The Ming Dynasty Navy, also known as the Great Ming Navy, was once the world's first Chinese navy. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Its origin is one of the two main forces of Zhu Yuanzhang's department at the end of the Yuan Dynasty - Chaohu Water Division.

In 1420, during the heyday of Ming Chengzu, the Ming Dynasty had 3,800 ships, including 1,350 patrol ships and 1,350 warships, as well as 400 large ships (building ships) and 400 grain ships stationed at the Xinjiang Estuary base in Nanjing.

Among these ships, about 300 are ocean-going treasure ships, in addition to a large number of guard and law enforcement ships and herald ships to protect the ocean and patrol the river, the famous Zheng He fleet is actually just a sea mobile fleet of the powerful Ming Empire Navy.

However, two hundred years later, such an invincible fleet decayed into an offshore convoy.

This is not unrelated to the two Achilles' heels caused by ancient Chinese geopolitical thought.

First, the lack of the concept of sea power is a typical continental geopolitical view.

China was not a country lacking in seafaring traditions, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there was maritime transport and a navy.

However, since ancient times, China has lacked attention to the strategic value of the sea, only Zheng He has a strategic vision of the sea, most of the members of Zheng He's fleet, have the spirit of maritime exploration, for this reason they have gone deep into the sea that their predecessors have never set foot in, they are actually the first navigators to enter the South Pacific and the South Atlantic.

However, their tragic origins doomed their efforts to failure, and most of these rare navigators in ancient China were discriminated against eunuchs, and their success only increased the hostility of mainstream society towards seafaring.

In 1422, the Ming bureaucrats finally got the emperor to abandon his overseas expansion attempts while Zheng He was far away, and their reason was that the outside world was too big for us to fear.

Yes, most bureaucrats are terrified of the unknown and unfamiliar territory.

So soon after, Zheng He was recalled, the fleet rotted in the harbor, and the navigation materials that Zheng He and others had worked so hard to collect were destroyed by the Ministry of War, and at the same time stopped the construction of ocean-going ships, strictly prohibited overseas private trade, and handed over the control of the sea that was close at hand.

The lack of a concept of sea power has led to the Continental Armyism in the national defense strategy, which has resulted in insufficient resources for the naval divisions.

The second Achilles' heel is the semi-fictional Sinocentrism, which, since ancient times, has considered itself to be the Celestial Empire, treating other countries as barbarians, indulging in the centrality of the world that is at first real, then illusory, and finally falsified, and unwilling to understand the world outside the tributary circle.

Due to the backward geographical view, it was even believed that Zheng He had reached the whole world at that time, and there was no power to compete with the Ming Dynasty at sea, so it became unnecessary to maintain a sailor.

The sense of cultural superiority brought about by Sinocentrism has enabled China to implement a cosmopolitan diplomatic line, although there are also geopolitical interests, resources, and trade considerations, but it pays more attention to the promotion of values and cultural radiation.

This kind of foreign strategy is much more civilized than colonialism and imperialism, but it is easy to ignore the strategic interests of one's own country.

When Zheng He crushed the challenge from the Strait of Malacca, Ceylon, and Java, the Ming Empire gained legitimacy to control these strategic locations, allowing it to control the Eurasian international shipping route.

However, the traditional policy of softness again led to a missed opportunity, otherwise the Portuguese would not have had a chance to enter the Far East.

The lack of nation-state consciousness led to the automatic abandonment of overseas interests in the Ming Dynasty.

All of this combined led to a sad ending, when Western Europe did not hesitate to borrow money like the Venetian bankers in order to build up a navy, Liu Daxia, a staff member of the Ming Dynasty's military department, destroyed the navigation materials that had been obtained by Zheng He's fleet for decades, and this move was praised by all the officials of the Ming Dynasty.

If Zheng He knew underground, would he die blindly?

After more than 200 years, the Daming Navy Division existed in name only, and it can be seen from Zhu Youzhen's original cancellation of the Baoshan Shipyard order for the Northern Expedition, and instead accelerated the research and development of army equipment, that the entire Ming Dynasty from top to bottom did not regard maritime rights and interests as a thing.

The only fleet with combat effectiveness was contributed by Zheng Zhilong, a pirate who invaded the coast in the past.

