Hearing this, Yande muttered in his heart, the expedition to Europe is to aid Spain against Britain and the Dutch alliance, and the Spaniards will do their best to lead the way, but the expedition to the Americas is to grab the territory of the Spaniards in the Americas, will the Spaniards lead the way? Will it bring the entire fleet to a corner?

Thinking of this, Yande said worriedly: "Dean, the expedition to Europe and the Americas, for the Spaniards, is two diametrically opposed results, the Spaniards led to the port of Acapulco in the Americas, there are some worries, can you find the Dutch to lead the way?" ”

As soon as this question was raised, everyone felt that it was reasonable, and Wu Ge also followed: "The Netherlands and Spain are enemy countries, and the participation of the Dutch can indeed increase the chances of victory. [].”

Yinzhen glanced at everyone before he said: "Although the Dutch are known as 'sea coachmen,' the captives of the Garopa are all captains and sailors on the route from Europe to the South Seas, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to find a captain who is familiar with the route from Manila to the port of Acapulco, which can be said to be exclusive to the Spaniards so far." Of course, you can give it a try, and it is naturally safer to have a Dutch captain who is familiar with this route.

In fact, there is no need to worry too much about using the Spaniards to lead the way, after all, we still have the lives of tens of thousands of Spanish prisoners in our hands, and there are still 20,000 navies fighting for them on the Spanish mainland in Europe.

Zheng Qingyuan of Manila wrote to report that he had detained the merchant fleet coming to Manila from the port of Acapulco, and had seized the charts and logbooks of eight merchant ships.

In addition, on the way back, he took Angel and Carlos, the former commanders of the Spanish fleet, to Manila to meet with the captains and sailors of the merchant fleet, believing that they would be able to recognize the situation. ”

Hearing that there are charts and logbooks, everyone is a lot more relaxed, with these things in hand, there is no need to worry about being deceived by the Spaniards, Shi Shibiao took the lead and said: "Since you have charts and logbooks in hand, there is no need to worry, but in case of accidents, you still have to carry more supply ships." ”

"Don't worry about the supply ships." Yinxiang smiled and said, "The nobles of the various feudal clans who accompanied them to the Americas have purchased a large number of merchant ships. ”

Yinzhen nodded and said: "The increase in the supply ships will inevitably increase the number of sailors and crews, you should not only focus on training the navy, the training of the sailors and crews of the supply ships, but also pay close attention, the naval expedition, the supply of gunpowder and firearms is the top priority." //”

As soon as he heard this, Shi Shibiao immediately followed the words and said: "The scale of the dean's expedition to Europe is large, the consumption of gunpowder and firearms must be quite amazing, and the supply line is so long, how can the supply be guaranteed?" ”

"What do you think about logistics?" Yinzhen did not answer the rhetorical question.

The navy expeditionary war, the dependence on logistics supply is far better than the army, the navy is to fight the concept of logistics, Yinzhen has been sparing no effort to instill this expedition to Europe and the Americas, he naturally wants to take the opportunity to test the talents of several generals under him.

Yande was the first to speak: "The voyage from Manila to the port of Acapulco is four and a half months, and it is the logistics supply of our Beiyang Fleet on the new route, so there is no other way but to bring enough once and establish a foothold in the port of Acapulco before we can think of a gunpowder workshop." ”

Yinzhen suddenly remembered Pearl Harbor, I don't know if the Hawaiian Islands have been discovered now, that place is an excellent transit point, when you go to Manila, you have to talk to the captains of those Spanish merchant fleets.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "The port of Acapulco is located on the west coast of the Americas, and its main role is to trade with me at sea in the Qing Dynasty, and there will not be too many troops, I don't expect that there will be too many troops in New Spain in the Americas, and the specific situation will be clear when we arrive in Manila." ..., this expedition to the Americas, with little focus on the capture and consolidation of the bridgehead of the port of Acapulco, and next year a large-scale eastward advance, fiefdoms, also led them to search up and down the west coast. ”

After speaking, he looked at Liu Zhisheng and said, "The wars in Europe are not only large-scale, but also may be frequent, what do you think?" ”

Liu Zhisheng said with a slight sigh: "The voyage to Europe is about half a year, and it is very difficult to supply from home, since we are assisting France and Spain, this logistical supply is naturally provided by France and Spain, and the biggest consumption is the lead bullet and gunpowder of the musket, and the lead bullet, as long as there is a mold, it is easy to dissolve, so France and Spain can provide us with lead and gunpowder."

