1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 489 The Deterrent Power of Battleships
Both the executive committee and the military have placed great expectations on the navy, and have spared no effort to invest a large amount of funds and various resources. The purpose is to expect the navy's combat effectiveness to grow rapidly. Effective actual control can be formed along the coast and even along the coast of the Indochina Peninsula.And the flagship warships that use many "new technologies" are the tools used to achieve these strategic goals.

However, the practical difficulties that Yan Chujie just mentioned will definitely affect the planning process of the Executive Committee and the military. Even though steam power cannot be used, the "Majesty" still has the ability to be almost unbeatable in the Far East. Maritime combat effectiveness, but after all, there is a certain gap with the high-level expectations. So many circulation coupons are not just used to create a concept. People will definitely be sprayed with blood.

But the problems encountered now cannot be solved by holding individuals or a certain unit accountable. Behind the simple human resource allocation problem lies a series of other problems, involving so many industries and units, that even the executive committee has no coordinated in a short period of time.If there were such things as elite public knowledge in this era, they would skillfully classify all of them as "systemic problems", and then jump up and down to criticize the incompetence of those in power.

Of course, no one in Sanya would dare to jump out and criticize the supreme executive committee. Most people who do so will end up in a hard labor camp. The executive committee is very strict in supervising public opinion.Meng He, who was in charge of a part of the propaganda work at the beginning, was defeated in the re-election after only one year as an executive committee member. This was somewhat related to his unstable position in the field of public opinion and propaganda at that time.Moreover, given the awe of the local people towards the executive committee, even if there are any negative remarks, it is difficult to gain the trust of the people. On the contrary, there is a great possibility that rumors will be reported and reported.

As for the possibility of a large-scale naval battle breaking out in the near future, Yan Chujie is just talking about it. Not to mention that the possibility is very small, even if someone really dares to provoke Haihan, the two existing fleets that are basically formed are enough to resist foreign enemy.

Tao Donglai pondered: "Even if the steam engine is temporarily unavailable, the training of this new ship cannot be stopped. Are the other crew members in place?"

"This is not a problem. The crew and fighters were selected two or three months in advance. I have also seen Tom Wang's training plan. The formal sea training will begin tomorrow." Yan Chujie paused and said: "If the steam engine operators can be in place in two or three months, then the crew training has almost come to an end, and the announcement of the establishment of the First Fleet will be a matter of course!"

"When the second ship is enlisted, this situation cannot happen again!" Tao Donglai said in a deep voice, "It should be two or three months later, right?"

"This matter has been discussed with Ning Qi, and the personnel department will coordinate it." Yan Chujie will not take this troublesome matter on himself.

"March... the construction period of the new port on Hong Kong Island is almost March... Well, let's wait and see!" Tao Dong stood up after saying that: "Keep an eye on the navy, I'm here I have been busy dealing with the affairs of the Ministry of Construction for a while, and I have no way to ask about the work of the military for the time being."

"I know, don't worry, it won't affect our five-year plan." Yan Chujie stood up and saw him off.

The so-called five-year plan is a rough time plan for the expansion of the territory by the Action Planning Committee before the time travel.That is to say, after five years of crossing, to realize the control of the entire Qiongzhou Island and its surrounding waters, especially the Qiongzhou Strait, the Beibu Gulf, the Pearl River Estuary and the Indo-China Peninsula, these key areas must be brought under the control of Haihan.And this plan puts forward extremely high requirements for Haihan's naval strength. Such a vast sea area cannot be guarded by ten or eight warships. At least no one in the Far East's maritime armed forces can accomplish this. task.

If Haihan wants to complete this plan, he must also invest millions of dollars in the navy, and such a large expenditure is definitely a heavy burden for Haihan in the early stage of development, so all the development plans for the navy, the executive committee The meeting and the military are almost pushing it under tremendous pressure.Fortunately, in the first half of the year, the militia broke into Hue City and took advantage of the situation to earn a large sum of money. Otherwise, the launch of the two main flagships would have to be postponed for at least a year or two due to the cost.

Due to the large investment, this plan basically cannot fail. Even if it is delayed for a few months, it will affect the nerves of countless people.Although the fact that the crew of the new ship is not complete cannot be completely kept secret from the outside world, it is not difficult for the military to fool outsiders. It only needs to declare that the training process is to master the combat method under pure wind propulsion.Wait a few months for the personnel department to solve the problem of the shortage of technical personnel, and then carry out training on the use of hybrid power.

So from the beginning of 1630, Ming merchant ships entering and leaving Sanya often saw a huge Haihan warship passing by near the coast.When the Guangzhou ship of [-] materials passed by this ship, it was like passing a hill, and the densely packed gun holes on the side of the ship made people shudder.

However, the local people in Sanya are generally proud of the existence of this big ship, thinking that with the shelter of this big ship, the two ports and the tens of thousands of people living here have a more sense of security.Although the maritime merchants from other places will be amazed by this, they also know that the Haihan militia has always been willing to protect the safety of the maritime merchants, and they have no fear of it.Whenever the "Majesty" sailed back to Victory Harbor in the evening, the crew members of the ships passing by it would temporarily put down their work and pay attention to the warship.

However, the situation on the "Majesty" is far from being as beautiful as outsiders imagined.For the hundreds of men selected to serve on the ship, the intensity of training on this ship far exceeds that of any place they have been in the past.Even experienced people selected from "exploration-class" and "exploration-class" warships still have a lot to adapt to and adjust when they arrive on this ship.

Wang Tom stood on the slipway in the middle and rear of the hull, checked the situation ahead with a telescope, and then ordered in a deep voice: "Left rudder ten!"

"Left rudder ten!" Wu Sen, who was in charge of steering, responded loudly, and at the same time turned the steering wheel ten degrees to the left.

