1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1074 Getting Ready
Three officials from the Hangzhou government disappeared, and they all happened to be clear-cut fighters against Haihan in the official circles of Zhejiang. People with a discerning eye would probably subconsciously link this incident with their opponent Haihan.However, for officials like Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, who already have a close interest relationship with Haihan, the mysterious disappearance of Liao Xun and others may not be a bad thing, which means that there will be loud voices in Zhejiang's official circles opposing cooperation with Haihan. In order to reduce it, the various business projects that Haihan is currently cooperating with may be gradually transformed from underground to semi-public, and the benefits that can be obtained from it will naturally increase.

Qian Tiandun has been in Zhoushan for a year, and has dealt with Qu Yutong quite a few times. He naturally knows the nature of this old fox, and he is not worried that the Ningbo government will suddenly change its position and confront Haihan.

Sure enough, He Xiao then changed his style of painting and asked about business matters: "Master Qu liked the snuff you sent me last month after using it. Can't buy more."

Qian Tiandun knew that Qu Yutong was not inquiring about this to buy some snuff for his own use, but was asking about the distribution rights of this stuff around the corner.Snuff is a new product that Haihan has only recently launched to the Zhejiang market. It has not been sold yet. For the time being, it has only been handed over to Qianhu Ma Ling of Changguowei Shipu Institute for trial operation in the Sanmen Bay area.Considering the market prospect of the tobacco business, the commercial department consciously handed over the agency right to personnel with official backgrounds to operate, so they sent samples to Qu Yutong for trial.Sure enough, Qu Yutong realized the beauty of this thing, so he turned around and sent He Xiao to discuss agency rights.

However, Qian Tiandun was not the director of the trade department, and he didn't want to interfere too much in this matter, so he immediately ordered someone to invite Yang Yun, the person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, to discuss specific cooperation matters with He Xiao.Compared to this less urgent trade negotiation, Qian Tiandun was still more concerned about the current progress of war preparations. After explaining the matter, he went to the direction of the military port to check the preparation status of the supplies and personnel.

Over the past three years, Haihan has continuously expanded its control area to the north, and has accumulated rich experience in how to build strongholds in the target area. The fleet will be a new test for the military's command and coordination capabilities.

Compared with the previous advances to the Fujian Strait and Zhoushan Islands, the special feature of this northward operation is that it has a relatively strict time limit. The Haihan Army must complete the basic construction of the stronghold, material hoarding and personnel deployment before winter. Otherwise, when winter comes, the Bohai Sea will start to freeze, and the navigation capacity of the coast near Zhifu Island will be greatly reduced. At that time, it will be difficult to transport large quantities of personnel and materials.In order to ensure that the northward troops can survive the first winter smoothly and reduce uncontrollable variables as much as possible, the northward plan formulated by the Ministry of National Defense is to maximize the transport capacity of the first batch of fleets, and maximize the materials and materials needed for the construction of the stronghold in the early stage. The personnel are dispatched to the local area in one step.

According to the voyage plan jointly formulated by the Navy and the Maritime Transport Department of the Ministry of Communications, the first fleet to depart includes more than two full-fledged naval ships, including two majestic-class battleships.In terms of the total tonnage of combat ships, the size of this task force has actually surpassed the fleet that entered Zhejiang from Fujian, and there are several expedition-class warships that have been converted to hybrid propulsion. In terms of power and sea maneuverability, it is stronger than ordinary warships powered by pure sails.

With a fleet of this size as a force guarantee, the military is fully confident in dealing with the few remaining maritime armed forces in the Jiaodong Peninsula.After all, during the previous Denglai Rebellion, the Daming navy stationed in Dengzhou Water City was completely destroyed, and the few remaining navy and combat ships were taken to Liaodong by the rebels, at least on the northern coastline of the Jiaodong Peninsula. In fact, there is currently no organized Daming Navy armed fleet.

