On March 23, 1686, near the calm and quiet Yazi Lake, the weather was clear and the southeast wind was level 4.

"Chairman Ma, this is our newly completed giant warship "Umbrella", which is about to deploy the second fleet as the flagship of the fleet." At the Zhenhaigang Naval Base, Ma Wenqiang, the new executive committee chairman, accompanied by many naval generals, boarded the fourth ship of the "Executive Committee"-class third-deck battleship, the most powerful "Executive Committee"-class third-deck battleship in the naval combat sequence, for inspection.

The "Umbrella" was named by Liao Xiaoyao, the fifth chairman of the East Coast Executive Committee, who had already been deposed. It means an umbrella for overseas colonies and allies in the East Coast. It is very domineering. Ma Wenqiang, who was elected as the new chairman of the Executive Committee in the Founder Parliament, also appreciates this very much, so he came to visit after the Navy invited him.

As a civilian official, Ma Wenqiang, although he has served as a captain of the Southern Development Team, he has mostly worked hard in strategic aspects and is still unfamiliar with the details of military equipment. Therefore, when he saw the "Umbrella" battleship that the country spent huge amounts of money to build, he was very excited. He walked through the three decks, including ammunition depots, kitchens, lounges, restaurants, conference rooms, captain's room, command bridge and other facilities. After that, he still smiled at a 135mm caliber cannon and was still very positive overall.

Chairman Ma was happy, and the Navy officials naturally felt relieved. Then someone wondered if he should strike while the iron was hot and allocated funds for the "Milestone" of the other two third-deck battleships built on the ship platform, "Scavenger" to ensure that the two warships were completed and completed the sea trial before the end of this year.

But who is Ma Wenqiang? He has been immersed in the officialdom for decades and will naturally not be controlled by these tricks of naval officials. He kept saying that the allocation should be based on the plan. Now the central government is very nervous, and every penny has a clear place to go. It is impossible to break the original plan to accommodate the navy. You must know that in order to support the navy's "five-year shipbuilding plan", the people of the whole country have tightened their belts over the years. Many funds for education, medical care, infrastructure and scientific research have been compressed. Otherwise, how can they be used at the speed of the navy's crazy expansion and the long-term maintenance costs after the army are formed?

"After the 'Umbrella' is in service, there is no need to sing an empty city plan in China!" Sitting in the officer's restaurant on the ship, Ma Wenqiang gently stroked the tables and chairs full of beautiful wooden textures, and said with a smile: "There are two 'Executive Committee' class in port, so this local coastal defense is safe. However, the 'Umbrella' is about to go to the Indian Ocean to serve, which can play a better role there, and it will be of great help to our pioneering role in the Indian waters. In short, today, I saw the phased achievements of naval construction. This is very good, very good, and it proves that the country's money has not been spent in vain. From now on, I hope that you will carry forward the spirit of not being afraid of hardship, not being afraid of fatigue, and being brave to sacrifice, and spread the reputation of the East Coast Navy to the world."

Ma Wenqiang's words are nothing more than announcing the national policy of the East Coast Republic of China. This change can actually be seen in many places before, such as strengthening military presence in the Caribbean and Cape Verde Islands, such as garrisoning in Portugal (even if it is symbolic), such as entering India at a high profile, etc. However, it was the first time to speak through the mouths of the country's top leaders, so its weight can be seen. Considering the followers of the media reporters such as Pravda, The Businessman, and The Southern Railway Weekly, this news will definitely spread throughout the country as quickly as possible in the future, and then cause waves of discussion after wave.

"Chairman Ma, the navy soldiers have been waiting for this day for a long time." Li Zemin, the navy general who was also elected as the chief of staff of the National Armed Forces at this founding meeting, stepped forward and said: "Now the country's weight in overseas trade is getting bigger and bigger. Without a strong navy, it is obviously impossible to guarantee our interests. Now the naval construction process of European countries is very fast. Let's not talk about traditional naval powers such as Britain and the Netherlands. The originally relatively backward French Kingdom has a relatively close naval strength.

Over the years, it has been a new attack, which is impressive. As for the professional warships that the navy has been equipped with, this country has surpassed the United Provinces and England and ranks first. Although the strength needs further testing, it has shown people's determination to build a naval force. The five-year shipbuilding plan formulated by our country this time will invest a lot of money to update the old naval ships and expand the scale of the combat fleet in a short period of time. It is very appropriate in terms of timing and is very conducive to the next action."

Speaking of the rapid expansion of the French naval scale, it has been increasingly valued by traditional naval powers in recent years. In fact, people were shocked by the financial situation of the French Kingdom, which not only maintained a continental army but also invested huge amounts of money at sea, and felt that it was incredible that they could do this. But no matter what, the French actually built a large number of warships and equipped them with sailors and cannons. This threat is not to be covered.

The most nervous thing about this is undoubtedly the British and Dutch navies that had taken turns to dominate trade hotspots such as the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, but the people on the east coast were also afraid because the French were too crazy! They not only relied on the reality of the great increase in naval power to show off their power in Europe, such as dispatching Eastern fleets to threaten the Honaria, but also in the Caribbean Sea and even India, the Indochina Peninsula, which is also strange.

As early as a few years ago, people from the East Coast learned through various channels that the French not only sent warships and immigrants to the Caribbean Sea to consolidate the islands they occupied, but also showed expansion ambitions for Africa and the Far East: after seeing the unknown small country Kurland gained a foothold in the Congo River Basin in Africa and developed many profitable commercial activities such as tobacco cultivation and slave trading, the French were also jealous and sent an expeditionary fleet to the Gulf of Guinea several years ago, establishing a stronghold in a place called "Lagos" by Portuguese slave traders (that is, the meaning of the Salt Water Lake), defeating the local indigenous people, and officially starting colonial rule.

