After a little hesitation, Zhenwu said with a smile: "There is a way to prevent the disease, but I am not completely sure, why should the thirteenth brother take risks?" Besides, it is easy to conquer Africa, but how can you kill chickens with a knife? ”

Hearing this, Yinxiang couldn't help but glance up at Zhenwu, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty, the ministers think that it is not easy to conquer Africa. ”

"Brother Thirteen seems to have put a lot of effort into fighting for this non-boss." Zhenwu smiled slightly: "What do you think, let's listen to it in detail." ”

"Back to the emperor." Yin Xiang bowed slightly, and said: "The minister asked some European missionaries in Beijing in detail, most of them have stayed in Accra, Lagos, Harcourt in West Africa, and Cape Town in South Africa, and they do not know the situation in various places in detail, but although they are a leopard, it is enough to have a general understanding of the situation in various places.

The Gold Coast of West Africa, Ghana is the largest gold producer known to Europeans in addition to the Americas, and the ports of Accra, Lagos, and Harcourt are famous as slave trading points in Europe, and the importance of West Africa to the European powers is self-evident.

These are still secondary, more importantly, West Africa and South Africa are the main trade routes from Europe to the East, and the various ports in West Africa, Cape Town, an important port in South Africa, in addition to the trade port, are also the supply bases of this trade route.

The conquest of West Africa and South Africa is tantamount to cutting off the trade routes from Europe to the East, and the European maritime powers will certainly not sit idly by and will definitely join forces to fight back. The conquest of Africa can be divided into two stages, one is the conquest stage, and there are not many troops stationed in the coastal ports of South Africa and West Africa. With the superior firearms of the Navy, it is bound to be overwhelming. Second, in the stage of naval counterattack of European countries, if only new recruits are used, it may be difficult to parry, and if the Beiyang Fleet is sent to Africa. It may also affect the trip to the Americas. ”

Zhenwu listened with a slight bow, and the old thirteen seemed to have really worked hard, and after taking a sip of tea, he asked casually: "How much do you know about Cape Town, South Africa?" ”

Seeing Zhenwu's casual appearance. Yinxiang couldn't help but be frustrated, he thought that this remark would arouse Zhenwu's extreme attention, and he was still expected to lead the troops on an expedition to Africa, but he didn't expect Zhenwu to be unfazed, it seems that he had expected this, but I don't know what he should do to deal with this situation? Or is your judgment wrong?

After groaning slightly, he bowed and said, "Go back to the emperor." I don't know much about Cape Town, except that Cape Town is located in Table Bay, South Africa, and is an important supply base, and the local black aborigines are mainly engaged in animal husbandry. There was also a small amount of farming, which was not taken seriously, and the Portuguese and Spain were dismissive of Cape Town, except for the Dutch, who built a transit and supply depot here 60 years ago, and then began to migrate in large numbers. The number of troops stationed there is not clear, but they estimate that they are not much, and it should not be more than a thousand. ”

Zhenwu nodded slightly. He was worried about the large-scale immigration of the Dutch to South Africa, and if there were many immigrants, they would naturally have to advance to the interior of South Africa, after all, the Dutch were the most adventurous in their bones, and they were world-famous gold mines in the northeast of South Africa, if they were discovered by the Dutch. It is not easy to swallow South Africa easily.

Moaned slightly. Only then did he speak: "The essence of Europe's overseas expansion is trade expansion, which is fundamentally different from the Qing Dynasty's territorial expansion.

For overseas trade, we have always been a resolute support, the conquest of Africa, of course, is to open up overseas territory, but also to protect overseas trade, even if we occupy Cape Town, Accra and other ports, we can also provide supplies for European merchant ships, as long as this trade route is not cut off, the reaction of European countries will not be very strong.

South Africa was not suitable for large-scale agriculture, the development of animal husbandry was very limited, and there were not many black slaves in the area, only a transit and supply role, and the European countries did not have much interest in South Africa, even if they occupied the whole of South Africa and Cape Town, it would not cause much repercussions.

In West Africa, on the other hand, the European countries will not give up easily, but no matter how difficult it is, they must also take the opposite direction, at least seize the Gold Coast, seize the port of Accra, so that they can get enough gold and slaves.

I tell you clearly, silver will be eliminated sooner or later, the output of silver is too large, not only to vigorously develop overseas trade, but also to gradually replace silver with gold, gold is the hard currency of overseas trade, of course, this is a long process, however, the Qing Dynasty must start to accumulate gold from now on, in case silver is cheap and hurt the people. As for slaves, needless to say, the Qing Dynasty urgently needed a large number of slaves both overseas and locally.

The conquest of South Africa and West Africa can not only obtain gold and slaves, but also deter European countries and indirectly support the operations of the Nanyang Fleet in Europe. Therefore, West Africa must be conquered! ”

Yinxiang was secretly frightened when he heard it, originally thought that the conquest of Africa was just to promote the division of Africa, but he didn't expect that there were so many intentions behind it.

