The fleet and fleet only stopped in Dengzhou for a while, releasing the ashes of the wounded, sick, and fallen in batches for proper placement.
The guys who are still alive can reminisce with their relatives at the dock. After a simple supply, everyone will leave for Tianjin the next day, where they will be inspected by Emperor Haojing Zhu Cixiang and cash out on the way.
The first expedition to America was undoubtedly a great success, measured solely in terms of battle loss ratio and spoils of war.
Compared with the thankless Northern Expedition to Nurgandus, although the expedition to the Americas took longer and cost more, the rewards were completely incomparable to the Wang Division's outbound operations.
Fourteen ironclads alone were dispatched, as well as fifty wooden warships, and one hundred ocean-going merchant ships. It would be impossible to do a business of this scale without huge capital.
This does not include the more than 500 merchant ships of the Zheng Group that accompanied the fleet. Taken together, both in terms of firepower and scale, they exceeded Zheng He's voyages to the West.
Unlike the Sanbao eunuchs, Jie Xuan and Zheng Guangying not only did not make Ming Dynasty lose money, but also made the court a huge profit while recovering their investment.
There were more than 1.2 million silver coins and more than 500 kilograms of gold turned in. The gold and silver alone were equivalent to nearly 900,000 taels of silver. Together with various jewelry and other valuables, the total value reached one million taels. .
More than 7,000 Spanish men of working age and 3,000 women of working age were captured, totaling more than 10,000.
The men would be transported to Monan Jinshan, where they would become miners.
Women can go mining if necessary and willing to follow men.
If you don't want to, then stay and work in the entertainment industry as a Yangma.
All the hundreds of Spanish armed merchant ships captured were used as compensation for Zheng's participation in the expedition. In addition, Zheng could also receive half of all the goods transported by the fleet.
Whether he should keep it for himself or cash it out directly was Zheng Zhilong's business. As long as Jiexuan divided the cake, Zheng Guangying could report it to his uncle.
If the various commodities shipped back from America are discounted and cashed out, the Beiting household department can earn no less than one million taels of silver from this part alone.
The quality of the cowhide there is much better than that of the local cowhide, especially since the killing of cows is prohibited in the country. The cowhide is expensive but not marketable. You can buy a pair of cowhide boots at a good price.
American cowhide is very popular with local merchants and consumers, and is basically in a stage where demand exceeds supply. As long as the fleet docks, merchants who are interested in it will eat all the orders.
Bear skins are no exception, but cow skins are more suitable for mass consumption. The high prices of bear skins, mink skins, wolf skins, and fox skins determine that they can only be enjoyed by wealthy gentry.
A certain new king invented the down jacket, which can actually keep you warm and is relatively cheap. But if you want to be protected from the cold wind outdoors in winter, animal fur is the first choice.
Rich people buy down jackets just to follow the trend. They just need to hang a few at home. When it comes to winter in the north, if they want to keep themselves warmer, those who are not short of money will wear furs to go out.
There used to be many wild beasts outside the pass, including packs of wolves, but with the beginning of large-scale migration, the terrifying beasts will become the targets of hunters no matter how aggressive they are.
The most active group in Yimin is the hunter group, because there is a large amount of prey available for hunting outside the customs. If they can kill an adult tiger, the family will not have to worry about their livelihood all year round.
The furs of more than 300 ships are the envy of most merchants, and the price is obviously second to none. The key is to be able to talk to Jiexuan and Zheng Guangying in order to complete the deal.
There are people in the court who are easy to do things, and there are people above who are easy to talk to. This has always been the case...
Jiexuan is not that concerned about this. As long as the selling price is reasonable, the other party can pay in one go. If a single merchant can't afford it, he can still buy it in a group.
Zheng Guangying is an expert in this field. He traveled extensively with his father when he was a child, and he has been exposed to it for a long time. It is impossible for buyers to succeed in bargaining with him.
"Supply ship?"
When a certain new emperor saw this word, he thought of the Dingyuan type transformed into a supply ship. That was an ironclad ship starting at three million taels!
"Exactly! If the imperial court temporarily...can ignore it!"
Jiexuan could only write down his experience of the expedition and report it truthfully. As for the final result, it could only be decided by the Holy Inquisition.
"Can consider it!"
Since the construction of the Dingyuan test ship has begun this year, it is not impossible for the Academy of Sciences to study it as a supply ship.
At least in tropical operations, an armored supply ship is indeed needed to prevent large-scale food spoilage.
Not only a supply ship, but also a large and professional medical ship must be built to ensure the combat effectiveness of the fleet.
