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Friday, July 26, 1624.

Today is the day when the construction of the light cruiser "Constitution" was launched, which has been under construction for a year. With a design displacement of 1,380 tons and a full load displacement of 1,720 tons, the USS Constitution is the Navy's first aircraft and sailing warship, and it is also the latest warship with a real nature.

The internal structure is made of part steel, with an upright bow, a semi-protective bridge, a single chimney, and two masts at the front and rear, with a total length of 72 meters, a width of 10.6 meters, a draft of 4.1 meters, and an underwater hull clad in copper. A new scheme was also adopted for armament, with one new 120 mm Wisworth naval gun in the front and rear, three 90 mm Wisworth naval guns on each side, and a crew of 120 people.

Two Yarrow boilers and four 220 hp steam units form the steam power core of the Constitution, which can reach a cruising speed of at least 7 knots without any sails, and more than 18 knots at full sail. Unfortunately, the steel keel manufacturing technology has not yet had time to be applied, and the Constitution is still a traditional wooden keel structure, but the Navy can't wait to use the Constitution sail light cruiser for the application of the Navy's hybrid warships, which will provide an important basis for the Navy's strategic direction of armaments in the next stage.

Compared to the 10-month overall construction period of the USS Republic, the construction process of the USS Constitution was much longer. Thanks to the new hull design, the Constitution looked close to the shape of a modern naval warship, and many new construction techniques were attempted to add to it, and the entire construction period was meticulous and slow, and the construction of the hull alone took almost a year. The outfitting time after launching will also be as long as five months, thus setting a record for the longest time a ship built by Beiyang Shipbuilding Company.

The hull of the ship slid into the waterway amid the cheers of onlookers and shipyard workers, and the military band played music, except for some members of Congress, almost all government ministers were absent, and the only military representative who attended the launching ceremony was Navy Commander Zhang Chunrui.

What the people at the scene didn't know was. At this time, in the government conference room, a more important meeting was being held, so that the commander of the army, Chen Liwen, and the commander of the navy, Wang Tiehammer, had to attend.

Back a week ago. The capital, Manchuria, received bad news from Bermuda's city of Shuangwan: a Portuguese convoy from India that had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa for Brazil in April had suffered a double blow of accident and disease, killing half of the more than 700 Ming immigrants on board, and fewer than 400 survivors had arrived in Shuangwan.

The Far Eastern migration program that began the year before. So far, tens of thousands of Ming refugees have been transported to North America, and the death rate of immigrants on the way is basically between 12% and 18%. But in this batch, the mortality rate exceeded 50%, not only the Portuguese businessmen in charge of transportation wanted to cry without tears when they checked out, but also Yan Xiaosong, the vice minister of foreign affairs, and Li Xiang, the minister of immigration, who were directly in charge of the Ming Dynasty's immigration plan, shuddered.

If the mortality rate cannot be controlled, the current rules for freight settlement will greatly discourage the enthusiasm of Portuguese and Spanish merchants in the Far East, and more importantly, from the starting point. The hard work of collecting the investment of the Ming Dynasty refugees was greatly discounted.

Since last year, hundreds of thousands of beautiful goods have been transported to the Far East by the Portuguese fleet, and the remuneration given to the Portuguese Macau Council and Yan Siqi cannot be wasted because of such an accident.

After two years of practical observation, most of the largest losses of ocean-going migrants are concentrated in the voyage from the Portuguese colony of Sofala in East Africa to the port of Recife in Brazil. Based on the speed of the sail galen, plus the necessary rest, it is about two months.

The only way to reduce losses at sea is to minimize the time spent at sea during this voyage. Theoretically, if the voyage time is cut in half, the chances of survival for immigrants will also be doubled. But the Portuguese or Spanish fleet, which was dominated by European sail galen ships. It is impossible to reach this target in any case.

In order to drastically reduce the length of the voyage, the only way to do this is to use the country's clipper fleet to carry out the transportation on the African route. After COSCO International Trading's practice of trade routes in Brazil, the short shirt-class clipper merchant ship departed from Manchester City and arrived at the port of Recife, Brazil, with a range of nearly 4,000 nautical miles and an average sailing time of only about 15 days, but this North and South American route did not solve the problem of East and West African routes.

After several days of deliberation, everyone finally realized the crux of the matter: to truly solve the problem of the transportation bureau of Ming Dynasty immigrants, that means that the American Republic of China should have its own ports in the Caribbean and southern Africa! In this way, the clipper fleet that carried Ming immigrants could go directly from the North American mainland to southern Africa, without having to spend too much time on the original Portuguese routes to Africa.

