Although the Ming Dynasty is not strong enough, many industrial economic indicators are already the third in the world!
That's right, third in the world.
For example, in 1876, the world's pig iron production was 20 million tons and steel production was 7 million tons. Daming's iron production was 2 million tons and steel production was 4 million tons. Although the former was only equivalent to 11% of the world's total, the latter was equivalent to
Nearly 60% of the world!
It is precisely industrial indexes such as this that give Ming the confidence not to be "cowardly". After sixteen years of development, there is no doubt that Ming can become a member of the world's dining table!
It is precisely with this confidence that Ming Dynasty has raised its tail very high and stretched its hands very long in the past few years, from Asia to Africa to the Pacific. In a word, in the past ten years, from
The Ming Dynasty arrived in Nanhua. Under the guidance of Emperor Zhu Da, the Ming Dynasty reached out to various places and established its own imperial hegemony in areas ignored by the imperialist powers.
But the hegemony of the world is still firmly controlled by the British Empire. The British Empire's control of the world is still unshakable. Even the "Four Emperors Alliance" only makes Britain a little afraid!
Facing the challenge of the "Four Emperors Alliance", the British are building their alliance through various means.
For example, if you try to win over the United States in the Americas, once the U.S. Congress ratifies the "Anglo-American Treaty of Alliance," it means that the balance of power in the world will be broken.
The United States relies on the foundation of the world's third economic power, and its overall strength surpasses the Ming Dynasty - in fact, in 1876, the world's number one economic power was... our Qing Dynasty!
Of course, that is the accumulation of agriculture and traditional handicrafts.
However, in comparison of the economic strength of the Ming Dynasty and the United States, the Ming Dynasty is slightly inferior to the United States of America. Even after the division of the United States, its economic development momentum has attracted the attention of the world.
Compared with the United States, which is self-sufficient in resources, the resources needed for the development of industrialization in Ming Dynasty, such as coal mines, iron ores, etc., must be obtained from overseas - including North American territories. It has to be said that the two God-blessed countries in the Americas, from a certain
To a certain extent, the United States is more in line with this standard!
Although America is huge, it cannot accommodate two countries blessed by God. From the day the Ming Dynasty rose,
The confrontation between Ming Dynasty and the United States is inevitable.
However, when this "inevitability" will become a reality is still a question mark.
Facing the challenge from the United States, the Navy's response is the most direct and rapid. Of course, it is to establish a maritime force that is more powerful and more deterrent than the Americans.
And this is also the fundamental reason for convening this naval meeting, which is to discuss the expansion of the navy.
There was a huge world map hanging on the wall of the Navy Department conference room. Li Nanlin, who was sitting in the first seat, turned his attention to Xu Shangzhi, Director of Naval Intelligence.
"Director Xu, please introduce the current situation, and guess how long there will be for peace?"
"Since the Los Angeles incident, Ming Dynasty has become the main imaginary enemy of the United States. After our country occupied Brazil, the United States' sense of crisis has deepened day by day. It is only a matter of time before its Congress passes the "Anglo-American Alliance" treaty! As the U.S. Congress passes the new Navy Act,
I have every reason to believe that in the next ten to fifteen years, we will definitely have a war with the United States!"
"Within ten to fifteen years,"
Navy Chief of Staff Zhang Guoyong frowned and said.
"What's the basis?"
"The basis is very simple."
Xu Shangzhi answered directly.
"After the signing of the Anglo-American Treaty, Germany and Italy are likely to join it and become allies of the United Kingdom. The deterrent power of the "Quadruple Alliance" will no longer exist. With the expansion of the U.S. Navy, ten years later, the strength of the U.S. Navy will
It will reach its peak, and its strength will be equivalent to that of our Ming Dynasty. Correspondingly, even if France and Russia can overwhelm Britain with their strength, considering that the Russian fleet will definitely be scattered around the world - the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea,
The Pacific, or even the Indian Ocean, and cannot form an effective deterrent, then France alone will definitely not be able to defeat the British navy. As the odds of winning increase, the outbreak of war will naturally be inevitable."
Cheng Bichen, deputy chief of staff of the Navy, thought about it for a while and said:
"As far as the current situation is concerned, that's about it! The ever-expanding U.S. Navy will constrain our strength and force us to meet their challenges in the Pacific and Atlantic. This will result in us not being able to provide adequate support to our allies. In terms of strength,
If the contrast changes fundamentally, war is indeed likely to break out!"
In the past two years, the Ming Dynasty, France and Russia have repeatedly challenged the United Kingdom, but the United Kingdom will always "give in", not because the United Kingdom is "cowarded", but because the United Kingdom has no chance of winning. It is not said that the United Kingdom can win, but the United Kingdom has never
Not taking risks, what is the greatest characteristic of the Anglo-Saxons?
Be patient!
Their patience can be measured in ten years, twenty years, or even half a century!
This is also the reason why the United Kingdom has been able to defeat Spain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany since the 17th century. It is also the reason why the United States can win the Cold War. Unless there is a golden thigh, competition between countries will test patience!
The British will give in now because they feel they are not ready yet, so they will be patient. But once they complete their preparations, form an alliance, and have almost the same strength, the British will feel that they have a chance of winning... At this time
If we don’t fight, when will we wait?
So a war will definitely break out!
At this time Li Nanlin took over and said:
"Ten to fifteen is not too long. According to His Majesty's will, we must prepare in advance for this war that is bound to come... It is not because we want the war, but because it is imposed on us by the Western powers.
, so that we have to face a war! Everything we do now is to completely defeat the British Royal Navy in the future!"
People in the conference room turned their attention to the Navy Minister, who had been out of the Navy in the past few years due to tuberculosis, and said softly.
"So, according to His Majesty's decree, the Navy must carry out targeted expansion of maritime power. This expansion must fully take into account technological innovation. It cannot be done. Our warships will fall behind as soon as they get off the slipway!"
Turning his eyes to Ruanda, the director of the Naval Ship Administration Department, Li Nanlin said softly.
"Director Lu, we will propose the Navy's next expansion plan, but the Navy's ship design is done by engineers like you. I hope you can give the Navy a satisfactory answer. After all, this is related to the future.
The country’s survival is at stake!”
Faced with the sudden pressure, Luanda felt extremely stressed. He thought for a while and then asked.
"How big will the Navy get?"
Li Nanlin directly said a number.
"A million tons!"
When this number was announced, except for a few generals who participated in formulating the preliminary plan, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.
One million tons, which is even more powerful than the entire maritime power of the current Royal Navy. How can this deter the United States? It is clearly a super-English!
After a pause, Li Nanlin came up with a preliminary draft for military expansion.
"The current plan is to build 24 battleships, 12 armored cruisers and 48 cruisers within the next 15 years..."
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!