"What is the theory of sea power? It is still necessary to start with the essence of sea power. ”

Jiang Xinghuo said: "The cost of long-distance water transportation, if the distance is extended to thousands of miles, can be regarded as almost one-tenth of the cost of land transportation. ”

"Suppose the Ming Dynasty lifts the sea ban and conducts large-scale maritime trade."

Jiang Xinghuo glanced at the two thoughtfully.

"For example, the same Silk Road, assuming that the end points are all areas controlled by the Great Food Law, the result of the cost advantage is that the cost of maritime trade to transport the same goods through water transport must be far lower than that of land transport, which means that the benefits of sea transport are far greater than land transport."

"As we said before, economic factors follow economic interests, so as long as large-scale maritime trade is carried out, will coastal cities and ports develop rapidly? Will the population and economy be concentrated in coastal cities and ports? ”

In fact, there is the root cause of the problem of uneven regional development.

There is no way, people are looking at money, the cost of sea transportation is 90% lower than that of land transportation, and only those who can't think of it will take land transportation.

And those who can't think of it are destined to lose no pants, and they will be naturally eliminated by the market.

In the long run, more and more population, economic and other resources will naturally be piled up in coastal cities and ports.

"That's right." Zheng He nodded.

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Then I am the same as the theory of land power, I mention the content of the theory of sea power, and you will judge whether what you say is reasonable." ”

Seeing the two nodding, Jiang Xinghuo explained.

"Since the land bridge has a heartland, the land power theory believes that if you control the heartland, you control the world island, and if you control the world island, you control the world."

"Then the sea power theory is-for-tat, based on the fact that the cost of shipping is lower than the cost of land transportation, which will inevitably lead to the concentration of population and economic resources in coastal cities, and the sea power theory believes that the 'periphery' located in the coastal area will far exceed the 'heartland' of the central land bridge of the world island over time."

"And through continuous maritime trade, this kind of population and economic agglomeration will not only occur in these areas, but also at important nodes in shipping routes, such as ports, straits, key islands, and so on. These places will also become part of the 'fringe zone'. ”

"With an overwhelmingly superior fleet of sailors, as well as attached land and overseas bases, supply and maintenance ports, you can control the 'periphery', that is, have sea supremacy."

"Countries with sea supremacy can seize overseas colonies, seize overseas markets, and further expand the advantages of 'periphery'."

"In other words, as long as the 'heartland' is surrounded by the 'periphery', the land power can be constrained by sea power, and whoever unifies or integrates the eastern edge of the world island (East Asia) or the western edge of the world island (Western Europe) will master the most potential area on the world island and will become the hegemon of the world island."

"Do you think the theory of sea power is justified?"

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and said: "I think there is some truth in it, at least it is much more reasonable than the theory of land power that no one else can do except for the Mongols of Genghis Khan's generation." ”

"Let's talk about it." Jiang Xinghuo encouraged.

"It's still the World Island War that Mr. Jiang said in the second volume of "The Theory of National Fortune" before, I remember you said at that time that an island, no matter how big the resources are, are limited, and in the face of occupying more islands, it will inevitably fail."

Zhu Gaoxu's wisdom has visibly increased with the naked eye.

"Then if we talk about starting a war, the theory of land power is defensive operations, and the theory of sea power is encirclement operations, and encirclement operations are much more active than defensive operations!"

"The encircled side can choose to attack on either side, concentrate its forces to attack a little, and also cut off all the enemy's retreats."

"More importantly, the conditions for the implementation of the theory of sea power are not as harsh as those of the theory of land power, and there is no need to have tens of thousands of hard-working soldiers like the Mongols, and the soldiers can be directly transported to any port by ship and water."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded again and again when he heard this.

If "I Daqing" has this understanding, why is it passively beaten everywhere along the coast?

Isn't this the best embodiment of sea power's beating of land power?

The Yingge Blue Army, which has tens of thousands of troops, can beat the "My Great Qing" who has hundreds of thousands of troops and begs for mercy.

At this time, Zheng He also said.

