As soon as Jiang Qin entered the big tent, he clasped his fists and said: "The 80,000 soldiers of the water army invite you to fight for the west, and I hope your majesty will be able to do it!"
Liu Xin has always attached great importance to the construction of the navy. The force has grown from 10,000 at the beginning to 80,000 today, and the number of large and small ships has reached more than 1,000, divided into three fleets and two marines. This does not include several bases and shipyards. The First Fleet has only 10,000 people and is mainly responsible for the defense, security, and search and rescue of the Yangtze River Basin. In fact, it is still an inland marine division, with veteran Cheng Pu as the captain of the fleet. The second and third fleets have grown into a real navy. Although they do not yet have ocean-going capabilities, they have no problems in offshore operations.
In the past few years, although the imperial court has invested more and more in the navy, the navy has not really participated in any major battles. Perhaps the only contribution was to block the waterways of the Yangtze River during the battle of Liu Xin's unification of the Han. The tranquility of Jiangnan.
However, the Dahan Navy is not without its effects. In daily training, they moved farther and farther away from the coastline, drew many charts, and included Yizhou and Yazhou, later generations of Taiwan and Hainan, into the territory of Dahan. Not only that, there are also a series of islands north of Yizhou, some of which are uninhabited and some of which live with indigenous people. These islands are now under the rule of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xin and Ma Yun studied sea charts and believed that these islands were actually the Diaoyu Islands and Ryukyu Islands in later generations, and they should be able to reach Japan by going further north.
Liu Xin and Ma Yun from later generations knew the importance of the ocean. Therefore, Liu Xin had ambitious ambitions in conquering the ocean. In his mind, he had a long-term plan spanning thirty years that had never been made public.
The first ten years is to let the navy of the Han Dynasty move from the inland to the sea, gradually familiarize with the surrounding sea conditions, and build ships suitable for oceans. Then the troops are divided into two groups, controlling Japan all the way north, and controlling the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia all the way south island. In Liu Xin's impression, these islands are either uninhabited or uncivilized primitive tribes, which are not difficult to deal with.
The second decade is to build larger sea ships, allowing the navy to go farther, follow the coastline all the way south, bypass the Indian subcontinent to Africa, and then continue to move forward until it turns around the entire Africa and enters the Mediterranean.
The goal of the third decade is to organize a fleet to Oceania and America. This should be regarded as a great adventure, and the future is uncertain, but once it succeeds, the rewards are also very great. Not to mention that the vast lands of Oceania and the Americas will be included in Dahan's territory. The high-quality iron ore in Australia and the corn, peppers, and tomatoes in the Americas are enough to excite Liu Xin.
These three ten-year plans are interlocking and gradual. The first ten-year plan is to develop ocean-going capabilities and build a true navy. The second ten-year plan is to open up the Maritime Silk Road. Only if there are more private maritime fleets, those newly opened territories will not be left alone overseas and will maintain long-term and close ties with the mainland. The third decade is to lay a realistic foundation for the development of the Han Dynasty hundreds or even thousands of years later.
In fact, the goal of the first ten-year plan is almost complete. The navy already possessed a certain degree of ocean-going capability. If it hadn't been for the massacre of Han merchants by Caracalla, Liu Xin would have organized a fleet to attack Japan and Luzon. Although the Han Dynasty was rich, it was not capable of supporting two wars at the same time. Liu Xin had to put this matter aside and concentrate his efforts to deal with the powerful Da Qin.
When the massacre of more than 20,000 Han merchants in the Great Qin Empire spread across the country, the soldiers of the water army were also extremely indignant. Especially the navy governor Gan Ning and deputy governor Zhou Tai have not fought a battle happily for many years. I heard that Liu Xin is preparing for the west expedition. He would rather recruit the old troops under Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to fight. Without the navy, he couldn't hold back anymore, and immediately sent Jiang Qin to petition Liu Xin.
Jiang Qin also suffocated the fire, and took a few soldiers to Chang'an day and night, but was told that Liu Xin had been out for many days. Jiang Qin refused to delay, so he rushed to the Uzbeli Fortress, only one day later than Liu Xin.
"Naughty!" Liu Xin said angrily, "From Chang'an to Daqin, apart from the grassland is the desert, what is the use of the navy? You go back and tell Gan Ning and Zhou Tai, let them train well, I can use them. !"
Seeing that Liu Xin had refused his request, Jiang Qin said anxiously: "Your Majesty, this is the unanimous request of all the navy soldiers. Hope your Majesty..."
Liu Xin glared at him fiercely, and said in a deep voice, "Do you want to resist the decree?"
Although Liu Xin divided most of the power between the cabinet and the six ministries, he still held the control of the army firmly in his hands. For the appointment, removal, promotion, and punishment of lieutenants, Liu Xin must personally sign orders. Liu Xin also asked them to order and prohibit them only when facing military soldiers, and he must not defy and guarantee his absolute authority. As for ordinary subjects, Liu Xin would instead encourage them to express different views and even object to the imperial decree he has issued. In Liu Xin's words, this is called differentiated treatment, and it is the unity of power and democracy.
