Daming 1805

Chapter 427 "Double"

Shen Fu, Minister of the Honglu Temple of the Ming Dynasty, got the document of the Paris Naval Treaty sent by France as a representative, and briefly browsed it.

In the morning of the next day, after discussing and arranging other routine affairs, Shen Fu took out the treaty and talked about it.

Submit a brief report document that I have compiled to the emperor, and at the same time give a brief introduction orally.

Including the upper limit of total tonnage, the classification standards of various types of ships, the upper limit of tonnage and caliber of each type of ship, and the last few relatively important additional regulations.

Let the other ministers of Jiuqing who participated in the meeting know what happened.

Finally, summarize and explain the views and suggestions of Honglu Temple:
"Thai and Western countries set the same restrictions in all countries under the banner of equality.

"Honglu Temple believes that only the six countries of Britain, France, Spain, Pu, Lu, and Austria should be able to use up all the tonnage.

"It is likely that other countries will not complete the construction of 75 tons of combat ships.

"The total tonnage of the warships that will eventually be built for all Thai and Western national navies is expected to be between 800 and [-] million tons.

"These ships should be built over the next ten to 15 years.

"If the naval reciprocity principle established by the imperial court is followed, that is, the total tonnage of the Ming Navy's combat ships is not lower than the total tonnage requirements of the navies of all other countries, our Ming Dynasty should also increase the shipbuilding plan and speed up the shipbuilding speed."

After Zhu Jianyan finished reading the briefing in his hand, he didn't have any obvious reaction, and threw it on the table next to him:

"Then double the number of ships built each year."

Daming's current shipbuilding plan is to start construction of four capital ships of more than [-] tons each year.

Of course, a supporting number of auxiliary ships such as cruisers, destroyers, and supply ships must also be added.

It was originally planned to replace and eliminate all traditional warships in an orderly manner at this speed.

If the so-called principle of reciprocity is to be achieved and maintained, Ming Dynasty needs to have a total of 700 million tons of combat ships.

Among them, aircraft carriers and battleships account for more than half, which is almost 400 million tons.

Excluding the old ships in the past, only new capital ships above 400 tons are counted, and [-] million tons is exactly one hundred ships.

So far, there are twenty warships of more than [-] tons that have been completed and started in Ming Dynasty.

For the time being, compared with the [-]-ton warships that have just started construction, [-] ships of the same level or above will continue to be built.

If the rate of starting four ships per year continues, it will take 20 years to complete.

Zhu Jianyan requested to double the speed, that is to start construction of eight capital ships every year, which would only take ten years to complete.

The relevant technologies of the [-]-ton capital ship are basically mature at present, and the price of batch construction will be lower.

Initially, the cost of the first 100-ton high-speed battleship was close to [-] million gold bills.

The current average cost has dropped below 70 gold bills, which is equivalent to 500 million silver bills.

If directly converted by the gold content of the currency, it is almost equivalent to 4000 million U.S. dollars, or 500 million pounds, in Zhu Jingyuan's previous life after World War I and before World War II.

This is 600% cheaper than the 400 million pound Hood battlecruiser, and [-]% cheaper than the [-] million US dollar Lexington-class battlecruiser.

At the same time, the 500 million silver notes, if converted according to purchasing power, are equivalent to 35 billion yuan in later generations.

This is basically equivalent to the later type 052D guided missile destroyer.

At the same time, Daming Ankang's six-year fiscal revenue was 5000 million gold notes, or 170 billion silver notes.

Starting construction of eight [-]-ton battleships every year will cost [-]% of fiscal revenue.

This is basically equivalent to the financial pressure of starting construction of four warships of the same level in the first year of Ankang.

Because in the past six years, Daming's financial revenue has just doubled.

As a comparison, when Japan built the Nagato, the cost of a single ship was almost [-]% of Japan's fiscal revenue at that time.

Now Daming has to start construction of twenty [-]-ton warships at the same time, in order to feel the financial pressure of Japan's construction of a Nagato.

The financial pressure of Ming Dynasty to complete one hundred battleships above [-] tons is at most equivalent to the level of Japan's completion of six ships such as Nagato, Mutsu, Akagi, Kaga, Xianghe, and Zuikaku.

This is nothing at all...

Zhu Jianyan knew these data well, so he directly increased his mood without any fluctuations.

Zhu Jianyan is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, especially the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who is currently in a state of prosperity in all aspects.

Of course, he had the idea of ​​unifying the world in his heart.

No aspiring normal ruler, possessing the power to carry it out, would be entirely indifferent to this end.

Whether it is by force or peaceful means, Zhu Jianyan wants to accomplish this feat.

It's just that Zhu Jianyan, who has received a perfect education, considers the various actual conditions of Ming Dynasty and the world at present, and at the same time knows that now is not the time to act rashly.

