Chapter 85： navy

"Drink!"

Occam stabbed at the opponent fiercely with a wooden knife in his hand.

But the opponent easily blocked his wooden knife, and before his arm was retracted, the wooden knife with his backhand stabbed him in the waist.

"Don't just attack blindly, remember to stabilize the chassis at all times!"

The ex-pirate chieftain and now Arda's Navy private, Quick, loudly pointed out the opponent's shortcomings.

Occam rubbed his waist that was sore from being poked by the wooden knife, and resumed his offensive posture, looking for the loopholes in Quick's defense.

After staring at each other for a few laps with Quick, he found an angle that he thought the other party would not be able to counterattack, and stabbed quickly, but this time Quick just dodged...

With a "plop", Occam rushed too hard and fell into the water.

The sailors of the Arda Navy are practicing how to fight on the water. Six naval warships and a dozen fishing boats temporarily recruited are full of sailors who are "fighting" fiercely.

Just when everyone was training in full swing, they suddenly heard the sound of the assembly call from the shore.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, and rowed their oars towards the military port wharf.

By building and expropriating and refitting civilian ships, the Arda Navy at this time already owned 6 larger galleys, each of which was controlled by about 50 people. The Navy also set aside a piece of land in Port Fulan, built a naval base, and built a pier dedicated to berthing military warships.

On the shore, Paul and his "Marine Commander" Austin are already standing there.

After the sailors went ashore, they quickly ran to the playground in the military port to assemble. They formed six square formations under the leadership of the captain according to the warships they belonged to, with a total of more than 300 people.

Although the weather is getting cooler after autumn, due to training, everyone only wears a blue and white striped shirt on the upper body. This kind of cotton shirt named "Sea Soul Shirt" by the lord is very popular among naval officers and soldiers. .

It not only serves as windproof and sunscreen for sailors who go out to sea, but also has a very practical function that when someone accidentally falls into the sea from the deck, it can be quickly found.

Accompanied by Austin, Paul inspected the sailor phalanx.

He saw "Quaker I" in the phalanx and smiled playfully at him.

Quick blushed, fearing the military regulations, he didn't dare to turn his head, so he turned his eyeballs slightly to one side to avoid looking directly at Paul.

Faced with this kind of slightly rude behavior, Paul did not blame him. This guy was made so ugly during the interrogation in Huxin Town that he would be very embarrassed when he saw him now.

These criminals selected from pirate captives to enter the navy are only provided with food, clothing and housing in the army, and their salary is ignored. Unless they can make some outstanding contributions or perform well after serving for a period of time, they can get the same salary as normal sailors treatment.

Quick was the second batch of captives selected to enter the navy. Fortunately, he made a lot of contributions in resisting the harassment of pirates when he came ashore. He was immediately promoted to a second-class soldier and received half salary. Good, you can get full salary.

Looking at the nautical troops that have just taken shape, Paul is full of pride. Although this is just a small sapling, sooner or later it will grow into a towering tree.

Sooner or later, this army will sail all over the world. When I think of the countless giant warships lined up in neat formations, with thousands of guns fired from the sides, and countless shells fired at the enemy, I can feel a burst of excitement in my heart. .

He asked Austin: "Has artillery training started yet?"

Austin replied: "It has already started. We built a simulation deck on land, and placed the two naval guns and four swivel guns that have been manufactured on it to practice the operation of the artillery."

Paul was very satisfied. The two naval guns were still cast directly according to the army's 6-pound guns, but the gun mounts were modified according to the environment on the ship. But the battleship can carry heavier guns. He has asked Marlowe to start trial production of 12-pound guns. As for the heavier 24-pound guns, let's wait until a larger ship can be built.

As for the small-caliber artillery such as the swivel gun, it is mainly installed on the head and tail of the battleship to make up for the area that the ship's broadside guns cannot cover. In addition, when a gang battle occurs, first use the swivel gun to fire shotguns to confuse the enemy. Face.

After the review, the sailors were ordered to continue training, while the officers of the navy gathered in the conference room at the base to listen to the lord's introduction of the next development and arrangements.

Paul sat on the first seat and said: "Gentlemen, I think you all know that the shipbuilders from the south are already in place, and the construction of new ships will start in a few days."

Everyone nodded to express their understanding. When Paul led the shipbuilders from the south to the shipyard that day, their commander Austin and several other officers went together as naval representatives.

And they also know what the new ship looks like. Two models of the Sroop ship are placed in the shipyard for reference by the shipbuilders to draw detailed design drawings, and two are placed in the naval base for the navy. Officers and soldiers use it for research.

Paul said: "In the first phase of the Navy's development plan, I planned to build six Sroop ships, but after building two and a little drill, the Navy will start to clear the Northwest Gulf of pirate groups, large and small. So you have to hurry up and prepare for the battleAlthough the pirates who came ashore to plunder were wiped out, the Northwest Gulf is far from being peaceful at this time, because Arda's navy is still very weak, so the passive strategy was adopted. The defensive strategy is to go to war only when the pirates attack, and not to provoke them if the pirates do not come.

Even so, there have been several incidents of pirate intrusions since the public trial meeting, but fortunately they were all repelled by Arda's army, and each intrusion would be reported to Lake Town in time.

When the navy is equipped with two Sroop ships, a total of 28 cannons can be placed on board. With such powerful firepower, the Arda navy will no longer be afraid of any pirates.

Paul made another request:

"The Government Council has decided that after the pirates are cleaned up, merchant ships will be sent to the south, and the navy must play the role of proving the route and escorting them."

"From now on, you have to send people to go south along the coastline to find out the information of the various ports along the way, so that our ships can dock, supply, and repair when accidents happen on the road."

Your Excellency Earl is really far-sighted, this is the thinking of many people here.

…

After the meeting at the naval base, Paul went to the shipyard not far away.

At this time, the shipyard has not started to build the Sroop ship, because according to the inspection results of the old shipbuilder Benjamin, the equipment here is a bit outdated, so he is directing the craftsmen in the shipyard to upgrade and repair together with Director Rubin equipment.

Paul promised Rubin: the navy will be the focus of the next financial expenditure, and if you encounter trouble when upgrading equipment or purchasing shipbuilding materials, just speak to the Ministry of Finance.

When he was leaving, he asked Lu Bin to cooperate with the shipwrights from the south, and Lu Bin hurriedly nodded in agreement.