Chapter 597 Actual Battle Situation

Although Haihan has close military cooperation with Fujian, control over arms exports has never been relaxed. All arms orders, ranging from artillery battleships to rifles and bullets, must first pass the approval of the Military Commission and the Executive Committee.

After double review, "Haihan Ordnance Industry" can sign a sales agreement with Fujian. Among the relevant control measures, the control of ammunition and gun spare parts is undoubtedly the most stringent. This is also Haihan's response to the situation in Fujian.

The main means of implementing control.

Although Fujian is also trying to imitate manufacturing, some key craftsmanship cannot be mastered by the craftsmen of this era. Therefore, whether it is the accuracy and durability of spare parts or the quality of gunpowder, the local products in Fujian are the same as those of the original factory.

There is a relatively obvious gap between the products, and this gap will also be intuitively reflected in the performance of the weapons, affecting the accuracy, range and maintenance of the weapons. Although the equipment level of Xu Xinsu's troops is already quite good, their ability to continue fighting is not

It is extremely limited, and this inevitably affects their daily training. In order to save ammunition and reduce weapon losses, the army here rarely conducts live ammunition training. The combat effectiveness and combat experience are indeed incomparable with the Haihan Militia.

If we want to discuss this issue in depth, both sides will inevitably be embarrassed, so Shi Diwen did not continue to ask about this, but took the initiative to change the topic: "Now, are the troops under your command based on the Ming army's establishment, or...

According to our Haihan establishment?"

"In order to facilitate command, they have all been converted into Haihan formations." Xu Yuzhuo replied honestly: "All the Haihan weapons are installed at the Zhongzuo Institute, and almost all the officers leading troops in the Zhongzuo Institute have gone to Victory Port.

I have studied abroad and am familiar with the Haihan military system. If we had followed the previous establishment, some combat tactics would have been difficult to implement."

The current registered strength of Zhongzuosuo City is 1,240, but the actual garrison size is slightly larger than the data on paper. According to Haihan's establishment, there are two battalions of the army stationed on the island, plus logistics personnel, the total strength is 1,500

During the war, two more battalions of troops will be transferred from Zhangzhou to supplement the troops, bringing the combat strength here to more than 2,000.

With all the guns and cannons and a fortified city to defend, it is really difficult for the army in this time and space to capture this place. For a pirate-level armed force, Shi Diwen estimates that it would take four to five times the strength to break through the defense line.

Enter the city.

In order to confirm his guess, Shi Diwen asked: "When Shibazhi came to attack here, how many troops did they use at most? What was the result?"

Xu Yuzhuo responded: "The largest number was at the beginning of last year. It was estimated that five or six thousand enemies attacked from the sea. At that time, the enemies had already attacked the west city wall, but in the end they were repelled by our army. That battle lasted two

In one day, our army killed more than 1,400 people and sank and damaged more than ten enemy ships. This was the most successful battle since the battle with Shibazhi."

Shi Diwen nodded and continued to ask: "How is the equipment and combat level of the army under Shiba Zhi?"

"If we use the ordinary guard army as the standard, the elites under Shiba Zhi are slightly stronger." Xu Yuzhuo said seriously: "Shiba Zhi is also a master who is willing to spend money, but most of the firearms they equip are not purchased uniformly.

There are Western-style firearms purchased from the red-haired people and the Folangji people, some of which flowed out from the guard army, and there are also some privately made firearms, the models of which are difficult to unify."

"If the firearm models cannot be unified, the logistics pressure will be great during the war." As an important member of the military, Shi Diwen naturally understands the importance of equipping the military with standard weapons.

For armies like the Haihan Militia, the standard ammunition used in battles can be used between weapons of the same type, which is extremely important for improving the combat efficiency of the troops. Otherwise, the logistics department will only provide ammunition of various sizes and calibers.

The quartermaster went crazy over it.

Even if the firearms equipment ratio of Shibazhi is higher than that of the ordinary Ming Dynasty Guard Army, it is definitely still far behind when compared to the troops of the Zhongzuo Institute that are uniformly equipped with Haihan weapons. Even if they are all the same matchlock guns and models

A unified Ming army will obviously gain an advantage in the battle. As for the performance gap of the artillery, the performance gap will be even greater. If there is a slight difference in the caliber of each artillery, the artillery shells will not be universal, and it will be inevitable in combat.

