Chapter 442: Preparations

“Then we’ll just have to destroy the bodies and ships at sea—take what can be dismantled and transported, and abandon the ships.”

“But don’t expect it to be that perfect. Killing them is easy, but can you guarantee that every sailor and marine involved will keep their mouths shut? Besides, it would be a shame to abandon a large galleon with considerable transport capacity.” Ma Qianzhu turned to the finance department. “What impact will 230,000 pesos have on our finances?”

Cheng Dong opened a small notebook and replied, “This income can greatly increase our precious metal reserves. We currently need to import a massive amount of bulk commodities, especially in terms of food imports. Industrial product exports cannot yet fully offset the foreign trade deficit, so income from precious metals like silver is always welcome. Especially with the future promotion of circulation coupons, we will inevitably need to mint a large number of silver coins as reserves.” He was very sensitive about the matter of reserves.

Qian Shuiting said, “I personally think it doesn’t matter even if the Spanish find out. With the Spanish naval strength in East Asia, they are no match for us. Secondly, by taking their ships, we also cut off an important source of income for Zheng Zhilong. The Spanish in the Philippines are extremely dependent on trade with China. It can be said that without Chinese goods and labor, they wouldn’t last a day in the Philippines. As long as we replace Zheng Zhilong’s position and our navy controls the trade with the Philippines, the Governor-General will have no choice but to swallow his pride and continue trading with us. By the way, this operation is also a one-shot deal to strike at Zheng Zhilong. In the long run, trade is more profitable than robbery.”

“What a pity, I was planning to rob them for a dozen more years,” an elder sighed.

“Those who establish and maintain the world order reap the greatest benefits. Just look at the United States in the old time-space,” Qian Shuiting said.

As for the impact on combat and shipping, it would not be too great. From July, the navy and the merchant fleet would begin their rest and refit period. Except for a small number of ships maintaining regular shipping on fixed routes, most shipping would be completely halted. There would be an abundance of both ships and sailors.

As for the dispatched formation, Qian Shuiting’s plan was a mixed formation of two Type 901 gunboats and the Feiyun. The mobility and firepower of the 901 were key to victory. This voyage would be a thousand nautical miles one way, and time was tight, so they couldn’t use sailing ships that required a long transit time. In addition, searching and pursuing on the sea also required high speed and good maneuverability, which sailing ships could not provide.

As for the Feiyun, its main purpose was to provide navigation and weather services for the formation. This was very important for a fleet that had to venture into the labyrinthine waterways of the Philippine archipelago. Secondly, its surface search radar would be of great significance in searching for the target.

These were not too great of a cost for the Senate and the navy, but the loss of the Feiyun, a modern sailboat from the old time-space, would still be very painful.

However, to have a hundred percent chance of success, the Feiyun’s participation was essential—unless the navy was willing to dispatch a Type 8154 cruiser to take its place, the diesel consumption would be unacceptable to the Planning Commission. At least the Feiyun could use sails for half the journey and its engine for the other half.

Chen Haiyang looked at the map and pondered for a while before saying, “I suggest the route be as follows: the formation departs from Hainan and heads east, passes through the Balintang Channel, then goes south around Luzon Island, directly to the eastern entrance of the San Bernardino Strait, and then begins the search. This route is far from the main merchant shipping lanes and is not easily discovered. It also doesn’t pass through hydrographically complex shallow waterways, making it relatively safe. However, entering the Philippine archipelago in July carries a high risk of encountering typhoons. You know, our navy has never conducted a long-distance blue-water voyage before. Back in the day, it was a big deal for our navy to even go beyond the first island chain.”

“We haven’t found any records of typhoons in July 1632. Besides, if there really is a typhoon, those two ships will have already reached Manila, right? Our ships are definitely sturdier than theirs.”

“I’m afraid you can’t verify typhoons by checking historical records. The formation of typhoons is random,” someone expressed dissatisfaction with Qian Shuiting’s statement.

“The Feiyun has a weather radar, which can provide some warning. In case of a typhoon, we can seek shelter in time. In the worst-case scenario, we can at least ensure the safety of the crew.”

There wasn’t much heated discussion after that. Xiao Zishan saw that the heads of the industrial and agricultural departments had originally wanted to speak, but after hearing that only a few ships would be participating, they clearly relaxed and started to have their own little side meetings. Not bad, not bad, this meeting actually didn’t get sidetracked. How rare.

“I say, Cheng Dong, if we don’t issue paper currency now, the silver is just sitting there useless. Can’t you allocate some to our industrial sector?” Zhan Wuya had his eyes on the silver that hadn’t even been obtained yet. “Anyway, the silver doesn’t earn interest sitting with you, nor will it give birth to little silver ingots. It would be great for making wires for us. We’re in desperate need of copper right now, and both the army and the navy are clamoring for it.”

