Chapter 2432
Shi Diwen would mention the military exercise. Naturally, it was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but had been planned for a long time. However, due to various reasons, he had not yet had time to submit a formal written application to Sanya. Now that he had the opportunity to explain his plans to Tao Dong, Shi Diwen naturally tried his best to seize such an opportunity.
Different from similar actions carried out in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the past, Shi Diwen's plan this time was more radical and bold. What he envisaged was not just a unilateral show of force, but also an attempt to make the Ming Guards in the surrounding areas of Zhoushan The military also sent troops to participate in a joint military exercise between the two countries. If the Executive Committee allows it, then after the operation is over, a batch of arms can be sold to the Ming army generals participating in the military exercise, and the proceeds will be able to recover some blood and offset part of the exercise expenses.
"Conducting joint military exercises with the Ming army? There is no precedent for this!" Tao Donglai was a little shocked when he heard Shi Diwen's bold idea.
This is not the case. Of course, Haihan also held military exercises with the Ming army, not once or twice. However, the Xu Jiajun who participated in the exercise had a special nature and could not be generalized with the Ming army in other places. The fact that Tao Donglai would raise such a question shows that he did not regard Xu Jiajun as part of the Ming army at all.
Shi Diwen did not correct the loopholes in Tao Donglai's words, but continued to explain his plan: "In the state capitals closest to Zhoushan, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, and Songjiang, the commanders and Qianhu of the garrison guard posts, Most of them have private interests with our country. If our trade channels are affected, they will also suffer losses. Therefore, if a joint military exercise can be organized, it will definitely serve as a warning to some people in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang government who cannot see the situation clearly. , tell them not to stretch their hands too far!”
Tao Donglai said: "Have you ever exchanged opinions with these Ming military attachés about joint military exercises?"
"Of course I have." Shi Diwen responded without hesitation: "If I didn't get their approval, I would definitely not put this forward as a solution to the current problem. In fact, I already started doing this last year. The majority of people agree with me and are willing to participate in this matter. We all believe that in the current environment, this may be the most peaceful method.”
Tao Donglai said: "Can you roughly tell me who are the military attaches of the Ming Dynasty who currently support you?"
Shi Diwen seemed to have been prepared for this, and immediately raised his fingers and said: "Yan Guowei, the commander of the Changguo Guard, Ma Ling, the commander of the Shipu Institute, Wei Shan, the commander of the Linshan Guard, Huang Tao, the commander of the Guanhai Guard, Cui Hongfang, the commander of the Dinghai Guard... …”
Shi Diwen mentioned the names of more than a dozen military attachés of the Ming Dynasty in one breath. The lowest was at the Qianhu level. It sounded like it was no joke. Moreover, even the Zhejiang Metropolitan Commander's Office might not be able to let so many high-ranking military attachés deal with a certain person. It is not easy for Shi Diwen to convince so many people to accept his idea.
Tao Donglai confirmed to him again: "The military attachés you mentioned have all made it clear that they are willing to participate in joint military exercises?"
Shi Diwen nodded and responded in a positive tone: "If it happens, they will each benefit, so they will be willing to participate."
"But they can't make the decision on such a big matter, right?" Tao Donglai still had doubts about this. According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, if the garrison at the garrison level wants to leave the garrison to conduct military exercises, it must be reported to the higher-level government office for approval. If the commanding officer does not give the nod, leading the troops to leave the garrison without authorization will be punished. Presumably those commanders and Qian I will not risk my career for this.
Shi Diwen was confident: "I have already prepared for this. Last year, through the help of Wang Yuan, the Hangzhou general judge, I got in touch with the Zhejiang commander Liu Feng. He has already nodded and approved this matter."
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"Did you spend a lot of money?" When Tao Donglai heard this, he knew that there was no serious problem with the government, so he relaxed a little and joked with Shi Diwen.
Shi Diwen nodded and acknowledged Tao Donglai's guess, but did not specify the specific amount: "Whether the money is worth it depends on whether the exercise can be held in the end!"
What he meant was that all the money to bribe high-level officials in Zhejiang had already been spent. If this exercise was not held next, the money would be thrown into the water.
