Due to his identity and friendship with the emperor, Jiexuan knew all the details of the shipbuilding plan.
There were only three insiders in the entire Ming Dynasty, and even the chief assistant Wu Zong didn't know about it. The other one was the project leader Bo Jue.
According to Ming's financial resources, maintaining a crazy shipbuilding operation on this scale cannot be sustained for too long.
At most, the eighth batch (1675-1680) will be completed. After the fleet is equipped with twelve fourth-level ironclad ships, it will temporarily come to an end.
In the future, only two large ironclad ships will be equipped every five years to reduce financial pressure.
The entire fleet will have twelve level four ironclad ships as its combat core, which is theoretically sufficient.
The cost of each ship is less than four million taels, which is by no means expensive based on the price of first-class ironclads purchased by France and the Netherlands.
From the perspective of the fleet commander, it is natural to support unlimited expansion of the fleet size.
However, the financial situation of the imperial court must also be considered. Impulsive consumption is unlikely to gain the support of the emperor.
Fortunately now, the imperial court is footing the bill in accordance with the shipbuilding plan.
It might not be possible in the future, as the annual budget is fixed.
Unless a large-scale war breaks out, the navy's military expenditure must also be fixed.
This depends on cooking, and the number of ironclads purchased must be within one's means based on one's own circumstances.
Assuming that the annual naval military expenditure is 10 million taels, then it can purchase a fourth-level ironclad ship or a third-level ironclad ship plus a first-level ironclad ship.
If we add more, the Marines and sailors will have to drink from the northwest wind, not to mention the maintenance cost of the fleet...
These are all issues that Jiexuan needs to consider. In the next ten years, as long as there are no serious health problems, he will still be the commander of the fleet.
The next step is to go overseas, which is to execute the orders of superiors and scrape the land as planned.
As the head of the navy, he cannot just focus on doing one thing just because of the expedition.
Everything had to be considered in order to maximize naval interests in destroying the British and Spanish wars.
At present, the combat operations in Liverpool, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Crosby and Ellesmere Port are relatively successful.
More than 2,500 British officers and soldiers were captured, more than 370,000 civilians were captured, hundreds of artillery pieces, more than 3,000 flintlock muskets, and more than 800 barrels of gunpowder were seized.
Gold, silver, copper and other precious metals were sold at a discount of over 700,000 silver coins, and other trophies were sold at a discount of over 250,000 silver coins, which basically met Jie Xuan's expectations.
This raid was mainly due to the suddenness of the attack, and its target was the largest port in Britain.
In addition, there is a circle of cities around it, so the benefits may not be as good in other places.
But this time it can be regarded as a warning. If you play like this in the future, it will only become harder and harder to get.
But compared to Charles I, the sense of superiority and accomplishment generated by Jiexuan and his generals was still full.
This guy can't collect taxes as a king, either because there is no money in the UK, or because these Westerners are unwilling to pay taxes, that's all.
Otherwise, how could the expeditionary force make so much money in one fell swoop?
This is simply like fishing for seafood on the shore~!
In addition to being happy, Jiexuan also ordered the release of those Western Yi who were willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty king's army.
Those who pay a lot of money can be released, and those who dig holes to bury people can also be released.
As for those who are unwilling to cooperate, I'm sorry, all merchant ships will be sent to the East to mine!
Before leaving for Blackpool, Jie Xuan got some good news.
That is because Emperor Haojing was worried that the expeditionary force would be stretched thin, so he sent two more marine brigades to himself.
Now the fleet has passed the Welsh waters and joined the main fleet.
Since most of the ironclad ships of the Beiting fleet were taken away by Jiexuan, the new ones have not yet been put into service.
Therefore, Zheng Shengying's fleet was responsible for escorting here this time, which could be regarded as repaying half of the favor for Jie Xuan who led his troops to attack southern Spain.
The remaining half of the favor was that Zheng Shengying's fleet was still needed to escort the returning merchant ships.
Especially the western coast of England is very dangerous and may be attacked by the dying British fleet.
Zheng Shengying also looked forward to a fight with Black's fleet. In the last naval battle at Zhoushan, the British fleet fled early and his uncle Zheng Zhilong failed to catch up.
If we can make up for it this time and eliminate them all, our merits will be considered complete!
But no one came and went, so Zheng Shengying had to leave angrily...
Previously, due to our proper tactics, well-equipped equipment, rich experience, and the ability to fight with more and less, the casualties of the four marine brigades were not large.
Now that two more marine brigades were in hand, Jie Xuan's confidence naturally increased.
There is absolutely no problem in asking France to provide food for the 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers of the expeditionary force.
