It is a very important part of Haihan's foreign military strategy to use the cross-era black technology in his hands to maintain advanced superiority in armaments against neighboring countries in the military field and to maintain military deterrence against these countries. www.biquge.info The Haihan militia has fully demonstrated its superiority in weaponry and combat methods in the past few years of warfare in the past few years, and now it will also use opportunities like this to show the speed of upgrading equipment, so as to inform the surrounding countries who is the boss with the highest force value in this region.

Although the expenditure on the development and construction of this new type of ship has forced the navy, which has always had a sufficient budget, to grit its teeth, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission agree that maintaining the leading position of the Haihan armed forces in armaments is a very important long-term strategy, and this advantage will also help to avoid the outbreak of international military conflict to a certain extent. For example, Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands, which have suffered at the hands of the Haihan, will now try their best to avoid military friction or more serious conflicts with the Haihan.

The first generation of equipment, the first generation of development, and the generation of design are the long-term strategies of Haihan in the development and manufacturing of weapons, and this test ship "Deterrence," which is on public display, is actually a new type of equipment that is in a state of development. In the design institute of Haihan Ordnance, the real next-generation combat ships are also in the design stage, but it will take a few years for the real construction to begin, and the manufacturing technology level of relevant aspects has been developed. Haihan Ordnance's technical reserves in terms of design capabilities are certainly far beyond the needs of combat in this era, but due to the current manufacturing process, it is not possible to build more advanced warships at a cost acceptable to the military for the time being.

However, these inside information, people outside don't know, what they see is that the Haihan military comes up with an endless stream of new equipment every year, and almost everything is beyond their reach. If you used to deal with the Haihan people when you first had the idea of stealing teachers and imitating them, then now the frequency of Haihan's updated equipment is simply desperate, and before you can figure out what you got a few years ago, Haihan has already produced a new generation of equipment, and it is almost impossible to rely on imitation means to catch up with Haihan's dressing speed.

Van Diemen, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, was also one of the spectators in mixed moods in the stands, having arrived in Sanya two days earlier, just in time to be invited to observe the new ship's departure ceremony, and it was also the first time he really observed Haihan's main warship at close range. He noticed that the new battleship's side gun windows were obviously much smaller than the number obtained through intelligence gathering, and the Haihan would reduce the naval guns equipped on a mature battleship, obviously not because of financial problems, the only reasonable explanation was that the Haihan people upgraded the naval guns, and no longer needed to rely on the number of naval guns in terms of firepower output strength.

The reduction in the number of guns means that fewer combatants are needed on board, and the ship's endurance at sea may be increased as a result. Of course, there are obvious hidden dangers and drawbacks in this configuration, because the number of naval guns is less than before, and if some of the naval guns are hit by enemy fire or malfunction during the battle, then the combat effectiveness of the entire ship will be greatly affected. However, Van Dimen thinks that the Haihan people will probably not make such a low-level mistake easily, and may have some special means to ensure the safety of the gun deck, such as increasing the thickness and structural strength of the side sides. But limited by his knowledge, he really couldn't imagine that the real plan of the Haihan people was to cover the side with a layer of iron armor.

In fact, the Dutch also had warships of this tonnage such as the "Majestic Class", but at this time they were all deployed on the European battlefield and fought fiercely with the Holy Roman Empire, and it was impossible to send them to the Far East. The largest type of armed sailing ship that the Dutch shipyards in the Far East can build is only about two-thirds the tonnage of the "Majestic class", and the construction period is long, far from reaching the construction speed of six ships in four years like Haihan. Worst of all, the shipyard was completely destroyed in 1632 during the Madar Blues' attack on Batavia, and the current rebuilding progress is not smooth, and it may take a year or two to restore the shipbuilding capacity of the past. For the foreseeable period of time, the East India Company will probably not have a chance to reverse the situation in which the maritime armed forces were suppressed by the Haihan.

