Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1097 Camp ([-])

"Is your country's navy really unable to dispatch?" On March 1656, 3, Baron Raul Bravo was sitting in the Navy's No. In the officer's dining room of the newly commissioned battleship "Fubo Wanli" of the First Fleet, they had dinner together.

The "Fubo Wanli" was built at the Dayuhe Naval Shipyard, and the "Ambition" (built at the Modern Special Shipyard), which was launched at the same time, is the ninth and tenth battleship of the "August 11th" class. ship.These ten battleships, together with the three-deck battleship "Executive Committee" (built in Zhenhai Shipyard), which just entered service at the beginning of this year and is currently training in the Xingnan Port area, will have 24 battleships in the local navy of the Republic of China on the East Coast. , In addition, there are 10 "Madao" class escort gunboats and [-] auxiliary logistics ships. In terms of the scale of professional navy, it ranks first in the New World.

Even in the world, few people can match the scale of such a professional fleet, except England and the Netherlands, which are currently dismantling their warships (these two countries forced a lot of civilian ships to be used as warships during the war, and now they are disarming due to financial difficulties ), only Spain and Portugal can compare—of course, the warships of these countries are all sail warships, and when they meet 11 sail hybrid battleships on the east coast (with more than 700 The body is one size larger than the same type of European ships), and the disadvantage is extremely great when the strong formation is formed.

Such an elite navy naturally consumes countless military expenditures every year.According to the data given by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after cutting a large amount of "unnecessary training funds"-this is the disastrous consequence of the army's faction dominating the military department. Although they have always been close to the navy, they may not be happy to see success in this matter-the annual expenditure of the navy is still maintained at more than 140 million yuan, almost twice that of the army.

It is precisely because of this that after two years of silence, the civil servants and the army rarely reached an agreement on the navy's military expenditures, that is, they agreed that in addition to continuing to send frigates to escort the merchant fleet (at the same time, the frigate's cabin is also tragic. I have loaded a lot of goods locally, part-time merchant ship), and I have to rely on myself to subsidize my family—although it is difficult to go to such sensitive waters as the Caribbean Sea in a few years, then it is always possible to make a fortune by going to the coast of the Indian Ocean, right?For example, the coast of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula (areas outside the territory of the Ottoman Empire) and even the coast of India do not require you to rob gold and silver (in fact, the Executive Committee does not encourage everyone to rob gold and silver), but rob more supplies, slaves, etc. It will increase the supply of goods in the country, reduce the degree of inflation, and make it easier for the executive committee to issue more banknotes, right?In this way, won't the navy's military expenses be enough?Such an elite and powerful navy, what does it look like to train at home all day long, go, bring a small number of army soldiers, and go grab the natives for me, otherwise, the second ship of the "Executive Committee" class three-deck battleship ( When will the "East Coast Man" and the third ship ("Liberator") turn from drawings into real objects?Everything depends on yourself!

Naturally, there is no room for opposition from the top and bottom of the navy to these suggestions (or threats?) of the executive committee and the military department, so everyone can see that since January, the Ministry of the Navy has frequently issued orders to move some of the capital ships of the First Fleet, The frigates were transferred to Xinhua Island in batches to join the battle order of the Second Fleet.They will be under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guo Zili, together with the third battalion of the army (recently filled with recruits, the whole battalion has more than 1450 people, and the recruiting place is Zhenhai County), and they plan to start the traditional Swahili mission on the coast of East Africa. If you want to make extra money within your sphere of influence, otherwise the Navy may not be able to uncover the pot after a while.

Baron Raul Bravo, the Spanish diplomatic envoy, has lived on the east coast for many years. Although he does not know the specific strength and military expenditure of the navy on the east coast, he also vaguely knows that they are quite large in scale, well-equipped and trained frequently. It is far superior to the navies of the countries in the Old Continent, and its combat effectiveness is naturally far superior to that of the navies of other countries. This is a small but capable sea force. With its geographical advantage, it is enough to gallop across the South Atlantic Ocean.

Therefore, when the colonies of the Kingdom of Spain are threatened by war today, as a loyal Peninsular, Baron Raul Bravo is naturally anxious to seek help from his neighbor on the east coast, which people love and hate, to see if they have the possibility He dispatched the fleet to save the Spanish mainland (New Granada), New Spain and other places from the fire and water—of course, his actions were ordered by the governor—that’s why he asked this question just now.

"Have the English attacked Hispaniola?" Qiang Quansheng asked softly while eating a seafood fried rice made of rice and soft fish, "Or are they planning to attack Cuba?"

