Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1881 Great cause and military expenditure ([-])

"Today's meeting is full of porridge again." In the Hailing Port Naval Base, Jiang Yaohui, the commander of the First Fleet, walked into the office, threw the general cap on the table, and said a little tiredly.

In the past few days, the Ministry of the Navy has convened representatives of the three major fleets to hold a military expenditure allocation meeting at the Hailing Port military base.As the most powerful of the three major fleets, and at the same time the host, the First Fleet originally planned to increase some of the share in next year's military expenditure allocation, further increasing the current 70% to 80%, in order to complete the first The expansion of the fleet and the replacement of old and new ships.In order to persuade the chief officers of the other two fleets to agree to this new allocation plan, the First Fleet agreed to extend the life of its ships that are about to be retired, and then sell them to the other two fleets at a low price of half sale and half free to strengthen their strength.

As expected, this plan attracted strong resistance from representatives of the second and third fleets.The representative of the Second Fleet was particularly angry. He pointed out that the country is about to enter the Indian Ocean on a large scale and start Indian trade. At this time, it has not increased investment in the Second Fleet. What is it doing?It runs counter to the country's major policies!

The Second Fleet is so "violent", and the Third Fleet is very similar!Although their representatives spoke in a less intense tone, their tone was equally emphatic. They pointed out: "As the situation on the mainland becomes more and more unfavorable to the republics on the east coast, the civilized lords of Qing, Shun, and even Ming are becoming more and more civilized. As it gets deeper and deeper, the interference effect of the San Francisco in the Far East on the situation on the mainland is getting worse and worse, and the exchanges between various Chinese forces and countries other than the east coast are becoming more and more frequent. In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, the east coast urgently needs to expand the first The strength of the three fleets and the two major squadrons (Okhotsk Sea Squadron, South China Sea Squadron) is to strengthen the control over the thousands of miles of mainland China."

The fierce opposition of the Second and Third Fleets was a headache for the First Fleet.Fleet Commander Colonel Jiang Yaohui, who personally attended the meeting, spoke well to the representatives of the other two fleets, but did not make them change their minds. It seemed that they had accepted a very clear order from their superiors before they came to the meeting, that is, to resolutely fight against the First Fleet and defend their own Benefit.

Colonel Jiang Yaohui argued with them for a whole day, but in the end he failed to convince anyone, so he left the meeting and returned to his office unhappy.After the meeting, he actually approached the representative of the Ministry of the Navy and a familiar deputy minister, but this old man was so slippery that he didn't show his words at all. With his profound Tai Chi skills, Jiang had no choice but to retreat.

"These guys are so ignorant! They don't even look at the current situation. It's a world of great controversy! What's the point of fighting with the second fleet and the third fleet? The First Fleet is the foundation of the country, let alone the South China Sea Squadron, the Caribbean Sea Squadron and the Cape Verde Squadron are weak, and have a certain influence on the local situation, but they are far from a dominant position. You know when you are good, and now you have to share the money, everyone is like an iron cock, what a bunch of bastards!" Colonel Jiang Yaohui lit a pipe for himself, sat on a sofa in the office with his legs crossed, and said angrily Said.

The adjutant lightly made a pot of tea, then stood opposite Jiang Yaohui, and said softly: "Commander, this fight for funds will definitely not be smooth sailing. In the past, when we were in the Third Fleet, every time we fought for military expenses, we would not Are you also arguing with people from the First Fleet? At that time, Commander Li Zemin Li of the First Fleet was regarded as the number one villain by our Third Fleet. Now the situation has changed, and we have come to the First Fleet. Naturally, he became a villain in the eyes of others."

"Hehe, you bastard, you're right. I've been arguing with the First Fleet for more than ten years, and I haven't gotten any advantage. I hope the Ministry can continue to support us this time. Don't let that The two fleets have taken advantage." Colonel Jiang Yaohui said with a smile while exhaling.

In fact, deep down in his heart, he was still a little worried.He graduated from the nautical school without any extraordinary background. Compared with other high-ranking fleet officials who are mostly descendants of the founding fathers, he is just an ordinary Ming immigrant. Students, and relying on their own abilities and a certain amount of luck, they went all the way to the top, and finally became the current commander of the First Fleet.

