Chapter 3731
Chapter 3731
Chapter 3731
May 1659, Hangzhou Bay.
After intense scheduling across multiple states, the visiting fleet led by Shi Diwen, Gao Huan and Tian Yeyou finally completed the preliminary preparations and was ready to set off.
Although it was nominally a visit, the main mission of this fleet was to enter the Indian Ocean and provide the special operations divisions at the forefront with all the support they needed. This action was also used to declare that Hai Han's presence in the Indian Ocean was not a solitary effort of the special operations divisions, but a national strategy that the Executive Committee clearly supported.
There is news on the market that after this visiting fleet arrives in the Indian Ocean, it will officially announce the establishment of a new overseas region based on the special operations division's existing jurisdiction.
Although the special operations division's current jurisdiction is only a few islands and ports under construction, and the actual controlled land area may be only the size of a state capital in the country, the vast territory it covers has spanned the two continents of Asia and Africa, and even surpassed the overseas regions of North America, Singapore Island, and Luzon.
Moreover, the Special Operations Division’s jurisdiction not only has oil deposits with good development prospects in the future, but also is located at the crossroads of the sea routes. Controlling these areas is equivalent to controlling the maritime lifeline that connects the East and the West in the future.
Among all overseas regions, perhaps only the location of Sing Tao Island can be compared with it in terms of strategic value.
Based on this reality, it makes sense for the Executive Committee to use the Special Operations Division's jurisdiction to establish a new overseas region.
Of course, some people also believe that the New World in the South, which is being developed and constructed in the two regions of Luzon and Xingdao at the same time, has a vast territory and rich resources. At the same time, there are no other forces in the area to compete with Hai Han, and it seems to be more in line with the standards for establishing a new region.
But judging from the attitude of the Executive Committee, the importance they attached to the Special Warfare Division was obviously much greater than that of the Southern New Continent. After all, the continent in the extreme south had not yet been officially named by the Executive Committee, let alone improving its administrative status. The progress was likely to lag behind that of the Special Warfare Division.
Regardless of whether the legendary "Indian Ocean Region" can be officially named soon, the extent to which the Executive Committee attaches importance to it can already be seen from the size of the visiting fleet.
Many people with a keen sense of smell also realized that in the next few years, the area under the jurisdiction of the special warfare division will receive strong support from the country. The opportunities contained in this will be far more than the few listed by those brokers who are shouting at the top of their lungs to promote immigration overseas.
Therefore, even in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, which have little interest in immigrating overseas, there are still a large number of non-governmental groups that have organized their own investigation teams to set out with the official fleet to look for business opportunities in the local area.
For example, the three ships of the Yangzhou Salt Merchants Association arrived at Zhoushan Port fully loaded and waiting half a month in advance.
In the words of President Dai Yingda, the business of the Salt Merchants Chamber of Commerce does not have to be confined to the salt industry, nor does it have to be restricted to the East China Sea region. As long as they abide by the law, they can go to any place under the jurisdiction of Hai Han.
The Yangzhou salt merchants were so aware, and the chambers of commerce in the capital region would certainly not lag behind. The Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce, Huzhou Chamber of Commerce, Jiaxing Chamber of Commerce, Ningbo Chamber of Commerce, and Shaoxing Chamber of Commerce also organized similar inspection teams to join this visit. Of course, some of them were not necessarily looking for business opportunities, but other peers were actively participating, and if they were indifferent to this, they would be too independent.
There are also some smart people with a long-term vision who have already anticipated some of the situations after the establishment of the new region - by then, many government offices will be set up under the new region to divide the management of various affairs, and these positions, big and small, will also need someone to fill them one by one.
If you have some background and can prepare for it in advance, there is a good chance that you can get a position in the government of the new region.
Civilian organizations such as chambers of commerce in Taizhou, Wenzhou and other places also reported to the government, intending to join the fleet when it moved south.
The visiting fleet will also stop at Hong Kong at the mouth of the Pearl River and Sanya on Hainan Island to ship supplies when it goes south. I believe that new participants will join in by then. Even when passing through countries such as Annan, there will be small fleets organized by those countries to join.
When Shi Diwen made the plan for this visit, he initially planned the fleet size to be around thirty or forty ships, but with the active participation of various civil groups and even vassal states, the size of the fleet expanded rapidly.
After the fleet completed its assembly in Hangzhou Bay and met up with civilian ships waiting in Zhoushan and Ningbo, the number of ships in the fleet was more than double the plan.
Shi Diwen also had to temporarily adjust the original sailing plan and again transferred several warships from the East China Sea Fleet stationed in Zhoushan Port to join in, to ensure that all instructions issued from the flagship could cover the entire fleet, including many civilian ships.
It is worth mentioning that the flagship of this fleet is the Zhoushan, the first ship of the Glorious class independently developed and built by the East China Sea region. This is also the first time that Zhoushan has carried out such an ultra-long-distance mission since its service.
The tonnage of Zhoushan far exceeds that of the Majestic-class battleships that currently serve as the main force of each fleet, jumping from 1800 tons to 4000 tons. The power, firepower and protection have also been greatly improved. In this era, it is not an exaggeration to call it the world's strongest battleship.
However, due to its large size and the use of many new technologies, the construction cost remains high and the construction period is far from meeting the requirements of mass production. Although the second ship of the Slava class has been built, it will still take at least a year for outfitting before it can be officially put into service.
By using Zhoushan as the flagship of this operation, Shi Diwen also intends to use this opportunity to demonstrate his strength so that local governments that are interested in ordering Glory-class battleships will be able to happily pay the deposit.
As long as the number of orders received increases, the development cost per Glory-class battleship will drop significantly, which will also help Zhoushan Shipyard to continue to expand its production capacity, shorten construction period, and receive more orders from the military.
Shi Diwen does not expect the Glory-class battleships to bring much economic benefits to the East China Sea region. What he values is that this new type of battleship will gain him greater influence in the military, as well as the subsequent technological advancement it will bring to the shipbuilding industry in the East China Sea region.
When the 4,000-ton shipbuilding technology gradually matures through the construction of the Glorious-class battleships, it can be partially transferred to the field of civilian ship manufacturing, thereby greatly increasing the carrying capacity of cargo ships. The increase in shipping capacity will mean a reduction in shipping costs, and the far-reaching impact it will bring may be far greater than that of the Glorious-class battleships.