Chapter 1763 Show of Force (5)
As a country that frequently launches wars with foreign countries, the casualty rate of the Haihan Army in the war is simply shockingly low. Such battle losses could even be ignored in the Ming Dynasty. However, Fei Cexian thought again. It was precisely because the battle losses of the Haihan Army were low enough that the officials could give extremely generous treatment to the fallen in terms of pensions. If the number of casualties on the battlefield every year was more than five figures like the Ming Dynasty, then Haihan officials might not be able to take this stance.
As for whether the figures mentioned by Yan Chujie were false reports, Fei Cexian had no doubts. The Haihan Army's own strength was extremely limited, and it would not be able to cover up the casualties if they were large. Moreover, the combat power of the Haihan Army is clearly stronger than that of competitors in the region. The casualty figures only confirm this once again from the side. There is no need for the official to falsify on such trivial issues.
The end of the military parade means the end of this morning's official activities. Next, the troops will leave Victory Square one after another, and then they will get at least two days of vacation. Guests attending the ceremony will attend a luncheon hosted by the Haihan Executive Committee and take a boat out to sea in the afternoon to watch the naval parade and amphibious military exercises.
For ordinary people, the two most important activities of this year's National Day, the fireworks show and the military parade, have ended, and what is left are some spontaneous celebrations organized by private citizens. As for the maritime military exercise that will be held in the afternoon, ordinary people have little chance to watch it at close range. Except for some cruise ships registered under the names of travelers, all other civilian ships have been prohibited from leaving the port since yesterday. Ximaozhou, where the amphibious military exercise is held, is more than ten miles away from the land. It is basically impossible to see the excitement on the nearby coast. At most, the sound of cannons coming from the sea breeze can be heard in the distance.
However, the public did not have much regret about this. After all, officials rarely opened activities such as military exercises to the public in the past. If you really want to see a war, don't complain. Sign up and join the army yourself. You will have more opportunities to step onto a real battlefield.
Although the folk celebrations in Haihan are not as grand as the official ones, they are not much less lively. Various flower festivals, lantern festivals and garden parties are held everywhere in the city. You can even see people walking on stilts and rowing land boats from the northern interior on the streets. Such performances.
Restaurants and restaurants were naturally full, and almost all stores in better locations had long queues. Sanya is a seaport that is rich in fish. Today, the price of seafood has rarely increased because the supply exceeds demand. Of course, anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is actually directly related to the sea ban that started last night. This morning there was not as much fresh catch as usual supplied to the market. However, people did not complain too much about this. After all, the official took this measure to ensure that the National Day activities can go smoothly.
However, the official state banquet held by Haihan will not be affected by the supply of food ingredients. The privileged class can naturally enjoy fresh seafood supplied through special channels. In this kind of international diplomatic occasion, Haihan officials will not think too much about the cost of hosting the event, and strive to be commensurate with the country's international influence. Compared with the diplomatic dinner the day before yesterday, the atmosphere today is more relaxed, and the diplomatic envoys who have been nervous can relax and enjoy the delicious food. Although there is an amphibious exercise to watch in the afternoon, everyone knows that this is the part where Haihan shows his force. Most people have no pressure on it and can just watch the Haihan military performance with peace of mind.
Fei Cexian and Su Keyi, who took the initiative to leave the game early yesterday because they felt humiliated, were no longer impulsive today. Of course, they were not here for the luncheon, but to stay and watch the naval parade and military exercises in the afternoon. Among the foreign envoys invited to participate in the National Day activities this time, these two were the most concerned about it.
From the standpoint of the Ming Dynasty and the Netherlands, Haihan is undoubtedly one of the most important competitors in the region, and the two are in the same situation. Both have been robbed by Haihan of the areas that were originally under their control, and there are also other areas that were under their control. Haihan continues the trend of suppression. Although there had been some conflicts between the two parties before, that was also an old thing many years ago. Now, in the face of more powerful opponents, the two companies have a faint tendency to cooperate.
