As the host of this court meeting, the busiest Minister of Rites, Ma Tingluan, asked: "Your Majesty, can the banquet begin?"
I smiled and said, "Okay, I've been busy for a long time and I feel a little hungry. Ma Aiqing, let's start now."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ma Tingluan looked quite tired, but in good spirits, and said loudly, "Dear colleagues, the feast given by Your Majesty will now begin. Please enjoy it to your heart's content. The singing and dancing performances will be carried out at the same time."
The performances during the banquet were mainly dances and operas, and occasionally there were puppet shows, shadow plays, acrobatics and other folk arts. These are popular entertainment activities in the world. The ministers were relaxed and watched and ate with great interest. abundant.
The ancient emperors (not to mention the faint emperor) and the officials in the court actually worked very hard. Last night, all the officials and I stayed up until the early morning. Today we have to attend the court meeting again. Some officials who live a little further away don't even dare to sleep. , came to wait outside the palace early, and after a whole morning of hard work, it was indeed quite difficult, especially there were many elderly ministers.
If, like some officials in later generations, the nightingale sings and the swallows dance all night long, even if they reluctantly get up early to attend court, the emperor will fix it directly while their eyes are still dim. How can they use the meeting place as a bed?
The standards of the imperial banquet were extremely high, and the menu was also based on the suggestions of the Ministry of Rites. However, I reduced a few dishes. My principle is that it is okay to eat well. After all, they are all important officials in the court. They have worked hard for a year and they deserve to be rewarded. However, Don't waste it wantonly.
Like later generations, the Spring Festival in the Song Dynasty also had a seven-day long holiday. With the special approval of the emperor, it could often be extended to about ten days. Officials who stayed in Lin'an City officially entered the vacation period after the court meeting, and those who went out to visit relatives The metropolis will return before the fifteenth day of the 15th, but I dare not relax at all. During this Spring Festival, in addition to convening some ministers to discuss matters, I plan to take a good look at the information of Xianwen Pavilion. I think I will gain something.
The next afternoon, I summoned Lu Xiufu, Li Beiyang and Ouyang Jianqing in the Imperial Study Room. According to the plan, Li Beiyang would lead the last batch of expeditionary navy to set off in the early morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year to wipe out the "One Piece" entrenched overseas. Zhang Xuan.
"I will see your Majesty,"
"Without courtesy," I pointed to the map on the table and said, "Li Aiqing, this is a coastal map. Please tell me about Zhang Xuan's situation first."
"Yes, Your Majesty, there are hundreds of pirate gangs along our coast, ranging in size from dozens to hundreds of people. The larger pirate gangs own seven or eight large modified ships, and their numbers can range from dozens to hundreds. There are about a thousand people, and Zhang Xuan's group can be regarded as a very large pirate. According to the information I have, Zhang Xuan has a total of fifteen armed ships, equipped with trebuchets, crossbows, hooks, sickles and other weapons. , is the main force on its rampant coast. There are also nearly fifty armed medium-sized ships and countless small ships. The total number of people is about 4,000, including nearly 1,000 women and children. There are two main bases for this group of pirates. ," Li Beiyang, standing at the table, said to the map, "Your Majesty, please take a look. There are Nanji and Beiji Islands on the eastern sea not far from Wenzhou Prefecture. This is one of its bases, and the other is near Ryukyu. The area around Kume Island and Chiwei Island is its main base,”
"Well, Zhang Xuan's pirate ship is somewhat similar to the equipment of our navy. The large number of people is beyond the reach of other pirate groups. No wonder he can become the pirate king who dominates the coast,"
"Yes, Your Majesty, that's why this group of pirates can stay here for a long time,"
"Li Aiqing, what is the current equipment of our army?"
"Back to Your Majesty, our army's most advanced long-range attack weapons will be tested in actual combat this time. Although they are still the original rockets, artillery, fireballs, thunder cannons, etc., the ammunition used in them has been improved by the Gunpowder Department. The power of fireballs and cannonballs of the same volume is about dozens of times greater than the original ones. If it is a small ship, it can be destroyed by just one fireball. If it is a medium-sized ship, it can be severely damaged by only ten cannonballs. , even Zhang Xuan’s large warships can’t block dozens of artillery shells,”
"Very good. If our warships had real artillery, it would be so majestic."
Li Beiyang said with great yearning: "Exactly, I estimate that if our warships are equipped with artifacts, it only needs to hit the entrance of the opponent's large warship with several consecutive cannons to make it lose its combat effectiveness. I really want to thank you very much this time." Brothers of the Gunpowder Department, when I come back, I will definitely ask for credit from Your Majesty for the Gunpowder Department."
I didn't understand naval warfare, so I asked with a smile: "Li Aiqing, how is our army commanded at sea?"
"Your Majesty, there are two traditional ways of commanding our navy. One is to use the golden drum flag, which is similar to the army. The second way is to dispatch a messenger ship to conduct command operations."
"These two methods are recorded in the "Wu Jing Zong Yao". The first method is affected by external factors such as weather and distance, and the second method is slow." I then thought, "If there is a telephone or telegram, it should be How nice,”
"Yes, Your Majesty," Li Beiyang said, "Is it possible that Your Majesty has a good plan?"