"The theory of sea power is naturally much more reliable than the theory of land power, but there is a question below, if the key to the theory of sea power is that the naval fleet needs to have sea power, then the key to sea power is naturally the many ports, key islands, and straits scattered on the 'marginal area' routes, but these places are destined to be far away from the Ming Dynasty."

Jiang Xinghuo agreed, adding.

"The so-called in "Candle Warrior Retreats from the Qin Division": The country is far away, and the king knows its difficulties. That's it. ”

"So that brings us to another issue."

Jiang Xinghuo said slowly and seriously.

"The hegemon with the right to control the sea must occupy the key nodes on the shipping route that can bring huge wealth, such as ports, islands, and straits, but these places will be far, far away from the mainland. In this case, how to maintain the rule of sea power? ”

Judging from the historical experience of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, since the opening of the new shipping route, the history of the rise and fall of the national fortunes of every major country sitting on the throne of world hegemony is a history of the rise and fall of its sea power.

It is precisely because of this that Jiang Xinghuo included the theory of sea power in the third volume of "The Theory of National Fortune".

The opera class teeth, the Portuguese peach teeth, Helan, and the Yingge Blue Chou Kingdom all rose through the possession of sea power, and it was still the case until Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, and the historical law of this national fortune will not have any problem with the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

In the same way, these world hegemons with sea power have also explored a set of effective theories for safeguarding sea power in their long practice.

Why is Yinggelan always inappropriate and always likes to stir up everywhere?

Why does the ugly country always stir up trouble and always join forces?

The truth is in Jiang Xinghuo's words.

"And this is a topic that will inevitably lead to the geopolitical game in terms of sea power."

The two pricked up their ears.

Jiang Xinghuo wrote a few big words on the ground and read.

"Great Power Game Studies."

"The hegemon of sea power must use the "Great Power Game Theory" to balance, suppress, encircle and suppress, and isolate its opponents who can threaten sea power."

"If you can't do it, the key nodes on the route will really be beyond your reach, and at that time, you can only give up the massive wealth brought by the route, and if you return to the mainland, you will lose your sea power."

"Next, I will go through a few parts of the content to briefly teach you what "Great Power Game Studies" is."

——————

The secret room next door.

Zhu Di held his forehead with his hand.

Zhu Di is trying to recall that more than two months ago, what was said in the first volume of "The Theory of National Fortune".

After recalling for a long time, Zhu Di vaguely remembered that the first volume of "Treatise on National Fortune" seemed to mention that the Ming Dynasty went to the West for maritime trade.

And this matter, Zhu Di has long wanted to do, and he is not ambiguous.

Thanks to Daoyan's planning and promotion, Daming's first five-year shipbuilding plan has also been launched. So far, the shipbuilding progress of the Ming Dynasty has been steadily advancing, thanks to the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang left a large tree for future generations, enough to build a huge fleet that is absolutely invincible in today's world.

Zhu Gaochi turned his head and said softly: ""Great Power Game Studies" is completely different from the previous [Iron Horse] [Thousand Miles of Legends]. ”

Xia Yuanji nodded, this is much more reliable, and I don't know why Jiang Shi just mentioned the 'emperor-prince division of power', which is obviously testing the emperor's bottom line.

"Very clear derivation."

Li Zhigang, who had never even heard a class before, also felt interesting at this time.

"From the land power of the Mongols, that is, the heart of the land bridge, to reflect on and discuss the reasons for the failure of the Han and Tang dynasties to control the trade routes in the Western Regions, the result of the huge difference in the cost of water transportation and land transportation is derived, and then the corresponding large-scale maritime trade is deduced, which will lead to the economic agglomeration of the port population in the coastal cities and shipping routes, that is, the periphery encircles the heartland, and only those who have sea power can control the periphery and then control the world." Zhu Gaochi probably summed up to his father.

When Zhu Di heard this, he raised his head and said, "In this way, this is a completely new doctrine. ”

"Li Shangshu."

"The minister is here!"

Li Zhigang's heart was sudden, and he didn't know what the emperor was looking for him.

