Chapter 705: Stuck in the neck, impossible (first update, please subscribe)

What role does intelligence play in the competition between countries?

No one in the 19th century could have explained it clearly.

But one thing is certain: under the attention of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the intelligence work of the Ming Dynasty was far ahead of other countries in the world.

Over the past decade or so, the Investigation Department has established their intelligence networks all over the world. Those "submarines" are lurking in countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. The political and military intelligence they obtain through various channels is the most important basis for Emperor Zhu to make correct judgments.

Politicians can commit crimes, but they cannot make mistakes!

Intelligence is the most important basis for ensuring that the emperor does not make mistakes.

Once again, after taking a look at the file in front of him, Zhu Xianhai stood up from the table and paced around the office. Then he took out a cigar from the cigar box, cut off one end with a cigar plier, lit the cigar, took a puff, and walked away to stand in front of the window.

He was looking at the wide Xin'an River. Just at that moment, a flock of passenger pigeons flew across the sky. There were tens of thousands of them, and the flock was black and dense, several hundred meters wide. The color of the pigeons flying in the sky was like a dark cloud.

These pigeons were a gift from the New York branch to Emperor Zhu eight years ago. "If the boss likes something, the subordinates will like it even more." Everyone in the company knew that the boss liked all kinds of animals. He even built a "wildlife park" covering thousands of square kilometers in the southern part of South China. Therefore, managers of various branches were very keen on finding various animals for the boss.

In the current Royal Wildlife Park, there are many animals that are extinct or endangered in other regions. For example, the Cape lion has disappeared in South Africa, but there are as many as thirty of them in the wildlife park, which are bred from several Cape lions transported from Cape Town in 1862.

The passenger pigeons that now appear in the sky of Ming Dynasty were probably delivered at about that time. Faced with these pigeons that were eaten and killed by the Anglo-Americans in North America, Zhu Xianhai not only built a bird forest to raise passenger pigeons in huge iron cages, but also released thousands of passenger pigeons into the wild. In just ten years, there were several large flocks of passenger pigeons on the land of Ming Dynasty.

For passenger pigeons, America is hell!

And the Ming Dynasty? It is their paradise.

After turning around, Zhu Xianhai looked at Qian Zizhuang, took a few puffs of his cigar, then walked back to the table, pointed at the file, and asked:

"Well, what do you think about this?"

"Your Majesty, this is a military matter."

As the head of the intelligence department, he should keep a certain distance from military issues, and he is very clear about where his boundaries are on this point.

"Hit the snake at its three-inch mark. Ma Han lives up to his reputation!"

Mahan...isn't he the guy who wrote "The Influence of Sea Power" in history? Well, now this guy actually wants to hold the Ming Dynasty at bay. This guy is really a man of great reputation. Mahan has grasped the vital point as soon as he made a move.

"Coal! Coal is the most important industrial raw material. Whether it is power generation, metallurgy, or the operation of trains, coal is indispensable. In the future, with the development of industry, our demand for coal from the North Sea will only increase, not decrease. Maybe by that time we will need tens of millions of tons of coal every year, and most of it will come from the North Sea."

It's not just coal, there's also iron ore from Guinea.

Although the territory of Ming Dynasty is vast, with more than 3 million square kilometers in the south, and the largest black soil in the world, the mineral resources are not rich enough, except for copper. There are extremely high reserves of copper mines in Shanxi and Araucania. After all, Chile was once the country with the richest copper resources in the world.

But there is no coal in South America, or not so much coal. The coal production in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty is less than 10 million tons, which is impossible to meet the needs of industrial production. Where does your coal come from? From Alaska, from the North Sea. Now the iron ore of the Ming Dynasty comes from Guinea.

Fortunately, several oil fields have been exploited in the Patagonia Plateau, otherwise, oil would probably have to be imported.

Thinking about it now, it seems that, to some extent, the Ming Dynasty is simply a large-scale Japan - its domestic mineral resources are limited, and its industrial production is heavily dependent on overseas imports.

Then what plan did the United States make to address this weakness of Japan during World War II?

In order to cut off the sea transportation lines between the Japanese mainland and the southwestern islands, China, and North Korea and end the war against Japan as soon as possible, the US military formulated a plan to blockade Japanese waters with mines, which was the famous "Starvation Plan" of the Ming Dynasty.

The successful implementation of the "Hunger Campaign" almost completely cut off Japan's vital maritime transportation. Japan's imports fell by 90%, and the supply of strategic materials such as oil, coal, and food that were urgently needed to maintain the war was almost interrupted. Military industrial enterprises stopped production or closed down due to the lack of raw materials. A large number of Japanese aircraft and ships were forced to ground and suspend operations due to the extreme lack of fuel, which directly affected the combat effectiveness of the troops. Due to the interruption of shipping, the domestic food supply in Japan was extremely difficult. In order to give priority to the needs of the army, the food rations of the vast majority of civilians were reduced to the minimum, and they could not get enough food and struggled on the starvation line all day long.

Of course, the Americans currently do not have the ability to carry out such a combat plan, but by cutting off Ming's coal supply, they can put Ming into an unprecedented predicament.

Without enough coal, Ming Dynasty’s steel production, material transportation, chemical industry, power plants, and almost all industries will be affected.

"If they use coastal artillery and mines to block the route for coal to be shipped out of the North Sea, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Xianhai once again picked up the intelligence sent by the Investigation Department and read it again:

"Perhaps we can come up with some ways to counter these American plans militarily, but there is no way to change one reality - our energy supply is extremely insecure."

Unsafe energy supply is the biggest reality of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, Emperor Zhu is an emperor but not a god. He cannot create a large coal mine out of thin air in South America.

This also means that the Ming Dynasty must rely on overseas coal to maintain industrial production and daily consumption needs. There is no other way.

The silent Emperor Zhu walked in his office for a long time, smoking a cigar as he walked, as if he was thinking and considering something.

The issue that I am thinking about is very simple. It is nothing more than the energy security of Ming Dynasty during future wars. If the energy security of Ming Dynasty cannot be guaranteed, then if the war breaks out, I am afraid that by then, I will really become a big Japan.

This question is a bit difficult.

Finally, Emperor Zhu stood there looking at Qian Zizhuang, pointed at the table and said.

"If we don't find a way to solve this problem, we will definitely be strangled by the Americans."

What is the easiest way to avoid being strangled by others?

That is, it is necessary to find a new source to diversify risks. For the moment, this is the simplest option and it is also an option that is in line with the future interests of the Ming Dynasty. After all, for the Ming Dynasty, only the diversification of energy sources can fully guarantee the future, especially the energy supply during war.

Otherwise, problems like today will continue to occur and will continue to happen...

Pursing his lips, Emperor Zhu sighed.

“I didn’t expect it to be so fast.”

"What?"

Qian Zizhuang looked at His Majesty with some confusion.

"Since it's inevitable, let it be."

When saying this, Emperor Zhu's tone was solemn, because he knew very well what would happen when making this choice.

But all this is inevitable, and for the sake of Ming Dynasty’s energy security, this is the only way.

(End of this chapter)