Chapter 828 Arms Trade and Foreign Policy

As Haihan's most advanced and most powerful main battleship at present, the "Dignity-class" plays the mainstay role in any of Haihan's existing fleets. However, due to the long construction period of this large warship, the construction period is long.

It was the first to use a steam propulsion system, and daily operation and maintenance have high requirements on logistics. Not every stronghold of Haihan can deploy "Dignity-class" warships.

In the military zone of Magong Port in Penghu, a special dock has been built in advance for the arrival of this ship. Different from the docks where other warships dock, the dock here is specially equipped with a large-scale dock to quickly replenish fuel and fresh water for the warship.

The conveying device can fill the ship's fresh water and coal-fired compartments within two hours. At the same time, six mechanics are specially equipped here. Their task is to repair the ship's steam power system when the ship is not at sea.

maintain.

Due to the huge difference in culture and knowledge between time-travelers and naturalized people, it was extremely difficult to train these mechanics in this era. It can be said that all of them are treasures of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Shipping. Qian Tiandun also specially specialized for this purpose.

A shift of personnel is assigned to be responsible for their daily safety.

The arrival of this main warship also symbolizes that Haihan's naval forces stationed in Penghu-Taiwan have finally formed a complete fleet. If this ship can arrive more than half a month in advance, it will be in time to take the stage in the Battle of Taipei.

The powerful ship-based artillery fire will also make it easier for the Haihan Army to attack Sheliao Island in Jilong Port.

After completing the establishment of the fleet, the Military Commission also specially transferred a general to take command, Shi Diwen, who had been on a mission to Fujian in 1631. At that time, Shi Diwen, as the military attache of the mission, accompanied Ning Qi to Zhangzhou to meet with Xu Xinsu and others

As a result, Shibazhi, a senior official in Fujian, instigated an assassination operation in the city. Although no members of the mission were harmed, Shi Diwen made full use of this opportunity and led the mission's fleet to attack Shibazhi in the name of revenge.

Nanri Island was under the control of Zhi Zhi, and in one fell swoop they conquered this cancerous stronghold that had troubled the Fujian Ming Army for a long time.

Nearly two months after Shi Diwen won the first battle of Haihan in Fujian, Qian Tiandun, who received the transfer order, left Annan and took the special operations battalion to Fujian to take over the command of the local garrison. We must be serious.

Speaking of which, Shi Diwen could barely be considered Qian Tiandun's predecessor for the position of commander of Haihan's troops in Fujian.

After Shi Diwen left Fujian, he served as the commander of the Second Fleet in the Navy, and also participated in the Haihan military operation to attack Penghu in 1632. He was considered one of the few senior generals in the Haihan army who was familiar with the situation in Fujian.

One. This time when the Fujian Fleet was established, when the Military Commission was considering candidates for the commander of the new fleet, it was natural that Shi Diwen, who was familiar with the situation, was listed as the first choice.

Shi Diwen himself is also receptive to this transfer. Haihan's current development strategy is to expand from the sea to the north and south. The Ambrana Islands in the south are controlled by Roger, and there is a possibility of war breaking out in the near future.

The nature is extremely small. The only place with a chance of meritorious service is the north. After the chain layout is formed along the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty, the difficulty of advancing northward is much smaller than that of the South China Sea area, which lacks strategic support points. As an enterprising soldier, Shi Di

Wen naturally hopes to take this opportunity to make more military exploits.

This is not the first time that Shi Diwen and Qian Tiandun have fought side by side. As early as the Annan Civil War, the two have had many experiences of cooperating on missions, and they can be regarded as old partners. After the two met, they naturally sighed and went round and round.

Suddenly, I didn't expect that we would become partners again in Fujian. Compared with the previous cooperation in Annan, the current Haihan Army has really changed from a shotgun to a cannon. The troops are strong and the horses are strong, allowing commanders like them to have more room to play.

On that day, Qian Tiandun held a banquet to welcome Shi Diwen, who had come from afar, and the heads of various departments stationed in Penghu were also present to accompany him. However, except for Qian Tiandun, everyone else was a naturalized cadre, so some things would not be the same.

It was too convenient to talk about it at the banquet. After the banquet, Qian Tiandun invited Shi Diwen to his study and asked Luo Wudan to brew a pot of the high-quality Anxi Tieguanyin sent by the Xu family, and then they started to talk.