"Your Majesty, Yinxi, Yinyu, and Yinqi are handing over signs outside to ask to see." Bao Fuquan came in and bowed to report.

What is the matter with the three of them? Zhenwu glanced at Old Thirteen before saying, "Let them in." ”

After speaking, Zhenwu took a sip of tea and groaned for a while before continuing: "Conquer Africa, the thirteenth brother does not need to fight anymore, Britain and the Netherlands, the two major maritime powers, are fighting with France and Spain in Europe at this time, and they have no time to withdraw, and they are beyond the reach of Africa, even if they want to fight back, they have no troops to adjust."

I had previously intended to send 20,000 people to the Americas, but considering that the northwest was not stable, I did not dare to easily transfer troops, and the northwest was unstable for a day, and I did not dare to go all out to develop overseas.

The use of troops in the northwest is mainly the new army of the Janissaries and the elite of the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing, the supply of troops in the northwest is not easy, and the use of troops is not many, you transfer 20,000 elites from the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing for additional training, it should be noted that it is necessary to vigorously train the Langzhong of the army, so as to be able to treat the wounded soldiers in a timely manner.

When the northwest is pacified, the navy will use troops on a large scale abroad, and you will have the opportunity to go on an expedition at that time, so you don't have to rush for a while. ”

"The Ministers respectfully honor the Holy Message." Yinxiang hurriedly bowed down, but he was depressed in his heart, God knows when he will use troops in the northwest, it seems that he has to stay in the capital honestly for a few years.

When Yinxi, Yinyu, and Yinqi came in, they knelt down and said, "Minister, Yinyu and others respectfully invite Sheng'an." ”

"No courtesy, sit down." Zhenwu casually commanded, and after the three of them sat down, he asked: "After the plan for the navy's pension is published, can there be any movement among the princes and nobles of the banners in Beijing?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Yin Yu replied: "The princes and nobles of the banners are busy recruiting manpower, buying materials, and preparing for the voyage to the Americas, and they don't have much opinion on the matter of the navy's pension, and can only hear a few complaints about the excessive pension. ”

Yin Yu also continued: "Your Majesty, the minister also feels that the navy's pension is too high, if the new army and the eight banners follow this example, the minister is worried that the court will be overwhelmed. ”

Zhenwu nodded slightly, I am afraid that a group of princes and nobles asked a few people to find out the details, it seems that these people have also learned to be obedient, he glanced at a few people, and then said: "Yinxiang, you are the prime minister of the military department, and you are also familiar with the navy, you first talk about the difference between the navy and the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion." ”

Yinxiang couldn't help but sigh unlucky, thinking slightly, he said: "The Eight Banners is the world military system, and the recruitment of soldiers is selected from the children of the Eight Banners, and all kinds of benefits are generous, the construction and repair of houses, red and white ceremonies, relocation and other expenses are paid by the imperial court.

The green battalion is all Han Chinese, the implementation of the Yu Ding system, the father and brother in the army, the children are all Yu Ding, the garrison is vacant, that is, the Yu Ding is recruited, the lack of Yu Ding is recruited from the people, in fact, it is a combination of the world military system and the recruitment system, however, compared with the Eight Banners, the green camp is not only low in salary, but also low in welfare, although Yu Ding has a point to make up, but it is only enough to make a living, the food and salary of the guards, in the time of Emperor Shizuzhang was considered rich, and now it is not enough to support the family.

The navy implements a conscription system, all soldiers are recruited from the people, and the families of the soldiers are not included in the army, and the soldiers have no food, no welfare, and only pay silver, but the salary is slightly higher, and in general, it is better than the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion. ”

Zhenwu nodded and said, "Don't talk about the Eight Banners, you can talk about the responsibilities and current situation of the Green Battalion." ”

Prime Minister Yinxiang's military department, he is naturally familiar with these things, and immediately said: "The green camp implements the military system, and all the food and salary are allocated by the imperial court, and there are mainly seven major responsibilities, delivery, including salary, prisoner, and money and food. Guarding, stealing, detecting adultery, stealing, urging, and special errands.

The so-called indigenization means that no matter whether a soldier is a local or a foreigner before joining the army, once he joins the army, he must bring his family to live in the local area and register his family into the army. Decentralization means that the green battalions are scattered in various localities on weekdays, and are set up according to standards, cooperatives, battalions, and floods, and the number of troops in each locality is determined according to the distance and proximity of the camps, and the rapid water and land rush are slow, and the number of troops registered in the military department is currently more than 564,000. ”

This is purely the Armed Police Force! Zhenwu sneered: "Indigenization and decentralization have their advantages, which can effectively prevent generals from taking their own troops and prevent officers and soldiers from colluding with each other for personal gain, and it is easy to manage and control, which is conducive to quickly suppressing local small-scale rebellions and eliminating civil strife in the bud."

However, its drawbacks are also very obvious: poor management, poor training, and too many miscellaneous chores have caused the combat effectiveness of the green battalion to be low, and the army cannot form an army, and it is not conducive to large-scale mobilization. Do you now understand why I am so generous to the Navy? ”