"Your Majesty, your subordinates!" After Zhao Mengjin received the notice that the little emperor of the Imperial Front Office came to inspect the Taihu Shipyard, he immediately ordered the relevant officials to prepare to take over the car in the name of Zhisi, but he knew that his temper did not dare to greet him along the way, but led the crowd to meet the driver the next day. But he thought it was very strange today, and when he learned that they were coming, the little emperor would summon them immediately, and even let them accompany them to dinner, but today he let them wait on the deck, which made everyone feel uneasy, and they didn't know how to offend the emperor. Seeing His Majesty come out, he hurriedly led the crowd forward to salute.

"Let's get flat!" Zhao Yu glanced at everyone, raised his hand indifferently, and walked towards the gangway without stopping.

"Commander Tan, what's wrong with Your Majesty? It seems that I don't like it very much, is it something wrong with someone! Seeing the little emperor's indifferent attitude, Zhao Mengjin was very uneasy and grabbed Tan Fei and asked softly.

"Don't panic if Zhao Zhi, Your Majesty just doesn't like to make Xingshi move the people, and there is nothing else." Tan Fei hurriedly returned the courtesy.

"I see, I scared a certain family, thinking that I had done something wrong again!" Zhao Mengjin breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

"Zhao Zhienvoy has been following His Majesty for more than ten years, why is he still so jealous of His Majesty?" Tan Fei saw that Zhao Mengjin turned from worry to joy, and said with a smile.

"Eh, don't say that, Your Majesty is not only the king of the Great Song Dynasty, but also the lord of a certain family. And if we have the grace of recreation, even if we have no repayment, how can we make Your Majesty angry! Zhao Mengjin shook his head and said sincerely.

"What Zhao Zhienvoy said is true, Your Majesty will not be really angry about these little things, but he just doesn't want to alarm the place and make him uneasy!" Tan Fei nodded, relieved.

"It is our duty to welcome the holy driver, even if Your Majesty punishes us, we must not be rude!" Zhao Mengjin smiled with a smile.

Accompanied by the officials, Zhao Yu was transferred from the new training camp to the shipyard for inspection after getting off the ship, and Zhou Xiang had already led his subordinates to meet here. He didn't talk too much nonsense and went straight to the dock. First of all, he visited the flying clipper ship that had completed the main body, he saw the bilge from the deck, and asked some technical details as he walked, and several master craftsmen and craftsmen who supervised the work here naturally replied carefully, they were actually very nervous, knowing that the ship was designed by the little emperor, and it was impossible to fool him.

Zhao Yu asked very carefully, and he looked very carefully. This is because this ship is not only a new type of ship, but also adds a lot of new technologies that are ahead of its time. For example, when a gyroscope was used in marine applications, he combined it with a compass to indicate the direction of the ship without being affected in complex sea conditions, and to mark the ship's left and right swing. Combined with a colander, it can be kept stable and the timing more accurate.

In addition, many 'new technologies' that have just been developed are used in the operating system, and the use of the gear mechanism and rudder makes it easier and less effort to operate the rudder plate. And he moved the past helm tower forward to the bow through the transmission mechanism, so that the helmsman could observe the sea conditions more intuitively. Zhao Yu also used a disconnection mechanism to set up a vice rudder on the deck, in addition to an extra backup, it can also enable the captain to steer directly under special circumstances.

New technologies such as the newly developed spiral drainage pump, cast iron reinforced ribs, and mast extension connections have also been put into trial. Of course, the effect still needs to be tested by sea trials and the matching degree is adjusted. In addition, Zhao Yu also installed a pulley set boom in the bow and stern, which can improve the efficiency of loading and unloading goods and reduce the labor intensity of the crew.

Of course, weapon equipment is also essential, but in order to ensure the stability of navigation, he still abandoned artillery and adopted ballistas instead. In addition, the clipper ship is used for ocean transportation, so he did not hesitate to reduce the cargo space area, and also made a humanized design for the living facilities to ensure the health of the crew of the voyage, and also so that the combat effectiveness will not be weakened.

Then Zhao Yu went to another dock to inspect the construction of the Galen ship. Because the ship was intended for warship, the focus of his inspection was on the armament, and the experimental ship was equipped with seven rapid-fire guns per side and two breech-barreled heavy guns in the bow and stern. However, it is not known how it will be used, and only gun emplacements have been set aside on the second deck, and no artillery has been installed for the time being, and the decision will be made after sea trials.