He also knew that when people like him competed with the second generation of the founding fathers, their disadvantages were relatively obvious.Take the matter of fighting for military expenses as an example, the resources and connections that Li Zemin and Mo Lieel can use are much better than him.Therefore, even if the First Fleet is the head of the three major fleets, it is still unknown which side the Admiralty will lean toward. In case a certain big boss gets through the job, he will be assigned to the other two in terms of resource allocation. What about fleet tilt?

And once such a thing happens, it will definitely damage Jiang Yaohui's prestige in the First Fleet, and it will be difficult to carry out a lot of work in the future.You know, he, Jiang, still has a little bit of self-motivation, and wants to give it another go before retiring, to see if he can get a prominent position in the Ministry of the Navy, such as a deputy minister with a higher ranking, etc. wait.

"Commander, I don't think you need to worry too much about this matter." The adjutant said: "Actually, the gentlemen in the Ministry have always been sober, knowing that the First Fleet is the foundation, and will definitely support us. The reason why they are still ambiguous Ken expressed his attitude, but he wanted us to quarrel with the Second and Third Fleets first, kill the arrogance of those two groups, and then come out to make peace. These guys are very smart, and they will not come out first Offending people, but their attitude should still be very clear."

In fact, what Adjutant Jiang Yaohui said was right on point.Although the East Coast Republic of China occupies the three major oceans, in the final analysis, its core land is on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The main population, cities, farmland, factories and power organizations are located here, all protected by the First Fleet (South China Sea Squadron Jurisdiction), the First Fleet has always received about [-]% of the funds for many years, which is a good proof of the "love" of the Ministry of the Navy for them.

Moreover, with the continuous development of trade with the New World and the changes in the European situation, the reasons for strengthening the strength of the First Fleet have become more and more sufficient: the South China Sea Squadron needs to update ships to protect the safety of the mainland, and the Caribbean Sea Squadron needs to update ships to maintain the Caribbean Sea. The trade order of the sea, the Cape Verde squadron needs to update the ships to better intervene in the increasingly complicated situation in the European continent.Compared with them, the requirements of the other two fleets are not so sufficient——

The opponents facing the Second Fleet are really scumbags. Neither the Portuguese nor the English are strong enough to challenge the Second Fleet head-on.And the only Dutch East India Company that can pose a threat to the Second Fleet, their main energy is focused on doing business. Tear your face and go to war directly.

The strength of the Third Fleet is not as good as that of the Second Fleet, and the length of the coastline they need to control is astonishing. Even if the current strength is expanded by two or three times, it is still not enough to block the thousands of miles of China's coastal waters.And since it can't be blocked, why bother?It's better to obediently save military expenses and give up limited resources to the more important First Fleet. This is the logic of the First Fleet, and it is also the logic of most people in the Navy Department for many years.

This logic is based on a high degree of economic interest. Europe, the New World and parts of the West African continent have provided a large amount of profits to the East China Republic. The piles of industrial, commercial and even agricultural enterprises have effectively promoted the country's industrialization level, and the positive effect is very huge.

Compared with this, the Far East trade is far worse.People in the world always think that the tea, silk, and porcelain in mainland China are so precious, but at the end of the 17th century when tea was just becoming popular, the market for these things was not that big.Although the market for silk and porcelain is not small, it is far from as big as imagined. After all, there are only a few merchant ships a year in countries such as Britain and the Netherlands. The European market is limited at this time, and it may not even be bigger than Japan and other Asian countries. How much, this can be seen from the financial reports of several East India companies, and it is not difficult to get people from the East Coast.In addition, the East Bank itself produces its own porcelain, and imports raw silk from Persia, Punjab and other places to produce silk, all of which disperse the demand for Chinese products.