The only thing that makes Van Dimen fortunate is that the Haihan do not seem to be as aggressive as the legend suggests, and while their armed forces do have a high level of combat effectiveness, the Haihan do not always try to solve problems by force. Most of the time, they seem to be willing to sit down and negotiate to resolve their differences, and of course, they will not hesitate to use the threat of force when the conflict cannot be resolved, but it is better than just taking action if they don't agree.

After attending the last consultation meeting on Ambuna Island, Van Dimen decided to go to Sanya to see the real situation in the Haihan area this time. Sanya's name as the "first port in the South China Sea" has been passed down for several years, and everyone who has been to the local area has praised this magical port city, and Fan Dimen has long had the idea of coming to see it in person, but the two sides have been in a hostile state in the past, and it is impossible to make the trip due to personal safety concerns.

After seeing the prosperous scene here with his own eyes, Fan Dimen realized that there is indeed a gap between Batavia and Sanya that is difficult to catch up. Whether it is port operation or urban infrastructure, Sanya presents obvious advantages, the Dutch spent more than ten years to develop and build the city of Batavia, but it is far less than the Haihan people only took half the time to build Sanya.

Contrary to what Van Dimen had envisioned, there was no big city surrounded by tall and majestic walls, but an open port city, surrounded by a walled fortress, just the Victory Fort in the center of the city, and it seemed that the Haihan people did not seem to be worried about foreign enemies attacking it. Van Dimen believed that the confidence of the Haihan came from the strength of the armed fleet and the seemingly reliable shore fortifications, both of which were the highest level of armament he had ever seen in the Far East, and that if Batavia had had such protection, the Mata Blues would probably have little chance of landing.

But it is a pity that so far, Van Dimen has not been allowed to visit the military bases or fortifications of Haihan, so the understanding of the armed forces of Haihan can only remain at the level of speculation for the time being. But he heard that there will be a grand military parade at the upcoming Haihan founding celebration, and he can observe the military appearance and weapons and equipment of the Haihan army up close.

However, Fan Dimen deliberately came to Sanya more than half a month in advance, not entirely to find out the military intelligence here, earlier in the consultation with the Haihan people on Ambuna Island, he proposed that he hoped to go to Hainan Island under the rule of the Haihan to have a look, and the Haihan side also readily agreed, and invited him to come before the founding ceremony of the Haihan to arrange a separate inspection itinerary for him.

This kind of treatment is already quite rare in the diplomatic field of Haihan, and in recent years, only foreign friends with prominent status like Zheng Zheng will enjoy such an arrangement, and others can generally go around Sanya at most. The Foreign Service made this arrangement with the Governor of the East India Company, more or less with the intention of showing off to him, so that he would clearly understand the great gap between him and the Haihan in the development of the colony.

After watching the deterrent's departure ceremony, the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to Fan Dimen and arranged for him to take a 10-day trip around the island on a sailing ship owned by the Haihan Ministry of Commerce. The Haihan official who accompanied Fan Dimen on his trip was one of the members of the executive committee, and Ningqi, who was about to become the Haihan Minister of Foreign Affairs after the founding of the People's Republic of China, was considered to be quite high.

Although Fan Dimen had never seen Ning Qi before, he also knew a little about this high-ranking Haihan official. In 1631, when the Haihan mission visited Zhangzhou, Fujian, Shibazhi sent a group of assassins to the city of Zhangzhou to try to assassinate the Haihan envoy, and the head of the Haihan mission at that time was Ning Qi. Although the assassination attempt of Eighteen Zhi did not succeed in the end, it caused great trouble for Eighteen Zhi and the East India Company. The Haihan armed fleet, which accompanied the mission, retaliated in the same month, conquering Nanri Island, a very important foothold of Shibazhi in the coastal waters of Fujian. Two months later, the armed fleet sent by Dayuan Port to support the Eighteen Zhi Pole also collapsed on Nanri Island.

