Although Luo Shengdong has done a good job as a smuggler and has long since left the profession, he is a soldier after all, and he is still very interested in weapons and equipment. was rejected by the military so sternly, Luo Shengdong was still a little disappointed in his heart, after all, when he built the "Exploration-class" and "Expedition-class" warships, he was allowed to enter the dock to visit. At that time, people in the military and shipyards even specifically consulted him on some detailed issues, and it can be said that he Luo Shengdong also contributed to the smooth launch of the "Exploration-class" and "Expedition-class" warships. But it is obvious that the Haihan people did not plan to let him participate in the construction of the new ship anymore, and even all the technical details had to be kept secret from him, and this difference in treatment made Luo Shengdong a little angry.

"What's the big deal, isn't it just a big ship!" Seeing that there was no one left and right, Luo Shengdong spat fiercely in the direction of the dock, and then left stupidly.

But what Luo Shengdong didn't know was that there were really some great new improvements on this ship. In addition to the larger hull and more gun emplacements on the ship, the most important change is that the new ship will no longer rely solely on wind power to power the sea, but will start to use more advanced propulsion systems.

In the past two years, the Ministry of Industry has built multiple batches of steam engines of different models, and although the early models were not stable in operation, with the increase in manufacturing experience, the trouble-free operation time has become longer and longer, and it has been able to meet the requirements of the military. The Military Commission has long had a plan to build steam warships, but the tonnage of the two classes of warships built before is too small, if you insist on letting the steam engine on board, then you must sacrifice part of the ship's gun position to free up tonnage for the power system and coal, increase the speed at the same time must face the situation of firepower decline, the military after repeated calculations or abandon this plan, decided to install the steam power propulsion system on the next generation of larger tonnage and stronger loading capacity of the main warship. After more than two years of practical operation, now the shipyard's personnel, technology and space are not a problem, just wait for the steam engine from the Ministry of Industry to be in place.

On October 17, a large flatbed truck pulled by twelve oxen appeared outside the Victory Port shipyard. The flatbed truck had a large number of wheels under its body, and the cargo on it was tightly covered by a black tarpaulin. Six drivers worked together to ensure that the speed and direction of the car remained steady, and some people walked in front of them carrying sand and soil to fill in the uneven spots on the road to avoid bumps. There was also a platoon of armed militia on the periphery to guard the car, preventing unrelated people from approaching the cart.

"Slow down when turning!" Bai Kesi said, with a tin horn in his hand, shouted to several of the coachmen who were in charge of operating the ox cart. This thing in the car took the Ministry of Industry three months to build, and it was not sloppy at all. In order to transport it to the Shengli Port shipyard in perfect condition, the powerful train was not even considered, but a large flatbed car was specially built in the carpentry workshop, and it took two days to transport it from Tian Du's factory to Shengli Port.

The manufacturing process of this marine steam engine basically concentrated the strongest technical force of the Ministry of Industry, and Bai Kesi, Luo Jie, and Shi Diwen spent a lot of effort to complete the design and construction of the steam power system as the backbone. If the marine steam engine can prove the reliability of its performance in the next few years, then in the next few years, Haihan's offshore strength will usher in a wave of explosive growth.

Of course, the cost of using a steam warship is much higher than that of the original sail warship, and in addition to this well-built steam engine, the coal and fresh water required for daily use is a trouble. For this purpose, the shipyard designed a supply ship that was the same as the "Exploration-class" warship, eliminating the second deck and gun emplacements on board, and replacing it with sealed water tanks and cargo holds, which followed the steam warship when it went to sea to maintain its endurance at sea.

According to the design of the Central Military Commission, the main warships of the militia navy for a period of time to come will be this kind of steam warship that uses both wind power and steam power, and it will be supplemented by "expedition-class" warships, and as for the "exploration-class" warships with the smallest tonnage, they will gradually be withdrawn from the ranks of operations and will only be used as supply ships in the fleet and training ships for naval bases in the future.

The impact of the emergence of large combat vessels is not only in the industrial and military fields, but also in the ports of Annam and Hong Kong Island, which are still in the planning stage, and must be designed and built according to the standards that can dock large ships.

The sailors and crew responsible for operating the ship have also entered the selection stage. Compared with the previous selection of crew members, the consideration of political attitude and background in this selection has increased a lot, which of course mainly comes from the need for security and confidentiality. All crew members must be selected from the active navy, and priority will be given to those who have previously received meritorious service awards. In addition, the commander-in-chief of the navy, Tom Wang, had already booked the captaincy of the ship in advance, and in his words, this ship was the first real warship to be built after the crossing.

While the Navy quietly expanded its power, the Army did not sit idle. Some time has passed since the "Army Expansion Plan" put forward by the Executive Committee and the military, and 1,200 newly recruited young men are being trained as recruits at the military base on the east coast of Victory Port. After the training of these recruits is completed, the Central Military Commission will readjust the original militia regiment establishment, set up a regiment-level headquarters, and increase the establishment of the third battalion directly under the base camp.

On October 20, somewhere in a col north of Fort Victory.

Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie came here together after receiving Hao Wanqing's notice. It's not the first time they've been to this place, but they never come to visit it - perhaps because of the department's function, it's always eerie.

And Hao Wanqing, who works here every day, doesn't seem to have such an opinion, beckons the two to sit in the office, and then asks his subordinates to serve hot tea, and finally hands a document to the coffee table in front of the two: "Our people sent back the first report from Batavia, which is the content after sorting. “

It had been a few months since the Ministry of Security sent an advance team to Batavia, and Zhan Gui, a maritime merchant who had cooperated with the Ministry of Security, had already returned. But Zhan Gui is not a professional spy, and the information he can provide is very limited, especially in the military, there is not much valuable information. Therefore, the Ministry of Security can only wait patiently for the personnel who accompanied Zhan Gui to Batavia to send back information after they have taken root in the local area.

