When Jia Sidao and Xiao Qi and I arrived at the back hall, all the ministers attending the naval rectification meeting were already in place. When they saw me entering, they all left their seats and knelt down to worship: "See your Majesty."
"My dear friends, please bow down without any courtesy." I nodded to everyone and pointed to the empty seat next to me. "Please all sit down. Master, please take a seat too."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Jia Sidao said after sitting down.
"Dear dear friends, today's meeting is about our reform of the Navy. The importance of the Navy will not be less than that of the Army. It will even surpass the Army in the future. Let's take a look at this map first." I pointed at me. The hand-drawn world map said, "This map is called a world map. It is where human beings live. The Song Dynasty is located here. Look, the area covered by water far exceeds the land."
Fan Wenhuan was close to the map and had good eyesight. He was surprised and said: "It turns out that only 30% to 40% of the land is occupied by land."
Jia Sidao felt a burst of emotion in his heart. "Hey, the current Zhao Fu is really powerful. Whether it is the MSG and other items he made a few days ago, or this so-called world map, it is not something ordinary people can come up with. Could it be that That vision from heaven was also caused by Zhao Yu. The divine man Zhao Yu."
I smiled: "Fan Aiqing, you have pretty good eyesight. The place where humans live is called the earth. Most of it is water. If you want to conquer all places on the earth except our country, you must rely on a powerful maritime fleet. So. Only I can say that the navy will be more important than the army in the future." I saw that most of the people here showed dubious expressions. I didn't say much. I continued, "The rectification work of the Army of the Song Dynasty has begun in an all-round way. Naturally, the division's rectification should not lag behind that of the army. The army's rectification started from the Forbidden Army in Lin'an. If it starts from the point, then the navy's rectification starts from the front. Chen Yi and Chen Aiqing. This time they inspected along the river. Have you checked the situation of the navy along the river?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. All completed."
"Okay. The inventory of the navy along the coast and in front of the palace was also completed ten days ago." I looked at the more than ten ministers at the conference table and said. "I have decided to officially start the rectification of the navy from today. After the navy's restructuring It will be named the Royal Navy of the Song Dynasty. Like the army, it is under the unified command of the Imperial Military Affairs Council. The navy has one commander and two deputy commanders. They are fully responsible for the daily affairs of the navy. The original Coastal Department and Coastal Department All naval establishments including the Dianqian Division were cancelled. They were re-divided into the four fleets of the North Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, and Yangtze River Fleet, as well as the Marine Corps directly under the Navy Command Headquarters. Each fleet was set up with one deputy commander. There are two envoys who are responsible for the daily affairs of the fleet. Other establishments of the Navy are the same as those of the Army. It has an Intelligence Department, a Operations Department, a Staff Department, an Equipment Department, a Logistics Department, an Engineering Department, a Medical Department and other departments."
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, how will the personnel of the navy be divided?"
"The personnel establishment of the Navy is the second issue I want to talk about. I have decided to set the personnel establishment of the Navy at 100,000 people. This is roughly the same as the original total number of our navy. But this 100,000 Navy personnel What I want is a military that can actually fight. According to the current situation, I will focus on the Northern Expedition. Therefore, the North Sea Fleet and the Yangtze River Fleet will become the main fleets of our navy. My preliminary plan is that the North Sea Fleet will be in the future. It is responsible for the task of moving north from the sea. Therefore, the personnel establishment is set at 50,000. The Yangtze River Fleet will undertake the task of crossing the river in some areas. The personnel establishment is set at 15,000. The South China Sea Fleet has to take care of Annan and other places, so the personnel establishment is set at 50,000. The personnel establishment of the East China Sea Fleet is tentatively set at 10,000. There are 5,000 personnel directly under the Navy Command. Among them, 3,000 Marines and 2,000 non-combatants are planned. After the Northern Expedition is successful in the future, the Yangtze River Fleet and The East China Sea Fleet will merge into one."
Li Beiyang knew some of my ideas for the Northern Expedition. He said excitedly: "According to His Majesty's division method, the number of people in the North Sea Fleet is equivalent to the number of people in a land theater."
As for the sea attack route, my initial idea is to proceed from the Jingdong East Road (Shandong) of the original Northern Song Dynasty and Zhigu Village (today's Tianjin) of the original Jin Kingdom. After landing in the Shandong area, we can move westward and approach the Central Plains; Landing in the Tianjin area can directly threaten Mongolia's new capital (Beijing).
"Yes. The North Sea Fleet does account for half of the entire navy. The third question is about the navy base. Please look at the map of the Song Dynasty on the wall." I pointed to another large map on the wall. After a moment, he continued. "Let me first talk about the base of the Yangtze River Fleet. I plan to locate its base in Chongqing Prefecture and Ezhou Prefecture. Chongqing Prefecture can directly reach the capital city through the Tuojiang River. Ezhou (today's Wuchang) can be directly reached by the Han River. Xiangfan. Firstly, the navies in these two places are likely to have direct confrontation with the Mongolian navy. Secondly, they can also provide military supplies support for the Sichuan and Xiangfan war zones. The base of the South China Sea Fleet will be located at the administrative center on Guangnan East Road. As for the Guangzhou Prefecture area, I plan to locate the base of the East China Sea Fleet from Wenzhou Prefecture on Liangzhe Road to Mingzhou (now Ningbo). The most important North Sea Fleet, I will choose Huainan East Road from Haizhou (now Lianyungang) to the Yangtze River. The Huating County (today's Shanghai) area at the exit will serve as its base. My dear friends, I have already decided on the first point. No further discussion is needed. As for the second and third points, you can announce them in the form of a memorial after the meeting. Either express your own opinions or raise them at the next navy meeting. If you have other ideas and concerns, you can raise them here."
