golden scales

The theory of sea power in the Ming Dynasty was enlightened by Zhu Cihuang, and Shen Tingyang put forward the theoretical basis when he was in charge of the Shandong Navy. Countless scholars from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and coastal areas discussed and perfected it, and finally formed a set of seas as the territory and ships as the basis. Chariot's outward-looking national policy theory.

Because the status of the emperor is already too high, the people are more accustomed to placing the burden of the sea power standard bearer on Shen Tingyang's shoulders.Even Zheng Zhilong cannot deny that although Shen Tingyang is mediocre, his reputation in Naval University cannot be underestimated.And mediocre strength will follow those young people into the navy, take charge of ships, and even the fleet, and eventually become the overlord of the sea.

On the other hand, I took so much money and hid it in the treasury. I only selected good qualifications from a limited number of brothers and nephews, but I didn't expect to run a school, fully tap every ounce of strength from the people, and strengthen myself. This is simply extremely stupid.

"We can't let those stubborn old men continue to confuse the emperor, waste people and waste money to carry out the Northern Expedition. If so much money is thrown at sea, what are the four major fleets? Forty fleets have come out." Zheng Zhilong dissatisfied.

Shen Tingyang was noncommittal about this.Even if the Northern Expedition is not carried out, there is little possibility of money being invested in shipbuilding and expansion.His theory of sea power has been widely disseminated, but for some reason, there is no response to the discussion that Daming ships are inferior to Taixi ships.

Although Daming is also building Taixi ships, the number is limited. If there is a naval battle, it will mostly be the same old tactics: big ship crushing, boarding gangs, and fire boats besieging.

With the current number of Thai and Western ships on the Nanyang interface, such a fight can indeed be won, but it is obviously backward and uneconomical.

Moreover, the excellent sea ships recognized by His Majesty the Emperor should be giant ship cannons, like a sea fortress.The subject has been widely promoted, largely funded from naval expenditures, but progress has been slow.Not only the power core is far from meeting the requirements, even the keel ribs are not up to standard.

Therefore, Shen Tingyang still hopes to have an independent naval governor's office, so that the navy will have more opportunities to gain recognition, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households will not support the army one-sidedly.

The so-called establishment of four major fleets.On the contrary, it is the addition to comfort Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong has been using his strength for many years.In the end, he defeated all the big shots in the Fujian and Guangdong seas and became the overlord of the seas.Now he is "in a high position."Sharing weal and woe with the country is undoubtedly a new peak in life.However, due to his field of vision, he couldn't compare with Shen Tingyang, a Confucian businessman who was born in the center, and he valued the strength of Iron Fighter more.

"It's useless even if forty fleets are built." Shen Tingyang said helplessly: "The inscriptions submitted by the General Staff of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion are all about the army. If the navy didn't come to mind and ask, there would be no sound at all, and the emperor Every day is full of opportunities..."

Zheng Zhilong turned around in his mind, knowing that his resume was not as good as Shen Tingyang's, and Shen Tingyang's position as the chief commander of the Navy's Governor's Mansion was probably held by Shen Tingyang.If it was before, he could still fight with money, but now the emperor will definitely not let this matter go.

"I'm too old to get on a boat now." Zheng Zhilong sighed, "If Governor Shen is useful, he can still be competent in making suggestions."

With a smile on his face, Shen Tingyang thought to himself, "You want a general staff when you open your mouth?"But not on board.Does it mean that the positions of the commanders of the four major fleets are all given up?

This kind of exchange is not like Zheng Zhilong's style!

"Let the admirals and the commanders-in-chief of the fleet leave it to the boys." Zheng Zhilong added.

Shen Tingyang was really annoyed this time and laughed: This old pirate really got his wish.The power of the central government must be held tightly, and even the four major fleets are unwilling to let it go.Who doesn't know that his eldest son, Zheng Sen, is now in the younger generation of Da Ming?

"The old man is talking about being a teenager, and occasionally I still want to go to sea to relax." Shen Tingyang said with a smile: "My Shen family takes business as its root and work as its foundation. Most of the children are good at business and can work. Confidence in being able to hold on.”

Zheng Zhilong knew that after Shen Tingyang annexed Huang Binqing from Zhoushan, his shipbuilding capabilities had improved to a higher level. There were dozens of shipbuilding workshops in his clan, which were no weaker than his own foundation in Fujian.

——I don’t know how to hold on to the power of the center and only seek the benefits of yellow and white. This vision is too bad.So what if I spare you the commander of the fleet?Can you still go to sea without authorization?

Zheng Zhilong sneered in his heart.

Shen Tingyang also looked at Zheng Zhilong and sneered: "Today, Shang is a strategist. He knows the strategy of sea warfare like the palm of his hand, and he is confident and stubborn. You want to give him advice, but the job is very hard."

The two of them met their eyes and smiled at the same time, which was a tacit understanding.

In August of the first year of Longjing, the newspapers in the south were the first to blow the wind, using novel stories from Australia to tell that the Ming Dynasty was more important than the sea. How do you know that there is no such open land as Australia?Instead of competing with Tatars and Oirats for the grasslands in the north, it is better to build a navy and expand overseas.