Jiang Qin was born in a reckless manner, with a rough personality and not good at words. Seeing Liu Xin's anger, he was immediately stunned, and he couldn't say anything.
Jushou saw it from the side and smiled and calmed down: "In fact, this Western Expedition had the opportunity to give your navy a show of strength. The territory of the Great Qin Empire is surrounded by a sea, but it's a pity that your warships can't get there. Waiting for the ship to be built on the spot, I'm afraid the war is over..."
"Wait!" Liu Xin suddenly moved her heart, waved her hand and said, "Jiang Qin, I have an important task for your navy, which is extremely dangerous. Go back and tell Gan Ning and Zhou Tai to choose a fleet and follow the coastline. Going southwest, you will eventually reach a continent. There is a barren land, where the local villagers drink blood, and the skin color is like charcoal. This is called Africa. Follow the coastline of Africa for a week, and finally you can reach the rear of Daqin!"
Everyone asked in astonishment: "How does your Majesty know here?"
Liu Xin pretended to be mysterious and said: "The secret of heaven must not be revealed."
Jushou laughed: "It must be the golden armor god man who entrusted his dream to your majesty again."
In fact, Liu Xin did not expect the navy to reach Daqin before the end of the war. After all, it was an unfamiliar sea route. He didn’t know much about the navigating capabilities of the Dahan navy. The reason why he sent naval forces to attack Daqin. Behind the scenes, it was just using the bloody burst of the soldiers of the navy to implement the second ten-year plan ahead of schedule. In the original plan, Liu Xin planned to let the navy and the merchant ship set off at the same time, but now it is no longer possible. He can only let the navy generals be the pioneers.
After explaining the affairs of the navy, Liu Xin called the three armies and said loudly: "Soldiers, Dawan has broken the covenant and assisted in abuse. It is unbearable! I want to ask Dawan first, and then conquer Daqin, in order to follow your example. Soldiers Let's get our spirits up, let's set off overnight and rush to Guishan City for breakfast!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The three armies shouted in unison, shaking the sky.
At this time, under Guishan City, Xu Huang had already personally beat the drum of war. The agreed time limit has come, but there is no sign of surrender in Guishan City. The follow-up infantry brigade has already arrived, with trebuchets, ladders, and siege vehicles all available. Xu Huang didn't know how to behave like a woman, and the siege started immediately.
Amidst the loud noise of "Boom boom boom", countless rocks rushed towards Guishan City with sharp howling noises. This time, the trebuchet approached and attacked, and the stone rain not only landed on the head of Guishan City, but covered the entire Guishan Outer City. The city screamed again and again, and the people hiding in the city were not spared. Huge rocks fell from the sky, smashed through the roof, and collapsed the house. For a time, the soldiers and civilians in the city suffered heavy casualties.
This was just a prelude to the Han army's offensive. Soon, Shi Yu stopped. Hundreds of aerial ladders and rushing vehicles were "creaking" towards Guishan City under the cover of shields and crossbows. There is no moat outside Guishan City, and these siege equipment can reach the city directly.
The ladder of the Han army was more than ten feet higher than the wall of Guishan City. In the battle on the ladder, the Han archers and crossbowmen stood on the ground, and a rain of arrows was poured on the head of Guishan city. Many Dawan soldiers who had just recovered from the horror of the trebuchet attack, carrying bows and arrows to stop the Han army's attack, were shot into hedgehogs in a blink of an eye. In fact, the ladder also has a springboard that can directly hit the top of the city, but it is no longer needed, because the Han army’s rush cart has been improved and is no longer only used to hit the city gate, but the city gate and the city wall. attack.
Dozens of cars lined up, violently hitting the outer wall of Guishan City. Most of the outer walls of Guishan City are made of rammed earth, and only a small amount of bluestone is used at the root of the wall. In the violent crash of the Han army rushing into the car, the entire Guishan city seemed to begin to tremble, and the soldiers of the defending army were panicked.
Attice clasped the scimitar in both hands, hurriedly walked up to the head of the city, yelling desperately, keeping the soldiers at their respective outposts. Seeing the cowering soldiers, Atty was rude, and he went up with a knife. His eyes were red, and his anger was extremely angry. Just before Yizhuxiang, he had just received bad news. His second son Ge was suddenly injured and died. There is nothing more cruel than this in the world for a white-haired person to send a black-haired person. What is the use of him even if he is firmly seated as King Dawan!
Suddenly, Atike only felt his feet soft, and then he heard a loud noise, and Atike's body fell to the ground like a weight. Before he exclaimed, countless rammed earth blocks rushed down. The walls of Guishan City finally couldn't withstand the impact of the Han army's rushing vehicles, and collapsed suddenly.