In the autumn of 1680, Colbert visited the Ming Empire for the third time, and it was probably the last time in his life.
Despite his poor health, Kolbe still insisted on visiting the Ming Empire in person.
Before he died, he wanted to take another look at the development of the most powerful empire in the world and report it back to His Majesty the King.
Louis XIV did not want to publicly admit that France, which had eaten up Spain, and occupied half of England and North America, was only the second largest country in the world.
But in my heart, Louis XIV alone and the civil servants and generals under his command all understood that France was second in the world.
The reason why His Majesty the King finds it difficult to say anything is very simple. "Second in the world" has infinite glory, but the gap between him and the first in the world is a bit big...
In military terms, compare naval fleets.
Not counting Zheng Zhilong's fleet, the Ming Empire included eight fourth-level ironclad ships, thirteen third-level ironclad ships, thirty-two second-level ironclad ships, and forty-three first-level ironclad ships.
The French Navy has only one third-class ironclad ship, which was the one donated free of charge by the Emperor of the Ming Empire, and thirty-six first-class ironclad ships, including twenty self-made ones.
In other words, even if the fractional advantage of the first-level ironclads is not included, the Ming Empire still has eight more fourth-level ironclads, twelve third-level ironclads, and thirty-two second-level ironclads than the French Navy.
If converted into combat effectiveness, the strength of the French navy is only one-third that of the Ming Empire's navy!
This has to be an optimistic estimate...
Colbert came here with Major General Tourville this time to purchase and introduce third-class ironclads.
In ten years, France sent more than two million miners to its ally.
Converted into silver coins based on the number of slave miners previously transported to the Ming Empire, excluding the cargo transported to cover the return voyage, it was worth at least 20 million.
Louis XIV and William III had agreed that each party would contribute 100 million silver coins, divided into ten-year loans, and each would pay 10 million silver coins to the Ming Empire every year to introduce the construction technology of third-class ironclad ships, including four ships of the same class.
Two hundred million silver coins to buy four level three ironclad ships and related technologies was something that was agreed upon ten years ago.
Louis XIV was also worried that the emperor of the Ming Empire would regret it. After all, compared with previous prices, this was very affordable for buyers.
This time Kolbe brought 35 million silver coins, 10 million of which was the down payment for the purchase of a third-level ironclad ship, and the remaining amount depended on specific circumstances.
Standing next to the sixty-year-old Colbert, Tourville, who was less than forty, seemed high-spirited, jealous and hopeful of the Ming Empire's navy.
Being able to follow Colbert is also thanks to the recommendation of D'Estre, who has become the commander-in-chief of the French Navy.
D'Estre saw his own appearance in Tourville, and Colbert also felt that this young man was worth cultivating, so he asked His Majesty the King to bring him to the Eastern world.
In fact, when the fleet entered the Andaman Sea south of Myanmar, it was equivalent to entering the sphere of influence of the Ming Empire.
The Ming Empire established naval bases in the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. Previously, the Netherlands also agreed to the Ming Empire setting up a naval base on the island of Ceylon under its control.
Colbert suspected that the Netherlands would establish a closer alliance with the Ming Empire, but he could not find any evidence of this.
After serving as Minister of Finance and Minister of Naval Affairs, Colbert worked hard to develop France's shipbuilding industry.
Especially after the introduction of first-class ironclad technology from the Ming Empire, France hoped that France could take this opportunity to promote the vigorous development of the shipbuilding industry with its own technical strength.
By 1675, French shipyards had completely digested the construction technology of first-class ironclads and developed a 2,600-ton ironclad ship on their own.
The combat effectiveness is between the first-level ironclad ship and the second-level ironclad ship. It is an accumulated product, but after all, it can be regarded as a solid step.
Louis XIV was very happy about this and named this class of ironclads the "Charlemagne" class.
The ironclad ships previously introduced from the Ming Empire were the "Gaul" class, and the ships of the same class authorized to be built were the "France" class.
The "Charlemagne" class was a milestone in the development of French military industry. Louis XIV approved the construction of ten ships of the same class.
At the same time, he ordered the development of a four-thousand-ton ironclad, which was equivalent to the Ming Empire's third-level ironclad based on tonnage and combat effectiveness.
Kolbe learned from naval architects that the test ship alone would probably take seven or eight years from development to launch.
If it were officially built in batches, it should be relatively safe in 1690...
This is assuming everything goes well!
The template is ready-made, it is the third-level ironclad ship that was received as a gift.
However, since there were no design drawings and engineers could not dismantle the battleship, it was very difficult to imitate it.
After weighing the pros and cons, it mainly depends on whether you have enough money in your pocket.