But this is bound to be the question of moving the cake on the table of the Spaniards and Portuguese. Therefore, it is necessary to choose an area that the Spaniards or the Portuguese do not currently control, and even then it may cause alarm in the two countries that monopolize the Caribbean and African routes, respectively.

A high-profile government meeting was held today, and not only all government ministers were in place, but also army and navy commanders were invited.

“…… Even if we do not consider the issue of Ming Dynasty immigration, we will face the need to establish our own sea routes to East Asia in the future. Su Zining walked to the large map of the conference room and pointed a few lines on the map with a wooden pole, "If we have a similar route, then our fleet will depart from North America to Macao, and with the rest along the way, it will only take less than three months to complete the calculation!" ”

"Su Zining, starting from the mainland, reaching southern Africa through the Caribbean Sea, and then crossing the Indian Ocean from southern Africa, it is impossible to sail in a straight line, don't forget." Yan Xiaosong pointed to his friend weakly in his position, "I don't know how others are, but I have run it myself, and the monsoon current of the route has a great impact, and there is only one round trip opportunity a year." ”

"Well, so we need to solve the problem from all sides, for example, yesterday I learned from Lin Youde's North Industries Company that we will have the capacity to produce a 320 horsepower marine steam engine next year, if we can build an ocean-going sail-powered merchant ship next two years. That would greatly reduce the problem of detours caused by wind direction and ocean currents. Then we set up our own overseas territorial ports on key shipping routes. ”

After speaking, Hong Changlin, Minister of Industry, and Brigadier General Wang Tiezhu, Commander of the Navy, couldn't help but nod slightly. In particular, Wang Tiezhu, who is extremely concerned about the "Navy Aircraft and Sail Hybrid Warship Equipment Program," has conducted in-depth research on various shipping routes throughout the Atlantic Ocean in the past few years, and knows very well that once the steam-powered sail warships are put into use, the maritime deployment and combat capability of the navy will be greatly enhanced.

"Do you have a concrete plan?" Premier Qi Jianjun stared at the map, thoughtful. "How many phases of planning are needed to achieve it, and the time, cost, and location should be carefully considered......

"Phase I. Occupy here. Su Zining smiled, quickly picked up the stick, and lit it in a sea area in the southeast of the Caribbean Sea near the South American continent. Guadeloupe, the most valuable island in the Lesser Antilles! And it's not far from home, and at the speed of our clipping fleet, it can take up to a week each way. If you start from the city of Twin Bays, Bermuda, it's even closer! ”

"Why didn't the Spaniards take it? We take it, will it cause discontent among the Spaniards? "Defense Minister Zheng Quan looked at this butterfly-like island, and his first reaction was this.

"At least in the early to mid-17th century, it was the outermost part of the Caribbean economic circle, and the indigenous people in this area who had not been conquered by Spain for more than 100 years were driven away by the natives not long after they landed." Su Zining smiled and drew a rough outline of the island on the small blackboard on the side of the map. "Guadeloupe is actually made up of two small islands, east and west, but they are too close to each other, and there is only a narrow sea channel like a river in the middle, and the narrowest point is only a few tens of meters. The land here is extremely fertile and the vegetation is lush. Fresh water resources are abundant, mineral resources are also relatively rich, with an area of nearly 1,800 square kilometers, and there is also a very good natural harbor. ”

"Guadeloupe is far better than Bermuda's Twin Bay Islands and can become our Atlantic springboard to southern Africa and the military and economic center of the Caribbean, if properly managed. You can control the choke point of the route from Africa to the Caribbean! But it is necessary to hurry, otherwise the French will be the first to arrive after 1626. I have tentatively set this phase for three years, that is, from the end of this year to 1627. ”

"Not bad, not bad! After December, we have sufficient ocean transportation capacity and our naval base on Twin Bay Island in Bermuda is in place to ensure the level of support for the Guadeloupe occupation plan! ”

Without waiting for the government ministers to express their positions, the commander of the navy, Brigadier Admiral Wang Tiezhu, nodded frequently in his seat, his eyes shining, it seemed that he had coveted this sea area for a long time.

"As long as the sea lanes are safe and the supplies are well prepared, there will be no problem for the army to fight Guadeloupe."

Brigadier General Chen Liwen, commander of the army, is not a good man, and it is no big secret in the country that a certain military plan for the Far East drawn up by the army in advance is no longer a big secret within the country. Military fanatics bent on turning the wheel of history are obsessed with this plan far more than how much money they can make each year from Europeans.