Su Keyi's previous proactive overtures failed to make Fei Cexian relent, but the two sides have a better understanding of each other's positions, and there will not be as big a gap in getting along with each other as before. Most of the countries that sent personnel to participate in Haihan's National Day chose to be in the same camp as Haihan, and the two of them disdained to be associated with him, so they could only accompany each other. However, in order to avoid arousing Haihan's vigilance, they still did not deliberately stay together in public places. They only occasionally met their eyes and nodded slightly in tacit understanding.
However, the senior officials of Haihan had no time to take into account their personal feelings at this time. They spent a lot of money to organize the National Day celebrations this year. Just make it back. In addition to the arms sales that have come to an end, Haihan officials also hope to take this opportunity to promote the industrial products produced in the country to a larger market.
Nowadays, the whole of East Asia is still in the agricultural era. As long as the markets of various countries can be opened, Haihan's existing primary industry is enough to obtain huge profits in cross-border trade through the price scissor difference. Haihan led the countries in the South China Sea to form a trade alliance, on the one hand to lay the foundation for the establishment of a military alliance, and on the other hand to open the market doors of each country. Although there are many knowledgeable people in various countries who cannot rest assured about the trading system dominated by Haihan, in the end they still cannot withstand the two-pronged approach of coercion and inducement. They have gradually opened their doors to allow merchants to import various commodities produced by Haihan.
After opening trade relations with Haihan, it will indeed play a certain role in boosting the country's economic situation. After all, Haihan has a very large demand for various raw materials and will more or less purchase some local products from the country. Haihan even allows trading partners to barter or purchase Haihan products with low-interest or even interest-free loans.
From a national level, cross-border trade has brought about significant economic prosperity, and the revenue of the national treasury will also increase accordingly. This increase in income level is a very significant change for the small countries in the South China Sea. Countries including Annan believe that doing business with Haihan is a win-win move. Few people will carefully consider what role Haihan plays in the trade and who is the person who benefits the most.
After all, in this era, most people are limited by their vision. Officials are often very unfamiliar with the ways of cross-border trade, and almost all of the people in East Asia who can be called economic experts are concentrated in Haihan. Even if the business operation plans planned by Schneider were handed over to senior officials of these countries for study, it would be difficult to fully understand the economic principles involved, and they would basically be eaten by Haihan in trade transactions.
During this process, the capital and financial systems from Haihan are also continuously penetrating into these countries and regions, but this kind of silent operation will hardly attract attention. For example, Haihan has been indirectly influencing the grain market in Batavia through Cheng Dapeng in recent years. Although the East India Company has begun to try to regain control of the grain market, it only considers it a commercial Means, but did not fully realize that many of Cheng Dapeng's business initiatives came from the backers behind him.
For most countries, the fear of Haihan mainly comes from its powerful armed forces, while few people are aware of its power in similar economic and trade methods. Even diplomats like Fei Cexian, who were wary and distrustful of Haihan, did not truly realize the purpose of Haihan's request for Ming Dynasty to open the country to allow normal trade. During the National Day activities, Haihan has trade agreements to be signed with many countries. Most of these agreements have been negotiated before and are waiting to be announced at a formal occasion during the National Day celebrations. There is buying and selling, and there is also cooperation on certain projects. However, Daming and the Netherlands are not involved, so they can only act as spectators this time.
Although alcoholic beverages were provided during the luncheon, the senior officials of Haihan did not toast frequently. This was also considering that there were activities scheduled for the afternoon. If the guests drank too much, they would have to vomit in a lump when going out to sea. The scene would be simply unpleasant. Dare to imagine. If you really want to drink, don't worry at this moment. There will be an official appreciation dinner to be held in the evening, so you can naturally drink as much as you want.
