1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2132
After bombarding Hirado Port for three consecutive days, the Haihan East China Sea Fleet finally stopped their offensive. It was not because their ammunition had run out, but because a conspicuous red and blue flag was finally raised on the coast. , which means that the army troops have invaded Hirado Port and basically controlled the coastal fortifications built by the local government in the port area.And the people who were banned from going to the port area to watch the battle in the past few days finally began to understand why the port fortifications, which had been placed with high hopes, failed to stop the enemy's invasion.

The battleship VIA on which Shi Diwen was riding slowly sailed into Hirado Port at sunset. For the Japanese of this era, this large warship with a displacement of nearly [-] tons is considered one of the sailing ships they have ever seen in their lives. It is the largest ship, and its visual impact is enough for many local people who witnessed this scene to remember it for a lifetime.

But it is precisely because of the large hull of the Haihan warship, in order to make room for it, many warships of the East China Sea Fleet cannot even enter the narrow Hirado Port to anchor, so another Majestic-class battleship in the fleet is majestic. Bang had to leave here with some of the warships, and went to Tiansuke, which was a slightly larger harbor in the north.There is no coastal fortification like the Hirado port area, and the three expedition-class warships sent by the East China Sea Fleet have successfully occupied the area this afternoon.Although the port conditions are not as good as Hirado Port, it can barely make do as a temporary anchorage.

"Is this the most important foreign trade port in Japan? That's it?" Shi Diwen looked at the port facilities here after getting off the ship, shook his head disapprovingly and said, "This reminds me of Dawanshan Island ten years ago, look It looks like the Hirado Clan's management ability is really not very good. They should spend too much money on the military field, but the coastal fortifications can't make this place more prosperous!"

Simao, a Portuguese officer who landed with him, had also been to Dawanshan Island, and he agreed with Shi Diwen: "The size of Hirado Port is really similar to the harbor of Dawanshan Island, but look at it. It seems that the cargo throughput here is not as good as that of Dawanshan Island.”

Dawanshan Island, located at the mouth of the Pearl River, is a very important maritime transshipment station in the Sanya-Guangzhou trade route established by Haihan. Although the port is not large in scale, it once undertook the transshipment of [-] to [-] tons of materials per month. Mission, a large number of goods produced in Ming Dynasty are shipped to Sanya through here.The operating status of Dawanshan Island made the Portuguese Council of Macau, which is close at hand, very envious, and it was at that time that Simao paid attention to this island.

After many years, Haihan's regional trade center at the mouth of the Pearl River has long been replaced by Hong Kong from Dawanshan Island, but Simao still remembers that place.Moreover, Dawanshan Island also had coastal fortifications such as forts built back then, and the coastal army also defeated the Shibazhi armed fleet that came to attack there.

However, the Wanshan Port was not destroyed by the war, and it was gradually replaced by Hong Kong, which was purely due to Haihan's own development needs.However, the current Hirado Port was first dug into tatters due to the temporary construction of fortifications, and then experienced three days of artillery battles. It's no wonder that Shi Diwen looked down on Hong Kong's style.

In Shi Diwen's eyes, the situation of Hirado Port can only be compared with a small place like Dawanshan Island, and a large port like Zhoushan Dinghai Port under his rule is far from what Hirado Port is like. Comparable, both the construction scale and the management level are far beyond Hirado, even if the Japanese are given ten or eight years of development time, they will definitely not be able to catch up.

Of course, Shi Diwen also knows that the purpose of launching this war in his country is not to occupy Hirado Port, so even if this war destroys Hirado Port and the city, Shi Diwen will not feel anything wrong OK.According to his personal opinion, perhaps destroying this place is the safest way to deal with it, which can greatly reduce the possibility of the opponent's comeback.

Due to the hasty decision to send troops to Hirado this time, coupled with too many uncertain factors, the Executive Committee has not yet made a final decision on how to deal with Hirado after the war is over.

With the military force dispatched by Haihan and the assistance of the Xu family army in Fujian, it will not be a big problem to defeat Hirado, but Haihan has no interest in occupying this place. So after the war, should he withdraw directly after the war or make further attacks on Hirado? The executive committee has not yet reached a consensus on reforming controls.

