Chapter 2739
Since its inception, the Discovery-class warship has been continuously updated with the upgrade of shipbuilding and ordnance technology. It has completed the iteration of multiple models so far, and has also expanded civilian models according to mission requirements. Although the Haihan Navy continues to install new ships of this level, compared with the earliest original models, they basically only have some similarities in appearance and basic structure.
As the largest number of warships built and equipped by Haihan, there are still more than 100 exploration-class warships in the navy. The first batch of exploration-class warships can be traced back to more than 20 years ago. Following the principles of building in batches, fielding in batches, and decommissioning in batches, these warships will be decommissioned one after another after serving for a certain number of years to free up equipment to replace subsequent improved models.
The current regulations of the Navy are that old ships that have been in service for more than fifteen years will be retired from active service and replaced with new models of exploration-class warships. Fleets with sufficient funds may even simply upgrade to the exploration-class ships with larger tonnage. And these retired warships need to find a new place to go.
As long as these warships are not seriously damaged, they will not be dismantled even if they are decommissioned. Most of them are refurbished and disassembled for their own use of naval guns and key equipment, and then sold to Annan, North Korea and other countries at a relatively cheap price to serve as these warships. The country's main warship.
Although the retired warships are old, the technical standards during construction are higher than the monkey version specially used for export, and the price is relatively low, even lower than the construction cost required to imitate the exploration-class warships in their own shipyards, so Small neighboring countries are still happy to spend their limited military expenditures on purchasing these second-hand equipment that can still be used.
But even so, Haihan has accelerated the pace of updating equipment in recent years, and there will still be a backlog of retired old ships that cannot be sold. Therefore, whenever there is an opportunity, Haihan will still take the initiative to sell to the outside world, and the Japanese shogunate is undoubtedly An excellent sales target.
The shogunate now has an extremely urgent need to upgrade its maritime armed forces, and its requirements for delivery time even take precedence over price. Choosing which kind of warship to buy is the second most important thing. The most important thing is to solve the problem of whether it exists or not.
The default opponent of the shogunate is North Korea, so the standard for upgrading force should be to have at least the same level of weapons and equipment as the opponent, and the exploration-class warship can meet their minimum needs. Of course, this is just a standard for equipment levels. It is another matter to use these equipment to form effective combat effectiveness.
The condition of three-month delivery was undoubtedly very attractive to the shogunate, but of course they still had doubts about whether the quality of the second-hand warships was reliable, so they did not immediately approve Shi Chengwu's proposal.
Seeing that the other party's attitude had been shaken, Shi Chengwu naturally would not give up and continued to ride the hot railway: "It is reasonable for your country to have concerns about old ships, but this problem can be easily solved. The shogunate can select officials on its own and wait until we return. We will go to Zhoushan Dinghai Port together, where there are existing ships for inspection, and the entire renovation process can be supervised.”
These remarks undoubtedly further impressed the senior officials of the shogunate, who now inquired about follow-up plans for the training of relevant personnel. After all, after the ship is bought back, it must have specially trained people to exert its due combat effectiveness.
Shi Chengwu responded: "Whether you are buying a new ship or an old ship, we will provide corresponding training on its use. Your country can choose either Dinghai Port or Sasebo Port. The entire learning process only requires a very low cost and takes one month to complete. After training, your people can sail the ship back to Edo on their own.”
The plan given by Shi Chengwu was quite comprehensive, but it seemed that there was still something missing, and the shogunate was still hesitant about it. Tao Hongfang reminded Shi Chengwu in a low voice: "Follow-up communication."
Shi Chengwu came to his senses immediately and continued: "Edo is four thousand miles away from Zhoushan. If the officials who go to Zhoushan to inspect the ship want to ask General Tokugawa for instructions, it will definitely be inconvenient, but our country can do this in both places. It provides high-speed communication, and the message can be sent to the other side within one day. The general can understand the situation in Zhoushan, and the officials can ask the general for instructions at any time, so there is no need to worry. "
It is no secret that Haihan has the ability to communicate across thousands of miles. In some areas under his rule, commercial trials have even begun. However, the cost is very high, and ordinary people must not be able to afford it. Both the Sasebo base and the Edo embassy have radio stations deployed, so it is not difficult to maintain contact with Zhoushan. However, the communication needs to be completed by Haihan's dedicated personnel, so there will be no secrets in the content. If you want to keep it secret, the only way is for the sender and recipient to agree on a separate code word.
As for the settlement method, Shi Chengwu also gave a very flexible solution. It can be settled with gold and silver of equal value according to the exchange rate of Haihan coins, or it can be bartered and the goods exported to Haihan by the shogunate can be used to offset the price. Of course, regardless of whether the final arms order includes warships, the deposit still has to be paid before Haihan can start arranging production and organizing supply.
If he were not facing Tokugawa Ietsuna directly, Shi Chengwu actually had other promotional methods available, such as giving some appropriate rebates to the person in charge, or other feedback. But now that he was negotiating business directly with the boss of the other party, it was There is no need to resort to these means.
For the senior shogunate officials present, the plan given by Shi Chengwu had basically solved all their doubts. They only needed to consider the most cost-effective way to buy this ship.
But in terms of how concerned they were about this arms deal, there was actually someone above the mission, and that was An Doishi, the initiator who prompted the shogunate to decide to purchase arms from Kaihan.
As an ally, the mission did not deliberately conceal the shogunate's purchase of arms from him, but the specific content was a commercial secret and it was inconvenient to disclose it again. But even if the mission doesn't say anything, in fact, after a while, the news will gradually be obtained from other channels. Adoshi probably didn't expect that his trip to Edo would have the effect of flexing his muscles and stimulating his old rivals, but it would also have side effects, prompting the shogunate to invest in upgrading armaments.
When this news reaches the country, it is obvious that the king's attitude will be continued, and he will definitely demand to continue to upgrade armaments, at least to maintain a certain degree of military superiority against Japan.
If this continues, North Korea and Japan will probably form an arms race for some time to come. Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Andao Shi, who holds military power. After all, only when the situation is not so peaceful can the army receive more attention, and he will gain greater power as a result.
(End of chapter)