Xinshun 1730

Chapter 215 Admiralty

The small door of education reform opened by the emperor was for the navy and artillery. Liu Yu wanted to cheat money from the treasury for education, but he could only do it around these two points.

After inspecting Weihai's military manufacturing industry that had begun to take shape, and asking Western technicians at the shipyard, Liu Yu wrote a detailed naval development plan in hand.

Weihai's shipbuilding level has started slightly.

The French East India Company entrusted someone to send a letter, and Qi Guogong's visit to Paris caused a sensation.

It is impossible for Qi Guogong's mission to return to China by boat, because of the high risk, they still choose to go back to China through Russia.

Liu Yu's letter and the existence of French missionaries such as Bai Jin made the King of France wish to send a mission to visit the capital by sea.

One is because of Dashun's ban on religion, France is not as enthusiastic about preaching as Spain, I hope there will be no misunderstanding.

The second is that France believes that the empire in the east is very powerful, and the contradiction between France and Russia is very deep, and hopes to form an ally that may stab Russia in the back.In South Asia and Southeast Asia, France also hopes to gain a reliable ally.

The official affirmation made the French East India Company send enough good shipbuilders and engineers with semi-official support.

France's dry dock technology is far ahead of the UK, and the design concepts of the 74-gun battleship and the 28-gun cruiser are also superior to the UK, but because France has enemies on all sides, it has to be a land power country, so its navy can't win the sea anyway. Great Britain with absolute power and no land threats.

If the money from trade with Japan in recent years is only for building ships, more can definitely be built.But most of the money, Liu Yu invested in the construction of Weihai Port.

Including a new type of dry dock, which is convenient for maintenance and cleaning of barnacles at the bottom of the ship; a large-scale dry wood storage warehouse, there is no perennial dry wood, a warship can only be used for six or seven years, and the qualified wood can keep the warship. 50 years of vitality; a talent reserve of nearly 3000 shipbuilders. In the past few years, since they have no money to build warships, they are all building cargo ships.

The wood that has been hoarded ensures that as long as the money is in place, the speed of launching three to four ships a year can be guaranteed.The more than 1000 sailors and more than 300 officers who were previously recruited and trained already have certain combat capabilities. It is not a big problem to expand the sailors through the method of mentoring.

These are small problems. The real big problem is how to ensure that no one dies.

If you want to ensure that no one dies, the best way is to let the Ministry of the Navy become independent and become a department directly under the emperor or the Tianyou Temple.

Liu Yu didn't want to deal with the military government at all. A group of people who don't even understand the Western countries can't guide the navy, and if the navy wants to develop in the future, there will be no one in the court.

The navy invested too much, and Dashun's special trade characteristics like a gold-absorbing beast made the navy almost a money-losing product, because it could collect money while sitting at home, and the navy was losing money.Even if a powerful navy is built, the goods still have to be sold to Westerners for silver, and it is unrealistic to be strong enough to ship the goods directly to Europe and open European tariffs. Four fifty million taels.

Fortunately, there is Japan, and fortunately, the king of Austria has no sons.

This time, Liu Yu could only open his mouth, asking for enough money to enable Dashun's navy to defeat the Dutch East India Company and obtain spices before the upcoming war of Austrian succession.

It can be regarded as a little bit to let the people in the DPRK know that the navy can really make money.

After some calculation, he proposed a plan for the Navy Department parallel to the Five Military Departments in Dashun.

Dashun changed the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion into the Fifth Army Department, and now he added a Navy Department, and he was born in a noble family, which happened to be able to bypass the irritating military government and directly belong to the emperor.

The emperor should be willing to do this, because there are only two purposes for the emperor to build a navy.

One is to worry about Liu Yu's dire prophecy, and the other is to defeat the Netherlands to monopolize the income from the spice trade. In the eyes of the emperor, the latter's money is very important, and it is good to have less constraints for the time being.

Below the Ministry of the Navy, there are three departments: the Fleet, the Navy Committee, the Logistics and the Sailors' Disability and Pension Committee.

Needless to say the fleet.

The Naval Committee has its subordinate Timber Bureau, Shipyard, Jinghai Palace Official School, Intern Officer Selection, Shipbuilding Orders, Cannon Casting Bureau, and its subordinate Practical School Education.

The logistics and sailors' disability pension committee is responsible for logistics support and subsidies for sailors after they leave the army. For this, the emperor needs to use money from internal funds, such as monopolizing the spice trade, and take part of it as the sailors' disability pension.

It took five years to set up the entire Admiralty, and the investment in it was huge.

A timber bureau alone requires an annual investment of 3 taels of silver to purchase teak, cypress, and oak that has been cut for more than a century in the virgin forest of Baishan Heishui.Transportation and drying in the shade require specialized personnel.

The fleet is built at the rate of three fifth-tier ships per year, and the annual cost is 15 taels.

The average cost of building two to three 74-gun battleships within five years is 8 taels per year.

19 fifth-tier ships and 2 to 3 74-gun battleships need to ensure enough sailors and sailors, at least [-] sailors are required.

Calculated on the basis of two taels of silver per person per month, plus enough officers, this would require 30 taels a year, not much more.

Wear and tear and repairs are calculated at 2 taels per year.

Gunpowder consumption during training is based on 5 taels of silver per year.

The navy's military uniforms, meals, drinks and other supplies are based on 15 taels per year.

