Chapter 972 Van Diemen’s Sanya Experience
It is a very important part of Haihan's foreign military strategy to use the cross-era black technology at his disposal to maintain advanced advantages in armaments over neighboring countries in the military field, and to maintain military deterrence against these countries. The Haihan Militia has fully demonstrated its superiority in weapons, equipment and combat methods in the past few years of war. Now it will use opportunities like this to demonstrate the speed of equipment upgrades to inform neighboring countries who is the best. The boss with the highest force value in a region.
Although the expenditure on research and development and construction of this new type of ship has forced the Navy, which has always had a sufficient budget, to bite the bullet, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission agree that maintaining the Haihan Armed Forces' leading position in armaments is very important in the long term. strategy, this advantage also helps to avoid the outbreak of international military conflicts to a certain extent. For example, Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands that have suffered losses at the hands of Haihan will now try their best to avoid military friction or more serious conflicts with Haihan.
Equipping one generation, developing one generation, and designing one generation is Haihan's long-term strategy in weapons R&D and manufacturing. The test ship "Deterrence" that is publicly displayed is actually a new type of equipment that is under development. In the design institute of Haihan Ordnance Industry, the real next-generation combat ship is already in the design stage, but it will probably take a few years to actually start construction, and it will wait until the manufacturing technology level in all related aspects has improved. Haihan Ordnance's technical reserves in terms of design capabilities are definitely far beyond what is needed for combat in this era. However, it is limited by the current manufacturing process and is currently unable to build more advanced warships at a cost acceptable to the military.
However, people outside don't know these inside stories. What they see is that the Haihan military comes up with an endless stream of new equipment every year, and almost every one of them is beyond their reach. If when we first came into contact with the Haihan people, we still had the idea of imitating others, then the frequency with which Haihan’s equipment is updated is simply despairing. He still hasn’t figured out what he got a few years ago. A new generation of equipment has already been released, and it is almost impossible to catch up with Shanghai Han's equipment replacement speed by means of imitation.
Van Diemen, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, was also one of the spectators with mixed emotions in the stands. He arrived in Sanya two days ago and happened to catch up with the invitation to watch the new ship's sailing ceremony. It was also his first time in Sanya. Haihan's main battleship was observed up close. He noticed that the number of side gun windows on this new warship was obviously much smaller than the number known through intelligence collection, and the fact that the Haihan people would reduce the number of guns equipped on a mature warship was obviously not due to funding issues. , the only reasonable explanation is that the Haihan people upgraded their naval guns, and no longer need to rely on the number of naval guns to support their firepower output.
The reduction in the number of artillery means that the number of combat personnel required on the ship will also be reduced accordingly, and the endurance of the warship at sea may be improved. Of course, this configuration also has obvious hidden dangers and disadvantages, because the number of naval guns is reduced than before. If some of the naval guns are hit by enemy fire or malfunction during combat, the combat effectiveness of the entire ship will be affected. relatively large impact. However, Van Diemen believes that the Haihan people will probably not make such low-level mistakes easily, and may have some special means to ensure the safety of the artillery deck, such as increasing the thickness and structural strength of the side sides. But limited by his knowledge, he really couldn't imagine that the Haihan people's real plan was to cover the sides with a layer of iron armor.
In fact, the Dutch also have warships with a tonnage similar to the "Majesty Class", but at this time they are all deployed on the European battlefield to fight fiercely with the Holy Roman Empire camp, and it is impossible to dispatch them to the Far East. The largest model of armed sailboats that the Dutch shipyards in the Far East can build is only about two-thirds of the tonnage of the "Majesty class", and the construction period is long, far less than the speed of building six ships in four years like Haihan. . The most terrible thing is that this shipyard was completely destroyed when the Malta Blue Army attacked Batavia in 1632. The current reconstruction progress is not smooth. It may take a year or two to restore the shipbuilding capabilities of the past. . In the foreseeable period of time, the East India Company will probably not have a chance to reverse the situation of maritime armed forces being suppressed by Haihan.
