Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 988 – Remodeling the Great Xia Navy
Zhang Liang replied, “The solution is to find common minded people to form a third faction in the world to go against Silver Hand and the academic faction.”
In order to not be controlled by others, one needs to jump out of the rules that others set for you.
“Good.” Ouyang Shuo’s eyes lit up, and he passed the name list to Zhang Liang, “Ask the Administrative Mentor Court how to use this name list to play a huge chess game.”
“Understood!”
Zhang Liang solemnly nodded; it was time for the Administrative Mentor Court to shine.
…
In the next few days, the world was filled with many shocks.
Gaia 5th year, 1st month, 10th day, Gan Ning led the Emperor Squadron back to Beihai Port. Along with them was the first Great Xia submarine – Black Shark.
The next morning, Great Xia finally made some new moves.
On this day, Navy Admiral Zheng He, Navy Minister and Navy Academy Principal Li Hongzhang, Navy Headquarters Strategist Lu Su, Emperor Squadron Fleet Admiral Gan Ning, Nanjiang Squadron Fleet Admiral Zhou Yu, Yashan Squadron Fleet Admiral Yu Dayou, Yizhou Fleet Admiral Shi Lang, Indian Ocean Fleet Admiral Yanhuo Yaonie, Atlantic Squadron Fleet Admiral Alvaro, and Binhai Squadron Fleet Admiral Qin Jiguang had all gathered in Shanhai City.
After making the choice to focus externally and not internally, the first thing Ouyang Shuo needed to do was remodel the navy. He needed to discuss with them about the future development of the navy to mesh with their ocean strategy.
Out of the seven squadrons, the Emperor Squadron was the most special. On the other hand, the Binhai Squadron was built the latest and only had two divisions till date. The remaining five other squadrons were all full.
The first step of remodeling would be to adjust the structure.
The Great Xia Navy’s greatest weakness was that it focused on the seas and not the oceans. Nanjiang Squadron, Yashan Squadron, Yizhou Squadron, and Binhai Squadron; they all focused on the seas.
This was not much previously. However, as they started to shift their focus overseas, and with the Yanhuang Alliance not being able to do anything to them, arranging so many squadrons to focus on the seas was a waste.
It was not only a waste of resources but also a huge burden.
The first to be adjusted was the Nanjiang Squadron.
Nanjiang Squadron was the Beihai Bay Squadron; it was the first navy squadron in Great Xia. After the change, they were moved inland and housed in Jiangchuan Province’s Poyang Lake.
Ouyang Shuo’s original intent was for them to work together with the army for battles.
As the China situation settled, there was no need to arrange such a strong squadron inland, and it could be disbanded.
Coincidentally, the Binhai Squadron was not fully filled, so Ouyang Shuo decided to move the 3rd, 4th, and 5th divisions into the Binhai Squadron. The future Nanjiang Squadron would only have two divisions.
The Binhai Squadron was facing the Handan Squadron and the Haizhou Squadron in the north to protect the dynasty’s influence in the region. As a result, filling up the squadron was really important.
This was one reason.
The Binhai Squadron was close to Japan and would play a huge role in the upcoming country war. After Qin Jiguang, this anti-Japan general was appointed, all the more they needed to strengthen this squadron.
Apart from removing some troops, since the Nanjiang Squadron was a purely inland sea navy, it was awkward for them to be placed in the navy jurisdiction. During this reorganization, they would be moved under the Privy Court and the Grand Council. They would be treated as part of the army.
At the same time, the Fleet Admiral was also changed.
Gan Ning would become the new Nanjiang Squadron Fleet Admiral while Zhou Yu would take charge of the Emperor Squadron.
After the Nanjiang Squadron had been reorganized, its strategic importance and position had dropped. Ouyang Shuo naturally would not let a general like Zhou Yu be buried in it.
Furthermore, letting Gan Ning be the Fleet Admiral of the Emperor Squadron was for convenience.
…
Next was the Yizhou Squadron.
The Yizhou Squadron would be renamed the Pacific Squadron and become the third voyage squadron of the Great Xia Navy. With that, apart from the Arctic Ocean, each ocean had its own squadron.
Their plan for the world had been settled.
After the reorganization, apart from the Emperor Squadron, the jurisdictions of the remaining five squadrons were really clear.
The Yashan Squadron would focus on the south ocean, the Binhai Squadron would focus on the Yellow River and the east ocean; these two squadrons would protect the Great Xia ocean coasts.
Qin Jiguang and Yu Dayou, these two buddies against the Japanese, one north and one south, what a combination.