Louis XIV finally agreed to Colbert's request to introduce technology and spent ten years building a test ship.
Saving money means saving money, but whether it can meet the requirements for mass construction is questionable.
For France, the asking price of 100 million silver coins was not low, and it was affordable if it could be paid in installments.
If you can get two finished boats, it will be money well spent.
The Dutch deacon William III also had the same idea as Louis XIV!
In order to consolidate its position as the world's second largest sea trader, the Netherlands must continue to enhance its naval strength.
Although the national power of its ally France is the second in the world, the Netherlands' total trade volume and naval strength are both the second in the world.
The size of the Dutch fleet is almost the same as that of France. The difference is that the quality of the officers and soldiers is significantly higher than that of the French navy.
The advantage of the French navy lies in its brave and capable marines. Pure naval warfare is not an opponent of the Dutch fleet.
Tromp, the former commander-in-chief of the Dutch Navy, and Putmans, an old friend of Emperor Hao Jing, passed away one after another.
The famous general Ruyter, who was over seventy years old, was inconvenient to travel far, so the task of visiting the Ming Empire fell on the shoulders of Van der Zahn, who was nearly sixty years old.
He is only responsible for the performance of the battleship, and the specific negotiation work is completed by Putmans Jr.
In order to show goodwill to the Ming Empire, William III had previously agreed to the establishment of a naval base in Ceylon by his allies.
As a price, the two sides agreed to sign an agreement in 1680, which involved the exchange of four Class III ironclad ships for the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
After the agreement is implemented, the Netherlands can still retain its possessions in the South Asian subcontinent, and the Ming Empire will not interfere.
Little Putmans also expressed to William III that the Ming Empire seemed to have little interest in this land with cow dung, curry, Ganges water and numerous feudal states...
According to the gentlemen's agreement between the two parties, Ruyter will help Van der Zahn lead the Navy for another two years, and after the latter returns to his homeland, he can take up the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
The former also hopes that van der Zahn can take a good look at the Ming Empire, especially observe the development of its navy, and use this as a background to formulate the development plan of the Dutch navy in the next twenty years.
After meeting Emperor Hao Jing, van der Zahn and Little Putmans got three solutions for the third-level ironclad ship.
First, it is still the original negotiated model, exchanging Ceylon Island for four ironclad ships, all of which were newly launched this year.
Second, the Netherlands added an additional 50 million silver coins to Ceylon to obtain the construction technology of third-class ironclad ships.
Third, an additional 100 million silver coins will be provided, including five third-level ironclad ships and the transfer of related construction technology.
The difference between the second plan and the third plan is whether it is worth spending 50 million silver coins to buy a level three ironclad ship.
Van der Zahn certainly hopes to have as many large-tonnage ironclads as possible, but he must also consider his own financial affordability.
Is the price tag of 50 million silver coins for a third-level ironclad ship expensive?
Of course it’s not expensive!
If you are not an ally of the Ming Empire, you still can’t buy it!
In the words of Emperor Haojing, a first-class ironclad ship is equal to the current interests, and a third-class ironclad ship is equal to the interests twenty years from now.
If you want to be both down-to-earth and far-sighted, you will have to spend more money...
"Your Majesty, can Fahe agree?"
The first assistant, Fang Yizhi, stayed in France for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out the origin of Louis XIV.
"If they agree, we can make a fortune. On the contrary, we can continue to consolidate our sea power!"
Emperor Haojing is quite open-minded. As a world hegemon, he must be transcendent and not look at problems from a worldly perspective.
"I think it will be difficult for France and the Netherlands to build a third-class ironclad ship within twenty years!"
During his stay in Europe, Fang Yizhi visited the shipyards of both countries and had a certain understanding of their military industrial strength.
"Only when they see the gap between themselves and me, Ming Dynasty, will those two big customers be willing to spend money to buy a boat! If they can't see it, it means they are either short-sighted or blind!"
By ensuring your own maritime rights and interests, you can ensure the safety of maritime transportation lines. Every merchant ship is equivalent to a mobile treasury at sea.
Now even the Ottoman Empire is extremely obsessed with shipbuilding, which shows the importance of maritime trade to the country's tax revenue.
Transporting one's own local products to the other party's market and earning profits much higher than the local prices is the essence of maritime trade.
After understanding this essence, who can resist this temptation? ? ?
Not to mention the matter of transporting Uncle Black for thousands of miles with no capital and huge profits...
In two years' time, Tianjin Shipyard will launch eight Bismarcks and eight Dingyuans.
Although half of it has to be delivered to Zheng Zhilong, it can also double the combat effectiveness of the battleships of the Ming Navy.
