The Western Headquarters' naval forces were concentrated around Jingxiang. At Gushu there were only three thousand naval troops and some two hundred warships of various sizes. Huan Wen's flagship was a new-style tower ship, four decks high and two hundred feet long, capable of carrying several hundred men, with three masts, five sails, and a hundred and twenty oars. It was very fast, but from what Chen Caozhi had learned, shipbuilders had yet to adopt watertight compartments, leaving large ships relatively vulnerable to wind, waves, and attack. Still, Chen Caozhi had no intention of suggesting that Huan Wen use this new technology in future ships. He had to hold something back even from Huan Wen, rather than lay bare all his limited but practical knowledge from later ages. He had offered the "Strong Army Policy" to deal with the northern dynasties; the navy could wait.
Chen Caozhi knew little about naval tactics. Accompanying Huan Wen on the forecastle of the great ship, he watched armored warboats come and go amid streaming banners and ringing shouts. The Western Headquarters' navy possessed every kind of warship, including vessels fitted with enormous throwing poles that could hurl huge stones and spiked boards at enemy ships, as well as fire ships for incendiary attacks. It was a formidable display.
At noon, the naval exercises ended. Huan Wen returned to the city and appeared at the east gate in plain mourning clothes to mourn Emperor Sima Pi.
With the emperor dead, Huan Wen was bound to have matters weighing on his mind, so Chen Caozhi and Xie Xuan did not submit the "Strong State Strategy." Waiting another couple of days would do no harm.
Every half day, Xi Chao dispatched a swift rider to report the latest news from Jiankang to Huan Wen. The report