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As an island nation besieged by the sea, the people of the British Isles have long been trapped in a subconscious radicalism and isolation, and the shackles of thought and geography* seem to be far more intense than those of continental Europe. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

This exhaustive "landing"* created the nation's breathtaking drive to explore, expand, greed, and persevere, and to use mass information to disseminate any seemingly insignificant or exciting gain, which has long inspired the people.

From Queen Elizabeth to Queen Victoria, for hundreds of years, Britain has a lot of experience in how to mobilize and grasp the rhythm of public opinion and social opinion, and always make a big fuss about the theme of the development of the times, so as to achieve an atmosphere of national participation.

Britain can be said to be a maritime country bred by a typical commercial culture, and the survival of its citizens lies in maritime trade and the circulation of means of production, and all national interests are based on whether or not it is "accessible by sea". Replacing land space with maritime trade space, controlling land is for better control of the sea.

As an island country, the rise of the Restoration in modern Japan has also greatly borrowed from the United Kingdom for national development, and in terms of mobilizing internal enthusiasm, it may have some naturally similar geopolitical survival thinking to the United Kingdom.

However, although Japan claims to be a maritime country, it is more like an island country with a serious idea of land power, or for historical reasons, its national survival thinking is still focused on the possession and control of land power.

After the Meiji Restoration in modern times, Japan vigorously developed its maritime undertakings, no matter how determined and strong it was, and how many elite politicians advocated maritime expansion, its idea of sea power still only served the traditional idea of land power, and the core goal of its strategic expansion was still to occupy the East Asian continent.

Therefore, the idea of sea power in modern Japan has always been only at the tactical level, not at the strategic level.

The modern rise of the United States is more similar to that of the United Kingdom, which is essentially a continuation and variant of British blood. Geographically speaking, no matter how vast the North American continent is, from the perspective of the geography, civilization and economic pattern of the entire modern world, the United States at that time was nothing more remote than the British Isles Super Island country, or a freak that neither land nor island country resembled.

Far away from the modern world's civilization and economic center, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean are surrounded by left and right, the continent is separated by thousands of kilometers from east to west, and the internal transportation of the mainland is inconvenient, so that the United States cannot exert the all-round maritime trade and land control of Britain in modern times, but has to spend hundreds of years to deal with the problem of weak land control on the North American continent.

It was not until the completion of the North American Pacific Railroad in the middle of the 19th century that Americans had smooth access to the west coast of the continent for the first time, and the United States achieved the true unification of national land power. It was only from this time that the ocean truly became the boundary of the United States' complete national geostrategy, and it began to re-examine its positioning and maritime strategy in the world.

……

……

Monday, May 21, 1646.

The current favorite topic of the Manchester City people, or the most deliberate public information presented by the Chinese and American officials for more than 20 years, is nothing more than "discovery", "harvest" and "conquest".

The Press and Publication Administration under the Ministry of Culture and Education of the United States has always had two unspoken rules for the supervision of newspapers across the country: first, at all times, the content of newspapers must maintain more than 90% positive information; 2. Any news report that has the potential to cause psychological distress to readers must have at least one positive story with the most significant headline and length in the page, and be adjacent to it.

Even though almost half of the current population is the second or third generation born after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the state has always rhythmically controlled the proportion of new immigrants moving in, the local Chinese society constructed by Chinese immigrants is still fragile. Leaving aside the distance from the "old world" for the time being, the inconvenient transportation between gorgeous towns also seriously affects the life communication and cultural synchronization of ordinary people, and the loneliness in the hearts of the people can be imagined.

In the eyes of the Chinese rulers, any overly pessimistic information could lead to a decline in people's confidence in life, which would affect the development of local society.

The social welfare system, which runs counter to the objective rhythm of history, and the various recreational activities for the whole people, all of which reinforce the creation of a positive, welcoming, happy and united social atmosphere. And the media's good news is not a disadvantage in this emerging country, and it can be said to be necessary.

