"The Duke of Dian once folded the theory of sea power, and proposed that if the Ming Dynasty wanted to gain prestige overseas, it must first develop maritime power. But how to develop maritime power is a definite plan? ”

The newly built wooden hall is brightly lit. Except for the generals who stayed on duty on the ship and the generals who guarded them, the other generals gathered together with the various departments of the imperial court.

After Zheng He returned from the fourth trip to the West in the thirteenth year of Yongle, he wrote to Zhu Di, believing that the Ming Dynasty should vigorously develop sea power and control the South Seas and West Asia.

He analyzed from several aspects such as politics, economy, and reputation, and expounded the importance of the development of sea power in the Ming Dynasty.

In the original history, the threat of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was still there, and the Ming Dynasty was deeply trapped by the military disaster in the north, so it was impossible to focus all its energy on going to the Western Ocean.

Moreover, the special economic environment in the early Ming Dynasty led to all the profits earned by going to the West to be obtained by the internal supervisors and the emperor, and those civil officials received nothing.

Therefore, the move to go to the West was opposed by the Wenchen, and they even burned the charts and shipbuilding drawings in the end, because they were afraid that the money earned from going to the West would enhance the strength of the imperial power.

Of course, this will not be the case again in this life, Zhu Zhanji will definitely continue to follow Zhu Di's old path, suppress the power of civil officials, and enhance imperial power.

However, the general environment has changed, and Zheng He did not have many pioneering suggestions in the development of sea power.

In the first four voyages to the Western Ocean, the main way of naval warfare was to rely on the size of the ship to ram, and now the Ming Dynasty's sea ships are all using strong ramming angles and strong hulls to gain advantages on the battlefield.

If the ship is large, it will take advantage, and after the collision, it will be a broadside battle, and whoever has more people will have the advantage.

However, this kind of primary naval warfare changed dramatically when the Ming Dynasty was strategizing to the east.

Daming learned to use steel molds to make cannon barrels, even with clay molds, and also learned to use carbon removal methods to reduce the carbon in the molten iron, making the barrels more tough.

Compared with the copper cannon, this steel cannon barrel is four-fifths lighter, and the firing range is even longer.

In the past, the Ming soldiers changed color when they heard about the Japanese invaders, but in the thirteenth year of the naval battle in Hongwu, the Japanese became a floating target on the sea, and they cried for their father and mother.

The change of weapons and equipment has changed the mode of naval warfare, but limited by experience and vision, Zheng He does not have a set of tactical details to improve and macro strategic development plans that meet the current needs.

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's question, he pondered for a while before saying: "Your Highness, the last time the minister was folded up was three years ago, and in the past three years, Daming has undergone great changes in both the Shenji Battalion and the Navy. Originally, naval warfare relied on large ships and large numbers, but now, it is more necessary to have strong ships and guns, and whoever has stronger artillery can win. Originally, the warriors had to fight broadside battles, but now more than a third of the navy soldiers are also equipped with muskets, and the battlefield has become a different model. His Royal Highness has to ask today, and the minister still needs to think about it carefully. ”

Zhu Zhanji did not feel disappointed, Daming is now at a crossroads in history, and the application of new technologies has brought earth-shaking changes to the battlefield.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty fought with the Tatars, and never won a big victory, because the other party had horses, and if they couldn't fight, they would run, but the Ming soldiers could not catch up.

Since the Northern Expedition in the twelfth year of Yongle, the large-scale application of muskets has extended the threat of soldiers from one meter in front of them to dozens of meters away, which has fundamentally changed the battlefield.

In particular, Zhu Zhanji has now developed a steel wire mesh, which can move anywhere on the battlefield, forming a movable trench, making the horses lose the possibility of charging and completely making the nomads lose their threat.

Therefore, now the generals need to adapt to the new tactical changes.

Why are the soldiers of Zhu Zhanji's Yulin Weixue highly valued? Not only because they know astronomy and geography, but also because they have a deep understanding of new tactics.

