1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2357
Most of the officers Wang Tom convened for the meeting were subordinates who had followed him in the north and south for many years and had rich experience in sailing and combat.Almost all of these people have experienced life and death with him, and there is no doubt about their loyalty to the country or to him personally.If not, their attitude towards Wang Tom's crazy plan might not only question its feasibility, but directly express their opposition.

Most of these officers have good professional qualities, and they can quickly discover various problems and risks in this plan based on their own experience, but these are not the fundamental reasons why they question Tom Wang.

Why did he take such a great risk to do this? Whether there are enemies of the Haihan Kingdom in that distant place, or there are endless treasures, Tom Wang didn't explain the reason clearly.That's why the officers questioned what the purpose of implementing this high-risk voyage plan was, and whether it was worth taking the risk of this fleet and the lives of thousands of people.

Of course, Wang Tom can directly order the fleet to implement this plan, but if they cannot understand the significance of exploring this new route, it will inevitably cause many people to feel knotted, which will affect the subsequent implementation and execution.But the problem is that Wang Tom is very aware of the level of awareness of the world under his subordinates, and it is unlikely that he will understand the reason for his obsession with this matter.

Of course, the questions raised by the officers also made Wang Tom realize that he was not really ready to go to the Bering Sea. There was still a lot of work to be done for the fleet under his command, both materially and spiritually. But right now it was obviously too late.

However, Tom Wang patiently explained the technical details to his subordinates.Wang Tom also has corresponding arrangements for how the fleet will sail to the target area in extremely cold weather, how to deploy materials and personnel during the period, and emergency plans for various emergencies, etc.

But about the purpose of this trip, Tom Wang thought for a long time, but he was still not sure how to explain it to his subordinates.When the officers saw him pause and then fell silent, they all thought that the matter must be of great importance, and they all held their breath, not daring to disturb his thoughts.

"The target I marked on the map may not be inhabited within a thousand miles. Looking at it now, it is indeed not of strategic significance, but it is the sea entrance to another continent. Sometime in the future, there will always be There will be voyagers who will confirm the route to the New World through there. I hope that the brave men who complete this feat will be people from our Haihan Kingdom."

After Tom Wang finished speaking, he smiled and said: "But what you said is also reasonable. The preparations we have made for this are indeed not perfect at the moment. If the fleet is to be put in danger for this kind of goal, or even pay casualties, then It must be my responsibility as the commander. So after careful consideration, I decided to play it safe and wait for the next opportunity to make full preparations and wait for a more suitable season before attempting to explore the northern route."

Everyone felt relieved after hearing his statement, but they couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Wouldn't it be a great contribution if they could find the New World along the route set by Wang Tom?Some people immediately regretted secretly that they shouldn't have spoken so harshly just now.

Of course, the opinions of the officers are not the final decisive factor, only Wang Tom's wishes can determine the next destination of the fleet.But he has already realized that there will not be any favorable factors acting on his northward journey at present, and if he insists on going his own way, it is very likely to cause unmanageable consequences.It is better to withdraw troops in time and wait for the next more suitable time to complete this goal.

Shen Xueyi was bored on the deck at this moment, staring at the snowflakes falling from the sky in a daze.Today is the seventh consecutive day of snowfall, and all the sailors were mobilized in the morning to remove the snow from all over the ship.Although Shen Xueyi has a special status, as a member of the fleet, he must also participate in labor like everyone else.

Before the work at hand was finished, some senior officers were notified and gathered in the combat meeting room on the ship.However, Shen Xueyi didn't seem to be included in the convening this time. He even went to ask the messenger, and after getting a definite answer, he continued to work on snow removal in resentment.

During this long voyage, the fleet's routine meetings usually do not avoid him as a military observer, but today is obviously an exception.While working, Shen Xueyi pondered silently in his heart, what secret did Tom Wang have to exclude himself.

