Chapter 565 Naval Cooperation
"In the next two weeks, the navy needs to adapt to the climate and environment here and quickly restore its combat effectiveness. At the same time, this may be the first actual combat that the East African Navy has experienced since its establishment, so everyone should be serious and take it seriously."
The East African Naval Fleet docked in the Zhuhai Trade Zone began its adaptive training. Although the East African waters are vast, this is the first time it has come to the Far East and carried out combat missions.
The East African Navy was actually not used to the training near Zhuhai. Of course, the Far Eastern Empire as the host was also not used to it. However, given that the Guangdong Navy, which was responsible for the maritime affairs in the region, was too weak, they could only turn a blind eye.
In the Far East Navy sequence, there are four major navies: Beiyang, Nanyang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Among them, Beiyang is the most famous and is also the Far East Empire's own son. This is easy to understand. The Beiyang Navy is responsible for the defense of the entire northern waters, and the political center of the Far East Empire, the capital, is on the coast of the Bohai Sea. With the Qing government's vigilance against the south, the Beiyang Navy naturally received the greatest support.
The Nanyang Fleet is somewhat of a misnomer. Of course, this misnomer is only in the literal sense. The Nanyang Fleet's name contains the word "Nanyang", and its base is actually located along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In Ernst's eyes, the Nanyang of this era naturally refers to the waters of Southeast Asia and the East Indies.
The main equipment of the Nanyang Fleet was manufactured by the Jiangnan Arsenal and the Fuzhou Shipyard, with a small amount purchased from Britain and Germany. Whether in terms of tonnage, equipment, personnel or strength, the Nanyang Fleet was far behind the Beiyang Fleet, but its strength was second only to the Beiyang Fleet.
Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the first two navies had always been the top two in strength in the Far East. However, in terms of history, the Fujian Navy had the earliest history and the highest degree of localization, and was controlled by the Fujian Shipyard.
As for the Guangdong Navy, which ranked last, it was the weakest and smallest in scale, and, like the Nanyang Navy, was not very famous. At that time, the Guangdong Navy had a total of more than a dozen ships with a total displacement of more than several thousand tons, less than 10,000 tons, while a top-level ironclad ship in East Africa was more than 7,000 tons. The gap between the two countries' navies was obvious at a glance.
The displacement of the "Partridge" led by the East African Navy this time was not too high, but it also reached more than 6,800 tons. The displacement of the other two ironclad ships was also more than 5,000 tons. The tonnage of the three ironclad ships alone exceeded the sum of all the main battleships of the Guangdong Navy.
The Guangdong Navy seemed a little small in front of the East African expeditionary fleet, and its most advanced battleships were still sailing warships. Even the gunboats brought by East Africa this time could make these ships sink.
The next development of the Guangdong Navy would probably have to wait until after 1882, as the latest battleships currently in service are still old products from before 1868.
"Captain Luo hopes that you can communicate more with your country's naval department after you return this time. We hope that your country will provide more convenience during this joint maritime military exercise between the two countries. Our main purpose this time is to come to the South Ryukyu Islands, and we will not do the dirty things like the Portuguese did to occupy the magpie's nest."
The East African Navy was resting and training in the waters of the Far Eastern Empire, which naturally could not be disposed of at will. After all, this was someone else's territorial waters. So East Africa found an excuse and entered the Far East on the grounds of a joint naval exercise between the two countries to combat pirates.
There is no other way around this. According to East Africa's solution, after the seaports in the South Ryukyu Islands are repaired, East Africa's own Pacific Fleet base can be located in the South Ryukyu Islands in the future. However, the South Ryukyu Islands do not have this capability yet. The seaports in the South Ryukyu Islands are still at the ancient level and require large-scale reconstruction. East Africa has not even completed the land facilities in the South Ryukyu Islands.
"General Glaze, that's too polite. We still believe in your country's credibility, but I have to be honest here. Our request is not high. We just hope that the conflict between your country and Japan will not involve our country."
"Don't worry about this. We, East Africa, will naturally take full responsibility for the conflict with Japan. Even if an accident occurs, we will not blame your country. Now that you can provide convenience for us to rest and stop here for a short time, East Africa has already accepted this favor. We are naturally not ungrateful people." Glaze assured Luo Yijun.
"Haha, then I wish you all a smooth operation."
Although he said so, Luo Yijun didn't think so in his heart. In his opinion, Japan was nothing and East Africa was not a good person either. However, in this era when those with wicked hearts and bad deeds were in power, East Africa did not seem so disgusting.
It would be best if both East Africa and Japan were defeated! The next best thing is that East Africa must cripple the Japanese navy. This is what Luo Yijun really thinks.
The threat posed by Japan, this evil neighbor, is obviously far greater than that posed by East Africa. After all, East Africa is very far away from the Far East and is only slightly closer than European and American countries.
This is easy to see from the globe. If you face the Pacific Ocean, you cannot see the Far East and the United States, but facing the Indian Ocean, you can basically include most of the Far East and East Africa. As for Europe, it is closer to the Far East on land than East Africa, but much worse than East Africa at sea.
"Captain Luo, don't think that what I said is just empty talk. You helped our country this time, and we can make up for it next time in the navy. For example, our country can help in personnel training and the purchase of warships and weapons. At least we have a good relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Navy."
"Okay, if there is such an opportunity, I hope both sides can still cooperate together." This time Luo Yajun did not refuse.
In fact, this opportunity will come soon. Historically, since 1880, except for the Far Eastern Empire and Germany, the navies of the United States and Japan will usher in a great development.
However, Ernst is not sure whether Japan can keep up now, because with the emergence of East Africa, the fate of many countries has changed. For example, Japan’s most valuable industry at present is the raw silk industry. Although it has developed very well, it is definitely not as good as the original history.
Because of the investment of East African and German merchants in the Far East, the Far Eastern Empire developed much stronger in the textile industry than in its original history, especially with the participation of large business groups such as Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants.
The Far Eastern Empire government mainly developed heavy industry and military industry, while light industry, mainly the textile industry, was developed by private forces. At this time, the role of the Huaihai Economic Zone and the Zhuhai Trade Zone became apparent, that is, there were fewer troubles. Many Far Eastern businessmen also invested in the two economic zones, and they borrowed money from the Hexingen Bank, which created a win-win situation.
The one who suffers the loss is Japan, its competitor in the Far East. East Africa has taken away nearly 10 million immigrants from the Far East in recent years. Now that these surplus populations have been shared, the Far East has more energy to develop industry.
Take land for example. With fewer people, naturally more land can be used to invest in industry. The textile industry in the Far East will inevitably compete with Japan, a country with equally cheap labor, and will have more advantages. East Africa can provide the Far East with some raw materials and machines, as well as funds, and even part of the market.
Of course, Japan could also borrow money from Britain for development, but Britain could not change Japan's inherent defect of small land area. If Australia or Canada were given to Japan, perhaps with the diligence and humility of Japan in this era, it might be possible to make a comeback. However, this kind of fantastic idea can only be thought about.
(End of this chapter)
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