Reporting official business to the emperor was called "Zou", while reporting official business to the prince was renamed "Qi". The Qiben, that is, the book in which ministers came to the East Palace, was called Qiben.
The British side has no other demands for the time being, and they do not intend to continue a substantive confrontation with Ming Dynasty, because it is meaningless to do so at the moment, and the gains outweigh the losses.
Now the British Empire only wants to continue to maintain other colonies, and the key focus is still on the "balance of power policy" in Europe; as for the precarious Far East structure, it can be maintained day by day, without any long-term considerations, and it can be said that it is in ruins.
"Is it because the British and Dutch have nothing to fear that they can take such a bold move? Come on, shut up, it's another cliche from the past." On the phone, Zhu Lizhen rebuked a lieutenant general of the Eastern Fleet very unhappily.
These days, the emperor's health was not good, so he asked him to handle ordinary government affairs for some days. Although he could not be called a supervisor, his power was not small.
Naturally, all forces and people from various factions did not want to miss this opportunity. Everyone was paying attention to the Crown Prince's behavior to understand his style of doing things.
"The world situation is uncertain, but some people can't sit still." Zhu Lizheng complained to Zhan Shi Wu Zhengren beside him: "They seem to be sure that the United States will hold its nose and let it go."
The latter nodded with a look of helplessness on his face and said: "There have been repeated remarks about the dereliction of the country's armaments, but for the United States, which has such a complete and huge industrial construction, the transformation may not take more than a year."
"Although its army strength is small, it is easy to expand. According to the report from the year before last year, the United States can arm at least sixty divisions with just its war-ready ordnance." Zhu Lizhen stood up and said while pacing: "The Navy Not to mention, it has never been underestimated, and it is first-rate both in terms of scale and technical level.”
The so-called combat readiness ordnance was mentioned in a report on U.S. war preparations jointly compiled by the Metropolitan Government Intelligence Office and the Ministry of War to assess the speed of war preparations and military expansion of imaginary enemies.
Although the currently huge United States only has an army of 100,000 that does not match its size, its inventory of various weapons and equipment is well-preserved and the quantity is very large.
For example, the M7917 rifle, the P-14 rifle designed by Enfield Company, was flawlessly organized to open new production lines in factories across the British Isles, so the British went to North America to find manufacturers. The Americans produced more than one million units in total. P-14 rifle, and was designated as Model 7917, most of which were retained in inventory after the war.
In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of Springfield M7903 rifles, more than four thousand imitation "Schneider Miss 75" and Mle-7897 75mm field guns, and more than a thousand imitation Schneider Mle-7917 models. 155mm howitzer.
These huge quantities of weapons cannot be ignored. The expansion of the army to sixty divisions is an underestimation. In fact, it is possible to make up hundreds of divisions.
This is just the first wave of consumption. Once the state of war is entered and the transformation of ordnance production is completed, all kinds of weapons and equipment will be produced continuously like a torrent.
It can be said that this is what Zhu Lizheng is most worried about - the Ming Dynasty can indeed easily take the entire Nanyang into its pocket, and can make Britain and the Netherlands swallow their anger, but how to ensure that the United States holds its nose and lets it go?
Although there is indeed a possibility that the latter will retreat, how can we rule out the possibility that the United States will choose a tough frontal response?
Anyone who dares not to consider this situation is not optimistic and confident, but naive and conceited.
How much will it cost to bring Ming Dynasty and the United States to the negotiating table? In other words, can the Ming Dynasty resist it with its current national strength?
This is what Zhu Lizheng is worried about as the crown prince - it is okay to fight, but how to end the war in a dignified manner?
He was not sure about how to make the war "controllable" because he knew very well that those who benefited from the war and made a lot of money would really be satisfied? Human greed is endless.
More importantly, we are not worried about scarcity but uneven distribution. The distribution of benefits is very complicated and uneven distribution cannot be avoided. No matter how precise the knife is when dividing the cake, there will always be a little more or less.
And this is precisely where the contradiction lies. Those guys will definitely not be willing to end it here - why did he make so much from this, and the war is about to end before I make much? How can it be unreasonable?
After thinking for a while, Wu Zhengren mused: "It is unlikely that the Americans will completely abandon the Far East. No matter how smart a businessman is, they will take risks and try to invest. Once the war starts, unless the results of our army are so sharp that they will give up the idea immediately. Otherwise they will not choose peace talks."
He paused and then said: "For example, as the Navy said, if it can achieve a annihilating strike against the US Navy's Pacific Fleet in a short period of time, this will be enough to make it completely abandon the Far East."
If they can achieve a devastating blow to the Pacific Fleet, then the vast Pacific Ocean will be open to the Ming Dynasty Navy, and the west coast of North America will be wide open. In this case, the Americans are indeed likely to choose peace talks, because they cannot build ships to supplement them in a short time.
On the contrary, if only one or two fingers can be injured, then the Pacific Fleet can continue to deal with and delay. As long as it takes one or two years, the subsequent ships will be replenished and commissioned like dumplings.
Zhu Lizhen snorted coldly and said casually:
"But this is unlikely. The navy just wants to expand the fleet on a large scale after the expiration of the treaty. But is this useful? The US Pacific Fleet can huddle in the port and turn into a 'presence fleet'. Does the Eastern Fleet want to support the port and coastal defense? Launch a strong attack with artillery fire?"
"Although the current situation is deteriorating, it is estimated that it will take at least three or four years to reach its peak. Rather than investing huge sums of money in fleet expansion now, it is better to invest in construction for another year. There is no rush to increase military expenditures. Two years, maybe. The more we build now, the stronger our stamina will be."
"Your Highness," at this time, an attendant hurriedly walked in, "there was an earthquake in Meizhou and Qingshen County. It was not strong, but it was reported that hundreds of houses collapsed and hundreds of officials and people were injured and killed. .”
"When did this happen?"
"Just before, Youshi."
"Fortunately, it was not an earthquake at night..." Zhu Licheng said without hesitation: "Let them investigate the situation as soon as possible. Anyone who conceals or lies about the situation will be severely punished. The surrounding state governments will be ordered to assist in the rescue. Just follow the routine."
After he finished speaking, he thought of something else, and added: "The road conditions in Meizhou are not good, and the road will be cut off this time. I sent a telegram to the Sichuan Capital Division to dispatch the air force to help if the transportation of supplies is not smooth."
"The order is issued, I understand." The attendant who came to report accepted the order and left quickly.
Wu Zhengren, who was next to him, also reported: "Your Highness, the schedule for the end of the month is already being arranged. The automobile production line of Yangyue Company is basically completed and is still being debugged. Trial production will begin next month. If there are no accidents, it will be ready this winter. Put into production.”
"That's good."
(End of chapter)
