Chapter 1867 Project Delay
Different from the era of cold weapons, new troops using hot weapons require very high maintenance costs. The cost of weapons and equipment, daily training consumption, and wartime material supply requirements all far exceed those of troops using cold weapons. . Even Haihan, who was famous for his wealth, had always been able to only rely on elite troops and was unable to maintain a large standing army.
At present, Haihan's troops stationed in Shandong, Liaodong, and North Korea combined total less than 10,000 people. It's not that Haihan doesn't want to send more troops to the north, it's that the troops are really limited. If more troops are transferred to the north, the weak defenses in many places in the south will inevitably be exposed. The scale of Haihan's garrison in the control areas in the north is just enough to maintain the current situation. Whether in Shandong or Liaodong, the limited garrison strength prevents Haihan from expanding his hands and feet to expand the territory of the control area.
Therefore, even though they won a great victory on the Korean battlefield and pursued the Qing army all the way to the banks of the Yalu River, the Haihan army still gave up when it was good and did not try to take advantage of the victory to pursue and penetrate into the Qing's sphere of influence.
Haihan's national strength can only reach this level. It will naturally be more difficult for North Korea, which has already had its national treasury emptied before. Although there are currently a series of industrial cooperation plans that can help North Korea revitalize its economy, most of the profits from these industries will go into Haihan's pocket. However, North Korea requires too much money for post-war reconstruction and cannot be invested in a short time. Funds for the military field are still very limited, and it is unlikely to expand the new and expensive army again. Although Li Bo's wish is beautiful, there is probably no hope of realizing it for a while.
Of course, Wang Tom would not say such words that would dampen the enthusiasm of the two princes. When their understanding of the military field gradually increases in the future, they will realize the horror of the bottomless pit of military expenditures.
Qian Tiandun thought that just the heavy infantry company's drill was not enough to shock the North Korean prince and his entourage, so he also arranged artillery shooting training.
The artillery equipped by this authentic artillery unit all starts with a caliber of 115mm, which is much larger than the small-caliber cannons of heavy infantry companies that pursue portability. Naturally, the power of artillery strikes is also different. The Haihan Army also specially set up some bamboo and wood frame fortifications in the shooting range as targets. The effect of exploding after being hit is more visually impactful.
The expressions of the two princes were a little nervous after the rumble of the cannons. However, they were from noble families after all. Even though they were frightened, they still insisted on watching the deafening artillery drill at a close distance.
"The artillery is so powerful. No wonder the Qing army was completely defeated after hitting the defense line set up by the Gui army on the Datong River. It is really a magical weapon!" Li Shu praised.
Li Hao asked: "Excuse me, General Qian, our country also has some artillery, which are similar in size but seem to be less powerful than your country's artillery. Why? Is it the same as a musket? It looks similar, but in use, its performance is completely different. .”
Qian Tiandun explained: "The technical principles may not be fully understood even if I tell them. In the final analysis, there is a gap in the level of ability to design and manufacture weapons. And this gap is difficult to cover with financial investment. To make up for it, after all, there are many disciplines involved in developing an advanced weapon, and it takes a long time to train relevant talents. That’s why we recommend that your country send more overseas students to Sanya, where they will have the opportunity to learn various aspects. The most advanced technology in the field will be brought back to North Korea to benefit the people.”
Qian Tiandun's statement undoubtedly sounds very generous, but the actual operation is not simple. The skills that North Korea can really learn from Haihan in a short period of time will probably still be mainly agricultural techniques. As for weapons manufacturing, marching and fighting, knowledge in these professional fields cannot be acquired overnight, and even needs to be continuously trained and improved in war.
Haihan has overseas battlefields all year round that can be used to train its troops and test the combat effectiveness of new weapons. However, North Korea does not yet have such conditions. After all, none of the surrounding countries can afford to provoke it. If it takes the initiative to provoke a war, it is seeking death.
Of course, the two princes may not have such an awareness yet, so they are still very excited by Qian Tiandun's attitude and believe that Haihan's opening up will be an excellent development opportunity for their country—— The premise is that the country can send enough overseas students to Haihan.
