September of the second year of Taichang is also a day destined to go down in history for the white-clothed navy. On September 8, the establishment of the White Army Navy was officially announced. In order to show his importance to the navy, Xu Xingxia rushed all the way from Xi'an to Weihaiwei in advance to preside over the inauguration ceremony of the white-clothed navy.

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock!"

On the sea, more than a dozen warships flying the golden dragon and sword flag lined up, constantly firing cannons. The rumbling sound of artillery shook the sea surface near Weihaiwei. The smoke of artillery fire was very strong, and the sea breeze blew and could be smelled from standing on the shore.

In the face of such a strong naval lineup, the people in the white army are naturally very excited, and they feel that the white army is really getting stronger and stronger. Originally, the white-clothed army was on land, and there was no existence without opponents. Now, the Navy has appeared, and it is estimated that on the surface of the sea, there are few opponents left. The vast sea will belong to the white-clothed navy.

However, other people who attended the ceremony with Xu Xingxia, such as those from North Korea, the Western Regions, Nanjing, and the Mongolian steppe, may not have felt this way. The stronger the White Army, the more they have to support the rule of the White Army. Otherwise, what awaits them will definitely be a catastrophe.

"You're doing a great job! Commendable! ”

After the inauguration ceremony, Xu Xingxia shook hands with the designers of the battleship, the persons in charge of various technical jobs, and the persons in charge of the shipyard one by one to express their gratitude. It is precisely because of the unremitting efforts of these people that the white-coat navy can rise and grow rapidly.

After more than a year of vigorous shipbuilding, the current white-clothed army has a total of 36 "Taishan" class warships and 12 "Wutaishan" class warships. In addition, larger "Tianshan"-class battleships are also being designed, and construction will start next year.

Among them, the displacement of Taishan-class battleships is about 600 tons. This is the largest number of warships in the White Coats Navy, and it was originally designed and built as an experimental product. Its main task is to provide sufficient test data for other warship designs. A lot of data on the design of warships needs to be tested in real time before they can be obtained.

Happily, the designers later found that the overall surname of the Taishan-class battleship was not bad, and it could basically meet the needs of actual combat. Especially in terms of operations in the near seas, there are basically no obvious flaws. So, Xu Xingxia ordered batch construction and batch equipment. As a result, it temporarily became the most numerous warships in the White Navy.

The Tarzan-class battleships were armed with eight howitzers of caliber 75 mm, four on each side. Such a number of cannons, compared to the dozens or even hundreds of cannons in the Western columns, is indeed too shabby, and it cannot be put on the table at all. The smallest warships of the Western powers, even ordinary armed merchant ships, have more than eight guns!

However, in terms of the quality of artillery, the Taishan-class battleships were several streets away from the Western powers. The Taishan-class battleships are all equipped with modern artillery, with long range, fast rate of fire, and great power. The explosive power of a 75 mm caliber shell is very powerful. For a wooden battleship, it is a deadly existence. No matter how huge the battleship is, as long as one is hit, it will have to shed its skin if it does not die.

Originally, ambitious designers were going to install larger calibers, or even more howitzers, on battleships. Even if you don't install 100 doors in the end, you will have to install at least 30 doors to make it look like that. As a result, they regretted to find that wooden battleships could not withstand the recoil of large-caliber guns at all, and the 75 mm caliber was already the limit.

In the same way, wooden battleships could not withstand the number of modern guns. Eight doors are already the limit. Moreover, the eight guns also had to be staggered and fired in a salvo. Otherwise, there is a risk of inflicting damage on the battleship. From the point of view of a wooden battleship, the damage caused by recoil is more serious than that caused by the enemy's heavy artillery fire.

Fortunately, the number of cannons has been reduced, and the number of personnel can also be greatly reduced, and the space on the battleship is much more abundant. In the past, the underside of the battleship was simply airtight, and the air was very bad. The sailors also lived in poor conditions and were prone to illness. When it came to the White Coats Navy, everything was greatly improved.

