What does it feel like to tighten your belt?
Zhu Cixiang has not experienced this for many years, and after moving, he can just remember the bitterness and sweetness!
Jiexuan has already experienced this feeling, and this time he retired and sold eight level seven battleships in one fell swoop.
The Navy's procurement budget was severely affected by the move, resulting in an unprecedented reduction in the 18th batch.
Just as Jie Xuan had expected, the budget was only used to build two level 10 battleships, two type 3 aircraft carriers, and ten 10,000-ton cruisers.
Gone?
That's it, fourteen ships in total, not one more!
The 18th batch was also praised by the Navy as the worst shipbuilding plan in history, so shabby that it could only equip a squadron.
However, if Louis XIV or Tourville heard such words, they would definitely be angry...
According to estimates by the Ming Dynasty Navy, the French Navy can acquire at most one ninth-level battleship, one second-level aircraft carrier, one 10,000-ton cruiser, and five destroyers or frigates during the same period.
This means that during the most difficult period of the Ming Empire, the strength gap between the two navies was still widening.
If the Ming Dynasty's navy could not afford to survive, then the French navy would have died long ago and would not rest in peace.
Since the number of ships built by the Ming Empire this time is very limited, it is basically impossible for a French emperor to waste time on capital ships again.
Zhu Cixiang and Jie Xuan completely agreed. Since the navy's shipbuilding funds have become stretched, good steel must be used on the blade.
Tier 10 battleships with superior protection capabilities must be built, type 3 aircraft carriers with excellent feedback must also be built, and 10,000-ton cruisers must be built to escort the aircraft carriers.
All other non-essential surface ship construction plans will be cut off if possible, and the service period will be automatically extended by one batch.
In the absence of combat missions, these things just need to float on the water without sinking...
The situation of the 19th batch is slightly better. It is expected to build two Tier 10 battleships, two Type 4 aircraft carriers of the same tonnage, two Type 3 aircraft carriers, and ten 10,000-ton cruisers.
That is to say, there are two more large aircraft carriers than the batch of hundreds of millions, so the situation is slightly better.
Even if the Ming Dynasty tightens its belt, it can still launch a squadron or build an aircraft carrier battle group every eight years. Such terrifying national power can scare many people.
According to the situation where one-third of the warships are under maintenance, the remaining two-thirds can be dispatched normally.
At present, the Ming Navy can still use 21 aircraft carriers, 20 amphibious assault ships, 12 battleships, and 36 cruisers to form an expeditionary fleet to intervene anywhere in the world that can be hit at any time.
These capital ships form three large-scale aircraft carrier battle groups, and it is completely okay to intervene with force in coastal areas in three places around the world at the same time.
In particular, there are allies of the Ming Empire all over the world, including Korea and Japan in East Asia, the Ottomans in the Middle East, and the Incas in South America.
And except for East Asia, where the situation is more complicated, and the disputes between Ottoman and Persia, other places have basically been taken care of by Zhu Cihong.
The possibility of a war between French-controlled West Africa and Ottoman-managed North Africa is not high, with the Sahara Desert in between, unless the two heads of state plan to compete with their navies, which are not enough to see.
The Congo in central Africa is actually playing out the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a precise war between the Four Kingdoms.
That is, Britain, Spain, Tsarist Russia, and Portugal were fighting fiercely, and countries around the world had become accustomed to it.
The British controlled the area north of the Lomami River and the Spanish controlled the area south of the river.
Portugal, which came later, seized the territory east of the Great Rift Valley, and Tsarist Russia seized the area around Lake Kioga.
Tsarist Russia, which was extremely thirsty for land, had previously planned to go north to occupy the southern region of Sudan, which was relatively smooth at first.
The Ottoman border troops did not expect that the Russian army would launch a surprise attack. They were beaten to the point of peeing and nearly 100,000 square kilometers of land were lost.
When the news reached Istanbul, Ibrahim couldn't help but become furious. Neither France nor the Holy Roman Empire had taken advantage of him back then, and he must not let Russia get away with it.
An armored brigade, two mechanized brigades, and two cavalry brigades were immediately dispatched, plus a hundred fighter jets and two hundred helicopters to assist in the battle. They must hurt those idiots who do not know how to live or die.
Ibrahim, Louis XIV and Zhu Cixiang had always maintained a tacit attitude towards the melee in the Greater Congo.