Since then, the East India Company's influence in the Fujian waters has plummeted, and it is no longer able to fight back in the face of the Haihan people's pressing back. Although the two sides later reached an armistice agreement through negotiations, the East India Company had to swallow the big loss suffered in Fujian.

Since it was Haihan who arranged the trip, there was also a limit on the number of Fan Dimen's entourage, and he was only allowed to bring one servant. Although Fan Dimen didn't quite understand the harsh requirements of the Haihan people, he still agreed, after all, this kind of opportunity is really precious, and there is no substantive difference between bringing a subordinate or a team of subordinates for him, an outsider. If there is really something wrong with his security, it will not be the East India Company that will be disgraced, but the Haihan people.

However, when Van Dimen was taken to the special dock and saw the sailboat he was going to take, he understood why the Haihan people had to limit the number of people, because the ship was really not large, and if he brought a team of men and guards, the ship probably would not be able to sail around the island at all.

The sailing ship arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this trip is the catamaran "Feisu", which has been greatly reduced in the number of sorties, and this second-hand sailing ship that was originally bought by the North American gang from Europe served as a universal transport for a long time in the early days of the crossing, and was even used as a reconnaissance ship for military purposes for a time. However, after Haihan had the ability to build its own ships, both the "Feisu" and its sister ship "Lightning" gradually reduced the frequency of sailing, after all, the two ships have too few spare parts, and maintenance and repair will face certain technical obstacles in this era, and the rate of depreciation can be slowed down by sailing as little as possible.

At present, only some more important tasks or those that require a time limit will be dispatched to these two ships. This time, Fan Dimen visited Sanya, and there was a trip around the island, so Ning Qi transferred his own highest-class yacht very coquettishly, which was more or less for the purpose of showing off to the Dutch.

There were only four bedroom cabins on the ship, with Van Dimen and his servants being assigned to the largest one, Ning Qi taking the other, and the remaining two bedrooms being divided between the sailors and various supplies.

Compared to the European sailing boats of this era, which were known for their dirtiness, Van Diemen was amazed by the cleanliness of the Speedy. Moreover, the hull of this ship was not made of wood at all, except for part of the deck, and its hull structure also struck him greatly, and there were obvious differences between the hull and the familiar Haihan sailing ship inside and outside.

Ning Qi is late today, as the head of the two departments of foreign affairs and civil affairs, he has been very busy for the founding celebration recently, although the schedule to accompany Fan Dimen has been set very early, but it was not until the departure time was about to arrive, Ning Qi hurried to the dock to board the "Speed" to meet Fan Dimen.

Ning Qi must know Anthony van Diemen much better than the other party knows about him, and he has already done his homework accordingly. Had it not been for the fact that the appearance of the Haihan had skewed the trajectory of history, Van Dimen would have waited until 1636 to become the leader of the East India Company, and then in the years that followed, he expelled the Portuguese from the Strait of Malacca, sent troops to expel the Spaniards who had colonized the Taipei area, and opened trade between the Netherlands and the Thang Long Province of Annam and the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, bringing the East India Company's influence in the Far East to a new level.

However, these remarkable personal achievements probably could not be achieved as recorded in history, and apart from the trade relations with the Tokugawa shogunate, everything else was basically done by the Haihan people. The East India Company that Van Diemen had taken over was a complete mess, and it was unlikely that he would be able to support him in accomplishing these great things. However, according to the original historical records, Ninkistan considered Van Dimen to be a very capable official, who accomplished many difficult tasks during his nine-year tenure, and that if he had not died of illness, his governorship would have been expected to surpass that of his predecessor, Peterson Cohen.

Ning Qi also went to Schneider to learn from him, after all, Schneider had a long consultation with Van Dymen on Ambuna Island, and he had a clearer and more intuitive feeling about this person's situation. In short, the homework in advance has basically been done, and as for how many points can be scored in the final exam, it depends on Ning Qi's on-the-spot performance. (To be continued.) )