Not to mention that the French were also very interested in the Far East! As early as 1648, after the Dutch East India Company controlled the foreign trade and part of the economic power of the entire Siam, the country had always wanted to get rid of this unfavorable situation and sent envoys to Europe many times, which aroused the interest of Louis XIV.

In 1665, French Jesuit missionaries arrived in Siam and were warmly welcomed by Siamese people from the king. The grand scene once made people think that the entire country would convert to Catholicism. Since then, the connection between the two countries has become increasingly close, and French merchants have also begun to try to break through the obstruction of the Dutch and trade with Siam, and achieved some results. In 1673, King Louis XIV of France also wrote a handwritten letter to the King of Siam to strengthen the relationship.

In 1678, the French instigated Constantine Berkon, an employee of the Dutch East India Company. He became Prime Minister of Siam in 1684. The French achieved great success in his career in the Indochina Peninsula! Later, with the permission of the King of Siam, the French sent two envoys, six missionaries and 800 army soldiers to land in Siam and officially started operations. What they did not only made the Dutch East India Company very jealous and desperately surrounded and suppressed its maritime trade line, but also made the East Coast people look very far. Isn’t this Frenchman crazy? He was in trouble with the wind and rain in Siam without taking control of the sea. Are you not afraid of being in vain?

But no matter what, the increasingly strong expansion momentum shown by the French in recent years is really there. The Dutch saw it, the British saw it, and although the East Coast people were half a planet, they also saw it, not to mention that the traditional ally Genoa Asians ran to the East Coast to complain and ask for help.

If you want to curb the French ambitions, the East Coast people have no practical and effective ways to curb the ambitions on land, so after thinking about it, you can only think at sea. Among them, strengthening the navy's strength and deploying it to various key nodes is probably the most effective method.

"The First Fleet is the most powerful maritime force in our country. Now its Caribbean Squadron and Cape Verde Squadrons occupy a considerable proportion of new force, which is a decision made by the country after careful consideration. Huaiyuan Island and Cape Verde Islands are the two key nodes for us to control Europeans, and are also the most important weapons for countries to seize overseas interests and exert stronger overseas influence in the future. The squadrons in these two places must select elite soldiers and modern officers with international vision. Those who are stupid and upright. Once something happens, the commanders of the two squadrons must have the ability to make decisions immediately, especially the Cape Verde squadron closer to Europe. They can consider granting the right to stop the severance without waiting for approval from superiors in everything.” After all, Ma Wenqiang is different from the previous generation of leaders. His policy program is more focused on expansion and hegemony. His words are full of imperialist tone. He opens his mouth to limit who and influence whom. In fact, it is not much different from the French today.

At present, in addition to a fleet that is gradually strengthening on Huaiyuan Island, there is also a first land war battalion commanded by Naval Major Zhou Yafu. It was said that Chairman Ma Wenqiangma planned to deploy a land war unit in the Eastern Cape Verde Islands, that is, the Second Land War Battalion under construction. The battalion is formed and trained by Zhou Yafu's deputy, and takes the Eastern Cape Verde Islands as a base, cooperates with the naval fleet, radiates to the surrounding areas, and serves the overseas interests of the Eastern Coast Republic.

It can be said that the five-year shipbuilding plan is under steady implementation, and a new land war battalion is about to be in place. In addition, the additional repairs have been allocated to expand the cost of the bases of Huaiyuan Island and Cape Verde Islands. The era of strong naval forces has arrived. It is worth looking forward to what kind of answers they will deliver in the future, which has not received any unlucky investment for many years.

At noon, national leaders such as Ma Wenqiang, Li Ze*min invited the main officers and a group of journalists to have lunch in the restaurant of the "Umbrella" battleship. With the food on the lunch, Ma Wenqiang talked about the importance of overseas trade with sucrose, pepper, spice and other Wei introductions, which further aggravated the impression of a person. It is estimated that in the next period of time, major newspapers will start to build momentum with this as a hot topic, and the future direction of the entire East Coast Republic has undergone obvious changes.

As of August 1685, the total population of this country, which is now infinitely close to six million people, has reached 5.938 million, of which 57% were born in the local area, less than 3.4 million; Ming people accounted for 29%, about 1.74 million; the total number of white nationals was close to 800,000, accounting for 13%; the total number of non-national labor workers has declined steadily due to factors such as the transformation from normal to naturalization and deportation from the North American mainland, but there are still 235,000. The number of white labor workers exceeds more than 40% of black people. The domestic political situation is stable, advanced science and technology, and business.

If the industry is developed, then it is natural to seek expansion and greater influence on the outside world when pursuing a higher standard of living and more economic interests. You must know that a higher standard of living means more resource consumption. Some of these additional resource gaps can be compensated by developing productivity levels, but some cannot be done and can only be sought abroad. Therefore, overseas interests have now become the top priority of the entire country. Strengthening the construction of naval forces is naturally in line with the interests of all citizens of the East Coast Republic of China. For this reason, even a large increase in fiscal expenditure is still willing to be spared.

It is worth mentioning that today, the ambassadors of various countries to the East Coast were invited to visit together, and there were ambassadors of various countries to the East Coast. These people's moods are very different at the moment. Those who are close to the East Coast, such as the Principality of Courland, the Hona* Republic of Asia, and the Envoys of the Kingdom of Portugal were a little excited, although their country is still facing the risk of enemy countries attacking from land; they are not very much in dealing with the East Coast, such as England, France, United Provinces and other countries. The mood is very complicated. The stronger the fleet of the East Coast people, the worse they feel, and the greater the pressure they face. Once an armed conflict breaks out with the East Coast in the future, overseas trade will definitely be greatly affected. How to resolve it? Let's look at it in the future.
Chapter completed!