Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 578: Chu’s Confidence
On the seventh day after Gan Ning arrived in Tanzhou, Bai Tu received Jiang Wan's report and Gan Ning's secret letter in Jinling...
After "Huang Tianji" joined, "real-time contact" could almost be achieved on the Chu mainland. The only obstacle was that civil servants with a certain level of mental strength were needed to preside over the "Jingbao", so there were still some difficulties in popularizing it among civilians.
Of the more than six days spent, most of the time was actually spent in Tanzhou - it took a lot of time to ride a fast horse from the eastern coast to the western port.
After all, the infrastructure of Danzhou was far inferior to that of the Chu mainland, and only a few important roads were built.
As for maritime transportation, after continuous implementation and optimization of route records, the time from Kuaiji Road to Yizhou and Jiangdong Road to Danzhou can now be controlled within three days!
And once the news reaches Jiangdong Road, it can be immediately translated into "essential news" and sent directly to Jinling...
After reading Gan Ning's secret report, Bai Tu felt relieved but also helpless.
Fortunately, the actual casualties of the navy were not that great. Gan Ning even brought back most of the target crops, except for the rubber trees, which had been tossed around in the shipwreck and it was unknown whether they could survive. In addition, the voyage objectives were basically achieved...
You have to know that Gan Ning returned so late that Bai Tu had even considered the situation of "the whole army being wiped out" before.
Now the navy has not suffered too many casualties. Although it is a pity that the five thousand elite Ji-made soldiers were killed, it is not an unbearable pain.
Compared with expectations, Bai Tu is now very grateful for these losses.
Unfortunately...
Most of the fleet was destroyed, even a cruiser was stranded, and now there are only more than 8,000 navy personnel returning.
The size of a navy is not determined by the number of people, but by the ships. In this regard, Gan Ning lost 80% of the combat power of the navy he led on this trip!
But the good news is that the 8,000 navy men who returned not only had stronger psychological qualities and resilience, but 30% of them were human warriors, a total of more than 2,000 people.
As long as there are enough Jizao soldiers, they can be replenished quickly...
In recent years, due to the pressure from the privateering fleet of Wei State, Chu State finally focused some of its "railway" attention on iron ships.
Today, the Yizhou Secret Shipyard has built a 20,000-ton ironclad ship and three 5,000- ton cruisers.
The "Jinxiu" that Gan Ning brought back only needed some repairs before it could be included in the list of warships again ...
There are also various types of warships that are not fully armored or clad in iron, ten ramming ships with a displacement of several thousand tons, more than twenty various types of gunboats with a displacement of several hundred tons, and hundreds of warships with a displacement of tens of tons!
These are considered the main combat ships. When fully manned and ready for battle, they require about 6,000 generals and 30,000 Ji-made soldiers.
Because of the superiority of the Qi machine technology, in terms of displacement, it was already the cutting-edge level of steam engine technology in the early 20th century. However, in terms of shipborne guns, the technology was still very primitive, and torpedoes had to rely on pole torpedoes - that is, a detonating device installed on a long pole, and then ramming into the enemy ship!
Although the Chu Navy could provide so many people before, it had to draw elite troops from Liaodong and Donglai.
After all, the navy has always been about quality, and the quantity has always been small. Moreover, Bai Tu is reluctant to let the new recruits play with these big guys...
If they are to be withdrawn, not only will they be easily hit by "weak points", but it will also be detrimental to confidentiality.
Now that more than 2,000 generals have returned from the ocean-going fleet, the navy has indeed become more well-off.
However, to be on the safe side, Bai Tu still wrote to Gan Ning first, wanting to understand the psychological state of these returning navy troops.
If it is suitable, it is best to send them directly to Yizhou for assault training. If it is not suitable, they can only be sent back for recuperation. Bai Tu does not want to waste this elite force that has fought against nature for a hundred times because of his haste...
As for Gan Ning's move, the situation of the ocean-going navy will definitely be gradually "leaked", but it's just right!
Anyway, the other princes only vaguely knew that the Chu State's ocean-going navy had suffered heavy losses, but they did not know that its preserved manpower could naturally play the role of "showing weakness to the enemy."
Only in this way will they have the confidence to fight the Chu State head-on at sea...
Otherwise, with the "leaked" Qi ships, Qi crossbows, and artillery during the Battle of Hanzhong, I'm afraid the State of Wei might not dare to compete with the State of Chu at sea!
At this time, all the princes, no matter how slow they were, had already noticed that the Chu army seemed be entering a new stage, and was about to bring the fundamental rules of "war" into the next stage.
This is not only an unknown area for them in terms of tactics, but more importantly... the Qi crossbow and the Qi ship are both beyond their ability to imitate now.
Even in Wei, due to "court reasons", the Artisan Camp had invested a lot in marine vehicles and ships. Even Ma Jun had discovered the convenience , so there was no major bottleneck in mechanical engineering. However...
The State of Wei simply cannot afford to maintain a true Qi ship!
If this thing only relies on the true qi of the generals, even if all the high-level generals of the Wei army are squeezed dry, the scale it can support is also very limited. And if you want to utilize the true qi of the people... except for the Chu State, where is the true qi of the people?
You can't even eat enough, but you still want to practice Qigong to increase your appetite? I'm afraid you'll die of Qi and blood deficiency in a year or two!
Now the princes from all sides finally understood that the Chu State’s previous intention to promote the cultivation of Qi among the entire population was not to “force consumption of food” but had a more important purpose.
Now, except for the State of Chu, no one can withstand this consumption...
It is not just the reduction of grain taxes among the people that will have an effect. The grassroots promotion of Shennong's essence, intensive farming and planting, various water conservancy projects, and those Qi farming tools that continue to have a virtuous cycle... are all part of the Chu State's "confidence"!
The other princes don’t have time to do these things now!
Especially the single-person Qi farming tools - want to use Qi farming tools to improve farming efficiency? You need Qi! Cultivate Qi? You need food! Increase food production? You need Qi farming tools...
Even though the uses of the Qi machine are gradually being exposed, the other princes can only feel envy and jealousy.
In this situation, if he did not give Wei some confidence, he would probably have to continue fighting guerrilla warfare with Chu on the sea.
After Gan Ning received Bai Tu's letter, he did not disappoint Bai Tu. He directly led his men to Yizhou and proved with practical actions that they could still fight!
This is actually true, and Gan Ning is definitely not just trying to be brave...
To use the words that Gan Ning reported to Bai Tu - now these two thousand plus generals are not worried about the cruelty of the battles or the hard training, but they are worried that the State of Chu will no longer organize ocean voyages because of this "failure", and then the brothers in Huangjinzhou and Wangchu will really be separated!
After learning about the current situation of the Chu Navy, the generals who returned from the ocean just wanted to quickly destroy the Wei Navy and the smuggling fleet, and restore the maritime hegemony as soon as possible, in order to prepare for the next voyage...
