: Recruiting the army with impartiality and selfishness as the basis

“The negotiations are going well!”

On the way to the State Council, Navy Chief Liu Guanxiong was still thinking about his words over and over in his mind. In the past few days, he had been thinking about the president's instructions - to ask the State Department for money!

That money is not millions, but tens of millions. Plus the annual usage fee of nearly tens of millions, it is a very heavy burden for the Ministry of Finance.//www.//

"The purchase cost of two combat ships is about 55 million yuan, and the annual usage fee is 10 million yuan. Currently, the navy does not have a suitable port to park the warships, so it needs to find another coast to build a military port. The military port will cost at least 30 million yuan...

"

"The procurement fee of 55 million will be distributed over three years of shipbuilding. 30 million will be paid in the first year, 15 million will be paid in the second year, and 20 million will be paid in the third year..."

"It is estimated that in the next six years, the annual naval expenditure for shipbuilding, port construction, and maintenance will be no less than 50 million!"

In the Naval Ship Administration Headquarters, the words of the ship administration officers kept ringing in Liu Guanxiong's ears. After receiving an annual expenditure of 50 million, he even gave up the idea himself. 50 million, the current annual budget of the Navy

But it's only a few million yuan, 50 million yuan, and the Ministry of Finance can't come up with this money at all.

However, the news that Sino-US negotiations have officially started made Liu Guanxiong feel a burst of hope in despair. If the negotiations go smoothly, the tariffs can be recovered. The current tariff is 2.5%. If doubled, the tariff revenue of the Ministry of Finance can be increased by several billions.

Tens of millions of yuan, if it increases to 10%, or even more, then...it will be tens of millions of yuan a year.

Moreover, Liu Guanxiong also received news that the Ministry of Finance is currently planning to implement the "abolition of the two yuan reforms" and the rectification of the salt tax. Li Lianyun may be young, but if asked about his ability to manage wealth, he would be second. I am afraid no one would dare to be first.

The revenue of the Ministry of Finance has increased, then...

"General Liu, for China's maritime interests and to prevent China from invasion from the sea, China must have a strong navy. Since Dadonggou, China has almost never had a decent fleet. Now, everything is in the past

Yes, we have two combat ships. Although they are combat ships of the Jiangsu Army, Chief Liu..."

Looking at Liu Guanxiong, Li Zicheng had always wanted to talk to him, but the news from the Presidential Palace a few days ago made him give up his plan to actively find him, and instead waited for him here, waiting for his visit.

, now that the Navy has something to ask of itself, things will be easier to handle!

"Whether it's the Jiangsu Army or the Chinese Navy, they are both the Chinese Navy. Did the Guangdong Navy escape back to the south during Dadonggou?"

Seeing that the Prime Minister had not given him a chance to speak since he came in until now, Liu Guanxiong had no choice but to reply.

"Prime Minister, what you said is true. All the officers and soldiers of the Guangdong Navy served bravely at that time!"

"That's right! They are all China's maritime power! How can we differentiate between you and me if we fight for our country?"

Li Zicheng, who is good at ideological work, first planted a seed in Liu Guanxiong's heart and then said.

"After the "Jiao'ao Incident", although we have achieved great results, the situation between China and Japan is now very serious. The Japanese still take the initiative at sea, and their development is equally aggressive. It is conceivable that,

If the next conflict breaks out, Japan's fleet will inevitably be dispatched, but they will not be a target on the coast. They will sink many of our merchant ships at sea, cut off our maritime trade lines, and blockade our coast.

Just like the Qing-France War, although all this is still far away now, we must take all of this into consideration, and in this crisis, the navy must immediately come up with solutions."

Li Zicheng walked towards the bookcase and said without looking back. After taking out a map from the bookcase and unfolding it, he bowed forward and looked down at the map on the table, ignoring this person.

Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, looking at the map, his concentration became more and more concentrated and his tone became lower and lower.

At this moment, Liu Guanxiong, who was asking for help from the State Council, was standing humbly. He was wearing a neat admiral's uniform and a medal. At this moment, his face was slightly anxious, and his eyes were even more anxious.

Although he didn't say anything, in his heart, his thoughts were as tight as a tight rope. Faced with the Prime Minister's remarks that "the Army and the Navy are also the Chinese Navy," his emotions were indifferent anyway.

I couldn't be happy, it could be said that I was just a little depressed.

