Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> New World 1620

Text Chapter 54 Starting with life

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    As an island nation surrounded by the ocean, the people of the British Isles have long been trapped in a subconscious radicalism and isolation. They seem to be breaking through the shackles of thought and geography far more strongly than people on the European continent.

    This kind of all-out "landing" has created the amazing exploration, expansion, greed and perseverance of the British nation. It uses public information to spread any seemingly insignificant or exciting harvest, inspiring the people for a long time.

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    The United Kingdom can be said to be a typical maritime country bred by commercial culture. The survival of its citizens lies in maritime trade and the circulation of production materials. All national interests are based on whether "sea routes are accessible."  Replace land space with ocean trade space, and control the land to better control the ocean.

    As both an island country, Japan¡¯s reform and rise in modern times also drew a lot from the United Kingdom for national development. In terms of mobilizing internal enthusiasm, it may have some geological survival thinking that is naturally similar to the United Kingdom.

    But although Japan calls itself a maritime country, it is more like an island country with serious land rights thinking. In other words, due to historical reasons, its national survival thinking still focuses on the possession and control of land rights.

    After the Meiji Restoration in modern Japan, Japan vigorously developed its maritime undertakings. No matter how determined and powerful it was, and how many elite politicians advocated for maritime expansion, its sea power ideas still only served the traditional land power ideas, and its core goal of strategic expansion remained  It is to occupy the East Asian continent.

    Therefore, modern Japan¡¯s sea power thinking was only at the tactical level from beginning to end, not at the strategic level.

    The rise of the United States in modern times is more similar to that of the United Kingdom. It is essentially a continuation, amplification and variation of British ancestry.  Geographically speaking, no matter how vast the North American continent is, from the perspective of the geography, civilization and economic structure of the entire modern world, the United States at that time was nothing more than a super island country more remote than the British Isles, or that it was neither a land country nor an island country.  Like a freak.

    Far away from the center of civilization and economics in the modern world, surrounded by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, thousands of kilometers apart from the east and west of the continent, and inconvenient internal transportation, the United States in modern times was unable to exert the full range of maritime trade and land power control that Britain had, but had to  First, it will take hundreds of years to deal with the problem of weak land control on the North American continent.

    It was not until the completion of the North American Pacific Railway in the mid-19th century that Americans could smoothly contact the west coast of the continent for the first time, and the United States realized the true unification of national land power.  It was also from this time that the ocean truly became the boundary of the complete national geostrategy of the United States, and it began to re-examine its positioning and maritime strategy in the world.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    May 21, 1646, Monday.

    The current favorite topic of Manchester City people, or the public information that Huamei officials have most deliberately displayed and conveyed for more than 20 years, is nothing more than three categories: "discovery", "harvest" and "conquer".

    The Press and Publication Administration under the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Education has always had two hidden rules for the supervision of newspapers across the country: 1. At any time, more than 90% of the content published in newspapers must contain positive information; 2. Any information that may cause dissatisfaction among readers  News reports on psychological distress must have at least one positive news story with the most prominent title and length on the page, and be adjacent to it.

    Even though almost 50% of the country¡¯s citizens are the second or third generation born after the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China, and the country always controls the proportion of new immigrants in a rhythmic manner, the Chinese-American local society mainly composed of Chinese immigrants is still very fragile.  Not to mention the vast ocean distance from the "old world", the inconvenient transportation between gorgeous towns has also seriously affected the daily communication and cultural synchronization of ordinary people. It is conceivable that the people feel lonely deep in their hearts.

    From the perspective of the Chinese and American rulers, any overly pessimistic information may lead to a decline in people's confidence in life, thus affecting the development of local society.

    The social welfare system that is contrary to the objective rhythm of history, as well as the various national entertainment activities that are constantly emerging with great efforts, both strengthen the creation of a social atmosphere of positivity, enthusiasm, happiness and unity.  The media's reporting of good news but not bad news is not a shortcoming in this emerging country, and can be said to be necessary.

    An obituary appeared in this issue of "Manchester City Weekly": Former President, Senior Professor of Medicine at the National University of Manchester, Honorary Lifetime President of the National University Hospital of Manchester, Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the National Health Security Commission, and President of the National Academy of Science and Engineering Chen Yuanyuan  After his death, flags were flown at half-mast at the Parliament Building and the Prime Minister's Office, and a state funeral will be held soon.

