Although they had to arrive in Beijing before the New Year, Zhao Hao did not go north with Chen Huaixiu as he still had a lot of things to deal with.
First of all, a commendation meeting should be held to award medals to the various people who supported Nan'ao Island, reward them according to their merits, and then send them back home.
With the addition of 37,000 prisoners, there were already 60,000 people on Nan'ao Island. 60,000 people had already eaten up most of the supplies Zhao Hao had stored before the war. It was obviously too expensive to transport more supplies to the island - during wartime, you can ignore the cost, but after the war, you have to consider the economic account.
The Ryukyu galley fleet left first, and they were all awarded the title of honorary employees of Jiangnan Group, and each received a reward of more than they could earn in ten years. Although Mr. Zhao did not have that much silver on hand, Jiangnan Bank had already opened a branch in Naha, so he could just issue silver certificates directly.
Lin Feng's men received twice as much reward as the Ryukyu soldiers. Zhao Hao gave them a long vacation, issued them silver coupons, and asked them to go to Chaozhou to have fun. This was also a contribution to the revitalization of Chaozhou's economy. I hope Chaozhou's public security will not be affected too much.
At the same time, Zhao Hao also asked them to use this holiday to think carefully about whether they were willing to abide by the three major disciplines and the eight regulations. This was another two-way choice.
If they are still willing, they can return to Fengshan after the 15th and go to the Jeju Island Coast Guard School with Lin Feng.
Then came the captives. Tang Youde was in need of manpower, and the mines in Keelung and the salt fields in Chiayi were in urgent need of this free power. So Mr. Zhao threw them all to him and asked him to distribute them.
However, Zhao Hao still ordered Tang Youde to treat Zeng Yiben and other sea lords as well as possible. If they were tortured to death, who would go to Nanyang to engage in privateering for Master Zhao?
Zhao Hao instructed Tang Youde and Jin Ke that as long as they could survive a year and perform well, they would be sent to Jeju Island to receive spiritual infusion from Director Tong, and then their families would be brought to Taiwan so that they could be given a privateering ship.
As for the security team brought by Macron, they followed Tang Youde to Taiwan.
Jiangnan Security Group adopts a rotation system, and the security guards will not perform security missions in various places for more than two years, so it doesn’t matter where they are sent.
In this way, two of the three security teams Zhao Hao promised Fatty Tang were already in place. As for the third one, there was no need to rush until he had set up his stall.
~~
After repairing the warships, the coast guard officers and soldiers returned to their posts. If the water police stations in the Tamra Garrison District are seriously understaffed for a long time, they will not be able to suppress the Japanese.
Although there is a dry dock on Nan'ao Island, it can only be used as an emergency measure to prevent the ships from sinking halfway. Especially those warships that have been riddled with holes and severely damaged must be sent to the Jiangnan Shipyard for a thorough overhaul before they can be restored to their original state.
Yang Fan told Zhao Hao that it would take a year to rebuild the 102 and 103 ships, which was almost the same time as building a new one, and the cost was also similar.
However, Zhao Hao still let him repair it. In any organized navy, officers and soldiers have a primitive worship of warships, and regard them as spiritual totems that are more important than life.
A heroic warship that has made great achievements is of great benefit to the officers and soldiers on board, allowing them to grow into brave and combat-savvy sea forces in the shortest possible time. Therefore, it should be repaired whenever possible, and not just calculated on the surface cost.
In addition, three Portuguese galleons were captured in the Battle of Qing'ao Bay, but each was more seriously damaged than the last.
Among them, the Pena was the least damaged and could be repaired in about half a year and with 50,000 taels of silver.
The Galiles would require one year and 80,000 taels of silver.
As for the Viceroy of Goa, it had been engraved and was completely worthless for restoration.
Although the Zhenwo could not be pulled out at that time, it was found that the damage was not serious after it was pulled out. After repair, it was able to perform the mission again.
Zhao Hao thought about it and decided to repair only the Pena and give it to Lin Daoqian as a boat. As for the other two, they were all dismantled. They were all made of top-quality oak, perfect for building new warships. If they were really unusable, they could still be used to make beads...
Zhao Hao also gave Yang Fan two intact caravelles, allowing him to fully understand this type of ship, which should be very useful in the future in conjunction with battleships or as merchant ships.
But what Young Master Zhao and the generals around him talked about most in Yang Fan's ears was building ships, building ships!
During this battle with the Portuguese, everyone deeply realized the truth that "more is better, bigger is beautiful". No one was satisfied with the originally planned size anymore.
As a result, the four three-quarter-sized galleons on the slipway of Jiangnan Shipyard fell out of favor before they were even launched...
The generals asked Yang Fan to modify the blueprints. Not only did they want to build a full-size battleship, but they also wanted to build one that was larger than a caravel!
Fortunately, Zhao Hao kept his sanity and did not push Yang Fan to death, allowing him to further optimize the ship's shape. As for the size, it was enough to accommodate seventy or eighty cannons. Any bigger would be too stupid.
~~
Finally, Zhao Hao, Jin Ke, and Wang Rulong took stock of the family assets.
