"Then, stop the military operations on the coast of Brazil." On the day when the East Coast Gas Company began to install gas lamp systems for major domestic enterprises, in the telegraph room of Zhenhai County, Mo Ming, Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces, smoked a cigarette, and said to Major General Li Yi, the Minister of Navy Li Yi, who came to ask for instructions: "Anyway, the other side is almost robbed, and there is no way to rob it. It is really a loss to mobilize 20,000 naval and army soldiers to go over. It is better to disband the militia and let them go back to work. Now the situation in Britain and the Netherlands is so tense, and the war is outbreak is a high probability event. One more person produces materials and exports more to make money."

"It's because Bahia, Pernambuko, Seala, Maranion and other places have been plowed several times, and there is no good or bad. The Navy's recent mission is also relatively heavy, and the Caribbean Sea has been mentioned several times. After Han Dezhi comes back, he must appoint a capable general to take charge. At the same time, he has to send more ships to help Caribbean shipping companies stabilize their position. After all, their current strength is still a bit too weak." Minister Li Yi said, this is a great opportunity for the Navy to show his face to compete for benefits, and he has no reason not to pay attention to it.

Speaking of which, Air Canada has also developed in the Caribbean for several years. Although the profits of monopoly trade are extremely rich, who is also burdened by heavy burdens? Especially at the beginning of the stage of rushing to the layout, in addition to the five customs that have to be given a certain amount to the Ministry of Finance every year, namely Cartagena, Havana, St. Augustine, Villacruz and Bello (equivalent to tax-inclusive nature), they also have to order ships, expand plantations, maintain part of the military expenditure of the Army stationed in the Caribbean, transport Black Eight Banners personnel to the Free State, handle Spanish nobles and merchants from all over the country, clear out pirates, crack down on smuggling, etc., a big deal, and this expense is naturally extremely huge.

Even in the report to the local area last year (1663), Ding Yiyu, president of Air Canada, clearly mentioned that the annual net profit was only 10,000 yuan, which was a little lower than the Taiwan Bank in the Far East. It was really surprising. Among the three major colonial trading companies of the East Coast Republic of China, the Caribbean Shipping Company and the Taiwan Bank, this company has the worst profitability. If you ignore the fact that the Nan Railway suffered huge losses for six or seven years in the beginning.

In order to get out of this dilemma, Caribbean shipping companies had to ask their parents for help, hoping that they could instigate some policy or economic assistance from the country to help them reduce their burdens. At the same time, the company also proposed some plans to reduce expenditures, such as they requested that the Fourth Mixed Battalion, located in the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, be transferred back to the country. They would have to pay, eat, housing, subsidies and expenses a year, and the profit of 200,000 yuan was gone. They could not afford to support militias or mercenaries with lower costs, and they expected that their expenses could be reduced by more than 100,000 yuan a year.

In addition, they also strongly demanded that the amount of transporting Black Eight Banners officers and soldiers and their families be reduced by half every year, because this seriously affected their trade efficiency (ships set out from the local area to the Caribbean cannot carry a large amount of cargo), and it is conservatively estimated that this year will increase revenue by more than 200,000 yuan; finally, they also hope that the Ministry of Navy can communicate with the three major domestic shipyards to see if they can help design a patrol ship with faster speeds (for which a little firepower can be sacrificed appropriately) to help them increase anti-smuggling efforts. They predict that if an anti-smuggling fleet composed of fast patrol ships forms a certain scale, then Air Canada will increase its revenue by another 300,000 or 500,000 yuan per year, because the smuggling is too serious now.

To be honest, Air Canada's major requirements made the Admiralty a little nervous. Just like the Southern Railway to the Army, Air Canada is also extremely important to the Navy and cannot be abandoned. Therefore, from the Minister Li Yi down, almost no one is not studying how to reduce the burden on Air Canada and increase its strength. Their reason is actually high-sounding, that is, there is a fierce war under England and United Provinces. Let's call it the second

During the second British-Dutch war, they would have to draw forces from all over the world to fight back to the North Sea. In this way, the control of these two naval powers over the Caribbean Sea will inevitably be reduced by an order of magnitude. Then isn’t this a good time for the East Coast people to strongly intervene in this rich sea? If it is a bit annoying to say that the open intervention of the regular navy is a bit annoying, then it can be fully supported. If armed Caribbean shipping companies, what enterprises do in the Caribbean Sea is always much more flexible than the government’s bare-handed ending.