He first ruled out the possibility of Wang Tom taking military measures against the Ainu people on the nearby coast. Although these aborigines seem to be in good physical condition and are very adaptable to the local cold climate, the Haihan people probably will not treat these almost savages. The aborigines were interested, and as for the animal furs they used as commodities, they were even less worthy of being looted by the Haihan Army.

Moreover, Wang Tom once mentioned to him Haihan's site selection criteria for the construction of overseas ports. Obviously, none of this place meets the conditions. But there is no special property around here.Tom Wang is not even interested in going ashore, so how could he waste his time using troops here.

Since the possibility of taking military action locally has been ruled out, all Shen Xueyi can think of is that there may be major changes in the fleet's next sailing direction.However, he also did not expect Tom Wang to continue to advance to the desolate northern waters. In his opinion, the most ideal destination for the fleet should be to bypass the Soya Strait, and then go south from the east coast of the Japanese archipelago to visit the most prosperous country in Japan. in several places.

During the voyage, Shen Xueyi had studied the charts provided by Hai Han countless times, and he knew the positions of the major cities in Japan marked on the charts.Although the possibility of leading the North Korean army to the city is very slim one day, there is no harm in studying it, and it may come in handy at some point.Of course, it would be great if the fleet could visit these places once.

With such thoughts in mind, Shen Xueyi subconsciously believed that Tom Wang would arrange to take a different route from the one he had come on the return trip, and the east coast of Japan would be an excellent choice.Edo, Nagoya, Osaka, these big cities can be seen at once, and it should also be of great benefit to the intelligence collection work undertaken by the fleet.

But Shen Xueyi's judgment has basically come to nothing. Wang Tom doesn't plan to take the fleet to visit these Japanese cities. Although the maritime armed forces controlled by the Japanese shogunate are basically unlikely to pose a threat to this fleet, Wang Tom doesn't want to make extra troubles. The shogunate believed that Haihan had strong military intentions towards Japan.

The meeting didn't last too long, and it was over before lunch, and the officers participating in the meeting didn't even stay on the flagship to eat, and hurried back to their warships.

Shen Xueyi wanted to find someone to ask about the content of the meeting, but he was worried that the Haihan people would misunderstand that he was inquiring about military secrets, so he could only wait patiently.

In the afternoon of the same day, the small team that went ashore to trade with the Ainu also returned to the fleet with their goods.Amakusa Shiro had a fruitful trip this time. The ironware he brought was very popular with the Ainu people. The tribe where the uncle and nephew belonged took out all the best fur stocks in exchange for the goods provided by Haihan .

And the final result is just like what the uncle and nephew said when they set off in the Matsumae Domain, the trading conditions Haihan got here are indeed far better than the Matsumae Domain, after all, there are no middlemen to make the difference, and their demand for Haihan's goods is even greater. It is urgent, so this trip has indeed brought back a lot of good things.

"General, this is a gift from the Ainu people who honored you." After Shiro Amakusa reported the transaction.So he presented a small wooden box to Wang Tom.

The wooden box seems to be quite rough in craftsmanship, and it should be the work of the Ainu. Tom Wang took it and opened it. Inside were ten finger-sized pearls, each round and smooth, shining brightly.

"It's a good thing!" Tom Wang is also a person who knows the goods, and he can tell at a glance that this is a rare and high-quality goods.And Amakusa Shiro took the initiative to offer treasures to himself, and this should not be just for praise.

Wang Tom said: "After I go back, I will ask for credit for you and help you ask General Qian for a battalion commander to do it."

Amakusa Shiro was overjoyed, and quickly bowed to thank Wang Tom for his promotion.

Wang Tom laughed and said, "You have to prepare a copy of this kind of good thing for your boss! You can share half of this box of pearls!"

Amakusa Shiro responded: "Thank you, General, for your concern. This kindness was originally prepared for the General. As for my lord, I have other preparations."

Wang Tom said: "You are very thoughtful!"

During this trip, Amakusa Shiro took risks and went ashore many times to contact the Japanese. The credit must be recorded.As for using trading opportunities to seek some benefits for oneself in this process, this is also human nature. As long as the means are not too ugly, Tom Wang will naturally not take such trivial matters to heart.