    Without exception, no matter how this obituaryIt is large and coexists with three other news items with bigger headlines on the same page.

    Title "Guarding Our Fishing Grounds": In order to protect the country's precious fishery resources, the local fleet has launched a cruise in the "Cod Sea" (Newfoundland Fishing Ground) in the North Atlantic east of Quebec to attack any foreign fishing boats entering the sea. In the past month,  Significant progress was made, seven illegal fishing boats from France and England were successfully captured, and a total of 200 tons of cod and 30 tons of whale products were confiscated.

    Before the 18th century, some conservative religious customs in Europe were still very strong. For example, there were many fasting days a year when meat was not allowed to be eaten. The various names added up to almost half a year, but fish was not restricted.

    For European people who cannot eat meat for nearly half of the year, fish has an irreplaceable status in life equivalent to clothing and salt.  Because of this, European countries have always fought bloody battles for Atlantic fishery resources.  The Netherlands made its fortune from herring from the North Sea fisheries, while Britain and France accumulated considerable wealth from cod from the Newfoundland fisheries.

    From the 16th to the 17th century, what was the most important commodity in European maritime trade?  The famous "General History of the World" gave an unexpected answer: cod.  The famous spices, sugar and tobacco can only be ranked second.

    In this area, one of the four major fishing grounds in the world, which is said to be ¡°one can step onto the back of cod to reach the New World¡±, the number of cod and whales is truly astonishing, and the various offshore fisheries companies in China and the United States have never been polite.  In terms of fishing efficiency, whether it is England or France, those small sailing fishing boats active in the North Atlantic fishing grounds in the 17th century are amazing if they can weigh tens or hundreds of tons. They are completely different from the gorgeous ocean-going fishing boats that often weigh hundreds or thousands of tons.  Comparability.

    Ships of fish not only satisfy domestic consumption, but are also exported to Europe in large quantities. Large-scale pickling of marine fish also drives the gorgeous salt production industry.  Huamei's first cargo ship with a large industrial refrigerated cabin is now engaged in the business of transporting fresh and frozen cod to the country.

    Now that the Chinese and American media have declared to the public that they are the natural masters of this sea area, it has given people an inexplicable sense of pride and satisfaction.

    Title "New Home, New Atmosphere": The cabinet and Congress officially delineated the scope of the "Fangzhou" administrative area, and also approved the establishment of "Songhai City" and "Guanglin City", of which "Songhai City" will become the temporary capital of Fangzhou.  Relevant urban construction planning and construction work has begun, and the Ministry of Transport and Construction is about to launch project bidding. It is expected that the first phase of construction in the two cities will start at least five living communities and a total of 200 apartment buildings.  The first batch of family relocation applications in the new city will be officially opened during the National Day, and relevant relocation incentive policies will also be released together.

    Fangzhou, which includes part of the historical state of North Carolina, all of South Carolina, and half of Georgia, is the largest state-level administrative unit in China and the United States today.  Songhai City corresponds to Charleston, the fourth largest container port in the United States in later generations, and Guanglin City corresponds to Savannah, the most important southern port in American history.

    For the first batch of limited-number family relocation applications in newly colonized towns, Huamei not only donated real estate free of charge, but also provided relocation incentives worth thousands of dollars per household, which is equivalent to several years of income for an ordinary family. In addition, there are also other things such as new  A series of preferential policies include employment placement in the place of household registration, government entrepreneurship fund support, and family tax exemptions.

    These benefits may not mean much to the wealthy middle class in Manchester who live a stable life, but they are extremely tempting to the lower income groups and old citizens in remote towns.  After all, the first batch of relocation plans in newly colonized towns organized by the official organization with heavy rewards is not available every year. The number is limited and the application success rate is extremely low. Obtaining a relocation quota for a household will be like purchasing new shares in the stock market and is completely dependent on luck in future generations.

    This kind of supporting policy for the expansion of new towns has always been the most anticipated by the lower-class national families who have been naturalized for ten years. Although it is very laborious to move the family to a strange new city that is full of waste and is waiting for development after stabilization, there are  There are so many benefits.