It will become a big trouble for the gunners.

Xu Yuzhuo nodded in agreement, and then continued: "As for the combat level, students think it is uneven. Although there are some small groups of elites among them, most of them have not received professional military training. When fighting, they just follow orders and swarm

It’s just charging forward, without the various tactical coordination that Haihan’s instructors have emphasized before. From our point of view, it’s just a piece of loose sand.”

The situation mentioned by Xu Yuzhuo is basically consistent with the situation in Haihan's hands. Shibazhi does have a large-scale armed force, but its strength is not commensurate with the scale. Although there are as many as 100 people who can participate in the battle.

There are 20,000 to 30,000 people, but the troops that can really stand on the stage and be called combat-effective only account for about one-tenth or two of them. The vast majority of armed personnel are just ordinary people who have been issued weapons.

, can only be used as cannon fodder in front of modern armies that use firearms on a large scale.

Of course, the most terrifying thing about Shibazhi is not their influence on land, but their control at sea. Even Xu Xinsu, a large merchant who controls many ports along the coast of Fujian, will find it difficult to compete with others at sea.

Shibazhi, who had thousands of ships at sea, was facing a head-on confrontation and had to choose the strategy of sticking to the coastal areas to fight. This was exactly what Xu Xinsu wanted to order from Haihan two or three years ago.

One of the important reasons. After all, if you want to turn passivity into initiative, you must add armed forces at sea, and warships built locally in Fujian have no advantage in terms of quantity or quality.

Shi Diwen asked: "What is the strength of the navy stationed locally?"

Xu Yuzhuo smiled bitterly and said: "It is roughly similar to the navy in Guangdong. There are ships, but their combat power is limited. And in order to avoid unnecessary losses, they can only stay in the port most of the time."

"Is it dangerous for naval warships to go to sea?" Shi Diwen simply didn't believe his ears. Before coming here, he thought that even if Fujian's navy couldn't defeat Shiba Zhi on the frontal battlefield, it could at least carry out some raids.

It shouldn't be a big problem to set up an ambush at sea and attack the scattered pirate ships. I didn't expect Xu Yuzhuo to say such depressing words.

"The current strategy of Shibazhi has changed from the previous two years. They knew that they could not defeat us on land, so they moved the battlefield to the sea. Since the second half of last year, the route from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou to Ryukyu, Japan has almost

Being banned by them, few ships can arrive safely." Xu Yuzhuo's tone was full of obvious helplessness and unwillingness: "When the Navy's ships go out, they don't dare to leave the coast too far, otherwise they will be attacked by Shibazhi's ships.

If intercepted, it will be difficult to escape. We have lost three ships and nearly a hundred sailors this year."

When Shi Diwen heard this, he probably understood why the Fujian side was willing to negotiate peace with Shibazhi, who seemed to be at a disadvantage. Shibazhi had indeed suffered heavy losses in the battles in the previous few years, but when they finally realized the importance of choosing the battlefield

After gaining importance, this situation began to change. The change from land to sea made the strength of the Fujian Ming Army begin to change from strong to weak. The Fujian Navy, which lacked powerful warships, even began to become passive. And

A large part of Xu Xinsu's wealth comes from maritime trade. The Northeast Asia route was blocked by Shibazhi, which was indeed a very heavy blow to Xu Xinsu and the interest groups behind him.

The Fujian Ming Army alone cannot break through the blockade of Shibazhi at sea. The help Haihan can give in this regard is extremely limited. Customized warships are being handed over one after another.

, but it will take a period of adaptation to form a useful combat effectiveness. Currently, several officers of the Fujian Navy are undergoing training in Sanya, but it is estimated that it will take until the end of the year to form a fleet and form a certain combat effectiveness.

This precious six months would mean a loss of hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver to the maritime trade under Xu Xinsu's name.

Of course, understanding is understanding, but Shi Diwen did not have any thoughts of sympathy. He was very clear about the attitude of the executive committee towards the situation in Fujian - whether it was Shiba Zhi or Xu Xinsu, they were both in the process of Haihan's external expansion.