"They planned to attack Santo Domingo (the eastern half of Hispaniola), but we repelled them, and now their fleet is based on Jamaica Island, and they are calling around British, French, and Dutch pirates. Strong. That damned William Payne, I heard that he was from a noble family, and he actually colluded with pirates who made a bad statement. Such a person will only make people feel disgusting. Your Excellency the Governor is worried that the British will attack our luck. Silver Fleet, so, he very much hopes that your country’s navy can assist. Now the only one who can escort us in the Caribbean Sea and make the British fearful is your country’s navy?” Baron Bravo said clumsily Holding his chopsticks, he said anxiously that in order to better make friends with officials on the east bank, he not only worked hard to learn Chinese in the past few years, but also often went to the east restaurant to get used to the eating habits of the people on the east bank.

"Isn't the departure time of the treasure fleet top secret? Although there are only a few ports of departure, if the English want to find out, it's not that simple, right? Do they dare to send people to the shore?" Disapprovingly said: "Please forgive me, Your Excellency, your country's navy should carry out a large-scale rectification, not only the fleet at sea, but also the coastal defense batteries in the port. The battle in Jamaica last year explained everything. The British squadron led by En is not very strong, and its tactics are also very clumsy, but the performance of your country's coastal defense batteries is even worse. The literacy is extremely low, and it didn’t cause much damage to the British at all, so they easily attacked the shore and eventually occupied the whole island. This is really ridiculous. How did your country’s naval fortress fight? If it were me The officers and soldiers of the fort on the Great East Coast will definitely beat these British guys to the bottom of the sea. Your people, the usual training is completely neglected, and the will to fight is also very suspicious. This is what should be rectified."

Qiang Quansheng's unceremonious words made Baron Bravo a little embarrassed, but he didn't dare to show someone Qiang's face at this time and here, so he could only explain: "It's not a day or two for the colonial troops to lose their morale. , We have been rectifying these years, but it is difficult to see results in a short period of time. However, our local fort soldiers have been tested for a long time, and their combat quality is not bad. Although the artillery of the fort is a bit old, but this time your country Among the materials delivered to us, a considerable part is coastal anti-corruption artillery, and we plan to install them in Cadiz and other areas, and we will definitely be able to curb the ambitions of the British."

Baron Bravo was a little guilty when he said this, because he was not on the peninsula most of the time, so he was not very clear about the local situation.However, based on what he saw when he returned to his hometown and passed through the city of Santa Cruz in Tenerife a few years ago, the local defenders seemed very loose and lazy. It is indeed a hidden danger.What's more, the self-confidence of the British has indeed swelled considerably in the past two years. Robert Blake, who was famous in the Anglo-Dutch War, did not attack Barbary on the coast of North Africa (which belongs to the Ottoman Empire in name, but is actually divided by warlords) last year. Pirates?

These pirates have always been very arrogant. They fought for the Ottoman Sultan (in exchange for the Sultan's acquiescence in their autonomy), and at the same time robbed the merchant ships of the Mediterranean Christians. In the early years, they even plundered the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. It is not a soft persimmon .But they were taught a lesson by the British fleet led by Black. Those crazy British rushed straight into the anchorage of Japanese pirates under the firepower of the coastal defense turrets, destroyed many warships in one fell swoop, and shocked the world.

"But that must be because those Barbary pirates are too weak, right? If it were replaced by the Spanish Royal Navy with firm beliefs and high professionalism, it would definitely not behave so ugly." Baron Raul Bravo comforted himself , but he is still very worried about the combined English-Pirate fleet entrenched in Jamaica. After all, these people are threatening the lifeblood of the Spaniards. "I hope that your country will help our country for the sake of the smooth implementation of the land-for-loan agreement in the Southern Cone. Now we are fighting against three countries. There must be no problems with the silver fleet, otherwise the finances will be very difficult."

Qiang Quansheng didn't say anything when he heard the words. He first waved for an orderly, rinsed his mouth with a glass of water, and then said: "What price does your country plan to pay? Is it the market or the land? Our navy cannot dispatched, because this will greatly deteriorate the external environment of our country, we have to get something. I know this is not a trivial matter, but unfortunately Secretary Balboa has left. If Your Excellency the Baron cannot self-determination, please contact Lima as soon as possible or even Madrid. If your country is willing to pay commercial interests, then we are more interested in the New Spain market. After all, most of the people we deal with are Peruvian businessmen, and there are not many gentlemen from New Spain. If your country is willing to acquiesce Our businessmen have entered the rich New Spain. We are not unwilling to consider clearing up the pirates in the Caribbean; and if your country is willing to pay for the land, then we need the grasslands south of the Rio Negro in Patagonia, how about it? Please think about it carefully, this is not a trivial matter."

(End of this chapter)