Chapter 1867
Project Delay
Chapter 1867 Project Delay
Different from the era of cold weapons, the maintenance cost of the new troops using hot weapons is very high. The cost of their weapons and equipment, the consumption of daily training, and the supply requirements in wartime all far exceed the troops using cold weapons .Even Haihan, who is famous for his wealth, has always been able to take the route of elite soldiers, and it is difficult to maintain a large-scale standing army.
At present, Haihan's garrisons in Shandong, Liaodong, and North Korea combined are less than [-] people.It's not that Haihan doesn't want to send more troops to the north. It's just that the troops are limited. If more troops are sent to the north, many places in the south will inevitably have weak defenses.The scale of Haihan's garrisons in the northern control areas is only enough to maintain the current situation. Whether it is in Shandong or Liaodong, the limited garrison strength makes Haihan unable to let go of his hands and feet to expand the territory of the control areas.
Therefore, even though they had achieved a great victory on the Korean battlefield and pursued the Qing army all the way to the banks of the Yalu River, the Haihan army still retreated as soon as it was good, and did not try to take advantage of the victory to pursue and enter the Qing's sphere of influence.
With Haihan's national strength, this level can only be achieved. If it is replaced by North Korea, which has been emptied of its national treasury before, it will naturally be more difficult.Although there are currently a series of industrial cooperation plans that can help North Korea revive its economy, most of the profits from these industries will go into Haihan's pocket, and North Korea needs too much money for post-war reconstruction, which can be invested in a short period of time. Funds in the military field are still very limited, and it is unlikely to expand the costly new army again.Although Li Luo's wish is beautiful, there is probably no hope of realizing it for a while.
Of course, Wang Tom would not say such words that would dampen the enthusiasm of the two princes. When their understanding of the military field gradually increases in the future, they will realize the horror of the bottomless pit of military expenditure.
Just the drill of the heavy infantry company, Qian Tiandun thought it was not enough to shock the North Korean prince and his party enough, so he also arranged artillery shooting training.
The artillery equipped by this authentic artillery unit starts with a caliber of 115mm, which is much larger than the small-caliber guns of the heavy infantry company that pursue lightness, and the power of the shelling is naturally not the same.The Haihan Army also specially set up some bamboo and wood structure fortifications in the shooting range as targets, and the effect of bursting after being hit is more visually impactful.
The expressions of the two princes were a little nervous after the sound of the rumbling guns, but they were of noble origin after all, even though they were terrified, they insisted on watching the deafening artillery drill at close range.
"The artillery is so powerful, it's no wonder that the Qing army was defeated after colliding with the defense line set up by your army on the Datong River. It's really a magic weapon!" Li Wei praised.
Li Hao asked: "Excuse me, General Qian, our country also has some artillery, which are similar in size but seem to be less powerful than your country's cannons. Why? Are they the same as muskets? They look similar, but their performance is very different when used. .”
Qian Tiandun explained: "The technical principles may not be fully understood after I have told the two of you. In the final analysis, there is a gap in the level of ability to design and manufacture weapons. And this gap is difficult to use money. Make up, after all, there are many disciplines involved in the development of an advanced weapon, and it takes a long time to train relevant talents, so we suggest that your country send more overseas students to Sanya, where they will have the opportunity to learn various The most advanced technology in the field, and then bring it back to North Korea to benefit the people."
Qian Tiandun's statement undoubtedly sounds very generous, but the actual operation is not simple. The skills that North Korea can really learn from Haihan in a short period of time may still be mainly agricultural technology.As for weapon manufacturing, marching and fighting, the knowledge in these professional fields cannot be achieved overnight, and even needs to be continuously exercised and perfected in the war.
Haihan has overseas battlefields all year round that can be used to temper the troops and test the combat effectiveness of new weapons, but North Korea does not yet have such conditions. After all, none of the surrounding countries can provoke it. Proactively provoking a war is deadly.
Of course, the two princes may not have such an awareness now, so they are still very excited by Qian Tiandun's attitude, thinking that the opening of Haihan will be an excellent development opportunity for their country—— The premise is that the country can send enough overseas students to Haihan with the conditions.
