Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 577 Strangling the United States in the Cradle
An arms race between the Ming Dynasty and the U.S. Navy began quietly.

Even Zhu Xianhai, who is the leader, does not know how long this competition will last and how much resources will be invested, but one thing is certain is that the experience from later generations tells Zhu Xianhai that Da Ming can persevere in this competition. go down!
And enough to win the final victory.

"On the surface, building a warship seems to be a loss, but it is by no means the case. By building a warship, not only can the shipbuilding technology be improved, but metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, etc. will also be improved accordingly."

By the lakeside of the Royal Manor in the southern suburbs, Emperor Zhu was strolling along the lakeside with Prime Minister Zuo.As the two of them walked, they talked about the expansion of the navy's armaments. They talked a lot. Of course, Zuo Zongtang would not doubt His Majesty's decision, and the current challenge of the United States must be faced by Ming Dynasty.

"Left Prime Minister, do you know why I think the United States will be the most important opponent of my Ming Empire?"

Talking about the expansion of armaments at sea, Emperor Zhu naturally discussed diplomatic issues with Zuo Zongtang.Although Emperor Zhu, who stepped on the head of a giant, had a foresight of the future, but now that history has become a mess under his promotion, his foresight of history is constantly weakening.

So in many cases, he will communicate repeatedly with Zuo Zongtang, Wang Youling, Qian Degong, listen to their opinions, and then implement them. Of course, sometimes he likes to make surprise attacks and force the cabinet to accept his opinions.

But this kind of thing is very rare, because long before Zuo Zongtang and others came to Nanhua, a very modern system was formed here under the operation of Emperor Zhu.In the current Ming Dynasty, neither the imperial examinations nor Confucianism has much influence, because as early as ten years ago, Emperor Zhu established modern primary schools and compiled new textbooks.

From Latin Pinyin in Chinese to Arabic numerals in mathematics.When Zuo Zongtang and the others come over, what if they are great Confucians in the world?Many things have to be learned from scratch. As for the words "I am the best in Chinese moral writing", there is no one here to say it.

It's not that no one talks about it, it's because even the hard-headed guy knows that "moral articles" are useless in this world of tigers and wolves.

In the early days of Nanhua, most of the immigrants were rescued from the swords of the rebellious soldiers. Zhu Xianhai didn’t know if there were any “great Confucianists” among the survivors, but what is certain is that they cared about surviving.As for other ancestral constitutions, they do not exist.

So, over time, when Zuo Daru and others came to Nanhua, it was already "hard to return". As for Zuo Daru himself, facing the impact of modern civilization, he also forgot any moral articles.

Although moral articles are good, they are just cultivating sentiments. If you want to enrich the country and strengthen the army, you still need to rely on Western knowledge!

Therefore, the Daming rebuilt overseas naturally lost many of the constraints of Chinese "tradition".

However, in terms of diplomacy, Zuo Zongtang also has an extremely deep understanding of European and American countries in this era, and what Emperor Zhu said was what he saw in history books.However, Zuo Zongtang had been in Europe for nearly two years. In terms of understanding of foreign countries, he was definitely no worse than Emperor Zhu.

"Britain, Your Majesty, I believe that compared to the United States, the United Kingdom is the biggest threat to Ming Dynasty!"

Zuo Zongtang still insisted on his point of view. The big powers that can reach Ming Dynasty now are nothing more than Britain and France. As for the two teeth of Spain and Portugal, they have long been the mouths of old women—toothless.

France is an ally of Ming Dynasty and can be excluded for the time being.Besides, according to His Majesty, in the future, Daming will eat meat from Britain together with France.

Everything is born from the fall of the hero.

How can Zuo Zongtang not be clear about the truth that the Great Britain falls and the world is full?

But to be clear is to be clear, reality is always reality.The reality is that for now, the Daying Empire is still the most powerful in the world.

Of course it was Daming's threat.

"Left Prime Minister, what I'm asking about is the opponent, not the threat."

Zhu Xinghai smiled and shook his head.The opponent can be Da Ming taking the initiative to attack, but the threat means Da Ming needs to be in a defensive position.

"Adversary... America!"

When Zuo Zongtang pondered, Zhu Xianhai said.