This kind of steering wheel device, Takemori had never seen it before when Annan served.However, after arriving in Sanya, he had already seen this convenient device on the "Lightning", and he could easily control the direction of the ship with very little effort.Just seeing this thing, Wu Sen already understood that the Nanyue navy he led would not be able to defeat the Haihan militia at sea. The gap in shipbuilding technology between the two sides made it impossible for the Nanyue navy to compete with the Haihan people. Fight on a fair starting point.From this, Wu Sen also understood why the Yazhou navy chose to cooperate with Haihan so obediently, instead of standing up to resist.

What Wu Sen is currently acting as is only a temporary helmsman, which does not mean that this is his future position.In fact, Tom Wang personally admired this clever and quick-handed General Annan. With Wu Sen's professional foundation, he far surpassed ordinary sailors and crew members in learning Haihan-style navigation techniques.Even for devices like the steering wheel, Tom Wang only gave a brief explanation for a few minutes at the beginning, and Wu Sen had already grasped the skills in it, and immediately started to operate it step by step.

There is no doubt that Wusen is better than most of the naturalized civilian soldiers and grassroots officers in the current navy. Regardless of military command ability, at least in terms of mastering navigation skills, Wang Tom has not yet naturalized Find someone who can beat Wu Sen among the people.And this kind of professional talent is also the most lacking in the current naval establishment.Therefore, after Wusen boarded the ship, Tom Wang also entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, first appointing him to operate the steering wheel on the command platform-in fact, he was teaching him the skills of driving such a large warship by precept and example.

Of course, even as Wang Tom himself, although he has rich sailing experience, he has no experience in driving a large sailing ship of this tonnage, so commanding the "Majesty" is also a new experience for him.However, Wang Tom has no pressure on this. For him, sailing itself is the greatest pleasure, and being able to drive a new boat to sea is like getting a new toy, and more of it is still in his mind. excitement.

However, other than the command department, the crew in other positions on the ship are not so relaxed. The crew on the deck have to use manpower to repeatedly lift the sail on the three masts more than 50 meters high. drudgery.The combat personnel on the lower level are not much better. They have to operate the artillery on the low and crowded combat deck, and practice the shooting procedures such as loading, aiming, clearing, and resetting.

Although almost all the gun positions on this ship are equipped with a new generation of mechanical retreating devices developed this year, their effect is still limited. Human power resets the artillery to a more accurate shooting position.It is also quite laborious to repeatedly push hundreds of thousands of cannons and pick up iron bullets weighing more than ten kilograms and fill them into the barrels.Fortunately, the treatment in the navy is very good. There are three full meals a day, two of which are oily and meaty, to ensure that the physical strength of the crew can keep up with the training requirements to the greatest extent.

Wu Sen's treatment has also risen, and he is fortunate to be able to enjoy a special officer package with the naturalized officers.Although the order to appoint him has not yet been finalized, but his colleagues all know that this person is highly valued by Commander Wang, so there will be no one who is blind to him.

"Complete one more cruise between the two ports today, and it's over!" Wang Tom's order made all the crew members feel sad, but the military order is like a mountain, no matter how tired they are, they must first try their best to complete the order, so Under the command of Wang Tom, the "Majesty" slowly turned around Yulinjiao and sailed to the southwest.

"Oh my God! What is that? I saw a large warship!" On a merchant ship that was about to sail into Victory Port, the Portuguese Thomas exclaimed in a tone that was about to break his voice.

Thomas has settled here in Sanya for a long time since he was appointed as the envoy to Sanya by the Macau Council.The affairs he was in charge of were not only commercial trade, but even the secret business of Portugal's import of arms from Sanya to Europe was handled by him.

In the process of dealing with Haihan, Thomas also gradually realized that the rise of this force cannot be contained. Instead of fighting against Haihan to compete for the existing interests, it is better to cooperate with them in an all-round way. People are good at maritime trade to obtain more benefits.

Although the Portuguese chose to withdraw from South Vietnam under Haihan's military pressure, the subsequent trade cooperation between the two sides allowed the Portuguese to gain a lot.Now that the Haihan people are used as a medium, the channels for Portugal to obtain various commodities from Daming have also greatly increased-although the Ming government has restricted the scope and quantity of trade between private merchants and Portugal, they have not restricted the trade channels with the Haihan people .Therefore, in order to obtain the exclusive Haihan products, a large number of Ming merchants first sold the tea, porcelain, silk and other goods needed by the grape people to Haihan, and then resold them to the eagerly awaited Portuguese.Although this process has changed hands, everyone can get what they need, and it is still a good deal for Portugal.

Thomas received a notice from the Macau Council a month ago, asking him to go back to report on his duties nearly a year later, so when Thomas rushed back to Macau to report on his duties, he happened to miss the grand enlistment ceremony of the "Majesty".

Thomas has lived in Sanya for a long time, but he also knows that the shipyard in Shengli Port has been secretly building some kind of large ship.But all the news he inquired about was that the new ship was a cargo ship used for maritime trade, and the whistleblower also said that the cargo capacity of the new ship was better than that of the current best "exploration class" civilian ship. The version has also been nearly doubled, and the seaworthiness at sea has also been greatly improved.It also said that the Department of Shipping would divide the new ship into two different types for cargo and people, so that it can more efficiently transport migrant populations back from the mainland.

The whistleblower spoke so well that Thomas later believed in such statements, thinking that the Haihan people were probably really planning to vigorously develop maritime trade like the Dutch did.However, the truth was not what he thought. The moment he saw the warship, he knew he had been fooled.

"These Haihan people are all actors and liars!" Thomas looked at the huge "Majesty" and complained angrily.

(End of this chapter)