He is a standard naval soldier. He was the leader of the "Jingyuan" during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. During the Battle of Dadonggou, he fully assisted the commander Ye Zugui in the battle. After the Dingyuan was damaged, he suggested that the management take over the command.

This prevented the fleet from falling into chaos and being annihilated in Dadonggou. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, he survived the miserable period after the navy was disbanded and the officers and soldiers were dismissed.

As a naval soldier, his highest ambition in his life is to continue the last wish of the late Ye Zugui and all the souls of the North, "the shame of the Snow Sword and the Wumei", and to build the world's strongest fleet for China. To this end, he once proposed to Yuan Shikai

Several ambitious naval expansion plans were carried out to make the Chinese fleet strong enough to compete with the Japanese fleet.

But every time when faced with Liu Guanxiong's constantly revised plan, Yuan Shikai just replied helplessly:

"Money! Nothing can be done without money!"

As a result, Liu Guanxiong's dream of "rebuilding the navy" was shattered time and time again. No matter how hard he tried, he could not solve the extremely real problem of "money". Even after the founding of the Republic of China, he had to sell out due to financial difficulties.

"Rebuilding the Navy" by destroying many warships that are under construction abroad or nearing completion is like a sweet dream, getting further and further away from him.

In the "Jiao'ao Conflict", the reason why Liu Guanxiong ordered the naval cruiser fleet to "go all out" was very simple. Those warships were all purchased by the Qing Dynasty when they rebuilt their navy. Those warships had been in service for more than fifteen years.

Even though it was the "cruise fleet" that Ye Zugui had worked hard to build throughout his life, it was already old and decrepit. It was even decrepit than the Beiyang Navy back then. Therefore, in his opinion, rather than letting it decrepit and interact with the port, it would be better to build it in a battle.

He died violently in the naval battle.

And more importantly, when that fleet is silent, everything in the Chinese Navy will have to start from scratch. At that time, as for the Navy's zero start, Yuan Shikai must give the Navy an explanation and give him a decent force.

fleet. However, the battle situation was unexpected. The navy's cruiser fleet only engaged in a "fishing" in the open sea, bombarding Japanese damaged ships and merchant ships. The navy achieved an unprecedented victory. Overnight, the navy regained its former strength.

Lost soul.

But, despite this, the government still had no money to buy new ships for the navy. Until a week ago, because two Japanese combat ships salvaged by the Jiangsu Army were launched into service, Yuan Shikai finally agreed to his request to purchase combat ships. At first,

He proposed to buy combat ships, but it had the meaning of "bundling". With two combat ships, naturally he also needed cruisers and destroyers. In this way, bit by bit, in the end, he could win a fleet for the navy to face Jiangsu

Yuan Shikai agreed to the threat, but in the end, Yuan Shikai asked him to ask the Ministry of Finance for money, which was almost impossible.

The navy is not Li Zicheng's direct descendant. Is it possible for Li Zicheng to spend the money he worked so hard to win on the navy? Now Liu Guanxiong has begun to despair, that is, despair, because Li Zicheng has found his navy, maybe he will use it

In the name of "coastal defense subsidies" and so on, the central government invests huge military expenditures in the Jiangsu Army and Navy. As for the navy, as for the old ships of the Chinese Navy, they will slowly rust in the port.

"But neither the Chinese Navy nor Jiangsu has a good military port!"

The Prime Minister's question brought Liu Guanxiong's thoughts back to reality, and he replied in a low voice:

"Port Arthur is in the hands of the Japanese, Liugong Island is in the hands of the British, and Yantai Port is only suitable for cruisers with a capacity of less than 5,000 tons. Lianyungang and Qingdao Ports are not excellent military ports. Military ports must be semi-enclosed bays, and the offshore fleet cannot threaten the interior.

Warships in the bay are a necessary prerequisite for a military port."

Then Liu Guanxiong thought for a while and added:

"Of course, if there is none, Lianyungang can also be considered. Setting up a military port on Liandao can block shelling from the open sea. However, because the harbor is open, you need to be careful about torpedo boats taking advantage of bad weather to attack. The Japanese Navy is very good at this, regardless of

Whether it was the Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy used torpedo boats to penetrate the harbor at night to carry out torpedo attacks. If possible, the defense at the mouth of Lianyungang can be strengthened. Of course, I am just a suggestion."