Damn, we won’t have the money to fight another naval battle with the Portuguese in the next two years. Not to mention the Spanish…
"Our foundation is still too weak. We were severely damaged after destroying a mere local fleet of the Red-haired Devils. It took us more than a year to recover." On the commander's balcony, Wang Rulong shook his head while smoking a cigar.
"How dare you say that!" Jin Ke glared at him and said, "My lord, your original intention was to exert your strength on land and to contain the enemy at sea. But I forced you to turn the sea into the main battlefield!"
"Hehe, Master also said that if there is a good opportunity, we must firmly seize it. That is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Wang Rulong could not hide the smug look on his face. The gold star on his chest had become two, on par with Jin Ke. This was the Master's attitude.
"Alright, alright, let's not fight." Zhao Hao tried to smooth things over and said with a smile, "The officers and soldiers need to rest and recuperate. We can use this time to practice our internal skills. Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood."
"Yes, I am just worried. What if the red-haired devils attack us again?" Wang Rulong blew out a smoke ring.
Ma Yinglong, who also had two golden stars on his head, nodded and agreed: "Although there are more than a thousand red-haired ghost hostages in our hands, we still have to be on guard."
"Not more than a thousand, but a whole city of hostages." Zhao Hao took out a cigarette from the cigarette box, but thinking about his next task, he threw it to Ma Yinglong and said, "I have asked Lin Daoqian to take his fleet to Macau. The city is full of old, weak, women and children, so they should be unable to stop him."
Macau is still too close to the provincial capital, and is located at the crowded outer mouth of the Pearl River. Unless it is absolutely necessary, Zhao Hao is unwilling to dispatch the coast guard fleet and cause trouble.
"Of course, there are the 100 cannons that the young master gave him... Although they were taken from the red-haired ghost ship, they are all good stuff. They can blow Macau away." Wang Rulong said a little unhappy: "It's just that this grandson made too much money. Not only did he get the credit this time, but he also got so many ships and cannons?"
"Then why don't you switch with him?" Zhao Hao said with a smile: "Three years have passed. It shouldn't be difficult to get reinstated."
"Sir, are you kidding me? I'd rather die than be a dog for the imperial court!" Wang Rulong was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and he almost ate his cigar. "I've seen it clearly. Those civil officials don't treat the military officers as human beings. Even my master has failed to make a living! I'm so happy and carefree on the sea, why would they treat me like a dog instead of a human being?!"
Jin Ke and Ma Yinglong also nodded, they had the same idea.
It would be a lie to say that I didn't envy Lin Daoqian, but if they were really asked to return to the court to serve as an official, they would decline the offer. This was because the Ming Dynasty's serious systematic discrimination against military officers had completely destroyed the dignity of military officers and made them completely lose their sense of honor.
But before, they had no choice but to take the blame for the Zhu family. If they had a choice, they would definitely say goodbye immediately and would never linger...
"Okay, just pretend I didn't say anything." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said with a smile, "Where were we talking about just now? I forgot the words because you interrupted me."
"Take the red-haired devils in Macau as hostages." Ma Yinglong quickly prompted.
"Yes. Scarcity makes things valuable. Portugal has only a few million people, so they dare not sacrifice their own lives." Zhao Hao nodded and continued: "Although there are less than 10,000 red-haired devils in Macau, they are more than they have in Malacca, second only to Goa. Therefore, the so-called Governor of Malacca or the Viceroy of Goa cannot bear the responsibility of losing these hostages."
"In fact, the governor of Malacca has basically finished his job." He laughed again, "Domingo borrowed a lot of troops from Malacca in addition to the Macau fleet this time, but they were all defeated by us. I'm afraid that the stubborn young king will not tolerate it."
"If the Governor of Malacca is replaced, his successor will be more cautious." Jin Ke continued his son's analysis, "The Portuguese fleet that Domingo has assembled is no less large than the Malacca fleet. Can he win by leading a long expedition?"
"If he loses, he will have to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor. Why does he have to wade into this muddy water?" Zhao Hao nodded and smiled: "And the most important point is that the Portuguese must not lose the trade with the Ming Dynasty, otherwise their long trade line will suffer losses across the board! In addition, the Spanish have also started to engage in large sailing trade in Luzon, openly competing with them for business. I don't believe that the Portuguese can remain calm and fight us to the end!"
"Why don't we work harder and take advantage of the hostility between the two sides to beat them hard and make them realize that they can't afford the cost of being hostile to us!" Wang Rulong was addicted to fighting and couldn't bear to train his troops, so he took the opportunity to volunteer: "Let me satisfy my desire to be a privateer captain and go to Nanyang to get familiar with the environment?"
"Haha, that's fine, but you have to be careful." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "Portugal still has several profitable routes in Southeast Asia, such as Annan's silk and porcelain, and Sumatra and Java's spices. If they are also threatened, the governor will be completely uneasy."
"Then I will go check it out after the New Year." Wang Rulong grinned. If it were up to him, he would want to go after the New Year, but his officers and soldiers would definitely not agree.
"Try not to dirty your hands. It's the right thing to leave these dirty work to the sea masters." Zhao Hao warned.
ps. I finally finished writing it, I will post it first and revise it later.