Zhu Di said: "Now that the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty has come to the tributary system of the vassal states, can there be such a statement? ”

Li Zhigang was helpless: "Naturally, there is none." ”

Zhu Di smiled: "Well, then follow Mr. Jiang to study hard, you will definitely be able to use it in the future." ”

Li Zhigang had no choice but to agree.

Dao Yan suddenly spoke at this time.

"Your Majesty."

"Oh? What happened to Master Daoyan? Zhu Di turned his head to look.

Dao Yan said slowly: "This "Great Power Game Theory" may be used to balance the Timurid Khanate. ”

"The master is saying?!"

Zhu Di suddenly realized, and his eyes lit up.

——————

"The first part of "Great Power Game Studies" is 'offensive realism'."

"What is 'offensive realism'?"

Jiang Xinghuo pointed at the two of them and said with a smile: "If we are prisoners who don't know each other, and we are extremely hungry at this time, and there is a bun on the ground, what do you think will happen?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his beard, and Zheng He also scratched his long hair.

The two said almost in unison: "Fight!" ”

"That's it." Jiang Xinghuo explained: "The so-called 'offensive realism' refers to the fact that in the absence of a unified organization that can maintain peace, the first consideration of the great powers is survival, and all the great powers will soon realize that the dominant power, especially the dominant sea power, is the key to their survival." ”

"Then relations between states become strained, and the international, that is, the international system of communication between states, is not a status quo in the international system, except for the kind of temporary hegemon who wants to maintain temporary dominance over potential adversaries, and the great powers are rarely satisfied with the immediate distribution of power."

"On the contrary, all the great powers are always motivated by their own interests and seeking change, that is, if they can suppress their opponents."

Jiang Xinghuo pointed at Zhu Gaoxu: "Suppose we are all separate countries now, and I am the largest country, you are the second country after me, that is, the second." ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard the last two words, his heart suddenly burst out, and he became a little flustered for a moment.

Mr. Jiang won't see through my identity, right?

That is to say, great powers are primarily measured by their relative military strength. For a country to qualify as a great power, it must have sufficient military capabilities, and the second country may not have the strength to defeat the hegemonic power, but it must have the potential to turn the conflict into a war of attrition and severely weaken the dominant state, even if the superior country ultimately wins the war. ”

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "In other words, it is a temporary balance of power between you and me, this balance of power is not that you and I are evenly matched, but that I can't kill you for the time being, so what do you think, what should I do?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu replied: "Looking for a chance to kill me? ”

This is the truth, the truth between people, it is also common between countries, this is the case in "Great Power Game Studies", if the goal can be achieved at a cost-effective price, then the great powers will change the balance of power by force. Sometimes, however, when the great powers decide that the cost of changing the balance of power is too high, they have to sit back and wait for a more favorable situation, but the desire to acquire more power, especially more sea power, will not go away unless one country is completely hegemonic. ”

Zheng He couldn't help but say, "How is it possible? There's always a challenger, right? ”

"yes."

Jiang Xinghuo seemed to be smiling.

"Since it is impossible for any country to achieve complete hegemony, the whole world will be filled with permanent great power competition."

"This is the root of the birth of "Great Power Game Studies".

"This relentless pursuit of sea power means that any potential power could change the distribution of sea power. Once they have the necessary strength, they will seize these opportunities. In short, there is a premeditated plan for the seizure of power by potential powers. ”

Therefore, in order to gain sea power, a big country will not only have to sacrifice the interests of other countries, but will also prevent its opponent from gaining sea power at any cost. Therefore, when there is a vague change in sea power in favor of another country, the great powers try to defend the balance of power; And when there is a possibility of change in its own favor, it seizes the opportunity to find ways to upset the balance. ”

Jiang Xinghuo said: "This is the content of the first part, and in the second part of "Great Power Game Studies", I will continue to talk about what state power is. ”

Zhu Gaoxu and Zheng He listened attentively.

Especially Zheng He, at this time, it seems that a new door has been opened.

Behind the gate is a new model of waves and sea power, and how to get along with other countries.

(End of chapter)