    Title "Far East Express": The Huamei Asia Fleet and the allied fleets arrived in Edo Bay, Japan last week and formally submitted a diplomatic letter to the Japanese shogunate in order to peacefully resolve Japanese piracy in Ryukyu waters and trade issues with Japan.  At present, Japan has exposed its ignorance and stubbornness, trying to resist the peaceful order of the Far East with a self-isolated attitude.

    The content is a little vague, but the old businessman or business owner who has been settled for at least fifteen years has a knowing smile: From Ireland to England, from the Caribbean to the Far East, countries rely on various excuses and means to open overseas markets, and they will always give  Bring long-term benefits to yourself.

    ¡­¡­

    Naval Headquarters.

    When Catalina retired with the rank of Commodore at the end of last year, there were no more female officers in the Naval Headquarters. The assistant who brought tea to the conference room became a young Chinese second lieutenant with tender hair on the corner of his mouth.

      The boy-like ensign stood in front of the conference room door pushing the tea cart, hesitating whether to push the door in now, but in the end he chose to wait.

    Through the door and window, one could see the generals in the conference room collectively taking off their hats, standing up and bowing their heads in silence. Everyone had a bad expression. One of the generals, who was obviously thin, seemed to have difficulty supporting his body, and his hands were almost shaking.  Hold on to the table and hold on.

    A few minutes later, after the silent ceremony, the second lieutenant entered with a cart, and then carefully served a cup of hot tea to each senior general present.

    When he came to the side of the thin old man, the second lieutenant's movements were particularly gentle. He probably couldn't bear to see the gesture of thanks made by the other person with trembling hands. The second lieutenant couldn't help but asked in a low voice: "Your Excellency, General,  Do you need to arrange a room to take a rest?¡±

    "No, thank you, kid."

    Being dragged down by the pain in his body, he could barely find the strength to speak. Zhang Chunrui took several deep breaths before reluctantly waving his hand to decline the second lieutenant's kindness.

    Including Wang Tiechui, all the generals present turned their heads slightly, as if they couldn't bear to see their old friends holding on.

    Just now, they had just completed a collective moment of silence for the deceased former president Chen Yuanyuan, and Zhang Chunrui, who had clearly developed late-stage cancer metastasis in front of them, made them foresee a sadness that seemed to have not yet arrived but was destined to happen.

    ¡°Brother Zhang, let someone give you some painkillers.¡±

    Not paying attention to the surprise of the young second lieutenant present, Wen Tuo stood up and walked to Zhang Chunrui's side, lowered his body and whispered in the other's ear.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I just took it and I¡¯ll be fine when the medicine takes effect¡±

    Zhang Chunrui raised his head. There were large beads of sweat on his cheeks. It could be seen that the admiral was fighting against the disease in his body.

    "Okay, now back to the topic of today's meeting. Sun Yang, you will host it."

    Wang Tiechui was very familiar with the temper of his old partner. He directly stopped others from caring about Zhang Chunrui. After excluding non-related personnel, he announced that the meeting had officially begun.

    "The first topic is about the maritime military blockade of Quebec and Florida." Sun Yang, the chief of naval staff, opened his notepad and stood up.

    "Currently, the Home Fleet and the Caribbean Fleet are launching a full-scale military blockade against France's New World forces. In the direction of Florida, with the cooperation of the Spanish, except for a small number of French pirates swimming in the waters of the Bahamas, St. Augustine and French Iran  Communication with Spaniola (Haiti) had been severed, and the Spanish had begun attacking the French colonial strongholds in western Hispaniola.¡±

    "The direction of Quebec is our focus. After the beginning of spring, the army entered Quebec from the interior along the east side of Lake Yunmeng (Lake Ontario). It is currently advancing slowly on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River and has destroyed at least two forts built by the French;  At the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the Native Fleet shelled the coastal defense fortresses; in Acadia (Nova Scotia Peninsula), the Marine Corps was gradually clearing out the local French settlements. The captured French immigrants are currently under centralized control.  Port Royal (the earliest French colony in the New World, located in the western part of the Nova Scotia Peninsula). It is expected that it will take another year to completely eliminate the French presence in Quebec."

