Chapter 321 Test Ride the Train
Compared with his colleagues who are still using relatively primitive naval warfare methods such as ramming, fire attack, and gang jumping, Haihan is indeed in a leading position in many aspects such as weapon level, shipbuilding technology, and naval tactics, but these are just theories. It's just an advantage. In terms of true surface warfare, the only time the special operations company that went deep into the upper reaches of the Zhengjiang River fought with the "Exploration" was during the expedition to Annan, but the opponent's combat power was worse than that of Yazhou Water Village. Even if the Annan navy achieved victory, it could not prove anything at all.
If the battlefield were to be changed to the vast sea, and the opponents were replaced by pirate gangs experienced in naval battles, then probably no one would have blind confidence in victory. Primitive naval warfare tactics are not without merit. Chinese sailing ships also have a chance of winning when fighting warships equipped with artillery. According to original history, when Zheng Chenggong conquered Taiwan more than 30 years ago, he successfully sank and captured many Dutch warships and armed merchant ships in battles with the Dutch.
Of course, Zheng Chenggong's victory was ultimately based on his superiority in military strength, and he wiped out the Dutch maritime armed forces. But compared with the dozen or so warships sent by the East India Company to Relanja to participate in the battle at that time, the only warship that Haihan can really use today is the "Discovery". Even with the addition of the "Discovery", which is still in the outfitting stage, The No. 2 and No. 3 ships were also unable to compete with the "Eighteen Zhi", which had a naval force of 30,000. Having said that, the Executive Committee has spent so much time and gone through so many detours to try to support the Xu Xinsu Group in Fujian, why not just let it withstand the "Eighteen Zhi" offensive on the frontal battlefield in order to strive for development of its own maritime power? Time?
If we give up the naval battle and just serve as a defensive force to assist Xu Xinsu in defending the city, there will not be much risk, but the hidden dangers caused by the long supply line are still unavoidable, which is still unavoidable for the crossing group that does not have enough capital to take risks. It is an undesirable strategic plan.
After Yan Chujie quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, he still shook his head helplessly and rejected Dong Yanyun's proposal: "Boss Dong, this matter involves too many aspects, and it is not something that I can make a decision on my own. If you insist , then I can make a proposal to the Executive Committee on your behalf, but you should not have any hope for the result. Fujian is too far away, and our militia currently does not have enough capabilities to carry out combat missions in such distant places. "< br>
Dong Yanyun couldn't hide the disappointment on his face: "In this case, I still have to ask General Yan to say a few kind words to the Executive Committee! If it comes to pass, I will give you a big thank you!"
Yan Chujie waved his hand and said: "There is no need to thank you deeply. Although we will not directly participate in the battle between you and the 'Eighteen Zhi', we will still give you as much help as possible. As long as your big boss knows, As long as we are on his side.”
Dong Yanyun said yes again and again, thanking Yan Chujie endlessly. Although he could not borrow troops from the Haihan people, Dong Yanyun's trip was not in vain if he could get such a clear statement from the senior military officials of Haihan. Whether the Haihan people are willing to lend troops to help is not the key condition that determines victory or defeat for the Xu Xinsu Group. Compared with this, Dong Yanyun is more worried about the fact that the Haihan people will not only sit back and watch, but also attack their opponents. Weapons for sale. Therefore, in addition to the responsibility of negotiating cooperation and purchasing arms when he came to Victory Port this time, he also wanted to check whether there were other colleagues from Fujian who came to Victory Port, because it was very likely that the "Eighteen Zhi" were in Fujian. The "sitting business" of placement. Fortunately, so far, the only Fujian business representative Dong Yanyun knows is himself. It can be basically concluded that there is no connection between the Haihan people and the "Eighteen Zhi".
