He had participated in the Crusades and had experience of warfare unmatched by anyone else. The ultimate goal of war is nothing more than three, one is money, one is land, and the other is population. But according to Hong Tao's plan, there is nothing of these three, and even the allies are empty, so what kind of war is there to fight. In addition, Carl had a very vague purpose that he didn't say, that is, he wanted to go home and see. Hong Tao fooled him several times, why wait for the child to be three years old before leaving, now his son is five years old, and he hasn't done it yet. He didn't have to go back to his hometown, he just wanted to go back and see, and if he did go back to live in Europe, he might not be able to adapt to it.

"This money is not only for Mongolia, but also for the warships and artillery built can be used in the future. The company's base has reached the southernmost tip of Africa, thousands of miles away, and if there is another situation in the port of Malacca, we can't save it. So in the future, our fleet will be stationed in several places in batches, and this money will have to be spent sooner or later. As for losing money, I promise, no! Starting next year, the route to Da Shi will officially enter the charging stage, and the ports of Malacca, Brunei, Penang, and Kabalan will all have to tax the cargo ships of non-strait companies, and this money will have to rely on cannons to collect it safely. I have calculated that these taxes alone will not be less than a million yuan. In addition, when the number of warships is sufficient, Goryeo, Japan, and Liaodong are also the targets of our plunder, and the money for shipbuilding is not paid by us in Jinhewan in the end, we just pay on behalf of them, and the money is sponsored by them. Not only the money for shipbuilding, but also the raw materials for the production of gunpowder and shells. So be it. In fact, we don't have to pay so much money in the end. Maybe there's a balance. Fighting a war is actually a very lucrative business. Hong Tao answered the question of the old man Bofu very clearly, and patted his chest and assured that these military expenses were not thrown in vain, and they would be earned back sooner or later.

"Old Ka, are you itching your flesh and skin these days? Come on, come on! The two of us went to the beach to have a good time, when did we say yes vote, and when did it end. "You can be persuasive to the elderly. But he is not so polite to Karl Hongtao, and he dares to declare a personal vendetta, and he must be severely punished.

Karl did vote for yes, but instead of being subdued by Hong Tao, Hong Tao drew him another big pie, saying that he would be fully responsible for the supply voyage to Cape Town this year, and that he could come to Cape Town as a representative of the head office to guide the work of Martini. Martini, on the other hand, is only a Cape Town branch manager, and he has to listen to the head office on many issues.

As soon as he heard that he could toss Martini, half of the resentment in Carl's stomach suddenly disappeared. In fact, Hong Tao's intention to do this is obvious. This was to familiarize himself with the route alone, and to pave the way for him to sail back to distant Europe in the future. They're all adults. Needless to say, Hong Tao has already given him this freedom, which means that he is indeed preparing for him to go home. What Jinhewan has done in the past few years, Carl is not blind, he sees it all, Hong Tao really has no time to go around Europe.

Not to mention that Mongolia is not Mongolian, just the integration of the sea areas of Southeast Asia, coupled with the unity of those maritime merchants in the Southern Song Dynasty, has already tossed Hong Tao so much that he can't stay at home for a few days. These are the fundamentals of Jinhewan's foothold, since Carl has chosen to join the big family of Jinhewan, then he can still start from the interests of Jinhewan in major matters. He is not only representing himself, but also hundreds of European immigrants and their families, and if he is not in this position, why should they choose him as a representative? Just because his hair is redder than others?

However, Carl did not vote against it this time in retaliation for Hong Tao not taking him home, and there is indeed merit in the objections he raised. For example, the problem of insufficient numbers of the army, Hong Tao himself believes that it is a big problem. There is also the issue of the attitude of the Southern Song Dynasty court towards the armed forces of Jinhewan, which has also plagued Hong Tao. If it weren't for the fear that it would eventually become a situation where his grandmother didn't hurt and his uncle didn't love him, Hong Tao would have taken the fleet to the Qiantang River estuary to show off his might, first let the Southern Song Dynasty court see his strength, and then sit down to talk about a cooperation condition. With the cooperation of the Southern Song Dynasty Army, I dare not say that I can push it back, at least it is no problem to hold the line of the Yangtze River, Hanshui, and Huai River. No matter how many Mongolian troops come, as long as you dare to cross the river, I will dare to cut you in two, and you can't take care of each other, and then the troops who let you cross the river will not be able to get bullshit supplies. I see how capable you are, and see if you can defeat all the south of the Yangtze River with 10,000 or 20,000 troops without logistical supplies, and you won't starve to death!