    Sun Yang's announcement of the good news made everyone slightly liberated from the previous sadness, but the next sentence made people a little surprised: "According to the latest instructions of the Ministry of National Defense, the maritime blockade operations in Quebec and Florida will end early, and then only  Let the Army and Marine Corps handle it alone. The instructions require us to deploy the main forces of the Home Fleet and the Caribbean Fleet. One part will occupy the French Ashent Island and establish a forward base, and the other part will be stationed in the Portuguese Port of Tangier in North Africa to be responsible for the blockade.  The English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar, intercepting all French ships entering and leaving the Atlantic Ocean.¡±

    "Reason." Bai Jun, who serves as the commander of the Home Fleet, frowned. "If we give up halfway, it will seriously affect our recovery progress of Quebec and Florida."

    "The issue of land ownership in North America does not necessarily have to be solved in North America. Now, no matter how big our actions are on the North American continent, it will serve the entire Atlantic and European strategies."

    The relationship with Bai Jun was already lukewarm, but Sun Yang's words at this time still had a hint of contempt: "Sealing the French mainland is really not the focus, and it will even increase the logistical burden on our fleet. But now we are concentrating the local fleet and  The main force of the Caribbean Fleet carries out a strategic maritime blockade of the French mainland, which can greatly advance our strategic layout against France, and can also continue to aggravate England's strategic misjudgment against us and induce Cromwell to send troops to suppress Ireland. It is completely killing two birds with one stone."

    "First deal with Quebec and Florida, France and the United KingdomIt can't change the world.  "Bai Jun glared at Sun Yang a little annoyed, and his tone was a little bad.

    "Since it is an instruction from the Ministry of National Defense, it is the result of the National Security Council's discussion. Let's move on to the next topic!" Wang Tiechui did not intend to let Bai Jun express too many public objections and directly announced the termination of the discussion of the topic.

    "The second item is about Japan I heard that the entire Far East strategy has been significantly adjusted. The latest plan sent requires that the Asian fleet must complete the organizational work within a month and prepare to launch a naval blockade of Fujian."

    Sun Yang rubbed his nose habitually, and one could not help but think that his next attitude might not be sincere: "Part of the Asian Fleet's troops were sent to Japan before. I received Ji Chaohai's action report the day before yesterday. The multinational joint fleet has been with  The Japanese shogunate has launched a diplomatic and military conflict, and it may be difficult to solve the problem in a short term. If the task force is allowed to continue to stay on the coast of Japan to maintain deterrence, it will seriously affect subsequent deployments, and the supplies carried by the task force can only last for a month at most.  .¡±

    "One month is indeed too late to deal with the Japanese issue. Just the military threat and the final negotiation will keep Ji Chaohai's formation for a month or two. It seems that the Japanese operation must be abandoned halfway."

    Wang Tiechui took the delivered document in astonishment and sighed after a long time, which seemed to be a pity.

    "Haha, I mean, we can definitely speed up the process." Sun Yang glanced at Bai Jun, who was still angry, and pointed to his head with a smile, "directly bombard Japan's Edo and force Japan to submit. Originally, we  The purpose is far more than just the trade switch"

    Just like when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first proposed the Japan Switch Operation, Sun Yang¡¯s straightforward statement once again demonstrated the necessity of historical complex for the psychology of most people present.  In addition to the surprised look on the face of Brigadier General Kent, the director of logistics equipment, even Bai Jun, who had always been at odds with Sun Yang, nodded.

    "Okay, there is only so much time anyway. If we can't solve it this year, the worst we can do is go again at another time! Send a letter to Ji Chaohai and allow the task force to use all means to make the Japanese shogunate bow! Regardless of success or failure, we must do it within half a month.  Return, we don¡¯t care how long those Europeans want to stay.¡±

    Wang Tiechui slapped the table firmly, fully supporting Sun Yang's opinion.  If anyone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present, they would probably be so angry that Wang Tiechui's attitude would make him vomit blood.

    ¡­¡­

    You said something, I said something, and about an hour later, all the meeting topics were over, and only Wang Tiechui and Zhang Chunrui were left in the conference hall.

    "Lao Zhang, you should go to the Vineyard Island to recuperate. There are people watching here, so just take care of your health. You were temporarily discharged from the hospital today to attend the meeting. Don't you just want to hear these miscellaneous things?"

    After a long while, Wang Tiechui sighed and whispered to the old man.