However, most people were thinking about the excitement they would see in the afternoon, so the luncheon did not last long and ended in a little more than an hour. Then the Haihan Ministry of Commerce came forward to sign trade agreements with various countries, and it took nearly an hour to end. Fei Cexian and Su Keyi were doing nothing and almost fell asleep while sitting next to them. Finally, they waited for the staff to inform them to set off.
Many senior Haihan officials and their families who attended the military parade in the morning will not go out to sea with the ship in the afternoon. Some businessmen are also busy with their own affairs, so the number of people going to Victory Port to take the military sailing ship to sea in the afternoon is much smaller. However, the Navy still sent three majesty-class battleships to the port to greet these guests. However, with fewer people, there is a lot more space for activities on the deck, and the viewing environment is better.
After the three warships sailed out of Victory Port, they sailed south to Yulin Point and stopped, where the Navy's scheduled maritime parade was located. Not long after, the navy fleet was seen filing out of Victory Port, slowly marching southward in a long snake formation. When passing these three battleships, the sailors on the ships gathered on the right side of the ship and stood up and saluted the guests on the Majestic-class battleship.
In addition to the navy belonging to the garrison stationed in Sanya, the fleet participating in the parade also included combat troops returning from Manila, as well as naval forces from Danzhou and Haikou, totaling more than 60 ships. However, the several conventional warships that can often be seen in Victory Port are obviously no longer able to satisfy the discerning eyes of the guests. Many people are waiting for the legendary nearly invincible warship to appear.
But this wait really took a long time. It wasn't until the last ship of the reviewed troops appeared outside the Victory Port that someone finally exclaimed: "The Black Shark, the Black Shark is coming out!"
As a symbol of the highest combat power of the Haihan Navy, the Black Shark was ranked last and was dragged about two or three miles away from the large forces in front. However, this further highlighted the special status of this ship. Everyone cheered up and opened their eyes wide. Those who had telescopes quickly took out their telescopes and brought them to their eyes, hoping to see the details of the ship's appearance.
However, the Black Shark did not seem to be eager to show its strength at this time. Instead, like other ships, it slowly passed through the reading area at a stable speed. Compared to the crew members wearing white sailor uniforms on the deck of the Black Shark, everyone's attention was focused on the rotating turrets one behind the other on the ship. It is said that it was with this powerful new naval gun that the Black Shark single-handedly destroyed nearly half of the Spanish warships in the Battle of Manila.
Some of the guests had witnessed the battleship's powerful performance in firing targets during the cross-border military exercise held in the Beibu Gulf the summer before last, and they still behaved relatively calmly at the moment. Some guests who saw the ship for the first time could not hide their curiosity about this new type of naval gun, and began to ask around how the gun would adjust its bombardment direction during war.
After all the reviewed ships passed Yulin Cape, the three warships carrying the guests raised anchor and set sail again, followed the task force, and sailed west around Yulin Cape.
After sailing smoothly for a while, the three warships started their steam propulsion systems. The guests felt the vibration coming from below the deck, and many people's faces changed color, but those who knew a little bit about the Haihan battleship knew that the source of this vibration was the steam engine hidden deep in the cabin. As thick smoke began to emit from the ship's chimney, the speed of the three warships also increased rapidly, and soon they had surpassed the slowly moving Black Shark, allowing the guests to once again watch this at close range. The unique appearance of an advanced warship.
Passing the Luhuitou Peninsula, the three warships had already surpassed most of the task force. At this time, an officer explained to them that they would next go to Ximaozhou, eight nautical miles away, for an amphibious landing exercise.
At that moment, someone asked with concern: "Will the Black Shark participate in the exercise?"
After receiving a positive reply, the guests' spirits rose again. After listening to and reading many battle reports from the Battle of Manila, almost everyone is very interested in the actual performance of the Black Shark on the battlefield. The highlight of today's exercise is undoubtedly watching the performance of the Black Shark. The guests all wanted to know whether the fame of this ship came from the deliberate hype of Haihan officials, or whether it had truly reached the point of being invincible.
(End of chapter)