But going to Haihan to study abroad is not a free benefit. Haihan just provides such a window. As for the various expenses of overseas students during their stay in Haihan, it still needs to be settled by the brothers.For North Korea, the related budget is not a small amount, so it will actively restrict the number of places.
According to the conditions proposed by Haihan, every military officer going to Sanya to study abroad needs to pay Haihan 3000 taels of silver per year, which includes basic expenses such as tuition, miscellaneous fees, and accommodation.However, students still need to bear their own food, clothing and social expenses during their study abroad. Given the local economic level in Sanya, at least 800 taels of silver must be prepared for a year.If students participate in other special operations during their study abroad, such as going overseas with the Haihan Army as military observers, the cost may have to be calculated separately.
For North Korea, which is currently extremely poor, this tuition fee is quite high. Considering the limited funds, the military will have to purchase a large amount of weapons from Haihan to arm the new army, so it is impossible to send a large number of overseas students. That's why there was a situation where only 2000 or so people could be selected from the [-] new army and sent to study abroad.The North Korean side originally thought that this was Haihan's intention to rip off, but after communicating with the Fujian Ming Army and the Annan Army, they realized that this is also a perennial price. It's just that the economic situation of those two countries is far better than that of North Korea, and they send dozens of officers every year. Go to Sanya to study abroad without even blinking an eye.
Of course, if the two princes want to study abroad, the treatment will definitely be different. Haihan has already stated that the tuition fees can be waived, and they can choose to live in the recently completed North Korean embassy. Not only the living environment is far better than the military camp, but also Food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all covered by the public expenditure accounts, and the two yamen in charge of diplomacy and finance, Li Cao and Hu Cao, will certainly not say anything about it.
Now that everything is ready, the two princes are quite interested in this, and there is a rare harmonious situation in the court. There is no objection from the ministers, and it seems that they only need to wait for the king Li Ji to make corresponding arrangements.
After watching the army's drill in the morning and having lunch, Qian Tiandun took the group of North Koreans by boat to a construction site on the river bank downstream of the base that was still demarcated.
"Everyone, although the place you see now is still a wasteland, it will soon become an arsenal jointly built by our two countries." Qian Tiandun pointed to the place that had been roped up. The place introduced: "After the completion of this place, the cost of changing weapons in your country will also drop significantly. If enough craftsmen join in by then, the production capacity here will be enough to meet the needs of your country."
Qian Tiandun's words were still an ambush. He did not promise the North Koreans the specific future production capacity of the arsenal. If the North Koreans' expectations cannot be met by then, the reason can be attributed to the lack of qualified craftsmen.
Li Lu said: "If I remember correctly, this is the iron ore mine that your country is going to mine, right?"
Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "Your Majesty remembers correctly, the mine is less than five miles away, and a smelter will be built between the mine and the arsenal. At that time, there will be a road from mining to smelting to An ordnance production line for the manufacture of guns."
"Production line? This idea is very new." Li Wei nodded and said, "This arrangement is very good. Processing is nearby, which can save a lot of trouble."
If the coal mines near Pyongyang on the upper reaches of the Taedong River are counted, this area will form a coal-iron composite industrial zone including an arsenal in the future. The industrial structure is even more complete than the Shilu-Changhua Industrial Zone in Haihan.Of course, for a certain period of time in the future, the production here can only be dominated by manpower, and the productivity cannot be compared with that of Haihan Industrial Zone, which has already started to use steam machinery in large quantities.
The arsenal was nominally built in cooperation between the two countries, but in fact Haihan was only responsible for the construction plan of the factory area and the manufacturing technology of weapons, while the North Korean side invested funds and manpower.The weapons produced here in the future will mainly be the models that Haihan technology transferred to North Korea, but Haihan will also produce some low-tech weapon parts here to meet the needs of the northern garrison.