"The second phase is the most important one, and whether it can be implemented effectively depends entirely on whether Guadeloupe is on its feet." Seeing that the military had fully supported it, Su Zining began to strike while the iron was hot, "Next, at the end of 1627, we are here!" Occupy Cape Town and establish our Southern African Overseas Territory! It's still virgin territory, and the Dutch won't be colonizing Cape Town until decades later, so we're just a few decades ahead of schedule. Without Cape Town, the Dutch would have greatly limited the development of their East India Company in the Far East. ”

"The terrain here is excellent, not to mention the resources, and the local African tribes have a gentle character, which can make it a core hub for the route to East Asia. In the future, whether it is us, or those Portuguese or Spaniards who want to make money, the Ming Dynasty immigrants from the Far East do not need to go to Brazil, but directly to Cape Town, and the cost of immigration transportation will be reduced by at least 30%, and some of the property from India or the Far East can be intercepted at a cheaper price, and finally our high-speed fleet will be used to transport directly along the route of Cape Town, Guadeloupe, and Bermuda to the mainland! We can even send our own fleet in the future and be directly involved in immigration! ”

"If such a long-term plan is implemented, the expenses of several years add up. That's a lot of money. Yan Xiaosong actually smiled and expressed his objections, "In order to maintain the operation and safety of the entire route, other expenses will also rise, and the comprehensive cost can be much higher than maintaining the status quo!" ”

As soon as these words came out, Finance Minister Liu Xin's brows furrowed. Even though the financial pressure has eased since last year, Liu Xin is still extremely sensitive to such large expenditures.

"Well, for the layout. For the sake of longer-term interests, monopolize the interests of the Atlantic and the Far East in a minimal mode. Su Zining threw away the chalk and sat back in his position. Spreading out his diary, he said, "Guadeloupe and Cape Town, once built, will be tantamount to mastering the key points of the Atlantic Ocean militarily and economically." It can also be a complete territory with self-hematopoietic functions and little dependence on local support...... In the event of a major change, through Guò Bermuda and Guadeloupe, Central America and the Caribbean can be separated from Europe, and through Guò Cape Town, Europe, America and Asia can be separated. These three places are not so much the Atlantic springboards that we developed into the Far East in the 17th century, but the Atlantic lifelines for the next few hundred years. ”

The ministers all looked at each other, and it was a little difficult to grasp the big layout of such a high-cost checkers, and only the two commanders of the service were listening to it with great vigour.

"Even if we don't think about what will happen in a few hundred years, it is very meaningful for us to have a safe and stable Asian route at this stage, so let's raise our hands and vote!" Prime Minister Qi Jianjun frowned and thought for a long time. Finally, he slapped his palm on the table, "After the meeting, all departments continued to refine the relevant content of the plan. Once the Congress is clear, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must do a good job of diplomatic work with Spain and Portugal! ”

All the ministers raised their hands, and Su Zining directly pointed at Yan Xiaosong.

"The questions are all spoken. lest you carry the black pot in the future......" Before going out, Yan Xiaosong suddenly muttered to Su Zining.

Looking at Yan Xiaosong's playful expression, Su Zining couldn't help but touch his nose...... On Wednesday, July 31, after several days of detailed arguments and content formulation, the "Atlantic Checkers" plan compiled by the government cabinet was submitted to the National Assembly for review.

The "Atlantic Checkers" program will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1. From now on, until January 1627, $1,000,000 will be allocated annually for the special funds of the plan, including an additional 450,000 for the Navy and 150,000 for the Army.

In the second stage, according to the specific construction and operation of Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe Island was used as a rear base springboard to continue to occupy Cape Town, South Africa, and the time was roughly located between the second half of 1627 and the beginning of 1628.

According to the plan, the army and navy will complete preparations for operations in the city of Shuangwan in Bermuda by December this year. The overall course of the operation will be a replica of the original occupation of Bermuda, but on a much larger scale. After December, most of the maritime trade will enter a period of recuperation, and the country will be able to allocate sufficient ocean-going transport capacity, and the navy will dispatch two light cruisers USS West Point and USS Long Island, two frigates USS Liberty and USS Vostok, and the material transport fleet will be composed of three Aoguang-class and six short-shirt-class flying clipper merchant ships, carrying a reinforced battalion of the army and a large number of construction materials and logistical supplies to Guadeloupe.

The Caribbean Indians of Guadeloupe have been in contact with European colonizers, and have repeatedly defeated Europeans who have tried to colonize the island for hundreds of years, so naturally they will not have a good face for the military annexation of the American Republic of China this time. Therefore, the task of the army is to eliminate any threat from the Caribbeans with "maximum efficiency", and the captured prisoners of war can be used for hard labor. The navy will provide cover in the nearby waters to prevent any third-party forces from intervening in the situation, and if necessary, it can also provide naval artillery fire support on land.

