Lord of Ming Dynasty

But I don't want to get involved in Manila, so I can let him go, let him help the Han people there, and lead the Han people there to resist.

But he went to war with Spain, so his strategy in Southeast Asia will be affected. Where can he find someone to help Li Yuanyin and the others to contain Du Ge and the others? Du Ge is now growing stronger and stronger. Tens of thousands of indigenous troops, they are now equipped with a single flintlock gun, which is stronger than the surrounding indigenous forces. It may be able to destroy the indigenous kingdoms in Cambodia. Wherever the forces are gathered, they can also be wiped out. The dynasty of Thailand.

Hearing what Zheng Zhi said, Zhang Qiang said: "It's just right, we captured another 60 Japanese people through battles here, and the natives of Southeast Asia killed us again and attacked us. Our Masanli Field Army crossed the border of Siam and packed them up. There are 30 Siamese indigenous people, plus [-] rebel captives in Cambodia, as well as some family members and officials of our traitor Du Ge, as well as [-] Han people from where they are. If possible, these will be sold to you cheaply. Ten thousand tons of ore, three thousand tons of bird droppings, if you think it’s okay, next time your trading ship comes over, we will deduct it from there, and you don’t need to pay, you and your father just need to report it and agree.”

Zheng Zhi was very happy. If he could keep some of these people, he would be able to establish a considerable force in Palawan Island. At least he could organize tens of thousands of Japanese cannon fodder troops. The prince’s means of getting tens of thousands of militia servants is actually cannon fodder with experience in war. At that time, he will get an Australian servant army. At the same time, the families of these people can hold them in their hands and let them work for themselves and die. Most of the people, and finally a few thousand elites were incorporated into the regular army.

Anyway, the Zheng family's army is a hodgepodge.

The Zheng family has their own way of integrating these people.

Chapter 796 Disposing of Old Ships

However, he is still concerned about whether he can get ships from the Kingdom of Huaxia, warships, Australia is too far away, it is not suitable to bring back the warships he originally bought, and it is impossible for other brothers to let him get more warships. He can only think of a way from here.

"I have 300 million Chinese yuan here, and I also have some supplies, Dutch spices, wood, salt, sugar cane, some clocks, arquebus guns, and soda noodles. These are worth about 300 million Chinese yuan. , In addition, there are some Spanish gold coins, Dutch gold coins, about 100 million Chinese yuan, with a total value of 700 million Chinese yuan, you can see how many warships you can sell to us."

At this time, the attendant brought back the data that the entire navy needed to process. He whispered it when explaining to the attendant. Of course, he didn't let Zheng Zhi know that those ships were under 11 years old.

But thinking about it, with Zheng Zhi's wisdom, he would know that his ship must be old, and it cannot be the latest.

He looked at the list. These old warships must be newer and of a better model than the ones sold to the State of Lu before, and newer and better than the ones sold to the Zheng family and the third prince, because these were 11-year-old ships. The military has begun to develop the second and third generation sail warships.

It has completely got rid of those Dafu Ships and Guangzhou Ships, which are only suitable for fighting in coastal waters and when the wind and waves are not strong.

Now these old ships are all old warships that are almost the same as the Spanish galleons, and they are a little more advanced than the Spaniards, that is, the hull is a little longer, the height of the mast is a few meters higher, and the speed is a little faster. Now It’s not so fast anymore, and it’s not bad. It’s impossible to achieve all six and seven knots, but five and six knots are almost the same. The key is that the mobility and defense capabilities have improved a bit.

I want to sell it to Zheng Zhi, but Zheng Zhi's little money is really not enough, I can't buy a few ships, the original old ship is less than 15 years old, Zhang Qiang's sale price is about 8000 to 6 Huaxia Yuan, which is almost equal to [-] It costs [-] taels of silver a piece, and these obviously cannot be sold to them so cheaply, at least [-] to [-] taels of silver a piece, which is about the price of [-] to [-] Chinese yuan.

Of course, it is a thousand-ton warship. If it is less than a thousand tons, the [-]-ton class will be sold to them at a price of about [-] to [-] tons. Now these are sold for [-] to [-] tons.