However, studying abroad in Haihan is not a free benefit. Haihan only provides such a window. As for the various expenses of overseas students during their stay in Haihan, they still have to settle the accounts clearly. For North Korea, the related budget is not a small amount, so it actively limits the quota.
According to the conditions proposed by Haihan, every officer who goes to Sanya to study abroad must pay Haihan 3,000 taels of silver per year. This amount includes basic expenses such as tuition, miscellaneous fees, accommodation, etc. However, students still need to bear their own food, clothing and social expenses while studying abroad. Based on Sanya's local economic level, they must prepare at least 1,800 taels of silver a year. If students participate in other special operations while studying abroad, such as going overseas with the Haihan Army as a military observer, the cost may have to be calculated separately.
For North Korea, which is currently very poor, this tuition fee is quite high. Considering that the military has limited funds, it will have to purchase a large number of weapons from Haihan to arm the new army, so it is impossible to send a large number of overseas students. , so there was a situation where only about 20 people from the 2,000-strong new army could be sent to study abroad. North Korea originally thought that this was Haihan's intention to extort money, but after communicating with the Fujian Ming Army and Annan Army, they realized that this was also a year-round price increase. However, the economic status of those two companies was far better than that of North Korea, and they sent dozens of officers every year. I didn’t even blink an eye when I went to study abroad in Sanya.
Of course, if the two princes want to study abroad, the treatment will definitely be different. Haihan has stated that tuition will be free of charge, and they can choose to live in the recently completed North Korean Embassy. Not only is the living environment far better than the military camp, but also All food, clothing, housing and transportation are accounted for by the public expenditure accounts, and Li Cao and Hu Cao, the two yamen in charge of diplomacy and finance, will definitely not say anything about this.
Now everything is ready, the two princes are quite interested in this, and there is a rare harmonious situation in the court. No ministers object to this, and it seems that they are just waiting for King Li Zhu to make corresponding arrangements.
After watching the Army's drill in the morning and having lunch, Qian Tiandun took the group of Koreans by boat to a construction site on the river bank downstream of the base where the boundaries were still being demarcated.
"Everyone, the place you see now is still a wasteland, but soon it will become an arsenal built by our two countries." Qian Tiandun pointed at the place where the rope had been pulled up. "After this place is built, the cost of replacing weapons in your country will also drop significantly. If enough craftsmen join by then, the production capacity here will be enough to meet your country's needs."
Qian Tiandun's words were still hidden. He did not promise the North Koreans the specific production capacity of the arsenal in the future. If the North Koreans' expectations cannot be met by then, the reason can be attributed to the lack of qualified craftsmen. Li Mingdao: "If I remember correctly, this is the iron ore mine your country is planning to mine nearby, right?"
Qian Tiandun nodded and replied: "Your Majesty, you remember correctly, the mine is less than five miles away, and a smelting plant will be built between the mine and the arsenal. By then, there will be a link from mining to smelting to Ordnance production line for manufacturing guns.”
"Production line? This statement is quite new." Li Bo nodded and said: "This arrangement is very good. It can be processed nearby and can save a lot of trouble."
If the coal mines near Pyongyang in the upper reaches of the Datong River are included, this area will form a coal-iron composite industrial zone including arsenals in the future. The industrial structure is even more complete than the Shilu-Changhua Industrial Zone in Haihan. Of course, in the foreseeable future, production here can only be based on manpower, and the productivity cannot be compared with the Haihan Industrial Zone, which has begun to use steam machinery extensively.
This arsenal is nominally a joint venture between the two countries, but in fact Haihan is only responsible for the construction plan of the factory area and the weapons manufacturing technology, while it is North Korea that invests funds and manpower. The weapons produced here in the future will mainly be based on the models that Haihan's technology has been transferred to North Korea, but Haihan will also produce some low-tech weapon spare parts here to meet the needs of the northern garrison.
