unclear

Chapter 390 The crisis is quietly approaching

The construction period of the first batch of Qin-class warships was originally about three years. The main reason was that Nanyang teak was relatively hard and the bending shape was relatively slow. But Haihe Machinery Factory immediately sent a new piece of equipment called a boiler, which instantly increased the speed of wood processing and shaping several times.

The principle is very simple. It is very similar to the way southerners make bambooware, but it is enlarged many times. The boiler can heat water into high-temperature steam, and the wood fumigated with it can be quickly shaped and can be bent into various arcs, which greatly saves labor and time. A conservative estimate can shorten the construction period by half.

This period of time can be used to train the newly recruited Dan people well and lay a solid foundation. By the way, we should carefully plan the two new areas of shipping and customs. There is no rush.

"Yes, our time is very tight. In one to two years, either the north or the south will definitely face a war, and we may have to take care of both the north and the south. The current strength of the navy alone is far from enough. I plan to imitate the navy and develop the new army Do it too."

Hong Tao heard what Yuan Keli meant, and the reminder was timely and correct. But the height of the station is different, the scenery seen is different, and the thoughts are definitely different. He only considered the development of the navy. At most, he thought about how to deter neighboring countries, but he was unable to look further and make longer-term plans.

It seems that the Spanish king's reply will arrive in the spring of next year at the latest. If they are willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to enjoy exclusive maritime trade rights in Asia, the navy will consider sending an ocean fleet to escort the Malacca Strait to defend against the Dutch East India Company in Batavia. Harassment.

In fact, even if the Dutch don't take the initiative to attack, they will have to go to Batavia to block the door when the navy's first batch of ocean-going warships are launched. There is no way, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. The Netherlands and Spain are mortal enemies. They will never allow the Spanish to dominate the maritime trade of the East Indies. Sooner or later, they will fight.

If the King of Spain is too stupid and regards the Ming Dynasty as the Inca Empire in South America and does not plan to form an alliance, then the navy's task will be even heavier. Not only did they have to drive away all the Spanish from Manila Port and the Philippine Islands, they also had to face the expansion of the Dutch.

Unless a full-scale confrontation breaks out between the Dutch and the Spanish in more than a year, the Ming Navy cannot be idle and will definitely engage in a battle for maritime trade rights that is not small in scale and not short in duration. war.

At the same time, the mutual trade between Ming Dynasty and Mongolian ministries will not last long. Historically speaking, Lin Dan Khan is not very capable but has a very bad temper, and he is best at internal fighting.

As the legitimate Great Khan of Mongolia, what he did most during his reign was to suppress, weaken, and annex other Mongolian tribes, always trying to recreate the glory of his ancestors, truly unify Mongolia, and become the second Genghis Khan.

As a branch of the left-wing Mongolia, the Kalaqin tribe happened to be under the command of Lin Dan Khan, and it happened that they did not obey Lin Dan Khan's orders very much. There have always been deep conflicts between the two sides.

Under such circumstances, allowing the Haraqin tribe to trade with the Ming Dynasty was tantamount to watching the disobedient subordinates collude with outsiders to increase their power, which was seriously inconsistent with Lin Dan Khan's strategic layout.

According to Hong Tao's prediction, Lin Danhan will find a way to prevent the continuation of the mutual market in as little as one year and as many as three years. I really can’t guess what the solution will be. Anyway, as long as we can’t reach an agreement, the traditional solution is still war.

Of course Hong Tao doesn't want the north and south to start a war together, but he really has no control over this matter. If it is unavoidable, there is no other way except fighting.

In order to tilt the balance of victory more towards your side, you cannot place your hopes on the Beijing camp, frontier troops and garrison soldiers. As the saying goes, it is better to have your father and mother than to have it in your own pocket. The construction of the army must be put on the agenda. "Isn't this... I'm afraid it won't be easy?" Yuan Keli was convinced of the emperor's strategic vision and was mentally prepared. But when it comes to the army, he really doesn't know much about it. The main reason is that the Ming Dynasty's army has regulations. Even the emperor can't export it into a constitution and add or reduce it at will.

The establishment of the navy at that time completely took advantage of the weak coastal defense. In addition, the courtiers did not understand it at all, so it developed without mentioning it. But so far, he has not been recognized by the Ministry of War, and he has not been able to get a tael of salary.

But loopholes can't always be exploited. The courtiers don't know anything about the border army, guard station and Beijing camp. It's almost impossible to secretly infiltrate Chencang again. Unless the emperor can completely control the Ministry of War and the Five Military Governor's Office, or abolish their power.

"Of course it's not easy to directly establish a new army, but I have a way to secretly attack Chencang again."

If Hong Tao has a beard at this time, he must twist his long beard and shake his feather fan lightly to live up to Zhuge Liang's addiction. Unfortunately, there are only a few sparse rat whiskers on the chin and cheeks, so facial expressions and eyes can only be used as props.

"..." Obviously, the lack of props seriously affected Gao Da's image and persuasiveness. Yuan Keli and Li Ruzhang looked at each other, with little admiration in their eyes, but full of confusion.

"Do you know how many factories there are in Ming Dynasty at this moment?" Seeing that the effect was not good, Hong Tao simply stopped playing with emoticons and stood up and walked around the desk with his hands behind his back. This could also add some unfathomable feeling. .

"I don't know..." Yuan Keli and Li Ruzhang shook their heads together without even thinking about it. None of them are local officials, so there is nothing wrong with them not knowing anything about government affairs.

“Taking into account the cotton spinning mills and woolen spinning mills that have not yet been built, there are a total of 43 with more than 300 employees, with the two Beijings, Guangdong and Shaanxi having the most.

In the vicinity of Gyeonggi Province alone, there are 18 machinery factories, woolen mills, iron smelting plants, coking plants, alkali plants, glass factories, watch factories, lime factories, brick factories, coal factories, leather factories, etc., and they work in the factories. There are nearly 10,000 workers.

In addition, there are a large number of coal, iron and lime factories in Luanzhou, with only a lot more workers. Behind every worker is a large family. It doesn’t need to be many. If multiplied by three, the number will be close to 200,000. To provide food, drink, housing and transportation for these 200,000 people, it would take almost twice as many people.

In fact, half of the border residents who entered the customs entered factories and surrounding shops. According to statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs and Jinyiwei, the population of Tianjinwei has increased more than seven times in five years. The Navy Yamen is located there. Don't you feel it? "

Before getting into the formal topic, Hong Tao first settled the account with his fingers. It's really hard for him. Being able to keep a close count of the newly built factories in recent years shows that he really cares about it. It also shows that Jinyiwei has been reorganized and his work is indeed on the right track. He has found out the news clearly.

(End of this chapter)