Of course, as far as the current situation is concerned, this arsenal is still in the stage of drawing cakes. Although the North Korean side really wants to promote the early completion of this project, it still has the old problem that cannot be bypassed-no money.The budget for the cost of the arsenal provided by the Haihan military was 80 taels of silver. The North Korean side could not afford such a large amount of money, so they could only press down on the budget again and again, and finally reduced the cost by half.But even so, there is still not enough funds to be in place in time, so we can only insert a few signs and use a rope to circle the land, indicating that the project has started.
As for when it will be completed, it only depends on when the imperial court allocates funds.Shen Jingzhen, the military judge who was in charge of this matter, took the opportunity to answer the conversation: "Report to your son, the design drawings of the arsenal have been prepared at present, and the construction can start here immediately after the imperial court allocates funds."
What Shen Jingzhen meant was, of course, that he wanted the son to help urge the money after he went back. If the court didn't take the money, the land would have to remain vacant forever.
Li Nao is not stupid, as soon as he heard Shen Jingzhen's tone, he knew that there were still some situations that he didn't know about.However, whether the lack of funds is a problem with Hucao Yamen or some other reason, he will not ask here in front of the Haihan people, and immediately replied: "Master Shen, don't worry, this matter will be settled soon. It will be resolved."
How to solve it, who will solve it, and when will it be solved, Li Min didn't say a word, and Shen Jingzhen didn't know what to do or continued to ask, he just wanted Li Min to express his opinion, and didn't expect to get more benefits from Li Min.
In fact, Li Lu didn't understand the purpose of the Haihan people arranging him to visit the location of this arsenal, but as the son of the prince, he could neither lose his momentum in front of the Haihan people, nor overblown the cowhide. This speed is really not easy to grasp .
The next day, the schedule of the Li brothers and his party was to visit the military wharf of the Datong River base under construction, and the location of the United Shipyard near it, which is also a piece of Baidi.According to the agreement between the two parties, after the completion of this joint shipyard, it will build exploration-class warships for North Korea to enhance the strength of the North Korean navy.
The situation here is actually similar to the arsenal they saw yesterday. It is still an industrial cooperation project whose implementation has been delayed by funds.Of course, Wang Tom also bragged to Li Wei and others about the role of this shipyard after its completion, and looked forward to the bright future of the North Korean Navy.
"...When the coalition fleet blocks the coastline of the Qing Dynasty in the Liaodong area in the future, we very much hope that your naval forces will also participate and take on more important combat missions!"
Tom Wang said to the North Koreans without any trace, meaning that the current strength of the North Korean navy is not enough to undertake combat missions in the coalition fleet.And the actual situation is exactly the same. In the previous operations, the coalition fleet that pressed forward to the Yalu River and Haihan in Liaodong did not have anything to do with Korean warships.Although North Korea also managed to mobilize armed ships from all over the country to help defend the Datong River, it did not actually engage in large-scale battles with the Qing army.
The reason why the North Korean navy was arranged in this way is naturally because of insufficient strength, and because there are few opportunities to contact the Haihan Navy in normal times, it is difficult to cooperate with the coalition fleet.And if North Korea wants to effectively improve the combat effectiveness of its navy, the fastest way to see results is to equip warships made by Haihan.However, the orders of various shipyards in Haihan are currently saturated, and North Korea will not be able to rank for a while, and it will not be able to buy it if it wants to.
Of course, since Haihan is willing to provide the construction technology and drawings of the warship, it is naturally the most cost-effective way to build the ship himself.But if the shipyard fails to put into production after delays, then this cooperation project will have to be shelved like an arsenal.
With unfinished regrets, Li Mo and his party finally embarked on the voyage back to Seoul.But their experience is not over yet, because the return trip is also according to Haihan's arrangement, taking a Majestic-class warship specially dispatched for this purpose, and "by the way" watching the Haihan fleet's maritime drills on the way.
For this purpose, Haihan also dispatched four warships of the two levels of exploration and exploration, plus a comprehensive supply ship and a reconnaissance speedboat, and more than ten Haihan warships participated in this escort trip.After all, the army had already performed in front of the North Koreans before this, and Wang Tom was naturally not far behind.
