New Shun 1730

It's hard to say what the plan is for France at this time, but the strategy for the Netherlands has basically been finalized.

Overall, it's like closing the door and beating the dog. Tactically, besiege the city for reinforcements and seize the main naval force of the East India Company. As long as the main force of the navy is captured, everything will be easy to say.

After explaining the general outline, the Privy Council presented a detailed plan to the emperor. Including mobilized troops, warships, logistical supplies, requisitioned trading company ships, etc.

The Privy Council can only formulate combat plans and logistics plans, but it has no power to mobilize troops at all.

Even if a veteran who has been eliminated due to some tactical theories cannot take command, he can only obtain the consent of the general from the chief of staff of the corps, and then the chief of staff can actually take command, but the order must be issued by the general.

Without the emperor's permission, the Privy Council could not mobilize even half of its troops.

The emperor looked at the detailed plan, which even included estimated figures for logistical supplies and the cost of raising food nearby, and he already agreed to the plan in his heart.

However, the emperor asked: "What if the Dutch gather their navy at Cirebon?"

"Back to Your Majesty, this is also planned. If the Dutch did not concentrate the fleet on the Cirebon Sea, they would still have a plan to close the door and attack the dog. First, Batavia, and then attack Malacca. The fleet is between Malacca and Sunda During the sea patrol between them, the Dutch did not dare to leave any more troops on Java Island. They could only choose to concentrate their troops in Ambon and other places to wait for backup. As long as it was ensured that the Dutch could not capture Ceylon and Malacca, it would be sooner or later for them to surrender. However, this kind of plan has to be done even though it is useless. The Dutch will definitely concentrate their fleet on Cirebon - China cannot lose its capital, so will the East India Company abandon Batavia? Davia is not only a city, but also a symbol of Dutch rule in Southeast Asia. The loss of Batavia will have great political significance and will encourage large-scale resistance in Southeast Asia."

There is a reason why the second officer did not mention it. Three years ago, the navy of the Dutch East India Company was defeated by the Indian state of Travancore, breaking the myth that the Dutch were invincible in Southeast Asia and South Asia.

In this case, Batavia cannot afford to lose anything. Sometimes rule and power are either believed in or not, which will trigger a series of chain reactions.

The plan drawn up by the Privy Council can be said to have completely captured the weaknesses of the Netherlands, but this does not show the great ability of the Privy Council. This is not a genius plan like using less to win more, but rather using force to overwhelm others.

Before Liu Yu left, Dashun started the shipbuilding plan. Dashun now has 13 battleships, which should be said to be the strongest east of the Cape of Good Hope in terms of tonnage alone.

Although the actual combat experience is inferior, with the tonnage here and the training being very strict, there is still no problem in defeating the eight armed merchant ship-level warships in the Netherlands that are not even cruisers.

The saying of a century-old navy originated from the era of sailing ships. However, this is not only about naval tradition and naval skills, but also about the fact that an oak tree that can be used as a battleship material takes a hundred years to grow.

Britain started planting trees, and even had dedicated officials to manage tree planting. France is also planting trees, and Spain is also planting trees. Until the British completely control North America, what the hell is that? There are huge trees everywhere that have not been cut down by anyone for tens of millions of years. The story of a century-old navy ends here.

There is no North America in Dashun, but there is Northeast China and Southeast Asia. The Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, and where the temperature is suitable, there are still quite a lot of uncut oak trees. Teak from Southeast Asia is the best material for keels and masts. Although Taiwan's cypress is inferior, it is definitely better than pine. powerful.

Dashun's shipbuilding speed is not amazing, because Liu Yu had already started planning more than ten years ago and accumulated a large amount of wood. The wood is not usable directly and must be dried in the shade. The best time is three to five years. Only warships made of such wood can last for fifty or sixty years of service.

After this wave of shipbuilding, Dashun's plan to build battleships will basically stop.

Building five or six more ships will ensure the absolute advantage in the area east of the Cape of Good Hope; but to cross the Cape of Good Hope, we may need to build another 100 ships to surpass that threshold. For matters west of the Cape of Good Hope, we can only rely on vertical and horizontal tactics, which is beyond the reach of Dashun's army.

Even though Liu Yu knew clearly about the so-called century-old navy, he was still a little panicked in his heart, so he decided to seize the main force of the Dutch fleet by laying siege to Cirebon and calling for reinforcements.

He is very afraid of the Dutch naval tradition. If he fails to capture the main force of the fleet, one day a wave of pirates will suddenly come to block the port. The Dutch are really good at this kind of thing: they used this to defeat Zheng Zhilong, the British and French coalition forces, and sneak attacks on Spain. .

Therefore, with the mentality of a lion fighting a rabbit, the First Fleet heading to Batavia and Cirebon will be equipped with 8 battleships, 24 cruisers, 20 merchant ships from trading companies, and almost all fast coasts. Frigate.

The Second Fleet heading to Pondicherry to attack Ceylon was equipped with only 5 battleships, 7 cruisers, and a group of troop carriers.

As for the land battle, it doesn't take too many people.

The First Fleet that captured Batavia and Malacca only needed 2,000 Marines; the Second Fleet that captured Ceylon only needed 3,000 Marines.

The total scale of the troops is not very large. And most of the logistics can be financed locally. Grain in India can be bought. The French East India Company took the money and could easily buy rice. The rebel army in Java carried out land reform, and it was even easier to raise grain.

In addition to silver, the only things that really needed to be mobilized from the court were gunpowder.

