Chapter 217 - Condition! (2) (1/2)
Chapter 217 Condition! (2)
Translated by Gamer @ endlessfantasytranslations.com
900 craftsmen would repair the s.h.i.+ps. These people were of the lowest in the social strata of Jiangdong and a craftsman was also the lowest profession in Jiangdong. All these people added up was not even 1,000 gold. However, each of the craftsmen have their own unique skills such as repairing s.h.i.+ps or building hulls. It was in an era where the s.h.i.+ps were mostly used on the river only. However, the risk was high. If they were not careful, the entire s.h.i.+p could be eliminated. Even in the age of modern science and technology, these were required skills. Even during the Yuan Empire, their strong and large navy, got destroyed by strong winds.
One of the reasons the Jiangdong navy was strong was because of their s.h.i.+ps. Their s.h.i.+pwrights were strict while building the s.h.i.+ps and each s.h.i.+p was of high quality.
Sun Ce would not let the s.h.i.+pwrights leave to other lords as that would allow the others to be able to make s.h.i.+ps. Now Lu Bu wants s.h.i.+pwrights to make more wars.h.i.+ps.
Now the only ones who could build wars.h.i.+ps was Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. However, the only one with real craftsmen was Sun Ce. Cao Cao could not wholeheartedly build wars.h.i.+ps while he is busy conquering the Central Plains. This is one of the reasons Cao Cao unwittingly allowed Pang Tong to tie up his s.h.i.+ps with iron. When that happens, everywhere is a dead angle and it was like asking the enemy to attack.
Yuan Shao could also build a navy but he did not care. He looks down on the navy because he thinks the navy was only useful as a transport. They are not as important and ground forces because the ground forces are the ones who ended up sieging cities. This is why Yuan Shao has a lot of troops and cavalries but very little navy.
Liu Biao placed importance in navies as well. However, the ones in charge of the navies was the Cai and Zhang family, so he does not have the ability to do much.
Lu Bu’s Wolf Cavalry could be said to be the king of the land and would give anybody who encountered it a headache. 10,000 of them would be capable of blocking all movements of the enemy. They were also willing to charge into 10,000 infantries with only 800 cavalries. Now, the Lu Bu’s Army only had 5,000 Wolf Cavalry. Gao Shun does not like to boast but he is confident that as long as they are not facing against 100,000 soldiers, he would not be afraid. The Sun Ce’s Army have also experienced the might of the Urban Army, the Black Flag Army and the Danyang soldiers before. In comparison to the elite soldiers of Jiangdong, Lu Bu’s Army is much stronger.
The only reason Sun Ce is not afraid of Lu Bu is because of the Yangtze River’s natural barrier.
He depended on his powerful navy and the construction of wars.h.i.+ps. He knows that in Wan Cheng and the rest of Lujiang does not have any craftsmen to build s.h.i.+ps. All of the s.h.i.+pwrights are already gathered at Jiangdong. Jiangdong was full of docks and craftsmen. They do not only build wars.h.i.+ps but also ordinary transport cargos.
Although Liu Biao and Sun Ce were at war, the business people have nothing to do with it. They continued to do business between Jingzhou and Jiangdong despite the battles. As long as it is not weapons, both sides ignored them. After all, everyone still needs to find a living. Jingzhou has salt and iron while Jiangdong has grains and cereals.
If they had given Lu Bu s.h.i.+pwrights and docks, the Yangtze River would have a new formidable enemy that has even defeated them before!
Although they were strong, their s.h.i.+ps were their weak point. The moment Lu Bu has lost his s.h.i.+ps, he would no longer have any s.h.i.+ps. On the other hand, Jiangdong could continue to build s.h.i.+ps. The relations.h.i.+p of their army was now like j.a.pan and United States during the World War 2. The j.a.panese navy was small and powerful and attacked Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, the j.a.panese s.h.i.+p build capabilities were not as good as the United States. In the end, the j.a.panese could only face failure.
If Lu Bu was given s.h.i.+pwrights, they would no longer have a limit to their s.h.i.+ps. Although Lu Bu still does not have a strong navy, they have that strange weapon. That weapon caused the defeat of the Jiangdong Navy despite the advantages of the Jiangdong Army. If Lu Bu could build s.h.i.+ps as well, he would be unmatched in naval battles.
“No!” Zhang Zhao did not hesitate to refuse. Even if he lost the 9 n.o.ble children, at most it was the hearts of 9 n.o.ble families. However, if Lu Bu had s.h.i.+pwrights, the whole of Jiangdong would be lost.
“Is it really impossible?” Yang Hong also knows that this is a difficult request. As long as the people in Jiangdong are not idiots, it would be impossible for them to give away craftsmen. However, the objective to obtain craftsmen was given by Lu Bu as an order. He must definitely find some. Otherwise Lu Bu will be stranded and could never cross the river. Even if he has defeated Liu Biao and Sun Ce, he would not be able to gain any benefits.
If it was several years ago, the craftsmen would not be a problem especially in Yanzhou and Yuzhou. This is because there were many craftsmen and s.h.i.+pwrights everywhere. However, there were very little now because Sun Ce and Liu Biao has recalled all the craftsmen. They were the kings of the river and did not want others to occupy the river. That way, others would not be able to have wars.h.i.+ps on the river.
“Absolutely impossible!” These were their trump card. How could they give it away?
Yang Hong shook his head. “What a pity. It looks like we could only approach Liu Biao and see if they are willing to provide craftsmen.”