The only thing that makes Van Diemen feel fortunate is that the Haihan people do not seem to be as militant as the legend says. Although their armed forces do have high combat effectiveness, the Haihan people do not always try to use force to solve problems. Most of the time, they still seem willing to sit down and resolve differences through negotiation and communication. Of course, when conflicts cannot be resolved, they will not hesitate to use the threat of force, but it is better than taking action directly if they disagree.
After Van Diemen participated in the consultation meeting on Ambona Island last time, he decided to go to Sanya in person this time to see the real situation in the area under Haihan's rule. Sanya, the "Number One Port in the South China Sea", has been known for several years. Everyone who has been there has praised this magical port city. Van Diemen has long wanted to come and see it in person, but in the past the two sides have always been at odds with each other. In a hostile state, the trip cannot be made considering personal safety issues.
It’s hard to compare people to each other, and it’s hard to compare goods. After going to Sanya to see the bustling scene here with his own eyes, Van Diemen realized that there was indeed a gap between Batavia and Sanya that was difficult to catch up. Whether it is port operations or urban infrastructure, Sanya has obvious advantages. Batavia City, which the Dutch spent more than ten years developing and constructing, is far inferior to Sanya, which was built by the Haihan people in only half the time.
What is different from what Van Diemen expected is that there is not a big city surrounded by tall and majestic walls, but an open port city with walled fortresses, just a victory in the center of the city. It's just a fort. It seems that the Haihan people are not worried about foreign enemies attacking here. Van Diemen believed that the Haihan people's confidence came from the powerful armed fleet and the seemingly very reliable coastal defenses. The level of arms of both of them was the highest level he had ever seen in the Far East. If Batavia could have had With such protective capabilities, the chances of the Marathon defeating the Blues even landing are slim.
But unfortunately, Van Diemen has not been allowed to visit Haihan's military base or fortifications so far, so his understanding of Haihan's armed forces can only remain at the level of speculation for the time being. But he heard that there would be a grand military parade at the upcoming Haihan Founding Celebration, and he would be able to take a close look at the appearance and weapons and equipment of the Haihan Army.
However, Van Diemen deliberately came to Sanya more than half a month in advance, not entirely to inquire about the military intelligence here. When he was negotiating with the Haihan people on Amborna Island earlier, he expressed the hope to come to Sanya before the Haihan rule. He wanted to visit Hainan Island, and Haihan readily agreed and invited him to come over before Haihan's founding celebration to arrange a separate inspection trip for him.
This kind of treatment is quite rare in Haihan's diplomatic field. In recent years, only prominent foreign friends like Zheng Zha can enjoy such an arrangement. Others can usually just hang around in Sanya. It's over. In making this arrangement for the Governor of the East India Company, the diplomatic department had the intention of showing off to him, so that he could clearly realize the huge gap between him and Haihan in terms of colonial development.
After watching the "Deterrence" sailing ceremony, the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to Van Diemen and arranged for him to take a ten-day trip around the island on a sailboat affiliated with the Haihan Ministry of Commerce. The Haihan official who accompanied Van Diemen on his trip was one of the executive committee members, and Ning Qi, who was about to become Haihan's Minister of Foreign Affairs after the founding ceremony, had a very high standard of treatment. Although Fan Diemen had never met Ning Qi before, he knew something about this high-ranking Haihan official. In 1631, the Haihan mission visited Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. Shibazhi sent a group of assassins to Zhangzhou City to try to assassinate the Haihan mission. At that time, the chief officer of the Haihan mission was Ning Qi. Although the assassination attempt by Shiba Zhi ultimately failed, it caused big trouble for Shiba Zhi and the East India Company. The Haihan armed fleet accompanying the mission took retaliatory actions that month and captured Nanri Island, a very important foothold of Shibazhi in the offshore waters of Fujian. Two months later, the armed fleet sent by Taiyuan Port to support Shibazhi also collapsed on Nanri Island.
