On October 29, 699 in the continental Gregorian calendar, Ling Tianfang, the commander of the Western Xinjiang military affairs who had stayed in the Kingdom of Milan for 6 days, boarded a ship and sailed southward quietly from the port of Taranto, passing through Mahad and Andako along the Atlantic coastline. The two principalities sailed directly to the Southern Ocean, preparing to go to Western Xinjiang and obtain a foothold in the middle of the Southern Ocean, Ludao Island in the middle of the Mawen Islands, to inspect the construction of the Ludao military port.
Just when the entire northern continent has entered the late autumn season, it seems that there is not much autumn feeling in the area where the Atlantic Ocean enters the northern waters of the Southern Ocean. The sun is shining high, and the warm sunlight falls on the board, making the entire ship look more antique. , In fact, this ship is not very old, only three years old. However, it has been bumpy in the wind and waves for a long time, which also gives this ship a bit of vicissitudes of life.
This is an ordinary-looking medium-sized single-masted passenger ship. It is only more than 20 meters long, and the lower level is only two floors. The maximum number of passengers can only be thirty-four, but the ship has been chartered by guests. , there were only a few guests on the entire ship, but the charter fee was quite a bit, which also made the shipyard owner very happy. These seemed to be yellow people from the Tang River Empire in the north. They looked very rich and were negotiating rent. There was no haggling at all, which was quite refreshing.
Set off from Taranto to Heron Island in the Mawen Islands. Although the journey is a bit far, this sea route is relatively quiet. Unlike going north, you have to worry about attacks by the Japanese rogues. The south is patrolled by the Navy of the Three Kingdoms Alliance. Generally speaking, the Japanese dare not come here to run wild. Further south is the territory of the Nanyang Alliance. Although the navy of the Nanyang Alliance does not spend much time patrolling. However, frequent armed merchant ships could be seen everywhere, and the Japanese also did not dare to show up in these places.
What surprised the ship owner was that this was where these people went. Although the boat owner knew the location of Ludao Island based on nautical charts and sailing experience, as far as he knew it was a desert island with not many people living there, at most only some local people who made a living by fishing, but it is said that now in Nanyang The people from the alliance assigned the island to the Tanghe people, and the Tanghe people were developing the island. I wonder if these Tanghe people also went there for development. Are the people of Tanghe so wealthy that they are even interested in these little-known islands? I really don’t know what they think.
Gently push open the porthole. Opening the porthole, a ray of sunshine poured in, and the slightly warm air flowed in, making Ling Tianfang feel a little more relaxed. He closed the pages of the book and took out a stack of papers from the book bag he carried with him. A delicate writing brush was also pulled out at any time. Ling Tianfang did not like the traditional writing brush of Tanghe people, but the writing brush was equally competent for him. When dealing with official affairs, he still used the writing brush more. But when making his own private records, such as writing a diary, he prefers the brushes from the Western Continent.
Sitting at the desk behind the porthole. Ling Tianfang raised his head and stared at the blue sea in a daze. After a while, he seemed to remember something and began to bow his head and write quickly.
"This Jia Qiu named Alfred Thayer Mahan is indeed a natural genius. He was able to write such a strange book. So it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a strange book. I dare to assert that the entire Eastern Continent can read this. There will be no more than five people who have written this book. I don’t know how His Royal Highness the King of Thailand obtained this book. I don’t know how many of the monarchs and nobles of the Western Continent have accepted the views of this book. If Chacha, they all really accept it. From the perspective of this book, we are too far away from his paratroopers."
After reflecting for a while, Ling Tianfang lowered his head and continued his regular daily work: "In many cases, the concept of sea power only remains in a corner of our words or thoughts, and even more so at the time. It is used as a relatively fashionable noun. Not many people really understand the meaning of this word. Even after reading this book, I can only say that I have a roughly vague concept, but I am very pleased that at least I I know that I have entered the threshold of a new era. In the Eastern Continent, I believe that only a few people have crossed this threshold, and even fewer people can truly realize the importance of sea power and start to take action. But Tai His Royal Highness should be one of them."
"Although many people still cannot systematically understand the meaning of sea power, it does not mean that they ignore the importance of sea power in reality, at least our neighbors Japanese, Milanese, Mahad and Andako people That’s it, even someone in the Nanyang Alliance realizes it.”