(End of this chapter)
Different from the era of cold weapons, the maintenance cost of the new troops using hot weapons is very high. The cost of their weapons and equipment, the consumption of daily training, and the supply requirements in wartime all far exceed the troops using cold weapons .Even Haihan, who is famous for his wealth, has always been able to take the route of elite soldiers, and it is difficult to maintain a large-scale standing army.
At present, Haihan's garrisons in Shandong, Liaodong, and North Korea combined are less than [-] people.It's not that Haihan doesn't want to send more troops to the north. It's just that the troops are limited. If more troops are sent to the north, many places in the south will inevitably have weak defenses.The scale of Haihan's garrisons in the northern control areas is only enough to maintain the current situation. Whether it is in Shandong or Liaodong, the limited garrison strength makes Haihan unable to let go of his hands and feet to expand the territory of the control areas.
Therefore, even though they had achieved a great victory on the Korean battlefield and pursued the Qing army all the way to the banks of the Yalu River, the Haihan army still retreated as soon as it was good, and did not try to take advantage of the victory to pursue and enter the Qing's sphere of influence.
With Haihan's national strength, this level can only be achieved. If it is replaced by North Korea, which has been emptied of its national treasury before, it will naturally be more difficult.Although there are currently a series of industrial cooperation plans that can help North Korea revive its economy, most of the profits from these industries will go into Haihan's pocket, and North Korea needs too much money for post-war reconstruction, which can be invested in a short period of time. Funds in the military field are still very limited, and it is unlikely to expand the costly new army again.Although Li Luo's wish is beautiful, there is probably no hope of realizing it for a while.
Of course, Wang Tom would not say such words that would dampen the enthusiasm of the two princes. When their understanding of the military field gradually increases in the future, they will realize the horror of the bottomless pit of military expenditure.
Just the drill of the heavy infantry company, Qian Tiandun thought it was not enough to shock the North Korean prince and his party enough, so he also arranged artillery shooting training.
The artillery equipped by this authentic artillery unit starts with a caliber of 115mm, which is much larger than the small-caliber guns of the heavy infantry company that pursue lightness, and the power of the shelling is naturally not the same.The Haihan Army also specially set up some bamboo and wood structure fortifications in the shooting range as targets, and the effect of bursting after being hit is more visually impactful.
The expressions of the two princes were a little nervous after the sound of the rumbling guns, but they were of noble origin after all, even though they were terrified, they insisted on watching the deafening artillery drill at close range.
"The artillery is so powerful, it's no wonder that the Qing army was defeated after colliding with the defense line set up by your army on the Datong River. It's really a magic weapon!" Li Wei praised.
Li Hao asked: "Excuse me, General Qian, our country also has some artillery, which are similar in size but seem to be less powerful than your country's cannons. Why? Are they the same as muskets? They look similar, but their performance is very different when used. .”
Qian Tiandun explained: "The technical principles may not be fully understood after I have told the two of you. In the final analysis, there is a gap in the level of ability to design and manufacture weapons. And this gap is difficult to use money. Make up, after all, there are many disciplines involved in the development of an advanced weapon, and it takes a long time to train relevant talents, so we suggest that your country send more overseas students to Sanya, where they will have the opportunity to learn various The most advanced technology in the field, and then bring it back to North Korea to benefit the people."
Qian Tiandun's statement undoubtedly sounds very generous, but the actual operation is not simple. The skills that North Korea can really learn from Haihan in a short period of time may still be mainly agricultural technology.As for weapon manufacturing, marching and fighting, the knowledge in these professional fields cannot be achieved overnight, and even needs to be continuously exercised and perfected in the war.
Haihan has overseas battlefields all year round that can be used to temper the troops and test the combat effectiveness of new weapons, but North Korea does not yet have such conditions. After all, none of the surrounding countries can provoke it. Proactively provoking a war is deadly.
Of course, the two princes may not have such an awareness now, so they are still very excited by Qian Tiandun's attitude, thinking that the opening of Haihan will be an excellent development opportunity for their country—— The premise is that the country can send enough overseas students to Haihan with the conditions.