An obituary appeared in this issue of Manchester Weekly: Chen Changyuan, former president, senior professor of medicine at the National University of Manchester City, lifetime honorary director of the Manchester National University Hospital, honorary life chairman of the National Health Security Commission, and president of the National Academy of Science and Engineering, has passed away, and flags have been flown at half-mast at the Parliament Building and the Prime Minister's Office, and a state funeral will be held.

Without exception, the obituary, no matter how significant, was on the same page as the other three larger headlines.

Headline: "Guarding Our Fishing Grounds": In order to protect the country's precious fishing resources, the native fleet patrols the "Cod Sea" (Newfoundland Fisheries) in the North Atlantic Ocean east of Quebec to combat any foreign fishing vessels that enter the area, and has made significant progress in the past month, successfully capturing seven illegal fishing boats from France and England, with a total of 200 tons of cod and 30 tons of whale products.

Before the 18th century, some European religions were still very conservative and customary, such as many fasting days a year, no meat was allowed, and various names added up to almost half a year, but fish was not restricted.

For European people who cannot eat meat for nearly half of the year, fish has an irreplaceable living status equivalent to clothing and salt. It is precisely for this reason that European countries have always been engaged in a flesh-and-blood struggle for Atlantic fishery resources. The Netherlands made their fortune from herring in their North Sea fisheries, while Britain and France amassed considerable wealth from cod from Newfoundland's fisheries.

What was the most important commodity in the European seafaring trade in the 16th and 17th centuries? The famous "General History of the World" gives an unexpected answer: cod. The famous spices, sugar and tobacco can only be seconded.

In this area, one of the world's four largest fishing grounds, where the legend says that "you can step on the back of a cod to set foot on a new continent", the number of cod and whales is truly staggering, and the beautiful distant-water fishing companies have never been polite. In terms of fishing efficiency, whether it is England or France, those small 17th-century sail fishing boats that were active in the fishing grounds of the North Atlantic can have tens or hundreds of tons, and there is no comparison with the gorgeous distant-water fishing boats of hundreds or thousands of tons.

Boatloads of fish not only satisfied domestic consumption, but also exported a large number to Europe, and large-scale pickling of marine fish also led to the beautiful salt industry. Huamei's first cargo ship with a large industrial refrigerated tank is now in the business of transporting fresh and frozen cod to China.

Now that the Chinese and American media have declared to the public that they are the rightful masters of this sea, it makes people feel an inexplicable sense of pride and satisfaction.

Title: "New Home, New Atmosphere": The Cabinet and the National Assembly officially demarcated the administrative area of "Fangzhou", and at the same time approved the establishment of "Songhai City" and "Guanglin City", of which "Songhai City" will become the temporary capital of Fangzhou. The Ministry of Transport and Construction is about to launch a tender for the project, and it is expected that the first phase of construction in the two cities will have at least five living communities with a total of 200 apartment buildings. The first batch of family relocation applications will be officially opened on the National Day, and the relevant relocation incentive policies will also be released together.

Square State, which includes part of North Carolina, all of South Carolina, and half of Georgia, is the largest state administrative unit in the United States today. Songhai City corresponds to Charleston, the fourth largest container port in the United States, and Guanglin City corresponds to Savannah, the most important southern port in American history.

In addition to the free gift of real estate, Huamei's relocation incentive for the first batch of limited family relocation applications in the new colonization towns is as high as thousands of US dollars per household, which is equivalent to the income of an ordinary family for several years, and there are a series of preferential policies such as job placement in the new place of household registration, government entrepreneurship fund support, family tax exemption and so on.

These benefits may not be of great significance to the affluent middle class of Manchester City, but they are extremely tempting to the lower-income group and the old citizens of remote towns. After all, the first batch of relocation plans for new colonization towns that are heavily rewarded by the official organization are not available every year, the number is limited, and the winning rate of applications is extremely low.

This kind of supporting policy for the colonization of new towns has always been the most desired by low-income families who have been naturalized for ten years, although it is really a very laborious thing to move the family to a strange new city after stabilization, but there are too many benefits in it.