Spanish famous general Alvaro’s Atlantic Squadron would be based in Morocco, and its jurisdiction included the Mediterranean, Africa’s west coast, and America’s east coast.
Just one Mediterranean was enough to give Great Xia a headache. Along with Britain, Holland, and America, the Atlantic Squadron was in the roughest spot.
Luckily, with a God General like Alvaro in charge, Ouyang Shuo was not worried.
Yanhuo Yaonie’s Indian Ocean Squadron was based in Lion City, and its jurisdiction included a portion of ASEAN, the east coast of Africa, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The Atlantic Squadron would move out from the Gulf of Aden and hand it over to the Indian Ocean Squadron.
Apart from defending the Malacca Straits, Somalia Province, and Auckland, the Indian Ocean would definitely clash with the Indian Ocean Squadron for control over the ocean.
Yanhuo Yaonie, this player turned legendary fleet commander, would obtain a bigger stage to perform.
Last was the Shi Lang led Pacific Ocean Squadron. The headquarters would still be at the Yizhou Prefecture. In the future, Ouyang Shuo hoped that they could take down Hawaii and use it as a stepping board.
It was best if they could set up a navy base on the American Continent and complete their Pacific Ocean plan.
Apart from Japan in the north, their main enemy was still the Dawson Empire. Apart from that, they also had the responsibility to open up trading routes with South America.
…
Clearly defining the five squadrons was just the first step. Most crucially, they needed to differentiate the sea squadrons from the ocean squadrons to set different weapon development plans.
Along with the use of the magic powered submarine making technique, the Great Xia navy’s arsenal included warships, support ships, cannons, firearms, submarines, carriers, ocean mines, and more.
However, in the new round of system update, Gaia greatly reduced the equipment making speed. Hence, even though Great Xia had an advanced shipbuilding and military industry, it still needed to make sacrifices.
Ouyang Shuo’s strategy was simple. He would prioritize the three voyage squadrons and change their equipment first. This round of change was not only for warships.
“Within three years, they must transform from cold weapons to thermal weapons. The squadron soldiers will mostly change class to gunners or cannoneers. They will not have a single sword shield soldier or archer.” Ouyang Shuo defined this seismic change.
Firearm making still posed a difficult problem and building them on a large scale was even tougher.
Based on the preliminary estimations, to complete this goal, they needed to craft 500 Z1 Type Warships, 300 thousand Z1 type cannons, 200 thousand Z2 type cannons, and 200 thousand handguns.
This was an unprecedented order for the Great Xia Dynasty, where industrialization was not that advanced yet.
Gaia ending the auctions sent a really clear signal – it would not use the auction to throw out any equipment making technologies that exceeded the current technology tree.
The technology trees in the game would not have any historical breakthroughs either.
In the navy, the Man o’ War type warships would still be the main type for a long period of time. Even if someone invented the iron armored warships powered by steam engines, it would remain on the experimental level and not reach a large scale.
Not to mention other problems, but just the crafting time did not allow for a large scale use.
Due to such strategic considerations, Ouyang Shuo made his decision. If not, and Gaia pushed out the iron armored warships after they changed into Z1 Type Warships, it would be catastrophic.
Even so, they left some flexibility in this change, and it was not a 100% change. The specifics would be handled by the Navy Headquarters, and Ouyang Shuo did not need to worry about it.
…
After adjusting the structure, splitting up zones, and deciding on the equipment, the navy development would head onto the right path and become more logical.
But this was not enough.
The important problem to the voyage squadrons was how to build three to five ocean bases in the oceans for control purposes.
If they had current ports, that would be great. If they did not, they could either rent or directly attack to occupy. How to choose was a big question.
This was a systematic project that needed the squadron, the Navy Headquarters, and the Grand Council to work together to set a detailed plan and timetable.
This also depended on the Black Snake Guard’s intel network, Administrative Mentor Court’s strategies, as well as the Cabinet’s help. The list provided by Old Chen could have some use.
This whole matter was really complicated.
Ouyang Shuo was not a strict boss, and he ordered the three Fleet Admirals to complete the plan by the Lantern Festival.
The squadron equipment changing plan involved changes in soldier types and also the reorganization of the entire squadron. They could not use the cold weapons structure for the thermal weapons era.
After remodeling and restructuring the navy, the combat system also needed to be adjusted.
The problem was that facing such a huge adjustment, could the navy soldiers adapt? Did they need to have proper training?
This involved another element of the navy restructuring – the construction of the Navy Academy. The Navy Minister and the Navy Academy Principal Li Hongzhang would take this chance to walk into the spotlight.