Chapter 972 Van Diemen’s experiences in Sanya

It is a very important part of Haihan's foreign military strategy to use the cross-era black technology at hand to maintain advanced advantages in armaments over neighboring countries in the military field, and to maintain military deterrence against these countries. Haihan Militia

In the past few years of war, we have fully demonstrated our superiority in weapons, equipment and combat methods. Now we will use opportunities like this to demonstrate the speed of equipment upgrades, so as to inform neighboring countries who is the most powerful force in this region.

The boss with the highest value.

Although the expenditure on research and development and construction of this new type of ship has forced the Navy, which has always had a sufficient budget, to bite the bullet, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission agree that maintaining the Haihan Armed Forces' leading position in armaments is very important in the long term.

Strategy, this advantage can also help to avoid the outbreak of international military conflicts to a certain extent. Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands that have suffered losses at the hands of Haihan will now try their best to avoid military friction or military conflicts with Haihan.

A more serious conflict.

Equipping one generation, developing one generation, and designing one generation is Haihan's long-term strategy in weapons R&D and manufacturing. The test ship "Deterrence" that was publicly displayed is actually a new type of equipment that is under development. And

In the design institute of Haihan Ordnance Industry, the real next-generation combat ship is already in the design stage, but it will probably take a few years to actually start construction, and it will wait until the manufacturing technology level in all related aspects has developed. Haihan

The technical reserves of the ordnance industry in terms of design capabilities certainly far exceed the combat needs of this era. However, due to the current manufacturing process, it is not yet possible to build more advanced warships at a cost acceptable to the military.

However, people outside don’t know these inside stories. What they see is that the Haihan military comes up with an endless stream of new equipment every year, and almost every item is beyond their reach. If it was said that when they first dealt with the Haihan people,

With the idea of ​​imitating others, the frequency with which Haihan updates equipment nowadays is simply despairing. Before I even understand what I got a few years ago, Haihan has already released a new generation of equipment. I think

It is almost impossible to rely on imitation methods to catch up with the speed of Shanghai Han's clothing changes.

Van Diemen, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, was also one of the spectators with mixed emotions in the stands. He arrived in Sanya two days ago and happened to catch up with the invitation to watch the new ship's sailing ceremony. It was also his first time in Sanya.

Observed Haihan's main battleship at close range. He noticed that the new battleship's side gun windows were obviously much less than the number known through intelligence collection, and the Haihan people would reduce the number of gun windows equipped on a mature battleship.

For naval guns, it is obviously not due to funding issues. The only reasonable explanation is that the Haihan people upgraded their naval guns and no longer need to rely on the number of naval guns to support their firepower output.

The reduction in the number of artillery means that the number of combatants required on the ship will also be reduced accordingly, and the endurance of the warship at sea may be improved. Of course, this configuration also has obvious hidden dangers and disadvantages, because the number of naval guns is reduced than before.

, if some of the naval guns are hit by enemy fire or malfunction during combat, the combat effectiveness of the entire ship will be greatly affected. However, Van Diemen believes that the Haihan people will not commit this easily.

This is a low-level mistake. There may be some special means to ensure the safety of the artillery deck, such as increasing the thickness and structural strength of the side. However, limited by his knowledge, he really did not expect that the Haihan people's real plan was to increase the safety of the gun deck.

The outer side is covered with a layer of iron armor.

In fact, the Dutch also have warships with a tonnage similar to the "Majesty Class", but at this time they are deployed on the European battlefield to fight fiercely with the Holy Roman Empire camp, and it is impossible to dispatch them to the Far East. And the Dutch shipyards in the Far East have

The largest model of armed sailing ship that can be built is only about two-thirds of the tonnage of the "Dignity Class", and the construction period is long, far from the speed of building six ships in four years like Haihan. The most terrible thing is that this time

The shipyard was completely destroyed in the Battle of Batavia by the Malta Blue Army in 1632. The current reconstruction progress is not smooth. It may take one or two years to restore the previous shipbuilding capabilities. In the foreseeable period,

During this period, the East India Company probably would not have a chance to reverse the situation where the maritime armed forces were suppressed by Haihan.