However, if the scale of the war is large, the number of wars is frequent, and the consumption of muskets and artillery is also staggering, France and Spain cannot afford to provide this, and can only be supplied by domestic supplies, which can be supplied on a large scale once a year by merchant ships. ”

Shi Shibiao was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "The more than 20,000 navy people are alone, how can all the logistics and supplies be counted on France and Spain, in case the alliance fails, or if France and Spain turn their faces halfway, won't the 20,000 navy fall into a desperate situation?" ”

Liu Zhisheng's face turned red when he was said, but Lin Wei said: "How can we be unguarded and keep a fixed inventory at any time, just in case?" ”

"The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, how can everything be as desired?" Shi Shibiao refuted it without thinking about it, and said loudly: "Without a steady stream of supplies, there will always be a time when the inventory will be exhausted. In short, logistical supplies cannot be left entirely in the hands of others, not only for arms, but also for grain and grass.

"What General Shi said is very true, all the logistics and supplies of the army cannot be completely dependent on others, otherwise, it will be controlled by others." Yinzhen said affirmatively: "Between countries, interests have always been paramount, can not completely rely on allies, let alone fully trust allies, the army is outside, everything must be autonomous, only in this way, can we be vertical and horizontal, come and go freely, can calmly deal with all kinds of changes, can deter countries, become a strong backing for the envoys, and strive for the greatest interests of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Speaking of this, Yinzhen asked people to spread out the map, and continued: "The expeditionary force must have its own independent logistics support, not only arms, but also food. How can this be done? The only way to build your own logistics base, a secret logistics base. ”

As he spoke, he beckoned, "Come and see." After everyone gathered around, he pointed to the southwest corner of Morocco and said: "This place is only 300 nautical miles away from the Strait of Gibraltar, and it can reach Spain in two days, and it can be used as a logistics base. ”

Shi Shibiao looked at it for a while, and then asked like a cannon: "Is there anyone living in this place?" Does it produce grain? Is there a city? Is there a country? ”

"I asked the missionaries in Beijing and Shanghai in detail." Yinzhen said firmly: "There is a small fishing port here, called Agadir, which is inhabited by thousands of people, belonging to the Alawi Dynasty of Morocco, is a plain area, Agadir means 'barn' in Arabic, and at present, no European countries occupy it. ”

Lin Wei asked: "Even if there is a logistics base, but the voyage is so long, how to replenish?" ”

"Let's sit down and talk." Yinzhen said and returned to his seat and said: "At present, the firearms and gunpowder used by the navy are all supplied by Shanghai, but the navy is expanding too fast, and the gunpowder can still be supplied, but the musket and artillery cannot be satisfied.

In the expedition to Europe, the flintlock pistols in Shanghai could only provide 4,000 guns, and I specially mobilized 3,000 arquebuses from the Ministry of Industry, and next year, the flintlock muskets in Shanghai will only be able to replenish 2,000 guns to Europe, and of course, new artillery and gunpowder will also be replenished. ..., that is to say, in the first year, you can fight two wars, play prestige, and make a name for yourself, and the second year's supplies will arrive, and you can let go of the army that ravages Europe, of course, if you want enough ammunition, the navy cannot be idle in Europe, you must capture a large number of three-masted ocean-going galleons and send them home, so that there can be enough supply ships, there are many merchant ships in Europe, there are tens of thousands in the Netherlands alone, let go of the hands and feet, I train a lot of sailors in the country. ”

Hearing that the Nanyang Fleet had 4,000 flintlock guns, Yande couldn't help but be anxious, and hurriedly asked, "How many new guns do we have in the Beiyang Fleet?" ”

"Considering the small scale of your first year of fighting, you will only be given 800 strokes." Yinzhen said and added: "The factory in Shanghai has been expanded again and again, the rifling of this rifled gun is a technical job, and it is not easy to train a skilled craftsman, which is already the maximum." ”

Only 800 strokes? That's too big a gap, isn't it? Yan Dededen said with a drooping face: "Dean, isn't there still half a year to go." ”

"This half a year has already been counted, otherwise how can there be so many guns?" Yinzhen said, and comforted: "Next year, I will increase it to 1,000 strokes for you." ”

Shi Shibiu's original face was a little ugly, and when he heard that the Beiyang Fleet only had 800 new muskets, he immediately showed a smile, and then made a request, not only to be scolded by Yinzhen, but also to turn his face Yande

Liu Zhisheng said in a deep voice: "Dean, compared to European countries, our Qing Dynasty is an overseas country, what is the attitude of France and Spain, it is not clear, the mark thinks, we still have to bring more supplies, in case of accidents, there are not enough supply ships, we can rob the British and Dutch merchant ships in the South Seas, the Netherlands is already an enemy country, and Britain will be an enemy country sooner or later. ”

Shi Shibiao also echoed: "Even if there was no war, the Netherlands also wantonly robbed our Qing merchant fleet in the South Seas, especially the merchant fleet on the Manila route was robbed a lot by the Dutch. ”