1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2242
Regarding the military action against the Qing Dynasty, what Schneider said was basically the truth. North Korea did plan to counterattack the Qing Dynasty for revenge. However, considering the actual situation, this plan will not be put into action in the near future.

After last year's war, the North Koreans had a clearer understanding of their own military strength. They knew that they were too far behind their opponents, and that it was difficult for them to fight on the frontal battlefield.Moreover, the war last year involved nearly half of North Korea’s land in the flames of war. Many towns in the north were turned into ruins. Funds are very tight, and it is basically impossible to launch a large-scale foreign war in a short period of time.

According to the normal plan, North Korea will at least wait until the new army is formed and has accumulated a certain amount of actual combat experience through small-scale armed operations before considering its plan to avenge the Qing.Of course, the most important point is that such an action must first win the full support of Haihan, otherwise North Korea's own military strength alone, even with a new army, would still be difficult to challenge the Qing Dynasty.

It is not North Korea that is really willing to launch a military strike against the Manchu Qing in the near future, but Haihan.

After learning that Hirado's military technology might flow into the Qing Dynasty, Haihan already had the idea of ​​preemptive strikes, but he has not yet confirmed this possibility and the subsequent impact.

Although Haihan's military strength is obviously higher than that of the opponent, but to initiate a large-scale war in the Liaodong area, it will still be stretched to rely on the strength of the local garrison, and it is necessary to try to supplement the combat troops.

Deploying troops from the south to reinforce Liaodong was a common method used by Haihan in the past when the situation in the Jinzhou defense line was tense. However, if the combat method is active attack instead of passive defense, then the deployment of its own troops may be far from enough to meet the combat needs.

After all, when it was time to take the offensive, the battlefield of the Haihan army was not just a line of defense that was only a few miles wide. It was just the peninsula area of ​​Liaodong, which was a little smaller than Hainan Island. To clean up and defend such a large area, Its difficulty will be even higher than defeating the Qing army.

The opinion of the Ministry of National Defense is that it is necessary to introduce allied forces in such a big move, and the allied forces that really have a certain combat effectiveness and can cooperate with the Haihan Army actually have a limited range of choices, only about three Only four.

As for whether these allies are willing to send troops to help, the Executive Committee and the military are not fully sure about this, because it is difficult to say that this kind of action is profitable, and if they are not careful, they will fall into the quagmire of a long-term war.However, the scale of troops that Haihan and his allies can deploy to Liaodong will not be too large, and their ability to withstand casualties will be relatively limited. If the risks of war far outweigh the benefits, even the allies may not be willing to send troops. real problem.

Therefore, when the right time came, Haihan senior officials would test the attitudes of these allies, throw out some benefits, and see if the other party had the idea of ​​cooperating with sending troops.If the benefits given can interest the other party, then the military can follow up and negotiate in the next step.

But now it seems that the Portuguese are obviously not so impulsive. Even though Thomas is not a military professional, he has been keenly aware that Schneider's proposal is not an easy task, and declined it.

Seeing that Schneider did not show any displeasure because of his attitude, Thomas felt relieved a little, and continued: "Actually, I have never quite understood why your country must be an enemy of the Qing Dynasty thousands of miles away. I know That country has almost no maritime armed forces, and if you want to threaten your country, you have to penetrate the entire Ming Dynasty from south to north, and this is obviously impossible..."

"...What I want to say is that there is absolutely no need for your country to invest so many troops and resources in the ice and snow in the far north. The output there will not be able to offset the expenses you have paid. If you must The north has been operating a port for a long time, and I think North Korea may be a better choice, at least it will not worry about the Qing army launching a surprise attack on your defense line at a certain night."

Schneider just listened with a smile on his face, and didn't immediately explain.Regarding Haihan's deployment in the Liaodong region, he personally did not particularly agree with the executive committee's decision, but it was a collective decision after all, and as a member of Haihan, he must abide by the rules of the game.

One thing Thomas was right about was that Haihan's investment in the Liaodong area was far greater than the income he gained from the area. From an economic point of view, this was definitely a bloody business.Counting from the launch of the Golden State Campaign, Haihan has invested astronomical figures in Liaodong over the years.If it is only to maintain a trading port that also functions as a military base, then Zhifu Port in Shandong and Datongjiang Base in North Korea will be better choices.In the Liaodong area, there are no trading partners of Haihan at all, only endless enemies.

Of course, Schneider also understands that the decision of the Executive Committee cannot be simply measured by economic benefits. The actions of the Executive Committee are partly due to the obsession of high-ranking officials, as Chinese descendants, to change the historical trend of this period, and partly because of long-term considerations. Strategic considerations, controlling the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea region, maintaining military pressure on the Manchu Qing, and in exchange for Ming's compromise and North Korea's refuge, played an important role in the development of Haihan in East Asia.

However, Schneider couldn't explain these factors to the Portuguese very clearly. After all, with the Portuguese's understanding of the world, it is still difficult to understand Haihan's forward thinking and strategic planning.Moreover, Schneider faintly felt that Thomas might have another purpose in detailing the various pros and cons of the Liaodong Raiders to him, and he also wanted to listen again to see what the other party intended to express.

I heard Thomas continue to say: "...your country has a strong military, but it should be used in a more suitable place, and use these invincible troops to seek more economic benefits for your country."

"Where do you think is a more suitable place?" Schneider heard this, and cooperated with the other party to ask questions in a timely manner so that he could continue to extend this topic.

Thomas said: "South China Sea! Why don't you transfer your country's army back to the South China Sea? We can work together to clean up the native tribes on Borneo, the Philippine Islands, Sumatra and Java, and carve up those vast and fertile lands without worrying There will be powerful enemies jumping out to fight us!"