The only thing that makes Van Diemen feel fortunate is that the Haihan people do not seem to be as militaristic as the legend. Although their armed forces do have high combat effectiveness, the Haihan people do not always try to use force to solve problems. In the world

Most of the time, they seem to be willing to sit down and resolve differences through negotiation and communication. Of course, when conflicts cannot be resolved, they will not hesitate to use the threat of force, but it is better than taking action directly if they disagree.

After Van Diemen participated in the consultation meeting on Ambon Island last time, he decided to go to Sanya in person this time to see the real situation in the area under Haihan's rule. Sanya's name as "the first port in the South China Sea" has been spread

For several years, everyone who has been to the local area has praised this magical port city. Van Diemen has long had the idea of ​​​​visiting it in person. However, the two sides have been in a state of hostility in the past, and he could not make the trip considering personal safety issues.

Comparing people with each other is hard, and goods are throwing away. After going to Sanya to see the bustling scene here with his own eyes, Van Diemen realized that there was indeed a gap between Batavia and Sanya that was difficult to catch up. Whether it was port operations or

In terms of urban infrastructure, Sanya has obvious advantages. The city of Batavia, which the Dutch spent more than ten years developing and constructing, is far inferior to Sanya, which was built by the Haihan people in only half the time.

What is different from what Van Diemen expected is that there is not a big city surrounded by tall and majestic walls, but an open port city surrounded by walled fortresses. It is just a victory in the center of the city.

It is just a fort, and it seems that the Haihan people are not worried about foreign enemies attacking here. Van Diemen believes that the Haihan people's confidence comes from their powerful armed fleet and seemingly very reliable coastal defenses, both of which are considered to have a high level of armament.

It was the highest level he had ever seen in the Far East. If Batavia had such protective capabilities, the chances of the Malta Blue Army even landing would be minimal.

But it is a pity that so far, Van Diemen has not been allowed to visit the military base or fortifications in Haihan, so his understanding of Haihan's armed forces can only remain at the level of speculation for the time being. But he heard that

At the upcoming Haihan Founding Celebration, there will be a grand military parade. At that time, you can take a close look at the military appearance and weapons and equipment of the Haihan Army.

However, Van Diemen deliberately came to Sanya more than half a month in advance, not entirely to inquire about the military intelligence here. When he was negotiating with the Haihan people on Ambona Island earlier, he expressed the hope to come to Sanya before the Haihan rule.

He wanted to visit Hainan Island, and Haihan readily agreed and invited him to come over before Haihan’s founding celebration to arrange a separate inspection trip for him.

This kind of treatment is quite rare in the diplomatic field of Haihan. In recent years, only prominent foreign friends like Zheng Zha can enjoy such an arrangement. Others can usually just hang around in Sanya.

That's it. The diplomatic department made this arrangement to the Governor of the East India Company, to some extent, with the idea of ​​showing off to him, so that he could clearly realize the huge gap between him and Haihan in terms of colonial development.

After watching the sailing ceremony of the "Deterrence", the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to find Van Diemen and arranged for him to take a ten-day trip around the island on a sailboat affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce of Haihan. Accompanying Van Diemen

The Haihan official on the trip is one of the executive committee members, and Ning Qi, who will be appointed as Haihan's foreign minister after the founding ceremony, has a very high standard of treatment.

Although Fan Diemen had never met Ning Qi before, he knew a little about this senior official of Haihan. In 1631, the Haihan delegation visited Zhangzhou, Fujian, and Shibazhi sent a group of assassins to Zhangzhou City to try to assassinate Haihan.

The envoy, and the chief officer of the Haihan Mission at that time was Ning Qi. Although the assassination attempt of Shibazhi failed in the end, it caused big trouble for Shibazhi and the East India Company. With the mission

The accompanying Haihan armed fleet took retaliatory actions that month and captured Nanri Island, a very important foothold of Shibazhi in the offshore waters of Fujian. Two months later, Damuan Port sent an armed ship to support Shibazhi.

The team also collapsed on Nanri Island.