What is good at the top must be done at the bottom.

Due to the ideological limitations of the great unification of the oriental nation, the reform from the bottom up is always difficult, but the reform from the top down often achieves twice the result with half the effort.

Zhu Zhanji has traveled to the best era, and the application of today's social productive forces has gone through more than 1,000 years of accumulation and has reached a critical point from quantitative change to qualitative change.

If it weren't for the invasion of the Mongol and Yuan dynasties, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the social model would have had a process of fermentation and quantitative change.

There is also the most glorious era of the Ming Dynasty, although Zhu Di has his shortcomings in civil affairs, but it is the era when the imperial power is brought into full play.

Both the noble class and the civil service class have been greatly restricted.

Moreover, through internal supervision, the imperial power controlled the entire country's economy, which gave the imperial family more power than any other period.

And Zhu Zhanji has traveled to this era, and he doesn't have to bother to grab power at all, so that his will can be executed to the maximum.

Zhu Zhanji has experience and vision, and that is because of his special identity. Except for him, including Zhu Di, in fact, they don't know how history will develop in the future, and they are still crossing the river by feeling the stones.

Even the emperor is like this, how many shocking reform ideas can you put on a constrained minister?

So Zhu Zhanji quickly adjusted his thinking, no longer tested other people's ideas, and directly gave his own decision.

He asked Li Liang to take the notebook he had written down when he was fine, turned to one of the pages and said: "The so-called sea power should be the extension of the Ming Dynasty's territory and the enhancement of the country's strength. Sea power is mainly embodied in four aspects.

First, it is reflected in the political aspect. Through the expansion of sea power, our Ming Dynasty has established a Huayi political system in an all-round way all over the world. And this kind of political rule is the extension of my Ming imperial power, so that the barbarian small countries can follow the Chinese traditional concept of "the king has no outside" and "Huaiyuan is virtuous", and follow the rules of my Ming Dynasty. ”

The other generals didn't understand Zhu Zhanji's words too much, but the Wenchen led by Jin Chun, as well as Xie Jin, Huang Yuan, and Zheng He, were all excited to listen to it.

Especially Zheng He, this is what he thinks in his heart, these five trips to the West, his ultimate goal is actually this.

They looked at Zhu Zhanji with fiery eyes, and regarded the huge book in Zhu Zhanji's hand as a treasure.

Although everyone was amazed and their expressions changed greatly, no one made a sound, and listened to Zhu Zhanji continue to speak with bated breath.

"Second, it is a demonstration of the military power of the Ming Dynasty. The world is so big that there are no surprises, and each of the small countries is in a corner of peace, and the environment, weather, and geography of the country are different, and the national character is also different.

If you want all countries to follow my rules, there must be some countries that will not care. Then at this time, it is necessary for me to conquer them by force. As for the way to deal with various countries, how to maximize the force of the Ming Dynasty, this will be discussed later. ”

The generals were most interested in this, but when they heard Zhu Zhanji start without saying anything, they were all a little depressed.

However, the general description of the topic of sea power has not yet been finished, and everyone still has this little patience.

"Third, it is the embodiment of economic power."

Economy is not a foreign word, as early as the Han and Jin dynasties, there was this special word, the original meaning is to help the people, the so-called economy. Later, with the development of society, it also has the meaning of governing ability, as well as the meaning of financial and material resources of the imperial court, which is a common social term.

"There was a corrupt Confucian who said that the total economic output is unchanged, and if you take a little more, he will take a little less, which is nonsense. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court in a corner of the country paid more than 40 million yuan a year, if the total economic volume is unchanged, why did I pay only 20 million taxes ten years ago? If it is unchanged, the year before last, my Daming tax reached more than 30 million taels of silver? Could it be that the imperial court has robbed the wealth of the people? So why are the people's lives more and more prosperous? ”

Hearing Zhu Zhanji say nonsense, Jin Chun's brows furrowed, he didn't know much about the economy, but he also knew that the income and taxes of the people in all dynasties were changing all the time, and he couldn't refute it if he wanted to.

