If the restraining training is done properly, the tens of thousands of strong men who are accustomed to wind and waves will not give the Mongols the upper hand. However, Jinghu still needs elite regular naval forces to take on the core combat mission.

Not only do elite troops need to fight, but they also need the support of advanced weapons. Zheng Yunming still remembers a series of battles carried out by the Taiping Army and the Hunan Army on this river a thousand years later.

If we are strong and capable of fighting, the soldiers of the Hunan Army may not be able to catch up with the boatman and sailors flowing down from the Yangtze River, so we can defeat the enemy. One is that the military law is strict, and the other is that we can use the power of Western iron cannons.

Zheng Yunming naturally won’t have any iron fast cannons now. It is already a gift from God to be able to obtain enough bamboo and wood cannons before the next wave of enemies arrives, or to have some metal fire guns put into use. You should know that this is equivalent to a time spanning two hundred years in a year.

Compared with advanced technology, Zheng Yunming would rather believe in what he has now.

He turned sideways toward Zhang Lian, who was still immersed in joy, and asked, "Which ship owner can know what kind of ship is suitable for water war?"

"If you ask me, I'll ask the wrong person." Zhang Lian waved his hand and said, "A certain family is just a commoner after all, and those vehicles, kite ships, plywood ships, and Luochao ships. They only know the name, but not the knowledge."

"If you want to understand clearly, why don't you ask Liu Tingmei from Xiangyang?"

Zheng Yunming was stunned: "So, is Mr. Liu knowing these things?"

Zhang Lian grinned: "He was originally the commander of the Tiger Wing Army, and he knew the most about these big and small boats. Why didn't the governor come to him to find out?"

The Tiger Wing Army was originally a famous northwest brigade, and performed outstandingly in the years of wars between Song and Xixia. Since the transition to the south, the Song Dynasty rebuilt the Tiger Wing Army in Jingxiang, and while restoring the infantry, it also formed a naval army. Therefore, the Tiger Wing Army's control has a certain understanding of water wars.

"So that's it." Zheng Yunming asked again: "Where are the warships in Jinghu area built?"

"Every county along the river can be built." Zhang Lian replied respectfully: "If you say that the construction is good, the local Yuezhou, Jiangling Prefecture, Wuchang and Huangzhou will have good craftsmanship."

Zheng Yunming turned his head and said to Han Feng, "You go back to Xiangyang and invite Liu Tingmei to come here to gather."

He stood up and bowed to the Dongting Heroes and said, "In order to defend Jinghu, a powerful water fleet has to be established. Of course, there is the unshirkable responsibility of the General Secretary, and we must rely on your own strength. Please ask you all for the recruitment of Jinghe Navy."

Zhang Lian stood up and bowed and said, "I respect the generals, and everyone in Dongting is obeyed."

The heroes answered in unison: "Don't you obey your order!"

"Very good." Liu Tingmei said squatting beside the neatly stacked wood.

Yang asked, "What's good?"

"The wood is very good." Liu Tingmei picked up a piece of wood and held it in her hand: "The board is straight, the wood is very dry and has no scars. If it is used to make warships, the ship will definitely be strong and durable."

Zheng Yunming bowed and asked, "Please come here to ask the ships needed to establish a naval army. I don't know anything about the naval army at all. Even a naval army should have no idea what ships it should have."

Liu Tingmei stood up and started talking slowly.

"When it comes to naval army ships, there is actually no essential difference between them and the army. The land division has various types of troops, and there are also various ships on the water one by one."

"First of all, the main force of the land soldiers must be a large number of infantrymen, and the largest number of them are light soldiers without armor. In the navy, light soldiers are paddle boats and plywood ships. Each ship carries about fifty soldiers, uses multiple oars, is maneuverable and flexible, and saves materials and is easy to manufacture in large quantities."

"But this kind of ship has almost no cover, and it is easy for the opponent to kill. So the one used to fight the vanguard is the bow of the ship made of solid fir wood and the iron-headed ship with leather hanging on the body of the ship. Such ships are controlled by veterans and selected soldiers in the navy, similar to the vanguard team in the army, who fought first and ignored the death."

"When the iron-headed ship rushed into the enemy formation, he used a springboard to nail the enemy ship and himself to start fighting, and used his footboat to continuously replenish the sergeant to the forward. He could also use the Roll-frame ship to carry the crashing wood to destroy the enemy ship."

"In addition, there are also Feijie ships with speeds exceeding pulp boats for transportation information and transportation officers. Chaiboats are used to transport firewood and firewood, horse boats are used to transport horses, and various Fuyang ships are transported to transport food, grass and supplies, which must be protected by small boats."

"The main small boats used are oar guns and sand protection. If you fight on narrow water, there is also a light and a multi-altitude boat to use."

"In addition, similar to the light cavalry in the army, it is widely used in the early stages of fighting and pursuing the enemy. It is called the Water Whistle Horse. It is simple to make and has a very fast speed, but it is still the same old problem. It has almost no defense, and it depends entirely on the armor and shields of the soldiers on the ship."