After watching the boat, Zhao Yu reviewed the sailing drill of the Imperial Navy again. Because these two Western-style sailing ships use soft sails, and the operation method is very different from the current use, it is necessary to familiarize and understand the operation of this sail first, but everything is still on paper, and it needs to be explored in the sea trials. However, the soldiers participating in the training have been able to complete the necessary basic movements and master the skills, but what they lack is actual combat experience.

Zhao Yu encouraged and praised them after seeing it, and gave them a reward, asking them to pay attention to summing up their experience and collecting data in the upcoming sea trials as a reference for future training. And tell them that they will be the seed troops of the newly formed ocean-going naval division, and undertake the task of training the new army and exploring new tactics, so they must have the courage to take responsibility and not live up to the great trust of the imperial court......

"Your Majesty, after these new warships are built, can you allocate a few ships to my First Naval Division?" It was already noon after the inspection, and everyone returned to the new training camp for dinner, accompanied by several chief officers. Dong Yicheng, as an old navy, could naturally see the potential value of these two new warships, and as soon as he sat down, he began to ask the little emperor for it.

"Trial production has just begun, and it is still some time before it is put into use. And now after the defeat of the Mengyuan Naval Division, it has collapsed, and the currently equipped warships are enough, what do you want to do with the new ships? Zhao Yu took a sip of tea and asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty, the warships equipped by our sailors are all old and urgently need to be reequipped, and these new ships are just right for our army!" Dong Yicheng said with a hippie smile.

"The old warships are not only your first naval division, but the three naval divisions all have this problem, but your army has the largest number of new warships, more than half, which is much better than the condition of the Imperial Naval Army!" Zhao Hao said in a deep voice.

"That is, our Imperial Navy currently accounts for sixty percent of the old warships, and His Majesty's ships have been in service for more than thirty years and are still in use. If you want to say that changing clothes is also the priority of our Imperial Navy, it will not be your turn to be the first sailor! Zheng Yong said.

"Zheng Dutong's words are wrong, our First Naval Division is facing the Mengyuan Naval Army, the combat mission is the heaviest, the attendance rate is also the highest, and the loss of warships is naturally the most serious, so it should be prioritized." Dong Yicheng didn't dare to talk back to the little emperor, so he didn't care so much about Zheng Yong, and immediately retorted.

"You two don't fight, just now His Majesty said that he would form an ocean-going sailor, and the new ship is naturally prepared for them, and the fight is also in vain!" Chen Fenglin watched the two fight each other and said with a smile.

"Your Majesty has already given instructions, and the most important task of our army at present is the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, expelling the Tartars, and what is the use of forming an ocean-going naval division?" Dong Yicheng asked puzzled.

"Of course, it is to compete for sea dominance, open the sea trade routes to the South and Western Seas, and protect the maritime merchants going to the East!" Zhao Yu said leisurely.

"Your Majesty is thinking about it too early, has our strategic direction shifted to Nanyang, not Mengyuan?" Dong Yicheng was even more confused and hurriedly spoke.

"Of course not, but you must know the truth that the soldiers and horses go first before the grain and grass are moved, right?" Zhao Yu pointed to the food he had just delivered with a chopstick, and asked rhetorically.

"The subordinates naturally understand this truth, but what does this have to do with the battle for dominance in the South Seas?" Dong Yicheng thought about it, but still couldn't connect the two things.

"Of course it matters, to some extent, the fight is about who has more money and who dares to spend it. At present, although we occupy the south of the Yangtze River, it is still difficult to accumulate the needs of the Northern Expedition in the short term, so we can only make up our minds from other places. Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and explained in the simplest words. He has long understood that the influence of economics on war is undoubted, and that economic warfare can not only affect the victory or defeat of a war, but also play an important role in the direction of the entire world history.

There are countless examples of this. When Napoleon dominated Europe, he also had a headache due to insufficient military spending, and in the end, he had no choice but to sell the entire North American colony, Louisiana, to the United States for a low price of 15 million dollars, so that the Americans picked up a big bargain, but he was also able to embark on the road to rise.

There are also such examples in China, and readers who are familiar with history may know that the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in China, faced two separatist forces entrenched in the Western Regions: the first was the Dzungar Khanate founded by Galdan, which once invaded Ulan Butong in Inner Mongolia and threatened Beijing; The second is the warlord of Kokand in Central Asia, Aguba, who was supported by the British and Russian powers, and also seized the Western Regions and committed murder for a while.

In order to eliminate these two threatening separatist forces, the Qing Dynasty went through arduous efforts, starting from the military, political, and economic aspects at the same time, and finally succeeded after many tricks. Among them, the complete elimination of the Dzungar Khanate went through the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, and it took nearly 70 years; More than a hundred years later, in the late Qing Dynasty, which had declined, it took only a year and a half for the famous minister Zuo Zongtang to defeat Agubai; is also sending troops to the Western Regions, why is there so much difference in time?

