1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1947
For Haihan, the arms trade is an extremely important foreign trade project, not only carrying a huge amount of economic benefits, but also an important means for Haihan to exert influence on the outside world and win over allies.North Korea does intend to join the military alliance built by Haihan and purchase and use Haihan-style weapons and equipment, but judging from the current situation, North Korea’s orders are not large. Not counting, naturally it is unlikely to get any special care.

Of course, Beks could understand the thoughts and difficulties of the North Koreans. In fact, Annan had a similar situation in the past. He didn't have enough military expenses, but he wanted to buy Haihan's weapons and equipment.However, the Annan people were more ruthless and decisively chose to exchange resources for military aid. After tasting the sweetness brought by a strong armed force, they made the yearly expansion of armaments one of the national policies.

In a similar situation, North Korea seemed a little hesitant and hesitant. They wanted Haihan to provide more military aid, but they didn't want to show their sincerity with blood. Naturally, it was difficult to get Haihan's strong support.As for what to do to get Haihan's support in the fair competition that Bai Kesi said, it depends on Li Lu's own understanding.

In fact, after arriving in Sanya, Li Min had already heard a little about the arms auction that took place between Mataram and the Netherlands last year. Li Xi also found the newspapers at the time to read relevant reports for him.However, it is estimated that it will not work for North Korea to bid for the weapons and equipment produced by Haihan in this way. After all, North Korea after the war is far behind these two countries in terms of financial resources. At this stage, it is impossible to invest in the field of fire procurement. heavy money.

Of course, Li Mo knew that with the shrewdness of the Haihan people, it was impossible to give benefits to his country for nothing, but he still had a chance, and hoped that Haihan would make more concessions in terms of military aid and help North Korea build a new army.But this desire is not in line with Haihan's interests. Haihan sent troops to North Korea not to save Li's rule in the peninsula, but to exert influence on North Korea while attacking the Qing Dynasty, and then control some important resources and resources in the peninsula. North Korea's foreign trade channels.The long-term investment in overseas students such as Li Lu is also part of the means to achieve this goal.

Seeing that Li Lu was silent, Beks seemed to be moved, so he immediately said more bluntly: "Those who can buy large quantities of weapons and equipment from our country are all allies of our country, whoever orders a large amount will pay more." Don’t worry, we’ll supply it to whomever you want first. Your country wants to buy weapons in large quantities, and it treats them equally according to this standard. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money, resources, land, and population can all be used to offset the price!”

But hearing these words hurt Li Luo's ears. Although he also knew that Haihan people had a strong purpose in doing things, hearing the other party say it so bluntly made him feel more clearly the situation of his country. weak position.

Back at the station on the Tushan Peninsula, Li Lu told Li Xi the content of his conversation with Beks, hoping to hear his opinion.After listening to his narration, Li Xi murmured: "Actually, the prince doesn't have to feel unhappy about the Haihan people's remarks. This Lord Bai is not targeting our country, and the Haihan people are indeed very clear about other countries. Back then, Annan came from Haihan They couldn't afford enough money to purchase arms, so they gritted their teeth and complied with all kinds of conditions offered by Haihan, only to get Haihan weapons to arm their own troops. Is this deal a loss for Annan? That's not necessarily the case, If Annan hadn't put down his dignity, how could Haihan support him with confidence and boldness. Today, Annan's army can go on expeditions thousands of miles away, and it is one of the most powerful troops in the South China Sea except for Haihan. This shows that the original expenditure was worthwhile. gone."

Of course, Annan's strength is aimed at the traditional countries in the region. In fact, the armed forces owned by several Western colonial countries that have taken root in the South China Sea, especially the armed naval fleets, are not inferior to Annan in terms of strength.However, Annan was able to raise his country's military strength to a level comparable to that of Western colonial forces in just a few years, which indeed depended on Haihan's strong support.

Li Lu said: "In your opinion, do you support the practice of exchanging resources for military aid?"

