After Jiang Shang finished talking about the abolition of the government office, Ouyang Shuo looked around and said lightly: "Then, let's discuss the matter of changing the outfit for the Pacific Fleet." ”

The ministers of civil and military affairs on both sides listened and looked at each other, and there were faint sparks in their eyes.

The civilian clique and the military have huge differences on this issue, and until the meeting, the two sides still did not reach a consensus.

The Cabinet's opinion is that with the Second Industrial Revolution tech tree unlocked, the Empire should take a long-term view and rebuild the Imperial Navy, rather than rushing to mount a large number of ironclad ships.

On the basis of ironclad ships, it is necessary to carry out specialized subdivisions to form a new fleet with battleships as the main warship, cruisers responsible for reconnaissance and ocean patrols, destroyers responsible for vigilance, escort, and minelaying, frigates used for escort of ship formations, and submarines and other ships.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a reshaping of the Imperial Navy.

But it will take a long time, and it is not only the fleet composition that will change, but also the officers and sailors. They have to retrain and familiarize themselves with the new warships, and in the future, except for the Marine Corps, there is basically no possibility of hand-to-hand combat.

It is conservatively estimated that even if the empire concentrates its resources and prioritizes the transformation of the Pacific Fleet, it will take a year and a half, or even two years, which is the result of Gaia's ambiguity in industrial construction.

The advantage is that while reducing blind construction, when the Pacific Fleet is formed, it will not only be on par with the Night Fleet, but can once again form a suppression of strength and regain sea supremacy in one fell swoop.

Jiang Shang even said clearly, "With the unlocking of the industrial revolution technology tree, the global dynasties are on the same starting line, and if the empire wants to maintain the existing maritime supremacy, it must have the courage to scrape the bones and heal the wounds." ”

"The sooner you take this step, the sooner you get ahead."

Naturally, the military couldn't wait, and was overwhelmed by the Night Fleet, so they wanted to get back to the field immediately, and suggested investing a lot of resources to build six to eight ironclad ships in a short period of time.

Navy Commander Zheng He said: "The loss of sea supremacy in the Pacific could trigger a chain reaction, challenging the Empire's global maritime hegemony and a major setback to global trade." ”

"Without trade support, how can there be industrialization?" Zheng He asked rhetorically.

Both sides insist on their own opinions, and neither can convince the other.

Seeing that the two sides were at a stalemate, Bai Hua, the capital of southern Xinjiang, suddenly stood up and said: "The speed of construction of ironclad ships is mainly limited by the level of industrialization of the empire. My suggestion is whether the empire, while fully rolling out industrialization, can concentrate its resources and prioritize the development of some cities, so as to be more at the forefront of industrialization. ”

"For example, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta can be listed as priority development targets by the imperial court. In this way, it not only avoids blind construction, but also shortens the time for the Pacific Fleet to take shape, striking a balance between the two. ”

Bai Hua's suggestion made Ouyang Shuo's eyes light up.

In fact, the land requirements for industrialization are not too high, otherwise the historical British Empire would not have conquered the world with just three islands.

Including Dongying and Goryeo, they are all typical representatives of the country's small and strong forces.

Instead of blindly spreading industrialization throughout the empire, it is better to concentrate forces, give priority to the development of coastal cities, form industrial clusters, and concentrate on big things.

"That's a good idea." Ouyang Shuo said, "The cabinet can study it, and take Shencheng in the Yangtze River Delta and Zhenhai City in the Pearl River Delta as the first priority industrialized cities." ”

"Its priority sequence can even be higher than that of the Jingshi."

As soon as these words came out, the audience was shocked.

Jiang Shang replied: "Your Majesty, wouldn't this shake the status of the economic center of the capital division?" ”

Ouyang Shuo just smiled, "I have never said that in order to maintain the status of the economic center of Jingshi, as the capital of the empire, Jingshi must be the political center and cultural center, but it may not be an economic center. ”

"With the surging wave of industrialization, the geographical location of Jingshi also determined that it was difficult for it to shoulder the burden of the economic center of the empire. Forcibly developing Jingshi will only cause a waste of resources. ”

The ministers present listened and thought thoughtfully.

Historically, there have been countless countries with different cities for their political centers and economic centers, and it is not a strange phenomenon.

