Thirteen days was a long time in the rainforest, and when the wind became light and the rain was not heavy, the commander of the flotilla who stayed on the unnamed coastline first asked the sailors and craftsmen to inspect the boats, and the repairs were made, and the fresh water that should be replenished also collected the rainwater.

On the fourteenth day the weather became clear, and the men on the shore returned to the boat in their boats, and they set sail with a little tidying up.

Standing on the boat and watching it slowly move away from land, the captain was a little stunned as he held on to the wooden frame on the edge of the boat.

"The ashes of twenty-one robes have been placed."

"Hmm."

"Do you have any other commands?"

"Let your comrades drink more lemonade and prepare some more dried pickled fish for the next meal."

"No!"

He had a good performance in the Battle of Jiangling, but unfortunately his subsequent injury allowed him to recuperate for nearly two years, missing the most rapid expansion period of Lü Zhe.

After returning to the army, it was the army's recuperation period, and at that time, many good talents also emerged in the army, and it was undoubtedly not a little more difficult to shine like a comet again. Only a very few people are in the right reality, in the right position, and in the right position, so they have the opportunity to ascend to the sky, as a representative is Sima Xin.

It was until Lu Zhe waved his army north, and Bianliang also participated in the war to conquer the Central Plains, but to be honest, the battle of the Central Plains did not cause too many waves, except for the only few cavalry corps that performed outstandingly, the rest of the mixed corps based on the infantry army basically did not find the opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

In the battle of the Central Plains, the mixed corps dominated by the infantry army was more like a "handyman" for the cavalry corps. Many people saw that the cavalry would become a very important type of troops, and Bianliang went with the flow to be transferred to the cavalry. Too many people want to be transferred to the cavalry, and the competition naturally becomes extremely fierce, and the fierce competition means that there will be more and better choices on top.

The navy is a branch of the armed forces that Lu Zhe has only focused on developing in the past five years, and at first it was just a group of transport teams that served as laborers on the rivers, and for a while it was only used as a transport team, especially in the battle of Huizhang County. That's because except for Lu Zhe's development navy, the rest of the countries or forces do not have a navy at all. So what is not a convoy without an opponent at war?

The Navy was renamed the Navy after transporting troops and supplies from the hinterland to Jiaodong County along the coastline, and although they could only sail along the coastline at that time, they did sail on the sea.

Why did Bianliang transfer to the Navy? It was when he found that the cavalry would dominate on land from then on, and he had been assessed many times that it was difficult to enter the cavalry, and by chance he learned that Lu Zhe attached great importance to the navy, and he gritted his teeth to study and study the navy, because not many people were willing to join the navy, he not only successfully transferred to the navy. and was directly promoted from the military marquis to the captain.

The navy is different from other land arms, and it is an exaggeration to say that there are thousands of lieutenants in the land arms, but it is absolutely not wrong for the lieutenant to be an inconspicuous middle-level officer in the land arms, and there are also middle-level and high-level officers such as generals, partial generals, and lieutenant generals. What is the navy like?

Although Lu Zhe attaches great importance to the navy, Lu Zhe himself does not understand the tactics of the navy, but only knows some general development directions. Every step was an attempt, and the highest officer in the early days of the navy's construction was a general, and the number of warships and soldiers continued to increase. Until Bianliang was transferred to the Navy, the highest officer of the Navy was still a general, and the latter echelon only had four captains, and Bianliang was one of the four lieutenants.

Of course, it is time for time to change now, and the navy has increased in size again and again from the beginning of its development to the present, from 20,000 to 80,000 in the first four colonels, and the general is still the highest officer in the navy, but the number of lieutenants has increased to 16.

"The captain was the first to discover this continent, and this time he will return to the mainland, but there will be a great development."

"Isn't it? According to the king's prior agreement, it was first discovered that Luzon could be knighted, and the lowest was the status of a lord, and maybe it could become an official nobleman. ”

"Hehe, the captain can eat meat, and we can also drink soup, right?"