However, the navy's argument can at most fool the ignorant people and lower-level officials. The narrative is completely ineligible for the cunning executive committee and the army that has been trying to pull their braids to compete for military expenditure. The executive committee is thinking about how to spend a small amount (or even without spending money) to do big things, and the army is thinking about how to suppress the navy in the distribution of domestic military budgets. Your navy is now saying that it is going to send warships to the Caribbean to strengthen its military presence. What's going on?

Therefore, Mo Ming immediately said: "It is not impossible to send warships to the Caribbean Sea, but now you have to block the coast of Brazil and escort domestic merchant ships. The Cape Verde Islands over there will also send a squadron to attack the Portuguese, and local defense must not be ignored. In this case, you have to send warships to intervene in the Caribbean Sea. Do you have three heads and six arms? How did the Portuguese collapse? It's just that the power was too dispersed and was defeated one by one by our large fleet! Lao Li, I'm honest, I really don't want your navy to fall. The power is too dispersed, it's not good!"

Li Yi was speechless when he heard Mo Ming say this, not knowing what to say, after all, what he said was true. As a matter of facts, this matter must be settled to end the war against Portugal. Only by ending the war with the Kingdom of Portugal first, can a considerable part of the navy be liberated from the complex escort, blockade and combat missions, and then run for the interests of the navy. But before that, the East Coast and Portugal were still in a state of war, and the East Coast Navy still could not escape and could do nothing. This was so painful.

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but find that the navy had not agreed to quickly end the war with the Portuguese Kingdom before, but now it seems that the sooner the matter ends, the better. Now that the war between Britain and the Netherlands is an excellent opportunity for people on the East Coast to intervene in the Caribbean. After this village, there may not be that shop. When Britain and the Netherlands turn their attention to the Caribbean again after the war, there will be fewer opportunities to make wind and rain here. Therefore, after Li Yi decided to end the talks with Mo Ming, he took the time to go back to the capital and discuss with the executive committee that they were used to supporting the navy, and the strong advancement of the East Coast Navy into the Caribbean is also in the interests of the national. With their care, Air Canada's future should be almost done.

With this idea in mind, Li Yi did not intend to make a breakthrough with Mo Ming. Anyway, the Navy and the Army are naturally in a competitive relationship and have never been able to get along. It is purely a daydream to hope that they can help the Navy expand its power and influence, unless there is enough interest to impress them. Now, it is really annoying that the position of Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Headquarters makes the Army domineering. It is not a good idea to do anything. Next time the election of the new term, you must go around and grab this key position to the Navy.

Therefore, he heard Mo Ming accusing the naval forces of being too dispersed, and he did not defend himself. He just casually talked about it. Finally, he mentioned that the Fourth Mixed Battalion had been stationed on Puerto Rico for a long time, and there were many soldiers who had lost their troops due to the lack of adaptation to the local environment. In addition, he had not returned to his hometown for many years, could he be transferred back to the local area for rest, and at the same time recruited personnel with combat experience from the country to form a second-line force and headed to the Caribbean Sea.

Li Yi said this at this time, in fact, he was just a fight with some of the officers and soldiers of the First Division of the New Army who had just returned from the Far East. The troops who followed the naval fleet to return from the Indian Ocean had just arrived on the east coast a few days ago. If they were not considered family members, there were only one thousand soldiers who could fight (when they were on New China Island in the middle of the journey, they were almost fooled by the people from Yicheng area with great benefits), and not many. But if they could recruit three or four hundred people from these experienced vassal troops, and then get some from Ross laborers and non-national prisoners of war, collect a thousand or eight hundred people, and organize a cannon fodder unit like the National Guard Army, and then transport it to the Caribbean islands to guard it, it would be almost done. In this way, Air Canada would save money, a lot of money!