This was a very common debate about going south and going north, but soon someone followed this up and talked about the personnel composition of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, all of whom were veterans of the border town without exception.

If the wind blows to this extent, it depends on the intention of the court.

In October of the first year of Longjing, Shen Tingyang and Zheng Zhilong did not wait for His Majesty's objection, and finally heaved a sigh of relief. Before going to the memorial hall, they could ask for the establishment of a Navy Governor's Mansion to share His Majesty's worries about maritime wars and supervise the navy.

Facing the request of the navy to stand on its own, the Metropolitan Government is naturally unwilling.Qin Liangyu, You Shiwei and others went up to protest one after another, but Shen Tingyang and Zheng Zhilong's family background was stronger than them, and the relationship in the court was farther than them-we must never forget that Shen Tingyang was a cabinet minister.

The veterans of the army do not have an advantage in the court and public opinion, and the civil servants are more happy to see the generals fighting among themselves, and they intend to muddy the water.At the same time, another black hand began to divide the interior of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion. On the one hand, he promoted Qin Liangyu, saying that the navy was still under the supervision of the General Training Department;

At this point in the bloodless war, the army department was completely defeated.

In October of the first year of Longjing, Zhou Yuji fought a big victory in Monan, captured more than [-] people from the Xitumote tribe, and marched into Guihua City (Hohhot). Just around the corner.

Because of this victory, Zhu Cihong summoned a group of veterans from the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and also asked Shen Tingyang and Zheng Zhilong to attend.

"After Monan is pacified, the army will continue to advance north and west, and the work of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion is still very effective." Zhu Cihong first made a conclusion for the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and then said: "However, the progress in the south is not bad. And now our Daming sea area is on par with the land area, and our coastal defense is not strong, even island countries like the Japanese pirates can harass our hinterland. Therefore, setting up the Naval Commander's Office is also the meaning of the topic."

Qin Liangyu and the others had expected this result a long time ago, and all lowered their heads.

"The Metropolitan Governor's Mansion will not be withdrawn." Zhu Cilang said: "In the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, the staff headquarters of each army go their own way. Responsible for the coordination of the tri-service staff headquarters."

Everyone didn't expect to be waiting for this result, and they each had their own feelings.Zheng Zhilong secretly laughed in his heart: Shen Tingyang, Shen Tingyang, you have been arguing for a long time, but you finally became his second official.

"It's very simple for the army. All the old generals can serve as part-timers." Zhu Cihong said specifically: "The governor of the general staff should take turns, and change every three years. Governor You will come first."

"The minister leads the order." You Shiwei bowed and saluted.

"The Commander of the Naval Staff Headquarters," Zhu Cihuang's eyes swept between Zheng Zhilong and Shen Tingyang, and finally fell on Shen Tingyang: "The key work of Zheng Du is still in the Naval University, training naval talents, and Shen Du will serve as the commander of the Staff Headquarters and concurrently the leader of the Navy. The right governor of the General Staff Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion."

"Minister," Shen Tingyang glanced at Zheng Zhilong from the corner of his eye, and promised, "Accept the order!"

Zheng Zhilong's whole body seemed to be emptied, and he was rigidly stuck on the seat.It took a long time before he came back to his senses, wondering if Shen Tingyang had done something behind his back.

"As for the air force in the three armies... positions are reserved for them, and the divisions of the army will take part-time jobs first." Zhu Cihong said.

The so-called Air Force is just a group of low-level officers who control hot air balloons.Except that the funds are independent, everything else is under the jurisdiction of each army.Everyone just thought it was the emperor's childlike innocence and personal preference. Anyway, part-time jobs are not in the way, and they didn't speak out against it.

Although the sky is bigger than the sea and land, in this era, who would have thought that there would be a roaring iron bird that would dominate human wars and turn the whole world into a small village.

"By the way, Governor Shen, since the progress in the north is going well, I think the four major fleets can continue to advance. Let's put up the shelf first. But I hope to form another ocean-going fleet in addition to the four local fleets. Zheng Sen Serve as the commander-in-chief." Zhu Cihong said.

Only then did Zheng Zhilong loosen a gap in his heart, and he no longer felt sad.

Shen Tingyang stepped forward to answer the order without any regrets, but in his heart he regretted that there was no younger generation in the Shen clan who was as blessed as Zheng Sen.

There is also a reason for this. Zheng Sen's family has a long history, and he has a natural affinity for the sea, as long as he boards a boat, he is not afraid of going anywhere. This talent can only be envied, not extravagantly desired.

"May I ask Your Majesty, what standard should each fleet build its skeleton?" Shen Tingyang asked.

Zhu Cihong did not think deeply about this question, and simply replied: "Using the sum of the second and third sea forces in the area under its jurisdiction as the standard. That is, among the top three, our army must be able to win the other two by itself." of the Allied Forces."

Shen Tingyang's first reaction was the Liaohai Sea, where there is no other sea power except my Daming Navy.Even if the standard of sea power is set to the widest, there are only North Korean merchant ships and fishing boats.

Speaking of which, isn't the North Sea Fleet that was originally agreed to be abolished and become the Coastal Defense Inspection Department?

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