Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 167 Twelve Character Policy

The local situation is indeed more serious.

"On December 1636 last year (12), two pirate ships attacked a group of coal ships traveling between Zhenhaibao and Dongfang Port, causing two 25-ton coastal coal ships to sink, not only losing 60 tons of clean coal , which also resulted in the casualties of 80 sailors."

"On the 1637st of this month (January 1), the armed merchant ship "Businessman" traveling between Orient Port and Colonia was attacked by two ships of unknown nationality. The "Businessman" escaped after being injured bravely .”

"On the 10th of this month, the port of Rocha was bombarded by three frigates."

"On the 12th, while the naval battleships were escorting out to sea, five warships of unknown nationality intended to enter the Yazihu ​​waterway, but were repelled by the coastal defense battery of Zhenhaibao."

In the Joint Staff Headquarters, first-class staff officer of the Ministry of the Navy, Lieutenant Ding Yiyu is reporting to the military leaders and the Central Executive Committee members.Recently, a large number of ships of unknown nationalities and identities have appeared in the coastal area, attacking ships on the east coast to undertake transportation tasks, and attacking coastal port facilities, intending to land.

At present, the Navy's First Escort Squadron left behind in China has only two battleships, the battleship "August [-]" and the frigate "Beagle", which is obviously insufficient in strength.For a while, there was a warning here, and an enemy ship appeared there for a while, making the two ships exhausted.In order to reverse this dilemma, the Ministry of the Navy had to formulate a regular and fixed-point fleet escort system, which was mainly to protect the safety of coal carriers from Zhenhaibao to Dongfang Port.

However, the ships of other countries who came to trade were not so lucky.The endless stream of immigration ships and trade ships in the past few years have gradually disappeared under the continuous harassment of "pirates". Their disappearance has brought great difficulties to the east coast.The first is that the source of immigrant population has been reduced by about half, and the second is the sharp decrease in the import of strategic materials such as flax, metal, gunpowder, timber, and high-quality coal that are urgently needed in the country.In addition, the shortage of daily necessities such as candles, spices, sucrose, cocoa, coffee, and dyes is closely related to the daily life of the people.

The strength of the navy is limited, and now it is no longer caring about its head. It can only try to protect the safety of its own ships and the smooth flow of various waterways. As for the trading ships of other countries, it can only ask for more blessings.

"The above is the security situation in the coastal waters in the past month." Lieutenant Ding Yiyu closed the document at hand, and then concluded: "In general, the situation deteriorated very quickly. Most of the pirates were judged to be British, and a small number It was the Dutch and Spaniards who booed and followed the robbery. On New Year's Day, the battleship 'August [-]th' rescued several British traffic boats floating on the sea because the ship sank on the rocks off the coast of Rocha. According to the testimony of the captured British sailors Said that they were all encouraged or hired by the East India Company, Morris Stone Tucker Company and Merchant Adventurer Company to attack our ships or ports."

"In other words, the British government is not leading this matter?" Judicial Commissioner Bai Siwen asked while leaning back on a chair.

"It can be said that." Ding Yiyu said affirmatively, "In fact, the British government has no extra energy to intervene in the affairs of the South Atlantic at all. Moreover, its king Charles I is just because of the appointment of Lauder, the old subordinate of the former Duke of Buckingham, as the bishop of Canterbury. The relationship with the Scots is tense, and the two sides may go to war at any time. And the United Kingdom is currently extremely short of military spending, and the king is arguing with the parliament. It is hard to imagine that at this time they will dispatch a navy that costs far more than the army to the South Atlantic Ocean, which is tens of thousands of nautical miles away. strange country."

"So, the enemies that are currently haunting our coasts and shipping routes are the ships of those companies?" Bai Siwen was obviously relieved when he heard that the British government had not intervened, "Although these companies have strong capital, they dispatched so many ships at once. Harassing our ports and transportation lines, they will not be able to bear it after a long time. Will they be unable to hold on and retreat?"

"Don't hurt the British guy, it hurts him so much, do you expect him to take the initiative to withdraw?" Peng Zhicheng sneered at Bai Siwen with a dark face, and then continued to hit him mercilessly: " What is the fundamental contradiction between these big British companies and us? Is it really because we robbed them of several ships? Naive, childish! For Morris Stone Tucker Company and Massachusetts Bay Company, which have colonies and autonomy in North America As far as the government and colonial companies with basic industries are concerned, our East Coast Republic is their commercial competitor at a small scale, and their competitor for the dominance of the New World at a large scale. Otherwise, you think they will work so hard to deal with us ?”