Not only has the living environment of the sailors improved, but the capacity of the warehouse has also been greatly increased, and the endurance capacity has also been greatly enhanced. If the warehouses were fully filled with supplies, the Tarzan-class battleships could float on the sea for at least a year and six months. During the six months of the year, it can be guaranteed that the crew's body will not have major accidents.

Obviously, this is very advantageous for long-distance expeditions. From the Shandong Peninsula to the Nanyang region, if the wind is favorable, it only takes half a month. If it's a headwind, it's up to three months. This means that from now on, the white-clothed navy can intervene in the war in the South Seas.

The displacement of the Wutaishan-class battleships is in the area of a thousand tons. The displacement of the Tien Shan-class battleships exceeded 1,500 tons. Purely in terms of the internal structure of the battleships, they are not qualitatively different from the Tarzan-class battleships. For the convenience of construction, the designers enlarged the Taishan-class battleship according to the scale, and then made some slight adjustments, and then came up with a new battleship.

Their main armament is twelve and sixteen howitzers with a caliber of 75 mm. This was apparently due to the expansion of the tonnage of the battleships. From a combat point of view, the firepower of the twelve and sixteen 75mm howitzers is already very powerful. Especially when bombarding the other side, the effect is simply devastating.

In order to show the importance he attaches to the navy, Xu Xingxia personally concurrently served as the supreme commander of the navy. The deputy commander of the Navy is Chen Xinhai. Chen Xinhai is a relatively rare technical officer in the White Army, who has been serving in the Daming Navy Division in his early years and is quite familiar with the sea. His tenure was hardly unexpected. Because, no one has the ability to compete with him at all.

In fact, the top leaders of the white-clothed army and navy are basically from the Shaozhuang faction of the former Daming Naval Division. They are basically under the age of forty, which is the prime of life. They are very dissatisfied with the current situation of the Daming Water Division. This dissatisfaction was particularly evident after the Battle of Lulianghai. Because their dissatisfaction was so obvious, they were once listed as the target of surveillance by the Jinyi Guard, and they could take drastic action against them at any time.

The Battle of Lulianghai was said to be victorious, but in fact, both sides were defeated. Or rather, we think it's a victory. In fact, the Daming Sailor and the North Korean Sailor just forced Yue himself to retreat. He said that the damage to his ship was not large. Otherwise, they simply would not have enough ships to retreat all of their troops in Korea back to China.

This batch of young Zhuang officers of the Daming Water Division is naturally undesirable for Xu Xingxia. They love the sea very much. They were enthusiastic about expanding the maritime boundaries of the Ming Empire. Their "aggression" ** is very strong. They had not had the opportunity to display their talents before, and they all gathered under the banner of the White Army Navy.

Of course, due to the limitations of the original Daming Sailors, Chen Xinhai did not know much about the sea areas outside the coastal sea, especially the far sea. For example, they don't know much about the South Seas. The original Daming sailor had never had the opportunity to go to Nanyang at all. Well, Zheng He's fleet, which is too far away, does not count.

It doesn't matter, though. As long as we are willing to work hard and study hard, we will not have much of a problem if we master the basic knowledge of the world's oceans. Isn't this Xu Xingxia? Since Xu Xingxia is also the supreme commander of the navy, it is impossible to just talk and not do things, right? I can only search for dry intestines, rack my brains, and give away the knowledge of the ocean that I know.

After the establishment of the White Clothes Army and Navy, the main task is, of course, to contain Yue himself. As far as the current situation is concerned, it is said that his ambition has not been completely extinguished. They also have ** on the North Korean side. The white-clothed army and navy are going to defeat their **. Not only do you want to knock out your own **, but you also have to gradually eat away at the book. Therefore, the navy of the White Army must launch an attack on its coastline in a planned and orderly manner.

If you want to say that the most enthusiastic about attacking Yueben, of course, is Zhu Changluo, the king of Fu. According to Xu Xingxia's promise, the future will be ruled by him. Therefore, when the White Clothes Army and Navy were established, he also hurried to join in the fun. He wished for the navy of the white-clothed army, and immediately launched an attack on Yuben and put him on the throne.