Because now Daming and the world are in a state of rapid technological innovation and iteration.

Technological revolutions can delay war.

The technological revolution has made war feared by nations and military personnel.

Because their weapons and equipment are updated rapidly, the relevant personnel will feel that they are not ready.

There will also be fears that the enemy is ready.

On the contrary, when the era of technological revolution ends and technology is relatively stagnant, the pressure of war will increase unprecedentedly.

Because the relevant personnel clearly know that it is difficult to significantly increase their strength in the short term.

The key is to know relatively clearly the balance of power with potential competitors.

It will also cause the chaser to have an unprecedented expansion mentality when the key technical indicators catch up with the forerunner.

When the technological revolution is stagnant, the power is on the surface.

If there is another economic crisis, the whole world will be on the powder keg.

The current Zhu Jianyan and Daming's officials and military personnel all feel that Daming is not ready.

The simplest example is that the current cutting-edge high-speed battleships and aircraft carriers are of course not ready until all the old warships have been replaced.

The Air Force doesn't have tens of thousands of new planes and airports all over the world, and it doesn't feel ready.

The Army will not feel ready until it has built enough armored and mechanized units.

So under such circumstances, people from all walks of life will dissuade decision makers, insisting that now is not the time to start a war.

Zhu Jianyan even understood that if he prepared according to the normal speed, Daming would not be fully prepared in all aspects until he abdicated.

Especially the naval buildup is too slow.

So when Zhu Jianyan discussed with Zhu Jingyuan, he specifically studied the peaceful way to achieve the goal.

As a result, according to Zhu Jingyuan's opinion, the peaceful method seems to be more time-consuming than war.

But now, when the Taixi Naval Treaty was signed, Zhu Jianyan had a new idea.

The arms race, using war to promote surrender.

Let's see if we can completely defeat the psychology of the Thai and Western countries through the construction of armaments
The upper tonnage limit of each country's navies stipulated in the Paris Naval Treaty did not exceed Zhu Jianyan's estimate.

A battleship of 700 million tons will not make Daming feel too much pressure.

During World War II, the tonnage of the U.S. Navy reached 400 million tons.

During the Cold War, the total tonnage of the navies of the United States and the Soviet Union was almost 700 million tons.

After 2000, the total tonnage of the U.S. Navy was also 350 million tons.

After the Cold War era, the tonnage and gold content of naval ships have soared sharply.

The value of a [-]-ton destroyer can already be equivalent to a [-]-[-]-ton battleship during World War II.

The current Ming Dynasty has a larger national territory and population than the United States and the Soviet Union combined.

In the era when the technical level is similar to that before World War II, it is of course no problem to directly maintain the total naval tonnage of 700 million tons.

The following ministers of Jiuqing, as well as the ministers of the ministers, cabinet, military aircraft, and the governor's mansion who participated in the meeting, did not have any special reactions, but the personnel from the relevant departments came out and agreed.

Those who participated in the meeting were all members of Daming's de facto highest decision-making group.

Daming's own situation, the navy, army, engineering situation, and financial situation are all basically clear.

With the rapid development of all aspects of Ming Dynasty after the war, it seems that many of the army construction plans formulated at the end of the war are a bit outdated, including of course the naval shipbuilding plan.

The emperor and the ministers of relevant departments have already been discussing that in the future, according to the growth rate of GDP and fiscal revenue, the military budget will also increase correspondingly every year.

If the number of ships built every year doubles, it will not exceed the psychological expectations of the relevant ministers...

In this way, Ming Dynasty decided its attitude towards the Paris Naval Treaty, and the early court of this day was also over.

After the ministers of relevant departments of Ming Dynasty went back, they arranged today's affairs accordingly.

Relevant departments and companies such as the Ministry of the Navy, the Ministry of Ordnance, and the Royal Dockyard soon received corresponding notices.

The shipyards and the Royal Shipyard directly under the Ministry of Ordnance also began to recruit more workers step by step to increase orders for subsequent shipbuilding materials.

At the same time, adjust the existing shipbuilding orders, and check and confirm the number of existing docks and slipways.

As early as seven years ago, Zhu Jingyuan suggested that the then emperor Zhu Zhongliang ordered the official and royal shipyards to build a large number of large docks in advance.

The current shipyard wants to increase orders. Except for the trouble of recruiting workers, there are no major problems in other aspects.

The actions of Ming Dynasty soon spread to all countries in Thailand and the West.

The countries in Thailand and the West have no way to directly know the decision of the Ming court, and it is also difficult to know the news received by the decision-makers of the shipyard and the quantity and detailed information of the actual orders placed.

However, through public channels, I learned that Daming's main naval shipyard is expanding its enrollment and increasing material orders.

And the rate of increase can be called "shocking".