"The United States is my biggest opponent in Ming Dynasty. I took advantage of their civil strife and divided it into two, but even so, it failed to stop their rise. To be honest, I am also very worried!"

Originally, according to the views of some later generations, the Civil War was hailed as the battle for the rise of the United States, such as the weakening of state rights and the increase of federal power. In a word, without the Civil War, there would be no rise of the United States.

But just pull it down!

Did federal power influence the industrialization of the United States?Thinking that the United States is the Soviet Union, it needs the country to formulate a five-year plan.The reason for the Civil War was that the North needed cotton from the South. After reunification, wouldn’t the North need money to buy cotton from the South?Go straight to grab it?As for exports, after the Civil War, American cotton export tariffs were reduced, not increased.

What's more, after the American Civil War, the world's cotton industry entered a period of depression that lasted for more than ten years, and even the cotton planting industry in Nanhua was affected.As for the textile industry, it has never been an important industry in the north. In fact, there is no textile industry in the development path of the United States at all.

Although in this world, the United States is divided into two countries, the North and the South, after the Civil War, the rise of the North is still unstoppable. The industrial areas in the Great Lakes region are developing rapidly, and the railway is still the leader to promote the industrial development of the United States. The international financial market has provided sufficient funds for the development of the United States.

America is still on the way to rise!This is why Zhu Xianhai regards the United States as his main opponent.

"U.S……"

Zuo Zongtang shook his head and said in a rather affirmative tone.

"Your Majesty, although the United States has potential for development and has conflicts of interest with our country, in the next twenty years...the United States still cannot be called an opponent. And they have always had conflicts with the United Kingdom."

In this era, Britain and the United States are not hardcore allies. In fact, there are great contradictions between the two countries.It is well known that the United States is coveting Canadian territory.Moreover, the United States issued a "Monroe Declaration" as early as 1823, opposing the intervention of European powers in American affairs, and made it clear that it wanted to oppose the British Empire.

Of course, this kind of confrontation is only verbal. The "Monroe Declaration" has been shouted for half a century, and it has a fart, that is to say.But this is where the differences between the two countries lie.

"There are many problems between the United States and the United Kingdom, but the biggest threat to the two countries is us now, so it is possible for them to unite together, but... this is not the main thing!"

Zhu Xianhai looked towards the lake, and then said seriously.

"On the left, we can't just look at the present and ignore the future when it comes to the strength of a country. The United States can only barely squeeze in on the world stage, which is similar to our situation. But in terms of future potential, the United States may even exceed I am Daming!"

"The potential of the United States exceeds ours!"

Zuo Zongtang was full of suspicion.

Zhu Xianhai was not surprised by his doubts. After all, even the British were mistaken. Who would have thought that in just another [-] years, the US economy would become the world's number one.

After the rise of the economy and industry, the United States will rise in an all-round way. When the Americans exert their power, the whole world will pay attention to it.

"Although our land area is much larger than that of the United States, and the rich land that can be used in the South China Great Plain is no less than that of the United States. Our agricultural potential far exceeds that of the United States, but in terms of resources, we are far behind Not as good as America's."

The United States is definitely not the chosen country!
But the United States is definitely the country with the richest natural resources in the world. In this regard, the United States is the chosen child.

"In terms of industrial development potential, the industrial potential of the United States far exceeds ours. In terms of resources, we have neither large iron mines nor large coal mines, but what about the United States? Both of these are lacking."

Far from lacking,
It is simply blessed. The Great Lakes region not only has large-scale coal mines and iron mines of high quality, but also has convenient water transportation that provides cheap transportation.

In this era when coal and iron are national power, the natural conditions of the United States... Daming really can't compare!
"Besides, they are a white country, and they are close to Europe. They are the first choice for European capital and brain drain. Over the past few decades, countless capital and talents have gone to the United States every year, and the population of the United States has also grown rapidly because of this. Now it is close to 4000 million. Compared with them, how much population do we have? Just over [-] million! In another thirty years, their population is likely to exceed [-] million. Although the population of China is much larger than that of the United States Many, but if we don’t bring them over, those populations don’t belong to us.”

This is the biggest problem of Ming Dynasty - as a new country, although the new Ming Dynasty does not have the historical fetters of China itself, the corresponding severe population shortage has always restricted the development of Ming Dynasty, and even whether Daming can become a powerful country in the future Among them, the most critical factor is population - without enough population, it is impossible to develop a complete industrial system.

