Chapter 638: Navy Expansion Plan

Lu Zhi raised his head and looked at the sky, and said: "Master Lou, you can go back to Luoyang first. I won't go back to Luoyang. I'll check around here first, and then I'll spend the night here."

"Mr. Lu, the general once said that he has just recovered from a serious illness, so it is better not to sleep outdoors. It will only take less than an hour to return to Luoyang. It won't take much time to come back tomorrow. Your health is still important." Lou Guiyi Listen, immediately step forward to stop him;

Lu Zhi also knew that everyone was thinking about their own health and no longer insisted on sleeping here. However, it was still early to see the weather, so he decided to look around more. He had a preliminary idea in his heart, so he promised Lou Gui that he was just After a while, he would definitely return to Luoyang to rest, so Lou Gui led his subordinates to return to Luoyang first.

However, for Lu Zhi's safety and convenience, Lou Gui arranged for an official to follow Lu Zhi, and asked Huang Wudie to mobilize a cavalry from the guards to protect his safety.

Huangfu Chaobo, who returned to General Pingdong's Mansion, had just sat down when he heard Shi A reporting outside the door, and Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were asking to see him outside the door. When Huangfu Chaobo heard this, he suddenly thought that he had not had a good talk with these two navy generals for a long time. He didn't know what the situation of the navy was like now, so he immediately ordered the two men to come in.

After a while, the two came to the lobby and saw Huangfu Chaobo sitting on the main seat. They quickly took a few steps forward and said, "General, I will pay my respects to my lord!"

"Okay, two generals, please get up." Huangfu Chaobo looked at the two of them with a smile and said;

"Thank you, Lord!" Zhou Tai said;

"What do you want to see me for?" Huangfu Chaobo said;

The two looked at each other, and Zhou Tai stood up and replied: "My lord, the two generals are asking to see you today because of the navy."

"I have been busy with a lot of things recently, and I haven't asked about the navy for a long time. It just so happens that the two of you are here today. I will explain the situation of the navy in detail."

"The last general takes orders!" Zhou Tai stood up and respectfully answered;

The Luoyang Navy, oh, it should be called the Sizhou Navy now. Currently, only Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin each lead a navy, plus the two navy in the hands of Zhou Yi.

According to the establishment of the Sizhou Navy, the navy of one school has 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 sailors. Among them, the warships are one building ship, 5 fighting ships, 10 red horses, 20 rushing ships, and 30 fighting ships. There are 40 warships and 40 escort ships; and a naval force consists of 1,000 soldiers and 1,000 sailors, including 2 battleships, 6 assault ships, 10 assault ships, and 10 escort ships.

In addition, there are fifty large boats, 20 large cargo ships, and ten large ships purchased from Jiangdong. These are all the assets currently in the hands of the Sizhou navy. As for those small fish boats and various small cargo ships, they have all been sold to the public or Zilonghui.

However, these 12,000 naval forces need to defend the three major ports of Mengjin, Xiaopingjin Port, and Hanoi Port, plus Maojin Port in Shaanxi County, Hongnong County, Wushejin Port in Gong County, and Hulao Pass Water Zhai and the current Leting Port in Leting Town have seven ports, three large and four small, that need to be garrisoned, and water transportation between Leting and Luoyang also requires naval escort. Calculated in this way, these more than 10,000 navy troops are far from being able to meet Sizhou's needs.

Listening to the two men counting one by one, Huangfu Chaobo realized that his navy was indeed too small. You know, the Yellow River passes through Sizhou. If the navy is not enough to protect the major ports, then the entire Sizhou defense can be said to be full of loopholes.

After pondering for a moment, Huangfu Chaobo said: "In the opinion of the two generals, how much should the Sizhou navy be expanded to be sufficient?"

The two looked at each other, and Zhou Tai said: "As far as I know, the Jingzhou navy in Xiangyang is about 50,000, and Jiangxia is about 30,000. The navy in Yangzhou is generally around 30,000 to 50,000..."

Hearing this, Huangfu Chaobo quickly stopped and said: "Stop, stop... Jingzhou and Yangzhou are different from our Sizhou. There are dense waterways in the south of the Yangtze River, so the proportion of naval forces will definitely be much larger. Our army only has one waterway, the river.

It is impossible to set up a naval force according to their situation. "

Seeing that Huangfu Chaobo saw through his little thoughts, Zhou Tai didn't care. He just smiled and said: "Don't worry, my lord, the general has never thought about expanding the navy according to the navy of Jingyang and Yangzhou. He just explained the states to the lord." It’s just a navy situation.”

"According to the situation in Jizhou, according to General Pan Feng, the Jizhou army is mainly located in two water villages, Baimajin in Liyang and Cangtingjin in Yangping. According to General Pan Feng, because Baimajin is close to Yecheng, so There are about 20,000 naval troops, plus 10,000 infantry, while Cangtingjin only has 10,000 naval troops and 5,000 infantry."

"The waterway of our Sizhou navy is much longer than that of the Jizhou army. It starts from Suanzao in the east and ends at Fenglingdu in the west. In the future, we still need to go to Hejin in the north. It is such a long distance, but now there are only more than ten thousand navy. My lord, this navy is too unreliable. Did you repeat it?"

Looking at Zhou Tai's eyes like a harem, Huangfu Chaobo couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body, and said quickly: "Okay, okay, don't look at me like that. You know, although I, Sizhou, have Of the four counties, however, we only have two and a half counties under our control, and two of them are still in ruins. The Navy is a big money hog, so the two generals will be relieved that Qineng can do it quickly. , I also know that the naval force needs to increase its establishment.”

With that said, Huangfu Chaobo stood up and walked back and forth in the house a few times before saying, "Let's do this. The two generals will make a plan first. I will gather everyone to discuss it tomorrow. What do the two generals think?"

"Okay, okay... Lord, I have carefully calculated that our army now has three major water forts, three small water forts, plus Leting and the navy that escorts all the way, a total of about 60,000 navy is enough. Now my Sizhou has nearly four battalions of 80,000 soldiers, not counting the garrison troops. My navy only needs to maintain three battalions of less than 60,000 soldiers." Zhou Tai handed over the naval expansion plan that he had already prepared.

"Puff..." Huangfu Chaobo, who was holding a teacup and drinking tea, sprayed a mouthful of tea directly when he heard it, all of which sprayed on Zhou Tai's face with a flattering smile, and a few leaves of tea were still hanging on his body.

"Ahem..." Huangfu Chaobo stood up and apologized immediately, saying, "Youping, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, it's really..."

"It's okay, it's okay, lord, as long as the lord agrees to the navy expansion plan, let alone tea, even if the lord orders me to be dragged out and punished, I am willing." Zhou Tai didn't care at all. After wiping the tea off his face, he smiled slyly;