Chapter five hundred and eighty-eight grand shipbuilding plan
Regarding a major event like naval reform, it is naturally impossible to convene a high-level meeting of the entire navy without any preparation, and then discuss and finalize it.
Before convening this Imperial Navy Reform Conference, Colonel Bao Yifen had actually met with His Majesty many times on behalf of the Navy to listen to His Majesty’s opinions and requirements on the development of the Navy. Bao Yifen also put forward some ideas and concepts on behalf of the Navy.
difficulty.
The development of the navy is not only a matter of the navy itself, but also has something to do with the army, and it is even more inseparable from the support of various cabinet ministries.
The development of the Navy of the Tang Dynasty needs to be uniformly arranged according to the military, political, and economic conditions of the entire Datang Dynasty. It definitely does not mean that the navy can do whatever it wants.
I thought that the development of the navy must be subordinate to the overall development of the Tang Dynasty!
After all, the navy was the navy of the Tang Dynasty and did not exist independently!
The Navy of the Tang Dynasty was only one part of the many institutions of the Tang Dynasty, and the Navy of the Tang Dynasty was only one of the many military forces of the Tang Dynasty.
From his many exchanges with His Majesty, Bao Yifen could sense His Majesty's expectations or requirements for the Navy.
Although His Majesty did not speak too clearly or in detail before, Bao Yifen could feel from His Majesty's few words that His Majesty's requirements for the Navy were not limited to repelling the Ming Navy.
Just take back the mouth of the Pearl River.
Your Majesty has higher and further expectations for the Navy!
From the perspective of unifying the country, His Majesty seems to want the navy to completely penetrate the Chinese coastal areas and use the huge maritime power as support to attack many coastal locations in the north.
For example, His Majesty once told him a strategic idea: If the Tang Dynasty Navy can completely control the sea power, then under the cover of the navy, it can directly transport a large number of troops across the sea to directly launch a landing operation in the Jiangnan area to seize the prosperous Jiangnan area.
area, and even landed directly in Beizhili, and went straight to the most important political and military center of the Ming Dynasty: the capital!
After hearing this strategic concept, Bao Yifen felt for the first time that the navy he controlled could be used in this way, to project troops across thousands of miles, and to directly attack the enemy's most important lair.
If it could really be done, the Ming Dynasty would probably be completely in chaos!
Of course, as for whether the army can defeat the Ming army after the navy escorts the army ashore, this is not something that Colonel Bao Yifen should worry about. That is the army's business, and judging from the current combat effectiveness and past performance of the Tang Army,
It seems that if we get to this point, there is a great possibility of establishing a firm foothold after landing.
When the navy becomes an important support for long-distance power projection, the navy's strategic role will become much larger. I dare not say that it is on an equal footing with the army, but it should be possible to divide it by 30-70.
In addition, His Majesty also said that he would use the navy to conquer Nanyang, seize many wealthy areas in Nanyang, plunder various strategic resources, control sea routes, and obtain large amounts of sea trade profits.
Hearing this to Bao Yifen's ears, it can be said that it was an eye-opener for him, and it also made him think for the first time that his decision to switch from the army to the navy was the right one, and it was probably the most correct decision he had ever made in his life.
decision.
However, although His Majesty's words made his blood boil with excitement, he also knew that it was not that difficult to realize His Majesty's grand vision.
Today's Datang Navy can be said to be extremely weak. The largest warship is a sand ship warship converted from a civilian ship, with a load capacity of only more than two hundred tons.
The main battleships are just a few Veyron-class battleships of over 80 tons.
Even more are the Jiaolong-class battleships weighing more than 20 tons.
If a fight breaks out, not even the Guangdong Navy of the Ming Army at the Pearl River Estuary can defeat it, and any group of medium-sized pirates out to sea can destroy the Tang Navy.
There is a long way to go!
This is how Bao Yifen laments about the situation facing the navy!
Just as Colonel Bao Yifen was sighing, suddenly a voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
As soon as these words came out, all the navy officers who had been chatting in low voices stood up in unison and turned their attention to the door of the conference room.
Immediately, everyone first saw two Hanlin Academy attendants wearing civilian uniforms pushing open the door of the conference room, and then a young man wearing a Confucian uniform and a yellow robe embroidered with dragon patterns strode into the conference room.
Everyone immediately bowed and said: "I pay homage to Your Majesty!"
Li Xuan didn't answer. He walked directly past the crowd and sat down in front of his exclusive dragon chair. Then he slightly raised his hand and said, "Well, everyone, please sit down!"
After Li Xuan finished speaking, everyone immediately said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a seat!"
Then, a group of naval generals sat down on both sides of the rectangular table in front of them. When they sat down, they all sat upright, with their heads held high and their hands hanging on their thighs, showing the full military look of the Tang Dynasty soldiers.
True color.
