Although Liu Shang's speculation was not complete, it was not much different from the facts. Over the years, Haihan has insisted on holding such large-scale military exercises and inviting representatives from other countries to come and observe them, on the one hand, the purpose is to temper the army, show force, and deter Xiaoxiao, and on the other hand, it is indeed to take this opportunity to sell all kinds of weapons and equipment produced by Haihan Ordnance. In the international arms sales market in the Far East, Haihan is now firmly in the first place, replacing the position of international arms dealers such as Portugal and the Netherlands.

Representatives of so many countries gathered together to watch the weapons display carried out by the Haihan Army during the military exercise, and the effect was naturally much better than door-to-door sales. Moreover, there is already a competitive and even hostile relationship between some countries, and it is inevitable that on such a sensitive occasion, they will rush to place orders for the most advanced weapons and equipment, and this is also a scene that can be seen in this kind of promotion activities.

For example, although the two countries of Annan and Champang, both of which had a military alliance with the Haihan, they never really reconciled with each other due to historical reasons. The two countries on the Indochina Peninsula maintain a military confrontation all year round, and some small frictions and conflicts break out almost every year.

For these two countries, the arms race is the norm, as long as they know that there are any new goods on Haihan's arms sales list, then no matter whether the opponent buys it or not, they have to place an order first. If the opponent does not buy it, then the country may be able to gain a certain advantage in armaments, and if the opponent also buys the same equipment, then the amount purchased by the opponent should not be much less than that of the opponent, so as not to fall behind in a military confrontation because of the problem of weapons and equipment.

The arms race between the two countries will only bring more income to Haihan's arms sales business, and Haihan can use this as a breakthrough to obtain more political benefits from these two countries. Although both countries have gradually stopped the original practice of exchanging people for arms, the resources that Haihan are interested in are not only people, but also the grain of Champa and the minerals of Annam, which can be used as a condition for exchange of interests.

On the one hand, they send troops to participate in the exercise, or let senior military officers come to observe and learn Haihan's advanced combat methods, and on the other hand, they can see what new weapons and equipment Haihan has launched in the new year, so that they can decide whether they should place an order at the first time.

Liu Shangsuo's ship sailed all the way north after sailing out of Danzhou Bay, and it didn't seem to see the figure of the Haihan fleet on the sea, which made him murmur a little in his heart, this continues to the north, but it is the boundary of the Ming Dynasty, between Qiongzhou Island and the Leizhou Peninsula, it is just a Qiongzhou Strait dozens of miles wide, is it so bold that the Haihan people actually put the military exercise in the territory of the Ming Dynasty?

About three hours after sailing out of Danzhou Bay, the people on the ship finally met the participating troops of the military exercise. More than a dozen warships flying the Haihan two-color flag appeared on the sea in the distance, and there were several troop transports carrying spectators cruising in the periphery.

At this time, the officer on the ship who was responsible for arranging the process of watching the exercise informed everyone that the military exercise had not yet started and was still waiting for all the participating troops to be in place. Signals will be issued at sea and observers will be on boats that will watch the exercise from a safe distance.

Everyone had been at sea for a long time, and they were a little tired at this time, so they immediately returned to the cabin to rest and wait for the drill to begin and come back to the deck to watch. But the troop carrier was no match for the high-class passenger ship they had come, with the cabins below deck low and cramped, crammed with dense three-tiered marching beds, leaving only narrow aisles for people to enter and exit. If you want to sit in this cabin, you have to sit on the floor, otherwise you have to stand or lie down. However, thinking about the upcoming military exercises, this kind of observation opportunity is really rare, and everyone can only endure it first.

Not long after Liu Shang lay down on the bed, a crew member came to inform them that the exercise was about to begin, and they hurriedly got up at the moment, lest they miss the key link.

When everyone returned to the deck, they saw a red flare slowly sliding from the sky, and then another red flare rose from a warship in the distance. Soon the fleet in the distance picked up speed and sailed westward. The ship they were on immediately turned around and sailed westward, like other troop carriers carrying observers.

In relative position, the ship was still in front of the fleet, which was just enough to take in the situation of the entire fleet. However, Liu Shang soon noticed that the speed of this fleet was amazingly fast, far exceeding the full speed of the troop carriers. And the large chimney at the back of the battleship, which was spitting black smoke, seemed to have explained the real reason for its amazing speed.

Although Liu Shang has never been on a steam-powered battleship, he has already taken a steamboat on the Ningyuan River outside Yacheng this time, and the speed of the steamship using paddle wheel is naturally far less than that of this kind of steam-sail dual-powered battleship, but it has given him a rough idea of what kind of structure this unique power-driven ship will have - the big chimney unique to the steam engine has already explained everything.

It is no secret that Haihan has steam-powered warships, as early as 1631, when the Haihan fleet sent an envoy to Fujian, there were already steam warships on public display. However, this thing has a long manufacturing period and high cost, and daily supply, maintenance and repair are more troublesome, even in the Haihan Army, it is not common, and local garrison fleets often need flagships to have such a high configuration.

However, the fleet in front of me was all steam warships with chimneys, and the overall speed far exceeded that of sail-powered troop carriers, and it took less than a cup of tea to catch up from the side and rear and overtake the front.

Before Liu Shang could figure out what kind of impact the appearance of this steam fleet would have on the situation in the South China Sea, the onlookers on the ship were already cheering excitedly. For Haihan, these powerful armed ships are undoubtedly a symbol of national strength, and as a Haihan national, they will naturally be proud of their military with such a strong force. As for the mood of visitors on other ships when they see these ships, it may be more complicated, probably because Liu Shang is now like this, envy, jealousy and hatred are intertwined.

