"Bang!"

The sound of the gong echoed in Fuzhou City. The yamen runners carrying the gongs shouted loudly while beating the gongs.

"You all listen to it. The court has launched a large-scale naval army and recruited five thousand naval soldiers. Each person will pay one tael or eight coins of silver per month, and four dou of rice..."

Even the yamen runners shouted like this, even the docks and city gates were posted. Not only were there signs for recruiting brave men, but also signs for recruiting shipbuilders. Those shipwrecks who were unemployed due to the "sea ban" finally found the work they were good at again, and even the once piled up with the broken boat boards, which were also used. Instead of piled on the docks, waiting to be bought to build a house, they could even sell at a high price than in the past. Not only were good woods sold at a price, but even those that were barely usable due to rain water soaking can also be sold at a price.

It is no wonder. After all, nowadays, bird boats under construction can be seen everywhere on the riverside outside Fuzhou City. The bird boats are as small as seven or eight feet, and most are more than ten feet. As for the arson ships several meters long, dozens and hundreds of them are even arranged in a row.

Now the government is building a large-scale naval commander, so this naval commander naturally needs to build ships. If it is placed in previous years, it can still seize some ships. However, now, after the forbidden sea, all the civilian ships have been destroyed, so naturally they cannot seize civilian ships. If they want a ship, they must be built.

It is easy to build a ship. As long as there is money, someone can build a ship. Fuzhou is a place where sailing is prosperous, so there are naturally shipbuilding craftsmen. Even if they stop building sea boats, the shipbuilder will just be idle. As long as the person is not dead, they can build it. Of course, they only need to give them wages.

But the problem now is not just the craftsmen, but the problem is the material. The big wood in Fuzhou is rare. The wood needed for shipbuilding cannot be solved, so naturally it cannot be built. Moreover, the wood such as camphor wood is used for shipbuilding is special, so when the wood is difficult to prepare for the time being, it can only be replaced with the shipboard boards that were demolished in the past. Even if the government knows that the wood has been left for many years, it is barely able to use it, it has to accept these woods. After all, what the government needs now is enough ships.

Boats and people are not allowed to be left behind.

While working at the shipyard to build the ship, the recruitment of the navy Shui Yong did not stop. Compared with the difficulty of preparing the shipbuilding wood, the recruitment of the navy was simpler. After all, Fuzhou was a major navigation city and the sea was banned, there were more than 10,000 sailors who were unemployed. The salary of this 20,800 yuan was not much or less, which was far more secure than being a coolie everywhere. Therefore, when the gongs and drums were beaten and the notice was posted, thousands of people signed up to join the navy, which made the navy strong for a while.

As the water bravery in the navy camp gradually became more and more abundant, the rivers outside Fuzhou City were growing day by day, but there were only a few big bird boats that had not been seen for many years. Even so, it gave those water bravery the opportunity to get on board and practice.

While Shui Yong was practicing on the river day and night, the formation of the navy was not lost. For Shi Lang, who was the admiral of the navy, in addition to practicing Shui Yong in the navy camp, he went to the yamen to get as much silver rewards as possible for the navy.

"Five hundred thousand taels!"

Shi Lang answered truthfully when the Governor General asked in front of him.

"I want to build 70 large bird boats, 100 carving boats and 50 double sailing boats. In addition, the large and small red barbarian cannons on the ship require no less than 500,000 taels of silver!"

Shi Lang, who was transferred from the Governor of Tong'an to the Admiral of the Fujian Navy, is now full of energy and never seen the downfall of yesterday again. It was even just half a month before that, he made the navy camp show some momentum. With the navy, he spoke much harder than in the past.

After all, this use of troops to Taiwan is inseparable from the navy, and the court is determined to win this time. After all, for the court, if it does not seize Taiwan, it will not stop the Zhongyi Army from exiling the Qing officials' family from Taiwan.

It is precisely because of the imperial decree that the governor in front of him will support Shi Lang and support him in building sea boats in Fujian. It is of course because of this that Shi Lang's back is much harder than in the past. After all, the court now cannot do without him Shi Lang.