"It is slightly stronger than the water whistle horse, with leather protection, and a horn-striking ship in front of it is called the Iron Harrier ship, just like the Iron Harrier, and it relies on its powerful impact to destroy the enemy's fleet."

He talked endlessly, but Zheng Yunming couldn't help but frowned.

This is completely different from the powerful Southern Song navy in his impression.

In the online literature and discussions in my previous life, I always talked about steamships, tall building ships and sea ships as symbols of the power of the Southern Song navy. It seemed that in front of these huge water monsters, the small boats in both the Jin and Mongolian countries were vulnerable.

"The tall ship has a slap bar tied to the bow. As soon as it approaches the enemy ship, it puts down the slap bar, causing the huge rock on the pole to hit it, smashing the enemy ship to pieces!"

"The drums of the car and ship are flying like flying, and they can move forward and retreat freely in front of the enemy's clumsy ships. The enemy can only watch and have no choice but to watch!"

But what they did not mention was that these large ships were expensive and were destined to be the protagonists of the water confrontation.

Zheng Yunming asked Liu Tingmei: "Why are all small boats fighting? What about the big ships in the wheels? What about the giant boats on the sea? By the way, there are also Mengchong warships, aren't they light and strong, and are they very powerful for attacking?"

Liu Tingmei smiled and said, "The officials don't know the inside story of the navy, so they speak like outsiders. Although the steamships and sea rosary ships look majestic, they also use a lot of materials to make. There are seven or eight four and six large ships in each navy. It is quite difficult to have dozens of front ships. They can only be used in the most critical places in the battle. How can they go on the battlefield easily? They are really elites among the elites, just like personal soldiers in front of the tent. Once they are put into it, they will be a decisive battle."

"As for the Mengchong Clippers," Liu Tingmei smiled and said, "It is also because of the high production cost. It is usually rare to manufacture. It is enough for ordinary navy paddle boats."

"That is to exchange the lives of the soldiers for a little bit of driving lightness and material savings." Zheng Yunming said: "The Jing-E Navy should not worry about these things, and must use Mengchong in the army."

He doesn't have to worry about money now. There were 1.5 million guan of money in Xiangyang's treasury. During the Xiangyang Rebellion, the rioters tried to attack the treasury, but were rushed by two tortoise shell formations of the Tulong Army, and they immediately scattered birds and beasts. All of these 1.5 million guans fell under the control of Zheng Yunming.

In addition, in order to deal with the chaos after the war in Jinghu, the Supervisory Office allocated 800,000 yuan from the Supervisory Office's funds to the Jingue Metropolitan Command, allowing it to manage the broken prefectures and counties in Jinghu and reorganize its arms.

He is probably the richest official in Jinghu now. If he wants to build the best warship, he doesn't have to consider where the money comes from.

"Where are weapons?" he asked, "What kind of weapons are used to fight water first?"

"Bows and arrows are the first priority in water battles." Liu Tingmei replied without hesitation: "The longer the range and the greater the power of the bow and crossbow, the more suitable it is to fight on the river."

"Would it be fine if you carry the three-bow crossbow onto the boat?" Yang Xu said with a smile.

"That's the best." Liu Tingmei said: "The Tiger Wing Army has also tried to produce warships equipped with crossbows before, and the cost is always too great. The manufacturing of crossbows has already cost a lot. In addition, the scale of ships equipped with crossbows will definitely not be small. The combined hatchbacks are not as cost-effective as small boats..."

"That's the word "fairy" is to win," Zheng Yunming said: "If you are burned or stolen by the enemy, you can't even take back a copper coin. What else can you care about if you are worth it?"

He turned his head and ordered Yang Xuan: "Immediately order the craftsmen in Xiangyang and Jiangling to make bed crossbows for joint use. Once the construction is done, I will send a speedboat to the shipyard in Yuezhou."

"In addition, we will also choose a batch of the newly built General Mu and General Bamboo to send it to you."

Zheng Yunming thought about it again, but was still dissatisfied, and said, "I will send a thousand iron armored cords from the Xiangyang Prefecture Deposit..." As soon as he said that, Yang Xuan, Liu Tingmei and Zhang Lian all looked up at him.

Zheng Yunming immediately knew that he had said the wrong thing. This was an old bureaucratic problem that he had grown up in the family of officials since childhood. He ordered casually before he thought about it. Anyway, he was not the one who lost his family. But now he is independent in command of the army, so it is better to give less orders like this casually.

He changed his words and said, "Distribute one thousand pieces of paper armor and three hundred pieces of leather cards, and give them to the navy for later use."

Yang Yu responded and asked again: "Have you ever considered the candidates for generals and officers of the Navy?"

Zheng Yunming asked in surprise: "Can you have other choices besides Liu Weng and Zhang Boat Master?"

Liu Tingmei waved her hand and said, "I am a idler in the mountains. How can I compare to Brother Zhang in this set of skills on the water? It's better not to occupy the magpie's nest."

He was talking about human nature. Since all three thousand people came from the waters of Dongting, the general naturally did not choose the second person.

Zhang Lian was not polite and immediately said, "Old Zhang is in a position of control, but there is one thing, I can only control the ship, and I don't understand how to lead the troops to fight."
Chapter completed!