If he really met his colleagues from Fujian in Shengli Port, Dong Yanyun actually had no good solution. It is impossible to take action on the territory of the Haihan people. The labor camp in Shengli Port is one of the famous "attractions" here. Anyone who violates the rules of the Haihan people here will be thrown into the labor camp regardless of their identity. Dong Yanyun will not I dare to expect that these rich and powerful local bullies will give me any special treatment. The only feasible way is to defeat the opponent with money, or at worst, book the venue at a high price - all the money that was not used when I came to Victory Port last time was shipped here again this time. Anyway, I can't buy cannons now, so I have to buy 18,000 yuan. A musket is definitely enough.
But there is one thing that Dong Yanyun still hasn't figured out. This group of Haihan people are said to come from an unknown continent thousands of miles away. They have never had any contact with Zheng Yiguan and his gang after arriving in Qiongzhou. The furthest they have been is Guangzhou. Why are they so proactive in participating in this war along the coast of Fujian, and their attitude is so firm, and they have been on Xu Xinsu's side from the beginning? Could it be that these people really want to be enlightened and want to work for the imperial court to suppress bandits?
If Dong Yanyun had not dealt with the Haihan people, he might have been skeptical when hearing such rumors. After all, the majesty of the Ming Dynasty was still there these days. Even if Annan succeeded in seeking independence, he would still give the Ming Dynasty face in public. It is not unusual for some foreigners from overseas to want to join us. But after he personally dealt with the Haihan people twice, he completely gave up this idea - anyone could surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but it would never be this group of Haihan people.
These guys didn't pay attention to the various prohibitions of the Ming Dynasty at all, and completely built Victory Port into a lawless place. The Haihan people not only have their own armed forces, they even make their own local laws and regulations. The Ming Law is of no use here. As for the Yulin Inspection Department that still exists here, it is not difficult for Dong Yanyun to see the fishiness in it - Xu Xinsu also did this kind of behavior in Fujian. Of course, now that Xu Xinsu has an official status, it is a legal excuse, and it is definitely illegal for these Haihan people to play this trick.
With no intention of surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, and no intention of raising an army to rebel, Dong Yanyun didn't understand why this group of people wanted to confront the "Eighteen Zhi" who were thousands of miles away and had no interest in it. Let's just go ahead and do it so secretly, it seems that they don't want "Eighteen Zhi" to know their existence too early. Dong Yanyun originally thought that the strategy of borrowing troops would be appreciated by the Haihan people, because it would fulfill their desire to intervene in the war in Fujian. However, he did not expect that Yan Chujie thought about it for a long time and finally did not agree to his proposal. This made Dong Yanyun somewhat agitated. Small frustration.
But then Yan Chujie gave him a suggestion that sounded very good: "The people you sent to Victory Port this time are basically craftsmen who repair firearms and artillery, but in fact we think what you need to learn more is the use of firearms. For our advanced tactics, we should select some better-qualified grassroots officers and send them here to receive our professional training. Although our weapons manufacturing technology will not be easily taught to outsiders, our fighting skills can still be appropriately taught to close collaborators. Partner...Boss Dong, do you know how many military cadets came from North Vietnam this time?”
"I don't know, please give me some advice from General Yan!" Dong Yanyun responded respectfully.
"Twenty people, all young officers." Yan Chujie said very proudly: "After these officers return to China after studying here, they will become the main force in the army and lead the army to attack the South Vietnamese rebels. And the army of Annan Kingdom , is also expected to enter the age of firearms from now on. Although their weapons are changed several decades later than the Ming Dynasty, as long as they learn the tactics we teach, their combat effectiveness will soon catch up with the Ming Dynasty.”
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"I see. As soon as I get back, I will write a letter to the head of the family and select capable people to join the military academy in Victory Port." Dong Yanyun revealed it clearly and understood that Yan Chujie's enrollment was only one aspect. He mainly wanted to use this to further consolidate the relationship between the two parties. relation. Although the size of the troops directly under Xu Xinsu's command is not comparable to that of North Vietnam, ten or eight loyal and available talents must be selected. As for the admission fee and other issues, Dong Yanyun didn't intend to ask at all. Anyway, I can pay it and will definitely pay it. If I ask it, it will make me look petty.