What's more, besides earning some money, what good is it for the country to engage in pure resale trade?Can it promote the process of industrialization of the country?It is obviously difficult, and it will have a positive impact on the shipbuilding industry if it is exhausted. Most of the profits obtained from trade have not entered the field of industrial production, and have not effectively nourished the chain of industrial production, and have not stimulated the advancement of technology. Apart from creating a The impetuous atmosphere is unexpected, and it has limited benefits to the east coast, which has always aimed to build a country through industry.

Therefore, the update and addition of the ships of the Third Fleet, we should wait a little longer, let's talk about the first fleet first!

"Commander, in the past two or three years, the situation in Europe has not changed. Many people have commented that the previously signed "Hino Peace Treaty" is not a peace treaty for many countries, but an armistice agreement. Sooner or later, Europe will If we continue to fight, France, Holland, Austria, Spain and other countries will still play the leading role. Facing the changing situation in Europe, in order to protect our market and interests, we must build a reasonable maritime armed force so that we can intervene in Europe nearby The situation. As the Cape Verde squadron, which is close to Europe, naturally needs to be greatly strengthened." The adjutant said while pouring tea for Jiang Yaohui.

"In addition, the Ottoman Turkey side is not very calm. After defeating the remaining Austrian army in Hungary and gaining great benefits, Grand Vizie Kara Mustafa from the Koprulu family was coerced by the officers again and started Lead the army to advance to the hinterland of Austria. Those Ajia believe that the main force of Austria is being held back by their allies, the French, and the country is extremely empty, and now is a good time to attack." The adjutant continued: "Commander Jiang, this is Big changes may have a profound impact on the direction of the future situation. In my opinion, both sides are not ready for a decisive battle, but the decisive battle came suddenly. The Ottoman side removed the withdrawn troops stationed in Hungary, and there are still 15 There should be about [-] soldiers, of which there should be [-] soldiers, but the composition is complex, the morale is mediocre, and the battle has been going on for a long time, and they are extremely tired; and the Kingdom of Austria currently has [-] soldiers in the country. Even if it is called urgently, it often requires a The period, and the quantity and quality cannot be guaranteed, unless the tens of thousands of elite main soldiers are withdrawn from the Western Front, but the French will definitely not let them do what they want. These two countries are not ready, and they will suddenly Now that the fight is over, should our country also prepare for a major change in the situation in Europe? Anyway, I heard from some colleagues in the Ministry that the higher-ups intend to strengthen the strength of Cape Verde's naval squadron, so that if there is a drastic change, it will be better. There is enough power to react quickly, and even directly dispatch warships to intervene in the situation."

Jiang Yaohui nodded silently.As a senior military officer of the East Coast Republic of China, how could he not understand the current trend of the country?To put it simply, the current national policy on the East Coast has changed a lot compared to ten, 20 or even 30 years ago!With a population of 500 million, an annual fiscal revenue of more than 2000 million yuan, and the largest industrial production capacity, the East Coast Republic of China has indeed gained some confidence and started to interfere with the outside world.

Of course, due to various factors, the current means of foreign intervention of the people on the East Coast can only rely on the navy, and this naturally requires strengthening the navy first, increasing the strength of each fleet and each sub-fleet!In this matter, the First Fleet undoubtedly has a huge advantage. They are the sharpest sword of the Executive Committee to interfere in the European situation, and naturally have the right to obtain the greatest resource tilt.

According to a previous plan made by the Ministry of the Navy, the Cape Verde Squadron of the First Fleet needs to maintain more than 30 professional warships at any time. It can effectively affect the situation in a sea area, but it is impossible now that all countries have exploded their ships-only it is possible to effectively interfere in the situation in a region, and success cannot be guaranteed. This undoubtedly means a huge upfront investment. The First Fleet's request to increase the proportion of the Navy's military expenditure is not too much to say, everything is for the needs of the country.

Of course, the most ideal solution is for the country to increase the overall military expenditure for next year, so that everyone’s conflicts will have a lot of room to ease. After all, there is more money. Even if the proportion allocated is low, the absolute value may not be so low. Will suffice.As for whether the government will increase military spending next year, to be honest, there is still a possibility, because the current government is a little different from before, and the second generation who are gradually taking power are full of enthusiasm for actively interfering in the external situation. interest.

(End of this chapter)