Tang Jingsong remembered Prince Xuan's sentence "I will go to Vietnam with you", and then remembered that he went to Vietnam three years ago, but by sea, so he asked: "Please show the prince, this time to Vietnam, is it by sea or land?" ”

"Naturally, it's a sea route," Guan Zhuofan said, "Our railway hasn't been built yet, and we can only rely on two feet by land, it's too slow!" ”

After a pause, he said, "Not only this time, but in the future, if anyone who has a military force, even if the destination is inland, must first take the sea route -- first to the coastal port, then to the inland river ship, and finally abandon the boat and land." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info So tossing and turning, at first glance it seems to be a ride, but in fact, it is a lot less expensive than walking on two feet, regardless of the time or the cost of eating horses; Along the march, the burden on the ground was much less. ”

"Yes!"

"Take the sea route," Guan Zhuofan said, "a 'reinforced regiment' can only be loaded by at least two steamships, and this steamship is naturally a ship of the steamship China Merchants Bureau, but the ship of the steamship China Merchants Bureau has no cannons on it and cannot defend itself, so a few more warships have to be sent as escorts." ”

After a pause, "I'll transfer a few ships out of the navy and form a ...... Well, the 'Vietnamese Detachment' is responsible for escorting you, the 'Vietnamese Wind Watcher', hehe, and the 'escort' of your reinforced regiment. ”

A "reinforced regiment" with infantry, cavalry, artillery, and marines, plus a "detachment fleet", where is this "escort", it is simply a "expeditionary force" of considerable scale!

Tang Jingsong's blood was slightly hot, and he was about to speak, when Cao Yuying next to him said with a smile: "A 'reinforced regiment', with infantry, cavalry, artillery and marines, plus a 'detachment' - Wei Qing, this 'escort' lineup is Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan, and there is no majesty of you!" ”

Tang Jingsong was slightly stunned, Ban Dingyuan naturally refers to Ban Chao, Zhang Bowang...... Oh, Zhang Qian, his hometown, is Bowang in Hanzhong, and he is also named Bowanghou, so Cao Yuying called him "Zhang Bowang", but he called Zhang Qian like this, which is relatively rare and slightly disobedient.

He settled down, and solemnly said: "Jing Song knows the importance of proportion, this army, the name of the messenger to escort, in fact, is another title, Jing Song will never dare to 'guard'. ”

Cao Yuying smiled slightly and stopped talking.

Guan Zhuofan glanced at Tang Jingsong appreciatively, and said: "It is true that this army is the escort of the 'Vietnamese Wind Observation Envoy', and it is not false that 'the envoy is escorted by a name, but in fact, he has another special order', well, the key is that the wind watching envoys and leading generals discuss everything with each other, cooperate seamlessly, and do a good job." ”

"Yes!"

"Among the 'Vietnamese detachment'," Guan Zhuofan said, "there are two ships produced by the Fuzhou Ship Administration, which are the first batch of warships we built ourselves. ”

Tang Jingsong was pleasantly surprised: "The ship of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau has been delivered?" ”

"Yes," Guan Zhuofan said with a smile, "At the same time, there are also graduates of the Fuzhou Naval Academy, which are the first batch of graduates of the Fuzhou Naval Academy to enter service. ”

Tang Jingsong smiled and said: "I haven't stayed in Vietnam for a long time, but after three years, when I returned to China, I had the feeling of 'I don't know if there is a Han, let alone Wei and Jin'!" ”

After a slight pause, "Uh, no, it should be 'one day in the mountains, a thousand years in the world'!" ”

"It's all the same thing," Guan Zhuofan said with a smile, "but—"

He looked at the rest of the people in the room, "We who are in the middle of it don't seem to have such a big feeling, do we?" ”

"That's because you're in Lushan!" Tang Jingsong said, "In my opinion, comparing today's China with China three years ago, it is not an exaggeration to say that 'changing with each passing day' and 'Vientiane is renewed'!" ”

"Maybe it's really what Wei Qing said-we are 'in Lushan'!" Wen Xiang sighed, "Don't say anything else, let's just say that this time to transport troops to Vietnam, thousands of miles away, put it in the past, then you have to do it?" However, this time, after careful calculation, this journey actually didn't take much time or cost, all because of the steamer and the sea route! ”

"Not bad!" Xu Gengshen said, "If there is no steamer, where can I take the sea route?" In addition to being as slow as a snail, more importantly, the wind is in the right direction! If the wind is not in the right direction, you will not be able to go anywhere! Other than that, along the way, everything has to be seen by God's face - but, to tell the truth, God's face, even the best boatman, can't see through it! ”

After a pause, "In the end, whether you can reach your destination safely depends on luck!" Besides, a sailing ship can't fit a few soldiers, so where is it like now, two steamers can fit the next 'reinforced regiment'? ”

"yes!" Wen Xiang said, "Therefore, what the prince just said, 'In the future, if anyone has soldiers, even if the destination is inland, they must first take the sea route', I raised my hands in favor!" is what the prince said, although from the sea to the river, from the river to the land, tossing and turning, 'at first glance it seems to be a journey, but in fact, it is all pulled down, no matter the time, or the cost of eating horses and chewing, it is much less than walking on two feet! Along the march, the burden on the ground was much less.'"