A more ideal approach is to immediately support another puppet figure to take over Hirado after defeating the Tagawa clan who is currently ruling Hirado, so as to eliminate the influence left by Shibazhi and avoid the withdrawal of the troops in the front foot, and the remnant party of Shibazhi Zhi in the back foot. Resurgence happens.

But the problem is that Haihan didn't have any arrangements in Hirado before. Even if he wanted to support him, there was still no one who was familiar with the local conditions and was qualified for the position. In order to stabilize the local social order, a certain size of armed forces must be left to guarantee the bottom line. It is not cost-effective for Haihan, and even if he spends money, he may not be able to get a more ideal result.

Before the Executive Committee makes a final decision, the military generals participating in this operation can only temporarily impose military control on the occupied areas to further reduce the space for the activities of sporadic enemy forces in the city.

Shi Diwen met Sun Zhen, the commander of the First Battalion of the Special Operations Regiment who led his troops to occupy the port, on the pier, and listened to a briefing on the army's attack on the port.Because Qian Tiandun is still in the rear headquarters of Ono Village to coordinate the mobilization of various troops and logistical support, etc., Shi Diwen, as the only senior general entering the city, automatically took over the field command.

"You mean, the highland to the south hasn't been captured yet?" Shi Diwen noticed a detail in the battle report.

Sun Zhen replied: "When we tried to enter this high ground, we encountered relatively fierce resistance. I think that the main force of the enemy army may be hiding in this area. If we want to attack the high ground first, it will be too late to take it before dark. The port area is over. After weighing the matter, I decided to bypass the high ground and attack the port area first. If there is any inappropriateness, please give instructions to the general!"

The seaside highland where the Hirado Castle ruins are located was actually cut off by the Haihan army before the special operations group invaded the port area. Therefore, Sun Zhen judged that there is no need to rush to attack the highland, but to bypass this In the more troublesome area, take control of the port area first, so that the navy can enter the port, and the army troops that invaded the city can also change the supply point from the southern defense line to the port, which greatly reduces the time required to obtain supplies.

Shi Diwen expressed his approval of Sun Zhen's countermeasures. In fact, if he were to command the army's battle, he would probably make the same choice.If it fails to occupy the port area before dark today, then the defenders will most likely use this night's buffer time to transfer the shore fire artillery of the port fortifications and deploy them to urban areas that the army has not yet controlled. Cause trouble for one's own side in the battle of the day.The flexible handling of the first battalion has eliminated such hidden dangers, and as agreed before the war, it has solved the biggest obstacle for the East China Sea Fleet to enter the port.

Sun Zhen's battle report aroused Shi Diwen's attention to this highland. He immediately ordered the fleet to keep no less than two warships near the coastline on the east side of the highland tonight, and closely monitor this section of the coast. To ensure that no one will escape the encirclement from the highlands through the sea tonight.

Considering the complexity of the urban environment, the Haihan Army does not intend to continue to clear the uncontrolled urban areas at night, and is prepared to wait until dawn before continuing to attack.Although the possibility of the enemy launching a counterattack during the night is extremely small, Haihan is still fully prepared for this, gathering the troops who invaded the city in companies to establish temporary strongholds, and the distance between each stronghold is controlled within a hundred feet. Left and right, deployed in a triangle, so that it can not only support nearby friendly forces in time when necessary, but also effectively cut and control the urban area.

This special tactical deployment is based on the rich combat experience of the special operations group, and it is specially used in the environment of urban street fighting. If the enemy tries to challenge this defense system, it will suffer.

And that night, sporadic armed men did try to break out from the high ground to areas not yet under Haihan's control, but all of these attempts failed without exception.Between the various small strongholds of the Haihan Army, a bonfire was lit at every intersection, making it difficult for anyone who wanted to pass through these open areas to hide their tracks.And once they are discovered by the Haihan army, they will be greeted with a barrage of shots.

