Just as Zhao Xu and others were walking in the Jiangnan Naval Camp, a team of Song generals Zhao Xu and others suddenly appeared out of there and surrounded him. A head captain said, "Who is it? You dare to break into the Naval Camp and take it down for me."

"Bold, Your Majesty the Emperor is here. I think who dares to be so arrogant." Tong Guan stood up and said.

The captain said, "Your Majesty the Emperor? It is a death sentence to pretend to be Your Majesty. If there is no one to prove your identity, I can put you on the spot."

Tong Guan took out a spirit card from his body and placed it in front of the lieutenant. After carefully distinguishing it, the lieutenant immediately knelt down and said, "I am a man named Li Bao, and I will live my emperor, long live my emperor, long live my life."

"Who are you?" Zhao Xu asked the captain.

The captain immediately replied: "Li Bao, the captain of the navy commander of the low-level army."

"Li Aiqing, take me to your camp to see it." Zhao Xu said.

Li Bao said to Zhao Xu: "Your Majesty, please come here."

Deep in the Navy Camp, Zhao Xu saw Li Bao's camp. Although Li Bao was a navy captain, he did not have many soldiers and horses under his command, only a few hundred people. However, the entire camp was very neat and sentries were on guard. This made Zhao Xu feel a little relieved. The army of the Song Dynasty in the south had not completely rotted, which was still good news for Zhao Xu. After coming to Li Bao's military tent, a thought arose in his heart.

This is a very simple military tent. There are only a few stools made of wood in the military tent, a weapon stand, a chair, a book case and a bookshelves. That's all. Zhao Xu walked to the bookshelf and saw various books placed on the bookshelf. Except for the art of war, most of them were historical books. Zhao Xu asked Li Bao: "Li Aiqing, are these books you usually read?"

"It's Your Majesty." Li Bao said; "I have been to a private school and also taken the imperial examination, but unfortunately I haven't. So I chose to join the army."

Zhao Xu sat down on the chair and asked Li Bao: "Li Aiqing, do you have any opinions on the navy? You just say it's okay, I won't blame you."

Li Bao bowed to Zhao Xu and said, "Your Majesty, Shu Bei's official said bluntly that the naval battalions in the southern Song Dynasty can be said to be ruined. Each battalion deducts military pay, empty pay, residual smuggling, etc. are involved. The naval ships are old, the personnel are not in place, the training is not in place, and the combat effectiveness is under the current Song Dynasty. It can be said that there is a sea but no defense."

"Li Aiqing, has I reached such a bad situation in the Navy of the Song Dynasty?"

"Report to Your Majesty, it is not only the navy, but also other troops south of the Yangtze River." Li Bao continued; "The army south of the Yangtze River has been peaceful for a long time, and with the prosperous areas in the south of the Yangtze River, the army's spirit has long been worn out; and due to the lack of strong naval inspections, smuggling in the southern coastal provinces of the Song Dynasty was rampant. If these smugglings can be cracked down, our financial and tax revenue in the Song Dynasty should have increased greatly."

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Li Aiqing, what do you think this matter should be handled? How many navy troops do I need in the Song Dynasty to re-establish the coastal defense, and how many ships and troops are needed?"

Facing Zhao Xu's question, Li Bao did not answer directly, but said: "Your Majesty, Hu Zi is just a small lieutenant, and this kind of thing is not something that Hu Zi should consider."

"I asked you to say it, just say, don't have any worries." Zhao Xu said to Li Bao.

"Report to Your Majesty, if you want to re-establish a complete set of coastal defenses, you will need at least 100,000 naval soldiers and tens of thousands of sea ships to protect the entire Song Dynasty's maritime border. The naval soldiers mentioned here do not include boatmen and sailors, and the smallest warships should be large sea ships with a capacity of more than two thousand materials. It is not a matter of one day or one night to build such a huge naval army, and the training of naval soldiers is much more difficult;

After the Navy is completed, daily maintenance will cost a lot of money and grain, and it will cost a lot of money to go to sea once. If construction is added, this is an astronomical figure. What’s more important is that the reconstruction of the Navy will touch the interests of a large number of people, including officials in the court and local gentry and tyrants in the local area. They are the cornerstones of Your Majesty’s stability in Jiangnan. If you are not careful, it may cause turmoil in Jiangnan..."

Li Bao gave Zhao Xu his thoughts very well. After listening to Li Bao's analysis, Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Li Aiqing is right. It's a pity to be a navy captain here so much. I will promote you to be a guerrilla general of the navy from now on. I want you to train a brand new Song Dynasty navy for me again."

"I thank Your Majesty for your humble duty. Long live my emperor, long live, long live..."

From the navy captain to the navy guerrilla general, Li Bao was promoted to a higher level, and from an officer he entered the ranks of generals. Although he was just a guerrilla general, Li Bao had a considerable power. The newly built navy must be formed by Li Bao, which was very rich. In addition, as a new army, Li Bao's influence as the first commander can be imagined.

"Your Majesty, I finally think that it is better to expand it based on the Jiangnan Daying Navy. Although there are many disadvantages in the navy, the dismissal of the old and weak can still leave behind many elites. After all, they have the energy to go out to sea and have trained, which is much better than the new recruits." Li Bao said to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu thought about it for a while and said, "Okay! Since that's the case, let's do what I'm sorry to say!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Bao actually has selfish intentions in doing this. Now the Jiangnan Naval Camp can be called an army, only Li Bao’s hundreds of people. These people rolled over with Li Bao. Now Li Bao has been promoted and promoted these former subordinates. These people are Li Bao’s direct descendants. Based on them, Li Bao can control this navy fleet from the very beginning.

Although Li Bao didn't say anything, he was still very clear about the importance of the navy fleet. It is no exaggeration to say that the Jiangnan Navy fleet is the lifeblood of the Song Dynasty and the gateway of the Song Dynasty. Although Li Bao was a little selfish, he was still very loyal to the Song Dynasty royal family. After all, it was Li Bao promoted by Zhao Xu, and Li Bao was also considered Zhao Xu's direct power.

However, it is not that easy to rebuild the Jiangnan Navy. Now the Jiangnan Navy is rotten to the core. If it is reborn, there is only one way to cure the poison. After Zhao Xu returned, he began to send people to investigate the whereabouts of the 300,000 taels of silver. At the most dangerous moment of the Song Dynasty, the emperor took out 300,000 taels of silver to expand the Navy camp, but the money was swallowed up and embezzled. Of course, Zhao Xu would not just let it go.

In fact, this matter is easy to investigate. The person who embezzled military pay was not someone else but the commander of the Jiangnan Navy. He should not take it down immediately and his family was confiscated and his family was exterminated. There are many people who are related to this matter, but Zhao Xu wisely did not continue to investigate because the matter was too wide. Zhao Xu just used this matter to give everyone a warning to the monkey, and at the same time he was to establish his emperor's prestige in Jiangnan.

The second update is presented, and continue to ask for support...
Chapter completed!