"Zunhou, don't worry about this money. The government will raise money for you. There are more than ten or a hundred households in this wealthy family. If the money is insufficient, just pick up a few. But now everyone thinks that you are too time-consuming and labor-intensive to build boats in Fuzhou. You will be so generous that you will definitely find out for the Keelung bandits. If they send reinforcements to increase their Taiwan, what will happen then?"

Li Lutai's tone was a little puzzled. He could understand that the boat building in Fuzhou was because Fuzhou was closer to Keelung. The fleet would arrive in Keelung when it left the Minjiang River and traveled eastward. However, even if there were tens of thousands of boat craftsmen, he would not have thought of building so many boats in just a few months, let alone there were not so many boat craftsmen and so many ship materials.

"The ministry, Biaoxia once said that if the navy only conquers Taiwan by boats and boats, it will definitely defeat the enemy easily. However, according to Biaoxia, the emperor will lead troops south in Shandong at any time. Once he defeats the Zheng thief, the Zheng thief will definitely escape by sea. For many years, the Zheng thief has been causing trouble to the Minhai Sea. If he allows him to return to Xiamen safely, he will definitely cause trouble to the Minhai Sea again and harm the court. Therefore, Biaoxia thought that when the Zheng thief fled south, we could block it from the sea halfway and then severely hurt him. When he returns to Xiamen and Kinmen, he will attack Xiamen with force. In this way, the Minhai Sea will naturally be settled!"

As one of the generals under Zheng Chenggong who was best at water war, Shi Lang naturally understood Zheng Chenggong's strengths in marching and fighting, and knew how to seize the opportunity in front of him. What he thought was not just to seize Keelung, but to take advantage of the opportunity at present to completely defeat Zheng Chenggong.

In the past, for Shi Lang, he could only vaguely see that there would be such an opportunity in the future. After all, the Qing Dynasty used the whole country to deal with Zheng Chenggong. The absolute disparity in strength was the reason why the Qing Dynasty would win. But now, the first time he saw this opportunity, because the emperor led his troops to fight in person, hundreds of thousands of troops were pressing towards Nanjing. Even if Zhu Mingzhong was good at land warfare, how could he stop the hundreds of thousands of troops personally led by the emperor?

Once Zhu Mingzhong was defeated, then Zheng Chenggong was not far from defeat, because there was no general under Zheng Chenggong who was good at land wars at all. Even the Iron Army was just a false reputation. If Zheng Chenggong was defeated in Jiangning and fled from the sea, he could lead the navy to wait for his work and severely injured him at the sea!

Shi Lang naturally doesn’t want to miss such an opportunity!

"The strength of Zheng thieves is the navy. Every time they are defeated, they can escape from the sky. They are all because they will escape from the sea when they are defeated. If they want to defeat Zheng's army, they must defeat him from the sea. If they want to defeat Zheng thieves, they must defeat their navy. There is no other way!"

Li Lutai, who had been governor of Fujian for many years, was naturally very clear about Shi Lang's words. Otherwise, he would not have surrendered a large number of Zheng army generals, or even surrendered pirates and trained navy troops.

"Zunhou, you know all the main halls you mentioned, but the problem is..."

Li Lutai then picked up a letter and said.

"Now, two more counties from Zhejiang have fled. The court has to take lenient treatment there. Even if it is arrested, it will be ordered to return to its original position. Every day, many people may abandon their official positions and escape. How can the hearts of officials in the world be stable? The court is waiting for our good news!"

Shi Lang had Shi Lang's considerations, and Li Lutai also had his considerations. He knew that the court could not wait any longer, and those Han officials from Jiangnan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang could not wait any longer. Everyone was waiting for good news from him here.

"If we continue to delay like this, the court will blame you and I will not be able to afford it!"

Li Lutai glanced at Shi Lang and said seriously.

"If you mobilize all the boat masters to conquer Taiwan now, how sure are you?"

Facing Li Lutai's inquiry, Shi Lang first pondered for a moment, then said.

"If we transfer the elite troops under Duke Haicheng and Ma Degong and other troops, well, Tang Bangjie, Lin Chong, Ye Lu and others can indeed choose 15,000 elite troops. Then gather all the sea ships in Fujian. When spring comes, the wind direction will turn south, and even if the traitor navy goes south to help, it will block the wind direction. Judging from the following points, you will be sure of it!"