Headline: The U.S. Asian Fleet and Allied fleets arrived in Japan's Edo Bay last week to formally deliver a diplomatic letter to the Japanese shogunate seeking a peaceful solution to the issue of Japanese piracy and trade with Japan in the Ryukyu Sea. At present, the Japanese side is showing its ignorance and stubborn tendencies in an attempt to resist the peaceful order in the Far East in a self-enclosed manner.

The content is a little vague, but the old businessman or business owner who has lived in the country for at least 15 years will smile knowingly: from Ireland to England, from the Caribbean to the Far East, countries rely on various excuses and means to open overseas markets, and always bring long-term benefits to themselves.

……

Main Command of the Navy.

When Katerina retired with the rank of commodore at the end of last year, there were no more female officers in the Navy General Headquarters, and the assistant who brought tea to the conference room became a young Chinese second lieutenant with tender hair on the corners of his mouth.

The boyish lieutenant stood in front of the door of the conference room with a tea cart, hesitating to push the door now, but in the end he chose to wait.

Through the doors and windows, you can see that the generals in the conference room are collectively taking off their hats, standing up and bowing their heads in silence, everyone is not very good, one of the generals who is obviously emaciated seems to have difficulty supporting his body, and his hands are almost trembling and holding on to the table.

A few minutes later, after the silence was over, the second lieutenant pushed the cart in, and then carefully served a cup of hot tea to each of the senior generals present.

When he walked to the emaciated old man's side, the second lieutenant's movements were extremely gentle, probably he couldn't bear to see the other party's gesture of thanks with his trembling hand, and the second lieutenant couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Your Excellency, do you need to arrange a room to rest?" ”

"No, thank you, kid."

Involved in the pain of his body, he couldn't even hold up the strength to speak, Zhang Chunrui took several deep breaths before reluctantly waving his hand to decline the second lieutenant's kindness.

Including Wang Tiehammer, all the generals present turned their heads slightly, as if they couldn't bear to see the strong figure of their old friend now.

Just now, they completed a collective silent ceremony for the deceased former President Chen Yuanyuan, and Zhang Chunrui, who had obviously metastasized to terminal cancer, made them foresee a kind of sadness that seemed to have not arrived but was destined.

"Brother Zhang, let someone send you some painkillers."

Not paying attention to the surprise of the young ensign present, Wen Tuo got up directly and walked to Zhang Chunrui's side, lowered his body and muttered in the other party's ear.

"It's okay, I've already taken it just now, and it'll be fine when the medicine takes effect......"

Zhang Chunrui raised his head, and there were beads of sweat on his cheeks, and he could see that the admiral was fighting against the disease in his body.

"Okay, now back to today's topic. Sun Yang, you will preside. ”

Wang Tiezhu was very familiar with the temper of this old partner, and directly prevented others from caring for Zhang Chunrui, and announced the official start of the meeting after retiring the irrelevant personnel.

"The first item is on the naval military blockade of Quebec and Florida." Sun Yang, who is the chief of the general staff of the Navy, opened his notepad and stood up.

"At present, the Home Fleet and the Caribbean Fleet are in full swing to carry out a military blockade of the forces of the French New World. In the direction of Florida, with the cooperation of the Spaniards, except for a small number of French pirates swimming in the waters of the Bahamas, the connection between St. Augustine and the French island of Hispaniola (Haiti) has been severed, and the Spaniards have begun to attack the French colonial stronghold in the western part of Hispaniola. ”

"The direction of Quebec is our focus. The Army, which entered Quebec inland from the east side of Lake Yunmeng (Lake Ontario) after the beginning of spring, is now slowly advancing on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, destroying at least two French-built forts; At the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the native fleet shelled the coastal defensive fortifications; In Arcadia (Nova Scotia), the Marines are gradually clearing the local French colonies, and captured French immigrants are currently temporarily concentrated in Port Royal (the first French colony established in the New World, located in the western part of the Nova Scotia Peninsula). It is expected that it will take another year to completely clear the French presence in Quebec. ”

Sun Yang's good news relieved everyone a little from the previous sadness, but the next sentence made people a little surprised: "According to the latest instructions of the Ministry of Defense, the naval blockade operations in Quebec and Florida must end early, and then the Army and Marines can only deal with it alone." The directive called on us to draw the main forces of the Home Fleet and the Caribbean Fleet, one to occupy the French island of Aschente and establish a forward base, and the other to the Portuguese port of Tangier in North Africa, to blockade the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar respectively, and to intercept all French ships entering and leaving the Atlantic. ”

