Coastal landing, amphibious assault; sail into the Yangtze River, or threaten water transportation, or join with the Thirteenth Army to attack Huguang. If the Marine Corps is strong enough, it can even make a bigger move in the north. For example, it has been secretly communicating for a long time
If Shandong Yu Qi can provide strong support at this time, the uprising will deal another heavy blow to the Qing court.
The navy and marines are becoming more and more important under the strategy of leading the north to the south. Of course, if the Zheng family can put aside their selfishness and send troops to help the war, the war situation will be more optimistic. At least, Fujian's Geng Jingzhong cannot
Withstood the two-sided attack by the Ming army and the Zheng family.
The sun was a bit dazzling, interrupting Zhu Yongxing's thoughts. He took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. The sea breeze blew, seabirds flew in the sky, the blue sky and white clouds, and the waves undulated. If there were not so many thoughts, he would stand up on the deck.
Once you lie down under the big umbrella, it feels very comfortable.
What a pity - Zhu Yongxing smiled bitterly, looked at the scenery on the deck for a while, then got up and walked into the cabin. After sitting at the desk, Zhu Yongxing took off his sunglasses and took out documents one by one to review.
The government is on the right track, which makes Zhu Yongxing relaxed. He only listens to reports and checks important things. He has become a real leader, and a big leader.
The victory of the Eastern Expedition was a victory of material support. In order to support the war of the Eastern Expedition, other troops have basically stopped issuing muskets, bullets, artillery, and ammunition. Although the firearms are sharp, their consumption is also quite alarming. Relying on the current military industry, it can only
It can barely guarantee continuous supply for a major battle. In other words, the Ming army does not yet have the material foundation to attack on all sides, and this has nothing to do with the number of troops.
Recovering Guangdong will greatly expand manpower, material resources, finance and taxation, but Zhu Yongxing can only make a rough estimate based on past data on how long it will take to recover and how much strength will be enhanced. No matter what, victory is
Victory, the two armies gained their hands, which means that the strength gap between the Ming and Qing Dynasties has been further shortened.
These guys don't know how to save me anything when the war starts. Zhu Yongxing looked at the data report on the front line and couldn't help but sigh. It's already the sixth day after the Xinhui Battle, and there is still a strong city to conquer.
, I don’t know how much ammunition it will consume.
This is the characteristic of hot weapon warfare. If you use broadswords and spears, of course food and grass will still be the top priority. But other supplies will be greatly reduced. The pressure on logistics also includes heavy transportation. The Eastern Expedition can mostly rely on sea routes.
, if we fight in the mainland, we will probably face great difficulties.
According to the division method of the army in later generations, it can be roughly divided into cold weapons, mixed hot and cold weapons, hot weapons, mules and horses, half mules and half motorized, motorized... At present, the nature of the Ming army should be between cold and hot weapons mixed to hot.
In the stage between weapons and armies, we have to transition to mules and horses. Is it easier said than done?
Speaking of mules and horses, it is not just a matter of adding more mules and horses to the army. You must know that it took nearly thirty years for the People's Liberation Army to go from being "on foot" to fully realizing "mules and horses". Therefore, Zhu Yongxing
The goal set for the Ming army was to become half mules and half mules, that is, to rely on animal power to transport heavy weapons and supplies as much as possible, and the soldiers were still on foot. The number of cavalry units that should be attached was also reduced to a minimum, and could only serve as scouts.
and the role of messengers.
Even this simplest "mule-horse transformation" cannot be realized immediately by the Ming army. Financial resources are one aspect, and how to gather enough mules and horses is another big difficulty. Gathering all the mules and horses among the people,
Farming efficiency will inevitably decrease, and the grain output will not be able to guarantee civilian and military needs. Therefore, the only way left is to purchase from outside, plus the Tibetan and Mongolian horses traded in the tea horse market.
In the final analysis, it comes back to finance and money. As long as you have money, you can buy what you don't have and expand the scale of production.
Buy horses, build docks, immigrate to Sichuan, build more factories, expand the army...everywhere is asking for money. Even if maritime trade is booming, even if national debts and grain bonds are issued, even if Zhu Yongxing tries his best, this life can still pass.
It has to be tight.
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Yongxing wrote and approved the full funding for Sichuan immigration and the expansion of the army. After thinking and calculating, he made changes in the amount of the Yazhou arsenal. You can't make a fat man with one bite, but you can make ammunition.
Let’s talk about making guns and cannons later!
The cabin door knocked softly, and Zhu Yongxing responded. Duan Zhiying, the captain of the "Hailong", walked in. After saluting, he asked Zhu Yongxing if he wanted to rest ashore. He would soon be arriving at Guangzhou Bay (today's Zhanjiang).
With Zhu Yongxing as a distinguished prince, the fleet did not move very fast and stayed close to the coastline, trying to ensure safety first.
Zhu Yongxing pondered for a moment and ordered the fleet to continue sailing. He was not that delicate yet. Since he was not seasick, he should hurry up and reach Guangzhou as soon as possible!
Duan Zhiying handed down the order and was called into the cabin by Zhu Yongxing to answer his questions.
"In this naval battle, both the British and the French dispatched warships to assist. In terms of tactics, what do you think of the South China Sea Fleet or you personally?" Zhu Yongxing and Duan Zhiying are old acquaintances. They have seen each other for such a long time.