This book was first published on the Genesis Chinese website, and the following content will be re-edited later for anti-theft

Although Liu Shang's speculation was not complete, it was not much different from the facts. Over the years, Haihan has insisted on holding such large-scale military exercises and inviting representatives from other countries to come and observe them, on the one hand, the purpose is to temper the army, show force, and deter Xiaoxiao, and on the other hand, it is indeed to take this opportunity to sell all kinds of weapons and equipment produced by Haihan Ordnance. In the international arms sales market in the Far East, Haihan is now firmly in the first place, replacing the position of international arms dealers such as Portugal and the Netherlands.

Representatives of so many countries gathered together to watch the weapons display carried out by the Haihan Army during the military exercise, and the effect was naturally much better than door-to-door sales. Moreover, there is already a competitive and even hostile relationship between some countries, and it is inevitable that on such a sensitive occasion, they will rush to place orders for the most advanced weapons and equipment, and this is also a scene that can be seen in this kind of promotion activities.

For example, although the two countries of Annan and Champang, both of which had a military alliance with the Haihan, they never really reconciled with each other due to historical reasons. The two countries on the Indochina Peninsula maintain a military confrontation all year round, and some small frictions and conflicts break out almost every year.

For these two countries, the arms race is the norm, as long as they know that there are any new goods on Haihan's arms sales list, then no matter whether the opponent buys it or not, they have to place an order first. If the opponent does not buy it, then the country may be able to gain a certain advantage in armaments, and if the opponent also buys the same equipment, then the amount purchased by the opponent should not be much less than that of the opponent, so as not to fall behind in a military confrontation because of the problem of weapons and equipment.

The arms race between the two countries will only bring more income to Haihan's arms sales business, and Haihan can use this as a breakthrough to obtain more political benefits from these two countries. Although both countries have gradually stopped the original practice of exchanging people for arms, the resources that Haihan are interested in are not only people, but also the grain of Champa and the minerals of Annam, which can be used as a condition for exchange of interests.

On the one hand, they send troops to participate in the exercise, or let senior military officers come to observe and learn Haihan's advanced combat methods, and on the other hand, they can see what new weapons and equipment Haihan has launched in the new year, so that they can decide whether they should place an order at the first time.

Liu Shangsuo's ship sailed all the way north after sailing out of Danzhou Bay, and it didn't seem to see the figure of the Haihan fleet on the sea, which made him murmur a little in his heart, this continues to the north, but it is the boundary of the Ming Dynasty, between Qiongzhou Island and the Leizhou Peninsula, it is just a Qiongzhou Strait dozens of miles wide, is it so bold that the Haihan people actually put the military exercise in the territory of the Ming Dynasty?

About three hours after sailing out of Danzhou Bay, the people on the ship finally met the participating troops of the military exercise. More than a dozen warships flying the Haihan two-color flag appeared on the sea in the distance, and there were several troop transports carrying spectators cruising in the periphery.

At this time, the officer on the ship who was responsible for arranging the process of watching the exercise informed everyone that the military exercise had not yet started and was still waiting for all the participating troops to be in place. Signals will be issued at sea and observers will be on boats that will watch the exercise from a safe distance.

Everyone had been at sea for a long time, and they were a little tired at this time, so they immediately returned to the cabin to rest and wait for the drill to begin and come back to the deck to watch. But the troop carrier was no match for the high-class passenger ship they had come, with the cabins below deck low and cramped, crammed with dense three-tiered marching beds, leaving only narrow aisles for people to enter and exit. If you want to sit in this cabin, you have to sit on the floor, otherwise you have to stand or lie down. However, thinking about the upcoming military exercises, this kind of observation opportunity is really rare, and everyone can only endure it first.

Not long after Liu Shang lay down on the bed, a crew member came to inform them that the exercise was about to begin, and they hurriedly got up at the moment, lest they miss the key link.

When everyone returned to the deck, they saw a red flare slowly sliding from the sky, and then another red flare rose from a warship in the distance. Soon the fleet in the distance picked up speed and sailed westward. The ship they were on immediately turned around and sailed westward, like other troop carriers carrying observers.

In relative position, the ship was still in front of the fleet, which was just enough to take in the situation of the entire fleet. However, Liu Shang soon noticed that the speed of this fleet was amazingly fast, far exceeding the full speed of the troop carriers. And the large chimney at the back of the battleship, which was spitting black smoke, seemed to have explained the real reason for its amazing speed.

Although Liu Shang has never been on a steam-powered battleship, he has already taken a steamboat on the Ningyuan River outside Yacheng this time, and the speed of the steamship using paddle wheel is naturally far less than that of this kind of steam-sail dual-powered battleship, but it has given him a rough idea of what kind of structure this unique power-driven ship will have - the big chimney unique to the steam engine has already explained everything.

It is no secret that Haihan has steam-powered warships, as early as 1631, when the Haihan fleet sent an envoy to Fujian, there were already steam warships on public display. However, this thing has a long manufacturing period and high cost, and daily supply, maintenance and repair are more troublesome, even in the Haihan Army, it is not common, and local garrison fleets often need flagships to have such a high configuration.

However, the fleet in front of me was all steam warships with chimneys, and the overall speed far exceeded that of sail-powered troop carriers, and it took less than a cup of tea to catch up from the side and rear and overtake the front.

Before Liu Shang could figure out what kind of impact the appearance of this steam fleet would have on the situation in the South China Sea, the onlookers on the ship were already cheering excitedly. For Haihan, these powerful armed ships are undoubtedly a symbol of national strength, and as a Haihan national, they will naturally be proud of their military with such a strong force. As for the mood of visitors on other ships when they see these ships, it may be more complicated, probably because Liu Shang is now like this, envy, jealousy and hatred are intertwined.

(End of chapter)