My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 333 The Significance of the Navy

"The second point is what you mentioned in your letter, Lao Zhu, that is, to put artillery on board ships and build a strong navy.

Of course, regarding the navy matter, don’t blame me for not reminding you in advance. Isn’t this a matter of course? Do I need to remind you?

Doesn't the Ming Dynasty have a navy? Building a navy on the sea would be a natural thing, wouldn't it?"

Seeing Li Han's question, Zhu Yuanzhang blushed. Could it be that he really didn't think this matter through?
Although I just made a small complaint and a joke in the previous letter, I didn't expect that the joke would be directed at me.

It's really a retribution.

"Let's get back to the point. It's a good thing that you can think of building a navy, but before we discuss how to build a strong navy, there is a question we must first clarify.

That is, what the navy is used for, that is, the purpose of the navy."

Zhu Yuanzhang started thinking about the purpose of the navy without Li Han asking.

First of all, the most direct reason why he thought of building a strong navy was that Tang He mentioned the need to move cannons on board to fight pirates and protect the fleet.

The first role of the navy is to escort and protect merchant ships from pirate attacks.

Of course, the role of the navy is definitely more than that. When Lao Li talked about sea power before, he mentioned that sea power is achieved by controlling waterways. So the second role of the navy is to control waterways.

In addition to this, of course, there is also the ability to strike against hostile forces, and the navy can also transport troops to enemy countries and conduct cross-sea operations against the enemy countries.

These are all Zhu Yuanzhang could think of, all the roles that the navy could play.

So, let’s see what Lao Li said. Is it the same as what you think?

“In fact, the navy, like the army, is a component of the Ming Empire’s armed forces, and its essence is to protect the Ming Empire’s security and interests.

The army of the Ming Dynasty was born out of the rebels who resisted the tyranny of the Yuan court. Expelling the Tartars and restoring China is the everlasting banner of this armed force.

Although this army has been colored by the White Lotus since its inception, most of its members, like you at the beginning, are actually civilians who cannot survive and heroes who resist tyranny, and not all of them are extremists of the White Lotus.

Looking through the phenomenon to the essence, after stripping off the cloak of the White Lotus Sect and the Little Ming King, this army is actually an army that came from the people, and it has a natural sense of justice from the very beginning.

After you, Zhu, took over the leadership of this army, you put forward the slogan of expelling the Tartars and restoring China in the "Edict to the Central Plains", which injected soul into this army, stripped off its primitive and childish religious cloak, and transformed it into an army that truly fought for China.

Expelling the Tartars and restoring China is the core idea of ​​this army, and it is also the essence that needs to remain unchanged! "

For some reason, Zhu Yuanzhang felt his eyes were a little hot and his vision seemed to be a little foggy.

Suddenly, he felt that his previous thinking was too narrow-minded. The army was just the sword in the hands of the emperor. They would attack wherever the emperor's sword pointed.

But after what Lao Li said, he realized belatedly that this army actually has a soul, and the soul is the core that ensures this army's invincibility.

Gradually, the image of the Ming army became taller in his eyes. They were the protectors of the Ming Dynasty, not just soldiers in garrisons or military households.

"Like the army, the navy also needs to inherit and carry forward this idea. Although the division of labor is different, the essence of the two is the same. So after determining the idea of ​​building the army, let's take a look at the purpose of the navy.

From this perspective, the purpose of the navy includes two major categories: one is the ultimate mission, that is, the decisive battle, and the other is the daily mission, that is, maintaining existence.

Let’s talk about the decisive battle first. This is very simple to understand, that is, to defeat the enemy by any method or means and make the enemy surrender.

For example, this time, Lao Zhu, if you want to destroy Chen Zuyi, it will be a decisive battle mission for the navy, and it will also let other forces see the strength and invincibility of the Ming navy! "

Well, this is easy for Old Zhu to understand. Moreover, this time we not only have to wipe out Chen Zuyi's pirate group, but also win beautifully, so as to deter the evil-minded villains.

"Let's talk about maintaining existence. Let's put it this way, Old Zhu, you can regard the navy as an extension of Ming's interests. In other words, wherever the navy goes, Ming's interests extend there."

Wherever the navy goes, the interests of the Ming Dynasty will extend there?
In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang felt his blood boiling. This sentence was so domineering!
In other words, wherever there is a navy, there are the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

This is truly achieved on another level, what it means that all under heaven belongs to the king!

His brain suddenly opened up, and the idea of ​​how to use the navy began to take root in his mind.

"To put it in detail, Japan's mission is to maintain its existence, including opening up shipping routes, protecting and escorting shipping routes, and expelling the villains who invade Ming territory.

The significance of maintaining existence lies in strategic deterrence, or to use an old saying of Sun Tzu, to conquer the enemy without fighting.

The navy’s warships are clearly visible, but in order to let other forces know the horror of the Ming warships, this battle with Chen Zuyi must be won beautifully.

Otherwise, if the other foreign villains don’t know how powerful the navy is, it would be a waste of effort. After all, ignorance is bliss, right?
Once the Ming Navy has established sufficient deterrent power, then as long as the Ming warships appear on the waterway, it means that the villains will retreat, and this place belongs to the Ming Dynasty's interests!
At the same time, due to the special nature of the navy, it can maintain deterrence against enemy countries at any time. For example, if Japan infringes on the interests of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty only needs to place warships in front of the Japanese gate and do nothing else. It only needs to block their seaports and see whether they will panic or not.

This is the meaning of the navy's existence, which is to tell everyone in the world that I am here, and if you are brave enough, come and try!
If there is such a person who is so blind, unless he has the same national strength as the Ming Dynasty, he will have to wait for his family fortune accumulated over several lifetimes to be buried in the sea."

"Hahahaha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was smiling so happily. Li Han's words made him so excited that he wished he could build an invincible fleet right now and travel the world.

“Building a strong navy also consists of two parts. The first part is to build strong warships.

Note that I am talking about warships, which are ships built specifically for naval warfare, not simply moving cannons onto ships. "

Ships built specifically for naval warfare?

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was immediately moved. This might be another miracle that no one had ever seen.

"The new warships include ships and naval guns, and naval guns are different from the artillery you understand, Lao Zhu.

I will not go into details in this letter. I have sent you detailed drawings of the ship and the guns, which are attached to the letter. You can ask Li Min and others to study them carefully. "

(End of this chapter)