Chapter 578

Chapter 578: The Unification War

In the year 3872 of the Xia calendar, at Yun River

Nearly a thousand warships fought on the water surface. One side was the Datong Army’s navy, consisting of around 200 warships, with the main ones weighing 1,200 tons, and the rest ranging between 500 to 800 tons.

On the other side, the Pingzhou State and Qiaozhou navy were the main forces, a coalition of navies from multiple regions with around 600 to 700 ships. Though they had more warships, their largest ones were only 800 tons, and the main ones were mostly between 300 to 400 tons.

Lin Jiang stood on the flagship, watching his ships fiercely firing arrows. With three decks and nearly a hundred repeating crossbows, their arrows almost cleared the enemy’s deck with each volley.

"Sink them, quickly, sink them."

Lin Jiang was not the captain; the captain was someone else, who was currently shouting frantically. Their warship weighed 1,200 tons and was equipped with a ram. Ramming was their most powerful tactic, having already sunk seven to eight enemy ships before.

Apart from their large size, the Datong Navy also had a technological advantage, namely watertight compartments. This technology had only just emerged in Haizhou State, but after Lin Jiang invested in the technology tree, Feng State’s shipyard had completely surpassed them, making them fearless of ramming.

Of course, naval battles in this era primarily involved grappling fights, with both sides’ ships entangled in close combat, while soldiers on board engaged in hand-to-hand fighting.

In this situation, using fire attack is not very common because warships are very expensive to build. For example, a warship weighing 1,200 tons costs over fifty thousand gold just for the hull. If one is burned, it would take years to recover, especially considering the financial situation of each state. Most of their warships are inherited from the Chen Kingdom.

During the jumping battle, a group of outstanding young people aged fifteen to eighteen stood out. They had excellent martial arts skills, with many of them already reaching a high level of martial arts proficiency and being skilled in group battles. They formed small teams of three to five people and collaborated seamlessly.

These people are the result of Lin Jiang’s two years in the Feng State. They are disciples personally taught by Lin Jiang, mastering advanced martial arts techniques from the beginning and having rich combat experience.

The students of the Martial Arts Academy come from diverse backgrounds, including children of Datong Army generals, common citizens, and many recommended by the peasant-soldier system.

Especially those recommended by the peasant-soldier system are vigorous and fierce. Being former peasant-soldiers, most of them have experience in fighting bandits, with a few even participating in large-scale battles. Coupled with their exceptional martial arts talents, they are recommended to enter the Martial Arts Academy.

They excel in martial arts talent, character, and diligence. Lin Jiang is very fond of these people and often mentors them individually.

Datong Army has produced many talents because, as the saying goes, the world is not lacking in geniuses but in the eyes to discover them. By giving them the opportunity and platform to grow, they can unleash amazing power.

"General is watching us. Charge!"

"For the Greater Harmony world!"

"The general looked at me, haha, the general saw me defeating the enemy."

Lin Jiang stood at the highest point, looking at the battlefield. The soldiers from the Martial Arts Academy were very excited because they admired Lin Jiang blindly. They didn’t need high ranks or rewards, just a few words or a glance from Lin Jiang could make them passionate because Lin Jiang instilled faith in them.

Faith, sometimes, is scarier than material rewards.

After fighting all day, the Datong Navy achieved a great victory, sinking over a hundred enemy warships and capturing more than three hundred others. The remaining injured enemies fled, but they were not able to regroup. From then on, the Yun River was under the control of the Datong Navy.

The warships entered the harbor, where the military doctors were already prepared to treat the wounded soldiers. Newly trained naval soldiers also boarded the ships to reinforce the troops. The war was not over yet, and they would continue to chase the enemy.

In the shipyard of the Feng State, more than ten warships of a thousand tons each were under construction. Similar shipyards, five in total, were also under the Datong Army.

Lin Jiang valued talent highly. He directly granted titles and official positions to skilled craftsmen, with the only requirement being that they wholeheartedly teach their apprentices, resulting in the training of thousands of craftsmen.

On the ship, Lin Jiang awarded various official positions, titles, and military flags to the naval officers and soldiers, boosting their sense of honor. After completing these tasks, Lin Jiang returned to the Martial Arts Academy.

The current Martial Arts Academy was very different from before. It could be considered more like a comprehensive university. In addition to the original martial arts department, Lin Jiang had established dozens of other departments, such as military systems, which included junior, middle, and senior officer programs to train officers at different levels.

People who work in government affairs are trained at basic training classes in different places, where they start as low-level officials. After working for one or two years, if they do well, they can go to the Martial Arts Academy for further education. Most of them get promoted after further education and become lower-level officials in counties.

Similarly, lower-level officials also come to learn and further their studies. By moving up one level, they become middle-level officials at the county level. As a local government official, they don’t need to excel in everything, but they must have basic qualities.

However, the Martial Arts Academy is temporary. After unifying the world, Lin Jiang will establish Martial Arts Academies in different places and introduce imperial examinations, depending on the situation at that time.

······

In the fall of the 3,872nd year of the summer calendar, Lin Jiang formed the third legion with 200,000 soldiers, starting from Feng State. Under the escort of the navy, they crossed the Yun River and attacked Pingzhou State.

Up to now, the Datong Army has three legions fighting outside, with over 700,000 soldiers and controlling sixteen states, occupying about half of the Southern Chen Kingdom.

However, Lin Jiang has not taken action in the past two years. It has all been the efforts of the subordinates. Lin Jiang knows that he will eventually have to step back and train his subordinates.

Inside the Martial Arts Academy, Lin Jiang sits in an office with ten or more officials on each side. They are all chief officials from various states and counties, furthering their studies in the Martial Arts Academy.

They study and work at the same time, actually assisting Lin Jiang in handling government affairs. Although the Datong Army has not established a country officially, in reality, it is almost there, with reports from various states being submitted.

Managing affairs in sixteen states was really overwhelming, so Lin Jiang needed to delegate some tasks to a Cabinet-like group to focus on other things.

These officials held high positions and had practical governing experience. After passing Lin Jiang’s assessment, they could become top members of the Cabinet. Even if they didn’t pass, they could still be promoted to local positions.

About half of the sixteen individuals came from noble families, giving them a significant advantage. Despite Lin Jiang’s efforts to suppress them, their influence couldn’t be stopped.

However, Lin Jiang wasn’t worried about them overshadowing him. Both the academic and military systems were producing a large number of talents over time, surpassing the noble families. Balance could be achieved quickly.

In a way, Lin Jiang didn’t actually dislike the noble families because it was an issue that couldn’t be solved. Even in a modern system, noble families would still exist. Setting boundaries for them would prevent any overstepping.

The sixteen individuals handled their memorials quietly, only bringing issues they couldn’t decide on to Lin Jiang. Occasionally, Lin Jiang would review the memorials they handled and use some examples to teach them why certain decisions were made.

Each of the sixteen individuals was exceptionally bright. In less than three months at the academy, they had fully adapted to Lin Jiang’s way of thinking.

As the year 3873 in the lunar calendar approached, and the new year had just passed, Lin Jiang received two messages, one good and one bad.

The good news was that the Datong Army had taken control of the twenty-second state of the Chen Kingdom, and had defeated King Jing and three other self-proclaimed emperors from the Chen Kingdom who had died at Lin Jiang’s hands. Lin Jiang had already dealt with seven or eight emperors, earning the title of an emperor killer.

The bad news is that the Demon Human has captured two more provinces of the Chen Kingdom, bringing the total provinces fallen to them to eighteen.