Yu Guozhen knew that the introduction of one or two pieces of technology could not change everything at once, even if he mobilized all the skilled craftsmen in Xinxiang to fight together to build a steam power system that could be used for ships of more than 500 tons, it would take two to three months, only four ships a year, and this would also require the rest of the steam machinery production to be stopped.

Therefore, he set a goal of one ship for half a year, and then the institute should increase the cultivation of skilled workers.

Taking this opportunity, Song Yingxing complained to Yu Guozhen, saying that he had insufficient manpower and so on. Speaking of which, he just took a fancy to the batch of students who were about to graduate from the new phase of Xinxiang Primary School. Since the eighth year of Chongzhen, Yu Guozhen's Xinxiang Primary School has entered the right track, and now it is the sixth year, and the first batch of schools enrolled at that time have now been completed. Because of their teaching content, there are only three subjects of Chinese language, mathematics, and practical learning, and there is no need to be distracted to memorize foreign languages that are useless to the vast majority of people, not to mention those plain courses that cannot reflect the quality at all, and these children who are struggling back from the death line are also extremely knowledge-seeking, and their success rate is extremely high, nearly 50% of them have successfully read to the present, and the other half are really lacking in reading talent, and they have also been diverted twice in the third and fifth grades to avoid them not only wasting time, but also to destroy the style of study.

In the third grade, most of the students were apprenticed in various workshops, and those in the fifth grade were given priority to join the Tiger Guards, who were usually thirteen or fourteen years old by this time and were able to receive initial military training.

And in the troops. It does not mean that you will give up the learning of culture and skills, in fact, everyone in the new Xiang system knows that the best cultural teachers and technical craftsmen are all in the Tiger Guard system. When I got here, there were more famous teachers.

After the completion of the sixth grade, there will be another differentiation. Some of them entered various elementary schools and began to be role models. This number accounts for about half of the total, this is Yu Guozhen's hard rule, in his opinion, three teachers are enough to teach at least sixty students, as long as five or six years, the number of people with the corresponding knowledge will be expanded by twenty times, which is a big investment than any profit! For example, this class of sixth-grade graduates totaled 844 people, of whom 400 entered the elementary schools everywhere to work as assistants to the tiger guards who had been sent to them. In six years, they will be able to teach at least 8,000 practical talents at the same level as theirs! Moreover, this is a geometric growth, Yu Guozhen estimates that as long as there are two more rounds, that is, twelve years, he will be able to have enough manpower to completely replace the old Confucian students!

It can even be shorter. After all, Xinxiang's investment in education is huge, accounting for about 30% of Yu Guozhen's total income, and only 844 people were trained in the first year, because they were all admitted to Chongzhen's school in eight years, and Yu Guozhen's strength was weak at that time. can only rely on Xiaolian and Huwei to act as teachers, and many classes have to be taken by themselves, and the number of students enrolled in their hands is also limited. But by the ninth year of Chongzhen, the number of students enrolled had tripled, and the combined number of students enrolled in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth years had reached a staggering 50,000!

"Except for the teacher, you can't move, the rest will be given to you first." Yu Guozhen said.

"I also want manpower, Nanhai Bo, Lao Dao here, but the people are a major matter, and a qualified doctor, the training time is not two or three years, you have to give priority to Lao Dao here!"

Before Yu Guozhen's words were finished, some people immediately protested dissatisfied.

But it was Gui Quanzi, he and the two of them came together, holding hands, seeing this appearance, Yu Guozhen was a little sweaty, and smiled at the moment: "Gui Quanzi Dao Chang wants people, so naturally he has to give priority to ......."

"I also want people, don't you need people in Xinxiang Exploration Mine, or are you satisfied with these mines now? According to my estimates, although we don't have to worry about Xinxiang iron ore for the time being, the rest of the mineral deposits will face a shortage! Zhi Yier was also unwilling to be lonely.

"It stands to reason that the old man should not rob people with gentlemen who have university questions, but ...... The people take food as the sky, this good breed is cultivated, there must be someone, if there is no one here in the old man, I am afraid that it will affect the big plan of Nanhai Bo. Suddenly, there was humanity again, but it was Lao Lei who said this, a farming expert from the Xinxiang Agricultural Research Institute.

Suddenly, everyone shouted, saying that their side was extremely important, Yu Guozhen's head was as big as a fight, and he fled directly, this is probably the first time he has escaped since this incident.

Strictly speaking, the process of the steam engine is not difficult, the real difficulty is to put it into practical use, in order to achieve this goal, Yu Guozhen also invested huge manpower and material resources. The first steamship could only be used for coastal guard because of its tonnage, but then it was necessary to build a more powerful steamship, and its first purpose was naturally military.

In the midst of joy, Yu Guozhen waited for the news of Luo Jiuhe.

Off the chicken coop, they intercepted the Spanish reinforcement fleet, and in a fierce artillery battle, the Spaniards lost a large ship and a small boat, and four other ships also suffered heavy casualties, and another was sunk as they tried to escape. The Spaniards' good training and naval tactics allowed them to fight more with less, and they also inflicted heavy losses on the Xinxiang navy, with one battleship-class battleship and three frigates sunk, and another battleship suffered heavy damage and had to return to port for repairs.