He frowned not because Zhu Zhanji's words were wrong, but because he thought that the nonsense was a bit too ruthless.

In Lone's view, the economy is the management of goods, and it is a general term for the process of producing, using, processing, and distributing all goods and goods by the people. In a small aspect, it can refer to the housekeeping management of a people's home, and in a large aspect, it refers to the overall tax and consumption of a country.

In this process, the activities of the royal family, officials, and ordinary people in production, saving, exchange, and distribution were all included. Production is the basis of this process, and distribution is the end of this process.

Although my Ming Dynasty only governs the Ming Dynasty, if we master the economic lifeline of other countries, it means that the economic power of our Ming Dynasty has also extended to other countries. ”

At this time, the most excited was Huang Yuan, who was in charge of the minutes of the meeting, he abandoned literature and martial arts, but had no interest in fighting. He joined the army just to make his family stronger and more able to resist risks.

Since he arrived at the Navy Headquarters, he has been mainly responsible for logistics work, and the supply and deployment of various materials are extremely cumbersome affairs in the eyes of others, but for him, he enjoys it.

And he is also the person who has the deepest feelings about what Zhu Zhanji said in this regard, and he can't wait to have an in-depth discussion with Zhu Zhanji on this topic after the meeting.

"Fourth, it is a demonstration of cultural power. This is something that everyone has overlooked, but should never have been overlooked.

Taking my Ming Dynasty's previous four trips to the West as an example, the Duke of Dian worked hard and made close contacts with the 39 countries, so that they could worship my Ming Dynasty as the suzerainty and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

However, the Duke of Dian neglected the importance of culture, so that for more than ten years, these countries only submitted in name, and they were still detached from our Ming Dynasty.

Since it is my Daming vassal country, you should be proud of speaking my Daming words, writing my Daming characters, and keeping my Daming etiquette. However, in the Nanyang area, it is the green religion that is prosperous, and the people only know how to learn the big food language, keep the big food ritual, and regard our Ming Confucianism as heresy.

is so detached from morality, when there is a benefit, they will lean over, and when there is no benefit, I am afraid that I will regard my Ming as a flood beast. If everyone is like the people of my Ming Dynasty, speaking the Ming language, writing the Ming characters, and abiding by the Ming etiquette, a hundred years later, those small countries in Nanyang will truly become my Ming vassal countries. ”

Zheng He was a little embarrassed, seeing that Zhu Zhanji's words were over, he hurriedly clenched his fists and said: "The old minister is terrified......

Zhu Zhanji comforted him gently: "Gu is not blaming the Duke of Dian Guo, in fact, Gu still has respect for what the Duke of Dian has done. Otherwise, you would not have been appointed as the deputy marshal of the Eastern Expedition, the director of the navy, and now you have been promoted to the Duke of Dian State. ”

This is indeed the envy of countless people, a eunuch can be reused by the royal family, it is already a fluke. But Zheng He was not only reused by Zhu Di, but now he is reused by Zhu Zhanji, which is a rare honor in the entire history.

was crowned as a eunuch, there were only three people before him, and they were all people with mixed reputations, only he really didn't have a bad reputation.

As soon as the conversation changed, Zhu Zhanji returned to the content of sea power. "If you want to develop sea power, you must have an excellent foundation and strength, and without strong force, it is impossible to achieve it. Moreover, the embodiment of sea power must also have a sober understanding and careful consideration, and it is necessary to pay attention to strategies and methods. ”

"Dinghai Gong, do you have any advice on this?"

As the Governor of the Second Fleet of the Navy, Zhu Zhen is the Minister of the Navy in charge of the Western Ocean, and it is of course his bounden duty to develop sea power.

He has also traveled to the West with Zheng He three times before, and has rich experience and a clear understanding of the world.

After listening to Zhu Zhanji's words, he stood up and said: "Now that I am a strong ship, I have completely changed the mode of naval warfare. But after the naval battle at Khurumus, the minister also had some new considerations. ”

"Speak!"