"I envy the Milanese people for their acumen. Perhaps it was the Japanese's excessive arrogance in the Atlantic Ocean that stimulated them. The Milanese's naval power has improved rapidly. Although they may not have increased in number, it is obvious that they have The warships and weapons on the warships are already being upgraded. It is said that they have overcome the huge recoil effect caused by the catapults, and there has been a breakthrough in the development of fire-retardant coatings. I was not able to see them. The most advanced warships, Nao said that they have begun to absorb the advantages of sailing ships from the Western Continent and improve the sail type and number of masts. I don’t know what impact this improvement will have on the speed and flexibility of the warships.”
"What's more important is that I heard that they are still experimenting with a weapon similar to the fire dragon cannon developed by us in Western Xinjiang for use on ships. If this weapon is produced and used in practice, it will be a revolution that can overturn the entire industry. The revolution in maritime warfare, I simply don’t want to believe this, but reality tells me that we have to think about things for the worse. Maybe the scholars and experts in our Science and Technology Department should also consider the possibility of moving the fire dragon cannon to the warship. , if we can really solve the technical problems that are plaguing us now, then the fire crossbows, stone weapons, and boarding battles will all be buried in history. I hope that the Military Intelligence Bureau will provide me with this information about the new technology developed by the Milanese. The intelligence on the weapons was wrong, but I knew I was probably deceiving myself.”
After writing this, Ling Tianfang couldn't help but put down his pen and sighed. The strength of the Milan people's navy has improved so quickly. It turned out that the expansion of the Japanese's strength may have overwhelmed the Milan people. Now it seems that the Japanese The size of the navy has expanded greatly, but the Milanese are constantly improving technically. One is increasing in quantity, and the other is improving in strength. It is difficult to say who is stronger between the two, but no matter which side has a huge increase in power It seems that it is not a good thing for the Tanghe people, who are also the masters of the Atlantic Ocean, to come to the country. However, the strong naval power of the Milan people is still more useful to our side for the time being. For a long time, Ling Yu It is believed that Xijiang still needs to maintain a relatively good relationship with the Three Kingdoms Alliance.
"The improvement of the Milanese's military power is not only reflected in the navy. The Military Intelligence Bureau reflects that their army strength is also constantly expanding. The power of the three legions seems to be unable to meet the security needs of the Milanese. It seems that His Majesty King Louis It seems that there is already a plan to expand the army by another legion. I wonder whether it is the threat of the Machi Khans that makes them feel uneasy, or is it that our land power is too strong to make them feel faintly uneasy? Even Mahad and Andako have two countries. With the idea of significantly increasing the defense budget, can the Three Kingdoms Alliance and us really form a stable strategic alliance?"
"This trip to Milan is indeed very profitable. This does not only mean that the agreement we have reached with the Milan people will continue. I feel that my concepts and opinions have also been greatly shaken by the Milan trip. Milan's The wealth is unimaginable. Even during the period of great power in the Jiangnan region of the empire, I estimate that it was roughly the same as Milan now. The Milanese made full use of their advantages in navigation. There were as many as six ports along the coast of the mainland, plus the Northern Pearl. There are two port cities in the archipelago, and their entire country’s economy can be said to be based on shipping trade. However, our empire’s long coastline only has six ports, and the efficiency is extremely low. This cannot but be said that we are here The concept is far behind that of Milanese people.”
"Looking at the number of merchants from the Western Continent in Naples, I can imagine how developed the trade economy of the Milanese is. From Yuhang to Rui to Naples, from Naples to Taranto and now I am sitting In the sea area where this ship passes, the ships sailing freely to and fro almost never completely disappear from my sight. There will always be one or a few sail shadows seen in a corner of the seaside, and these ships are almost hanging. It is the San Marco flag of the Kingdom of Milan, and the others are also the flags of Andaco or Mahad, but the flags of our Tanghe Empire are almost rarely seen. These businessmen from all over the mainland have provided a huge amount of funds for Milan's finances and also supported it. The Liaolan people have developed a powerful navy and an ever-expanding army."
"Why are these businessmen from all over the country more willing to fly the national flag of Milan? There is no other reason, because the Milan Navy has considerable influence in both the Atlantic and the South Ocean, and it can give businessmen a sense of Security, this is a symbol of sea power. Only when businessmen believe that a regime can protect them with absolute security, can the sea power of this regime be fully reflected. I think so. Maybe this is a bit shallow, but I I plan to read this book again - "The Influence of Sea Power on History".
November 3, 699