The price of a smaller tonnage is several thousand.

700 million Chinese yuan is almost 600 million silver taels, which is not much to buy.

In the end, Zhang Qiang determined the quantity to be sold to them. He selected ten ships from the Second Fleet, ten ships from the Third Fleet, ten ships from the Fourth Fleet, twenty ships from the other Fifth Fleet, and sold them all from the Sixth Fleet. The remaining ships of the Fifth Fleet were merged into the Fourth Fleet to form a squadron stationed in Saigon to protect the Annan Sea.

The total number of ships traded reached 490 and seven ships, and even some merchant ships and some fishing boats were sold for the equipment of the harbor guard, and the replacement was [-] ships.

There are more than 100 ships used to transport iron ore and guano from Australia to the seaport of the Kingdom of China, merchant ships, and their offshore patrols, which are less than a dozen nautical miles. and defense, the other more than 300 ships are all warships.

Half of these warships will go to Koh Kong Island to defend where they are, so that the subsequent Australian troops can land to support Li Yuanyin and the others in Cambodia.

In fact, it is impossible to sell these ships without 1000 million Huaxia Yuan at such a price, but in order to allow them to bear some pressure from the enemy and cause trouble for Du Ge and the Taixi people, Zhang Qiang doesn't care about this little money.

Because of the lack of these warships, fishing boats, and merchant ships, there are only more than 300 ships left in the naval fleet of the Huaxia Kingdom, and the naval coast guard also has a few ships, and there are still a few ships that need to be handed over to merchants. of new merchant ships were sold to them.

As for whether Zheng Zhi used these boats to fight the Spaniards or the Dutch, Zhang Qiang didn't care. The reason why he gave so many boats was to let him attract firepower.

However, after dealing with so many old ships at once, there are too many gaps in the navy of the Huaxia Kingdom. Now maritime patrols have become a norm. If there are not so many patrols, the smuggling merchants will empty the Huaxia Kingdom. Although the kingdom did not ban the sea like Ming and Qing, it was like a forbidden sea. Because there was no trade with the West, the surrounding small countries were either wiped out by the Huaxia Kingdom, or they were already in chaos.

Although there are still some Nanyang merchants who come to trade with the Huaxia Kingdom, and the Zheng family trades with the Huaxia Kingdom, the goods they trade can also be transferred to the Thai and Western people through the above two customers, but the scale of this trade is not large. Far away, Australia is mainly being built. Nanyang merchants, mainly Nanyang Han people, and the aborigines themselves have become trade goods.

In fact, apart from the normal trade between these two places, there is really no place to trade with them, so the maritime trade envisioned by Zhang Qiang is actually tantamount to fantasy, that is, now, that is, China, can be self-sufficient, and there is The Ryukyu Kingdom, Xinlu Prefecture and Shikoku Prefecture, as well as several states in Southeast Asia, can deliver raw materials and gold and silver, which further improves the domestic income system and economic system of the Huaxia Kingdom, enabling internal circulation.

But the Chinese country can do this, but the surrounding Thai and Western people can't do this. They have to rely on the Chinese kingdom to live a richer life. The Indians are still primitive peoples, the British, the Dutch, and the Portuguese. There are not many benefits, and they have to deal with the harassment and drag of so many Asan who can only have children. They are eager to start trade and get more profitable commodities from the Huaxia Kingdom.

Therefore, they will continue to secretly smuggle goods, or if not, harass and intercept the ships of the Chinese Kingdom's maritime merchants, and engage in pirate activities. The Chinese Kingdom's navy must protect these ships, not only protect them, but also block the land. The sea area, so that those Taixi ships can't do whatever they want in this area, they can only sneak around.

Now, with the continuous reduction of the Huaxia Army's navy, the gap is getting bigger and bigger, and the fleet of these Taixi people can steal away to smuggle, and the loss of the Huaxia Kingdom will be great.