In response, Liu Yu personally came forward and explained to the emperor why the attack force was limited to 5,000 people.

If there were more people, they would be afraid of non-combat casualties.

The Marines trained in the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong were only this many.

The Marines stationed in Korea, Tianjin, Ryukyu, Sakhalin Island and Japan were not mobilized. The northern climate was unbearable to go to the south, and going to the hot tropics, most of the soldiers would not die in the battle, but 70% to 80% would die from diseases and acclimatization.

After explaining the possible non-combat casualties, Liu Yu said: "Therefore, I think that some officers should be sent to the island later. In Ceylon, Bangka, Malacca and other places, some soldiers should be trained on the spot for future defense and suppression of resistance."

"Once the navy ends the battle, the marines will still return to the camp to ensure future field combat capabilities and cannot be turned into garrison troops."

"This also requires your majesty to allocate a sum of money. The number of training, the military expenditure required in the early stage, and the number of officers required at all levels have been tentatively determined. Please approve it, Holy Emperor."

The plan was handed over to the emperor. The emperor took a look and found that there were two versions.

One version was to train a total of about 5,000 Chinese soldiers in Malacca, Ceylon and other places to guard and suppress, as well as to strengthen control over neighboring small countries.

The other version greatly increased the number.

In addition to the normal garrison troops, a field force with Nanyang Chinese as soldiers should be trained, with a number of about 5,000 people.

Obviously, the second version was for the future war against India.

At this time, we have to ask for money because there is really not much time. To conquer Ceylon, we must seize the time to train. If there is a chance, we can intervene in the internal struggles between the princes of various Indian states at any time to gain a foothold.

The money doesn't cost much more. A soldier can support his family with two and a half taels of silver a month, which is 30 taels of silver a year. Nanyang will add a total of 10,000 soldiers. Military pay, gunpowder, supplies, and uniforms, together, except for a little more expenditure in the first year, will be guaranteed to be around 800,000 taels per year in the future. After converting the guns and gunpowder to be evenly distributed, it will be 1 million taels per year.

In other words, as long as Nanyang and India can make the emperor or the court earn 1 million taels per year, it can be considered as a return on investment and peace; if it is 3 million taels a year, it cannot be given up anyway.

Of course, this refers to the money that the emperor can see and touch. As for the potential benefits of trade flow, population migration, and easing the contradiction between people and land, they are not included.

The emperor understood that Liu Yu was waiting for his statement.

Should we print? Or not fight?

Because if we want to fight, the opportunity will be fleeting, and we need a candidate like the governor of the Western Regions in the Han and Tang Dynasties, who has the power to act according to the situation and start a war on the border.

It is impossible to ask the court for everything.

According to the plan, the field corps to be stationed in Ceylon is to intervene in the Indian situation at any time.

If you agree, then when choosing the governor of Nanyang, you must choose someone who is more radical, supports the printing policy, and is consistent with Liu Yu in terms of identity.

If you choose a coward who would rather do less than more, even if the Indian princes fight their brains out and ask for troops to help suppress, I am afraid that the governor of Nanyang will not move, and will still slowly ask the court to make a decision, which is really a waste of time.

It is not okay to choose a crab who is looking for trouble and is rampant. All he thinks about is gaining military merits, and he has no overall view. He might just pick on the small countries in Southeast Asia and turn the field troops into security forces.

The only choice is to choose someone who knows the strategic purpose of Dashun, knows the priorities, and knows the external situation.

To be clear, someone from Liu Yu's side.

As long as he agrees, he can only choose this way.

If he disagrees, then there is no need for the existence of this field force.

As long as the navy is there, the 5,000-man garrison is enough to maintain control of Southeast Asia.

If he doesn't fight India, he doesn't need to have a field force in Southeast Asia.

The emperor hesitated for a moment, and he had already made up his mind about the choice of the future governor of Southeast Asia.

After this battle, Liu Yu would definitely not be able to command the army again.

Therefore, the choice of the governor of Southeast Asia was easier: choose someone who is closest to Liu Yu, and use Liu Yu in the capital as a hostage to ensure that he listens to the court.

The closer the better, Liu Yu can suppress the other party and make the other party worry about Liu Yu.

Because the relationship between the Nanyang Governor and Liu Yu is close, the greater the risk Liu Yu has to bear. If something goes wrong, Liu Yu will be held responsible. Therefore, according to the emperor's thinking, Liu Yu himself will try his best to suppress the man's actions.

As a governor, in charge of a region, there will always be mistakes, and there will be more impeachments. The closer the relationship with Liu Yu, the more Liu Yu will be involved.

At that time, not punishing Liu Yu is the emperor's grace.

If there is nothing to be awarded and nothing to be rewarded, then find his faults first, and then do not punish him, so that he can be rewarded again.

Of course, more control is needed in the details.

For example, the navy cannot be under the control of the Nanyang Governor, and it is necessary to ensure that the naval admiral stationed in Nanyang is the emperor's man.

Moreover, recruiting 5,000 more people and spending hundreds of thousands of taels of silver can be a gamble on India. If the gamble wins, it will be a huge profit; if the gamble loses, it will not lose anything if it is returned to Ceylon.

After thinking through these points, the emperor laughed and said, "The Celestial Empire cannot allow a Nanyang company to have governance, diplomatic, administrative, and even self-taxation rights."

"But I trust the loyalty and patriotism of Marquis Jing. Let's go with the second method. I can still afford this money."

"I approve all the plans submitted by the Privy Council! As for the selection of the chief general, I already have a candidate."