Inspired by Bai Hua, Ouyang Shuo followed and said: "Shencheng and Zhenhai City, as the first sequence. In addition, Edo, Busan, Binhai, Haijin, Jiaodong, Zhoushan, Quanzhou, Yinan and the Lion City in southern Xinjiang, these coastal cities, can be used as a second order to give priority to industrialization. ”

"The inland Huining, Kyoto, Luoyang, Xianyang, Chengdu, Xiangyang, Jianye and Dali can be used as the third sequence. At the same time, in southern Xinjiang and Africa, priority can also be given to the development of one or two cities as appropriate. ”

Ouyang Shuo's words drew a new blueprint for the empire's industrialization today.

With the advancement of industrialization, the fate of the city and even the province is about to usher in a new reshuffle, like Shencheng, which was only a government city before, and now it has to jump up and compete with the Wangcheng Jianye of the same province.

In the future, it may even surpass Jianye and become the new economic center of the empire.

Two-thirds of the cities in the second sequence are obscure cities, which will take off rapidly in the next few years with the wave of industrialization, becoming the new pearl of the empire.

The development of the new city will also become a new growth point for the imperial economy.

In order to appease the military, Ouyang Shuo made a decision on the spot, "While making every effort to build Shencheng, we will build a brand-new, world-class shipyard in Shencheng, which is called Jiangnan Shipyard, which is independent of [Huaxia Shipbuilding Group] and is directly under the management of the Asset Management Bureau." ”

"Before the end of the year, the Pacific Fleet must complete the rearmament." Ouyang Shuo even gave a death order.

In this way, the military generals were a little relieved, and they were not really without foresight, but out of the glory of the soldiers, they could not bear the humiliation of being defeated by the enemy.

Such humiliation, the Great Xia Army has not tasted it for a long time.

The cabinet did not say anything more, and in the case of industrialization not being fully rolled out, it would be much easier to allocate resources by concentrating on the development of coastal cities.

One year, that's enough.

"In the eighth year of Gaia, the empire's ocean-going trade with South America is afraid that it will be affected." Jiang Shangdao.

This reminded Ouyang Shuo, "In response to the Indian Empire's request for arms trade, what do you think I mean to sell all the arquebuses and artillery that the Empire has eliminated to them?" ”

"Feasible."

Du Ruhui is in charge of the Privy Council, and naturally has the most right to speak, "According to the data counted by the Privy Council, the backlog of arquebuses in the warehouses around the country is about 500,000 and more than 1,000 cannons. The War Readiness Administration is not knowing what to do with them, and they are sitting idle in the warehouse, and the maintenance costs alone are expensive. If you sell it, you will kill two birds with one stone. ”

It is conservatively estimated that this batch of arms can be sold for at least 12 million gold coins.

Ouyang Shuo nodded with satisfaction, "Then hurry up, take advantage of the fact that the battle of Hawaii is not over and the shipping route is unblocked, and transport this batch of arms to South America." In addition, half of the transactions with the Indian Empire were paid for in gold, and the other half was converted into grain and grass, and all of them were hoarded in Egua County. ”

"Understood!" Du Ruhui comprehended.

The grain and grass worth six million gold coins is enough to support the consumption of grain and grass in the American Theater for a year.

"In addition, we will take this opportunity to build a number of military factories in Egua County, especially for the production of bullets and shells. Before the Indian Empire established an industrial system, it was possible to make a lot of money. Ouyang Shuo commanded.

Du Ruhui nodded, he had long been deeply aware of His Majesty's "greed".

"And,"

Ouyang Shuo was still unsatisfied, "Test them to see if there are any plans to buy warships." Some of the obsolete building ships can be sold, and all the rest can be converted into supply ships. ”

Du Ruhui wrote them down one by one.

Depending on the situation, Your Majesty is going to take the opportunity to drain the treasury of the Indian Empire.

Du Ruhui felt a little sorry for the Indian Empire, even if they won the big war with the Spanish Dynasty, they were afraid that they would be greatly damaged, and when they arrived, would they be able to stop the expansion of the empire in South America?

Based on Du Ruhui's understanding of His Majesty, although he agreed to the Indian Empire's arms procurement request this time, all the weapons sold were obsolete, and making money was secondary.

If the Indian Empire is allowed to successfully solve the Argentine region, will the Indian Empire still allow Bactria to complete its expansion in South America?

Therefore, for the Empire, this is the best outcome.

Thinking about the "ignorance" of the Indian Empire several times, His Majesty has quietly drawn it out of the alliance sequence, and in the future, it can only be regarded as a partner.

Even in South American affairs, they may become adversaries.