What could be more intoxicating than expanding territory across the Atlantic? Not to mention the "high-level transcontinental theme" of opening up routes to Asia, with the increasing immigration of the Ming Dynasty, many members of Congress have been eager to let the country's arms stretch to Asia.

It was rare for the first time that the question of whether the annual special fund of 1 million yuan for the plan was sufficient, and some members even felt that they could issue treasury bonds to expand the implementation of the plan.

Eventually, the annual earmark of 1 million yuan in the first phase of the plan will be increased to 1.5 million, and the government will issue treasury bonds to the whole country, and naturally the vast majority of the three-year treasury bond will fall into the hands of the North American Development Bank and major funds.

The plan couldn't be more perfect. It's always on paper, and there are many aspects involved in implementing it. According to Guadeloupe's development plan, the construction specifications of the overseas territory of the "Butterfly Island" in the future will be much higher than the level of Bermuda's Shuangwan Island, which will inevitably require Guadeloupe to have a more comprehensive self-hematopoietic capacity, and not rely too much on domestic maritime imports like Bermuda's Shuangwan Island.

After occupying Guadeloupe before the end of the year, relying on the city of Shuangwan on Bermuda Island, no less than 20,000 tons of various construction materials and machinery will be transported within half a year. Let Guadeloupe quickly have a minimum of self-hematopoietic function.

Basic industrial products such as cement and building materials must have relevant local production enterprises, which can be applied to other natural resources of Guadeloupe, and the industrial and commercial construction will also be supported. The Navy wants to make Guadeloupe a core military base in the Atlantic.

Guadeloupe is still in the hands of the indigenous people of the Caribbean, but in the United States of America, the Manchester City Weekly newspaper was published on Monday, August 5. The state's "development plan" for the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was widely publicized, and overnight, it seemed that the island, which was still full of indigenous people, had become its own backyard, and the government even released a full page of corporate investment bidding and immigration information.

Several large state-owned enterprise groups cannot run, and the relevant important upstream industries must have a layout in this future overseas territory, and important municipal utilities must also have supporting units on Guadeloupe.

Among the private enterprises, Zhang Mingcheng, the only Taiwanese guy who crossed Zhongli, was a salesman of a Taiwanese-funded logistics company and is now the president of Zhang's Building Materials Company, the largest building materials company in China, was the first to announce the investment in opening a cement building materials factory in Guadeloupe. Whereas, the annexed islands in the waters around Guaderopu are rich in hardwoods. Huamei Wood Company was not far behind and decided to open a wood processing plant. General Industries and NORINCO are also willing to make joint investments in the establishment of a small metal smelting and processing enterprise using the mineral resources of Guadeloupe...... About a dozen companies submitted letters of intent to apply to the government's industrial and commercial departments within a week.

Enterprises alone are not good without manpower, according to the latest policies of the Ministry of Immigration and the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The first inhabitants of the future "Butterfly Island Overseas Territory" must be natives. Today, the country's population, excluding dependent Indian tribes, has exceeded 22,000 Europeans and Chinese-Americans, and the population base can barely support such a relocation plan for overseas territories.

In order to encourage the citizens who have been comfortable in the country for several years to settle down and work in Guadeloupe, the government will provide special financial subsidies for residents for several years for those who are willing to follow the enterprises to Guadeloupe. But not more than the right of permanent settlement.

As a result, a large number of European residents who emigrated from Europe last year and this year have expressed great interest. Most of them still have temporary settlement rights, and even many are still indentured servants, with many restrictions on their work and life, and they are full of envy and hatred for their neighbors above formal settlement.

It is a pity that although the Chinese immigrant families who have already lived in the country still get along well with many European families, they are very cold, even afraid, of the propaganda of moving overseas again. This topic once made many people in Congress not very happy. Whether or not they admit it, the Chinese residents of the Ming Dynasty who were forced to cross the ocean to the New World of North America were instantly exposed once they landed and returned to a peaceful life.

Perhaps, it will take more, if not generations, to guide this highly-hoped group of compatriots to realize that the future of this new nation must go to the sea, to the world beyond. For the time being, at least, the share of Ming immigrants after 1625 can only be counted on to enrich the Chinese population in a place as far from mainland China as Guadeloupe.

Soon after, all kinds of bulk material orders and urban construction project bidding contracts began to fly into various domestic enterprises, and a large number of orders suddenly filled the drawers of every enterprise executive, adding another firewood to the already very hot local enterprises. (To be continued)

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