The reason why it took a lot of time to gather such a large fleet to go north is not because the Ministry of National Defense has too much military budget and nowhere to use it, nor is it purely for showing off its power to deter the defenders of Ming Dynasty in the Jiaodong Peninsula. Another main purpose is to train troops. .The establishment of the Haihan Navy has expanded extremely rapidly in recent years. Many sailors who have entered the navy in the past one or two years have not even performed real combat missions, and their combat experience is relatively lacking.Even if Haihan Navy's equipment and tactics are ahead of this era, the lack of combat experience is an undeniable shortcoming, and the best way to make up for this shortcoming is to send more fleets overseas to perform various missions.Even though it knew that there was no strong armed fleet in the area, the Ministry of National Defense forcibly sacrificed its own "sword" to carry out this mission.

In addition to practicing basic navigation skills and tactics, both the Ministry of National Defense and the Department of Maritime Transport hope to get familiar with the northern sea conditions as soon as possible through this kind of mission.As soon as Haihan's database contains the most detailed nautical charts of this era, but that is only information on the plane, the actual situation can only be experienced by the sailors after they go to the local area.

In addition, the Haihan military also urgently needs to test the equipment, weapons, and ships of the currently deployed troops through on-site garrison, and test whether these equipment produced in the south can maintain normal performance in the cold winter environment in the north.Of course, it is the soldiers of the Haihan Army who need to be tested the most. Most of them are from the south. How will the Haihan Army perform in Shandong?If it is difficult for the troops to adapt to the garrison in Shandong, then the Ministry of National Defense may have to make some adjustments to the future conscription and even the plan to enter the Northeast.

Personally speaking, Qian Tiandun was most concerned about whether the combat skills his subordinates practiced in the southern jungle would still be useful when they arrived in the north.Although Qian Tiandun began to consciously recruit soldiers from the north after the special warfare battalion was transferred to Fujian, but so far, soldiers from the south still account for the vast majority of the special warfare battalion.Although the special warfare battalion has been stationed in Zhejiang for a year, Qian Tiandun is not sure whether his subordinates can adapt to the environment further north.All he can do now is to strive for the best conditions for his troops in terms of military supplies.

Sufficient quantities of quilts, gloves, leather boots, hats, etc. needed for the troops to spend the winter have been prepared, and they are among the first shipments of materials.In this regard, the treatment of friendly troops may be slightly worse, at least it will not be their turn until the second delivery of supplies.The difference in treatment between ace troops and ordinary troops is sometimes reflected in these subtleties.

Sun Changmi, who was directing the loading of supplies on the pier, saw Qian Tiandun from afar and waved to him.Qian Tiandun replied in the same way, and then walked over quickly.

"Minister Sun, is the troop carrier I want ready?" Qian Tiandun got to the point succinctly as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Here, those boats parked at Pier No. 37 are the ones that just arrived this morning." Sun Changmi pointed to the pier on the west side and explained to Qian Tiandun: "It was launched at the end of last year, based on the expedition-class sailboats. An improved long-distance passenger ship, with a full load displacement of 320 tons, a standard crew of 100 sailors, and a rated capacity of [-] people on board. If all the beds in the lower cabins are removed and the cabins are opened up to transport immigrants, it can carry [-] more people. There are people around. The ventilation system has been specially designed to ensure that the cabin on the bottom floor can also maintain fresh air circulation. If there is any disadvantage, it is that the movement space is too small when the ship is full, and your soldiers can basically only stay in the bed. Lie down and stay still."

"It's better to have a bed than to sleep on the deck." Qian Tiandun is not the kind of picky person. This is already within his ability to find the best troop carrier for his subordinates. What about the personnel of other troops? On the artillery deck of the battleship, it can only be used to squeeze ordinary passenger and cargo sailing ships, and many people may even have to sleep in the coal piles on the comprehensive supply ship. .

This new type of sailboat from the Ministry of Shipping is a passenger sailboat specially designed for long-distance transport of immigrants. The cabins under the deck are all filled with three layers of canopy beds. Although there is no room for movement, at least the soldiers can lie down comfortably. Stay as fit as possible on your northbound voyage.Although Haihan recruited many civilian ships as troop carriers this time, the environmental conditions on board were still not comparable to those provided by Sun Changmi.