Of course, as far as the current situation is concerned, this arsenal is still in the painting stage. Although North Korea wants to promote the early completion of this project, it still has the same old problem that cannot be bypassed-no money. The cost budget for the arsenal provided by the Haihan military was 800,000 taels of silver. North Korea could not afford that much money, so it could only squeeze the budget again and again. In the end, cuts in the east and west reduced the cost by half. But despite this, there is still not enough funds to be available in time, so we can only insert a few signs and ropes to circle the land, indicating that the project has started.
As for when it will be completed, it will only depend on when the imperial court will allocate funds. Shen Jingzhen, the military judge in charge of this matter, lost no time in speaking from the side and said: "I would like to report to the Crown Prince that the design drawings of the arsenal are now ready. Construction can start immediately as soon as the imperial court allocates funds."
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Shen Jingzhen's intention, of course, was to ask the prince to help collect the money after he returned. If the court didn't get the money, the land would have to remain idle.
Li Jingren wasn't stupid either. Hearing Shen Jingzhen's tone, he knew that there was something going on that he didn't know about. However, whether the lack of funds was due to the Hucao Yamen or some other reason, he would not ask clearly in front of the Haihan people. He responded calmly: "Master Shen, don't worry, this matter will be solved soon." It will be solved.”
How to solve it, who will solve it, and when it will be solved, Li Bo didn't mention a word, and Shen Jingzhen didn't continue to ask questions without knowing what was wrong. He originally just wanted Li Bo to express his position, and did not expect to get greater benefits from Li Bo.
In fact, Li Bo didn't understand the purpose of the Haihan people in arranging for him to visit the site of the arsenal. But as the heir apparent, he could not lose his momentum in front of the Haihan people, nor could he boast too much. This degree was really not easy to control. .
The next day, the schedule of the Li brothers and their party was to visit the military dock of the Datong River base under construction, as well as the site selection of the United Shipyard nearby, which was also a piece of white land. According to the agreement between the two parties, after completion, this joint shipyard will build exploration-class warships for North Korea to enhance the strength of the North Korean navy.
The situation here is actually similar to the arsenal they saw yesterday. It is still an industrial cooperation project whose implementation has been delayed by funds. Of course, Wang Tom also boasted to Li Bo and others about the role of this shipyard after its completion, and looked forward to the bright future of the North Korean Navy.
"...When the coalition fleet blocks the Qing coastline in the Liaodong area in the future, we very much hope that your naval forces can also participate and take on more important combat tasks!"
Wang Tom nodded to the North Koreans without leaving any trace, meaning that the current strength of the North Korean navy is not enough to undertake combat tasks in the coalition fleet. The actual situation is exactly the same. In the previous operations, the coalition fleet that pressed forward to the Yalu River and Haihan in Liaodong had nothing to do with the Korean warships. Although North Korea also managed to mobilize armed ships from all over the country to help defend the Datong River, it did not actually engage in a large-scale battle with the Qing army.
The reason why the North Korean navy is arranged in this way is naturally due to lack of strength, and because there are few opportunities to contact the Haihan Navy in peacetime, and it is difficult to coordinate with the coalition fleet. If North Korea wants to effectively test the combat effectiveness of its navy, the fastest way to see results is to equip warships manufactured by Haihan. However, at present, the orders of various shipyards in Haihan are saturated, and North Korea will not be able to place orders for a while, and it will not be able to buy them if it wants to.
Of course, since Haihan is willing to provide the construction technology and drawings of the warship, building the ship yourself is naturally the most cost-effective way. But if the shipyard is delayed and unable to put into production, then this cooperation project will have to be shelved like an arsenal.
With unfulfilled regrets, Li Bo and his party finally embarked on the voyage back to Seoul. However, their experience was not over yet, because the return trip was also in accordance with Haihan's arrangements, taking a majestic-class warship specially sent for this purpose, and "by the way" they observed the maritime exercises of the Haihan fleet on the way.
For this purpose, Haihan also dispatched four warships of two levels of exploration and exploration. In addition to the comprehensive supply ship and reconnaissance speedboat, there were more than ten Haihan warships participating in this escort trip. After all, the Army had already performed well in front of the Koreans before, so Wang Tom was naturally not willing to lag behind.
(End of chapter)