At least in the eyes of the Taixi people, it has reached a terrifying level.

Isn't it scary to double it directly...

At this time, the representatives of the Thai and Western countries have returned to their respective countries and are adjusting the shipbuilding plan according to the treaty.

When the relevant news came, the monarchs and ministers of all countries were a little panicked.

Especially Lucia's gang.

Emperor Nicholas of Lucia once again held a small meeting with his main ministers in the cabinet.

Without the need for others to speak, Nicholas himself muttered with a bitter face:
"The news from Daming that Daming's naval shipbuilding plan...may have doubled...

"A few years ago, Daming was said to have four capital ships above [-] tons per year, so in the future it will directly become eight.

"This should be the response to our naval treaty . . .

"I have a bad premonition that regardless of whether our countries in Europe have completed their 75-ton warship plan, Ming Dynasty may have to build more than 700 million tons of warships accordingly...

"Their battleships... if calculated at [-] tons, there may be... more than a hundred ships!

"If calculated according to the latest 64 tons, there are more than [-] ships.

"A compromise between the two, there should be about eighty ships.

"The entire navy of Europa may not be able to have such a large scale..."

Listening to the data, Admiral Ushakov stared at several colleagues with wide-eyed eyes:
"Da Ming...it's impossible to really build so many warships, right? Can Da Ming's finances afford it?"

Chairman of the Council of Ministers Wedemeyer said bitterly:

"According to the calculations of colleagues related to finance, obviously it can bear it...

"Even if it is doubled again, Da Ming can create it.

"Just like us, the pressure to build a 75-ton warship is actually not too great, and it is not impossible to make a million-ton warship.

"For Daming, even 1000 million tons is not impossible.

"Da Ming's production capacity, technical level, and financial level are all sufficient to support Daming to maintain the so-called principle of reciprocity.

"In other words, the tonnage of Ming's naval ships is also larger than that of all other countries."

Emperor Nicholas also stared wide-eyed, and his eyes were actually a little hysterical.

However, he tried his best to keep his expression and tone as stable as possible and asked:

"Daming's response plan, does it count as an opposition to our treaty?

"Will Daming continue to provide us with technical support in shipbuilding?"

Wedemeyer immediately said:

"It shouldn't count as an objection, it should just be a very normal decision.

"The attitudes of the craftsmen dispatched by Daming and the staff of Honglu Temple who contacted us have not changed much either.

"Now it's very normal, and we are discussing technology transfer and equipment export agreements with us step by step.

"If Daming objects to our treaty, if he is not prepared to continue to provide us with technical support.

"The attitude changes of these relevant personnel will be more sensitive than the news we get from the outside world."

Nicholas continued to ask:
"Da Ming doesn't care about our Europa countries vigorously building ships? Don't you worry about the potential possibility of being hostile to Da Ming again?"

Wedemeyer shook his head slightly and said:

"I don't think it can be said that I don't care at all, nor can I say that I don't worry about this situation at all.

"However, our 75-ton naval vessels are really nothing to Daming.

"Actually, because it is impossible for the Thai and Western countries to fully unite, the shipbuilding technology of the European countries is still provided by Ming.

"The warships of the Ming Navy may only need to have half of the total tonnage of Europa, or even only one-third of the tonnage, to maintain the suppression of the entire Europa.

"If Ming Dynasty normally completes the combat ships of more than 700 million tons, even if the European countries are really unified and integrated into one nation, they will have a chance to rival it."

Nikolai was silent for a few seconds:
"Is it true that our Lucia will never be able to defeat Daming again?"

Wedemeyer was silent for a few seconds:
"Even if there is a huge problem within Ming Dynasty and it is completely split into multiple countries, there will be one or more countries whose overall strength is equal to or even higher than ours.

"Because their industrial base, technical level, educational level and cultural level, as well as the most critical subject population, are all higher than our Lucia.

"Da Ming has completed a new round of administrative divisional reforms, clarifying the pattern of the local and overseas regions.

"Even if the current Daming Empire is split, even if the overseas provinces of Daming are all independent, the local part of Daming is still very likely to remain intact.

"The power of this country is still far above ours.

"If we, Lucia, unite with other European countries and fight against the divided Ming country again, then the other Ming countries are likely to form an alliance to deal with it.

"Then the power of the Great Ming Alliance is still far above our Europa.

"The main force within their alliance is all Daming people who speak the same language and have the same image. Communication and cooperation are much more convenient than our Europa races.

"Their similarities in image, language and culture are enough to make them natural allies, especially when facing us Europeans whose image, language and culture are completely different.

"That's why I and the relevant political officials kept emphasizing that Lucia should no longer have the idea of ​​being an enemy of Daming.

"We should maintain a clear westward objective."

(End of this chapter)