But it's too late, the number of the army can't be increased much in a short time, the threshold for the selection of soldiers by the Mamluks is very high, you can't be brave enough, and you also need physical fitness, otherwise they won't fight after putting on their armor, and they will only gasp for breath. There are really not many tall and sturdy people in Javanese, you let them farm, work, and have good endurance, but let them wear heavy armor and carry a scimitar weighing more than ten pounds to charge, it is really not possible.

Even if the Mamluks could select enough troops, Hong Tao would not be able to raise so many army troops. The more the army, the heavier the task of logistical supply, people eat horses, and as soon as they go out, they have to be accompanied by a large number of ships, and the cost is too high. Hong Tao never expected to go head-to-head with the Mongol army, he only needed a lean, pocket, fast special forces, the number of which could not exceed a thousand at most, which was the supply limit of a fleet. This unit is well-equipped, and all advanced weapons will be used by them with confidence, without fear of being captured by the enemy, because they are not going to fight, but to destroy. Most of the time it was against civilians, local armed forces, and small units of guards. For this reason, Hong Tao also required that the marines must be able to ride horses, not to be able to bow and horse like the Mamluk cavalry, but only to be able to gallop wildly, they are not cavalry, but only to use horses to drive away.

What bothered Hong Tao the most was the Southern Song Dynasty court, and he thought about it and felt very incomprehensible. This time, Luo Youde went to Lin'an to discuss with Zheng Qingzhi about the formation of a voluntary fleet of the Strait Company, which was actually a plan by Hong Tao to ask for directions. With Zheng Qingzhi's political acumen and experience, he would certainly not listen to Luo Youde's words and easily believe that this fleet was a move by Guangzhou maritime merchants to serve the country loyally, and he only needed to ask the local officials in Guangzhou to roughly understand who was behind this strait company.

Although his name is not very loud, Hong Tao is 100% sure that Zheng Qingzhi will not forget himself, this is the instinct of politicians, and all those they think may be useful have always remembered very clearly, and they will not forget it for more than ten years. What's more, there is also a horse farm that reminds him all the time, after more than three years of expansion, Nanning Army's horse farm now has more than 50 stallions and more than 400 mares. Most of them were Arabian horses, and a small number were Cantonese horses, Western Xia horses, and Mongolian horses provided by the Nanning army. Every year, the foals are multiplied, and Manu says that in another three or four years, the peak breeding season will be.

As long as Zheng Qingzhi heard his name, Hong Tao firmly believed that he would inevitably inquire carefully about his origin, maybe he would have checked it a long time ago. It was no trivial task to let an armed fleet controlled by foreigners pass through the state and enter the most important line of defense of the Southern Song Dynasty. He doubts not only his own purpose, but also his motives. If he hadn't been 100% assured, he would definitely not have agreed to let this fleet enter the Yangtze River.

Even if he agrees to this, he will not let this fleet of ships with strange origins go unpunished, and will definitely take charge of it. What Hong Tao wants is this management, and it will be clear how the Southern Song Dynasty court will manage this fleet and how it will treat such things. From this cooperation, Hong Tao was able to roughly understand the attitude of the Southern Song Dynasty court towards the intervention of foreign armed forces in the Song-Mongolian war, and then make the right decision. Not only did he have to touch the pulse of the Southern Song Dynasty, but the Southern Song Dynasty would probably also send someone to touch his true thoughts. If you can pee into a pot, both sides will send a friendly signal to each other, and if you can't pee in a pot, you can show it at that time, everything can only wait and see.

With a red heart and two hands to prepare, Hong Tao has already made a plan, no matter if he can pee or not in a pot, he must reach out to help him in the Southern Song Dynasty. It's nothing more than a difference between doing more with less, or doing more with less. As long as their own capabilities in this area are sufficient, even if they do half the effort, that half of the force should be able to cause great trouble to Mongolia, so that it cannot concentrate its forces to invade the south, and it is not good that Mongolia's top brass will also shift its strategic goal and deploy against the navy of Jinhewan first. In that case, it would be too perfect, and Hong Tao felt that he had the ability to waste most of the energy, money, and manpower of the Mongols on the sea, dragging them to death.

In order to achieve this goal, Hong Tao began to rearrange all the power he could control. The first is the navy, which is the foundation of his life. One killer whale-class, six Jiaosha-class, and three new Jiaosha-class, these are all the maritime armed forces that Jinhewan can take out at present. Hong Tao planned to divide this fleet into two parts, one killer whale-class and six Jiaosha-class warships, all of which were incorporated into the main fleet, which was the main force to fight the Mongols in the future. All three new Shark-class ships were integrated into the convoy fleet, with Karl as the commander of the fleet, and were specifically responsible for escorting the Straits Company's merchant fleet on the route from the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea. At the same time, the escort fleet was tasked with transporting supplies and rotating personnel to each supply point, including the port of Cape Town. (To be continued.) )