"Mr. Thomas, I must remind you that there are more than our two countries in the South China Sea." After hearing what the other party said, Schneider roughly understood his thoughts, but he didn't think such a proposal was too high. operability.

"Of course, there are many countries in the South China Sea, as well as your allies, Annan and Champa, they can also participate. We can negotiate a reasonable distribution method so that all participants can benefit from it! "Thomas misunderstood what Schneider meant, thinking that the other party was reminding himself not to forget Haihan's allies in the South China Sea.

Schneider shook his head slightly and said: "Your Excellency probably never thought about how many people we have to move to occupy so many places. The place of Borneo alone is about [-] times the size of Hainan Island. We don't have so many people." It doesn’t make much sense for our country to populate these places with more people, and make a few small colonial towns.”

"As long as we conquer the local area, we can use the local natives as slaves. We don't need to move in too many people, as long as we can ensure effective control over there." Thomas didn't quite agree with Schneider. agree.

Portugal has colonies all over the world, and has rich practical experience in how to conquer and rule the local indigenous people. Portugal itself is only a small country in southern Europe, with a population of only one million, and it is impossible to export a large number of people. In most cases, only The development and construction of colonies can be carried out through the rule and slavery of natives.

However, there is a clear difference between Haihan's overseas colonial model and Portugal's approach. The population of Haihan is mainly Han, and the development and construction of the colony also follow the traditions of the farming nation. Consolidate the foundation for immigrants to settle in the local area.And the natives of Southeast Asia, who are naturally lazy and culturally incomprehensible, are not ideal subjects for Haihan to rule.

"There is a big difference between our country and your country in terms of how to run a colony. What is suitable for your country may not be suitable for our country." Schneider smiled and refuted the solution given by Thomas.

Thomas immediately responded: "Sorry, I didn't mean to point fingers at your country. This is just a little suggestion based on our country's experience. I think your country will definitely find a better way to achieve rule over these areas."

Schneider said: "Mr. Thomas, let's be blunt. Your purpose is actually to further suppress the scope of activities of your competitors in the South China Sea, right?"

Thomas's expression did not change at all: "If it can achieve such an effect, then of course I will be happy to see it."

Although Thomas refused to admit it, Schneider believed that the real purpose of the other party's suggestion to Haihan to use troops in the South China Sea was to use the opportunity to suppress competitors, such as the Netherlands and Spain.If these countries try to resist in the process, it is likely to incur a military attack from Haihan, and Portugal will also be a direct beneficiary.

Of course, there may be a reason that Thomas will never mention, that is, Haihan may be crowned as the real king of the South China Sea because of this, but it is also possible that because of his four attacks in the South China Sea area, he will fall into a trap. In the long-term state of war, the national strength will also be weakened to a certain extent, which is also a good result for Portugal.

Schneider shrugged and said: "This is a thankless thing for our country. If it is not necessary, we do not intend to initiate war against any country."

"Perhaps the other adults on the executive committee have different ideas." Thomas still refused to give up his idea.

Schneider shook his head and said: "I can assure you, between the two rivals, the natives of the South China Sea and the Qing, the executive committee will definitely choose the latter without hesitation. Although I can't give you a clear explanation, please I believe that every decision made by the executive committee has a good reason, we have a very clear understanding of who we choose as our opponent, and we will not change it easily."

Thomas could hear the resolute attitude reflected in Schneider's reply, and he also knew that it would be useless to say more in this situation, so he had no choice but to respond: "I respect the decision made by your country's executive committee. But maybe someone in the future From time to time, the Executive Committee’s views on the international situation will also change, if your country wants to take the measures I just proposed in the South China Sea, then don’t forget to call us.”

"Of course, if we have any large-scale military operations, we will notify our allies in advance, so please rest assured your country." Schneider responded calmly.

Although the military alliance established under the leadership of Haihan seems to be beautiful, many beautiful battles have been fought under the leadership of Haihan over the years, but the various forces as members also have their own interests.As a senior official of the executive committee who is also in charge of foreign affairs, Schneider is naturally aware of this.

Although the Portuguese judged the situation and chose to cooperate with Haihan very early on, as a colonial power in this era, they probably would not easily obey Haihan completely, and would definitely prioritize their own interests.As long as there is an opportunity, the Portuguese will use the military alliance formed by Haihan to suppress their Western competitors. For example, when they conquered Manila last year, Portugal's performance can be described as quite active.

As for opponents that have nothing to do with them, Portugal will obviously be much less motivated.Last year, they supported North Korea in fighting the Qing Dynasty. The Portuguese obviously chose to send troops with Haihan because of their post-war trading rights.This year, the Haihan organized an expedition to Hirado, Japan. The Portuguese did not allow combat troops to participate in the operation because they were worried that their interests in Japan would be damaged. They only sent a small number of personnel to Japan with the coalition forces as military observers. Ensure that local Portuguese merchants and expatriates will not be accidentally injured by the Haihan army during the battle.

As for the Liaodong region mentioned by Schneider earlier, Portugal has no direct interests in the region, but it needs to invest a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to bear the risk of casualties. For the shrewd Portuguese, these objective conditions are obviously necessary. Conditions considered.

The Portuguese will not participate in businesses that are unprofitable or even risk losing money.And Thomas' proposal is more like a quid pro quo - I can send troops to help you clean up the country, but then you have to show something in the South China Sea.

It's just that such an exchange condition, in Schneider's opinion, is not necessary to bargain for the time being, so he still didn't let go in front of Thomas in the end.

(End of this chapter)