It's a pity that his wish is about to come to fruition for the time being. The white-clothed army is not fully prepared to land in Yuben. The Navy is the Navy, the landing is the Landing, and it cannot be confused. It is not difficult to defeat Yue himself on the sea. However, there is still a lot of preparatory work to be done to ensure the smooth landing of the troops.

Xu Xingxia divided the navy of the White Army into three fleets. The First Fleet was mainly responsible for the region, destroying the warships at sea and shelling the coastline of the company. The Second and Third Fleets are mainly responsible for the South Seas. In the future, most of the newly launched warships were deployed to the Nanyang region, and a small number went to deal with Yuben.

For the white-coated navy, the battle for the South Seas is the key.

The wealth of the Nanyang region has always been coveted by Xu Xingxia. Now in the South Seas region, the Western powers are dancing happily. The Spaniards, the Dutch, the British, the Portuguese, the French, all had a very good time. They have made huge profits from the Nanyang region, and they have all made a lot of money. And these profits should have belonged to the great powers of the East. To be precise, it should belong to China.

In order to strengthen the presence of the White Coats Navy in the Nanyang region and facilitate the fighting of the White Coats Navy in the Nanyang region, Xu Xingxia decided to set up a naval base in Leizhou Prefecture, the southernmost part of Guangdong, and build a larger shipyard and repair yard. The main task of the Leizhou Shipyard is to produce the largest "Tianshan" class warships on the assembly line.

In addition, Xu Xingxia also made a decision to build a large naval base in Yazhou, the southernmost tip of Qiongzhou Prefecture, and stationed naval logistics troops to garrison it. In order to facilitate the docking and replenishment of warships entering the South China Sea region, as well as to carry out repairs with general surnames.

In mid-September, the Second and Third Fleets of the White Coats Army, which were fully prepared, formed a mixed fleet and headed south under the leadership of Chen Xinhai.

…… In October of the second year of Taichang, the sea near Manila.

Although it was early in the morning, Manila was already very busy.

Merchant ships, large and small, are either lining up to enter the port or have just come out of the port. The dense masts and white sails emit bursts of dazzling light in the reflection of the morning sun. These merchant ships have a common feature, that is, the draft is very deep, almost to the edge of the deck, which shows the amount of cargo carried.

Those large merchant ships, with a displacement of more than 800 tons, should be going back and forth to the ocean. Either they shipped goods such as porcelain, silk, tea, and medicinal herbs from Manila back to Europe for dumping. Or, loaded with heavy raw silk, ready to sail through the Kuroshio Current's route all the way to the ports on the Mexican coast in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Or, loaded with a large number of muskets, artillery, swords and other weapons from various European countries, they traveled thousands of miles to the Far East. The firearms and equipment of the European powers are still quite popular in the Far East. At the very least, before the rise of the White Army, it was quite a bestseller. After the rise of the White Army, it is not clear whether the weapons and equipment of the Western powers are still so popular. It is estimated that it should not be so popular.

As for the other merchant ships, they were traded at various ports within the South Seas. There are many ports in the South Seas region, such as Brunei, Malacca, Jakarta, Surabaya, Ampana, Magasa, Hanjero Mazen, Giadin, Ah Zhen, etc. Different ports have different cargo needs. Cargo ships are the link connecting these ports.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, the merchant ships that were slowly leaving the port suddenly came to a slow halt. All sorts of shrill whistles were heard throughout the ports of Manila. And the lookout post at the top of the merchant ship is also constantly waving red pennants, as if to convey a dangerous message to everyone around.

Several port patrol ships, which found that something was wrong, hurried towards the outside of the port. As a result, before the patrol ships left the port, the people around the port of Manila were shocked to see that a large fleet had appeared near the port. Huge warships, like silent monsters, slowly approached Manila. The kind of coercion that appears slowly and comes slowly can simply suffocate people on the spot.

(To be continued)