Chapter 34 The Navy

Zhou Fashang and Zhou Luohu had the same surname as Zhou, but they had no relatives. The same thing was that they were both naval generals from Nanchen. The difference was that Zhou Fashang was falsely accused of rebellion by Chen Shujian when Emperor Xuan of Southern Chen because he offended the King of Changsha. In desperation, he led the navy to the city of Emperor Xuan of Zhou at that time. Zhou Luohu surrendered to the Sui army when he saw that things were not violated when Southern Chen were destroyed.

When it comes to naval commanders, naturally the generals from the south have a far superiority than the north. Zhou Fashang and Zhou Luohu are both outstanding among the former Nanchen naval commanders. After destroying Chen, Yang Yong intended to form a navy and attached great importance to naval talents. Unfortunately, although Yang Jian can be said to be a hero of a generation, he still subconsciously avoided the unpredictable sea. In order to prevent the rebellion of the Southern Chen rebellion and fled to the sea, there were even no ships over three feet long among the people. Zhou Fashang surrendered long ago, but he was transferred from a navy to a land commander, while Zhou Luohu was almost idle.

After Yang Yong ascended the throne, Zhou Fashang was immediately transferred back to the navy, and a large amount of military expenditure began to be invested in the navy. Now almost four years have passed, and it is time to test this navy.

"I am paying homage to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

Zhou Fashang is over fifty years old, and Zhou Luohu is over forty years old. Zhou Fashang is slightly taller, has a half-white beard, and has a dark and shiny skin on his face. Zhou Luohu is slightly shorter and has a rough and black skin. However, both of them have bright eyes and a charming style.

Yang Yong smiled and said, "The two generals are flat. Today, I announced that the two generals are coming here to ask about the situation of the navy."

Zhou Fashang first spoke: "Report to Your Majesty, our navy has built 30 large sea ships with more than 5,000 materials in the past four years, 72 medium-sized sea ships with more than 2,000 materials, and more than 300 auxiliary ships of various types, and 50,000 naval troops training. We can fight across the sea at any time for Your Majesty."

Although Yang Yong had known this number for a long time, he was still very happy after hearing it. A large ship of five thousand materials could transport 5,000 stone of cargo at one time. If so many sea ships were used to transport grain, they could transport nearly one million stone of grain at one time. If they transport troops, they could transport more than 200,000 people at one time.

In order not to let the Goguryeo people realize that the Sui Dynasty intends to develop naval forces, the bases for naval forces for shipbuilding and training were in the south. Yang Yong stayed in Zhuo County and remained motionless, so naturally he was waiting for the arrival of the naval forces. Zhuo County and Goguryeo faced each other across the sea. If they set out by land, from Liaodong to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, it would take several months to walk. However, if they use sea boats to set off from Zhuo County, they can reach the capital called Little Chang'an by the Goguryeo people in just five or six days.

"Okay, my dear friends will follow the order. I will use Zhou Fashang as the chief supervisor of the Navy and Zhou Luohou as the deputy chief supervisor of the Navy. Together with a 50,000 army by land, we set out three days later and attacked Pyongyang."

"I am obeying the order! Thank you for your kindness!" Zhou Fashang and Zhou Luohu replied together.

This time the emperor was in charge of the army. Most of the Sui army were undoubtedly confident, believing that the Goguryeo would be vulnerable. As long as the army was pushed to the Goguryeo city, the Goguryeo would be scared and surrender immediately. If it was a little later, the credit would be taken away. Fortunately, Yang Yong himself was clear-headed and knew that the Goguryeo would not surrender so easily. When he heard the news that the progress had been unsuccessful, many people were quite shocked, but the emperor had already knew it.

In history, Yang Guang failed to goguryeo three times in his expedition to Goguryeo. Although there were some objective reasons, it was a fact that Goguryeo was small but stronger. For hundreds of years, Goguryeo has never stopped expanding after its founding, and there was never such a beautiful thing as surrendering without fighting. If Yang Yong, as a later generation, would have put his hope on the hope of winning without fighting, it would undoubtedly be a fool.

Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and Luo Shixin thought that as soon as they arrived in Zhuo County, they would go to the front line to fight the enemy. With their martial arts, they would soon stand out and realize their wish to make achievements. But they knew that they would become imperial guards who were with the emperor to fight in person. At most, they would have been a few days. Unexpectedly, the emperor had no movement to go to the expedition after half a month in Zhuo County. Many soldiers were anxious. There had already set off 200,000 troops in front of them, and there were only a few people in Goguryeo. If they were delayed, wouldn't they even have no chance to drink soup? If it weren't for the strict military discipline and the few people in charge of leading the troops were all famous generals, there would definitely be trouble in the military camp.