Calculating it this way, the gold and silver that I just got were spent before I could even hold my breath, and by the way, I had to pay back four million taels...
A certain new emperor intended to use the Yoshino type as the first-generation supply ship and medical ship, and this model has basically taken shape.
The only drawback is that because the tonnage is not that large, whether it is used as a supply ship or a medical ship, the space is not so ample.
The supply ship is just a large cold storage that can move on the sea. If it can't hold more food, then what's the use of it?
After a certain new emperor carefully read Jiexuan's report, he also felt that it would be a great thing to boost morale by letting everyone in the fleet eat ice cream in the tropics!
Ice cream, iced drinks, and iced fruits are the most powerful weapons in tropical battles. They are more effective than any kind of meat.
Eating hot food when the temperature is more than 30 degrees is just causing trouble for everyone...
Due to the limited financial resources of the imperial court, currently it can only consider building a supply ship and a medical ship.
The cost proposed by a certain new emperor is six million taels, and if it is not enough, more can be added.
Whoever goes out on an expedition can use these two precious auxiliary ships.
More than three million taels a piece, this price can almost build four Zhiyuan ships.
But the fifth batch of shipbuilding plans has been launched, with a period from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-ninth year of Chongzhen (1661-1666).
Tianjin Shipyard is responsible for building one Dingyuan test ship, seven Yoshino, eight Laiyuan, and four Zhiyuan ships, and Dengzhou Shipyard is responsible for building 20 Zhiyuan ships.
Nandu Shipyard in the south built two Zhiyuans, and Zheng Zhilong's Quanzhou Shipyard in Fujian built four Zhiyuans.
With the slipway already saturated, even if the Dingyuan-type supply ship and medical ship want to be launched as soon as possible, they will have to wait until Zhiyuan, the fastest-constructed ship, is launched.
Moreover, since the Dingyuan test ship has not yet been built, and even the hull is still in its prototype, the risk of immediately building a derivative version of this type is very high.
A safer approach is to wait until the Dingyuan test ship is launched before starting to build this version of the supply ship and medical ship.
What to do now?
A certain new emperor set his sights on the two ships of the Academy of Sciences. The Zhiyuan Experimental Ship, the Laiyuan Experimental Ship, and the Yoshino Experimental Ship had already been tortured by the Frankensteins.
However, since it had never participated in a war, there were no bullet holes in the hull. In order to test various versions of steam engines, the model was changed several times.
The Academy of Sciences has its own slipway for the maintenance of the three test ships, so there should be no difficulty in refitting them.
A certain new emperor meant to use these three test ships as guinea pigs. The Yoshino test ship was larger and could be modified as a supply ship, and the Zhiyuan test ship was used as the initial type of medical ship.
Add three more type ships to the Academy of Sciences, so that we can have an explanation.
It is nothing more than that the Denglai fleet temporarily lacks three ironclad ships for combat, but it can obtain three auxiliary ships as soon as possible.
"I wonder what your Majesty thinks?"
When a certain new emperor told Jiexuan his plans, he should at least listen to his opinions in person and not directly ignore the fleet commander.
Yoshino has a larger space and will definitely be used as the number one cold storage.
The tonnage of Laiyuan is larger than that of Zhiyuan, so it can be used as a hospital ship.
Zhiyuan is the smallest and can only be used as an auxiliary cold storage.
If the expeditionary fleet divides its forces, both fleets can have a supply ship.
"Your Majesty is wise. In this way, the fleet can obtain these three ships before the next expedition!"
Of course Jiexuan agreed, because as long as the number of armored ships reached more than ten, they would be invincible if they faced hundreds of enemy wooden warships.
It doesn't matter if there are three less armored warships for combat, but three more auxiliary warships will be of great help to improve and maintain the combat effectiveness of the fleet.
In this case, the difficulty of modification is relatively low, and the cost of modification is also relatively low, which is completely acceptable to a certain new emperor and the court.
As for the fleet, being able to obtain these three auxiliary ships within one year is the best of both worlds.
For this expedition, a certain new emperor has allocated most of the warships on hand to Jiexuan, because the entire Beiting fleet only has three Yoshino, three Laiyuan, and ten Zhiyuan.
The reason for the small number is that a certain new emperor exported most of the ironclad ships installed in the two fleets to earn silver coins for the Northern Expedition...
Only when the fifth batch of construction plans are completed can the situation be significantly alleviated.
According to the plan, if nothing unexpected happens, the Beiting Fleet will receive seven Yoshino, eight Laiyuan, and 15 Zhiyuan, for a total of thirty ironclads.
Zheng Zhilong has started a new business in Fujian, and has not yet decided on the ironclad ship to be built by Beiting Shipyard.