The boat was so big, and the soldiers who had nothing to do were muttering together, and as long as they weren't too far away and were in the upper wind, they could be heard more or less. However, what they call "this continent" is actually a very large island, because it has just been discovered that the big island is not officially named, and it has any name. In addition, the lords of the empire are only honorary nobles, and the barons are the real nobles.

The wind blowing on the sea surface has a fishy smell, in fact, the wind on the sea really has a very obvious smell, it is not entirely correct to say that it is fishy, only when you stand on the shore will feel a strong fishy smell, and away from the shoreline, the fishy smell will become lighter. That's because there are usually dead fish stranded by the waves on the coastline, and the fishy smell of dead fish and some shellfish is naturally stronger, and the fishy smell of the sea away from the coastline is almost inaudible, and if you smell carefully, you can only feel the coldness in the air.

Bianliang smelled the cold sea breeze, but his heart was hot. It is a certain thing for him to return to the mainland this time to be promoted, after all, it was his fleet that first discovered the big island located in the south, and according to the instructions in advance, he chose a good place to establish a stronghold, which can be regarded as a safe and proper completion of Lu Zhe's original reward, and even overfulfilled the task and discovered an island on the edge of "this continent".

Luzon...... Let's call Luzon Island first, there is an island in its northwest position, in the current it is called Huangyan Island, it is the only reef exposed to the surface of the surrounding hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of sea area, in modern times its area is 150 square kilometers, then it is 220,000 acres of land, how big it is has not been measured, but it will definitely not be less than the number of modern acres.

The first advance base of the Imperial Navy to the south was on the island of Ryukyu (Taiwan). Later, the second base where Bianliang discovered and built a stronghold was at Scarborough Shoal. The second advance base to the south is of great significance no matter how you look at it, but the only fly in the ointment is that there is no natural fresh water. However, even if there is no natural fresh water, its location is very important, and until the Empire is able to carve out a base for the advance of Luzon, it will be a docking point for the fleet, and the island will be developed accordingly.

Lu Zhe offered various rewards for the exploration of naval aviation, not entirely for the military, and the rewards were also open to the people, but relatively speaking, only the Imperial Navy had accumulated little experience in naval aviation in the past seven years. Not only did the civilian sector lag behind the Imperial Navy in terms of ships, but it also failed to compare with the military in terms of size and experience.

"If you go back, you will be promoted to a Zhonglang general, and you can also get the noble title of a fifth-class viscount...... "Bianliang had already received a letter from his native land, which was sent by a friend who was in the southern tomb of the empire, but he did not reveal it to anyone.

Bianliang's friend in Nanling was Mei Kai, who served in the forbidden army.

Mei Li is not only the lieutenant general of the newly formed cavalry corps of the forbidden army, but also a close minister of the king, although Bianliang felt unbelievable about the gossip revealed by Mei Kai, but there was also a trace of judgment in Bianliang's heart.

Again, the extent to which Lu Zhe attaches importance to the navy is estimated not many people in the empire to understand, and it used to be to explore the Pacific Ocean. Let the Pacific Ocean become the "inner lake" of the empire, and now because of the needs of some circumstances, his need to explore the sea has risen to a greater height.

The information that Mei Li revealed to Bianliang was not false at all, and Bianliang would indeed be promoted to Zhonglang General and become a fifth-class viscount of the empire when he returned this time. That's because Lu Zhe expanded the navy again, and the original navy generals will also become lieutenant generals, so the empire is equivalent to expanding the navy into two corps. Originally, the general was promoted to Zhonglang and will lead a navy to explore and operate the eastern seas, and Biaoliang, who became Zhonglang General, will also lead a navy to explore and operate the southern seas.

