Chapter 582 The gap in maritime power

In addition to the court's allocation, where does the army's income come from? Li Jin didn't have a good idea for this. His understanding was limited to the more "traditional" methods of eating empty pay, drinking soldiers' blood, and reselling military supplies.

However, methods like this can only enrich the pockets of military leaders and have no effect on improving the combat capabilities of the troops. It is obviously not the method Zhang Xin mentioned.

From Li Jin's point of view, he could not imagine the operation method of gaining profits by launching foreign wars. After all, the wars that Ming Dynasty participated in in recent years did not have many outstanding achievements, and their own losses were often huge, which was not even possible.

There was no income, but the taxes the court collected from the people for the war were more and more every year.

Li Jin wanted to continue asking, but Zhang Xin obviously had no interest in continuing to discuss this issue with him, so he ordered: "Someone, send General Li back to his home!"

Zhang Xin was anxious to send Li Jin away because he had just received a message from the Executive Committee and had important matters to discuss with the military. After three months of preparations, the Executive Committee decided to go south to capture Natuna.

The time is ripe for the Islands to start launching this combat plan.

After the Qiongbei War ended last year, the Executive Committee and the Military Commission selected the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea as the next place to move. The reconnaissance fleet led by Wang Tom successfully completed the attack on the Natuna Islands in January this year.

We conducted reconnaissance on the Tuna Islands and surrounding waters, and also made contact with the security agents lurking on the islands to obtain first-hand intelligence information.

However, Wang Tom and Lin Nan did not get much rest time after returning from Nanyang. Just over a month later, they met again in Danzhou, Qiongbei, and participated in the investigation of the rebellion case here. Now as one of the main criminals

Zhao Ye has not yet been captured. The Executive Committee has ordered the main navy fleet currently stationed in Qiongzhou Strait to complete supplies in Danzhou Bay and be ready to set off at any time. As for what supplies this fleet needs to replenish in Danzhou, Zhang Xin must

We need to communicate well with the military first.

"I'm really working hard. I'm not even halfway through my vacation, and I'm going to be busy again." Although Tom Wang was full of complaints, his expression looked eager to try.

Haihan wants to cross the sea to attack the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea. This combat mission can be said to be the main force of the navy, and it is reasonable for Wang Tom, as the commander of the navy, to personally lead the army to the south. The defense of the Natuna Islands

The intensity is not strong. It can be said that this battle south is an opportunity to improve his record. Wang Tom, who wants to become a famous general, will certainly not give up fighting just for his vacation.

Zhang Xin naturally understood Wang Tom's mentality, and shook his head helplessly and said: "Commander Wang, please stop showing off. I know you are a busy man. Hurry up and make statistics of the supplies the military needs, so that I can give them to you."

Organize supply.”

Tom Wang nodded and said, "I'll get it done as soon as possible, and I'll give you the list tomorrow at the latest!"

At the same time that Danzhou received the notice, the naval fleet located in the Qiongzhou Strait was also being redeployed. One of the two "Dignity-class" hybrid warships will serve as the flagship of the Southern Expedition Fleet, leading some of the navy's warships southward, while the other

The ship will continue to sit in the Qiongzhou Strait to prevent the situation from changing.

In view of the information obtained from the previous reconnaissance, the size of the Southern Expedition Fleet organized by the Military Commission is not too exaggerated. There is one "Dignity Class", two "Exploration Class", and four "Exploration Class" ships, a total of seven combat ships.

, there are also four "Exploration-class" modified troop carriers and logistics supply ships, the entire fleet totals eleven ships, and there are about a thousand combat personnel and crew members. Such a fleet is going to attack a country that does not even have shore defense forts.

Natuna Island really doesn’t have much of a problem.

But this is not all of the fleet going south. According to the Military Commission's plan, the Annan Military Region will also dispatch part of the army. Their task is to be responsible for long-term garrisoning there after the fleet captures the main island of the Natuna Islands.

According to the previous plan of the Military Commission, the navy will not fly the flag of Haihan when attacking Natuna Island, but will occupy this area in the name of pirates and copy Qiongbei's approach in Nanyang. The main reason for doing this is

This is to avoid a direct conflict with the Dutch in the short term. After all, Haihan's several ports in southern Annan are still in the construction stage, and they are unable to deploy a large number of naval forces near Natuna Island in the near future, and Natuna Island itself is also under construction.