Now there is basically no solution, there is no way, Zhang Qiang is doing his best to rectify the navy and eliminate the old ships. No matter how fast the old ships are, their speed is only six knots or a little more than six knots. It takes fifteen days, half a day to quickly patrol the entire defense area. It takes a month, and the slowest is two months. It takes several fleets to set off at regular intervals. Continuous patrols can ensure that no enemy can take advantage of the loopholes in a sea area. Now that the old ships are sold, this kind of fleet is cut off Continuity has made the patrol time longer, and now it has become the fastest time of one month and the slowest time of three months.

Although some places have dispatched retired warships equipped by the Coastal Navy Guard to make up for offshore patrols and expanded the scope of patrols, they only cover the offshore waters within [-] nautical miles as in the period of the Jinhua Rebel Army. What else?

Decommissioned warships can't last that long, otherwise when the wind and waves come, they don't have the speed to return to the port or escape the wind and waves, they are likely to disintegrate and sink in the wind and waves, because they are very old. In the past, the technology was not good enough, the wood for shipbuilding was not dry, and they were rushed to the shelves for the rapid expansion of the navy. Their life expectancy was about 20 years. Now these warships have been in service for 25 years, and there are constant problems.

Sending Zheng Zhi away, Zhang Qiang will focus on the battle situation on the Shaanxi-Gansu side for the next few days. , while accepting the government rights over there.

Chapter 797 New Ship Fleet Equipment Navy

Ruan Jin walked into the study room of the palace where Zhang Qiang was, stood at attention and saluted, and then said to Zhang Qiang, "Your Majesty, all the tests of the new warships have been completed, and the training of personnel has been completed. Please enter the service."

Zhang Qiang put down the jade rosary in his hand, raised his hand as a signal, and said, "Sit down, you are also my old man, and you don't need to be so cautious in the future. The new ship was supposed to be divided into three of the 36 ships. Fleet, and then equip the first, second, and third fleets, but now due to the development of the situation, I am not going to separate,"

Ruan Jin was stunned for a moment, and then said to Zhang Qiang: "Your Majesty, there will be troubles like this, and the commanders of the three fleets will make a fuss. They have been looking forward to the entry of new warships for a long time. The ships in their fleet are constantly being transferred by your Majesty. Selling it has already made the people in the Navy complain every day. Now that there are new warships that are not equipped for them, and these people haven’t overturned the base, maybe there will be a crazy trend of decommissioning, making Our navy suffered serious damage, they are different from our group, they are all young people, not as loyal to His Majesty as we are. They will consider their own feelings, not the feelings of the kingdom and Your Majesty."

Zhang Qiang looked at Ruan Jin with a gloomy face. This was not what he wanted to hear, but it was what he wanted to hear.

What I don't want to hear is that these people actually doubted themselves and started to complain at the same time. What do the higher-ups think and do? Are they still used to direct?As soldiers, they only have to execute. He doesn't want to hear the complaints from the people below, and these lower-level navy officers and soldiers and the military intelligence department should be able to respond. Wherever Ruan Jin should send someone down to solve it, he What I want to hear is that Ruan Jin and the Ministry of Military Intelligence have been able to respond to it long ago, and after it has been resolved, instead of not responding now that there is no solution, do you want to solve it by yourself?

Seeing Zhang Qiang's gloomy face, Ruan Jin quickly stood up, "Your Majesty, in fact, in the past two years, many naval officers have retired or been idle. Up to now, our navy has 100 million officers, soldiers and family members who have been idle. Judging by your trend, the entire navy will be sold by you, so will our navy have to rest for a few years before coming out again?"

Zhang Qiang shook his head, this is not possible, except for the retired old ones, or those who have retired due to various diseases, psychological, physical and other reasons, he does not want the current navy officers and soldiers to be idle, but there are currently about [-] navy officers and soldiers idle After this batch of naval fleets are sold, there will be [-] naval officers and soldiers or even more idle.

This is still a new warship that is about to enter service. After selecting a group of personnel from among them and the navy officers and soldiers who are not free now, they arranged for training and served on the new warship.

The navy officers and soldiers of these new warships are about [-] troops, all of whom are sailors and gunners of the navy, as well as personnel at all levels, and there are also some marine guards.