Not counting the Jinghai Palace official school, not counting the subsidies for sailors' retirement, and not counting the annual personnel training, just to build a one-time fleet, the annual investment is 80 taels of silver.

If we also ensure enough practical schools, long-term talent reserves, seasick marines, transport ships, etc., in order for the navy to form a scale, it must invest at least 120 million taels of silver every year, and it will last for at least five years. If you want to form a system, you must Continue to invest for ten years or more.

It doesn't seem to be much, but Dashun has an annual income of about 3000 million.

But the emperor's internal funds must not be able to afford it, so he must go to the court and ask the treasury to pay for it. It is really hard to predict whether the money will be paid.

Even if Liu Yu has calculated carefully, he can only quote such a price. No matter how low the price is, he can only train a one-time navy.

It will rot after you beat it.

As for spending the treasury's money to cultivate a group of quasi-rebels who are completely incompatible with the existing system, the money must also come from the treasury.

It's just that if the treasury really refuses to pay enough money, he can only make up for it himself, which cannot be saved.

Rather than building two warships, the money has to be taken out.

The most difficult thing about asking for money is that the idea of ​​​​fighting against Japan and the Netherlands cannot be made public.

If it cannot be made public, then anyone with a right mind will oppose this wasteful plan.

Why build a bunch of useless warships?

The hardest thing is always inside, not outside.

With this question in mind, Liu Yu approached his father who was about to return to Beijing, and hoped that his father, who had been sleeping in the court hall for many years, would help him and ask if it was possible.

However, Liu Sheng didn't even look at the plan drafted by Liu Yu, and asked instead: "If your majesty has no heart to build a navy, why do you let me take care of this place? I am your father, and your majesty asked me to come here, isn't it because of the construction of the navy?" heart?"

In the previous exchange, Liu Sheng already knew about the emperor's beating of Liu Yu, and he was not shocked. Instead, he thought it was a good thing to be beating like this, which proved that His Majesty really wanted to use it again.

Liu Yu didn't tell his father about many things, and Liu Sheng didn't see it that deeply.

But if you just ask the emperor's mind and the direction of the court, this Liu Sheng understands far more than Liu Yu.

He explained the crux of the matter in one word.

If the emperor had no intention of building a navy, it would be impossible to transfer Liu Yu to the Western Regions and at the same time let his father supervise the management here. The fear is that someone will mess around.

Liu Yu also thought about this issue, frowned and said, "Father, it costs money to build a navy. To spend money, His Majesty's internal funds cannot afford so much money."

Liu Sheng was startled, and then he took the memorial and looked at it. When he saw the military expenditure of 120 million taels a year, he was also frightened.

"so much?"

After scanning the numbers, I noticed the idea of ​​establishing the Ministry of the Navy above.

After pondering for a while, he said: "The system of the state and court, in fact, as long as His Majesty agrees, it can always be done."

"Zhang Juzheng of the previous dynasty, didn't he say it very clearly? It's not a prime minister, but it's a real photo. Whether it's the cabinet or the Tianyou Hall, the power is not from the cabinet or the Tianyou Hall itself, but from His Majesty. Zhang Juzheng is very clear. Daming did not The prime minister, he can do things, but he has stolen the emperor's power, but he actually relies on the power of regent."

"It's the same in this dynasty. Is the Temple of Heaven's Blessing a fortune teller? Your Majesty has great power. If you don't care about anything and hide in the inner palace to make alchemy, then the Palace of Heaven's Blessing can be considered a fortune teller."

"Nowadays, His Majesty's continuous personal conquests. Since the time of Taizu, the Wuxuan Division has been separated from the military government, and the Wenxuan Division has been separated from the official government and upgraded to Wenyu Yuan. Do you think Tianyou Hall is considered a group minister? In fact, all things, It's all in His Majesty's attitude."

"It's nothing more than that since Emperor Taizong Jingxiang counterattacked, this dynasty has been more humiliated by the previous dynasty than Li Tang, and public opinion has been more humiliated by the previous dynasty, so the scholars are more heroic. This is why you were insulted as a national traitor after negotiating with Luocha. When it is time, it should be clear.”

"But if you think about it again, if this is not the case, even if the world's public opinion is bounded by the Great Wall, if your majesty wants to go north, wouldn't he not do so? It's nothing more than bearing the notoriety of Han Wu."

120 million taels a year is indeed a lot, but it is not a completely unacceptable range.Liu Sheng analyzed the situation in the court very clearly, and the final conclusion was actually one.

The emperor said yes, so do it.

If the emperor says no, then no.

No matter how much the court discusses, the most is that the emperor will be insulted.The trade-off between infamy and the navy depends only on which one the emperor chooses.

The Ministry of the Navy did not encroach on the authority of any existing department, but a completely new department, so the resistance is actually very small, the only problem is the annual 120 million taels of silver.

Liu Yu naturally thought about this detour, and asked: "In my father's opinion, as long as His Majesty permits this matter, it can actually be done?"

Liu Sheng said with a smile: "I don't know what you and Your Majesty said, and I don't ask. But I know one thing. Although the navy is strong and the ships are powerful, if there is no port, they are vulnerable. As long as you are stationed in Weihai If there is an army, the navy remains His Majesty's."

"So you don't have to think about Gao Niao's perfect bow possession, just ask yourself, can this navy bring millions of taels of income to His Majesty every year in the future? That's the key."

(End of this chapter)