Shi Lang's tone seemed very certain, and he chose the troops led by Zheng Chenggong's surrender, because he knew very well that the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp soldiers from the north would have fought across the sea, not to mention fighting across the sea, when they arrived in Keelung, they might all become soft-legged shrimps due to the bumps on the sea.

"Well, Zunhou also said politely!"

Li Lutai nodded, just like he initially speculated.

"Ministry, although the Keelung bandits have limited troops, they have built Western-style gun platforms. If our army wants to seize this place, they have to surround their gun platforms. I am afraid that even if we attack now, it will not be easy to capture Keelung without a month or two!"

Although Keelung is located outside the sea, Shi Lang still collected a lot of information through merchants and even the Dutch. Of course, he also knew that Keelung City's fortress was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Although he only knew a little about the easy and difficult Western gun platforms, he seemed a little cautious when answering.

"It doesn't matter. Just surrounded Keelung layer by layer, and then for the court, it will be a great achievement!"

As the governor of Fujian, Li Lutai knew very well that for the court, there was no difference between taking Keelung now and surrounding Keelung at all levels. What the court needed was to tell the Han officials in the world. You see, the court had put a lot of effort into making everyone. Now Taiwan has a large army of the court, so you naturally don’t need to worry. As for Keelung, the court really doesn’t care about the place outside.

He even thought that if the Dutch were willing to help, after conquering Keelung, he would hand over Taiwan to the Dutch to prevent Taiwan from being used by pirates again.

"But, if the tribes sent troops to Taiwan now, the matter of doing a navy must not be stopped. After all, whether this will be a fatal blow to the Zheng thief and will no longer cause harm to the Fujian Sea is the key to this move. When the emperor wins, the tribes can also serve the emperor with this wonderful skill!"

Shi Lang, who was afraid that he would leave Fujian, said nervously.

"In addition, after conquering Taiwan, you also need the help of a navy to live in Taiwan! This navy must not stop!"

"Zunhou, please rest assured that this navy will never be stopped. This ship will continue to be built. Don't our department know the importance of this navy? When the Zheng bandits are defeated, I will definitely ask for me!"

Li Shutai comforted Shi Lang and asked him to go to Taiwan with confidence. He said again.

"But this Taiwan is just a place where the land is transformed into a foreign land. If it is captured, there is no reason to stick to it. At that time, the Lord Zun only needs to demolish the fortress and then return to the court. However, in order to avoid Taiwan being used by pirates, I think that all the Taiwan authorities can be handed over to the Dutch. Those red-haired and mavericks like the land where the land is transformed into a foreign land the most!"

Li Lutai's words stunned Shi Lang. He pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"What the ministry said is very much. If Keelung is handed over to Hongmao Yi, Hongmao Yi can naturally defend Keelung on my behalf. In this way, our army will not spend a single soldier and avoid the pain of garrison. However, Taiwan's size is far beyond our imagination, and it is no less than hundreds of miles north and south..."

Shi Lang is not unfamiliar with Taiwan. After all, the Zheng family had avoided the official army in central Taiwan and other places back then, and it was precisely because of this that he knew the actual situation in Taiwan.

"There are very few red-haired people on this island, and only this uncivilized natives. Even if they hand over Keelung to the Dutch, they may not be able to control the entire island. If the pirates avoid other places, then they will be afraid that the Dutch will be out of reach, so..."

Looking up at Li Lutai, Shi Lang said in a deep voice,

"If the tribe wants to stabilize the Fujian Sea, Taiwan will not only be handed over to the Dutch, but it must be given sufficient manpower to use it for land reclamation and farming in Taiwan. In this way, the Dutch will naturally not let the pirates easily invade the territory, or as now, they will not react at all to the pirates occupying Keelung!"

Knowing the Dutch and understanding the suggestions made by Shi Lang from Taiwan made Li Lutai nod in agreement with him.

"What Zunhou said is very true. I will leave this matter to you who are fully responsible. You will go to negotiate with these Dutch people in person. By the way, I heard that many of the pirates used were Western ships, and the Dutch also had Western ships. If they could get their help, they would definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort to seize Keelung!"

The Governor's words made Shi Lang's heart move, but he thought of the nature of the Red-Fedy Yi again, and then nodded and said.
Chapter completed!