There is a lack of natural harbors to station the naval fleet, so the Military Commission currently only sets the goal of actually controlling the strategic node of Natuna Island, and does not intend to immediately use this as a springboard to compete with the Dutch for control of key locations in the South China Sea waterway.

To achieve this goal, the Annan militia army, whose main source of troops is Annan, is obviously more suitable to be stationed locally, so that at least the details of the island's armed forces will not be easily exposed to the Dutch. Even if the Dutch notice something is wrong, Haihan will

Bian can also push back completely and buy more time for his military deployment in Nanyang.

On March 27, some ships of the Southern Expedition Fleet mobilized from the Qiongzhou Strait arrived in Danzhou Bay and began to ship supplies. The fleet blocking the Qiongzhou Strait had not consumed much ammunition in the past few months, so the supplies were

There is not much that needs to be transported all the way from the base camp. The only supply that needs to be transported across the sea in large quantities is probably the anthracite produced in the Black Earth Port. Among the four supply ships arranged by the fleet, one is specifically responsible for supplying the "Dignity" battleship.

Transport consumables such as coal, fresh water, ammunition and weapon spare parts.

Although the "Majesty" is equipped with the world's most advanced power propulsion system in this era, due to the limitations of the materials and processes used to manufacture the steam boiler, its service life and maintenance methods are greatly limited, and the long-term use of the boiler requires

The amount of fresh water that needs to be consumed is by no means a small amount, so this ship is actually still powered by sails in most cases, and steam propulsion will only really come in handy during a limited combat time.

While the fleet was docked in Danzhou Bay, Li Jin, unwilling to be left alone, naturally did not miss the opportunity to find out about Haihan's military strength. He made a special trip to Danzhou Bay almost every day in order to take a close look at this place.

The unique features of the Haihan warship.

Wang Tom could probably guess what this guy was thinking, but he didn't care about it. Just like the Haihan Army, the advantages of the navy were not something that a few Ming officers could just look at and imitate - Ming Dynasty

If he had this ability, how could he have been unable to deal with the pirate forces on the southeast coast all these years?

"General Wang, I would like to ask, how did Haihan build such a powerful navy?" After watching the excitement for two days, Li Jin finally couldn't help but wanted to find Wang Tom to clarify his doubts in person.

Tom Wang smiled and said, "Didn't Director Zhang already explain your question a few days ago?"

Li Jin scratched his head and said, "So this is also a question of money?"

"Of course it's a matter of money." Wang Tom nodded and said, "The money spent on building this fleet should be more than the entire Guangdong Navy."

"It's so expensive!" Li Jin was shocked. Although the Guangdong Navy's combat power was relatively poor, it still spent a lot of money. Even an ordinary warship with two to three hundred materials would cost two to three thousand taels of silver.

There are hundreds of ships, and the ships under the entire Guangdong Navy combined, there are hundreds of large and small ships. If Wang Tom said this, isn't this fleet worth at least two to three hundred thousand taels of silver?

Seeing his disbelieving look, Wang Tom pointed to a nearby "Exploration-class" warship on the dock and said: "This is the smallest displacement 'Exploration-class' warship in our Haihan Navy. Although it is the same size as the Ming Dynasty Navy,

The big fortune ship is similar, but the cost is much higher. Look at the main mast on the ship. Is it much higher than the fortune ship you have seen before?"

"Indeed, I wanted to ask when I first saw it. This mast is so high. Isn't it afraid of breaking in strong winds? Or will it affect the balance of the ship in the wind and waves?" Li Jin then asked.

Wang Tom smiled and said: "We have already thought of the two questions you asked when we designed this ship, so we used some special processes to make the mast. If Daming's shipyard built such a tall mast,

It is very likely that the problem you are worried about will occur, but the mast on our ship will definitely not happen. This mast alone is worth at least one thousand taels of silver!"

During the manufacturing process of the mast, a hollow metal tube is used to reduce weight and enhance toughness. This process sounds simple, but the actual manufacturing technology is indeed beyond the control of the current Daming Shipyard. Of course, Wang Tom’s quotation is also slightly exaggerated.

