(068)

"Come!"

Xu Xingxia suddenly shouted.

Staff Officer Liu Hanwu hurried in and waited for instructions.[]

Xu Xingxia stood up and paced back and forth in the study. After a while, he slowly said: "Send someone to tell Yuan Yingtai immediately and let him set off to Dengzhou. I will go to Dengzhou later. I will listen to his report in person."

"I understand!" Liu Hanwu agreed to go.

Xu Xingxia nodded and sat back to the back of the desk.

This time, what he picked up was a large stack of reports. These reports were stuck together, a thick stack, estimated to be twenty or thirty. Obviously, all reports were describing the same thing. In fact, there was a red label in the upper left corner of each report. There were two words on the label, that was "Navy". This shows that all reports were related to the White Army Navy.

There are three other words on the labels of most reports, that is, "Weihaiwei". Weihaiwei, you can tell that it is a famous military port by name. In fact, the headquarters of the Beiyang Navy in later generations was set up in Weihaiwei. Before the completion of the Qingdao Naval Base, the New China Navy also stationed troops in Weihaiwei, and a large number of warships appeared.

Xu Xingxia wanted to establish a white-clothed navy, and the first general base to choose was Weihaiwei. This not only took into account the natural military port advantages of Weihaiwei, but also the strategic location of Weihaiwei. Naval warships set off from Weihaiwei, can directly threaten Liaodong, North Korea, and Japan. Of course, Xu Xingxia would not miss such a good strategic location.

The funds for establishing the White-Clothed Navy have basically been in place. This time, the White-Clothed Army swept across the Central Plains and searched many royal palaces and senior bureaucrats. The money they had at least 50 million taels of silver. If so much money was put into the navy, a considerable number of warships should be added in a short period of time. Even if the funds needed to build the Navy were huge, it would be entirely possible to create a naval fleet in the short term.

However, Xu Xingxia is not particularly clear about the specific development ideas of the navy. With the development of various new technologies, the navy must also apply them. Only in this way can we defeat the Western powers. To be honest, the current sail battleships of the Western powers are quite mature. It is unlikely that the White-Clothed Navy will surpass the Western powers in this regard. If you start too late, even if you have money, it will be difficult to catch up with others.

It seems that the most powerful battleship of the Dutch has a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, and the various types of artillery carried on the battleships have exceeded 80. In the next few years, the Dutch battleships will have a larger displacement and the number of artillery will be greater. With a displacement of two thousand tons and more than 100 cannons, there is no problem at all. This is just the situation of the Dutch Navy, and it has not included the future sea giant British.

In terms of shipbuilding technology and artillery technology, the British were definitely the most advantageous among the Western powers. They will dominate the ocean for more than two hundred years in the future. The so-called empire of the Sun never set was also formed during this period. If the white-clothed navy wants to catch up, or even surpass the British, they must have their own unique advantages in shipbuilding and artillery technology. If they rely solely on current warships such as the Fu Ship, they will definitely not be the opponent of the British.

What are the technical advantages of the White Army? One is gunpowder and the other is steel. The emergence of white explosives can completely allow black gunpowder to gradually withdraw from the stage. High-quality steel can also maintain the quality of the barrel when casting artillery. There is also a steam engine that can bring continuous power to warships. Even without wind, warships can still continue to drive. However, it is not easy to apply these technologies to the navy. Just one recoil can kill many people.

Influenced by the Ming Dynasty's consistent policy of Jinghai, the heroic posture of the Zheng He fleet, who had voyaged to the West for seven times, had long disappeared. The shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty had basically been lost.

The so-called large treasure ships are basically just legends. The only ones that have been inherited were small lucky ships. When the anti-Japanese war and aided Korea, the most powerful warship of the Ming Navy was only about 400 tons of water. As for weapons, it was even more terrible.

To be honest, the Ming Navy encountered a worse Japanese navy. Otherwise, it was hard to say whether it could defeat its opponent. The warship with a displacement of only 400 tons and no powerful artillery were almost the same as a small sampan in the eyes of the Western powers. Even so, in the Battle of Lulianghai, the Ming Navy still killed a senior commander Deng Zilong. In the Joseon Kingdom, their spiritual leader Lee Sun-chen was killed.