But this day Amakusa Shiro is actually very good at being a man, he knows how to seize the opportunity to get some good things that are not common to his boss. Although Tom Wang is not greedy for money, he will not deliberately put on a clean posture, just accept the gifts that should be received.As for the promotion of officers, as long as the professional ability is not bad, of course, people with high emotional intelligence will get more opportunities.

In the afternoon of the same day, the entire fleet received the latest instructions, rested overnight, and set off from the local area early tomorrow morning, turning to sail southwest.The sailors were greatly relieved to hear that they would no longer go north.The current cold weather has made many people feel overwhelmed. If they continue to go north, the days ahead will only become more and more difficult.Now that Tom Wang ordered to change the course, it seemed that he was going to go back. This should be considered good news for the entire fleet.

When Shen Xueyi heard the news, he went to see Tom Wang and asked why he did not choose to go to Sakhalin Island or return to North Korea via the east coast of Japan.

"If we go to the east coast of Japan, our supply behavior along the way is likely to be regarded as a hostile reconnaissance operation. For now, we don't want the Japanese shogunate to misunderstand and hostile to our country." Tom Wang explained : "Japan is not an enemy of our country... at least not for now."

"As for Sakhalin Island..." Wang Tom took a deep breath and said, "Going to Sakhalin Island means that we may have to fight locally, which does not meet the purpose of our voyage."

The southern tip of Sakhalin Island is only a hundred miles away from the current location of the fleet. Across the Zongya Strait, you can see this huge island twice the size of Hainan Island.

The island has been ruled by China for a long time in history. The Tang Dynasty established the Heishui Dudufu to manage and rule Sakhalin Island since 725 AD. After that, although the ruling power continued to change with the change of dynasties, it was established by the Ming Dynasty. After that, the Nurgandu Command and Envoy Division was still established in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang near Sakhalin Island, which governed the Heilongjiang and Ussuri River basins, including Sakhalin Island.

The Ming army even set up Nanghar Guards, Polo River Guards, and Wulie River Guards on Sakhalin Island to manage the local military and civil affairs, and the people on the island would also use various fishing and hunting incomes to send money to the guards in kind. Pay taxes.

However, after entering the seventeenth century, the influence of the Ming Dynasty on Liaodong gradually declined, and the Later Jin rose rapidly during this period, and the Sakhalin Island area far away from the Central Plains also fell into the hands of the Later Jin.According to historical records, Nurhaci only sent 400 troops, and incorporated Sakhalin Island into Houjin's territory.

However, Sakhalin Island was sparsely populated and had a small population at first, let alone rich products at that time. Therefore, the resources that it could provide to the Manchu Qing over the years were very limited, and it could only be regarded as a frontier area under the Manchu Qing rule.

Today, Wang Tom certainly has no exact information about the situation on Sakhalin Island, but he thinks that the place has been ruled by the Manchu Qing for more than 20 years, so he probably won’t have any good feelings for Haihan. Landing is very likely to attract attacks from local armed forces.Although it may not be able to cause too many casualties to the Haihan army, it is a trouble that has to be guarded against.

For Wang Tom, Sakhalin Island is not the target that Haihan needs to pay attention to in the near future, and there is no need to pay the price of casualties for exploring this place.Besides, even if all the armed personnel on the island were killed, it would not be an effective blow to the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, Tom Wang knew exactly what Shen Xueyi was up to, as long as Haihan could go to war with Man Qing, he would be happy to see it come true.However, Wang Tom will not point out his careful thinking. The Haihan army is fighting overseas for the benefit of its own country, and will not take the thoughts of the North Koreans as a consideration.Being able to make such an explanation to Shen Xueyi is already a special treatment given to him by Tom Wang.

Early the next morning, the fleet assembled and set off, sailed out of Zongya Bay, and headed towards the southwest sea area.

(End of this chapter)