More than 140 officers and men of the Fishery Administration Bureau were killed in this battle, more than 500 Spanish soldiers were captured and destroyed, and 300 Japanese mercenaries hired by the Spaniards. This almost wiped out a third of the Spaniard's troops in Manila, but Yu Guozhen was still extremely dissatisfied with his own casualties.

"Why are there so many casualties?" Not only was Yu Guozhen dissatisfied, but Mao Yuanyi was also surprised when he saw the battle report: "Our men and our ships are far more than the Spaniards, why are there so many casualties?" ”

The Spaniards rushed from Manila to support the ships, there were only six, the two large ones were no more than 600 tons, and the small ships were about 100 tons, and Xinxiang concentrated almost half of the navy, with four battleships of about 1,000 tons, and as many as 18 frigates, of which the size of the frigates was not inferior to the capital ships of the Spaniards, and the same was true in terms of firepower!

"Look down, Luo Jiuhe has an explanation." Yu Guozhen sighed.

It takes three years to build an army, and ten years to build a navy, Yu Guozhen's current Fishery Administration Bureau Navy has no problem bullying Daming and Jianyu, and even has an advantage in the face of Zheng Zhilong's forces. Because the main means of combat of the navy in these three areas is still the use of fire to attack ships, even if they engage in broadside battles, they rarely use firearms. The Spaniards are different, Luo Jiuhe's explanation said that the Spaniards are "good at firearms, and the guns are very accurate", and the firearms are extremely sharp and unusually sharp, not inferior to me, "the most important thing is that the Spanish sailors and soldiers" are "accustomed to naval battles, high morale, and great honor" On the ship that rocks incessantly in the wind and waves, they can still "walk on the ground and walk freely" They even braved the artillery fire to approach the Xinxiang warship, launched a broadside battle, and almost took a ship from the hands of the Fishery Administration.

"Are the Spaniards really that good?" After reading it, Mao Yuanyi sucked it. Air-conditioning ducts.

"Hugh should underestimate these Xiyi, they also have merits, this situation of the Spaniards, Mr. Mao also knows, it once had the reputation of the 'sun never sets' empire, the colonies are all over the world, and the total number of people under his rule is not inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty. The most important thing is that this country was founded on the sea, and it once built an "invincible armada" with more than 100 warships and more than 3,000 artillery pieces, and at its peak there were more than 1,000 ships of various types, and the navy alone had 30,000 men. ”

Mao Yuanyi was no stranger to these numbers, he nodded again and again: "I used to think that this was just a soldier of a small country, and it was just a waste of national strength, just like the Annan Ruan clan and the Zheng clan, although they had 100,000 soldiers, they were just local chickens and dogs, but they never thought that these 30,000 were as elite as our tiger guards!" It's terrible, it's terrible! If we give them a firm foothold in the Southeast Islands and reproduce for a few more generations, won't they be able to suppress our Huaxia and wipe out our Huaxia species! ”

"What Mr. Mao said is that the reason why I want to avenge the Chinese in Manila is also for this reason, if Ren Xiyi continues like this, sooner or later the war will burn to my Chinese mainland!" Yu Guozhen turned to the map and wrote around the Ming Dynasty: "Korea, Tamna, Taiwan, Qiongzhou, and Jiaozhi are the last line of defense on our Chinese sea, so these places must be firmly in the hands of our Huaxia, and only in this way can we protect the security of the richest and most dynamic coastal areas in China." Sakhalin, the Wa Kingdom, the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Philippines, the Nanyang States, and the Indochina Peninsula countries are the spheres of influence of China, and these places have been influenced by China for thousands of years, and China is naturally its suzerain, so these countries are our subject countries, and their internal affairs and foreign affairs should be led by China, and the unclaimed islands and lands outside their borders should naturally be owned by China. Further, Tianzhu, Ceylon, Australia, and Honolulu are the periphery of our Chinese forces, which should provide a screen for the Chinese forces and expand China's influence here. As for the rest, the people of China should have the same rights and interests as the people of their country, and the smooth trade routes of China must be guaranteed! ”

Yu Guozhen looked at the map, unabashedly his ambitions, although there was a suspicion of opening up the territory on the map, but Mao Yuanyi did not feel vain. Yu Guozhen is only twenty-four years old now, and although he is already the father of a son and a daughter, he is still young. At Xinxiang's current development rate, as long as there are about ten more years, it will be enough to enter the Ming Dynasty - if the Ming Dynasty has not been destroyed by the endless stream of rogues and prisoners. At that time, Yu Guozhen was only thirty-four years old, and in another twenty years, he could create a huge empire at the age of fifty.

With Mao Yuanyi's body and age, it may be a little difficult to live for another thirty years, but if you live for another ten years, it will be absolutely no problem to see the day when Yu Guozhen enters the Central Plains!

"Lord, this is the foundation of my Huaxia Yongye, and if I do this, I will be the first emperor, and I will bow to my lord."

Yu Guozhen laughed, because Mao Yuanyi's words did not make him feel complacent. There are some things that Mao Yuanyi doesn't know, but he knows very well that for him, establishing the status of a global leader is not the end, but only a starting point.

Our journey can only be the sea of stars! (To be continued)