What role does intelligence play in the competition between countries?
No one in the 19th century could say clearly.
But one thing that is certain is that under the attention of Emperor Zhu Da, the intelligence work of the Ming Dynasty was far ahead of other countries in the world.
In the past ten years, the Investigation Department has established their intelligence network all over the world. Those "submarines" are lurking in countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. The political and military intelligence they obtained through various channels is that of Emperor Zhu Da.
The most important basis for making correct judgments.
Politicians can commit crimes, but they cannot make mistakes!
And intelligence is the most important basis to ensure that the emperor will not make mistakes.
Once again, after taking a look at the file in front of him, Zhu Xianhai stood up from the desk and paced around the office. Then he took out a cigar from the cigar box, cut off one end with cigar cutters, and lit it.
After taking a sip from the cigar, he left and stood in front of the window.
He was looking at the wide Xin'an River. Just at this moment, a group of passenger pigeons flew over in the air. Thousands of passenger pigeons were in a black flock, which was hundreds of meters wide. The color of the pigeons flying in the air was like
Like a dark cloud.
These pigeons were a gift from the New York branch to Emperor Zhu Da eight years ago. "What is good for the superiors must be good for the inferiors." Who in the company doesn't know that the big boss likes all kinds of animals, and there is also a building in southern South China.
A "safari park" covering an area of thousands of square kilometers was built, so the managers of each branch were very keen to find various animals for the big boss.
In the current Royal Wildlife Park, many animals living in other areas have become extinct or are on the verge of extinction. For example, the Cape lion has disappeared in South Africa, but in the Wildlife Park, there are as many as 30 animals.
Breeding from several Cape lions brought from Cape Town in 1862.
The passenger pigeons that now appear in the sky of the Ming Dynasty were brought here at about that time. Faced with the pigeons that were eaten and killed by the group of Ansa people in North America, Zhu Xianhai built a bird forest and raised them in huge iron cages.
In addition to the passenger pigeons, thousands of them were released into the wild. However, in just ten years, several huge flocks of passenger pigeons appeared on the land of the Ming Dynasty.
For the passenger pigeon, America is hell!
And what about Daming? It is their paradise.
After turning around, Zhu Xianhai looked at Qian Zizhuang, took a few puffs of his cigar, then walked back to the table, clicked on the file, and asked:
"Well, what do you think about this?"
"Your Majesty, this is a military issue."
He is the head of the intelligence department and should keep a certain distance from military issues. At this point, he knows very well where his boundaries are.
"If you hit a snake within three inches, Mahan... he deserves his reputation!"
Mahan...isn't he the guy who wrote "On Sea Power" in history? Well, now this guy actually wants to block three inches of the Ming Dynasty. This guy is really famous for his reputation. This guy Mahan
As soon as he made a move, he grabbed his life gate.
"Coal! Coal is the most important industrial raw material. Whether it is power generation or metallurgy, the operation of trains cannot be separated from coal. In the future, with the development of industry, our demand for coal in Beihai will only increase.
It will not decrease. Maybe by then we will need tens of millions of tons of coal every year, but most of it will come from the North Sea."
Not only coal, but also iron ore from Guinea.
Although the land of the Ming Dynasty is vast, with more than three million square kilometers of land in the south and the most extensive black land in the world, its mineral resources are not rich enough, except of course copper. In Shanxi and Araucania, there are
Copper reserves are extremely high. After all, Chile was once the country with the richest copper resources in the world.
But there is no coal in South America, or there is not that much coal. The coal production in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty is less than 10 million tons, which is simply impossible to meet the needs of industrial production. Where does your coal come from? From Alaska, from the North Sea. Now
Daming’s iron ore came from Guinea.
Fortunately, there are now several oil fields being exploited in the Patagonian Plateau. Otherwise, the oil would probably have to be imported.
Now that I think about it, it seems that to some extent, the Ming Dynasty is basically a big Japan - local mineral resources are limited, and industrial production relies heavily on overseas imports.
Then during World War II, what plan did the United States make to address Japan's weakness?
In order to cut off the sea lines of communication between the Japanese mainland and the southwestern islands, China, and North Korea, and end the war against Japan as soon as possible, the US military formulated a plan to block Japanese waters with mines, which was the "Hunger Plan" of the Ming Dynasty.
The successful implementation of the "Hunger Campaign" almost completely cut off Japan's vital maritime transportation. Japan's imported materials dropped by 90%, and the supply of strategic materials such as oil, coal, and grain that were urgently needed to maintain the war was almost interrupted; military industrial enterprises were cut off due to the shortage of raw materials.
, have ceased production or closed down one after another; a large number of Japanese aircraft and ships were forced to ground due to extreme lack of fuel, which directly affected the combat effectiveness of the troops; due to the interruption of shipping, Japan's domestic food supply is extremely difficult, because the needs of the military must be prioritized.
, the majority of civilians have reduced their food rations to the minimum, are starved of food, and struggle on the line of hunger all day long.
Of course, the Americans currently do not have the ability to make such a battle plan, but by cutting off the coal supply to Ming Dynasty, they can put Ming Dynasty into unprecedented difficulties.
Without enough coal, Daming's steel production, Daming's material transportation, Daming's chemical industry, Daming's power plants, almost all industries will be affected.
"If they use coastal forts and mines to block the coal route from the North Sea, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Xianhai once again picked up the information sent by the investigation department and browsed it again:
"Perhaps we can come up with some ways to deal with these American plans militarily, but there is no way to change the reality that our energy supply is extremely insecure."
Insecure energy supply is the biggest reality of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, Emperor Zhu Da is the emperor but not God. He cannot create a large coal mine out of thin air in South America.
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This also means that Ming Dynasty must rely on overseas coal to maintain industrial production and daily consumption needs. There is no other way.
The silent Emperor Zhu Da walked in his office for a long time, smoking a cigar as he walked, seeming to be thinking and considering.
The problem that comes to mind could not be simpler. It is nothing more than the energy security of Ming Dynasty during future wars. If the energy security of Ming Dynasty cannot be guaranteed, then if war breaks out, I am afraid that Japan will really become a big country by then.
.
This question is a bit difficult.
Finally, Emperor Zhu Da stood there and looked at Qian Zizhuang, nodded on the table, and said.
"You see, if we don't find a way to solve this problem, then we will definitely be choked by the Americans."
If you don’t want to get stuck, what’s the easiest way?
That is to find a new source to diversify risks. For now, this is the simplest choice, and it is also a choice that is in line with Daming's future interests. After all, for Daming, only the diversification of energy sources can fully
to ensure energy supply for the future, especially during wartime.
Otherwise, problems like this will continue to happen today and will continue to happen...
Pursing his lips, Emperor Zhu Da sighed.
"I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"What?"
Qian Zizhuang looked at His Majesty with some confusion.
"Since it is inevitable, so be it."
When he said this, Emperor Zhu Da's tone was solemn, because he knew very well what would happen when he made this choice.
But all this is inevitable, and for the energy security of Ming Dynasty, this can only be done.
This chapter has been completed!