latelenovela Chapter 313 New Shipyard and Fleet
Chapter 313 New Shipyard and Fleet
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Liu Ye had grand ambitions. He not only wanted to force merchant ships into the area and impose taxes, but also to develop Lingao and Zeelandia into two maritime trade centers, one in the east and one in the west, concentrating all maritime trade in East Asia in these two places and making Qiongzhou Camp the controller of a maritime commercial kingdom. Therefore, when the expansion of the military shipyard conflicted with the plan to build commercial ports, he undoubtedly chose to support the latter.
He looked up and asked, "Is relocating the shipyard feasible?"
Sun Yuanhua waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no. Relocating a shipyard of this size would require no less effort than building a new one, and it would be a losing proposition. It would be better to preserve the existing scale of the Bofu Shipyard and build a new shipyard specifically for building small boats of four or five hundred tons."
"Build a new shipyard?" Liu Ye frowned. "Where would be a suitable location?"
Zheng Hongkui, now known as Zheng Zhifeng, cautiously interjected, "General, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."
"Oh, you mean, any good suggestions?"
Zheng Zhifeng replied, “Since the Zheng family accepted the imperial pardon, they have been building shipyards in Shijing Town, Nan’an, not far from Anping, to manufacture warships and merchant ships. Although they are not as sophisticated as those of the Qiongzhou Camp, they are sufficient to deal with ordinary sea lords. Over the years, they have also gathered many skilled shipwrights. However, Shijing Town is a small place, and the journey to obtain timber is quite long, so they can only build three to five ships a year. Since the general wants to build a new shipyard, why not bring the shipwrights from Shijing to Da Yuan and build a larger shipyard near Zeelandia? The trees on Da Yuan Island are inexhaustible and can be used for shipbuilding.”
"Brilliant!" Liu Ye exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table.
This proposal perfectly solved all the problems: readily available skilled shipwrights, a suitable shipbuilding location, and ample timber resources to meet all the needs of the new shipyard. Most importantly, as a base controlling the waters from Fujian to Japan, having shipbuilding capabilities would allow for local launching and commissioning, saving the time and effort of transporting ships from Qiongzhou to Dayuan, thus increasing efficiency. The only challenge was sending personnel from the Bofu Shipyard to provide guidance, as the outdated Fujianese ship designs did not meet the needs of the Qiongzhou garrison.
He stood up and paced back and forth, saying as he walked, "Building ships in Zeelandia is a good idea, but we need to send people from Bopu. Who would be suitable?"
Sun Yuanhua continued, "Why not send Lin Yishan, the deputy manager of the shipyard, to be the manager of the new shipyard? He has been following Manager Cha for several years. He may not be able to handle a thousand-ton ship on his own, but he has no problem with a four-hundred-ton warship."
Liu Ye nodded repeatedly. With Zheng Zhilong eliminated, there would be no heavyweight opponent left, and the construction speed of large warships could be slowed down. The focus could be on building smaller Wuxiang-class patrol ships, and the new shipyard in the future could specialize in building small and medium-sized warships.
He said approvingly to Zheng Zhifeng, "Your suggestion is good. We'll do it your way. We'll relocate all the shipyards in Shijing Town to Zeelandia, and the construction of the new shipyard will be entrusted to you."
Zheng Zhifeng replied respectfully, "I will obey the general's orders."
Yan Guang asked, "Now that the shipbuilding is settled, how will the naval forces be allocated? Will the naval forces be permanently stationed in Fujian or will they be temporarily dispatched?"
“Establishing a port and collecting taxes is a long-term plan, so it can’t be done on a temporary basis,” Liu Ye said. “We must have a fleet permanently stationed in Zeelandia to patrol the Fujian and Jiangnan areas. As for the personnel, Gao Jie will be in charge of that.”
Gao Jie nodded: "Actually, I already have a suitable candidate in mind. Lin Chuanzong, the captain of the 'Lingao', is the best candidate for the squadron."
Liu Ye had a deep impression of Lin Chuanzong, nicknamed "Sea Monkey." When Gao Jie captured a group of Zhu Cai Lao's men, he wanted to train them into qualified sailors. Lin Chuanzong stood out at this time, gaining Gao Jie's appreciation and rising through the ranks from boatswain to first mate and then captain, becoming a veteran figure in the Qiongzhou naval force.
He joked, "I thought you were going to recommend Li Fei? It seems he's one of your favorite generals too."
Gao Jie answered seriously: "Li Fei is a born commander, a naval warfare genius. He must stay by my side as the captain of the main warship. Lin Chuanzong is a subordinate with strong execution ability. His creativity may not be as good as Li Fei's, but for the tedious task of leading small warships on patrol, an honest person is more suitable than a genius."
Liu Ye nodded: "Your criteria for selecting people are very reasonable, so Lin Chuanzong will be the commander of the Fujian Fleet."
With everything settled, Liu Ye was in high spirits. He looked around and said, "Everything that needs to be settled has been settled. Everyone should do their job. Tomorrow, send a ship to Putmans to Batavia and finalize the matter with the Dutch."
The next day, Putmans was urged to board the ship, and he complained somewhat irritably, "They said they would take me to Tainan first, why did they change the plan at the last minute?"
Gao Jie snorted, "My general can't wait any longer. Besides making your East India Company withdraw from the Far East waters, he also wants to take over Fort Zeelandia. He doesn't have time to wait for you to dawdle."
Putmans was furious. He waved his fist in protest: "Don't push your luck! Zeelandia is something we've built over a decade of hard work. Why should we give it to you?"
Gao Jie shoved him and said impatiently, "We're going to withdraw from the Far East anyway, what's the point of leaving an empty city? We can't eat or drink there. Come on, let's go to Batavia and talk to your boss."
To intimidate the officials of the East India Company's council, Liu Ye ordered Gao Jie to bring all of the large warships with him on this trip to Batavia: two Yongle-class and twelve Wuyi-class. The size and firepower of this fleet exceeded the total strength of the East India Company's Far East fleet, enough to deter them and force them to back down.
As for the Wuxiang-class patrol ships, they remained at Bofu, serving as the vanguard for the upcoming forced tax collection plan. With the adjustment of Bofu shipyard's production capacity and the establishment of Dayuan shipyard, more Wuxiang-class patrol ships will be launched in the future, filling the entire sea territory of the Ming Dynasty.
The fleet departed from Bofu, but instead of heading west through the Gulf of Tonkin and south along the Annam coast, it sailed east through the Qiongzhou Strait and headed directly southeast. Under Liang Xiaoming's command and drawing on mature European navigation techniques, the fleet did not need to sail along the coastline, but instead plunged into the "Seven Islands Ocean" and "Changsha," which later became the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands.
Putmans initially remained indifferent, adopting a non-violent, non-cooperative attitude. However, seeing that the sailing direction was going in the opposite direction from Batavia, he finally said with schadenfreude a few days later: "You said you were going to talk to the company council, but you can't even find a direction... Is this your navigation technology? I bet if you keep going this way, you won't reach Batavia even after another year."
Gao Jie retorted disdainfully, "The Dutch have no right to comment on the navigation technology of our Hainan Navy. Before going to Batavia, we should take a detour to Manila; this is the right direction."