The three parties agreed that there was no need for their own countries to get involved, as long as they watched the fun and the performers did not cross the border without permission.
I didn’t expect that some people really didn’t understand the rules, so I had to teach them a lesson.
If nothing else, at least bring it back to its original territory and make it understand the meaning of its existence...
The Greater Congo region was a buffer zone between the Ming Empire, the French Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, and no one wanted to upset the balance.
Maintaining the status quo is the best choice. The status quo may not be peace, it may also be war.
Those four countries like war, so let them fight to the end.
As long as they can come up with more objective equivalents, the three parties' audiences will not mind providing them with a certain amount of arms.
In the Greater Congo area, you can see the "Albatross" fighter jets that have long been eliminated by the major powers, and a variety of crispy tanks can also appear on the ground.
These gadgets are still used by local armed forces as good weapons that can only be owned by the main force.
Small arms are cheap, but have limited power.
Heavy weapons are useful, but expensive.
Another point is that Britain, Spain, Portugal, and Russia, no matter who came first or who arrived last, all followed the local customs and became localized.
"Localization" means "tribalization". Each general became a local warlord, commanding his soldiers to occupy their own territory.
Since a large number of military dependents came to the area, a continuous supply of child soldiers could be provided.
Especially beautiful girls, as long as they are mature women, can be sold to the Zheng Group in exchange for heavy weapons...
Interestingly, the Spanish territory is adjacent to the Fujian Kingdom, but they still remember the hatred of the country that was destroyed by Zheng Chenggong, so the purchase channel is France.
The British are just the opposite. There is a market for perfectly-shaped British women in Fujian, and they are very popular among the wealthy gentry. A high-quality product can be sold for thousands of silver coins, which is no less than the thin horse from Yangzhou back then.
Do you think this is rare?
That would be a big mistake!
At that time, more than half a million British people followed the Parliamentary Army and settled in the Congo. After the defeat of Charles II in North America, his remnants surrendered to the Ming army. As many as one million people came to the Congo one after another. Today, the local total The population is no less than three million.
Every year, nearly 10,000 adult jade pieces are sold to Fujian. The per capita price is about two hundred silver coins, and the total amount is two million. This amount of money is enough to buy a large number of heavy weapons from Zheng Chenggong.
Second-hand heavy weapons are also heavy weapons, and one cannon blast can kill anyone.
Warlords across the UK now have no choice at all. As long as they can buy it, they will eat everything they order.
As long as they can get a stable and reliable purchase channel, they can even sell their wives.
After all, I can give my wife a good future, and I can also marry a young and beautiful new wife. Isn’t this killing two birds with one stone?
In the past eighty years, Zheng has sold to Britain more than 2,000 aircraft, as many as 5,000 tanks, tens of thousands of artillery pieces, and a total of about 1 million guns of all kinds, enough to equip 200 infantry brigades.
Regardless of whether weapons are used in war, they will be subject to wear and corrosion. This is the fundamental reason why Britain continues to import weapons from Zheng Chenggong.
Now the power of Britain has fallen into the hands of Cromwell's great-grandson, although the head of state has become the mascot of the parliamentary gentlemen.
But in the hot Congo, he could lie in an air-conditioned villa and enjoy various services from beauties. Mini Cromwell had no other thoughts at all.
It's not that Cromwell is a fool, but that he has considered all possibilities, and perhaps maintaining the status quo is the best way out.
If you go to Zheng Chenggong's place, the treatment you can get at most will be the same as now, and you may even be betrayed by him, which would be too bad.
The gentlemen of Parliament are responsible for providing the documents, and a certain Cromwell is responsible for signing them.
The two parties cooperate very well. In essence, you guarantee that we are in good company, and we guarantee that you will have enough food and clothing!
In British North America at that time, it was calculated by Charles II.
In the British Congo area, even the Parliamentary Army fell, and later the remnants of the Royal Army failed to defeat it.
The Parliamentary Army controlled about 70% of the British Congo, and the rest was controlled by the remnants of the Royal Army.
Moreover, everyone in the UK has already acquiesced that parliamentarization should be more suitable for the fundamental interests of the UK than royal power.
If there were a king, such as Charles III, he might have to take back the power of Parliament again.
Now that the titular head of state has been stripped of his power and is only responsible for signing, everything becomes extremely smooth.