It is the cost of the mainmast of the largest "Dignity-class" battleship at present, which is almost the price he mentioned. And the specification of the mast is more than twice as thick as that of the "Exploration-class", and a full one-third higher.

First, the manufacturing process is much more difficult.

Li Jin was secretly shocked when he heard this. Although he didn't know whether Wang Tom's words were true or false, judging from the achievements of the Haihan Navy in naval battles in recent years, their warships should have great advantages in performance, and

A taller mast can be hung with a larger sail, resulting in greater thrust and higher speed. Therefore, what Wang Tom said is probably true. After all, this can reasonably explain why the Haihan Navy has been

There has never been a defeat.

Wang Tom pointed to the row of clearly visible gun windows on the side of the ship and said: "This kind of warship is usually equipped with about ten cannons. Each cannon is worth five hundred taels of silver. This is another five thousand taels, just one.

The mast plus the cannons on the ship are six thousand taels. The entire ship is fully built, and the cost is at least this amount."

As Wang Tom spoke, he stretched out a finger and waved it in front of Li Jin's eyes. Li Jin swallowed and said, "One...ten thousand taels?"

Wang Tom nodded and said: "Don't think it's too expensive. This is just the most basic cost. For example, we require the installation of fine steel rams on the bow, the further strengthening of the keel on the hull, and the installation of a steering wheel transmission system for easy steering, and so on.

There is plenty of money to spare. Add in the cost of training sailors, combat gunners, and musketeers, and the cost of a ship must be around 20,000!"

"Hiss..." Li Jin couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. Although he was not a member of the navy, he still knew a little about the situation of the navy. Like a general state-level water village, it was equipped with warships and

A package of sailors cannot be sold for 20,000 taels of silver. And one of the smallest warships in the Haihan fleet only costs this amount. How can such combat effectiveness be equal?

The data mentioned by Wang Tom are naturally bragging without paying taxes. In fact, the "Exploration Class" is the earliest model to be developed and built after time travel. Due to the maturity of the technology and the number of construction orders, the current cost is already quite low.

Well, the export model that started at the end of last year only costs about 10,000 taels, including the monkey version of the cannon. Both Annan and Fujian have already placed orders at the Sanya Shipyard. In the words of the Ministry of Shipping Yue Zhiyun

For example, a large part of the construction funds for the military's third "Dignity-class" warship this year will come from profits from exporting warships.

Naturally, Li Jin, a newly arrived general, could not understand these inside stories. After hearing this, he was also silently calculating. The smallest warship cost ten thousand to twenty thousand, and the largest ship was estimated to be worth one hundred thousand taels.

, the man surnamed Wang said that this fleet can defeat the entire Guangdong Navy, he is not bragging!

Tom Wang continued: "Don't think that you won't need money after building the ship. These ships have to float on the water and cost money every moment. If you want to go on a long voyage, the money will be like running water."

"Then...how much will it cost?" Li Jin didn't have a clear idea about this.

"Well, to use an analogy..." Wang Tom pointed to the stern of the ship and said: "As wide as the waves raised by the stern are, use copper coins to cover them. As far as the sailing distance on the sea, use copper coins to cover them. It will probably cost this

Lots of money!”

"This is indeed more expensive than the army on land!" Li Jin could no longer calculate how much money it was. Anyway, it was much larger than what he could count. He had nothing else to say except sighing.

But there was still an unexplained question in his mind: "How can you afford to maintain such a huge fleet?"

"Director Zhang said that the other day, big investment will bring big benefits!" Wang Tom responded with a smile: "If the army can only spend money and cannot bring benefits, then who will keep throwing money into it? Well,

By the way, I forgot about the Ming Dynasty."

Regarding Wang Tom's joke, Li Jin could only pretend not to hear it. He himself was a general who had led troops, and of course he knew the current situation of the Ming army. Except for a small number of elite troops directly commanded by the imperial court, the local

Almost all the garrison armies in the country have rotted away, and there is no combat effectiveness at all. The establishment of garrison armies in many places has existed in name only, and is not even as effective as the militia organized by local gentry.

As for comparing it to a super-standard "militia group" like the Haihan Militia, let alone that, the strength of the two sides is indeed very different.
Chapter completed!