But going to Haihan to study abroad is not a free benefit. Haihan just provides such a window. As for the various expenses of overseas students during their stay in Haihan, it still needs to be settled by the brothers.For North Korea, the related budget is not a small amount, so it will actively restrict the number of places.
According to the conditions proposed by Haihan, every military officer going to Sanya to study abroad needs to pay Haihan 3000 taels of silver per year, which includes basic expenses such as tuition, miscellaneous fees, and accommodation.However, students still need to bear their own food, clothing and social expenses during their study abroad. Given the local economic level in Sanya, at least 800 taels of silver must be prepared for a year.If students participate in other special operations during their study abroad, such as going overseas with the Haihan Army as military observers, the cost may have to be calculated separately.
For North Korea, which is currently extremely poor, this tuition fee is quite high. Considering the limited funds, the military will have to purchase a large amount of weapons from Haihan to arm the new army, so it is impossible to send a large number of overseas students. That's why there was a situation where only 2000 or so people could be selected from the [-] new army and sent to study abroad.The North Korean side originally thought that this was Haihan's intention to rip off, but after communicating with the Fujian Ming Army and the Annan Army, they realized that this is also a perennial price. It's just that the economic situation of those two countries is far better than that of North Korea, and they send dozens of officers every year. Go to Sanya to study abroad without even blinking an eye.
Of course, if the two princes want to study abroad, the treatment will definitely be different. Haihan has already stated that the tuition fees can be waived, and they can choose to live in the recently completed North Korean embassy. Not only the living environment is far better than the military camp, but also Food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all covered by the public expenditure accounts, and the two yamen in charge of diplomacy and finance, Li Cao and Hu Cao, will certainly not say anything about it.
Now that everything is ready, the two princes are quite interested in this, and there is a rare harmonious situation in the court. There is no objection from the ministers, and it seems that they only need to wait for the king Li Ji to make corresponding arrangements.
After watching the army's drill in the morning and having lunch, Qian Tiandun took the group of North Koreans by boat to a construction site on the river bank downstream of the base that was still demarcated.
"Everyone, although the place you see now is still a wasteland, it will soon become an arsenal jointly built by our two countries." Qian Tiandun pointed to the place that had been roped up. The place introduced: "After the completion of this place, the cost of changing weapons in your country will also drop significantly. If enough craftsmen join in by then, the production capacity here will be enough to meet the needs of your country."
Qian Tiandun's words were still an ambush. He did not promise the North Koreans the specific future production capacity of the arsenal. If the North Koreans' expectations cannot be met by then, the reason can be attributed to the lack of qualified craftsmen.
Li Lu said: "If I remember correctly, this is the iron ore mine that your country is going to mine, right?"
Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "Your Majesty remembers correctly, the mine is less than five miles away, and a smelter will be built between the mine and the arsenal. At that time, there will be a road from mining to smelting to An ordnance production line for the manufacture of guns."
"Production line? This idea is very new." Li Wei nodded and said, "This arrangement is very good. Processing is nearby, which can save a lot of trouble."
If the coal mines near Pyongyang on the upper reaches of the Taedong River are counted, this area will form a coal-iron composite industrial zone including an arsenal in the future. The industrial structure is even more complete than the Shilu-Changhua Industrial Zone in Haihan.Of course, for a certain period of time in the future, the production here can only be dominated by manpower, and the productivity cannot be compared with that of Haihan Industrial Zone, which has already started to use steam machinery in large quantities.
The arsenal was nominally built in cooperation between the two countries, but in fact Haihan was only responsible for the construction plan of the factory area and the manufacturing technology of weapons, while the North Korean side invested funds and manpower.The weapons produced here in the future will mainly be the models that Haihan technology transferred to North Korea, but Haihan will also produce some low-tech weapon parts here to meet the needs of the northern garrison.