And it's not for free, it's bought with money or loot, and the French will be happy to provide it.
Now that there are reinforcements, let's let the two newly arrived marine brigades practice their skills.
Jiexuan decided to leave the task of attacking Blackpool on the seaside and Preston near the mouth of the Ribble to them.
The fleet was divided into two, one covering a marine brigade to attack Barrow-in-Furness, north of Morecambe Bay, and the other brigade to attack Carlisle south of Scotland.
At this time, there were one Marine Brigade in Blackpool, Preston, Barrow-in-Furness, and Carlisle, and two Marine Brigades were resting in Liverpool.
There was no chance that Black would launch a sneak attack, so Jie Xuan used a weak point to wait for the other party to take the bait.
If the entire fleet is kept in a big pile and plays turtle tactics at sea, the opponent will not dare to come over and die.
There are six first-class, second-class and third-class ironclads each, for a total of eighteen ironclads. Their combat effectiveness is much higher than five times the number of wooden warships.
Black's two hundred wooden ships may not be able to defeat the eighteen iron-clad ships in Jiexuan's hands. If they are divided into two, they will more or less give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage of them.
Sitting in the command tower, Jiexuan suddenly felt that if he had twelve level four ironclad ships, his enemies who only had wooden ships would not dare to fight easily.
Once the enemy still has some self-awareness and recognizes that his own strength is not even qualified to be a challenger, then the battle will probably not be fought...
If the fleet forms a luxurious lineup of sixty-eight ships including twelve fourth-level ironclad ships, sixteen third-level ironclad ships, twenty second-level ironclad ships, and twenty-first-level ironclad ships.
The combat power exceeds the combined fleets of the five European countries of France, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain and Switzerland. Who in the world dares to provoke it? Who dares to fight?
This is the only weapon to maintain control of the sea and protect maritime trade. The money spent in the early stage can be recovered later.
Jiexuan believes that before he retires, he should be able to see the heroic appearance of a 10,000-ton ironclad ship!
By then, no enemy ship will be visible on the vast sea.
How lonely is it to be invincible?
That's probably it!
Ha ha ha ha……
Emperor Haojing once explained the feeling of invincibility. At this time, Jiexuan believed that the Ming Navy was not far away from being invincible.
However, there are still many people who are dissatisfied with Lu Zhan, so we can defeat them alive!
Although the Marine Corps Brigade is much smaller than the Army, there are only ten brigades of 50,000 people so far.
But in terms of combat effectiveness, it far exceeds that of an ordinary army brigade, and is on par with the elite of the army, such as the Donggong Guards. At worst, it is slightly inferior.
The ability to assemble six marine brigades in Britain this time shows that Emperor Haojing attaches extraordinary importance to the war to destroy Britain.
Jiexuan is also confident of fighting this battle, especially with the cooperation of 140,000 friendly troops in the south and east.
Considering the partition of the United Kingdom, and except for Glasgow, Scotland, which has a small population, does not have any decent big cities.
Jiexuan had no intention of using troops against Scotland. The focus of the attack was on targets in England and Wales, especially coastal cities.
Blake was considered an extraordinary person. When the Ming Dynasty expeditionary fleet was sweeping the west coast of England, he still stood still. Jiexuan looked at him with admiration.
Want to learn from Lu Xun?
Then you have to see if you are Uncle Liu Huang!
Jiexuan believed that Blake's fleet was either hiding in Scotland or Ireland, or hiding in the nearby Isle of Man.
That is, near the large island in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland, using the island's special location as a cover.
But Jiexuan is not taking the initiative to attack now, insisting on sweeping cities along the western coast of England to see how Blake responds.
Black had two options, either to attack the northward fleet with twelve first- and second-level ironclads, or to attack the remaining fleet with six third-level ironclads.
Barrow-in-Furness, just between Carlisle and Liverpool, was waiting for good news, ready to go to sea to intercept Blake's fleet.
Emperor Haojing said to himself that whether it is the navy or the army, it is very important for senior generals to predict the enemy generals' predictions.
If you don't understand the meaning of this sentence, then don't do it and retire early to avoid being deprived of your position after losing the battle.
The current situation is that Jie Xuan has roughly guessed what Black will do, and is waiting for Black to take the bait with his fleet...
On the one hand, Jie Xuan has a super high IQ, on the other hand, he has received the true biography of Emperor Hao Jing, and on the other hand, he has an advantage in strength.
When playing chess, the stronger side can naturally choose strategies and tactics that suit them.
Of course, Black did not have to pick the Ming fleet to attack.