Parliament was responsible for providing a certain Cromwell with beautiful women and money, and the latter would get what he wanted if he signed honestly.
Because it is a mutually beneficial and fair transaction, neither party can break the contract, so this kind of cooperation has been continued.
As for Spain in the south, there was only one force and one head of state, namely Carlos V and his army.
Spain and Britain have roughly the same population and almost the same military strength.
During the period of Carlos IV, the Spanish army also made several northern expeditions, but they were all defeated by the British army.
This is completely understandable. If the descendants of the Parliamentary Army did not know how to fight, they would have been wiped out by the troops sent by Charles II long ago.
No one would have thought that Britain's most capable troops are now all in the Congo region of Africa.
No one would have thought that the Habsburg family that dominated Europe at that time had one branch in Henan in the Eastern world, and the other in southern Congo...
For the sake of his previous promise to his old friends and his own face, Louis XIV declined the application of Carlos and his son to send troops from France on the pretext that West Africa was too big and it was difficult for the French army to intervene elsewhere.
His Majesty the former European Emperor saw clearly that as long as France sent troops to destroy Britain, the Ming Empire would send troops to destroy Spain, because it was the first to break the balance.
Maybe there is no need for his old friend to send troops in person. As long as his disciple Zheng Chenggong goes directly northward in southern Africa, he can achieve his goal.
Zheng Chenggong once destroyed the Spanish mainland, so he might not mind bulldozing the country's African territory...
What Louis XIV was most worried about was that France and the Ming Empire would be involved in conflicts in the Congo, which would eventually lead to a large-scale war between the two countries in central Africa.
By then, the weak French army would no longer be a match for Zheng Chenggong's troops. As a disciple of an old friend, this commander should have learned more than half of his ability to respect his master.
The Zheng Army is fighting locally, and is supported by a complete industrial system at the rear, which can continuously provide weapons and ammunition to the front line.
The French army has been operating in West Africa for many years, but it has not established a corresponding military industry at all. All equipment needs to be shipped from the mainland. Although the distance is not too far, it cannot reach the other side at all.
According to estimates by senior French military officials, once a war breaks out, Zheng Chenggong can send 200,000 troops, and the French military can send up to 50,000 local troops.
Including the mobilized local soldiers and reinforcements sent from the mainland, the number can barely reach 200,000, which can only be regarded as equalizing the disadvantage in terms of military strength.
In terms of firepower, the French army is also at a disadvantage, and it should not be too big.
But if Louis XIV wanted to send a fleet, he would definitely be blocked by Zheng Jun's fleet.
Although Zheng Jun's fleet cannot compare with the main fleet of the Ming Empire, its strength still cannot be ignored.
In particular, Zhu Cixi's African fleet is stationed on Madagascar, and the distance to the battlefield is twice as short as our own.
Louis XIV would not allow the fleet he had worked so hard to build to be wiped out in the African waters...
Once the land battle cannot be resolved quickly and is dragged into a war of attrition by the opponent, the French army will undoubtedly lose.
The main force of the French navy was wiped out in the waters of Africa, and the main force of the French army was wiped out on the shores of Africa.
This was an outcome that Louis XIV absolutely could not accept, especially working for the Spanish.
And the most important point is that the French treasury does not have the money to pay for the war in the Congo!
Since there is no money, why fight?
It would be great if the Carlos family could protect themselves.
If he loses the ability to protect himself, Louis XIV can only rely on the specific situation.
The only thing that can help the Spanish is weapons and equipment and a small number of instructors. How well they can learn is their own business.
Of course, there is another point, that is, don’t leave the British alone and turn around to attack Zheng Chenggong’s territory!
To Louis XIV's chagrin, the stupid Spaniards had already done this...
As expected, I was beaten every time, and I didn't remember much after each time.
The Western Army often went south to rob food, money, and people, and their behavior was no different from that of a group of bandits.
After this behavior happened again and again, Zheng Chenggong finally became angry.
With the assistance of a large number of tanks and fighter planes, the 50,000 Zheng troops in the border area wiped out nearly 40,000 Western troops after a month of fighting.
"Eliminate" refers to the kind that cannot be resurrected, because Zheng Chenggong does not need such prisoners of war to mine.
This greatly weakened the Spaniards, and from then on they no longer dared to plunder across the border wantonly.
If the game continues, Spain will face the third threat of national annihilation!