The Navy and the Land Arms are not the same in formation. On land, it is organized according to the source of troops, but the navy is organized according to the number and size of warships, what Justification does not know. The fleet he will lead in the future will be larger than his original boss, after all, the fleet in the eastern seas is mainly engaged in the Japanese island and the exploration of the American continent, which belongs to the level that already has a foundation and does not appear to be eager, but the empire is now impatient to explore the southern seas, and the sooner it discovers the sea route to India or Central Asia, then the layout of the world island can also be put on the desk one day earlier.

"See! See the land! The lookout on the mast roared and roared into cheers, and the land he saw was Scarborough Shoal, which was a transit point for further repairs.

Scarborough Shoal is a reef exposed to the water, which means that there will be no primeval forest, and it is an exaggeration to say that it is bare, but compared to the dense jungle and the unknown number of poisons and beasts, it is definitely safe.

It is said to be an island, but it is actually a circular reef, and there is a gap in the southwest position of this reef that allows the fleet to sail in, and when they arrive, it is just at high tide, and the fleet with a relatively low waterline can easily enter the inner waters of the reef through the gap.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Wei Liang's eyes kept staring at the stone tablet at the position of the gap in the reef, which was a stone tablet with four bright red colors written in the official script, but it was definitely not the intention of the boundary monument, it was a "door plate" that clearly defined the belonging, and a similar stone tablet would be erected at least one every time the navy found an island, so each fleet would bring some of the ballast with it. For example, Luzon Island was discovered not long ago, and a piece of it would be buried as soon as the imperial soldiers went ashore, and no matter how you look at it, it is a bit of a pit in it, but no one will run out to protest.

A camp has been set up on the higher ground of the Huangyan reef, and the flags in the camp are fluttering in the sea breeze, and the flag raised high in the middle is two bright red letters written "Empire" on a black background. The soldiers who remained at this transit station were also cheering when the fleet returned, and from a distance, he saw several warships that did not belong to his formation, and there were many strange-looking people on the shore.

"Those ships...... Looks bigger than ours, huh? ”

"Yes, no matter how you look at it, it's more than a thousand tons!"

To be precise, of the new ships, the largest was 2,000 tons, two of the remaining were 1,200 tons, and five were 800 tons, each of which was larger than any of the fleet.

When you go ashore, you will have some sequelae when you float on the sea for a long time, that is, when you go ashore and your feet step on the land, you will feel a little shaky.

Bianliang didn't care about what to adapt to, his eyes stared at the colleagues who were approaching, and found that there were at least two captains at present, and before they had time to speak, the two captains who were approaching had already saluted, and he could only salute in return.

The two lieutenants said in unison at the same time: "We are ordered to report to you!" ”

Bian Liang, who was originally a little apprehensive in his heart, immediately felt relieved, and his expression couldn't help but show a trace of joy, a new lieutenant came over and clearly stated that he was under his command, so the gossip sent by Mei Li was confirmed again.

"Wait, the last general, this time I will bring a total of sixteen warships, one of which is a two-thousand-ton warship, she will be your new flagship, and two more than 1,200 tons, five 800 tons, and the rest are all 600 tons."

The number of soldiers, craftsmen and sailors on different tonnages is different, but no matter how you look at it, the heavier the tonnage, the more powerful it looks, and the argument can't help but keep his eyes on the 2,000-ton warship: "Are they all new warships of the Empire?" ”

One of the lieutenants said with a smile: "Yes, they are all new warships of the Empire, your flagship is the only two in the Empire at present, and she is also equipped with new weapons. ”

The reason for this is that the warship is different from the previous style, the largest warship has increased to five masts, the exposed giant crossbow on the ship has been significantly reduced, and the hull on the second floor has some strange-looking windows: "New weapons?" ”

"Yes," the lieutenant named Taiquan did not sell anything: "It is a new type of weapon called artillery, also known as a six-pounder naval gun, and the official name is a ninety-millimeter naval gun." In order to equip the 90-mm naval guns, the battleships of the 'County' class, which were supposed to be commissioned for a long time, were postponed for a year. ”

"'County'?" Bianliang was a little confused. (To be continued......)