The discussion immediately became lively.

“In that case, it would be better to lend it to our Tiandihui for loans.”

“Old Zhan, aren’t you afraid I’ll put up a sign that says ‘No copper in the wires, but there’s silver,’ and your wires will be cut overnight? Hahaha.”

“You old-timer, don’t you know that the electromagnets at Oak Ridge during World War II used silver wires? The shipyard and the forge should have electromagnets by now; it would be much more convenient. Who would dare to steal silver from a factory? Are they not afraid of getting a Minie ball?”

“How would you insulate it?”

“Didn’t the chemical industry department work on raw lacquer?”

“I heard that silver loses one percent of its weight every year when stored in a vault? In that case, it’s really better to take it out and use it first.”

“After the Manhattan Project was completed, the amount of silver lost at Oak Ridge was less than one-thousandth.”

“Nonsense, we don’t have those silver soldiers in Lingao who can stuff a fifty-tael ingot and sneak it out.”

“You might as well say Los Alamos used a golden sphere to block the door.”

“The legend of the silver soldiers belongs to unofficial history. From my understanding of the Ming Dynasty, this claim is likely an exaggeration. An analysis of the silver reserve records of the Ministry of Revenue during the Ming and Qing dynasties in a core journal suggests that this kind of thing is highly exaggerated.”

Faced with the suddenly off-topic and heated discussion, Qian Shuiting stood on the stage, at a loss. Xiao Zishan quickly stood up to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, these are matters for the future and can be discussed slowly. Ma Jia, do you think it’s necessary to make some regulations here first?”

“The most reasonable and legal course of action for this operation would be for us to declare war on the Spanish—after all, we are deploying regular armed forces. Since we are in a state of war, capturing enemy ships and confiscating their cargo and vessels are all in accordance with the laws of war. As for whether prisoners have human rights—I’m inclined to say that in the 17th century, there was no such thing.” Ma Jia spoke eloquently. “However, the procedures for declaring war are too cumbersome, and we can’t send an envoy to Manila in time. Therefore, I think we can refer to some historical privateering actions. Drake’s operations at sea had some elements of a joint-stock company. Following his example, I believe that launching a privateering action against the Spanish Manila government is completely legal. After all, our Senate itself has the meaning of a joint-stock company. The Spanish have conducted hostile actions against Bopu Port, so our maritime retaliation is also legal…” He was about to continue when Wen Desi stopped him. “Very good, very good. You go and draft a relevant legal basis document.”

“No problem. Give me three days, and I will definitely produce a well-organized and well-reasoned legal document that fully reflects our respect for the law.”

As for the distribution of the spoils, according to the old precedent of the salvaged items from Ship A, controlled materials would be recorded by the Planning Commission, while non-controlled materials, daily necessities, and luxury goods would be sold to all elders through auction. The proceeds from the sale of the spoils would be added to each elder’s dividend at the end of the year according to their shareholding ratio.

The meeting ended amicably with no one objecting. The matter was officially “approved,” and the operation was codenamed “Hunger.”

“I never thought you guys would build something like this,” Qian Shuiting exclaimed in amazement when he saw the “galleon” before him.

It was indeed a “ship”—hull, deck, masts, rigging… it had everything a thousand-ton galleon should have, and it was also moored in the bay.

However, it couldn’t move, because this galleon was actually just a full-scale model—its official name was “Fixed Maritime Simulation Training Facility.” It was actually built on a row of wooden piles driven into the seabed. It was more of a wooden house than a ship.

The key parts of the ship’s body, such as the keel and ribs, were all replicated one hundred percent, but they were all just “similar in form”—not made with the same processing of ship materials and manufacturing techniques as in real shipbuilding. Its purpose was only to provide a visual demonstration for those using this model.

“Speaking of this idea, it was your proposal that sparked it,” said Fu Sansi, the Director of Training, as he led Qian Shuiting onto the “ship’s” deck. Except for the sails, the three tall masts on the galleon’s deck were also built—but like the materials used for the “ship,” they were made of spliced-together low-quality wood. If they were to set sail at sea, they would immediately disintegrate.

The suggestion to build this one-to-one scale model of a large European ship for training was proposed by the Naval Department. Although Qian Shuiting’s proposal had not been passed for two consecutive years, it had inspired the elder officers of the navy: there would certainly be many boarding battles in the future with the goal of capturing enemy ships. The structure of ordinary small and medium-sized ships was relatively simple, and the navy had real ships to practice on. But large ships like galleons or Dutch “yachts,” with a displacement of over a thousand tons, had three or four decks and a very complex internal structure. If one was not familiar with the ship’s internal structure, it would be easy to suffer losses in battle. This was something the navy had to avoid at all costs.