“Do not try and threaten me! Like I said, we will leave Jiangxia and at that time, Liu Biao will not provide you with support to fight against Jiangdong. Did you think that Jingzhou would provide you with s.h.i.+pwrights? Keep dreaming!” Liu Biao was also one of the kings of the river. He would not surrender craftsmen to Lu Bu as he knows that Lu Bu is also strong enough to defeat the Jiangdong Navy.
“Who said Liu Biao would not agree? Liu Biao came to us with a messenger saying that they want our ballistae. There are a lot of conditions that we could give! The craftsmen are just one of it.” Yang Hong shook his head and pretended to leave.
“Wait!” Zhang Zhao quickly stopped Yang Hong. “What did you say? The ballistae!?”
“No, no, you heard wrong. I did not say anything!” Yang Hong lied blatantly and waved. “Zhang Zhao. You can go back the next day. I have already called back Gan Ning and you can take Lu Su and the other prisoners back to Jiangdong! Don’t forget to send us our prisoners as well! I will take leave here!” Yang Hong said as he cupped his fist to leave.
Cannot let Yang Hong leave! This was the first thought that appeared in Zhang Zhao’s head. This is because the thing that Yang Hong said was too scary! The ultimate weapon that send 30,000 of the Jiangdong Navy swimming in the river. The Lu Bu’s Army intends to discuss with Liu Biao about it. If it was just Lu Bu who had the ballistae, the Jiangdong Army would not need to worry so much. This is because the Lu Bu’s Army is small and untrained.
The Lu Bu’s Navy’s terrorizing ability is much stronger than their actual combat capabilities. This is why the Liu Biao’s Jingzhou Navy is still the Jiangdong Navy’s main opponent. Lu Bu’s Navy was left aside to finish off later. Now that Jingzhou’s Liu Biao wants to enter a discussion with Lu Bu, they may actually obtain that technology. As Jingzhou’s ability to build s.h.i.+ps was as good as Jiangdong, Zhang Zhao did not want to imagine what it would be like if Jingzhou had the ballistae as well. Jingzhou also had a lot of good craftsmen because Jingzhou was one of the few places that were peaceful during the battle with Dong Zhuo. Jiangdong also had a mountain of problems and was not very peaceful. As a result, a lot of people escaped to Jingzhou, including the craftsmen. Although Jingzhou had better wars.h.i.+ps, they had weaker soldiers as there were less people to train them.
If Jingzhou managed to obtain this technology, the situation would change. Jingzhou was not lacking in wars.h.i.+ps and craftsmen. If the Lu Bu’s Army of 20 s.h.i.+ps could sink 30,000 soldiers, then Jingzhou that could constantly build s.h.i.+ps and outfit it with the ballistae would do even worse. The Jiangdong Navy would have no hope of living. The Jiangdong Navy could outnumber Lu Bu’s s.h.i.+p 10 to 1 but the Jingzhou Navy would have hundreds of s.h.i.+ps. He doubted that Zhou Yu could stop 70,000 soldiers and their ballistae with just 30,000 soldiers.
“But if the Jiangdong Navy is destroyed, you would not receive any benefits as well!” Zhang Zhao said unexpectedly. If the Jiangdong Army is destroyed, the whole river would be controlled by Liu Biao and Lu Bu would not gain any benefits as well. The Jingzhou Navy would be able to block the routes and make sure that Lu Bu is trapped in Wan Cheng.
“What is the need to worry?” Yang Hong shook his head. “If they want to block the routes then just let them block! To begin with, we do not have much of a navy. It is not much different from letting the Jiangdong Navy block us! Could the Jingzhou Army even come ash.o.r.e to fight us? What is the need to be afraid of Liu Biao? The Jiangdong Army could use the Yangtze River as a natural river but Jingzhou could not do that!” What Yang Hong said was correct. If Liu Biao were to block Wan Cheng, that is all they could do. However, if the Jiangdong Army were to block Wan Cheng, they could attack at any time. Besides that, even Liu Biao’s Jingzhou Army was less of a match to Lu Bu’s Army compared to Sun Ce!
Jiangdong also has a natural barrier that prevents ground forces from attacking at full power. On the other hand, the Lu Bu’s Army would still be able to attack Jingzhou even if they were blocked at the Yangtze River.
“Elder Yang! Yang Hong! Brother Yang!” Zhang Zhao became shameless and quickly grabbed Yang Hong’s hand. “Brother Yang! Do not go! We can talk about this!”
“But Zhang Zhao was not willing! My Lord told me that I must obtain craftsmen and s.h.i.+pwrights! If I cannot get those then there is nothing to discuss!” Yang Hong was very indifferent. If he were to take out the ballistae, not only would Jingzhou Liu Biao panic but it would also make Jiangdong restless. Especially those that were on the receiving end of the ballistae. 30,000 soldiers were like 30,000 pigs. Out of the 30,000 soldiers, 10,000 were elites. They were elites like the ones commanded by Zhou Yu right now. In fact, even the 30,000 pigs would try and fight back. These 30,000 soldiers were simply destroyed without a chance to fight back.
“It can be discussed! It can be discussed!” Zhang Zhao was helpless. Yang Hong now has complete control of the discussion. It can be said that anything Yang Hong proposed right now would be accepted by Zhang Zhao.
“I want 100 craftsmen per n.o.ble!” Yang Hong was direct. The craftsmen were the main objective of the negotiation. If Lu Bu does not want to be trapped, he would need the craftsmen for development. Building s.h.i.+ps was time consuming and could not be done immediately. Now that Sun Ce, Liu Biao, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were busy, this was the best time for development. This opportunity must not be missed.