Liu Guanxiong's suggestion made Li Zicheng finally raise his head, with some relief in his eyes. Although the Fujian clan has always been known for being "anti-foreign", at this time, Liu Guanxiong also proposed a proposal from the standpoint of the country.

Appropriate suggestion, looking at him, Li Zicheng thought of why he named the first warship of the Jiangsu Army and Marine Corps "Tongxin".

Li Zicheng has always had an inexplicable yearning for the ocean. Although he has almost never really understood the ocean and has only built three or four ships, this still cannot stop his yearning for the ocean. If it is said that in this

Many people in this era have a "Continental Dream", so as Chinese people in the 21st century, they naturally have an extremely complex and even somewhat angry "Ocean Dream".

This may be related to China's powerlessness on land in later generations. In later generations, tens of millions of tons of oil were exploited by small Southeast Asian countries on the occupied islands and reefs in the South China Sea every year. China silently or verbally protested, and the Diaoyu Islands were

The Japanese occupation was still a protest. Although there was a period of time when the turmoil to protect the Diaoyu Islands arose, but what happened in the end?

There is even a joke in later generations: "As a neighbor of China, if you don't occupy a small island in China, you will be embarrassed to be a neighbor with China. If you don't detain Chinese fishing boats, you will be embarrassed to say that you know the Chinese."

It is precisely because of this that Li Zicheng, like many Chinese, is full of longing and longing for the ocean, the blue and vast ocean, and his desire for sea control even exceeds that of others. When a mainland nation longs for the ocean

Sometimes, he may take detours, or he may be unsure, but nothing in the world can stop his yearning and desire!

Positively, no one can stop Li Zicheng's desire for the ocean now.

"But this is just an emergency measure. We, or China, China needs a real military port, a large, comprehensive military port! This problem must be solved!"

After that, Li Zicheng pressed the electric bell on the table, and a waiter brought two cups of tea. After taking a sip of tea, he looked at the sea and the island chain on the side of the map. Li Zicheng clasped his hands behind his back and talked.

He kept talking about stories and history about the ocean. This was the first time he told the story about the ocean to outsiders. In the eyes of others, it might be his past experience, but in fact, those stories about the ocean were nothing more than

It's just that he integrated what he learned about the history of the ocean into his so-called "personal experience", but it seemed very real, just like his previous experience.

"...It can be said that I have spent almost a quarter of my life on the sea. I long for the ocean, I yearn for the ocean, but..."

Turning to face Liu Guanxiong, Li Zicheng's expression darkened slightly.

"In various oceans, in one port after another, I have seen warships from all over the world, and I have also seen Japanese warships, but I have never seen Chinese warships. I believe that China has never been a simple continent.

As a country, in fact, our ocean-going history is earlier than that of any country in Europe. We also have a glorious maritime history. However, now we do not have a powerful navy, a navy that is enough to make the world fearful. When our navy was at its peak

At that time, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the entire East Sea belonged to China. The Dutch also admitted that they could not defeat our fleet even if they assembled all the fleets in Europe. But now? We are silent, and there seems to be no Chinese navy on the sea.

Shadow of

It is absolutely unreasonable not to be able to taste the saltiness of sea water.”

Listening to Li Zicheng's narration, Liu Guanxiong felt his blood boil. For the first time, he heard about the ocean from a decision-maker, and he did so without any pretense. It was different from what others said: "China's problems are related to the ocean."

"In the eyes of those people, they established the navy to establish coastal defense, but Li Zicheng looked further and stood higher. What he expected was to share the world's maritime interests, to master the ocean, and to own the ocean.

, and all of this requires a navy strong enough to compete with Britain. Is this a luxury?

"China should have its own fleet. Our interests also need the ocean."

After affirming, Li Liocheng raised his head slightly. Then, he turned around, looked at Liu Guanxiong who was full of surprise, pointed at the map and said:

"Look, this place is located in the middle of China. We have inspected this place. This is a large natural harbor that should be China's first good harbor. Its harbor area can accommodate hundreds of large warships, and deep water can enter nearly two kilometers.

Ten meters. This is not only a huge base leading to the open ocean, but also a pistol aimed at Japan. From here, we can march into Japan from the north and control the South China Sea from the south."

He tapped the map with his knuckles:

"We are going to build a large naval base here."

"Prime Minister……"
To be continued...