"Reason." Bai Jun, who served as the commander of the home fleet, frowned, "If we give up halfway, it will seriously affect our progress in recovering Quebec and Florida." ”

"The question of ownership of land in North America does not necessarily have to be resolved in North America. Now, no matter how much we move on the North American continent, it will serve the entire Atlantic and European strategy. ”

The relationship with Bai Jun was already lukewarm, and Sun Yang's words at this time still had a faint taste of contempt: "The blockade of the French mainland is indeed not the point, and it will even increase the logistical burden of our fleet." But now concentrating the main forces of the Home Fleet and the Caribbean Fleet to carry out a strategic naval blockade of the French mainland can greatly advance our strategic layout in France, and can continue to aggravate England's strategic miscalculation of us and induce Cromwell to send troops to suppress Ireland. It's a win-win-win situation. ”

"Let's get Quebec and Florida first, and France and the United Kingdom can't turn the sky upside down." Bai Jun glared at Sun Yang a little annoyed, and his tone was a little bad.

"Since it is the instruction of the Ministry of Defense, it is the result of the discussion of the National Security Council, move on to the next topic!" Wang Tiezhu did not intend for Bai Jun to express too many public objections, and directly announced the termination of the discussion on the topic.

"The second item is about the Japanese side...... I heard that the entire Far East strategy has been drastically adjusted, and the latest plan sent requires the Asian Fleet to complete its organization within one month and prepare for the launch of a naval blockade of Fujian. ”

Sun Yang habitually touched his nose, and people couldn't help but think that his next attitude might be insincere: "Before, part of the Asian Fleet was sent to Japan, and I received Ji Chaohai's action report the day before yesterday, the multinational joint fleet has started a diplomatic and military conflict with the Japanese shogunate, I am afraid it will be difficult to solve the problem in the short term, if the task force continues to stay on the coast of Japan to maintain deterrence, it will seriously affect the deployment in the future, and the supplies carried by the task force can only last for a month at most." ”

"One month...... It is indeed too late to deal with the Japanese issue, and the military threat and final negotiations alone will make Ji Chaohai's formation stay for a month or two. It seems that the Japanese operation must also be abandoned halfway. ”

Wang Tiezhu was stunned to take the documents that were passed on, and it took a long time before he sighed, as if he was quite regretful.

"Hehe, I mean, it's totally expedited." Sun Yang glanced at Bai Jun, who was still puffing up his anger, and pointed to his head with a smile, "Directly shell Edo, Japan, and force Japan to submit." Originally, our purpose was much more than just a trade switch......"

Just as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially proposed Japan's switch action, Sun Yang's straightforward statement once again enlisted the necessity of historical complexes for the psychology of most of the people present. In addition to the surprise of Brigadier General Kent, the director of logistics and equipment, even Bai Jun, who had always been at odds with Sun Yang, nodded.

"It's okay, anyway, there is so much time, if it can't be solved this year, it's a big deal to change the time and go again! Send a letter to Ji Chaohai and allow the task force to use all means to make the Japanese shogunate bow its head! Regardless of success or failure, we must return within half a month, and we don't care how long those Europeans want to stay. ”

Wang Tie slapped the table with a hammer, which was considered to fully support Sun Yang's opinion. If someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was present, it is estimated that Wang Tiezhu's attitude would definitely be so angry that he vomited blood.

……

After about an hour, all the topics of the meeting were over, and only Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Chunrui were left in the conference hall.

"Lao Zhang, let's go to Vineyard Island to recuperate, there are people watching here, just take care of your body. You were temporarily discharged from the hospital to attend the meeting today, don't you just want to hear all this nonsense? ”

It took a long time for Wang Tiehammer to sigh and whisper to the old man.