"My Daming sea ship is already the world's first-class sea ship, but it only has hard sails, which can no longer meet the needs of navigation. In the past, my Daming sea ship only sailed north of the equator, and only occasionally went to Majapahit south of the equator, but this time I went to Nanzhou and came to Xizhou, and I could see that the hard sail was not as good as the soft sail of the big cannibal under headwind conditions. A trip to Nanzhou will take half a year for the fleet, and we have not yet arrived at the destination in half a year to come to Xizhou, so the improvement of the sails is urgent. ”

Zhu Zhanji, who was sitting on the dragon chair on the high platform, sat up straight, leaned on the armrest, and looked down at Zhu Zhendao under the stage: "If you want to attack it first, you must first sharpen your weapons, this is a good strategy." ”

After receiving Zhu Zhanji's praise, Zhu Zhen's confidence became stronger, and he said: "Secondly, now my Ming artillery is developing rapidly, but the ships can no longer meet today's artillery attacks. In the Battle of Kurumus, the recoiled of the guns was too strong, and the decks of many warships were seriously damaged after the battle. Improvements should also be made in deck design in the future. ”

Daming's large fortune ship, Dabao ship is the largest ship in the world today, and the design of the ship is also at the forefront of the world. Taking Zhu Zhanji's flagship as an example, there are still city walls built on the hull deck, and even if there is a broadside battle, it is difficult for the enemy to attack the deck.

However, no matter how strong a wooden ship is, it is still a wooden ship, and the wooden deck is not very resistant to the recoil of the artillery, which is a big problem.

Of course, Zhu Zhanji knew how to solve this problem, that is, to make the turret track and use the spring buffer.

It's just that he is not an immortal, and it is impossible to cover everything, and he didn't think about it until something went wrong.

He nodded and said: "Ship reconstruction, when I return to Daming this time, Gu will arrange for the Ministry of Industry and the Internal Supervision and Construction Department to solve it together, and there is a good plan for the specific process of how Daming won the sea power?" ”

Zhu Zhen said again: "Now that I have a huge advantage in artillery and ships, the rest is mainly how to suppress other forces and stabilize my own advantages." Looking at the map of the world, since the Ming Dynasty traveled all the way to the west, there are dozens of important checkpoints, these places seem to be unimportant, but for my Ming Dynasty, occupying these places can control the development of other countries' fleets. ”

Zhu Zhanji glanced at Zheng He and said with a smile: "Haha, just like loneliness!" ”

No one knows better than Zhu Zhanji the importance of sea bases to a country's sea power. When he mentioned it to Zheng He, Zheng He still felt that it was not cost-effective and had some objections.

But Zhu Zhanji also knows that Zheng He is the real handsome, and although Zhu Zhen is more in line with his heart, he is only a general.

Because Zheng He is analyzing this issue from a macro perspective and from a national standpoint. Setting up a base tens of thousands of miles away, leaving the soldiers far away from their hometowns, costs a lot of money, just for some sea superiority in the battle situation, and the gains outweigh the losses.

And Zhu Zhen is a pure general, he will not consider other aspects, but only analyze the problem from the perspective of war.

Putting aside historical experience, Zheng He's views are more in line with the interests of a politician and a country.

Zhu Zhanji deliberately asked: "If I occupy these levels, it will cost a lot, is there a good plan?" ”

Zhu Zhen really had nothing to say, he bowed down and said, "The minister is foolish and reckless......"

At this time, Huang Yuan suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Your Highness, the minister has a plan. ”

Everyone looked sideways, although Huang Yuan was highly valued, he was only a guard after all. He was able to participate in battlefield meetings mainly because he was serving as a meeting recorder, that is, a clerk.

On such an occasion, he dared to stand up and speak now, which was actually a bit overstepping.

But Zhu Zhanji didn't care about this, and crossed his legs. Liu Wan hurriedly placed a brocade stool in front of him and cushioned his legs.