If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your weapons. This is the most basic common sense. If your warship is not as powerful as the opponent, your artillery is not as powerful as the opponent, you will only be beaten. You cannot hit others, but others can hit you. This is not passive hitting? Naval warfare is different from land warfare. In naval warfare, if the equipment gap between the two sides is too large, it will be difficult to turn the tide without falling. Xu Xingxia does not want his navy to be passively beaten. At least the equipment of both sides must be leveled.

While thinking carefully, Zhang Tian came to Xu Xingxia boldly and whispered: "Sir, Yuan Keli is here."

Xu Xingxia nodded and said calmly: "Please."

After a while, Zhang Tianhao brought Yuan Keli in. Yuan Keli is a little older, he is already fifty-five years old this year. However, he looks quite energetic and walks quite steadily. However, if you look closely, you can still see the hidden haggard and depressed expression from Yuan Keli's face.

Perhaps Yuan Keli wanted to hide his haggardness and depression as much as possible, but he never hid it.

There was no way, Yuan Keli was always unsatisfied in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. He was both literary and military, and he was a versatile talent. When he first entered the official career, he did make many commendable achievements. For example, he had made contributions to quelling Japanese pirates. However, he did offend many people in the officialdom. As a result, since the 26th year of Wanli, Yuan Keli has been idle at home and has no chance to display his talents again.

In the 26th year of Wanli, Yuan Keli was about 30 years old, full of energy and energy, and was ready to show his strength. As a result, at this time, he was demoted. He was demoted for twenty years. I believe that for anyone, it was a very long period of suffering. Yuan Keli was not knocked down by this long period of time, and he was not sick or even died. It was already quite good.

Xu Xingxia called Yuan Keli on his back, mainly for the Navy. The Navy is the main force of the future development of the White Army. The White Army wants to land in Japan, seize Taiwan Island, control the South Ocean, and follow the route to the west, occupy India, occupy the Persian Gulf, occupy Africa, and occupy Europe. The powerful people go east and reach the Americas, and they cannot do without the support of the powerful navy. Not to mention that they are fighting at sea with the Western powers because of interests.

However, Xu Xingxia himself actually doesn't know much about the navy. The navy is actually a very professional military branch, and it is definitely not something you can understand by looking at the surface. In later generations, although he has seen many warships on the Internet, he has never seen any warships in reality. As for the internal organization, training, combat, etc. of the navy, Xu Xingxia also learned from the Internet. As for whether the reality is like this, it is hard to say. Xu Xingxia himself doesn't know whether these experiences on the Internet were suitable for four hundred years ago.

For the sake of stability, Xu Xingxia decided to find a few talented people to build the navy's shelf with him. Fortunately, he came at a very time. There are indeed many talents he needs to find in Shandong. Although it has been twenty years since the anti-Japanese and aid Korea, the original Ming Navy has disappeared. However, many of the talents left by the Ming Navy still live in coastal areas in various parts of Shandong. Perhaps they are a little older, but their experience and skills are still there. These people are the foundation of the future of the White Army Navy.

When the Ming Navy Admiral Chen Lin formed a fleet to reinforce North Korea, he had recruited a large number of troops from the coast of Shandong. Therefore, after the battle, a large number of naval soldiers returned to their hometowns. This was the case at that time. The war was temporarily recruited only after the war started. After the war, the troops were immediately disbanded to save costs.

Xu Xingxia initially estimated that there were at least about 10,000 former Ming Navy officers and soldiers who were disbanded and returned home. They could basically meet the initial needs of the White-Clothed Navy. However, it is not possible to have ordinary naval soldiers, and there must be senior generals. Unfortunately, after the war, Chen Lin took the senior leaders of the Ming Navy back to Nan'ao Island in Guangdong for rest. Subsequently, the Ming Navy was in a semi-disbanded state, and the senior leaders of the Navy were scattered in the Jiangnan area. There was no senior general in Shandong.

Yuan Keli is the deputy director of the White Army Naval Command designated by Xu Xingxia. As for the chief minister, of course it is Xu Xingxia himself. The reason why Yuan Keli was selected as the actual person in charge of the navy was that this old man who had never been recognized was very good at managing the military. He needed Yuan Keli to help him manage the navy.
Chapter completed!