There is no doubt that this means cutting things off first and then telling them later. However, if Shi Diwen cannot get through the top management first, he will be completely unable to carry out subsequent operations to convince the commanders of each guard post to accept his plan. And if he did not get the approval of these military leaders, he would not be able to apply to Sanya to hold this special military exercise. So from this point of view, Shi Diwen's act of taking it upon himself to bribe the commander of the Zhejiang capital was a bit desperate. If the military exercise was not approved by Sanya, then the money spent could only be used to make friends with Liu Feng. price.
Tao Donglai couldn't understand what Shi Diwen meant, but he needed to consider more factors, not just the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If such a military exercise is held, the subsequent impact on the relationship between the two countries is also a factor that he must consider now. What's more, the things he has to deal with when he goes north this time have a lot to do with Ming Dynasty. Even if he agrees with Shi Diwen's idea now, new variables may arise in the future.
"You should know about my mission to go north this time, right?" Tao Donglai suddenly changed the topic.
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "I know roughly."
Tao Donglai said: "Then you should also be able to imagine that the diplomatic relations between our country and Ming Dynasty may change slightly. Even if you have opened all the joints now, this joint military exercise may not be possible. You understand What do I mean?”
"I understand, but of the things we have done in the past ten years, have we ever been 100% sure before doing it?" Shi Diwen's attitude was very firm, not because of Tao Donglai's decision. He was shaken by the warning: "If the joint military exercise is completed, it will be equivalent to pulling a large number of Ming military attachés on board our ship. The benefits to us are far beyond the immediate benefits. I think even if there are some risks and twists and turns , it's still worth a try." Shi Diwen thought Tao Donglai's attitude was a bit too cautious, but he could understand it. After all, Tao Donglai had been staying in Sanya for a long time in recent years, in such a comfortable and peaceful environment. Next time, I will inevitably slack off and not be as enterprising as in the early years. Even if Tao Donglai's mission to the north would lead to changes in the diplomatic relations between Haihan and Ming Dynasty, in Shi Diwen's opinion, it may not have a substantial impact. Local officials in nearby state capitals were not willing to abide by the court's regulations. This situation cannot be changed by Emperor Chongzhen issuing a few imperial edicts.
He originally did not want to mention the long-term impact of the joint military exercise, lest Tao Donglai would think that he was bragging and claiming credit. However, seeing that Tao Donglai still seemed to have doubts about this and his attitude was somewhat wavering, he could only take advantage of all the advantages first. Put yourself out there and try to persuade the other person to accept your ideas.
Shi Diwen believes that just doing smuggling business with these military leaders is not enough at this stage. He wants to use joint military exercises to draw these people into Haihan's camp, so that their interests and futures are closely related to Haihan's. Han are firmly bound together. In this way, if Haihan wants to take action in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the future, the resistance he will encounter will be much smaller.
Of course, even if they had different opinions, he would not argue with Tao Donglai about the right or wrong of this matter, and he believed that Tao Donglai had the same attitude. At their level, they no longer simply judge whether something is right or wrong, but will only examine whether it is in Haihan's interests and their own interests. As long as the benefits are large enough, it is acceptable to bear certain risks and pay a certain price.
Tao Donglai thought for a long time and finally made a certain compromise: "You can continue with this matter, but don't rush to make specific time arrangements. We will wait until I have preliminary results from my trip to the north. In addition, we should go You should follow the procedures and don’t be lazy trying to save trouble.”
The "procedures" mentioned by Tao Donglai naturally meant that Shi Diwen should report the plan for the joint military exercise through normal channels first. Of course this would be more troublesome, but rules are rules. Although Shi Diwen has military power, he still has to abide by the existing system.
After inspecting the arsenal, Shi Diwen took Tao Donglai to visit the local shipyard. The person in charge, Zhang Qianxiang, had worked with his father Zhang Tiangui at the Shengli Port Shipyard for several years, so he naturally recognized Tao Donglai. He was surprised and happy to see him suddenly appear in Zhoushan, and he quickly put down what he was doing to meet Tao Donglai.
Zhang Qianxiang is the second eldest of the Zhang brothers. His shipbuilding skills have been inherited from his father, so he was appointed as the person in charge of Zhoushan Shipyard. He is also a serious Haihan official. When Tao Dong came to see his old friend, he naturally wanted to encourage him with kind words.