"Without enough population, it is impossible to develop a strong industry. After all, industry needs to be supported by population. In a modern industrial system, a complete industrial chain must involve at least millions or even tens of millions of employed people. , Even if it is a small pencil, the graphite used to produce the refill needs miners to mine, the wood needs to be felled, the raw materials need to be further processed and transported, and tens of thousands of people need to participate in the production.”

When it comes to the population, Zhu Xianhai can't help but envy Huaxia, it has a population of hundreds of millions!Even if the population is uneducated and uneducated, it is also a demographic dividend!

Without enough population, everything is crap.

"At least 20 to [-] million people are needed to make the industry flourish. For now, the population has been restricting our development. Let's take our shipbuilding industry as an example, including main engine manufacturing and parts supporting processing enterprises. , with a total employment of up to [-] people. This determines that we have engaged in mining, metallurgy, shipbuilding, and mechanical processing, and there is no surplus population to engage in other industries. Conversely, the population size of a country also determines the industry The upper limit of the system, because if you don't have enough people, it's all useless."

"People are not a problem, Your Majesty. The biggest problem in China is that there are too many people and too little land. People are a burden. There are not many people in China, but there are many people who can't eat enough."

Zuo Zongtang said directly.

"We just need to bring them to Daming as much as possible. Population is a burden to China, but population is a resource to us. The United States can introduce tens of millions of immigrants...we can do the same."

There are not many things in China, but there are many people, and they are all hungry people.As long as they have the opportunity, they would definitely like to come to Daming.

"Yeah, this is also the fundamental reason why we can compete with the United States - the United States is the preferred destination for European human resources immigrants, and what about Daming? It is the preferred destination for Chinese human resources! In the end, the competition between us and the United States, In fact, it is industry and population competition!"

Staring into the distance, Zhu Xianhai nodded.

"Like the United States, we are both founded in the New World, unlike in our respective hometowns, because the country has been established for too long, with various historical burdens and various entangled relationships. However, it is unrealistic to want to cut the mess quickly, so we are all new risers, without those complicated relationships, we can let go and do it."

In fact, to some extent, the current Ming Dynasty is very similar to the United States.It is precisely because of the similarity that Emperor Zhu is extremely wary of the United States.

Not because of history, but because of reality. There can only be one "Nation of God" in this world. If Ming wants to replace the United States, he must step on the corpse of the United States.

When the United States was still a young bud, kill him in the cradle!

Zuo Zongtang said deeply.

"I heard that when Li Hefei was doing Western affairs, not only were people in the court criticizing him, but there were also many obstacles in the local area. In contrast, my Ming Dynasty has a good government and harmonious people, so I can do it freely."

In fact, this is not always the case. On Daming's side, there are still more than two million European immigrants and their descendants!

These people are not only hidden dangers to Ming Dynasty, but also...Of course, as the conquered, they have their share to speak.

"Yeah, even if there are some hidden dangers, it's just ringworm and scabies."

When nodding in agreement, Emperor Zhu's tone was somewhat emotional.

"The United States also has a huge advantage, that is, there are no land powers around it. Unlike our border with Brazil, we not only have to fight against the United States, but also against Brazil. Our hostility. Therefore, considering various factors, the United States in the future is bound to become the world's number one industrial power. The strength of the world's national power today lies in the power of industry in the final analysis..."

"Your Majesty, the strongest industry in the world is Britain, followed by France."

Zuo Zongtang said rather conceitedly.

"But in ten years at most, we will overtake France."

He has personally visited and inspected Britain and France, they are amazing!

As for Daming, Daming's progress over the years is obvious to all.

"Britain and France are small in size, with limited human and industrial resources, and their potential is far inferior to that of the United States, or even the North German Federation and Russia. Moreover, the distance between the European powers is too close, there are too many constraints on each other, and there are too many contradictions. They are wary of each other, and if there is a slight accident, it will be a European war. Where in the surrounding environment can we develop with peace of mind like the United States, and even ignore the threat of war?"

There are two walls in the north and south, and two walls in the east and west. Only the current Ming Dynasty can compare with the United States in such a natural environment, but who is the real chosen country?
What is certain is that the United States must be killed in the cradle!

(End of this chapter)