Since then, the East India Company's influence in Fujian waters has been in decline, and it was unable to fight back in the face of the Haihan people's pressing pressure. Although the two sides later negotiated an armistice agreement, the East India Company's influence in Fujian

But this big loss can only be swallowed hard.

Since Haihan arranged this trip, the number of Van Diemen's entourage was also restricted, and he was only allowed to bring one servant. Although Van Diemen did not understand the harsh requirements of Haihan, he still said

Agree, after all, this kind of opportunity is really rare. It makes no real difference to him as a foreigner whether he brings one subordinate or a team of subordinates. If he really has any problems with his safety, it will not be the East India Company that is embarrassed.

, but Haihan people.

However, when Van Diemen was taken to a special dock and saw the sailing ship he was going to board, he understood why the Haihan people wanted to limit the number of people, because the ship was really not that big. If he brought a team of men and guards, the ship would be

It's probably impossible to sail around the island at all.

The sailing vessel arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this trip is the catamaran "Speed", which has been greatly reduced in capacity. This second-hand sailing vessel was originally bought from Europe by the North American gang and served as an all-purpose sailing vessel for a long time in the early days of the crossing.

A means of transportation, it was even used as a reconnaissance ship for military purposes. However, after Haihan gained the ability to build his own ships, the "Speed" and its sister ship "Lightning" gradually reduced the frequency of their voyages. After all, the two ships

There are too few spare parts, and maintenance and repairs in this era will face certain technical obstacles. Trying to sail as little as possible can also slow down the rate of depreciation.

At present, these two ships are only dispatched for some relatively important or time-limited tasks. This time Van Diemen visited Sanya and had a trip around the island, so Ning Qi very coquettishly transferred his most senior ship to Sanya. The purpose of showing off the yacht is to show off to the Dutch.

There were only four bedroom cabins in total on the ship. Van Diemen and his servants were assigned to the largest bedroom, and Ning Qi occupied the other. The remaining two bedrooms were occupied by sailors plus various people. Plant supplies were divided up.

Compared with the dirty European sailing ships of this era, Van Diemen was truly amazed by the cleanliness of the Speedy. Moreover, except for part of the deck, the hull of the ship was not made of wood at all. The hull structure also surprised him. It was significantly different from the Haihan sailboats he was used to knowing, both inside and outside the hull.

Ning Qi arrived late today. As the chief official of the two departments of foreign affairs and civil affairs, he has been very busy with the founding celebration recently. Although the schedule to accompany Van Diemen had been decided very early, it was not until When the departure time was about to come, Ning Qi hurried to the dock and boarded the "Speed" to meet Van Diemen.

Ning Qi's understanding of Anthony Van Diemen must be much greater than the other party's understanding of him, and he has already done the corresponding homework. If the emergence of Haihan had not caused the historical trajectory to deviate, Van Diemen would have wanted to He waited until 1636 to ascend to the position of leader of the East India Company, and then in the following years he drove the Portuguese out of the Strait of Malacca, sent troops to expel the Spanish who colonized the Taipei area, and opened the door to the Netherlands, Annan, Thang Long and Japan. The trade between the Tokugawa shogunate brought the East India Company's influence in the Far East to a new height.

However, these outstanding personal achievements probably cannot be realized as recorded in history. Except for the trade relationship with the Tokugawa shogunate, other things were basically completed by the Haihan people. And what Van Diemen said The East India Company he took over was a complete mess, and it was unlikely that he would be supported in completing these great achievements. However, judging from the original historical records, Ning Qi believed that Van Diemen was a very capable official. During his nine years, He completed many difficult tasks during his term. If he had not died due to illness, his term as governor would have likely exceeded that of his predecessor, Peterson Cohen.

Ning Qi also went to Schneider specifically to get some advice. After all, Schneider had a long consultation with Van Diemen on Amborna Island and had a clearer and more intuitive understanding of this person's situation. In short, all the homework had been done beforehand. That's enough. As for how many points you can get in the final exam, it depends on Ning Qi's on-the-spot performance.
Chapter completed!