In this way, Zhao Li ate and drank for free, and arrived in Jiao County by cheating and deceiving people along the way.
With his eloquence, he tricked people all the way in. Not only did he eat and drink for free, but the shopkeepers also escorted him a long way, all for the three hundred taels of silver that would fall from the sky.
After arriving in Jiao County, Cheng Bupang and Guo Tianzhen completed the handover with local officials and waved goodbye to Zhao Li.
The two of them enjoyed a lot of blessings along the way and were very grateful to Zhao Li.
When he arrived in Jiao County, Zhao Li's good days came to an end and he was assigned to the Jiaozhou Navy.
The Jiaozhou navy was huge, with a total of 5,000 people.
Zhao Li was assigned to the helmsman training team, which was a good position. It was a position responsible for steering the ship and operating it.
The navy needs training, which is a disaster for Zhao Li, a landlubber.
On the first day on the boat, Zhao Li felt so dizzy that he even vomited gallbladder. The feeling of seasickness was really unbearable.
The commander of the Jiaozhou navy was none other than Pan Bufeng of the Imperial Dragon Guard, who was personally appointed and transferred by Zhao Huan.
This time, Zhao Li's iron tongue wasn't working. Pan Bufeng seemed to be specifically targeting Zhao Li, constantly monitoring his training. Pan Bufeng personally oversaw the navy's daily training and the handling of emergencies.
Three months later,
Rumble!
There were lightning, thunder, wind and rain.
On the sea of Jiaozhou Bay, the navy fleet was conducting emergency drills.
Pan Bufeng stood at the bow of the ship, and the cabin was full of naval soldiers.
"Zhao Li!" Pan Bufeng had a cold face, and the rain soaked everyone.
"Yes!" Zhao Li shouted in the crowd.
"You come and demonstrate the steering skills," Pan Bufeng shouted.
Zhao Li came out and came to the bow of the ship.
Song warships employed rigid sails and rotating oars. Dragon boats employed rigid sails with wooden stays. While these sails were heavy and difficult to raise, the water conservancy officials employed pulleys to reduce the load by half.
Furthermore, this rigid sail structure has a high wind-catching efficiency, which increases the ship's speed. Furthermore, the mast has no fixed crossbeam, allowing it to adapt to sudden changes in wind and cloud at sea, and the mast can be flexibly adjusted and turned to effectively utilize wind from multiple directions.
Song warships also featured long oars on the sides and stern. These oars, driven deep into the water and swung by multiple crew members, created a semi-rotating motion similar to today's propellers, resulting in highly efficient propulsion. They could maintain a considerable speed even in calm winds, and the oars' small wading area outside the ship made them suitable for sailing in narrow harbors and crowded waters.
These were all made by the Water Conservancy Administration based on the diagrams drawn by Zhao Huan after countless experiments.
After several months of devilish training, Zhao Li had grown a lot. He was no longer the playboy he once was, a man who indulged in drinking, whoring and gambling. He also became a role model for the navy.
Zhao Li turned the rudder and oars according to the wind direction, and the dragon boat rose and fell steadily on the stormy sea. Pan Bufeng couldn't help but nodded secretly.
…
In Bian Jing, Zhao Huan was in the Wende Hall.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter sent by Pan Bufeng, the navy commander of Jiaozhou." Cao Dongsheng handed over a letter.
Zhao Huan opened the letter and smiled. "I was right. This Zhao Li has made great progress. Pan Bufeng said in his letter that he is worthy of important positions."
Cao Dongsheng lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, it's often said that while it's easy to change a country, it's hard to change one's nature. Given Prince Li's ridiculous personality, it's not entirely appropriate to let him lead such a large navy."
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "My purpose in building dragon boats is not to spread them far and wide, benefit the people, or to make foreign vassals admire China. I want him to introduce sweet potatoes and corn."
Cao Dongsheng looked puzzled: "Your Majesty, what exactly are these sweet potatoes and corn you keep talking about?"
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "One dan of rice can produce fifty dan of sweet potatoes. Furthermore, these things are drought-resistant and barren-resistant, and can make even poor land produce abundant fruits."
Cao Dongsheng thought what he said was a bit far-fetched, but this dog emperor always brought some surprises unexpectedly, so it was always right to listen to him say so.
"Go and bring Jiang Fan from the Military Weapons Bureau." Zhao Huan said.
After a while, Jiang Fan arrived at the Wende Hall and said, "Your Majesty, the Military Equipment Supervisor Jiang Fan pays respect to Your Majesty."
"Jiang Fan, I have a question for you. How is the construction of the dragon boat at the Fujian Shipyard going?"
Jiang Fan bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, forty dragon boats have already sailed to Jiaozhou Bay and have been handed over. The main dragon boat is expected to be delivered and put into use by the end of the month. In eight months, the Jiaozhou navy will be able to set sail."
Zhao Huan frowned and said, "Six months. I will give you half a year. The Jiaozhou navy must set sail."
Jiang Fan gritted his teeth and said, "As you wish!"
"Um, how is the production of the red cannon going?" This is what Zhao Huan is most worried about.
Jiang Fan sighed: "Your Majesty, these red cannons are very complicated to make. The gunpowder kiln workshop has conducted several experiments and has only produced seventeen of them."
Zhao Huan was delighted: "Seventeen gates, that's a lot, not a small number."
Jiang Fan was shocked. The last time Zhao Huan came to him, he told him that he had to build two hundred red cannons, and if he couldn't, he would be held accountable.
For this reason, Jiang Fan frequently urged the gunpowder workshop, but the technical level of the Song Dynasty made it difficult to mass-produce such a miraculous weapon.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Huan did not think that the Arsenal had too few cannons when it had seventeen.
Zhao Huan slammed the table and said, "Han Shizhong's army in Taiyuan and Yue Fei's army in Shangjing have both sent reports. They say the Mongols on the border are making a desperate move and have repeatedly harassed the frontier. If I hadn't been so reluctant to start a war and had been so patient, I'm afraid fighting would have already broken out on the border."
Jiang Fan's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, do you mean to transport these dozen red cannons to the border city walls to defend against the Mongolian cavalry?"
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