Li Hongfei formed the Ming Navy into an independent army and gave it a full 120,000 people, which shows his determination to strengthen the Ming Navy, after all, so many sailors are equivalent to the total strength of many small countries.

And as can be seen from the names of the two fleets, these are two ocean-going fleets, not inland water divisions, or coastal defense forces.

Raising such two large-scale fleets, its military expenditure is even higher than that of the 300,000 field army, but Li Hongfei is confident that he can convince the Congress that as long as Situ Yan and Zheng Zhilong bring back enough benefits from Nanyang, those businessmen and representatives in the Congress will definitely give their full support.

The merchant representatives were widely implicated, they had inseparable interests with the workers' representatives, and they were also disconnected from the big families, so it can be said that Li Hongfei only needed to control the businessmen to indirectly control the Congress.

Interests can drive everyone, and those saints who are not driven by interests can only show that the benefits given are not big enough.

If you don't bend your waist for five buckets of rice, then give six buckets of rice..........

The field army, the defenders, and the ocean-going naval divisions together formed the regular army in the Ming Dynasty, plus the government service of the yamen of the state capitals, and the local militia reserve (mainly composed of retired soldiers, temporarily transitioned before the imperial court arranged new jobs), and the entire Ming Dynasty had about 900,000 standing troops.

With the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is just right to support a million army, and no matter how much it is, it will be a little unbearable.

"Why is there no air force establishment?" After Li Hongfei understood all this, he couldn't help but ask.

"Air Force? No....... Just those glider troops of a few hundred people? Li Dingguo was puzzled.

In his opinion, although the flight academy has been established for nearly three years, there are less than 400 real cadets, and it is not a big joke to form an army alone.

"And the hot air balloon troops." Li Hongfei reminded.

"Isn't this hot air balloon assigned to the artillery regiment?"

Due to the demand for surveying and mapping artillery, the officers and men on the hot air balloon were basically from the artillery department, although these people were also considered to be masters flying in the sky, but Li Dingguo did not regard them as a member of the air force at all.

"Who said that hot air balloons can only be used for artillery mapping? I remember that you also went to the Air Force Department in the first place, have you forgotten what I told at the beginning? Li Hongfei asked rhetorically.

"This ......... How dare I forget, it's just ........ It's been so long, and there hasn't been much breakthrough in hot air balloons, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Air Force to become an army in the short term! Li Dingguo explained.

Of course, he will not admit that when planning the reform of the military system, he did not consider the matter of the air force at all.

"Four years ago, researchers were still fiddling with Kong Ming lanterns, but now? It has been able to let my Ming soldiers fly hundreds of meters in a hot air balloon! Li Hongfei said.

There is never an absolute thing in scientific research, it seems impossible today, and it may not be necessary that there will be a major breakthrough tomorrow.

As a traverser, he may not know the historical trend, but in terms of scientific and technological development, he will definitely not take a detour, and others do not know the progress of the development of the Air Force, and it is impossible for him Li Hongfei to ignore it.

"Okay, I also know that you are difficult to do, first give an air force brigade with an establishment of 30,000 people, and then apply for military expenses according to the artillery establishment. As for the matter of becoming an independent army, we will wait until the air force has completely formed its combat effectiveness. Li Hongfei didn't want Li Dingguo to be embarrassed.

He had to take down the establishment of the Air Force, not for anything else, because it was too expensive to study hot air balloons.

Without the support of the imperial court, Zhou Furen would not even have the motivation to persevere.

As long as you can get a strength of 30,000 people, and the military expenditure is still according to the standard of artillery, it means that the size of the air force and the demand for equipment are large enough.

Now that the war is over and military spending has been drastically reduced, Zhou Furen definitely does not want to give up such a big order.

Naturally, Li Hongfei could not purchase all gliders, what he needed was a large hot air balloon that could carry people and bombs.

The money is in front of you, and whether you can get it depends on the ability of Suzhou Heavy Industry.

"Is it appropriate to recruit so many people at once?" Even Guo Sheng was a little puzzled at this time.

The Air Force originally belonged to the experimental force, and the number was not large, and the soldiers in it were either special forces or special forces reserves, so the entire Air Force was under the management of Guo Sheng.

After this expansion, it is bound to be separated, and Guo Sheng is really reluctant to let go of this group of troops equipped with the top weapons of the Ming Dynasty.