Let's first see how much military spending is needed to enter the Western Regions. At that time, there were about 130 battalions and about 80,000 people in the reorganized Western Expeditionary Army, and the annual salary was more than 6 million taels of silver, plus the expenses for transporting grain out of the customs, and the total annual military expenditure was about 8 million taels of silver. Moreover, this figure is only a normal expenditure, and other expenses such as the reorganization of the army, the elimination of the weak and the retention of the strong, the repayment of the arrears of the retrenched officers and men for consecutive years, and the granting of travel expenses to their places of origin, etc., all require huge expenditures.

At that time, the Qing government's finances were extremely disordered, and the treasury was empty. The main reason for such a huge military expenditure of the Western Expeditionary Army was to continue to use the provincial customs and customs fees in the original Shaanxi and Gansu military expenditures, that is, the customs fees of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian, and other provinces, the customs duties of Shanghai, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hankou, and Ningbo, and the centigold of seven provinces, including Zhejiang and Hubei.

The total amount of the above payments is about 9 million taels, but Zuo Zongtang can only receive 5 million taels, and there is a huge deficit. And he relied on Hu Xueyan to borrow money from foreign countries to raise the required military expenses, but not on the accumulation of supplies from the imperial court. Zhao Hao had no place to borrow at the moment, and if the tax was raised, it would lead to turmoil in the newly stable country, and it would not necessarily meet the needs, so he could only raise war funds from foreign countries in disguised form through sea trade.

"You really only think about yourself, you are too ignorant." Zhao Mengjin glared at Dong Yicheng and said, "The taxes collected by the imperial court every year are only enough to pay the salaries and daily military expenses of officials. And this year, you will have to use troops against the southwest and Sichuan and Shu, all of which require a large amount of money and food, and Your Majesty can only make up for the deficiency through sea trade income, so it is natural to ensure the safety of the trade routes, and you have come to add to the chaos and ask for these ocean-going warships. ”

"Is it a certain family that is not thoughtful, or is it Your Majesty and the envoy who is far-sighted!" Dong Yicheng blushed and said.

"You can't blame all this, but the current military budget is really tight, and it will cost 200,000 yuan to build a new warship, if all the sailors are redressed, the imperial court can't afford it, but as long as the trade route is opened, the money will roll in, and every army will change its outfit at that time, so there is no need to rush!" Zhao Hao picked up his wine glass and invited everyone to drink together.

"Your Majesty is not only able to fight well, but also has no one in the world to manage your finances!" Dong Yicheng smiled and raised his glass to drink the wine.

"Hehe, I was also forced to have no choice, as soon as the war between Sichuan and Shu and the southwest started, all the money and food needed needed to be supplied by Jiangnan, and I can't do it if I don't want to!" Zhao Hao said with a wry smile.

It was not Zhao Yu who complained, after deciding to conquer Sichuan and Shu, at the same time as the formation of the Western Expeditionary Army, various preparations had been launched. His first job was shipbuilding, and it was most convenient to conquer Sichuan and Shu from the Yangtze River upstream, but the transportation capacity of the inland water army was obviously insufficient, so he ordered the Ezhou Shipyard to build 100 new animal-powered vehicles and ships to undertake the task of transporting soldiers and baggage to Chongqing.

While strengthening the waterways, Zhao's second task was to build roads, open up and repair the land routes into Sichuan and Shu. Because the waterway is affected by the season, it is difficult to ensure that the navigation is carried out in all seasons. The land route, on the other hand, was less affected, and in the event of an emergency, troops could be transferred to Sichuan by land. However, the construction of this road was very difficult, and it required the construction of post stations and material operation bases along the way, and the amount of work was extremely large, so he used all the Mengyuan troops captured in the Battle of Ezhou as free labor, but the silver required was also in the millions of yuan.

In addition to allocating a part of the taxes in the Lianghu area for expenditure, the imperial court still left a big gap, and this hole could only be filled by Zhao Yu's inner treasury. But at the moment, although he had a fragrant medicine in his hand, which was more expensive than gold, it also needed to be converted into gold and silver, so he urgently needed to put the newly built clipper into commercial use, relying on its fast navigation capacity to transport goods to various places for trading. On the other hand, after the merchants who came to the Song Dynasty this year discovered that the Great Song Dynasty had discovered the secret of the incense medicine, in order to protect their own interests, it would inevitably lead to a conflict between the two sides, and the ocean-going warship was their capital......