"For 36 ships, each ship will have 50 more people on board, so that they can learn along with them. Our second batch of 48 ships has also begun laying keels and construction. It is expected that sea trials will be carried out in two months. 150 people will go to the shipyard to help with the construction, and it’s okay to start. After the construction is completed, they will be able to go to the new ship for sea trial immediately. At that time, let the 36 ships who have already tried the sea and have experience send some of them. People will go to the new ships behind to serve as key crew members, and some good performers will be selected from those who are idle, and those who are loyal to us will make up for the lack of personnel in the 36 ships. After the new ships enter service, we will follow the process." Zhang Qiang Looking at Ruan Jin, he said coldly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but our original old ships require much more manpower than the new ones. Let's talk about thousand-ton battleships. There are at least 360 people on a battleship, excluding some handymen, kitchens, apprentices, and doctors. , carpenters, breeders, warehouse keepers, etc., still have about 300 people, and the new ships don’t even have 200 people, at most 100 heads. Even if we equip as many ships as we have now, there are still more than [-] people People have no way out."

Ruan Jin said.

"Get the young ones who can be dismissed to the Marine Corps, and give them the treatment of retired soldiers, and send them to the base or port below you to find a place to arrange them, and then arrange them to go to the shipyard. For work, officials can arrange to be a staff member in the government department. Leave it to the cabinet to handle. If not, we will work as guards, cooks, guard soldiers, or in the foreign port bases of Xinlu Mansion or Shikoku Mansion, etc. Where the personnel management clerks go, try their best to arrange.

If it doesn't work, arrange for them to go to the Navy Coast Guard.Where a large number of personnel are needed, the funds will be borne by you and the local government, which will reduce the burden on your naval director department. Anyway, the local government that is now telling the development is not short of money. "

Ruan Jin wanted to say something, but Zhang Qiang waved his hand to stop him. Ruan Jin had to think about the rest, and he had to figure out what to do. As a king, Zhang Qiang would not listen to his nagging. Some fierce naval battles will break out on the Nanyang side, so all these 36 warships will be assigned to the Fifth Fleet, and the near-shore ships will be patrolled by the Fifth Fleet's ships under 180 tons. The division maintains five thousand-ton warships and five eight-hundred-ton warships on standby to reinforce these small-tonnage warships.

In the distance, it is necessary to patrol the waterway around Qiongdao towards the South China Sea and to Koh Kong Island in Cambodia. Warships of [-] tons and [-] tons are required to patrol. The thousand-ton warships of the Fourth Fleet are better than [-]-ton warships, about thirty Ships will support them by maneuver.

In the far sea, the Fifth Fleet will send three squadrons to patrol the route from Treasure Island to Manila, and one squadron will be rotated every half a month to come back for replenishment and rest for half a month, so that all 480 warships of the Fifth Fleet will have work It can be done, the other 36 warships will stay in the harbor or wander farther away to run back and forth, patrol farther away in the form of a squadron, and at the same time serve as a mobile support fleet when other fleets are attacked. "

"Who will lead the new fleet?" Ruan Jin asked.

"For the time being, let the garrison of each squadron of the current fleet take turns as the leader, each for a month. I will arrange it after I think about it." Zhang Qiang said to Ruan Jin.

"Okay, Your Majesty, I'll make arrangements now." Ruan Jin finished speaking and left.

Zhang Qiang sat back on the chair and raised his elbows to think about something. The speed is fast, the minimum cruising speed can reach eight knots, the normal sailing speed is ten knots, and the maximum sailing speed is fourteen knots. This can only be carried out in downwind or high-speed combat. It cannot be implemented, and there will be certain damage to the bearing capacity of the hull and canvas, which is not serious but fatal in a critical situation.

But even such a new type of warship is also proud of the sky.

36 of the 24 ships can actually fight, and the other 16 ships can only be assisted by the side. The top [-] ships can reach a speed of [-] knots, and the cruise is also at a speed of [-] knots. They are usually used as a bridge between fleets Contact, and transport some important people to and from various places.

Chapter 798 Challenge the Chinese Navy 1