Mo Ming knew what Li Yi's intention was, but he would not make things difficult for the navy in this matter. It was not worth it or necessary, so he didn't say anything, and he was the default and let the navy go to trouble. When Li Yi said this, he felt that there was nothing to say, so the two sides hurriedly bid farewell. Minister Li boarded a quick contact ship that day and returned to the capital Dongfang Port.

On May 15, 1664, Major General Li Yi, the Minister of the Navy, who made up his mind to seek help from the government, was received in the office of Chairman Qiang Quansheng, the Executive Committee. As soon as Li Yi came up, he talked about the British-Dutch war and said it as if the two countries had officially declared war, making Qiang Quansheng dizzy. In the end, he had to interrupt his boastful talk and let him get on the topic and stop talking nonsense.

"Hehe, Chairman Qiang, things are actually very simple. Now the British-Dutch war is imminent. A while ago, the Executive Committee also issued documents requiring export companies to adjust their production plans and prepare for the official outbreak of the British-Dutch war. And our navy has always felt that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter the Caribbean Sea. After all, the two countries will relax their control over this vast and rich Caribbean Sea by then. It is a good opportunity for us to enter and seize the territory. After all, after the British and Dutch ceasefire and divide their respective spheres of influence, we will have to work several times more to get in." Li Yi looked at the President Qiang Quansheng and said with a smile.

"So, what are the benefits of this to our country and people?" Qiang Quansheng asked without answering.

"Chairman, there are many benefits. After our navy enters the Caribbean, we can not only escort the ships that pass the place and keep them away from the threat of pirates, but also take advantage of the great opportunity that all parties have no time to take care of and seize a small island as their base camp for the place to intervene in the future. After all, the existing port of San Juan is the territory of the Spaniards, and they invited us to come and fight the pirates (actually, it was originally intended to fight the East Coast with Britain). In the past two years, haven't they already urged us to leave as soon as possible? Well, let's go and we go there and stay there." Li Yi replied seriously: "And the place we selected is the special one.

Nida, Chairman Qiang, have you been obsessed with the asphalt resources there? Now that the opportunity has come, the Spaniards want to drive us out of the Port of San Juan, then we have to find a new place for us. This requirement is not an exaggeration. The island of Trinidad we chose is actually inconspicuous in the Spanish colonial territory, with a very small population and a very declining economy. More importantly, it is far from the densely populated and rich Cuba and Mexico, so the Spaniards have no reason to refuse. Therefore, I think it is reliable, appropriate and necessary to set up our foothold in the Caribbean on Trinidad."

Li Yi said this, but it was actually a bit like a win for Qiang Quansheng. Because many people on the east coast know that since Chairman Qiang inspected several bad road conditions on the east coast, he has been obsessed with the huge reserves of natural asphalt lake on Trinidad, and called it the best gift given to the east coast by the Heavenly Lord. Moreover, as he got older and was about to step down from work, his obsession with this asphalt lake became stronger. Therefore, Li Yi used this reason to impress Qiang Quansheng, which really had a much better effect than usual.

Of course, this is not enough. But Li Yi's meaning is clearly stated that once the East Coast Navy completely operates Trinidad as its territory (the Spanish's opinions were ruthlessly ignored), and uses this as a base to crack down on pirates and smuggling ships for a long time (the smuggling ships from Britain and the Netherlands are all lost...), the benefits they will gain in the short term will be several times higher than the current ones. After all, all the various cargo imported by Air Canada comes from the local area, and this is undoubtedly related to the vast number of white shirts.

Li Yi's above words undoubtedly played a great role in Qiang Quansheng. After thinking for a while, he nodded unconsciously, and then suddenly asked: "But can your navy draw enough power now? Can't the war with the Portuguese Kingdom be ended first?"

"Of course, the war with the Portuguese Kingdom must be ended first." Major General Li Yi said with a smile, and then he added: "I think this should not be very difficult under the current international situation. It is just a dilapidated settlement. If they know the situation, they will reach an agreement with us as soon as possible. If they don't know the situation, God knows what will happen later. I think they should not be so unwise." (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!