After a pause, "Especially the article of 'harassing places', in the past, but where the army is prosperous and the army passes along the way, how can there be a place that does not complain?" Alas, so, if you think about it carefully, it is really what Wei Qing said...... 'Vientiane renewal'! ”

"This is still the situation where there is no railway," Guo Songtao said, "In the future, the railway between the north and the south will be opened, and it will be more convenient to transport troops or something!" The people along the way, as soon as they woke up, tens of thousands of soldiers passed through the territory! Perhaps, the local people, from beginning to end, did not know that such an army had passed last night! ”

"Exactly! Precisely! Wen Xiang nodded again and again.

Speaking of this, thinking of something, he turned to Guan Zhuofan and smiled apologetically, "Let me divert the conversation, the prince forgives me." ”

"What is the sin?" Guan Zhuofan said, "Every sentence is to the point!" ”

After a brief pause, he turned the conversation back: "The tonnage of the ships of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau is not large - we can't build big ships yet, but they are suitable for use in Vietnam!" It is precisely because of the small tonnage and shallow draft that it is possible to trace the river up the river -- there are many rivers in Vietnam. ”

Tang Jingsong replied: "Yes!" ”

"Among the 'Vietnamese detachments,'" said Kwan Zhuofan, "also have a slightly larger tonnage, such as the flagship 'Fubo,' which is a 'standard cruiser,' with a displacement of 1,450 tons." ”

"Fourteen hundred and fifty tons?" Tang Jingsong looked surprised, "That's already a big deal!" ”

After a pause, "The tonnage of the French ships in Vietnam, the largest one, is called the 'Volda', with a displacement of 1,350 tons, which is 100 tons less than our 'Fubo'!" ”

Guan Zhuofan nodded, "Yes, however, although the 'Fubo' is not small, if it fights with the French fleet in the future, it will not be in the lineup of capital ships, the 'Fubo' is an iron-ribbed wood-hulled ship, that is, the keel is iron, the hull is wood, its main task is reconnaissance, communications, and Haikou and inland river operations - that is, shallow water operations, do you understand?" ”

"Yes! Humble duty understands! ”

"What is really used in the decisive battle of the fleet, we have ironclad ships, with larger tonnage, stronger protection, and more fierce firepower -- this kind of ship, don't look at France as the 'second naval power', there are not a few at the moment, and in Asia, there is not one."

Tang Jingsong's eyebrows fluttered, "Yes!" ”

"When the prince founded the navy," Cao Yuying said, "the main role of the 'standard cruiser' like the 'Fubo' was to 'Zhou Li's subordinate departments', such as Japan, such as Vietnam, this time, well, it is the right place!" ”

"Back then," Xu Gengshen said, "the flagship of the 'Aspen Fleet,' the 'Zhenwu,' was only 1,300 tons, and when the prince was on his expedition to Japan, the 'Mount Fuji,' the largest warship of the Japanese shogunate, was only 1,200 tons. The 'Fubo' is out of the horse, and for our 'subordinate department', it is already the top of Mount Tai. ”

"The firepower of the Fubo," said Kwan Zhuofan, "is also quite impressive, with one eight-inch front-loading rifled gun in the bow and six five-inch rear-loading smoothbore guns on both sides."

After a pause, he smiled, "This time, it's enough." ”

Enough? ――How do you use it?

However, there is no need to discuss this issue in depth on this occasion for the time being.

"I think that my humble position," Tang Jingsong's eyes lit up, "Don't say anything else, just say the name 'Fubo', it's very good!" ”

Everyone smiled knowingly.

"It's still a coincidence," Wen Xiang said with a smile, "The two most famous 'Fubo generals' in China, Lu Bode of the former Han Dynasty, fought against South Vietnam, and the horse aid of the Later Han Dynasty fought against Jiaozhi, which are closely related to today's Vietnam. ”

Turning to Guan Zhuofan, "When the prince named the 'Fubo', did he think that there would be 'something' in Vietnam in the future?" ”

Guan Zhuofan smiled "haha", "Bochuan, you really think I am an immortal?" It's just a coincidence, it's just a coincidence. ”

In fact, this is really not a "coincidence".

When Guan Zhuofan named the "Fubo", he really thought of "something" in Vietnam in the future.

"In any case," Wen Xiang said, "in the dark, there is a providence, and the affairs of Vietnam will definitely be able to be done smoothly!" ”

Cao Yuying added, "The ending of the Sino-French dispute must also be the reappearance of Lu Fubo and Ma Fubo!" ”

"Not bad!"

Xu Gengshen, Guo Songtao, Qian Dingming, and Tang Jingsong echoed in unison.

"Strategically despise the enemy, tactically attach importance to the enemy," Guan Zhuofan said, "Let's plan carefully, deploy carefully, and we can't be careless." ”

"Strategically despise the enemy, tactically attach importance to the enemy", the people here, except for Tang Jingsong, the rest are not the first time to hear Prince Xuan say, and there is no sense of disobedience, and they responded in unison: "Yes, follow the prince's instructions!" ”

"Wei Qing," Guan Zhuofan said, "When you arrive in Vietnam, there are two things you have to ask the king of Vietnam first. ”

"Please command!"

"First, why didn't you send an envoy to pay tribute for sixteen years?"

"Second, why did you sign the "Peace Treaty" with a legal person without the permission of the Celestial Empire?"

*(To be continued.) )