You can also take a detour to the south or east to fight the French Navy or the Dutch Fleet.
Due to the existence of ironclad ships, Jiexuan has three advantages in firepower, armor, and speed.
This means that once Blake shows his flaws, Jiexuan can beat him to pieces, beat him to pieces, beat him to tears, and beat him until his liver and gallbladder are broken!
Ironclad ships are not so sensitive to headwinds. The speed difference between downwind and headwind is at most two knots, and generally only one to one and a half knots.
However, the sailing battleship's speed when going upwind was three to four knots slower than when going downwind. When running against the wind, it was pursued by the ironclad ship.
Basically, even if there is no way to escape, within a few hours, they will be overtaken and eventually sunk one by one...
Emperor Hao Jing, who took the turtle tactic to its extreme, once mocked himself as the best turtle in history!
I didn’t expect that Blake’s talent in this area is also extraordinary!
When the fleet that raided Carlisle brought the Marine Brigade back to Barrow-in-Furness, no British fleet was seen throughout the process, and only a few lone armed merchant ships were captured.
Jiexuan didn't get any news about Blake. It seemed like this guy disappeared with his fleet!
He really wanted to take the fleet to the Isle of Man to have a look, but it was just out of curiosity rather than intuition.
For a general, curiosity is the scariest thing.
Intuition may help your side win on the battlefield, but curiosity is purely a personal hobby.
Therefore, Jiexuan could only hold on to his curiosity and could not waste precious time on satisfying his curiosity.
Leading the fleet to implement the third phase of the plan, we will directly attack Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport in Wales, as well as Weston, Bristol, and Gloucester in England.
Considering that Bristol is not a coastal city, it is similar to Songjiang, but it is close to the coast, and its specific location is about a hundred miles inland.
Jiexuan decided to attack the city last and attack the other five cities first. However, he still sent a marine brigade to take positions first and monitor the movements of the city's defenders.
Each Marine Brigade was already armed to the teeth and had the same firepower as more than 30,000 British troops. Jiexuan did not worry about them being surrounded by the other side at all.
What's more, the main force of the British army was divided up by Charles II and Cromwell Jr. There were not many defenders in various places, and their combat effectiveness was not high.
As long as our generals do not underestimate the enemy's carelessness, they will definitely not suffer large-scale casualties.
Each of the five brigades is responsible for a city, so there is no need to worry about uneven distribution between east and west.
The soldiers of this brigade who arrived outside Bristol first did not have to worry about scraping less ground.
In line with the principle of a bowl of water, Jiexuan has promised that after the city is completed, the brigade will be sent to several surrounding small towns to scrape the land.
The entire west coast of England was swept by the Ming Dynasty, and the Marines did not have to worry about not being able to scrape the ground.
Compared to the fleet, which can't even see the shadow of an enemy ship, the Marine Corps can be said to be a groom every day!
With the entirety of Bristol Bay occupied, the expeditionary fleet was in a quasi-relaxed state.
Everyone in the fleet made harsh words. If Blake thinks he is powerful, then come over and practice with us!
On the contrary, except for some warships responsible for patrolling, most of them rested ashore and replenished some meat, fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh water.
In the UK, it is not illegal for everyone to cut down trees, fish, eat beef, and even take barrels of wine collected by Westerners as their own...
If it does not affect normal operations, Jie Xuan will pretend that he did not see his subordinates drinking.
Once someone is drunk, they will be severely punished.
The topography of Bristol Bay is suitable for Blake to catch turtles in a jar.
However, due to the existence of the ironclad ships of the Ming Dynasty Expeditionary Fleet, this tactic was completely unfeasible.
Jiexuan used the armored ship to lead the battle, which could completely allow the fleet to forcefully break out of the opponent's encirclement, and then launch a counter-encirclement.
With Blake's experience and intelligence, he would not have thought of this, so Jie Xuan was not optimistic about encountering an enemy attack in this area of water.
Jie Xuan also thought about Black coming disguised as his own fleet, but the prerequisites were not easy to achieve.
To camouflage an ironclad ship, first of all, the hull shape of the wooden sailing ship is inappropriate.
If you modify it, especially if you cut off the sail, you won't be able to maintain the speed.
If you don’t modify it and don’t use a hard sail, then the secret will be exposed directly...
Except for the captured ships, there was no ship using soft sails in the expedition fleet, whether it was a warship or a merchant ship.
Pretending to be French or Dutch friendly troops coming to transport supplies, it is impossible to use an offensive formation, otherwise the secret will be exposed.
Rather than facilitate Blake's sneak attack, it is better to prevent Xiyi from poisoning the wine. This is the top priority right now...