What Peng Zhicheng said made Bai Siwen, a former literary youth who was a lawyer, turn red and white.

"As for the East India Company and the Merchant Adventurers Company, it's even more obvious." Peng Zhicheng sneered: "We robbed their market. We made lucrative woolen fabrics into cabbage prices, and we drove Indian cotton cloth out of the country. In many markets, we have even hit the cotton textile industry that has just emerged in the UK and is still in its infancy. If this does not require us to do our best, then these two companies should simply close their doors. Do you know what an irreconcilable contradiction is? This is it! This is impossible to reconcile, and unless one side makes concessions, the final conflict can only be resolved through fierce violence."

What Peng Zhicheng said made everyone's hearts heavy.Yes, this kind of endless competitive relationship is the most troublesome.There are only so many mature markets: France, the Holy Roman Empire, Northern Europe, Russia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Italian states, Spain, and the pagan Ottoman Empire. A little more than two-thirds, the British are already furious. Think about it, if they fully occupy these markets in the future, the British will not have to launch a national war to destroy you.

"What countermeasures does the Ministry of the Navy have at the moment?" Looking at the big-mouthed Peng Zhicheng, Prime Minister of the Government Affairs Council felt a headache, and then simply asked Wang Qinian.

When Peng Zhicheng spoke just now, Wang Qinian, who had been keeping a low profile, was finally dragged to the front by his vest and had to speak.

"The strength of the navy is limited at present." Wang Qinian's first sentence made the big bosses frown, "The battleship 'Free Trade' in the Dayuhe Naval Shipyard may take another year to complete, and At present, trade is cut off, Brazilian mahogany cannot be imported, and the completion date is likely to be delayed. However, the two "Yangwu" class fast cruisers built in Zhenhai Shipyard will be completed in more than two months. At that time, our predicament may be slightly alleviated."

"I'm asking you what countermeasures the Admiralty has now. Why are you rambling on with me about useless things?" The vest got a little angry, and he glared at Wang Qinian and asked in a raised voice.

Ma Dapao, the Prime Minister of the Government Administration Council, is still a bit majestic in front of everyone.So Wang Qinian had no choice but to answer positively with a bitter face: "Our... navy's short-term countermeasures can be summed up in the twelve-character policy: observe calmly, deal with it calmly, and make a difference."

"How do you understand?" Vest followed closely and continued to ask, "Now that the country's economy is in difficulty, it is time for your navy to stand up and solve the country's problems. You can't give me a sloppy eye. In two or three days, I will discuss with Chairman Ma about holding a plenary meeting and fuck you!"

Everyone in the room didn't seem to have heard Ma Dapao's appalling words about masturbating a member of the Central Committee. They all looked at the notebook in front of them intently, pretending to be contemplative.

Speaking of this matter, Wang Qinian had no room for maneuver. He cleared his throat and said, "'Calmly observe' means to carefully confirm the enemy's strength, determination to fight, logistics supply base, international situation, etc. Waiting for a series of problems, only by clarifying these, we will not fight unprepared battles; "calmly coping" means that the current naval strength left in the country is insufficient, and it is better to keep important sea lines of communication and port security for the time being. The first priority is to ensure homeland security and stabilize people's hearts; as for "do something", our Navy Department plans to wait for the return of the First Escort Squadron to conduct a large-scale operation to weaken the enemy's fighting will and shake their fighting determination. To put it simply, it is to promote peace.”

"Large-scale operations? What is the goal? To what extent can we stop?"

"The target is the areas where these British companies have important commercial interests. For example: islands in the Caribbean Sea, North American colonies, West African trading posts, Eastern trade routes, etc. These places are the lifeblood of these large companies. Once they are destroyed or controlled by us , they will know how painful it is. Only at this time, they will calmly think about whether to adjust their hostile policy towards us. Only at this time, will there be such a basis for peace talks between us." Wang Qinian looked around the room. , and then slowly said this extremely aggressive plan.

"How sure are you?" Ma Ganzu, the chairman of the executive committee who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

"Two battleships, two fast cruisers, and two frigates were dispatched in full force, heading straight for the British stronghold, with the primary goal of killing personnel and destroying facilities, moving in and out quickly, and retreating quickly before the British reacted to achieve Our strategic purpose." Wang Qinian said.

"It can be considered for implementation. The Ministry of the Navy quickly formulated a detailed plan and then submitted it to the Executive Committee for discussion." After a long silence, Ma Ganzu expressed his opinion with a final word.

After Ma Ganzu agreed, Xiao Bailang and others also agreed, and Prime Minister Vest subconsciously frowned.

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(End of this chapter)