Finally, they received the order to send troops, but what they did not expect was that they would not march by land, but would board a large ship and set off again. As soon as the emperor's order was passed down, the ports in Zhuo County were filled with dense ships, waiting to carry the soldiers and war horses onto the ship.

So many sea boats were together, which opened the eyes of some soldiers who had only seen small boats sailing in the river. However, many soldiers who had never taken a boat couldn't help but feel numb, but the military orders were like mountains. After ordering, they had to obey. The large sea boats anchored by the canal were like monsters that could swallow people. They carried tens of thousands of soldiers onto the ship together with their war horses, and then pulled up the sails and walked slowly towards the sea.

Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin both knew a little water, but Cheng Yaojin was completely a landslide. He couldn't help but be trembling when boarding the boat. When he heard that he was about to enter the sea, Cheng Yaojin was even more frightened. If he could turn around, he would want to get off the boat and return to the shore immediately. Unfortunately, since he became a soldier in the palace, he would have to help himself.

Qin Qiong suddenly realized that no wonder that most of the soldiers who stayed behind seemed to have come from the coastal areas. Unfortunately, even though they lived on the coast, in this era, most people looked at the sea for fear, and many people never went to the sea. Once they got on the boat, many soldiers who were still alive on land seemed to suddenly become sick cats, and they all fell from place to place.

Fortunately, there are many naval troops on the ship, and these newly boarded soldiers were dizzy, but they did not affect the passage of the ship itself. The elite level of these naval troops was no less than that of the state soldiers on the land. They were on the ship as if they were on the plain. If they were on the land, the naval troops and the state soldiers could compete one by one. When they arrived on the ship, the ten state soldiers were not opponents of the naval troops.

It took a whole day, and all 50,000 soldiers boarded the sea, went downstream and into the sea. Hundreds of warships were like covering the sky and the sun. Standing on the ship, looking around, their eyes were covered with sails and masts. If they succeed, this was the first time in human history that a large army of more than 100,000 scale combat was fought across the sea.

Zhou Fashang felt heavy in his heart at this time, and he had no awareness of creating history and leaving a name for himself. Although these big ships have been tested by waves, each navy has experienced sailing on Shanghai ten times. In Jiangnan, there are even barbarians who have traveled thousands of miles across the sea. However, the Dahai Committee is too dangerous. As long as you encounter a storm, the fleet that seems to be majestic will be torn to pieces by the storm and turned into piles of broken wood floating on the sea.

If he was asked to dispatch thousands or tens of thousands of troops at a time, Zhou Fashang would not be so pressured. He would only dispatch 100,000 people at a time. If there was a mistake, he would not be able to redeem it. Unfortunately, they were going to attack the capital of the Goguryeo people. If the number of people was too small, they would have to return without attack. If he dispatched 100,000 people at this time, if he attacked, the Goguryeo people would not have time to react.

This is a real adventure, and if the Goguryeo people destroy the country, they will not only suffer heavy losses, but also may also be destroyed. This will greatly encourage the Goguryeo people to resist on land. Perhaps, the emperor's first personal expedition may become a joke, which will greatly damage the emperor's prestige. It will take at least ten years to rebuild a navy army.

"Don't worry, my father, it's all sunny these days. The child is 90% sure that our army can reach the capital of the Goguryeo. Humph, since they are called Xiao Chang'an, don't blame us for taking back our territory." His youngest son Zhou Shaofan saw that his father's face was heavy and hurriedly comforted him.

Ninety percent sure, I am afraid of that accident. The marching in the 18th year of Kaihuang was the same. The land was clear and the army encountered a storm as soon as it went out of the sea. The barbarians who came to the Sui Dynasty across the sea could earn dozens or hundreds of times the profits. Even if nine of the ten ships were sunk, they could protect their capital. It was not like him who was alone. If there was one, it would be over. Zhou Fashang thought to himself.

In order to avoid storms, the fleet tried to drive as close to the coast as possible on the first day, so that those soldiers who went out to sea could see the land for the first time would not be too nervous. On the second day, the entire fleet left the coast, spread its sails, and sailed into the vast sea. The coastline was getting farther and farther away from them, gradually fading out of sight.
Chapter completed!