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The Mexico is a hybrid ironclad ship with sail and steam displacement of more than 10,000 tons, a product of the Daming Jiangnan Shipyard, which once served in the Daming Navy and was sold to the Imperial Mexican Navy two years ago. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 INFO is now the flagship of the Mexican Navy's Pacific Fleet and is the foundation of the Mexican Imperial Navy's supremacy on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean. However, all the officers and soldiers on this ship are from the Donghua Kingdom, and all of them are Jujuan's men.

Although it is winter, the Indian Ocean near the equator is very hot and humid, and there is no wind at all. The sails of the Mexico were folded and driven entirely by a steam engine, maintaining a speed of about ten knots. Jujuan and Ju Heng have been together for a few days, and their relationship has become more harmonious, to the point where they can speak from their hearts.

"How are the Turks?" Jujuan sat in a chair by the window in the officer's room, holding a glass of cold wine, looking out at the vast expanse of the sea, and asked his brother, "Can they fight now?" ”

"You can fight, but you can't fight badly." Zhu Heng shook his head, "But it won't perish, because the old man won't allow it, his bank has borrowed a lot of money to Turkey, almost 300 million Chinese yuan, right?" The revitalization of the Turkish Empire over the years has been propped up by loans from HSBC. ”

Zhu Heng is the commercial representative of HSBC in Turkey, so he naturally knows a lot about this. "Of course, the government of Sudan did not get the cash," he told Juan. The Turks were given railways, munitions, military advisers, and some machinery and raw materials. But the old man didn't give them warships. Not a single one was given, and the Sultan was persuaded to disband the navy in order to concentrate all his forces on the army. ”

"How many land forces do the Turks have now?" Jujuan knew the approximate number. There was information on this in the Imperial General Staff, and after his mother became regent of the Empire, it was no longer a secret to him. Still, he wanted to get a more precise figure from his brother.

"The new standing army has about 300,000 people, modeled after the Ming Army, organized into 20 divisions, equipped with weapons provided by the Ming and France, including artillery and machine guns. Trained by officers of the Ming and French. In addition, the Turks have created a system of national mobilization. Theoretically, 1.5 million army ...... can be mobilized in wartime"

What Zhu Heng said was similar to what Juan knew. But then he changed his tone and said with a smile: "But in Turkey, you can't take the numbers on paper too seriously." ”

"What do you mean......" Jujuan looked at his brother suspiciously.

"Eat empty, Juan. Have you ever heard of this kind of thing? Zhu Heng blinked and looked at Juan, "Corruption and bribery are very prevalent in this country, and if anyone does not join the stream, they will be excluded by everyone, and it is impossible to rise to a high position." With the exception of a few important positions appointed by the Sultan himself, the general official positions were commodities that could be bought and sold. Officers, on the other hand, in order to get promoted and make themselves more comfortable, have to stretch their hands on military pay, which is usually more than 30% vacant in all Turkish army units. ”

"If you want to lose the country, you still do this!" Juan shook his head. If his brother is not wrong. The Turkish Empire is already a rotten and rotten country, but why did the old man go to great lengths to support it?

Zhu Heng took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "You can't die." The worse the country is, the more it will not perish. The Russians may have seized Asia Minor and Transcaucasia, but they should not dare to touch the Arabian Peninsula. It's too sensitive here...... As soon as the Russians come in, both India and Egypt will be under the threat of Russia. The British will not agree, the French will not agree, and our old man does not want Turkey to perish. So Alexander II would not have done such a stupid thing. ”

"Yes, too." Jujuan nodded, and he was silent for a moment. Then he asked tentatively, "What does the old man think...... Does he want to fight? ”

"I don't think he's in a hurry." Zhu Heng smiled. Looking at Juan, "His health is fine, it will not be a problem to live another thirty years, what is there to rush?" ”

"But the opportunity in front of me ......," Jujuan frowned, "France and the Roman Empire no longer have a great emperor, and it will take at least 10 years for Napoleon IV to mature, and before that, the French and Roman Empires are brainless giants, and they are no longer a threat." ”