Things got down to business.

"Takahashi Nan was able to achieve such results in Taipei this time. To be honest, did you sit in the rear and command remotely?" Shi Diwen asked sharply as soon as he sat down.

This military operation commanded by Gao Qiaonan can be regarded as the first large-scale battle of the Haihan Army independently commanded by naturalized officers. Although many people before the war had doubts about Qian Tiandun's bold arrangement,

Takahashi Minami's performance in commanding operations has indeed effectively shattered various rumors that were unfavorable to the military. Even military insiders like Shi Diwen still have some doubts about Takahashi Minami's performance.

.However, Gao Qiaonan was still staying in Jilong Port to preside over local affairs at this time, and Shi Diwen could not find him to confirm his doubts in person.

Qian Tiandun smiled and shook his head and said: "I know you guys can't trust Gao Qiaonan, but don't forget how Gao Qiaonan rose up step by step. With his current ability, he can command such a scale.

It is more than enough to fight. Even if there are any small mistakes in the command process, our advantages in weapons and equipment can more than make up for it. Of course, the battle plan was formulated by Takahashi Minami and I, and I have done all the issues that can be considered in advance.

We had prepared a response plan, but we didn’t expect that the Spanish resistance was much lower than we expected, and both strongholds forced the other side to surrender without spending much effort.”

Shi Diwen asked: "That's it for the Tamsui River side. I've also heard that the Spaniards are not doing well there, but they have been building a city in Jilong Port for several years, both in terms of military strength and fortifications.

There is no shortage of them. Logically speaking, we shouldn’t choose to surrender so soon? Are the Spaniards really so greedy for life and afraid of death?”

"It was not entirely because they were greedy for life and afraid of death that they surrendered." Qian Tiandun explained: "Gao Qiaonan interrogated some prisoners of war after the war. The main reason why the Jilong Port defenders chose to surrender was the ammunition and combat supplies in the city.

Their reserves are so insufficient that they cannot fight on their own."

This answer was beyond Shi Diwen's expectation, and he couldn't help complaining: "The Spanish are so stupid! If we had known that we had taken Penghu last year, we would have taken over Taiwan in one go. We didn't have to wait more than half a year."

Qian Tiandun said: "According to the news from the front, the Spanish city defenses are actually quite good. There are more than twenty artillery deployed on the city wall, and there are also a lot of armed personnel in the city who can participate in the battle. However, the city

The defenders have probably lived in peace for too long and have no awareness of resisting foreign enemies. The officers secretly sold a lot of weapons and ammunition, and were overwhelmed by our siege artillery. In addition, they were unable to fight back at the mouth of the Tamsui River.

The battle has left some Spanish people with lingering fears, and their will to resist is not very firm."

"That's really a big deal for Gao Qiaonan!" After hearing this, Shi Diwen basically allayed his doubts.

Qian Tiandun did not deny this: "Takahashi Nan is indeed a blessed general. Most of the response plans we made before the war were not used at all, and Taipei was successfully taken. However, during his command,

The details are still remarkable, and the results are not purely based on luck."

"Of course." Shi Diwen is not an outsider, and he doesn't really think that Takahashi Minami can achieve such a result just by luck. You must know that Takahashi Minami is a regular presence at the annual anniversary awards ceremony.

A frequent visitor, his military exploits are definitely among the best among naturalized officers. His promotion to his current position is all due to his own fighting on the battlefield. Regarding this, the senior military officials are all

Hold a positive attitude. Otherwise, with Gao Qiaonan's background as a prisoner of war, how could he be promoted to the position of battalion commander in just a few years, and still gain enough trust to independently command the ace troops of the Haihan Militia in overseas campaigns.

The battle on Taiwan Island did not consume too much energy and resources from the military, so Shi Diwen simply asked a few questions and then took the initiative to change the topic to other things: "President Yan talked to me before I left.

In other words, the Executive Committee still hopes to establish relations with the Zhejiang government first, and then take action on the Zhoushan Islands. This way, some supplies can be obtained nearby and the pressure on logistical supplies can be alleviated. In addition, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Commerce also hope to use the military to

To open up the arms market in Zhejiang through contact, as you know, the Executive Committee has always attached great importance to this matter."