Li Xiying said: "I think that although the people of Haihan are philistines and charge high prices for business, they have an undeniable advantage, that is, they will not discount the conditions they promised, let alone renege on their debts. And the most important thing is that Haihan knows how to support a relatively weak country, this is a skill that Ming Dynasty does not have, and it is exactly the external help that our country really needs."

What direction does North Korea need to work towards in order to get rid of the role of a weakling and become a powerful country that can be feared by its neighbors? This is a question that North Korea has been seeking to answer over the years.As the former suzerain country, Ming Dynasty can send troops to help North Korea when there is a crisis, but that's all. It will not help North Korea form a stronger armed force to protect itself, and it has no intention of making North Korea a powerful country.

And Haihan doesn't seem to have so many restrictive thoughts on North Korea. Not only is he willing to sell advanced weapons to North Korea, but he can also help North Korea train and build a new army, and even part of the technology for manufacturing weapons and equipment will be transferred to North Korea in the future.Of course, the premise is that North Korea has to pay a corresponding price, either by paying the price offered by Haihan, or by meeting other conditions proposed by Haihan. If one of the two is chosen, it is possible to realize the reality of the past few generations in the future. The dream of a strong country that has not been realized.

North Korea does not currently have sufficient economic conditions to purchase everything it needs, so it can only choose the second way.For the rulers of North Korea, there are naturally many risks in this process, such as whether North Korea will lose a large number of people, land and resources after meeting the conditions proposed by Haihan, and even cause the foundation of its own rule to be shaken wait.Although Li Lu is not as conservative as his father, he will also take these problems into consideration.

But Li Xi's situation is different. He came to Haihan earlier, and has a better understanding of the various conditions of this country, and also knows how Haihan can help his country.Although there is a price to pay, there are successful examples such as Annan. Li Xi believes that North Korea can follow this route and use various resources of the country in exchange for the help provided by Haihan. It may allow North Korea to be reborn in a relatively short period of time and become a regional power like Annan.

Of course, Li Xi didn't dare to say such things too blatantly in the memorial sent back to China, otherwise, if the king Li Xi thought he had been bought by the Haihan people, he would make such remarks, and the effect would be counterproductive.However, as the crown prince, Li Min's ability to accept new things is obviously stronger than his father's, and he can better understand the gap in national power between the two countries in Haihan, so Li Xi believes that persuading Li Min is more important than admonishing the king. easier.

And the fact is exactly the same. Of course, Li Mo is quite moved by the help Hai Han can provide, but he still has various concerns and cannot make up his mind. Li Xi's persuasion undoubtedly made the balance in his heart tilt towards the direction of compromise. some.

On the next day, the itinerary was still to visit the Tushan base, but today's visit mainly focused on the Haihan resident.

The land area of ​​Tushan Peninsula is actually quite large, but because of its winding shape, a natural bay can be formed, so it was first used by the Haihan military as a military port.However, due to the relatively limited port area and berthing conditions, it is not suitable as a naval military base in the long run, and can only be used as a safe haven. Therefore, the number of warships stationed here is not large, less than a basic fleet. There is no establishment, and there is no majestic-class main battleship stationed there.

Of course, Haihan took the initiative to control the size of the garrison here, and there is another reason why he will not make it public. This place is only two hundred miles away from the capital of Annan Kingdom, and it can be reached directly by water. Too many garrisons will inevitably make Annan lack of security. feel.And taking the initiative to hand over the patrol mission of the Beibu Gulf coast to An Nanguo's own navy, which can also win more favor and trust from the other party.

However, this does not mean that Haihan will lower the construction standards of the ports and supporting facilities on the Tushan Peninsula. On the contrary, all the facilities here are built according to wartime standards. required port berths, but also preserved the battery and fort installations along the throat of the peninsula.If there is a war in the north of Annan sometime in the future, then the Tushan Peninsula will at least be able to protect itself before reinforcements from Hainan Island arrive here.