Of course, Li Beiyang didn't know that there would be items like telephones in the future world. No one can overcome the limitations of history. I shook my head and said, "No, Li Aiqing, please tell me more about our army's tactics in naval battles. "
"Your Majesty, I have summarized our navy's tactics over the years into seven points. The first is throwing weapons during boarding battles. This is a combat method that has been used since the navy was established. The second is the use of firearms. Application, with the advent of gunpowder, rockets and artillery have become the main weapons for long-distance attacks. The third factor is mobility. Water warfare uses warships as carriers, and after all, they are not as flexible as soldiers on land. This requires adjusting firepower at any time according to the situation. and the deployment of troops in order to take the initiative. The fourth is the cooperation of various warships. There are dozens of warships used by our navy, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. In battle, it is necessary to give full play to all types of warships. Instead of using big ships, the fifth point is to be familiar with the climate and currents at sea, which is what is called geographical advantage in the art of war. The sixth point refers to the formation of the warship formation. There are currently more than ten kinds of formations for our navy. There are many, such as the one-word formation, the arrow formation, the goose, crane and fish formation, etc. The seventh is the surprise attack. Just like land warfare, a sudden attack will catch the opponent by surprise, but this time the suppression is not a surprise attack."
I nodded and said, "Li Aiqing, there are many ways to fight in water."
"Yes, Your Majesty, any tactic has advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on the timing of use. Just like in the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao used iron chains to connect ships to reduce the rocking of the warships, so that the northern soldiers who were not good at water warfare could get used to it, but it did not This created an opportunity for the Sun and Liu coalition forces to attack with fire,"
"Yes, Li Aiqing, let's talk about your battle plan this time,"
"Your Majesty, our Song Dynasty Navy will dispatch 3,500 men from the North Sea Fleet, 2,000 men from the East China Sea Fleet, 2,500 men from the South China Sea Fleet, and 850 marines directly under the Navy Headquarters, including Beihai and Nanhai.
, the expedition personnel of the East China Sea Fleet have arrived at the designated location. Tomorrow, I will lead the Marines to join them on a speedboat. According to His Majesty’s instructions, this operation will be carried out as soon as possible.
The first is to exterminate pirates, and the second is to train troops. I have discussed with the Military Council that we will first attack the Nanji and Beiji Islands in the offshore from three directions: north, south, west, and leave the east side. I estimate that Zhang Xuan and his group of pirates will be the same as in the past.
Likewise, if they flee eastward to the Kume Island area, our army will pursue them all the way without attacking. We will take this opportunity to get some training. When the pirates reach Kume Island, we will surround them and strive to annihilate them all."
"With the superior strength of our army, we can easily destroy him, but if Zhang Xuan is still the same as before, fleeing to Ryukyu after being defeated, what will you do?"
Li Beiyang said: "Your Majesty, I will follow your Majesty's instructions a few days ago and capture Ryukyu together."
"Well, Junshi, Ouyang, what do you think?"
Ouyang Jianqing said: "Your Majesty, as a minister, you must first inform Ryukyu that our court will arrest the bandits and hope that they will cooperate."
I shook my head slightly and said, "Based on the relationship between Zhang Xuan and Ryukyu, I don't think Ryukyu will cooperate with me."
Ouyang Jianqing said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, then according to your Majesty's decree, Ryukyu will be captured together."
Lu Xiufu also said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this is indeed a good excuse. It is also in line with the style of our celestial dynasty to be polite before fighting."
The Ryukyu Islands officially became an affiliated island nation of my country during the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang. Before, they were numerous autonomous islands, similar to independent tribes or loose associations. The larger islands include the Osumi Islands, the Tokara Islands, and the Amami Islands. islands, Okinawa Islands and
Around the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Xiongteng family, the rulers of Okinawa, conquered the Ryukyu Islands by force and established the Ancient Ryukyu Kingdom. By the end of the Song Dynasty, the rulers of the Ancient Ryukyu Kingdom had already lost control of other islands, and
Return to the earliest era of island autonomy.
The current ruler of Okinawa, Xiong Tengxiu, was not content with this, and intended to unify the entire Ryukyu island again. With the assistance of the pirate Zhang Xuan, Xiong Tengxiu obtained a large number of weapons, armors and other military supplies from the Song Dynasty. For an industrially backward country
For the island country, these sophisticated equipment have undoubtedly become the basis for Xiong Tengxiu to conquer the entire island.
At the same time, Zhang Xuan, who was born in the military camp, also taught the other party the military system and training methods of the Song Dynasty, and promised that once Xiong Tengxiu sent troops to the Ryukyu Islands, the three thousand pirates under his command would definitely help him.
Come on, Zhang Xuan's fifteen large ships alone are not something that people from other islands can compete with.
"Li Aiqing, your navy will be going on an expedition in the new year, thank you all for your hard work."
"Your Majesty, if I can share your Majesty's worries and make meritorious deeds for our government, I will only feel extremely honored and will not feel any hardship at all."
"Okay, very good," I praised while saying, "Junshi,"
Lu Xiufu didn't know why I suddenly called his name, and subconsciously replied: "I am here,"