The arms trade has always been a key item for Haihan's export profits. The early export of arms to Annan not only brought back a large amount of capital and labor for Haihan, but more importantly, it opened up the Annan market for Haihan, allowing Haihan to

Obtain another stable source of income outside the Ming Dynasty. Later, the arms trade with the governments of Guangdong and Fujian provinces allowed Haihan to receive a lot of special treatment in the coastal areas of these two provinces, which was completely beyond his reach.

The identity of a maritime merchant.

A considerable part of the revenue from the military industry sector has been classified as military expenditures. Therefore, the military has always fully supported the arms trade, and will also try its best to help promote Haihan's weapons and equipment during contacts with friendly forces. Of course, as long as it is seen with one's own eyes

Soldiers who have seen Haihan's military power will find it difficult to resist the temptation of these advanced equipment. Even if Haihan has a purchase restriction policy on some of the weapons and equipment, and the ones they can buy are expensive, they will still attract local officials.

However, in the past two years, as Haihan has gradually controlled several major sea passages in Guangdong, and the coastal areas have become calmer, the Ming army's urgency in updating weapons and equipment has become far less urgent than when the province was in chaos in the first few years, and the government purchased weapons

The number of military contracts has also plummeted. If Haihan hadn’t given high enough kickbacks to its handlers, the Guangdong government might have completely cut the military purchase contract from the fiscal budget.

The situation in Fujian is slightly better. After all, Xu Xinsu is rich and does not need to rely on military expenditures allocated by the court like the Guangdong government. Even though Fujian's coastal areas have become safer, he still makes purchases every year, treating military purchases as a win-win.

Haihan is a means to maintain the cooperative relationship between the two parties.

But for Haihan Military Industry, the amount of arms export orders in the past two years has tended to stagnate, and there has been no significant increase in either quantity or total price. This is not good news worth celebrating. To break this deadlock, there is nothing more than

There are two ways, one is to liberalize the sales of high-end weapons, and the other is to open up new markets.

It is obviously not advisable for Haihan to liberalize the sales of high-end weapons. There must be an insurmountable performance gap between the weapons sold for export and the weapons installed at home. This is a strategy determined at the beginning of time travel to ensure that large quantities of weapons are sold.

Weapons will not cause backlash on Haihan itself. Even so, Haihan has always carefully controlled the quantity of heavy weapons such as artillery and warships, and has also implemented strict export controls on ammunition, spare parts and other supplies.

If it is said that the sale of high-end weapons must be liberalized for economic interests, the members of the executive committee probably will not be so confused. After all, armaments are one of Haihan's important capital assets, and the treasures of the house cannot be taken care of easily.

into the hands of outsiders.

As for opening up new markets, in fact, relevant departments have never stopped making various attempts. In Nanyang, in addition to Annan, a big buyer, the Champa State at the southern tip of Indochina is also a medium-sized customer, although it is not as big as

Xu Xinsu is such a rich man, but he still makes six-figure sales in a year. In addition, Portugal also took advantage of its colonial possessions in various parts of Southeast Asia to assist Haihan in selling military weapons to some local governments in Southeast Asia.

The country of Matalan, which had a big fight with the Dutch last year, is one of Haihan's current customers. After fully realizing the gap in strength between its own army and the Dutch armed forces, the leader of the country of Matalan immediately spent a lot of money to purchase

Heavy weapons, and the Portuguese, who had sold muskets and artillery to them, visited Matalan at the right time and recommended to them the weapons produced by Haihan. Of course, the Portuguese only acted as brokers in the process.

, the leader is still Haihan.

Currently, due to the lack of suitable strategic support points in the South China Sea, Haihan can only stop at the Ambuna Islands for the time being. However, regarding the changes in the situation in the South China Sea, Haihan has not given up its efforts to intervene, through indigenous regimes such as the Matalan Kingdom.

To hold back the development of Western colonists is also one of the strategies currently adopted by Haihan. Supporting a local force to fight against Haihan's competitors is something Haihan is already familiar with, having already achieved success in Fujian.

Excellent results. Nanyang only needs to copy this method, except that the Fujian government has become the Matalan Kingdom, and the role of Shibazhi has been replaced by Western colonists led by the Netherlands.

This chapter should be Chapter 828. Since the chapter name cannot be changed after it is published, it is hereby noted.
Chapter completed!