    Perhaps the medicine had finally taken some effect. Zhang Chunrui no longer showed a distressed expression, but a calm smile appeared on his thin face: "Old Wang, I know how my body is Look at you, you have a lot of gray hair I  Say, we should think about the future in advance."

    After saying that, Zhang Chunrui turned his head to the world map on the wall of the conference room.

    "What do you mean?" Wang Tiechui was stunned and turned his eyes.

    "Global ocean hegemony, I'm afraid we two generations will not be able to see it, but I think the most important thing is to do it while these old guys are still alive." Zhang Chunrui slowly walked to the map,  The palm of his hand gently touched a certain place on the map, "The west coast of the North American continent, or the east coast of the Pacific, is still empty today. We cannot let the citizens in the next few decades just revel in the hegemony of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The ocean is so big  , there are blank spaces everywhere in this era. Only when you have stepped into it can you have a sense of existence. Only with a sense of existence can you pay attention. Only with attention can you have thoughts"

    "You want to expand to the west coast in advance? I'm afraid it conflicts with the current basic national policy, right?" Wang Tiechui understood what his old friend meant, and a wry smile appeared on his face, "We don't have the capital to effectively expand the west coast yet, so we need to bypass the east coast of our homeland.  The voyage from South America to the west coast of North America is even farther than the Ming Dynasty. Let alone Cape Horn, once you pass Brazil, there is no suitable landing point for long voyages. Moreover, Cape Horn has the most dangerous sea conditions in the world, and the Cape of Good Hope is  If you want to step aside, there are no overseas consuls in Nanshan standing there."

    "Why not go from the east?" Zhang Chunrui pointed to the overseas territories of Mingzhu Island and the Republic of Luzon on the map, as if he had been thinking about this problem for a long time.

    "At the beginning, it took us more than ten years of national efforts to barely establish a route connecting the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Far from home, we relied on an overseas territory in the Far East with a population of tens of thousands to open and establish a Pacific route. Basically  Not realistic."

    Wang Tie hammer shook repeatedly? It is simply unimaginable to imagine a magnificent ocean-going fleet setting off from Pearl Island or Luzon and sailing alone for tens of thousands of kilometers.

    "We didn't have a direct route from Manchester City to Guangzhou, right?" Zhang Chunrui probably knew that Wang Tiechui's understanding was wrong, and quickly waved his hand, "It took us more than ten years to complete the Pacific Checkers and the Indian Ocean String of Pearls. I don't think so.  The Pacific route would be easier, but why not start now and build it step by step?"

    "I understand, what is your plan?" Wang Tiechui saw that his old friend was full of confidence and knew that the other party had already made a plan.

    "The first step is probably the last thing I can do in my lifetime" Zhang Chunrui's face suddenly turned red, "Old Wang, I want to do a round-the-world voyage myself, even if it is for this country's maritime industry and ours.  The Navy makes its last contribution As for the second step"

    "Are you crazy? Do you know that your current body can't go to sea at all?! No, I absolutely agree! I say Lao Zhang, I agree with your opinion. If I have the chance, I will sort out my thoughts and discuss it with the cabinet or Congress.  But don¡¯t think too much!¡±

    Wang Tiechui stood up suddenly and refused loudly before the other party finished speaking.

    "No, I'm not crazy I used to be in the Army, and I don't really have much affection for the ocean. When I was young, I longed for all kinds of adventures, but that world has become completely clear in our time I'm afraid Magellan's greatness is far from us.  It's as simple as you can imagine In this era, we are still behind Magellan, but we can't be any further behind the Spaniards, right? If I used to talk about the country's future, it was a bit high-sounding, then this round-the-world voyage is my last  wish"

    Zhang Chunrui did not argue. He just walked slowly to Wang Tiechui and slowly took off his military cap.

    "Old Zhang why are you bothering? At least you still have a family and a few children and grandchildren to look after. You can't let them"

    Wang Tiechui suddenly felt sore at the corners of his eyes, and without even finishing his words, he turned around and went out.

    Standing quietly in front of the window, a large sailboat being outfitted in the distant port came into view. It was the large-scale ocean-going sail training ship "Youhouxi" that was about to be built. It was also the first generation of professional naval training built by Huamei.  ship.

    Zhang Chunrui just stood and watched until dusk and sunset
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report