The Nanyang Navy temporarily had three fleets, the North Sea Bay Fleet stationed in Beihai City, the Cliff Mountain Fleet stationed in Cliff Mountain City, and the Jiaozhou Fleet stationed in Zhenhai City.
Among the three fleets, the strongest was the Cliff Mountain Fleet led by Cai Mao, which had expanded to three large formations. Not to mention his ability to command troops, Cai Mao's ability to train the navy was recognized by Ouyang Shuo. In a short time, he had built the Cliff Mountain Fleet into the territory's strongest fleet.
The North Sea Bay Fleet was second, also with two large formations, led by Pei Donglai.
As for the Jiaozhou Fleet, which was the latest to be formed, there was only one formation led by Smoke and Fire.
According to the military structure, the navy's formation was equivalent to the army's division, the fleet was equivalent to a legion, and the navy was equivalent to a group army.
Now, the land's three main armies were in place.
On the other hand, the Nanyang Navy, which was the first to receive a designation, was still a broken and broken structure. The three fleets added together only had six formations, which was only slightly stronger than a legion of the army.
The territory's navy was lagging behind, and that was an indisputable fact. There were only three reasons for this.
First, there was a lack of navy generals.
This was the most fatal point. Cai Mao was the only navy commander the territory could bring out.
As for the territory's earliest navy general, Pei Donglai, with the support of the territory's characteristics, he had already broken through the bottleneck and was promoted to a high-level navy general. It was even more difficult to take another step forward.
On the other hand, Smoke and Fire had extraordinary potential. In time, he would definitely become a star of the territory's navy.
In comparison, the territory's army was a shining star.
Second, it was not easy to train sailors.
Different from the army, the navy had to train a group of sailors in addition to the navy soldiers. Their training period was long, and the demand was high, which naturally limited the navy's expansion.
Apart from the ordinary sailors, it was even more difficult to train the captain, first mate, second mate, and other high-ranking crew members. Every captain did not come by easily.
For this, Ouyang Shuo had already arranged for the military office to go to Quanzhou to recruit. Even so, it still could not keep up with the navy's expansion needs.
Third, they lacked experience in ocean voyages.
Cai Mao was a typical inland navy general. It was already difficult for him to train the navy in Cliff Mountain City. If he were to lead his troops out to sea, it would be too much for him.
However, if it was just fighting in the coastal waters, there was no need to support such a large navy for a long period of time. Instead, it would be a huge burden on the territory's finances.
Thus, objectively, it restricted the rapid expansion of the navy.
Even the head of military affairs, Du Ruhui, maintained a conservative attitude when it came to the navy.
Other than that, in the second year of Gaia, the tense situation around the territory, the threat of Chiyou City and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom forced Ouyang Shuo to place his strategic focus on the construction of the army.
Currently, Ouyang Shuo had decided to recuperate internally.
The territory could make use of this rare period of time to develop the navy.
Recruiting Zheng He, the commander of the navy, was undoubtedly a great opportunity for the territory's navy.
Otherwise, why would they say that Bing'er was a super unbeatable lucky star?
Whatever Ouyang Shuo wanted, the little girl would be able to recruit it. Coupled with the buff from the [Silver Wish Tower], it was simply a seamless combination.
Zheng He, born in the fourth year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, was the second son of Maha.
In the winter of the thirteenth year of Hongwu, the Ming army attacked Yunnan. Ma He was only ten years old and was taken to Nanjing by the deputy commander of the Ming army, Lan Yu. After being castrated and turned into a eunuch, he entered Zhu Di's Prince of Yan's residence.
In the first year of Yongle, Monk Yao Daoyan accepted Ma He as a disciple of the Bodhisattva precepts. His Buddhist name was Fu Jixiang.
In the second year of Yongle, Zheng He made great achievements in battle. Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, in Nanjing, bestowed the word 'Zheng' on Ma He and the surname Zheng to commemorate his achievements in battle. He was also promoted to the position of eunuch of the Imperial Household, a rank four official, second only to the Director of Rites. Zheng He was wise and knew how to fight. Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty trusted Zheng He greatly.
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, completing the greatest feat in human history. In the eighth year of Xuande, Zheng He died in Guri Country on the west coast of India and was buried at Mount Niushou in Nanjing.
Not to mention Zheng He's ability to command troops, just his identity as a grandmaster navigator and his rich experience in ocean voyages were enough to bring about a transformation for the territory's navy.
Zheng He's great nautical technology was a combination of celestial navigation, compass navigation, land mark navigation, measuring water depth and bottom quality, and many other navigation methods. As recorded in the 'Records of the Western Countries', 'Cut wood to make a plate, carve the words' stem and branch 'on the book, and float a needle in the water, pointing to the boat.'
Among them, the most famous was the 'Star Traction Technique'.
The Star Traction Technique was not some witchcraft, but a scientific method of using the 'Star Traction Board' to observe and determine the position and direction of the ship by measuring the height of the sky.
This technique represented the world's most advanced level of celestial navigation in that era.
At the same time, due to the problems of storing fresh water on the ship, the stability of the ship, and the ability to resist sinking, Zheng He's fleet was able to 'sail high and sail day and night' under the dangerous conditions of 'great waves reaching the sky and huge waves like mountains', with very few accidents.
During the day, they hung and waved flags of various colors in a predetermined manner, forming the corresponding flag signals.
At night, they used lanterns to reflect the situation of the voyage, and when it was foggy or rainy, they were equipped with gongs, trumpets, and conch horns for communication.
In short, Zheng He was a living encyclopedia of navigation. With Zheng He's existence, the territory's navy finally had the confidence to step into the deep sea.
That afternoon, the Protectorate of Southern Border issued an edict.
The newly joined god-level general, Zheng He, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Navy, with the rank of Great General and the rank of commander-in-chief.
Zheng He had just arrived and had yet to familiarize himself with the territory's situation, but he was already given such a high position.
Even Bai Qi and the others had never received such an honor.
From this, one could see how much importance Ouyang Shuo placed on Zheng He.
As a legendary navigator, although Zheng He's individual strength wasn't great and his ability to command couldn't compare to Bai Qi and the others, he had an advantage that other generals didn't have.
That was, Zheng He was able to command a huge ocean-going fleet.
This was why Ouyang Shuo thought so highly of him.
Fighting on the sea, especially after warships were equipped with cannons, didn't require individual bravery. On the contrary, it was more important to be able to lead a fleet on the turbulent seas.
Zheng He undoubtedly had this ability.
Ouyang Shuo had reason to believe that under Zheng He's command, the Nanyang Navy could truly be established.
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