Of course, as far as the current situation is concerned, this arsenal is still in the stage of drawing cakes. Although the North Korean side really wants to promote the early completion of this project, it still has the old problem that cannot be bypassed-no money.The budget for the cost of the arsenal provided by the Haihan military was 80 taels of silver. The North Korean side could not afford such a large amount of money, so they could only press down on the budget again and again, and finally reduced the cost by half.But even so, there is still not enough funds to be in place in time, so we can only insert a few signs and use a rope to circle the land, indicating that the project has started.
As for when it will be completed, it only depends on when the imperial court allocates funds.Shen Jingzhen, the military judge who was in charge of this matter, took the opportunity to answer the conversation: "Report to your son, the design drawings of the arsenal have been prepared at present, and the construction can start here immediately after the imperial court allocates funds."
What Shen Jingzhen meant was, of course, that he wanted the son to help urge the money after he went back. If the court didn't take the money, the land would have to remain vacant forever.
Li Nao is not stupid, as soon as he heard Shen Jingzhen's tone, he knew that there were still some situations that he didn't know about.However, whether the lack of funds is a problem with Hucao Yamen or some other reason, he will not ask here in front of the Haihan people, and immediately replied: "Master Shen, don't worry, this matter will be settled soon. It will be resolved."
How to solve it, who will solve it, and when will it be solved, Li Min didn't say a word, and Shen Jingzhen didn't know what to do or continued to ask, he just wanted Li Min to express his opinion, and didn't expect to get more benefits from Li Min.
In fact, Li Lu didn't understand the purpose of the Haihan people arranging him to visit the location of this arsenal, but as the son of the prince, he could neither lose his momentum in front of the Haihan people, nor overblown the cowhide. This speed is really not easy to grasp .
The next day, the schedule of the Li brothers and his party was to visit the military wharf of the Datong River base under construction, and the location of the United Shipyard near it, which is also a piece of Baidi.According to the agreement between the two parties, after the completion of this joint shipyard, it will build exploration-class warships for North Korea to enhance the strength of the North Korean navy.
The situation here is actually similar to the arsenal they saw yesterday. It is still an industrial cooperation project whose implementation has been delayed by funds.Of course, Wang Tom also bragged to Li Wei and others about the role of this shipyard after its completion, and looked forward to the bright future of the North Korean Navy.
"...When the coalition fleet blocks the coastline of the Qing Dynasty in the Liaodong area in the future, we very much hope that your naval forces will also participate and take on more important combat missions!"
Tom Wang said to the North Koreans without any trace, meaning that the current strength of the North Korean navy is not enough to undertake combat missions in the coalition fleet.And the actual situation is exactly the same. In the previous operations, the coalition fleet that pressed forward to the Yalu River and Haihan in Liaodong did not have anything to do with Korean warships.Although North Korea also managed to mobilize armed ships from all over the country to help defend the Datong River, it did not actually engage in large-scale battles with the Qing army.
The reason why the North Korean navy was arranged in this way is naturally because of insufficient strength, and because there are few opportunities to contact the Haihan Navy in normal times, it is difficult to cooperate with the coalition fleet.And if North Korea wants to effectively improve the combat effectiveness of its navy, the fastest way to see results is to equip warships made by Haihan.However, the orders of various shipyards in Haihan are currently saturated, and North Korea will not be able to rank for a while, and it will not be able to buy it if it wants to.
Of course, since Haihan is willing to provide the construction technology and drawings of the warship, it is naturally the most cost-effective way to build the ship himself.But if the shipyard fails to put into production after delays, then this cooperation project will have to be shelved like an arsenal.
With unfinished regrets, Li Mo and his party finally embarked on the voyage back to Seoul.But their experience is not over yet, because the return trip is also according to Haihan's arrangement, taking a Majestic-class warship specially dispatched for this purpose, and "by the way" watching the Haihan fleet's maritime drills on the way.
For this purpose, Haihan also dispatched four warships of the two levels of exploration and exploration, plus a comprehensive supply ship and a reconnaissance speedboat, and more than ten Haihan warships participated in this escort trip.After all, the army had already performed in front of the North Koreans before this, and Wang Tom was naturally not far behind.
(End of this chapter)