With few customers, business can be negotiated quickly. The recommendation meeting of the military industry department did not even take half of Ning Qi's time before it came to an end - of course, this is also due to the fact that the military industry department has not launched export-oriented weapons and equipment in the near future. Very important. This situation of resting on one's laurels will probably continue for some time until relevant departments feel it is necessary to start replacing them with next-generation weapons.
The military industry department has never stopped developing new weapons for a day. The reason why it has slowed down the pace of weapon updates is that there are still many areas for further improvement and improvement in the manufacturing process of weapons. The military hopes to achieve stable performance. , Products with relatively guaranteed quality rather than trial products hastily taken out from the laboratory. The reasons on the other hand are more complicated. In addition to the current large gap in the group's own weapons installation needs, the commercial department hopes to use the previous generation of products in exchange for as much sales revenue as possible. When the market purchasing power drops to After a certain level, the weapons will be upgraded and replaced, and then the weapons replaced by the militia will be sold. In this way, the profits of the arms trade can be maximized - the generation-differential sales strategy originally designed for the arms trade was also exactly the same. for this purpose.
With North Vietnam currently having less than 2,000 muskets and orders for dozens of artillery pieces, both the military and commercial departments believe that there is still great potential to be tapped. At least North Vietnam must be armed with a thermal weapons force of 10,000 people. . As for the sales volume in Fujian, it is estimated that the sales volume will be slightly smaller. After all, Xu Xinsu is only a military leader now. Even if his team is overstaffed, there are limits, but there is still a lot of room for maneuver. Therefore, the relevant departments are not particularly anxious about arms sales. After all, there is no other place to buy this thing for the time being. Xu Xinsu is probably not willing to spend the same amount of money to buy inferior goods supervised by the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. He can only wait patiently for the goods to be shipped. Han has shipped the goods.
When several representatives walked out of the place where they were discussing matters, Dong Yanyun lost his voice and said: "Then... what is that!"
Everyone turned around and saw different expressions. The North Vietnamese envoy was similar to Dong Yanyun, looking like he had seen a ghost. Li Nai, the representative of "Fu Ruifeng", was not surprised. He still waved the folding fan in his hand leisurely and said: "You don't know, this is a steam engine invented by the Haihan people! This thing uses clean coal to boil water. The water vapor drives the connecting rod, which is extremely powerful and can carry tens of thousands of pounds. The white smoke passing by is the water vapor after boiling! "Zhengqiji? Coal?" Even though he was well-informed, Monk Zhang Er was at a loss after hearing Li Nai's explanation. As for the North Vietnamese mission, let alone the two uncles and nephews Zheng Zha and Zheng Ting, who stared at each other with big eyes and small eyes, completely confused.
Seeing that these people were still in a confused state, Li Nai suddenly felt a sense of intellectual superiority. He raised his hand to Yan Chujie and said, "I wonder if Mr. Yan can arrange for me to take a test ride on a steam locomotive?"
Yan Chujie smiled and said: "Of course there is no problem with this. If I guessed correctly, the car now carrying should be the Guangdong business group that came to Victory Port for inspection this time."
Yan Chujie's guess was indeed correct. The shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" were sitting in the carriage dragged by the steam locomotive, enjoying the pleasure of speed. Although the speed of the car was not actually very fast, some people were still holding on to the window frames tremblingly, as if they were worried about being thrown out by the rumbling monster. Others showed excitement on their faces, sometimes sticking their heads out to look from the left, and sometimes looking from the right, as if to repeatedly confirm that this big guy was not being led by a galloping horse or something else.
The only thing that made everyone feel a little uncomfortable was that this so-called carriage had multiple windows, and none of them had been installed. So the soot mixed with water vapor directly filled the entire carriage, which made the wealthy businessmen who were used to living a comfortable life feel uncomfortable. They were very embarrassed. However, in this novel environment, no one particularly cared about the choking soot.
