Like thunder and lightning, like a lion fighting a rabbit, the emperor wants absolute victory.
Unlike previous emperors, the current Wansui is not only not stingy, but on the contrary very generous, especially in military investment.
For example, if his generals estimated that an invasion of Burma would require 30,000 troops, the emperor would say, "That's not a sure thing, add another 10,000." If a stingy general were to say it, he would say with a bitter face, "My dear, can you reduce it a little? It's too expensive."
The same thing happened with the Spanish invasion of Luzon. The navy believed they had more than enough strength to accomplish the mission, but the emperor remained cautious, demanding a fleet ten times greater than the enemy's and a land force superiority.
"Your Majesty's ambitions extend beyond just Luzon." Shen Yourong glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "The suppression of the Liao rebellion was all the work of the Army. Furthermore, the Army is expanding its territory, and victory in the Burmese invasion is imminent. There are still vast tracts of land to be conquered in the future."
"Compared to the army, the navy is still in its infancy, but I'm sure you all understand Wansui's earnest expectations. Twenty thousand marines are just the beginning; Wansui intends to reach a hundred thousand within a few years."
Shen Yourong deliberately paused and observed the expressions of the crowd, some surprised, some excited, and so on.
"As for actual combat experience, that's gained through combat. The Spanish in Luzon are a very good enemy. Not strong, but not weak either. Furthermore, the Ministry of War will draw suitable officers and soldiers with combat experience from the Army to strengthen the ranks."
The Spanish, the Dutch, and later the British and the French, Luzon, Borneo, Batavia, Malacca, and even Dagon (Rangoon) in Myanmar were all included in their plans of conquest in the next few decades.
Thousands of warships and a hundred thousand marines are enough to support the emperor's hope of conquering the world and being invincible.
"I will submit a petition to His Majesty, urging the launch to take place between March and April of next year. By then, the winter monsoons will have not yet subsided, and the summer monsoons have not yet risen, making it the perfect time to sail south. The military operation will be completed within two months, and Luzon will enter its rainy season, allowing our army to rest and recuperate."
Shen Yourong picked up the teacup and took a sip, then continued, “The first phase of the combat mission is to capture Manila, destroy the Spanish ships and main land forces, and firmly control the Manila Port.”
"After that, with 5,000 marines and the arming of the local Chinese, we will be able to control the situation. As for the Spaniards scattered elsewhere in Luzon, we can mop them up and gradually eliminate them."
After Shen Yourong finished explaining the deployment, he glanced at the generals and said slowly, "We still have four or five months at most. How can you be ready? What suggestions do you have for this battle plan?"
"Sir, should the two squadrons take turns dispatching to familiarize themselves with the sea route?" Gan Hui asked, bowing. "Engraving a stone marker on an unowned island under the guise of a patrol is also a task assigned by the court."
Shen Yourong nodded and said, "Sea training is necessary. We must cruise in all directions and make it a normal practice."
"Sir, the equipment of the main gunboats should be strengthened. The number of long-range artillery is still a little insufficient."
Shen Yourong took out a document and showed it to the generals, saying, "Thirty heavy artillery pieces per month. We should be able to increase it by a hundred before the start of the campaign. We will first allocate them to the First and Second Squadrons."
After a pause, he added, "Based on the speed of shipbuilding, more than twenty main battleships will join the squadron before the launch. Prepare the sailors and gunners in advance."
The Guangdong Arsenal was already the second largest arsenal after the capital, capable of producing cannons, garangs and various light artillery.
In the past few months, we have to work overtime to prepare sufficient weapons and ammunition for the expedition to Luzon.
As for shipbuilding, the navy still favored medium-sized warships, which offered a relatively balanced combination of maneuverability, speed, and firepower. Large and giant warships were built in very small numbers, with each squadron typically equipped with two or three ships to serve as flagships.
This development pattern was not fixed, but it enabled the navy to increase the number of warships dramatically.
A medium-sized battleship can be equipped with eight heavy guns or twenty garand guns. Relying on its speed and maneuverability, it is extremely powerful when bombarding at close range.
In the naval battle with the Dutch, this tactic of sudden and fierce bombardment played a huge role. Almost one round of bombardment was enough to make the Dutch warships lose their combat capability.
Even if they encounter the opponent's giant ships, medium-sized warships can rely on their advantages in numbers and maneuverability to engage in combat with them.
The key is that the navy is also equipped with a large number of rockets, which have a range comparable to that of heavy artillery, making up for the shortcomings in range.
Moreover, the muzzle-loading artillery at that time had a very slow firing rate and poor accuracy, which created conditions for the assault and bombardment tactics.
To put it bluntly, when advancing under enemy fire, the enemy can only fire a few rounds, and it is not easy to hit a maneuvering warship.
On the contrary, rockets, which have a range and accuracy similar to cannons but a density and firing speed far exceeding cannons, are favored by the navy.
It is light and flexible, fires quickly, and has multiple barrels stacked together. Each warship can be equipped with dozens or hundreds of barrels without taking up too much artillery space.
In addition to explosive bombs loaded only with gunpowder, rockets also have incendiary bombs that are a mixture of gunpowder and kerosene, and are divided into two types of application models: sea and land.
Rockets used against ships have iron tips that can penetrate the planks or decks, then explode or burst into flames. Land-based rockets don't take these into account, and rolling and bouncing on the ground doesn't affect their effectiveness much.
There is no way. Up to now, the trigger fuse has not entered the practical stage, so we can only use delay.
It wasn't that they hadn't developed it, but the cost was too high. With the development of precision machinery, using springs, gears, flint, etc., they did develop a contact fuze.
But just like the earliest flintlock rifle invented in history, its structure is too complicated and the cost is too high, making it difficult to use on a large scale.
Besides, the accuracy of the smoothbore guns before was such that installing a contact fuze would not necessarily produce a better effect.
Regardless, the Minié gun, bullet, and contact fuse were all invented. The next step was to continuously improve and perfect them along these lines.
As long as the path of climbing the technology tree is correct, technological leadership is guaranteed. Even if it is not practical in the short term, or even requires a huge investment of funds and manpower, the emperor believes it is worth it.
Now, the advantage of flintlock rifles over matchlock rifles enabled the Ming army to defeat the army of any country as long as the disparity in troop strength was not too great.
When other countries also mastered the manufacturing technology of flintlock rifles and fantasized about being able to compete with the Ming army, they would find that the Ming army might have more advanced Minié rifles, which still gave them an overwhelming advantage.
Hearing the data reported by Shen Yourong, about increasing the number of guns and adding ships, the naval generals were excited and understood how eager Wansui was looking forward to it.
From another perspective, the army and navy will inevitably compete in expanding territory. Whoever can bring greater benefits to the country will receive more resources, develop faster, and become stronger.
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