Since then, the East India Company's influence in the Fujian waters has collapsed, and it is unable to fight back in the face of the Haihan people's pressing pressure. Although the two sides later reached an armistice agreement through negotiations, the East India Company had to swallow the huge loss it suffered in Fujian.
Since Heihan arranged this trip, the number of Van Diemen's entourage was also limited, and he was only allowed to bring one servant. Although Van Diemen didn't quite understand the harsh requirements of the Haihan people, he still agreed. After all, this kind of opportunity was really rare. There was no substantial difference for him, a foreigner, between leading one subordinate or a team of subordinates. If something went wrong with his safety, it would not be the East India Company that would be embarrassed, but the Haihan people.
However, when Van Diemen was taken to a special dock and saw the sailing ship he was going to board, he understood why the Haihan people wanted to limit the number of people, because the ship was not really big. If he brought a team of men and guards, the ship would be It’s probably impossible to sail around the island at all.
The sailing ship arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this trip is the catamaran "Speed", which has greatly reduced its capacity. This second-hand sailing ship was bought from Europe by the North American gang and served as a universal sailing ship for a long time in the early days of the crossing. A means of transportation and even once used as a reconnaissance ship for military purposes. However, after Haihan gained the ability to build its own ships, the "Speed" and its sister ship "Lightning" gradually reduced the frequency of sailings. After all, the two ships had too few spare parts, and maintenance and repairs in this era would face certain challenges. Technical obstacles, sailing as little as possible can also slow down its depreciation rate.
At present, only some relatively important or time-limited tasks will dispatch these two ships. This time Van Diemen visited Sanya and had a trip around the island, so Ning Qi very coquettishly brought out his most advanced yacht, somewhat to show off to the Dutch.
There were only four bedroom cabins in total on the ship. Van Diemen and his servants were assigned to the largest bedroom, and Ning Qi occupied the other. The remaining two bedrooms were occupied by sailors and various types of cabins. Plant supplies were divided up.
Compared to the messy European sailing ships of this era, Van Diemen was truly amazed by the cleanliness of the Speedy. Moreover, except for part of the deck, the hull of this ship was not made of wood at all. The structure of the ship also surprised him. It was obviously different from the commonly known Haihan sailboats both inside and outside the hull.
Ning Qi arrived late today. As the chief official of the two departments of foreign affairs and civil affairs, he has been very busy with the founding celebration recently. Although the schedule to accompany Van Diemen had been decided very early, it was not until When the departure time was about to come, Ning Qi hurried to the dock to board the "Speed" to meet Van Diemen.
Ning Qi's understanding of Anthony Van Diemen must be much greater than the other person's understanding of him, and he has already done the corresponding homework. If the emergence of Heyhan had not caused a deviation in the historical trajectory, Van Diemen would have had to wait until 1636 to ascend to the position of leader of the East India Company, and then expel the Portuguese from the Strait of Malacca in the following years and send troops to expel them. The Spaniards colonized the Taipei area and opened up trade between the Netherlands, Thang Long Prefecture in Annan and the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, bringing the East India Company's influence in the Far East to a new level.
However, these outstanding personal achievements probably could not be realized as recorded in history. Except for the trade relationship with the Tokugawa Shogunate, other things were basically completed by the Haihan people. The East India Company that Van Diemen took over was a complete mess, and it was unlikely to support him in completing these great achievements. However, judging from the original historical records, Ning Qi believed that Van Diemen was a very capable official who completed many difficult tasks during his nine-year term. If he had not died of illness, his governorship would have been very promising. Peterson-Cohen beyond his predecessor.
Ning Qi also went to Schneider specifically to get some advice. After all, Schneider had a long consultation with Van Diemen on Ambrosia Island and had a clearer and more intuitive feeling about this man's situation. In short, I have basically done enough homework beforehand. As for how many points I can get in the final exam, it depends on Ning Qi's on-the-spot performance.
(End of chapter)