Just four Bismarcks and twelve Dingyuans can sweep the entire French navy.
The Nandu Shipyard in the south is still building first-class ironclad ships, but they are used for export and equipment for coastal defense forces, and the latter are used for patrols.
In Emperor Haojing's naval development plan, the surface ship force will gradually phase out the first-class ironclads, and the lowest tonnage will be the second-class ironclads.
Only the third-level ironclad ship, Yoshino, can meet the standards for ocean warfare.
Strive to build a main fleet consisting of four Blüchers, 12 Bismarcks, and 20 Dingyuan ships before 1700.
The number of Yoshinos did not increase significantly, because Emperor Haojing believed that the third-level ironclads would be a useless product by then, and there was no need to pay too much attention and spend money.
Ming Dynasty now has an annual income of 250 million silver coins, but the balance in Taicang is less than 100 million silver coins.
One of the main reasons is the gold-eating behemoths being cultivated in the shipyard.
The eighth batch of shipbuilding plan (1676-1682), with up to eight Bismarcks started at the same time.
After adopting alloy armor and breech-loaded guns, the cost of building a single ship reached 10 million silver coins.
The reason why we can start construction at the same time is that we can pay in installments. Otherwise, with the eight Dingyuan ships built together, even the Ming Empire would not be able to handle this scale of play.
Emperor Haojing hoped that the export of Yoshino would be able to recoup his capital. Using a third-level ironclad ship to pay for a fifth-level ironclad ship seemed to be a very cost-effective thing.
According to Bo Jue's calculations, the cost of building a Blücher test ship with a full load displacement of more than 17,000 tons will reach 18 million silver coins.
So much so that Emperor Haojing had asked Jiexuan to contact Poirot, the emperor of the new Inca Empire, and exchange a first-class ironclad ship that had served the navy for many years in exchange for a large amount of fine copper.
Refined copper is money. If you increase the annual mining volume of Chilean copper mines to 100,000 tons, you will have enough money to build a bunch of fifth-level ironclads.
Based on the construction standards of silver coins and tonnage, the cost of a "King" class battleship is close to 35 million silver coins.
In the future, when purchasing even a battleship for the Navy, the Ministry of Finance will have to be careful and careful, just like France and the Netherlands currently purchase Yoshino.
This is not alarmist. In eight years, the construction of the seventh-class ironclad "King" will begin.
In 1695, the Tianjin Shipyard would begin construction of four Class VII ironclads.
The reason why eight ships are not built together is that the cost is too high, and it is really difficult to build so many at the same time.
Based on an annual income increase of 5 million silver coins, it is estimated that the Ming Dynasty's annual income will reach 330 million by then.
It is theoretically feasible to spend one-sixth of the annual income, which is 55 million silver coins, to buy ships for the navy every year.
"Your Majesty, France has occupied a lot of our land in North America..."
Regarding this matter, Fang Yizhi had read many memorials, but they were all suppressed by the emperor and did not even sign for approval.
"I hope they take over all our territory! Then the King's Division will have enough excuses to send troops!"
It's not that Emperor Haojing didn't know about this, but he just pretended not to know.
"If that happens, the relationship with France will plummet!"
Fang Yizhi didn't know how the emperor would handle the relationship between the two countries, but he still felt that he needed to be reminded in advance.
"France and the Ming Dynasty have always been in a competitive relationship, but the two sides have similar goals in the cakes of Britain and Spain, so they formed an alliance. I also have a bottom line and will not tolerate France always eating and occupying more. When Louis XIV dies, If his son wants to play like this again, he will definitely not be able to do it!"
Louis XIV must have known what Condé was doing in North America, but he acquiesced in this move that harmed the interests of his allies.
Therefore, Emperor Haojing pretended not to see it, and when the time was right, he would slap the other person and spit out everything he had eaten.
"Although I am older than Louis XIV, I have lived much longer than him. If his descendants do not produce capable people, France's defeat will be around the corner. Even now, France's national power is still rising. , but the gap with the Ming Dynasty, especially in terms of population, resources, technology, etc., is an insurmountable chasm. In terms of population, the Ming Dynasty is ten times that of France. In terms of annual income, the Ming Dynasty is about five or six times that of France. . In terms of military strength, the combat effectiveness of the army, navy and air force of the King's Division far exceeds that of the French army. What's more, our ally in the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, is not satisfied with the status quo and is still advancing into the hinterland of Europe. I sold it before Giving the Ottomans a bunch of weapons reminds France that even if the Ming Dynasty doesn't take action personally, it can make half of Europe restless!"