Zhu Zhanji leaned on the dragon chair, crossed his legs, and said in a somewhat sloppy manner: "Speak!" ”

Huang Yuan said loudly: "The minister has always been in charge of the logistics and material supply of the fleet, and he knows the consumption of the fleet well. Although the cost of each trip to the Western Ocean is huge, the profit of one trip is dozens of times. Although it is expensive to set up a base overseas, as long as the fleet does not stop, the profit is enough to make up for the cost of the base.

In the future, of course, the size of the fleet does not need to be as large as this time, as in the past when the Duke of Dian was the case. Once a year, when new recruits replace veterans, and profits are used to fill the cost, these bases can be set up. The soldiers stationed there can be replaced and returned to China for a maximum of three years, and there is no danger of negative morale. ”

This is almost the same as Zhu Zhanji thought, Zhu Zhanji glanced at him appreciatively, and asked, "What other opinions do you have Aiqing?" ”

Zheng He stood up at this time and said, "Your Highness, Huang Yuan's strategy is indeed feasible, and the minister seconded it. ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said, "Where to set up a base?" How many troops, how many supplies do you need for the base? How much does it cost to build a base? All of these need to be joined by all of you. Other places can be discussed later, and they are desperate to send troops to attack Ceuta and the Gibraltar Rock, one south and one north, and control the Strait of Gibraltar, so that the throats of the entire European countries will be choked by our Ming. Discuss this matter today ......"

Attacking Ceuta said that this was originally the territory of the Marin Kingdom, but it was occupied by Portugal, but Gibraltar was the territory of the Kingdom of Castile, and the Ming Dynasty sent troops for no reason, which would damage morality.

Other countries don't care, but the Ming can't throw away the cloak of civilization and become like them because other countries are barbaric.

Now that Zhu Zhanji has made a decision, everyone has made suggestions on how to negotiate with Ma Linguo and what conditions to come up with to buy Ceuta.

How to cooperate between the two countries to turn Marin into a supply place for the Ming soldiers was discussed.

Regarding the attack on the Rock of Gibraltar, Zheng He was also willing to act as an envoy to the Kingdom of Granada, cooperate with Granada, accept the other party's "request", and then occupy the Lower Rock of Gibraltar.

One person counts the short, and the others count the long, and before midnight, everyone has drawn up a complete set of plans, and then they each rest and wait for the dawn.

The reason why Zhu Zhanji dared to occupy Ceuta and Gibraltar now was because these two places were easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Ceuta is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the Gibraltar Rock is a natural rocky mountain.

This place is a stone mountain, facing the land, or a natural cliff, only need to hold a rough road on the west side, no matter how many troops can attack from the land.

As for attacking from the sea, it is also very difficult, because it is a stone mountain that goes straight up and down, and only a few places can land, and it is a real one-man pass.

Historically, in order to recapture Gibraltar, Spain has all the brains out and has not taken it back, which shows the precipitousness of this place.

Needless to say, the geographical location here is equivalent to controlling the economic line of Europe.

But it is impossible to rely on the soldiers of the Ming alone, and if the Ming wants to occupy this place permanently, they must have an ally to provide logistics services for the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

So, now Marin's role is highlighted.

They can provide auxiliary manpower for the Ming Dynasty, and they can provide food and vegetables for the Ming Dynasty. It is even possible to provide beauties to the hearts of Andaming soldiers.

If there is really an emergency, Gibraltar cannot hold on, and the soldiers do not have to fight to the last man, they only need to retreat to Marin, wait for reinforcements to come, and then fight back.

At this time, Zhu Zhanji was actually very fortunate that none of the soldiers who came to Europe with him, whether it was Zheng He, Zhu Zhen, or Xue Lu, including Jin Chun, the head of the civil officials, were holding back.

Not only did they not lag behind, but they were also very capable of making any decision made by Zhu Zhanji go smoothly.

Now, he is confident in the outcome of his trip to Europe.

(The internal disagreement is resolved, and the Ming soldiers are about to make their official debut in the European world!) Hahaha...... ）