The reason why this group of people appeared on the train was because one of the investment projects this time was the "intercity rail transit system." This is a new thing that the shareholders here have never been exposed to. The only shareholder who knows something about it, Li Nai, the third young master of "Furuifeng", went to another promotion meeting, so everyone is familiar with it. This has no concept. So in order to give shareholders a quick and intuitive understanding, Tao Donglai asked them to take a ride on the Shengli Port to Tiandu line that had just been opened to traffic a few days ago.
"This thing is far more stable and faster than a sedan and carriage. It is really a magical tool!" Zhan Gui, a merchant from the sea, took the lead and praised loudly.
"I just don't know the principle of this thing. It seems that the front of this car is made of fine iron. It must weigh several thousand kilograms. It can travel so fast. Looking at the secret skills of Haihan craftsmen, my Ming Dynasty is still inferior!" Wang Qin, the representative of Huizhou Haifeng, could not help but sigh.
Businessmen are very practical creatures. They quickly put away their novelty and began to consider the practical use of this thing. Needless to say about the speed, although this car is not as fast as a galloping horse, it is not too slow. It is still much faster than ordinary carriages, bullock carts, handcarts, sedans and other means of transportation. Its biggest feature is its load capacity. According to Haihan people's explanation, this car can pull a carriage five times its own weight. This kind of load-carrying capacity is a treasure for transportation lines with large freight volumes. The cargo that one vehicle can pull in one trip can be used as dozens of animal-drawn vehicles.
But this kind of car also has some shortcomings. For example, it needs to burn a lot of coal, needs to add water at regular intervals, and needs to constantly add coal and boil water during travel. It must move along the laid track, and the manufacturing and laying construction of this track seems It's not easy either. In addition, the entire front of the car in key parts needs to be made of fine iron. In other words, although this kind of car looks easy to use, its construction and operation costs are much higher than traditional tools. The convenience is convenient but not obvious. Gotta be a good deal.
The plan given by Haihanfang is to build more civilian tracks in the future, recover costs by charging ride fees and freight fees, and gradually achieve profitability. Considering the construction period and initial investment of this project, as well as the population size and income status of the local people, shareholders are very doubtful whether the profits promised by Haihanfang can be realized. If the toll standard is set high, there will definitely be fewer people taking the bus. If it is set low, the time to recover the construction costs will become elusive.
Although everyone praised the car's performance, financing and operating it was another story. In business, although things are good things, shareholders are not willing to invest money in such a project with an uncertain future.
When the car was halfway along the track, it stopped and returned to Fort Victory Station. The executive committee did not intend to allow these shareholders to visit the production units in Tiandu Industrial Zone. After arriving at the station, the staff prepared hot water for the wealthy businessmen whose faces were covered in soot to wash themselves off first.
While they were still queuing up to wash their faces, Yan Chujie arrived at the station with a few excited customers. Zheng's uncle and nephew, both of whom had military backgrounds, were very courageous and went straight to the locomotive to observe carefully.
They have much more thoughts than these businessmen - if this thing can be introduced to Annan, the time required to mobilize troops from Thang Long Mansion to the front line by land can be shortened at least several times! The only problem is that the route taken by the "Zhengqi Chicken" seems to need to be specially laid. However, Annan, especially the Red River Delta in the north, is famous for its rich water system. If you want to build this kind of stone base, and then build it on top It is not easy to lay roads with railroad ties using sleepers.
"You two, you can't tell the difference just by looking at it, so why not go up and take a ride." Li Nai smiled and helped the Haihan people push the two uncles and nephews into the water.
So about twenty minutes later, the rumbling train came back pulling a group of people who were also smoked into black faces. Li Nai shook his fan and chuckled on the platform, deeply proud of his wit - he had already ridden a small train hauling ore at Tiandu Iron Mine last year, and at that time he was covered in more coal dust than these others. Even more embarrassed.
(End of chapter)