"Not only must we expand our recruitment, but we must also establish a new Air Force Academy in the capital." Li Hongfei said what he thought.

With the relocation of the political center to Beijing, the Nanjing Military Academy has lost its due value.

After all, today does not have the developed transportation capacity of later generations, as long as you want, you can reach any part of the country in one day.

Therefore, no one in power is willing to put the training of military generals outside his sphere of influence.

At the same time, in order to further refine the functions of the military academy, Li Hongfei planned to divide it into three and set up three military academies: naval, land, and air.

"Is the Air Force really that powerful?" Guo Sheng really couldn't sit still now.

The establishment of three military academies, Li Hongfei did mention before.

However, in Guo Sheng's view, the establishment of a professional naval academy can be justified, after all, in several landing operations, the Daming Naval Division has shown sufficient strategic value.

However, it is a bit surprising that the Air Force, which has not yet shown any value, also wants to set up a separate military academy.

"Who would have thought that firearms would have such great potential for development before they came out? So don't underestimate the sky, if nothing else, if the hot air balloon can be lifted and lowered freely (the artillery observation balloon must be with the help of a rope, otherwise it will not be able to descend), then carry the army deep behind enemy lines, or throw grenades from the air and bomb enemy cities, then who can stop them? Li Hongfei was in a good mood, and he actually gave these military bigwigs a basic air raid lesson.

"I'm obedient, so in this way, isn't the Air Force invincible in the sky?" Guo Sheng also reacted quite quickly.

If the enemy does not have air defense weapons, the Air Force is really invincible.

However, in this world, where there is a spear, there is a shield, and the development of the air force is, to a large extent, also to compete with the army, and only when the army feels threatened, under this kind of healthy competition, will the speed of weapon research and development move forward quickly.

"That's right, if the Qing army, or other barbarian armies, appears with this weapon before us, how should we deal with it? Therefore, we have to study it one step ahead of them, and as long as we have samples and understand their weaknesses, we will come up with better ways to restrain them. ”

War is a catalyst for the development of science and technology, and now that there is no war, Li Hongfei can only continue to create "imaginary enemies", such as the powerful mobility of steam warships, which makes the coastal defense artillery feel pressure, so the rate of fire is faster, the range is longer, and the artillery with greater power is included in the research and development project.

"Lord Li, this air force brigade hasn't decided on a commander yet, how about letting me go?" Guo Sheng said suddenly.

He inquired about such a large chase, in fact, for the position of this commander.

First of all, he was reluctant to give up the baby bump of the special forces, after all, those are the best of the elites who can be ten with one, and even the equipment is the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Secondly, the scale of 30,000 people is already as large as his position as a military commander, and judging by the importance of Li Hongfei, he will definitely be the trump card in the Ming army in the future.

Although the first army is also a trump card, there are also the second army and the third army......... Without the First Army of the Special Forces, there is no longer much advantage, and seizing the Air Force Brigade, a new type of armed force, as long as it really develops according to Li Hongfei's ideas, it is very likely to become the trump card among the trump cards in the future.

So Guo Sheng didn't want to give up this opportunity.

"Your kid has a good eye, it's okay, I'll leave it to you to manage, before the equipment comes down, use the existing equipment to train recruits, standard......... Just according to the way special forces are trained. Li Hongfei thought for a while and said.

The commander of this air force, only Guo Sheng is really more suitable.

After all, Guo Sheng also conducted flight training when he was training special forces, as for tactical tactics, these soldiers still explored them on their own, Li Hongfei could not teach them everything, and the Ming army could not rely on Li Hongfei alone forever.

Several people discussed in the Qingyun Hall for about an hour, not only to solve all the problems of the army establishment and the reorganization of the military academy, but also to sort out the new official rank system.

Since it is necessary to implement the separation of military and political affairs, the official rank of military generals cannot be linked to civilian officials, otherwise it is inevitable that all kinds of money and power transactions will occur.

In line with the principle that since it is common to the whole world, it must be reasonable, so the Ministry of Defense will directly confer the title, and confer the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, colonel, general, and marshal according to the military of various countries in later generations.

It can be said that only when the Ministry of National Defense really implements these reform measures in an all-round way, can the Ming army be officially transformed from the Zhu family's royal army to the Ming national army in name.

But don't underestimate this so-called "name", thousands of years of Confucianism have made "name" more convincing than it actually is...........