It was already late when Li Lu arrived here the day before, and many details were not noticed until now.The camp area here is very similar to the situation in the Datongjiang base from the building shape to the planned layout, as well as those seemingly idle but well-maintained fortifications. Even the width of the roads in the base is the same, which shows that Haihan Construction The standards of military bases are extremely uniform.

In this regard, he mentioned his discovery to Bai Kesi, but Bai Kesi did not answer it himself, but put aside the question to the accompanying military attache Gai Liangcai: "Captain, please explain to your son why we have to spend so much time to let people from different places Military bases implement uniform construction standards."

Gai Liang was flattered by the name call, and quickly saluted Bai Kesi, and then explained: "There are two reasons. One is that there is a mature standard design plan, which can save the time and cost required for building the base, and is also convenient for daily maintenance. Base facilities; the second is that our army is stationed in rotation, so that no matter where the troops are transferred to the base, they can get familiar with the situation of the base in the shortest time, which is especially useful in wartime. The berths here are all built in accordance with the standards of our navy, and any naval force coming here can easily enter the port and berth, and complete the replenishment operation in a very short time."

To put it simply, everything is for combat effectiveness. The standardization of military base construction allows the Haihan Army to spend more energy preparing for battle.Beks added: "It's actually the same as we install standard weapons in the army. Standardization means combat efficiency. It's not difficult for the world to understand this truth."

Li Luo nodded as he listened, and then recalled the various Haihan ruled areas he had visited during his travels south. Sure enough, the scenes in the garrison barracks seemed to be exactly the same, but at the time he didn't pay attention to these details, and almost missed them. This feature is worth emulating.

In the afternoon of the same day, Li Lu and his party set off again. After leaving the Tushan Peninsula, the fleet headed northeast to Heitu Port.

On the sea, forty miles northeast of Tushan Peninsula, is Catba Island with an area of ​​more than 100 square kilometers.Bai Kesi introduced to Li Lu a legend of this island with great interest—the Special Operations Independent Regiment, now known as the Haihan Ace Army, whose initial prototype was polished bit by bit by Qian Tiandun on this island come out.

"At that time, there were only about a hundred people under his command, and later they all became the backbone of this army. Those who are still in the army now have at least the position of company commander." Bai Kesi said with emotion: "At that time, no one It is conceivable that the army he trained overseas will become the ace army of our country!"

"Then is there any troop training on this island now?" Li Mo immediately became interested when he heard that, the troop led by Qian Tiandun was the main force in this year's Anti-Qing war, especially in the final counterattack stage, biting The Qing army pursued for hundreds of miles and wiped out thousands of Qing troops. Some people in North Korea even called it the "Invincible Heavenly Army"-the last time a foreign army received such an award probably dates back to the Wanli period when it aided The Ming army in the dynasty.

Li Min had also met with Qian Tiandun, and he was full of curiosity about this general and the troops he led. Now that he had the opportunity to learn about his early history, he was even more unwilling to let it go easily.

Bai Kesi shook his head and said: "General Qian's troops have been transferred from here long ago. Since seven or eight years ago, they have basically used warfare as a substitute for training. The training facilities that General Qian led his people to build on the island were also several years ago. It was abandoned years ago."

Haihan still has troops stationed in Tushan Peninsula and Heitu Port, but the training requirements of these garrisons are not as high as those of the special warfare companies back then. Basic daily training can be completed in the camp, and there are very few people who come across the sea. The need for special training in the wild environment.Of course, funding is also a factor. If we want to train the garrison troops according to the standard that Qian Tiandun formed a special warfare company in Annan back then, the military expenditure will have to be multiplied at least several times, and this is not necessary for Haihan.

After hearing this answer, Li Lu couldn't help being a little disappointed. If there were still troops training on the island, he even wanted to propose to visit the island.Bai Kesi observed his words, guessed his thoughts, and comforted him with a smile: "Your Majesty, don't feel disappointed. Heitu Port is also the place where General Qian was stationed. After you get there, you can go and see his previous living environment."

(End of this chapter)