Probably the effect of the medicine finally has some effect, Zhang Chunrui no longer showed an uncomfortable expression, and his emaciated face was a calm smile: "Lao Wang, I know how my body is...... Look at you, there are a lot of gray hairs...... I said, it's time for us to think about the future. ”

After speaking, Zhang Chunrui turned his head to the world map on the wall of the conference room.

"You mean?" Wang Tiehammer was stunned for a moment, and his eyes also turned away.

"Global ocean dominance, I'm afraid our two generations will not be able to see it, but I think the most important thing is that we have to do it while these old guys are still alive." Zhang Chunrui slowly walked to the map, and gently stroked a place on the map with his palm, "The west coast of the North American continent, or the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, is still empty today, and we can't let the people of the next few decades still be only intoxicated with the hegemony of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans." The ocean is so big, and everywhere there is a blank space in this era. Only when you have stepped on it can you have a sense of existence. With a sense of presence, there will be attention. With attention, there will be thought ......"

"Do you want to do a West Coast expansion ahead of schedule? I'm afraid it's a bit of a conflict with the current basic national policy, right? Wang Tiezhu understood what his old friend meant, and a wry smile appeared on his face, "We don't have the capital to effectively implement the expansion of the West Coast now, and the voyage from the east coast of the mainland to the west coast of North America is even farther than to the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention Cape Horn, once you pass through Brazil, you don't even have a suitable foothold for the voyage. Moreover, Cape Horn has the most dangerous sea conditions in the world, and the Cape of Good Hope has to be on the side, and there is no Nanshan Overseas Consulate there. ”

"Why don't you go from the east?" Zhang Chunrui pointed to the Pearl Island and the Republic of Luzon on the map, as if he had been thinking about this question for a long time.

"It took more than a decade for us to build a shipping route connecting the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Far from the mainland, it is basically unrealistic to rely on a Far Eastern Overseas Territory with a population of tens of thousands to open up and establish Pacific routes. ”

Wang Tiezhu shook his head again and again, and could not imagine the scene of a gorgeous ocean-going fleet sailing 10,000 kilometers alone from Pearl Island or Luzon.

"We didn't have a direct route from Manchester City to Guangzhou, did we?" Zhang Chunrui probably knew that Wang Tiezhu's understanding was wrong, so he quickly waved his hand, "It took us more than ten years to complete the Taixi checkers and the Indian Ocean pearl string. I don't think the Pacific route will be easier, but why not start building the Pacific route step by step from now on? ”

"I understand, so what are your plans?" Wang Tiehammer saw that his old friend was full of confidence, and knew that the other party had already had a plan.

"The first step is probably the last thing I can do in my lifetime......" Zhang Chunrui's face suddenly flushed, "Lao Wang, I want to do a round-the-world voyage myself, even if it is for the country's maritime cause and our navy to make one last contribution...... As for the second step......

"You're crazy, do you know that your current body can't go out to sea at all?! No, I don't agree with that! I said Lao Zhang, I agree with your opinion, and I will sort out my thoughts and discuss it with the cabinet or the Congress when I have the opportunity, but don't think about it! ”

Wang Tiehammer got up suddenly, and refused loudly without waiting for the other party to finish speaking.

"No, I'm not crazy...... I used to come from the Army, so I don't really have much affection for the ocean. When I was young, I dreamed of all adventures, but that world was clear in our time...... Magellan's greatness is probably far from being as simple as we think...... In this day and age, we are still behind Magellan, but we can't be further behind the Spaniards, right? If I was a bit high-sounding about the future of my country before, then this circumnavigation is my last wish......"

Zhang Chunrui didn't argue, just slowly walked in front of Wang Tiehammer and slowly took off his military hat.

"Lao Zhang...... Why bother, at least you still have a home and a few children and grandchildren to continue watching. You can't let them ......."

Wang Tiezhu's eyes suddenly became sour, and before he finished speaking, he turned his head and went out fiercely.

Standing quietly in front of the window, a large sailing ship being outfitted in a distant port came into view, which was the soon-to-be-built large ocean-going sail training ship "Youhouxi", which was also the first generation of professional naval training ships built by Huamei.

Zhang Chunrui just stood like this, watching, until dusk and sunset. (To be continued.) )