"And the British Empire!" Zhu Heng said with a smile, "It is clear that the internal situation in Britain is deteriorating. ”

"The situation in Britain is deteriorating?" Jujuan was stunned, "I didn't feel it." ”

"But I can feel it." Zhu Heng smiled, "Since the death of Napoleon III the Great to last Friday, the Chinese dollar has fallen by 6.2% against the British pound, the Mexican peso has fallen by 8.5% against the British pound, the mark has fallen by 9.6%, the American Union dollar has fallen by 10.3%, your Donghua dollar has fallen by 11.1%, the HRE shield has fallen by 12.2%, the ruble has fallen by 15.5%, and as for the Spanish peso...... I don't know where it fell because there are no more trades. Moreover, the world's major currencies are still bearish against the British pound, and it is estimated that they will fall by 5% to 10% after the crisis in the Philippines. ”

"How do I sound like the British Empire is thriving?" Jujuan looked at Zhu Heng, waiting for the other party's explanation. He, the king, only understands military politics and doesn't care much about anything else. For a long time, the Donghua Kingdom has been managed by his mother and the Al-Shabaab cabinet, and it has been managed very well.

"Is the pound booming in value? I don't think the factory owners in the UK and the US think so. Zhu Heng smiled.

It seems that the old man is going to attack the Philippines! Zhu Hu thought at ease, but the British would definitely not give up if they were slapped in the face, but they did not dare to really start a war against the Ming Dynasty, and at most continued to send additional fleets to Singapore and Australia to intimidate. As a result, the military power of the British in Europe and the Atlantic will decline. If only their own mother could seize the opportunity to strike at Russia and the Holy Roman Empire!

……

At the same moment, Wu Jungang, the home port of the Daming Pacific Fleet, was silent under the cover of night. The sea gently lapped the steel hull of the warship, and the distant mountain peaks were only hazy under the starlight, and the bright moonlight sprinkled ten thousand points of clear light on the sea and sky. It was a quiet night, but the atmosphere of slaughter and tension that can only be found in wartime was floating in the huge military port.

The current Ming Navy is divided into the Nanyang Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, of which the home port of the Nanyang Fleet is in Guangzhou Bay, Zhanjiang Prefecture, and is responsible for the control of sea power in the Nanyang region. The Pacific Fleet was larger than the South Sea Fleet, but its home port was not in the Ming Dynasty, but on the land of the Kingdom of Japan, a vassal state of the Ming Empire.

As we all know, the Japanese archipelago is an unsinkable Pacific Fleet! As long as this long and narrow archipelago is firmly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, there is no navy in the world that can threaten the richest southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty. However, in the view of the Generalissimo of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese archipelago was not a defense line to shield the southeast, but a large stronghold for attacking the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, in the 10 years since Japan "entered China," the construction of military bases has not stopped on the Japanese archipelago. A series of important naval towns, including Kure, Sasebo, Yokosuka, Mutsu Bay, Tomakomaki, and Nemuro Naval Base, appeared in Japan. And the officers and soldiers of the Ming Navy and the Ming Army stationed in Japan are more than 150,000! In addition, the Kingdom of Japan also has 30,000 fairly elite army forces and a relatively complete mobilization system, and in the case of full mobilization, it is not a problem to pull out 2 million troops. So any idea of conquering the Japanese archipelago is a dream!

The most important of these bases is undoubtedly Kure's Gungang Port in the Seto Inland Sea, heavily guarded by the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. On this quiet night today, the essence of the Ming Navy, Hongwu Emperor, Guangfu Emperor, Yongle Emperor, Hongxi Emperor, Xuande Emperor, Orthodox Emperor, Jingtai Emperor, Chenghua Emperor, Hongzhi Emperor and Zhengde Emperor and other 10 ironclad ships have gathered here, waiting for the military order to fire and attack at any time! (To be continued)