"Tell Mr. Tao about our shipbuilding situation in Zhoushan." Shi Diwen ordered: "Whatever Mr. Tao asks you, just answer it truthfully."
Zhoushan has been a maritime distribution center for smuggling trade a long time ago, and the nearby waters are extremely rich in fishery resources, so the local shipbuilding industry had a certain scale long before Haihan came here. However, most of the sea-going ships that could be built at that time were ships with small displacements, and they were not very technological. It was not until Haihan occupied this area and built the Zhoushan Shipyard that the level of the local shipbuilding industry was raised to a level new level.
The local government-run shipyards are divided into two shipyards based on the difference between military and civilian uses. However, because they are actually located at the junction of the military port and the commercial port, if viewed from the air, the two shipyards are actually connected together, but the shipyards are located respectively at the military port and the commercial port. In the commercial port, this is to ensure that no one else can spy on the manufacturing technology of Haihan warships.
This layout is naturally to facilitate the deployment of materials and personnel in the shipyard. Currently, the shipyard has more than 400 employees. The total displacement of the ships launched from here last year exceeded 10,000 tons. No other peer within a thousand miles can achieve such an achievement. .
Tao Donglai's focus was of course on military ships. He had talked about this topic with Shi Diwen before, so he was very concerned about the technical capabilities of the local shipyards. If the shipbuilding technology here is not yet at the level of manufacturing Warrior-class warships, then he will probably reconsider Shi Diwen's request.
"Master Tao, during my tenure in Zhoushan, the shipyard has delivered two Navy Majesty-class warships, six Explorer-class warships, twelve Exploration-class warships, eight troop carriers, ten comprehensive supply ships, and reconnaissance fast ships. There are four ships. Two of the majestic-class warships have completed the installation and commissioning of their steam systems locally and are now in normal service in the navy. In terms of shipbuilding technology, Zhoushan Shipyard is actually not inferior to Sanya Shipyard. If I have the opportunity to build a Warrior-class warship, I will definitely do my best to live up to the great trust!”
Zhang Qianxiang obviously had an affair with Shi Diwen beforehand and knew the wishes of his immediate boss, so when Tao Donglai asked about the current technical level of Zhoushan Shipyard, Zhang Qianxiang seized the opportunity and boasted unabashedly. And he was indeed convinced that the shipyard he managed had enough technical strength to build Warrior-class warships, so his tone was very confident and showed no timidity at all.
Of course, Haihan has more than one shipyard in Zhoushan in its overseas territories. There are also many places where warships can be built. However, the Majesty-class warship is a hurdle. Most shipyards do not have the ability to manufacture such large warships. The construction difficulty of the majesty-class warship equipped with a steam propulsion system is even higher. After this equipment is shipped from Sanya, the shipyard must have mechanical engineers with many years of training to complete the assembly and debugging work. At present, all such engineers are valuable, and Shi Diwen also spent a lot of effort to secure two quotas for the shipyard in his jurisdiction.
Theoretically speaking, those who can build steam-powered Majesty-class warships basically have the ability to build Warrior-class warships, but in actual operation there will still be many specific problems. For example, Zhoushan does not have the corresponding manufacturing capabilities for most of the non-wooden parts on Warrior-class warships, and they all have to be shipped from Sanya for assembly. For Zhoushan Shipyard, which has no experience in building this kind of special warship, such assembly work requires a lot of technical details. With Zhoushan Shipyard's own technical strength alone, it is estimated that it will be difficult to build a second Warrior-class warship intact, let alone transform and upgrade the original design plan according to Shi Diwen's intention.
Although Tao Donglai is not a shipbuilding expert, he has visited shipyards many times over the years. He certainly knows the difficulties in building Warrior-class warships. Although Zhang Qianxiang's statement was very confident, Tao Donglai did not immediately accept his opinion.
"The two rotating turrets at the front and rear of the Warrior-class warship are composed of nearly a thousand parts. Are you sure that the local shipyard can successfully complete assembly and debugging based on the drawings without seeing the real thing?" Tao Donglai asked him casually. A difficult question.
(End of chapter)