and to drive it underwater."
"Yes, this humble subordinate understands."
Ang Lee nodded. When he was about to let them go back to prepare, he suddenly looked at Nan Xia and asked, "Captain Nan, is there anything special about your name?"
"Assistant Minister Li, this name was given by my parents. There is nothing special about it."
Nan Xia answered in confusion.
"Oh, okay. That's all. You can go and prepare!"
Ang Lee nodded and let the two go back to prepare.
Not long after, Guo Qiang walked in. He was now the General of the First Armored Artillery Army of the Tang dynasty. All the armored artillery of the four brigades in the capital were under his command. The troops that Ang Lee was going to transfer this time were also his troops.
"Assistant Minister Li, is it enough to transfer only one artillery brigade to the south? Should we transfer more? "
Guo Qiang had seen the map of the south and felt that the Tang dynasty's troops needed to be maintained in many places. This small number of elite troops did not seem to be enough.
"General Guo, you worry too much. Although there are many places along the way, there are not many strong enemies that are difficult to defeat. One armored artillery brigade is enough."
Ang Lee smiled and declined Guo Qiang's kindness.
"Sigh, actually, this humble subordinate wants to go to Nanyang. If you transfer two brigades, this humble subordinate will have enough reason to apply for the south."
Guo Qiang said helplessly.
"Haha! General Guo, why are you in such a hurry? As long as the trade route is open, there will be plenty of opportunities to go to Nanyang in the future. There is no need to rush. "
Ang Lee comforted Guo Qiang.
"Forget it. If you don't want to go, then don't go. By the way, which army does Assistant Minister Li want to transfer? Just the Sky Army and armored artillery are not enough. There are too few troops."
Guo Qiang asked.
Ang Lee thought for a while and replied, "My brother Li Feiyu is now the General of the Dragon Army. I'll let him choose two of the most elite troops to go south with me. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Hmm, good idea. General Li Feiyu is Assistant Minister Li's brother. It's best to let him lead the troops to the south."
Guo Qiang agreed.
After talking about some sea trade matters, Guo Qiang left. He sent someone to find Li Feiyu and ask for his brother's opinion.
"Big Brother, you're looking for me?"
After so many years, Li Feiyu had always called Ang Lee Big Brother. This was because he was used to it and found it difficult to change it.
"Fei Yu, Big Brother, congratulations! You're a General now. "
Ang Lee happily greeted.
"Big Brother is too kind. Fei Yu is the one who fell behind. Big Brother and Second Brother's positions are much higher than mine."
Li Feiyu said modestly.
"Don't be modest. Fei Yu, you've already done well. How about it? Big Brother is going south to open up a sea trade route. Do you want to go?"
Ang Lee asked.
If his brother didn't want to go so far, he wouldn't force him.
"I want to go! Why not? Who knows, I might even get promoted and get rich! "
Li Feiyu happily said.
"Good. Since that's the case, Big Brother will report to the Imperial Court and let you lead your troops south with me."
Ang Lee was also very happy. To have a good brother going south with him made him feel much better.
"Big Brother, how many soldiers do you need?"
Ang Lee replied, "You can take two of the most elite armies under your command. Six thousand soldiers should be enough."
"Okay, it's decided. I'll go back and prepare."
Li Feiyu happily went to prepare.
Ang Lee thought for a moment. He still needed to discuss it with Chen Xuanli. The Dragon Martial Army was his subordinate, and Ang Lee had to ask if he wanted to transfer soldiers.
"Assistant Minister Li, what brings you here?"
Chen Xuanli happily greeted.
In the past few years, it was basically him who went to Ang Lee, but Ang Lee rarely took the initiative to visit.
"I'm so busy with the R&D Center and the Tang dynasty newspaper. I don't have time to visit you. In a few days, I still have to go south and will only be back in a year or two."
Ang Lee complained.
"Just treat it as a vacation. It's no big deal. Do you have something to tell me?"
Chen Xuanli said cunningly.
"It's like this. I'm going south to open up a sea trade route and need a lot of soldiers. I want Li Feiyu to lead two armies of the Dragon Martial Army south. I'm here to tell you."
Ang Lee honestly replied.
"This is a small matter. Do you think I, Chen Xuanli, will deliberately make things difficult for you? That won't happen. If you want any of the Dragon Martial Army's soldiers, you can pick any of them. "
Chen Xuanli said domineeringly.
"Alright, I'm relieved to hear that from the Great General."
Ang Lee laughed happily.
After that, the two talked about some topics related to Nanyang. Although Chen Xuanli had never been overseas, he knew a little about the situation overseas. His home had many rare goods shipped from Nanyang. At the same time, he was very supportive of Ang Lee's request to open up a sea trade route.
The trade route under one's control was the real trade route. Ang Lee and many ministers of the Tang dynasty agreed on this point.
After all, if the trade route was not well controlled, the profits it could bring would not be high. Moreover, the trade route could be interrupted at any time.
In the following days, the soldiers of the First Flying Group of the Sky Corps and the First Armored Artillery Brigade started new training according to Ang Lee's request. Li Feiyu mobilized the elite Sixth Corps and Ninth Corps of the Dragon Martial Army and also started actual combat training.
Since most of the battles in the South were battles on land, the Dragon Martial Army's training had to be close to actual combat. Training on ships was indispensable and was carried out almost every day.
In addition, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of the two corps, each corps had an Artillery Brigade under their command, which was 50 cannons.
The Dragon Martial Army had 3,000 elite soldiers and an Artillery Brigade under their command. One could imagine how powerful their combat effectiveness would be.
In this way, they only needed one corps to make all the countries along the way invincible, let alone pirates.
A month passed quickly. Ang Lee was ready to go to the South at any time. Before he left, he had to ask some important questions to ensure his safety.
"Chief Editor Du, the Tang dynasty newspaper will be handed over to you from now on. I have resigned from my position as chief editor. Do your best!"
Ang Lee patted Du Fu on the shoulder and said seriously.
The reason why he gave the Tang dynasty newspaper to Du Fu instead of Li Bai was naturally because Du Fu's brother was more mature and more suitable for this position. However, Li Bai was too wanton and unrestrained. He was worried about handing it over to him. If Li Bai got drunk and made a mistake, the Tang dynasty newspaper would suffer a great loss.
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I will do my best to run the Tang dynasty newspaper. I won't let Assistant Minister Li down."
Du Fu didn't decline at all and didn't decline at all.
He believed that he was fully qualified to be the chief editor of the Tang dynasty newspaper. Of course, he also knew that his good brother Li Bai was also qualified. However, the chief editor's responsibility was heavy, and Li Bai was always a little immature. He liked to drink and make friends. It would be bad if he made a mistake. Besides, he had a family to feed, so he did not need money. The chief editor's salary was much higher than that of a deputy chief editor, which could relieve his financial pressure.
"These are the manuscripts of several novels. They are enough to be serialized for two or three years. Keep them well and remember not to leak them. Only one chapter can be serialized in one issue of the Tang dynasty newspaper."
Ang Lee cautioned Du Fu as he carefully handed the manuscripts to him.
Once the manuscripts were leaked, it would be equivalent to a spoiler. In this way, the readers would not be able to read them, which would cause a great loss to the Tang dynasty newspaper.
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