Although this process took a long time, there is no doubt that the personnel of the Ministry of Security have succeeded in settling in the area under the guise of opening a business inn and, in accordance with the deployment of the Ministry of Security, have begun to collect all the information required by the Executive Committee and the military.

"From what we know so far, the Dutch have noticed that there are many industrial and agricultural products produced in Sanya for sale in the local market in Batavia, most of which come from Daming maritime merchants. Hao Wanqing took advantage of the fact that the two of them were watching the report and explained the situation to them: "But it seems that they have no plans to make direct contact with us for the time being." “

"It's not surprising to know that the Dutch have built a base on the island of Taiwan, and the key area of trade with Daming is in Fujian, and Xu Xinsu's main customers are also Dutch, so it is reasonable that they can buy our products from Fujian. Tao Donglai expressed his views on the situation introduced by Hao Wanqing.

"It's better not to have contact, it's better for us to tear our faces and fight with the Dutch sooner or later, or it's better to talk about it when we're convinced. Yan Chujie's tone was very unkind.

For Haihan, the Portuguese, who are now in the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, which have established their foothold in the Far East, have already formed trading partnerships with Haihan, and are now taking advantage of the Thirty Years' War in Europe to make a fortune with their arms. Spain's stronghold is far away in Manila, separated from Sanya by the entire South China Sea, and has little real influence. The Dutch were the most likely to have the greatest conflict of interests with the Haihan, and the object of the most likely large-scale armed conflict was the Dutch.

The foundation of the Haihan state was the control of the sea, and the control of the main choke point from the Indian Ocean into the South China Sea had long been in the plan of the Executive Committee. At present, the Mangaraga region is still under the control of the Portuguese, and the relationship between the two sides is now quite harmonious, and it is unlikely that they will tear their faces apart without major changes. The Sunda Strait, another important choke point, is located right next to Batavia, which is a good place for the Executive Committee to take over quickly.

In addition, the Dutch set up a stronghold on the island of Taiwan, and relied on the island of Taiwan to control the shipping lanes of the Taiwan Strait, and then control the trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Ryukyus and Japan, which is simply a big stumbling block on the way forward for the Haihan who will definitely extend its tentacles to the north in the future. Even if trade with Japan aside, Haihan would land and establish bases in the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, North China, and even Northeast China in the future, and would never allow other forces to threaten its long sea supply lines. When the Haihan's sphere of influence expanded into the Taiwan Strait, there was bound to be a battle with the Dutch that would determine the maritime supremacy of the Far East.

Of course, at that time, the Haihan militia may need to deal with not only the Dutch, but also the "Eighteen Zhi" pirate gang, a maritime armed force that cannot be ignored. And the purpose of the military to build large steam-powered warships in such a hurry is also to prepare for the inevitable war in the future. According to Tom Wang's estimates, if he can have about ten steam warships at the beginning of the war, plus five to six times the number of "expedition-class" warships, then he should have a relatively good chance of killing these two powerful enemies entrenched in the Taiwan Strait.

However, Tom Wang's plan did not receive much support in the Executive Committee, for the simple reason that building such a large fleet would be a terrible astronomical amount in terms of shipbuilding costs and daily maintenance costs. With the current level of military budget of the Haihan People's League, even if the navy moves all the budget of the army, it will still not be able to realize Wang Tom's almost crazy idea of forming an army in a short period of time.

Naturally, Tom Wang will not give up, and he is constantly lobbying all parties in private, especially the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Shipping, which are not so firm in their positions and have common interests with the military. These departments all have the right to vote in the executive committee, and as long as they vote in favor, plus the votes of the military themselves and Tao Donglai, they can basically pass the bill. Wang Tom was very confident in this, because in the few large-scale military operations taken against Annan at the beginning, these departments occupied the main battle side in the end, and then they did share part of the benefits brought by the war, and they really tasted the sweetness.

At present, the biggest problem is not so much the stance of these departments, but the channels through which this astronomical military budget can be resolved. Although Yan Chujie said very hardly, it is still unknown whether he will really be able to drag out a powerful fleet to face the opponent head-on at that time.

"Judging from what the report says, the Dutch are very careful in their management in Batavia! They want forts and warships, and they want to have warships, as well as troops stationed in the local area, and standard colonial strongholds!" Tao Donglai said with emotion after reading the report: "The number of warships exceeds 20, no wonder they dare to intercept the Spaniards in the South China Sea." “

Tao Donglai refers to the interception of Hu by the Dutch intercepting merchant ships bound for Manila on the southeast coast and cutting off the trade routes between Spain and the Ming Dynasty. Although the Spaniards reacted to this to some extent, it is clear that the Dutch had no intention of stopping this hostility, of course, because they had a strong maritime armed force in the Far East and were not too afraid of the West Pullers in Manila.

"Because our people have just been stationed in the area, the military intelligence we can obtain is also limited, and it is estimated that it will take time to collect some specific information. Hao Wanqing also knew that there were not many dry goods in the report, so he took the initiative to explain.

"There is no hurry in this regard, intelligence work still has to strive for safety and security. Tao Donglai waved his hand to show that it was okay: "How many people does the Ministry of Security have deployed in the local area?"

Hao Wanqing responded: "A total of seven people were sent over, four of them went to the local business inn in the name of Zhan Gui's subordinates, and the other three were dark lines, and Zhan Gui didn't know about following other maritime merchants. “