However, he still spent the previous six million taels of silver and ordered four fourth-generation ironclad ships, also known as Dingyuan type.
This was bought for Zheng Chenggong to inherit his father's business as a good son, because Zheng Zhilong has now entered a state of semi-retirement and does not participate in maritime support missions so often.
The four giant ships currently ordered by Zheng Zhilong are expected to be launched in ten years. Obviously, Zheng Chenggong will just use them at that time.
It is only the most optimistic estimate that Beiting's two major fleets can obtain fifteen Zhiyuan ships, because the four customers of France, the Netherlands, the Ottomans, and Venice may directly purchase spot goods at any time.
According to the latest intelligence, after Ruyter drove six ironclads back to the Dutch mainland, Tromp now has ten ironclads in his hands.
The Netherlands is very likely to launch an attack on Britain, and the strategic initiative will return to the hands of the Dutch, and this time they will not be able to achieve the same results as last time.
In Europe, France already has up to thirteen ironclads, and with the help of Ming engineers, it is working hard to build an early version of Zhiyuan.
The Netherlands ranks second, with ten ironclads, and its own shipbuilding plan is almost synchronized with France. Since the Dutch shipbuilding industry is very developed, the project progress should be faster than France.
If Sweden or Portugal is interested in buying it, a certain new emperor may also consider selling it if the price is right.
These two families sent people to inquire about the price, but faced with the high price of the armored ship, they seemed to be a little discouraged, and they are still considering it now...
It is certain that Spain and Britain will never get an ironclad ship in this life or the next life, unless they can build it themselves!
But a certain new emperor was sure that before they could build this thing, he would send Zheng Chenggong to land in their hometown and take away the last bit of wealth from these two bandits!
The latest combat plan drawn up was that in the 40th year of Chongzhen (1667), a certain new emperor sent Zheng Chenggong to lead the Zheng fleet to attack the Spanish mainland, and sent Jiexuan to lead the Beiting fleet to attack the British mainland!
There are still six years left before the implementation of the plan. If we start now, we should have plenty of time.
The fortieth year of Chongzhen was also the second year after the completion of the fifth batch of shipbuilding plans, so a certain new emperor chose this time to launch an expedition against the two bandits.
According to conservative estimates, the Beiting fleet can dispatch eight Yoshino, eight Laiyuan, and 16 Zhiyuan ships, at least 32 ironclad ships, and the number of wooden warships can reach hundreds.
There are 10,000 marines and about 40,000 army troops accompanying the expedition. There is no need to worry about the transport ship.
As long as they had money, Dutch shipowners were more than happy to serve a new emperor.
The new emperor was not yet completely sure about using these warships and troops to conquer Britain, so he had to enlist Britain's old enemy, the Netherlands.
If the Netherlands could dispatch 20,000 to 30,000 troops to land on the British mainland, especially to attack London along the Thames River, it would be a great help to a certain new emperor.
In order to win over the Netherlands, a certain new emperor will use London, the richest area, as a cake to reward the Netherlands for sending troops. I believe the latter will not be unmoved.
The same applies to Spain. Unlike the Netherlands, a certain new emperor wanted France to send 100,000 troops, or even more.
Correspondingly, after the war, Spain will be annexed to France!
Stories like the War for the Spanish Throne will no longer exist in the future.
Most of the Iberian Peninsula is an extension of the will of French King Louis XIV!
If you don’t take a shower, just rub it!
This is the truth about New France...
A certain new emperor will leave the land to the French, and his disciple Zheng Chenggong can scrape off as much of everything on the land as he can.
Another advantage of sending troops at this time is that the entire fleet can use the Sudan Canal!
Via the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, and then directly attack Spain!
My old friend Daming can help him deal with the Spaniards. I believe the Ottoman Sultan will also be happy to see this!
In order to ensure the smooth implementation of this plan, a certain new emperor had already begun to prepare the river crossing fee and a bunch of gifts for the Ottomans.
A certain new emperor also planned to help the Ottoman Sultan completely become a rich man, that is, to help him establish oil production plants and refineries in advance.
I won’t tell the other party the secrets of refining high-end refined oil for the time being, but for other things, such as asphalt that can be used for paving roads, I don’t have so many concerns.
In the future, the entire European oil consumption market can be allocated to the Ottomans. After the empire makes money, it can then go back to purchase the Ming Dynasty's ironclads.
Oil extraction is the fastest-growing business. I believe that after a certain Sultan masters this method, he will soon learn to win...
Climbing technology?
Feel sorry!
It’s still fun to extract oil~!