Duan Zhiying has become mature and stable, and she feels happy in her heart. She even thinks of the beautiful Bai girl - Duan Wan'er.
Duan Zhiying sat on the stool respectfully. The former young boy had already understood the ways of the world. After thinking about his words, he said slowly: "According to my humble opinion, the British are more active in combat than the French, and their ship-handling skills and shooting skills are also better than those of the French."
Good people. Because of this, the artillery equipped by the two is different and their tactics are also different."
Of course, the French could not beat the British at sea. Zhu Yongxing nodded, agreeing with this judgment, and then said with a smile: "Don't be formal, just say whatever comes to mind, be more detailed."
Duan Zhiying thought for a while and said: "British warships are equipped with more long guns and have an advantage in range. Relying on ship maneuvering and shooting skills, they seem to prefer to attack the enemy from a long distance. That is to say, they always keep abreast of the enemy ship.
From a distance, they can hit the enemy, but the enemy often cannot hurt them. For example, the most equipped cannon on the French warships is more powerful than the long cannon, but it has to be closer to be effective. "
Long range, low power; short range, high power. The nature of artillery determines the tactics of naval battles. It is hard to say which one is better and which one is worse. Moreover, the British tactics require very high ship-handling skills and shooting skills.
Ammunition was consumed. According to the artillery technology of the time, and the ship was moving, it was not easy to hit it from a long distance.
After a pause, Duan Zhiying saw that Zhu Yongxing was thoughtful, so he continued: "The Western Yi ships are huge and have many cannons, but there are also ways to restrain them. Just like the king of Yanping County, use more to attack less and encircle them.
Didn’t they defeat the Dutch Navy?”
Zhu Yongxing smiled and shook his head and said: "It's not the Dutch Navy, but the Dutch East India Company, and it only has three or four ships. As for the Dutch Navy, the number of ships is not yet clear, but it is estimated that it has more than 10,000 artillery pieces.
"
Duan Zhiying opened his mouth wide and repeated in disbelief: "Wanmen? How many ships are there for this?"
Zhu Yongxing smiled bitterly and did not answer directly. Thousand-ton ships, warships with more than a hundred guns, and tens of thousands of guns are still very conservative, which shows the huge size of the Western Navy. Just seven or eight years ago, the first Anglo-Dutch War
In each naval battle, the two sides invested almost 20,000 to 30,000 sailors and 6,000 to 8,000 cannons. In only the 15 months from May 1652 to August 1653, the number of battles between the fleets of both sides was no less than
The total number of battles in all the world’s oceans at that time.
The gap does exist, but it is not the time to consider this yet. As long as Duan Zhiying and other naval generals understand that the development of the navy has a long way to go, they should not be blindly optimistic, let alone be complacent because of victory in World War I.
"Even though the Western Yi have a powerful navy, they still have no way to come all the way to Asia." Zhu Yongxing said slowly: "At present, we still have to focus on the domestic war. The manufacturing of ships must be fast, and for the time being, we must meet the needs of the domestic war.
Demand is the main factor. If we talk about the largest warship, a hundred-ton warship is enough; if we want to meet the needs of river warfare, a warship of less than fifty tons or even smaller will be enough to defeat the Qing army. The key is to build more and build faster."
River warfare? Duan Zhiying took back his surprise at the Xiyi Navy. After pondering Zhu Yongxing's words, he asked tentatively: "Your Highness, do you want to establish the Yangtze River Navy?"
Zhu Yongxing smiled and nodded, appreciating Duan Zhiying's quick response. "The Yangtze River Navy, plus the Thirteenth Army, should be able to contain a large number of Qing troops from going south to join the war, right? The navy will go to the northern coast to take advantage of the weakness, and our army's actions in the south
It will be smoother.”
It seemed that a major expansion of the Navy was just around the corner. Duan Zhiying's thoughts began to fly. What would he do if he was transferred to the Yangtze River Navy?
Duan Zhiying left, and Zhu Yongxing thought about it for a while, and finally made a hard decision and made revised instructions on the allocation of funds for the construction of the dock.
For naval battleships in the age of sail to be durable, the most important thing is to use fully dry wood. The moisture in the wood cannot exceed 20%. This often requires the wood to be properly stored for several years to dry. In this way, a ship can be built at least
It takes three years, ideally six years.
However, in emergency situations such as wartime, only insufficiently dried wood and poor quality wood can be used to build ships. In this way, a ship can be built quickly. However, once the hull structure is closed, insufficiently dried wood will gradually corrode.
, the hull has been corroded by sea water for a long time, and is often baptized by storms, and the structural frame is easily loosened. Therefore, the ship must be docked at the dock regularly for overhaul, otherwise loose corrosion may not withstand the test of the storm, and the entire ship
The life of the ship will also be reduced.
If a ship is well built and maintained regularly, it can easily survive fifty years. Therefore, it is crucial for a fleet to have a dry dock for regular maintenance of its warships.
Regular maintenance below the waterline in a dry dock can maintain a strong reserve fleet. If there is no dry dock, to repair the ship, the ship must be towed out of the water or tilted to one side on the water. These methods can only
Used on smaller boats and very dangerous.
Good shipbuilding technology and regular maintenance can extend the service life of warships, which is very important for a navy that hopes to remain strong. Although the money was not a small amount, Zhu Yongxing was still ruthless and gave instructions to pay it.