The chess piece. Shibazhi is an unstable factor on the southeastern coast of the mainland and will be eliminated sooner or later. The outcome of the Fujian military forces will largely depend on whether they can cooperate with Haihan's various plans in the future.

Planned. If Xu Xinsu insists on going his own way, the executive committee will probably terminate the cooperative relationship between the two parties at the appropriate time, and add the other party to the list of hostile forces, and then find another person in Fujian who can support it to replace it.

The role of Xu Xinsu.

"If I remember correctly, the Port of Victory Shipyard has handed over two 'Exploration-class' warships to you in the first half of this year, right?" Shi Diwen asked: "Are these two ships in use now?

"

Xu Yuzhuo nodded and said: "These two ships are nearby at this time. The warships you built are indeed powerful, and they also damaged several pirate ships during the voyage. However, the number is too small to form an effective strike force.

If there are more ships encountering the opponent at sea, we still have no choice but to retreat. But the advantage is that our speed is fast enough, so we don’t have to worry about being caught up and intercepted by the opponent.”

However, it took Fujian a long time and many activities in Victory Port to get the sales agreement from the executive committee for these two "Exploration-class" warships, and it cost a lot of money.

The ship and the cannons cost more than 30,000 taels of silver. Of course, this trap was not for nothing. Haihan still provided free training services to Fujian's crew and sailors, and also provided training quotas for eight naval officers.

In order to teach them the skills of using this Haihan-style warship to fight at sea.

As Xu Yuzhuo said, although Haihan's warships are powerful, it is difficult for the two ships to change the current maritime situation. Even if the two ships have outstanding combat performance, they will face double-digit pressure from their opponents at sea.

Come here, the Fujian Navy still has no choice but to retreat. This is not entirely a sign of cowardice, but takes into account the cost-effectiveness of the battle losses on both sides. It can be said that the cost of killing a ship of pirates on Shibazhi's side is not much, but the Navy's

Even if a few sailors die, it will be a big loss. After all, these sailors have been sent all the way to Sanya to receive training in order to control these two advanced warships. How much money is spent is secondary, the key is the personnel.

The reserves are limited and the training period is long. If the battle damage is too great, it will be difficult to replenish enough crew members in a short period of time, which will directly affect the navy's combat capabilities.

Of course, Xu Xinsu is not satisfied with buying a few warships with the smallest tonnage in the Haihan Navy. He has long been interested in the larger "exploration-class" warships. However, the current Haihan Executive Committee

There is no intention to liberalize the foreign military sales of "exploration-class" warships, but just like fishing, a so-called "theoretical price" is given - the export price of one "exploration-class" warship is roughly equivalent to nearly two

"Exploration-class" warship.

Even a rich man like Xu Xinsu, who is not short of money, was a little frightened after seeing the price. If he wanted to combine these two warships into a large-scale fleet, the initial investment of money would be simply a huge amount for the Fujian military.

The figures are astronomical, and it is definitely not feasible to expect the court to allocate funds. The best situation is that the Ministry of War takes the small part, and Xu Xinsu subsidizes the big part from his own pocket. Of course, even if Haihan immediately relaxes the sales ban, Xu Xinsu will immediately pay for it.

To place an order, you have to wait until all the ships of this fleet are delivered before they can become combat effective. It is estimated that it will not be until the second half of next year at the earliest, or even later.

As for the "Dignity-class" warship that appeared in Fujian waters this time, no one in the Fujian military has dared to ask about the price. Because everyone knows very well that even if they ask about the price, there will probably be no actual results.

Let alone the Haihan people who can't sell this kind of warship, even if they can, the price will probably be unacceptably high.

Shi Diwen continued to ask: "How many ships have you placed an order for?"

Xu Yuzhuo said: "There are eight in total, and at least six of them will be handed over to us within this year. After the eight ships are gathered together, and a few supply ships and communication ships will be equipped, it will probably be enough to form a combat fleet."

Shi Diwen said that it may not be possible to deliver six ships this year. In addition to orders from Fujian, Shengli Port Shipyard also received shipbuilding orders from Annan, and the first batch of ships is also eight "exploration ships".

Class" warship. At the same time, the shipyard has to continue building ships for the Haihan Military and Shipping Department. With the production capacity that Shi Diwen knows, it is estimated that it will be difficult to take care of so many orders.
Chapter completed!