On the Science, Mr. Zhao's hearty laughter was heard, which startled the water birds that had landed on the mast and made them spread their wings and fly away.
"Hahaha, Brother Hua only thinks of good things." Zhao Hao laughed out loud, "If there is an endless supply of free labor, the country will be in chaos."
"You are right, sir." Jin Ke sat up straight, with only half of his buttocks resting on the chair. He said with some regret: "It is just that lack of practical experience that these new security guards cannot really grow up."
"Don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities." Zhao Hao looked at the golden surface of Taihu Lake and said, "This Taihu Lake is still a little small."
A light flashed in Jin Ke's eyes, and he knew that the time had come for him to leave Xishan Island.
The young master thinks even Taihu Lake is too small, so the only thing that can satisfy his appetite is the sea.
As the head of Jiangnan Security, Jinke naturally knew that the top priority of the group's first five-year plan was to go overseas.
But he didn't expect that the young master would be so anxious. He just finished the meeting at the end of the year and started taking action at the beginning of the new year.
"I'm going to transfer you to Chongming." Zhao Hao ordered straightforwardly: "Tong Zigong will also take the Second Battalion there to take over the Third Battalion's defense in Chongming and conduct maritime training."
"What is my mission?" Jin Ke asked in a deep voice.
"'Jiangnan Education' will establish a maritime academy in Chongming. I will be the dean and you will be one of the vice deans." Zhao Hao said calmly, "The goal of the academy is to train qualified sailors and maritime security teams. The executive vice dean must be you, the general who was the best at naval warfare in the Qi family army."
Although Jin Ke was quite amused by the title of "Maritime Security Team" given to the young master, he still stood up and accepted the order.
"You have three days to transfer the defense of Xishan Island and the training team to Macron." Zhao Hao ordered again: "If he can't handle it alone, you can find someone suitable to form a team with him."
Although the incident happened suddenly, Jin Ke still thought calmly. After responding, he suggested: "Xishan Island is of fundamental importance. I would like to ask you to send someone other than the Zhejiang soldiers to take on the important task. Macron can be his deputy."
"I also need to have such an expert in my pocket, right?" Master Zhao couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Then at least arrange a military supervisor." Jin Ke said solemnly: "Although this is the utmost trust that the young master has in us, if this continues for a long time, it will inevitably be bad..."
“Didn’t the Procuratorate and Supervision Commission send a team to the place?” Zhao Hao took a sip of tea and smiled without commenting.
"The inspection and supervision team can only inspect and supervise, but cannot issue orders. For ordinary companies, this level of strength is sufficient. But for the security forces, it is not enough." Jin Ke really wanted to talk to Zhao Hao about it in detail, but Mr. Zhao refused to admit it. He supported the military, so there were many things he could not say.
"I've taken note of what Brother Jin said. If I find a suitable candidate in the future, I will put him in the security company." Zhao Hao looked at Jin Ke with gratitude.
In fact, he had considered this issue a long time ago. But after thinking it over, he realized that he did not intend to rebel, but he needed an elite and strong army that could fight overseas and even compete with the great powers.
He was well aware of how terrible it was that having civilian officials lead the troops and eunuchs supervise the army would erode the army's combat effectiveness and morale.
Therefore, rashly inserting sand into the security team would not be worth the cost, at least for now.
As long as he doesn't rebel, Zhao Hao is still confident that his subordinates will remain loyal. But he also has to guard against the security team becoming a monolithic entity and forming a powerful interest group...
Although the emergence of a powerful armed group is not necessarily a bad thing for the fate of the Ming Dynasty, if it affects one's long-term layout, the loss will outweigh the gain.
"But the quality of the Qi family soldiers is too outstanding. Where can I find military talents who can match them and can be used by me?" Mr. Zhao had no idea for the time being, so he simply didn't bother.
There is still a long way to go, we will talk about the future later.
~~
The sailors on the Science were skilled in sailing and arrived at Changxing County on the west bank of Taihu Lake at noon.
Under Jin Ke's guidance, the cool white sailboat sailed south along the lakeshore for several miles and arrived at the estuary leading to the county town.
"This Xia Ruo River is named after the Xia Ruo Temple where Emperor Wu of Chen lived in seclusion. It connects to the southern moat of Changxing County." As an excellent general, knowing the area around your defense zone like the back of your hand is the most basic task.
Jin Ke introduced to Zhao Hao: "The water of the South Moat is diverted from Hexi. Hexi originates from the mountains west of the county seat, which fits your description very well."
"Hmm." Zhao Hao nodded happily and said, "The name Hexi is correct. We can find what we are looking for by following it."
"But sir, the Science is too big. I'm afraid it can't enter the Xiaruo River. Let's change to the accompanying speedboat." Jin Ke suggested again.
Zhao Hao, who had always been willing to accept good advice, had an obviously unhappy expression on his face, which made Jin Ke's heart skip a beat, wondering how he had offended the young master.
"This shouldn't be the case. No matter how big the river is, it should be able to fit in..." Master Zhao muttered, as if he couldn't accept the fact that the river in front of him was too narrow and shallow.
However, Zhao Hao still obediently got off the Science, changed to the security team's light speedboat, and entered the Xiaruo River.
After the river mouth, which was about ten meters wide, the river narrowed sharply, and was only about five or six meters wide at most. Zhao Hao asked someone to measure the water depth again, and when the pendulum was lowered, it was only about one meter deep... Although it was the dry season, such a thin and shallow river could not bear the heavy task of carrying coal.
Sure enough, there were only small sampans traveling on the river. Not to mention cargo ships, even larger fishing boats did not dare to enter.
It was not until he saw Changxing County that Zhao Hao suddenly slapped his forehead and said with sudden realization: "I remember it now!"
But when people asked him what he remembered, he remained silent.
Because what Zhao Hao remembered was why this river was completely different from the Changxing Port in his memory.
People in Huzhou call artificial rivers "ports", so Changxing Port is a canal, and it was widened and deepened in the 1970s to accommodate large coal ships.
During the reign of Emperor Longqing of the Ming Dynasty, Changxing Port had not yet been built, and the original river channel was not good enough. A few years ago, Japanese pirates invaded Taihu Lake, and the county even conscripted civilians to silt up the river channel, deliberately preventing larger ships from passing.
After figuring this out, Mr. Zhao's worries were gone and his confident smile reappeared. When it comes to engineering, he claims to be the second best in the world, and no one dares to claim to be the first.
~~
The flat-bottomed speedboat went upstream, and by the time it reached the foot of the mountain, its speed had become slower than walking.
The group abandoned the boat and landed, then followed the river into the mountains.
Zhao Hao had foreseen this situation, so he left Secretary Ma and Qiaoqiao in Changxing County.
In addition to the guards, he also brought several experienced coal mining masters from the research center. The coal mine on Xishan Island was found by them.
So except for Zhao Hao, everyone else in the group was a fast runner. Although Zhao Hao had nothing in his hands and was wearing comfortable rubber-soled sneakers, he still had a hard time keeping up.
Gao Wu wanted to carry him on his back, even though he had done this before. But after the New Year, the young master was sixteen years old, no longer a child, and he was too embarrassed to let someone carry him.
ps. This is the third update, and there is one more to go. Please give me your monthly votes!