Chapter 279: The Advancing Mi Wen

The willow trees on both banks of the Hetan were left with only drooping branches.

The wind blowing from the river surface still carried a trace of chill.

The official from the Shipbuilding Department recorded the layout on the Hetan.

Zhao Xu explained it in detail once more, down to every single particular.

"I will send a group of masons over, and I will also send some cement; build twelve dry docks on this stretch of the Hetan, six on each side of the river," Zhao Xu said.

Chen Shou was delighted once again.

Now he could rest easy; with craftsmen familiar with using cement, there would be no major issues with building these dry docks.

Having given instructions regarding the dry docks, Zhao Xu inspected the Shipyard once more.

Since Chen Shou had just arrived, everything here was still only in its embryonic form.

This included the temporary wooden sheds where the craftsmen lived, which were still very crude.

He took note of this.

He understood Chen Shou's mindset; currently, he was solely focused on building warships and did not have much energy to spare for the daily lives of the craftsmen.

Perhaps this was a common failing of ancient officials.

They were accustomed to using authority and punishment to make craftsmen work, rather than having them work hard of their own volition.

Thinking that the construction of the Chengde Workshop was basically finished.

With many masons becoming idle, he decided to go back and transfer Dong Jian'an here, just as he had done for the Chengde Workshop.

To build a proper shipyard on this land.

Even if the large-scale shipyard would eventually move to the seaside, this place could still be used to manufacture merchant ships.

The inspection concluded, and Zhao Xu rose to return.

Although there was much to be dissatisfied with, these shortcomings could only be corrected bit by bit.

After all, starting from scratch, one must accumulate experience little by little.

One could not blame the officials for this; after all, they were accustomed to everything around them.

Naturally, they followed old ways of thinking.

Following the canal, Zhao Xu arrived at Fanyang Wharf.

Watching crates of Yanzhou goods being loaded onto ships and transported to the south, he revealed a smile.

As he observed all this, a merchant ship gradually pulled alongside the pier.

A youth jumped off the ship, and upon seeing Zhao Xu on the pier, the youth trotted over.

"Mi Wen pays his respects to Your Highness." The youth was none other than Mi Wen.

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Mi Wen.

He saw that Mi Wen was full of excitement, seemingly believing that he had come specifically to see him.

Zhao Xu felt a twinge of guilt; he had completely forgotten about this lad, Mi Wen, during this trip.

However, as Yan Wang, one must sometimes learn to act; one cannot chill the hearts of one's subordinates.

After all, Mi Wen was indeed his subordinate.

And he had taken on the important task of training the Navy.

"I was just about to send someone to find you; you've come at the right time," Zhao Xu said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mi Wen grinned from ear to ear, "Many thanks to Your Highness for your concern."

Zhao Xu coughed lightly twice and changed the subject, "You mentioned training the crew; how is it going now?"

Mentioning this, Mi Wen became even more excited. He pointed to the merchant ship behind him and said, "I just returned from Jinghai County. These people were all recruited from Jinghai County; most of them come from fishing households and are familiar with the water. At the same time, I also sent people to post notices in all the counties of Yanzhou; anyone with good swimming skills can come to Fanyang."

Zhao Xu looked toward the merchant ship on the river and saw over a hundred men of varying ages sitting or standing on the ship.

They seemed full of curiosity about Fanyang Wharf, looking around and discussing it.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly, his expression turning serious.

It seemed Mi Wen was being serious this time and not just fooling around with him.

He was very satisfied with his method of selecting people.

People with good swimming skills could often become qualified crew members more quickly.

Mi Wen was right to choose this way.

"The people are selected; how do you intend to train them next?" Zhao Xu asked tentatively.

He wanted to see what other skills Mi Wen possessed.

"I have selected a lake in Fanyang that connects to the canal. Once the crew recruitment is mostly done, I will buy a few ships and take them to that lake to train them daily in maneuvering ships using the wind, and then train them in naval battle formations."

"Of course, I also have to train them in Artillery; Your Highness said that Artillery can be mounted on ships," Mi Wen said in a rapid-fire manner.

Zhao Xu looked at Mi Wen; Mi Wen's gaze was very earnest and definitely not fooling around.

He nodded inwardly.

As the saying goes, heroes have emerged from among the youth since ancient times.

Perhaps he should pay more attention to Mi Wen and give him this opportunity.

"You are quite right; crew members trained this way will be enough to defeat any Navy in the Great Song," Zhao Xu said.

Mi Wen thought Zhao Xu was praising him and looked excited, "Now Your Highness should believe me, right?"

"It is just not enough," Zhao Xu's words made Mi Wen's expression freeze.

As long as warships were equipped with Artillery, they could naturally defeat most warships of the Great Song.

However, his fleet was intended to go out to sea to compete with evenly matched opponents.

This required the crew to be even more professional.

He said, "What you know is merely the tip of the iceberg. You should first recruit the crew and train them to handle the sails. In a few days, I will give you a book; take it back to study, and if there is anything you don't understand, write it down and come ask me."

Upon hearing this, Mi Wen was filled with excitement.

During this period, he had been copying books at the Prince's residence.

The contents of those books left him dazzled.

Although he did not understand them, he knew these things were certainly formidable.

Therefore, from that moment on, he held his cousin, Yan Wang, in great awe, believing him to be unfathomable.

Now that his cousin, Yan Wang, said he would give him a book, he was naturally as energized as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Perhaps with this book, he could truly train the finest sailors in the world.

After discussing this matter, Zhao Xu remembered he had not yet given Mi Wen an official rank or department.

So he said, "Furthermore, from today on, I appoint you as the Water Navy Admiral of Yanzhou, and you may establish your own Water Navy Office."

When these words were spoken, Mi Wen was stunned for a long while.

Once he regained his senses, he nearly jumped up.

Yan Wang had officially given him an official rank, which was equivalent to acknowledging him.

From now on, he could serve the Prince's residence just like the other generals and officials.

"Thank you, Your Highness; this subordinate will certainly not fail your trust and will build the strongest navy in the Great Song," Mi Wen said incoherently.

Chen Shou and the other officials of the Shipbuilding Department saw this and all revealed smiles.

Zhao Xu smiled and whispered to Mi Wen, "Although you have the rank and the office, you must remain low-key for now and not make a scene; tell the outside world you are training ship workers for the Yanzhou Trading Firm, and when the time is right, I will formally report the matter of the Yanzhou Navy to the Imperial Court."

Currently, the Imperial Court only allowed him a troop quota of 150,000.

The navy also consisted of soldiers, so naturally, they would occupy a portion of that quota.

However, since these powerful clans were giving him such a hard time, how could he be content?

Fine, the Prince's Personal Army would be 150,000.

But the guards and ship workers needed by the trading firm were not included in the restrictions.

He would say they were only there to protect the trading firm and did not belong to the Prince's Personal Army.

In this way, a fleet that was a navy in reality but a trading firm in name could legitimately exist in Yanzhou.

At the same time, the rank of Water Navy Admiral did not exist in the Great Song either.

He had borrowed the rank from the Ming Dynasty navy.

Thus, hearing the term "Admiral," Mi Wen seemed even less like a real official.