"Now everything is ready, I only owe Lao Ha." Sun Changmi said: "We can set off when his precious horse recovers."

Harukon's cavalry battalion has not achieved an inch of success yet, but it has become a fuel bottle for this operation, but the cavalry battalion is an unavailable force for this operation, so other troops have to wait in Zhoushan.Although it is not enough to make everyone feel bad about the cavalry camp, it will inevitably give rise to a sense of helplessness.Fortunately, these war horses seem to be recovering well after going ashore for recuperation for a few days, and they should be able to meet Harukon's departure requirements soon.

Qian Tiandun looked at the full sailboats parked on the pier, and suddenly said with emotion: "After going north this time, I don't know how long it will take to return to the south again."

Sun Changmi smiled and said, "Why, feel tired and want to quit the army and change jobs? Then for a talent like you, the ministries and commissions will rob you!"

Qian Tiandun shook his head and said, "I don't have that plan. I just think that after crossing, I have been leading troops outside to fight. I really don't know what kind of situation our Haihan country has developed into. If there is time for vacation , I really want to go around and see the changes in Haihan Kingdom."

"Then it will be difficult to stop when you go." Sun Changmi joked: "After we gain a foothold in Shandong, the north-south span of Haihan's territory will be nearly [-] kilometers. With the traffic conditions of this era , you have not completed a pass, and our territory is estimated to be enlarged a lot."

After Haihan goes north, the northern end of the territory will extend from the current Zhoushan Islands to Zhifu Island in the Jiaodong Peninsula, while the southern end will be Bangka Island and Belitung Island in the South China Sea where tin mines have already begun to be built.The distance between the south and the north is so far that it is almost equivalent to the span of two great Ming territories. If Haihan had not mastered the black technology of courier information, it would have been difficult to maintain effective rule over these scattered colonies. .So far, no one in Haihan has probably completed inspections of the country's existing borders.

Qian Tiandun said: "Actually, it can be as fast as possible. If you take the two catamarans, you can run at least one to two hundred nautical miles a day, and one month is enough to complete the one-way trip. It's just that this kind of itinerary must be a short-term view. Hua, I guess I can't see anything deep."

"Then what do you want to see?" Sun Changmi asked curiously.

"Take a look at what the country I'm fighting for is like." Qian Tiandun said in a deep voice, "Although my purpose of participating in the time-traveling is to become a famous general recorded in the annals of history, other than that, I also want I have to find other motivations to support me in fighting, otherwise sooner or later, I will forget my heart and become a numb state of fighting for the sake of fighting and killing for the sake of killing."

"To liberate all mankind, how about this as a motivation?" After Sun Changmi finished speaking, the two looked at me and I looked at you, and laughed together.

The reasons and purposes of their participation in the time-traveling operation are different, but after the time-traveling, they have all become high-ranking figures. If they ask themselves, it is difficult for them to tell how much difference their current mentality and goals are from when they first came to this time and space. , but there are indeed some other people who choose a more comfortable and satisfied lifestyle, and no longer work hard for their career or Haihan as a group.If they can't find the motivation to stay motivated, they may one day become burnt out or numb to their careers, which is not what they want.

For the Haihan Army, all military operations are to fight for the country, but for a general like Qian Tiandun, it is all about which direction his career should go and what his current goal is. It was something he had to think carefully about.After all, with the military power in his hands, his every move, every word and deed may affect the lives of hundreds of people, and if he makes a wrong move, it may cause big trouble.

On July 22, Harukon finally expressed his attitude at the combat preparation meeting, believing that the condition of the horses in the cavalry battalion had reached the level of performing combat missions, and they were ready to board the ship.For the troops going north, this is basically the last condition before departure.

In the next three days, a large amount of fresh vegetables, poultry, fresh water, and stored ammunition were continuously loaded onto the numerous cargo ships docked at Dinghai Port.After completing the loading of this batch of goods, the fleet will depart from Zhoushan and head north to Shandong.

(End of this chapter)