Of course, there are some innocent people who want to escape among these unlucky ghosts, but no one will distinguish their identities during the war. Anyone who appears on the street after dark will be treated as a resister.

Gao Qiaonan set off from the defense line in the south of the city after dark, crossed the city and arrived at the naval headquarters in the port.Before Qian Tiandun entered the urban area, Gao Qiaonan and his special forces would temporarily accept Shi Diwen's command.

However, Shi Diwen is not particularly interested in commanding this ace unit. On the one hand, it is out of respect for Qian Tiandun. On the other hand, his expertise is mainly in the sea. Commanding the army to fight in the street is not his specialty. If the wrong order is issued and affects the direction of the battle, it will be counterproductive.

Therefore, after Gao Qiaonan arrived at the port, Shi Diwen quickly returned the command to him and let him continue to command the combat operations of the special operations group.

In the early morning of the next day, the Haihan Army continued its campaign against the city, and the first to bear the brunt was the highlands of the Hirado Castle ruins, which were already under siege.In order to ensure a smooth operation, Gao Qiaonan, in addition to Sun Zhen's troops, also invested an extra battalion to launch a pincer attack from the south.

The dual advantages of military strength and weapons and equipment allowed the Haihan army to not encounter too much trouble in the process of attacking the high ground. After bringing down more than a hundred enemy troops, the opponent's defense collapsed.

The most conspicuous building on this high ground is the ruins of the old site of Hirado Castle, but recently there is another ruin that was also caused by the fire, which is the residence of the former feudal lord.The two ruins, one high and the other low, live next to each other, but the span is nearly 40 years. From here, we can also witness the history of the rise and fall of Hirado.

In addition to these two ruined buildings, there are many houses belonging to the feudal lords, including the mansion of the new feudal lord Tagawasuke.Yesterday, Sun Zhen really considered this point, thinking that the Hirado Army might shrink to the high ground to fight stubbornly, so he didn't rush to launch an offensive.But judging from the resistance he encountered today, he thinks his judgment seems to be a bit wrong.

After spending more than an hour searching the high ground, Sun Zhen had to admit that he was fooled. The opponent did not deploy heavy troops here for the last fight, but sent three or 400 people to lure the enemy, obviously to take advantage of this Delay time and cover the main force to evacuate.

However, after inspecting these houses, some gains were obtained. Obviously, the owners here did not have time to transfer all the valuables in their homes, and there were quite a lot of gold and silver artifacts.

In Tian Chuansuke's mansion, the soldiers found a secret basement, and found more than 30 boxes of silver coins that had not yet had time to be recast, as well as dozens of palm-sized gold bricks.This windfall alone is probably enough to fill in the military expenses spent on this cross-sea battle, which is also considered a great achievement, and it cheered up Sun Zhen who was feeling frustrated at the empty space.

In fact, this secret basement is the current treasury of the Hirado clan, and the money in it is not all the private property of Tagawasuke. He was too hasty when he withdrew from here, and he didn't expect that he would not come back once he left. No, only a small part of the property in the treasury was taken away, which made it easier for the Haihan army.

Because of the huge amount of wealth, Sun Zhen had to order a special platoon of people to personally escort these cash boxes to the port area and hand them over to Shi Diwen.

Shi Diwen was not too surprised by this harvest. He would be really surprised if nothing was found in the homes of the upper-class figures of the Hirado clan.Although when he landed in Hirado Port yesterday, he once believed that the rulers of the Hirado clan used their wealth in the military field, but as the manager of a large trading port, he certainly understands that Hirado's benefits should be far more than used for For the expenses of building ships and casting cannons, some of the property must have been included in the private pockets of those in power, and the gold and silver seized also confirmed this.

According to Haihan's current system, the Ministry of National Defense has the right to retain half of the wealth obtained by the military in overseas combat operations as military expenses. Therefore, for the military that is facing great financial pressure for this operation, It was a timely rain.

However, Shi Diwen also understood that this was not the goal of this operation. If Tian Chuan and his son were not captured, then this labor-intensive operation would not be considered a success anyway.

(End of this chapter)