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Chapter 921 The Navy’s Problem

"Tsk, lack of humor, very boring. Are Zhu Haiou and Wang Sheng here?"

He wanted to teach Sun Yuanhua another lesson on the meaning of the symbol of infinity, but the student ran away first. Hong Tao felt depressed because he had so much knowledge but had nowhere to vent it. He had no choice but to pick up two naval memorials, calm down, and continue working.

The Navy Chief of Staff Zhu Haiou and the Navy Admiral Wang Sheng had been waiting outside the hall for a while. After they came in, they immediately showed the obvious difference between military officers and civilian officials. There was no unnecessary clichés, and they reported directly on their work, mostly with data, and were dry.

Hong Tao listened with great interest. As the data became more and more detailed, he had a general idea in his mind without any embellishment or explanation.

With the withdrawal of the Spaniards and the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, there were no targets in the entire Asian waters that needed to be dealt with by the navy except Portugal and the Netherlands, and the past few years were relatively stable.

But stability is not a compliment to the military. Without war, there is no investment, no expansion and development, and the military can only survive. Therefore, the navy racked its brains and thought hard to find a place to use its military power.

As a result, the pirates in the Southeast Asian waters were miserable and became targets for the navy to train its troops. From Xiaoliuqiu in the east to Batavia in the south and the Andaman Sea in the west, wherever there were large-scale pirates, there would be warship formations of the Ming Navy.

Southeast Asia has many islands and has always been a paradise for pirates. It is no exaggeration to say that there are so many pirates. They often disguise themselves as fishing boats and merchant ships and enter relatively busy ports to look for targets. Once they are sure, they will notify their accomplices to ambush in the sea along the way and rush in to kill and rob.

However, no matter how vicious the pirates were, they were still far inferior to the regular army. The main reason why they continued to exist was that no one in the surrounding countries had the ability or was unwilling to spend a lot of effort to control them. After being targeted by the Ming Navy, there was only one outcome: destruction.

No matter how slick the pirates are, they are no match for the systematic naval intelligence agencies. Disguise is useless, and the navy has developed several tactics to lure the pirates into the trap.

For example, they would pretend to be sea merchants and fish in major ports, hoping that someone would take the bait; or they would drive ordinary merchant ships through waters where pirates frequently appeared, lure pirates to come and rob them, and then shoot them with the small deck guns and muskets equipped on the ship.

If the pirates' lair is discovered through interrogation, no matter which country's seashore they are hiding in, the fleet will be dispatched to kill them immediately and they will be captured without further ado. Anyone who tries to stop them will be treated as an accomplice of the pirates, and those who can be captured will be taken back to serve hard labor, and those who are difficult to capture will be killed together.

Although the means were not very aboveboard, the effect was immediate. As the most famous gangs were broken up or even wiped out, the number of pirates in the waters of Southeast Asia showed a clear downward trend. Many sea merchants who did not dare to go to the waters before can now travel in groups.

But the navy was not happy. Without pirates, who would they use to train soldiers? But the fact was that pirates were gone. They couldn't just train pirates for training. What should they do?
So some people set their sights on the seas further west, which the Chinese merchants called the West. After crossing the Strait of Malacca, the traces of Chinese merchants gradually decreased. It was not because of their poor navigation skills or the inability of ships to pass through, but because there were too many pirates in the West and they were too vicious. Only one out of ten people could survive if they were targeted by them.

The local government didn't care at all, or they were in cahoots with the pirates, specifically targeting merchants from the east. Chinese merchants were the first to be affected, because they had obvious differences in appearance, language, culture and beliefs, and it was impossible to conceal their identities, so they simply didn't go.

The Chinese merchants didn't dare to go, but the navy was very happy. Pirates are great, and it would be even better if the local government colluded with the pirates. Fighting pirates alone is too weak, and it would be fun if we could fight the local government's warships together. But the Western Ocean, that is, the Indian Ocean, is a bit far away. Whether it is from Manila or Da Nang, it takes at least 6000 miles, more than half a month one way, and there is no supply point nearby, so the logistics supply pressure is a bit high.

At this time, the navy remembered the Nicobar Islands, which the emperor passed by when he led the fleet to the Cape of Good Hope. If a permanent port and ancillary facilities were built there, it would perfectly solve the problem of the Ming Navy entering the Western Ocean.

"I have read the navy's memorial. The proposal to split the South China Sea Fleet into two and add a Western Fleet is a good one. However, building a naval base on the Nicobar Islands just to enter the Western Ocean is a bit of a waste of resources. The court cannot afford the money for the time being."

Should we build a military port in the Nicobar Islands? Yes and no. The reason why we should is that the strategic location is indeed important. It can not only provide a springboard for the navy to enter the Western Ocean, but also control the Strait of Malacca, killing two birds with one stone.

The reason why it shouldn't be done is not from a military perspective, but from a financial perspective. The treasury is empty now, and the harvest from the Western Regions cannot be recorded for the time being. There is some silver in the treasury, but it has to be kept for other purposes and cannot be given to the navy to build a base.

"…Your Majesty, what do you think the navy should do to get permission to build a port?"

Zhu Haiou was a person who liked to use his brain, and he thought hard after hearing this. But Wang Sheng was not a person who was good at thinking. Since the emperor did not deny the plan to build a port, it meant that there was a way. What were you thinking about? It would be much easier to just ask directly. It was also safe. He would do whatever the emperor said, and it would be guaranteed that there would be no big trouble.

"Although the court can't come up with money, the navy can find a way on its own. You can borrow money from the Sun Moon Bank. Even if you can't get the full amount, it should be enough for the initial construction. When the funds are allocated next year, you can make up for the shortfall and repay the principal and interest."

Hong Tao did have a plan, and wanted to let the two admirals use their brains first, so that they could come up with the plan on their own. But Wang Sheng didn't plan to cooperate at all, which made the plan less interesting and educational.

"…Your Majesty, loans from Sun Moon Bank always require collateral. If the principal and interest cannot be repaid when due, it can be sold to compensate for the loss. The navy does have a lot of valuables, but who dares to use them as collateral?"

This method sounds smart, but it is not reliable after careful consideration, which immediately aroused Zhu Haiou's doubts. Well, the navy is an army, and they can't mortgage the warships. Even if the navy dares to take them out, will Sun Moon Bank dare to accept them?
"Of course, we can't use the navy's belongings as collateral, but besides ships, bases, and soldiers, doesn't the navy have anything valuable that can be mortgaged?"

Hong Tao is still giving inspirational induction. Unless it's a life-threatening matter, don't expect to hear the answer quickly from him. You must have questions and answers to warm your brain up first.

"...The Chief of Staff is good at this, please!"

Wang Sheng thought about it and immediately gave up the fight, shamelessly throwing the heavy responsibility to Zhu Haiou. As for whether the emperor was happy or not, he really didn't care. As a relative of the emperor, it was not a good thing to use your brain too much when sitting in this position. You must be a little stupid to be safe.

(End of this chapter)