After everyone sat down, Li Xuan nodded slightly towards a young lecturer of the Hanlin Academy standing next to him. Immediately, the lecturer said loudly: "Since the Tang Dynasty went south to Guangdong and Guangxi in the first year of Xuanping, through the army and navy,
The brave fighting of the soldiers has now liberated most of Guangdong and Guangxi. A few months ago, Guangzhou, an important seaport city, was liberated.
Your Majesty is deeply gratified by the bravery of our soldiers in fighting and the spirit of loyalty to the emperor and the country.
Although our Tang Dynasty has captured most of Guangdong, there are still false Ming naval forces running around in the lower reaches of the Xijiang River, and the Pearl River mouth is still occupied by the false Ming navy, blocking the waterway and making people miserable. For this reason, Your Majesty has trouble sleeping and eating, especially today.
Convene the navy generals to discuss naval affairs in order to regain the maritime territories as soon as possible and return a peaceful world to the people of the world!"
After the lecturer beside him finished speaking, he consciously shut his mouth. His words were just the opening remarks, and what happened next had nothing to do with him.
As the emperor, Li Xuan could not speak a word. In most of these imperial strategic meetings, Li Xuan listened and rarely expressed his opinions in person.
At this time, Captain Bao Yifen, the director of the Naval Department representing the navy, immediately stood up and came out, then bowed half-way and said: "The navy failed to defeat the puppet Ming navy, so that the puppet navy invaded the sea areas. I am guilty of an unforgivable crime.
Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Li Xuan waved his hand slightly: "Why did Bao Aiqing say this? The enemy is strong and we are weak. I know the difficulties of the navy!"
Naval Captain Bao Yifen then straightened up and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. Your Majesty's kindness is so great, I should keep it in mind!"
"Concerning the annihilation of the Puppet Ming Navy entrenched at the mouth of the Pearl River, I have a charter to submit for your holy reading!"
Immediately, Bao Yifen handed over a small booklet. The bachelor's lecturer took it and gave it to Li Xuan. Li Xuan briefly read it and put it down, and then said: "Everyone, dear friends, too.
Take a look!”
Li Xuan actually knew the contents of the report submitted by Colonel Bao Yifen in advance, and many of them were even told privately by Li Xuan to Bao Yifen.
Today's Bao Yifen actually plays the role of a mouthpiece. Li Xuan needs him to express his many ideas about the development of the navy and then discuss them at today's meeting.
Immediately, someone naturally distributed the backup copy of the booklet prepared in advance to the more than ten naval generals present, and everyone began to look through it together.
In fact, most of these people knew part of the contents of this brochure in advance, but they only knew part of the contents that related to themselves, but they did not know the entire content.
This excerpt does not contain much writing, but it contains a lot of content!
The excerpt talks about the many measures needed by the navy to defeat the Ming navy, including imitating the martial arts academy and imperial academy, and preparing to build a sea academy to train naval officers.
Large shipyards are organized by the Ministry of Industry or the Navy itself specifically for the construction and repair of warships, especially ocean-going warships.
Request the transfer of funds for shipbuilding to prepare for the construction of multiple large warships that can truly be used in naval battles. Based on the situation of the Ming Navy and the foreign navy, we are preparing to build five large warships with a tonnage of more than 500 tons in the early stage.
, ten medium-sized warships of two to three hundred tons, twenty medium-sized warships of one hundred tons, and several auxiliary warships of various types below one hundred tons.
And it requires that warships of all levels be equipped with enough naval guns!
The above are just preliminary goals. As for the final goal, Bao Yifen proposed the so-called Three-Three Plan, which is a super-large fleet with more than 300 battleships, more than 3,000 naval guns, and more than 30,000 personnel!
That's right, Li Xuan went directly to the most powerful Spanish Armada in this era to formulate a naval expansion plan!
Regardless of whether it can be accomplished or not, let’s set a grand goal first!
The quantity and quality of this ship made a group of naval officers ecstatic when they saw it, but they soon began to ponder. It must be a good thing that this ship has more cannons, but how to build this ship?
Is it possible to build a fortune ship in Chengdu? But even a fortune ship cannot be equipped with too many artillery. Moreover, with the small body of the Tang Dynasty, it is not easy to build such a warship, and it will take a long time.
Fortunately, the following brochure also proposes some compromise transition plans, directly purchasing semi-finished products from various private shipyards, that is, half-built ships, for modification.
Directly purchase civilian ships with serviceable hulls for modification!
This plan of directly refitting civilian ships is actually feasible, because most of the merchant ships running on the high seas these days are armed merchant ships. In addition to carrying cargo, they can also be equipped with artillery. Otherwise, unarmed merchant ships will
The Far Eastern seas where pirates are everywhere are just a dish.
Therefore, it is actually feasible to use the hull of a private commercial ship for modification!
This idea also makes everyone's eyes brighter. However, if it is directly modified by civilian ships, the hull can be solved, but where will the naval guns come from? Where will the sailors come from?