Li Beiyang first asked: "Your Majesty, does the reformed navy have a subordinate relationship with the army in each theater?"
"There is no direct reporting relationship. Both the navy and land forces are commanded by the Military Administration Council and the Ministry of War."
Li Beiyang said: "Your Majesty, if there is no subordinate relationship, in the event of a war, there may be uncoordinated and unsynchronized actions between the two armies."
Fan Wenhuan also supported: "Your Majesty, Mr. Li's view is indeed reasonable. During the war, the decrees of the Ministry of War and the Military Academy will be delayed due to the long distance. This may cause delays in fighter planes."
I thought for a while and said: "Well, this kind of thing may indeed happen. The proposal of the two beloved ministers is not completely unreasonable. This matter can be discussed again. However, I think there are not many opportunities for the two armies to cooperate in combat. If necessary, a group army operation can be adopted in wartime. That is, the land and water armies are combined into a whole. A general designated by the Military Affairs Council serves as the group army commander to unified command the two armies. For example, the Yangtze River Fleet's Chongqing The base and the Sichuan War Zone will be merged to form a temporary Sichuan Corps. It will be under the unified command of General Gundam or others. After the regional war is over, the original status will be restored."
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty's method is quite reasonable. We should treat it differently depending on the difference between peacetime and wartime."
Li Beiyang also said thoughtfully: "Your Majesty is wise and wise. I am not as good as me."
I smiled and said: "This is just my personal idea. Most of you here are generals who have experienced the baptism of war. You can also discuss it. We must pool our opinions on everything so that we will not be biased."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will accept your instruction."
Another senior naval general, Li Zengbo, said: "Your Majesty, what is this Marine Corps?"
I explained: "Oh. The Marine Corps is an arm of the Navy. It is the arm of the Navy that is responsible for sea crossing and landing operations."
"Your Majesty, will the small number of naval forces in each of the original war zones continue to be retained?" Chen Yi asked.
"The number of naval forces in the war zone is very small. We will continue to retain them for the time being. After our two inland rivers (Yangtze River and Yellow River) are all recovered, they will be placed under the jurisdiction of the navy."
"Your Majesty, how are the warships of each fleet divided?" Chen Yi asked again.
"This will be proposed by the Navy Command. Next, I will announce the appointment of some senior Navy generals. Li Beiyang."
Li Beiyang stood up and said, "I'm here."
"Li Aiqing. I appoint you as the naval commander. You will also serve as the North Sea Fleet deployment envoy. You will be promoted to the third rank."
"Your Majesty, Li Beiyang. Thank you for your kindness." Li Beiyang's ideal since he was a child is to make achievements at sea and surpass the performance of his ancestors. Not to mention the 100,000 sailors, the 50,000 sailors of the North Sea Fleet alone are enough to make him proud. He believed that the elimination of the Mongolian navy was just around the corner.
"Chen Yi."
"I'm here."
"Chen Aiqing. I appoint you as the deputy commander of the navy. You also serve as the commander of the fleet along the river. You will be assigned the rank of third grade."
"I obey the decree. I am Chen Yi. Thank you for your kindness."
"Li Zengbo."
"I'm here."
"Li Aiqing. I appoint you as the deputy commander of the navy. You also serve as the commander of the East China Sea Fleet. You will be assigned the rank of third grade."
"I obey your decree. I, Li Zengbo, would like to thank your Majesty for your kindness."
"Ruan Sicong."
"I'm here."
"Ruan Aiqing. I appoint you as the deployment envoy of the South China Sea Fleet. You will be promoted to the fourth rank."
"Your Majesty, Ruan Sicong, obeys the order. I thank your Majesty for your kindness."
Ruan Sicong was also a veteran of the navy. He once took back Haizhou from the Jin people.
"Four dear princes, from now on, our Imperial Navy of the Song Dynasty will be dominated by you. As for other senior generals, you will propose them and appoint them after my review and approval."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"The organization of the naval force has been basically determined. As for other rectification details such as the distribution of warships and the configuration of various departments, it is up to you to discuss it yourself. The time I give you is three months. Before January 31 next year, regarding our country All the rectification work of the navy must be completed. Li Beiyang, do you have any questions?"
Li Beiyang said: "Your Majesty, although there were originally 100,000 registered personnel in our navy, after careful inspection, it was found that there were only more than 70,000 qualified people. In addition to the 2,000 soldiers transferred from the Forbidden Army, there were nearly 100,000 soldiers transferred from the imperial army. There is a shortfall of 20,000. Therefore, I apply to your Majesty to expand the enrollment."
"Yes. This matter is settled."
Li Beiyang hesitated for a moment and then continued: "Your Majesty, I still have questions."
"Just ask if you have any questions."
"Your Majesty, my method of recruiting troops for the navy is slightly different from that for the army. Many of them are pirates who have been recruited. I wonder if your majesty approves."
"I think pirates should be divided into two parts. Many pirates are treated unfairly or are forced to join the sea as pirates. As long as these people have not done anything harmful to nature. You can accept their surrender. But for those pirates who commit heinous crimes, your navy must resolutely suppress them."
Li Beiyang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."