1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2406
How to weigh the pros and cons in complex international relations is a task that tests the vision and wisdom of decision makers.Although the traversers of Haihan have an open historical perspective, they will still face many difficult choices when the country they build is actually in it.

The development of Haihan is inseparable from the resources and markets provided by Ming, so maintaining the stable rule of Ming at this stage so that it will not be replaced by barbarians or peasant troops outside the customs in the short term is of great significance to Haihan. One point is also the consensus of most traversers.For this reason, Haihan did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to open up the northern route, build military strongholds and colonial areas, and deploy the country's most powerful army on the northern border for a long time to directly form a military confrontation with the Manchu Qing, so as to support the already crumbling Daming lives on.

In addition to the huge economic effort, such military deployment also virtually limits Haihan's expansion progress in other directions.Wang Tom's exploration trip in the past winter has proved that the environment to continue north is not suitable for the establishment of Haihan-style colonial trade ports, and the development of natural resources in alpine regions will be far more difficult than in low-latitude regions.However, from the sea to the south and west, there are wider and more livable areas for Haihan to explore. What is lacking now is the investment of military power.

If the international situation in Northeast Asia can ease, then Haihan can transfer the idle elite troops to other directions to perform more valuable tasks, which is obviously better than letting them guard two or three military strongholds in the north To make more sense.

But from the standpoint of Daming and Yue Yongshou, they will not realize what kind of impact the truce in Liaodong will have on Haihan.Limited to the information he has, at most Yue Yongshou can think that Haihan will save a lot of military expenditure after the truce, but he can't understand Haihan's examination and weighing of international relations at a higher level.

It is of course impossible for Yue Yongshou to persuade Qian Tiandun with a single mouth. All he can do now is to beg Qian Tiandun not to agree to Man Qing's proposal, and first try to delay the negotiation process between Man Qing and Haihan , buy more time for Daming to offer some more attractive conditions.

But can Daming really offer a condition that Haihan can't refuse?Yue Yongshou was actually not sure about this at all. He knew that the court's attitude towards Haihan was complicated and contradictory. He wanted to use the Haihan army to deal with the Manchus, but he didn't want Haihan to continue to take advantage of Daming and eat away at Ming's land.As for the conditions that Haihan wanted, such as commerce, immigration, and the recognition of the ownership of disputed areas, etc., Daming has always been very resistant. Even if the situation is unfavorable, the court may not be willing to compromise with Haihan.

Yue Yongshou spent a lot of saliva, beating around the bush and inquiring for a long time, but Qian Tiandun didn't mention what kind of conditions the Manchu envoys set for the armistice peace talks, which made him very difficult.If he can grasp the conditions of Man Qing's opening, then Daming can at least compare the gourd painting and offer Haihan similar conditions. Then Haihan will definitely stand by Daming's side taking into account the relationship between his allies.But now the Haihan people play tricks and refuse to disclose key information in the process of negotiating with the Manchu Qing, which makes it difficult for Yue Yongshou to report to the court.

But no matter what, the envoys of the Qing Dynasty had already arrived in Jinzhou, and there was no delay in this matter. Yue Yongshou left from Qian Tiandun's side, and hurried back to the embassy to start drafting the memorial.This news must be sent back to the capital as quickly as possible, otherwise Man Qing and Hai Han will have a hard time talking, and Daming may not be able to make the trip even if he offers a favorable offer.

Of course, no matter if Yue Yongshou used [-] miles to expedite or fly a pigeon to send a letter, the speed of message delivery would definitely be inferior to the telegraph system used by Haihan.This urgent telegram was placed on the meeting table of the Executive Committee on the day Qian Tiandun sent it from Jinzhou.

"The situation is roughly like this. I hope everyone can speak freely and share their views on this matter." After Tao Donglai finished reading the content of this long telegram, he handed over the right to speak to other people present. people.

It was related to Haihan's development strategy for a period of time to come. After receiving the telegram, Tao Donglai couldn't make a final decision. He decided to follow the normal procedure and inform the senior Haihan officials currently in Sanya to hold a meeting at Shengli Fort to discuss countermeasures.

Ning Qi took the lead and said: "Back then we decided to send troops to Liaodong. After considering the historical development process, we decided to use military intervention to make the situation develop in a direction that is beneficial to our country. If we want to cease war with the Manchu Qing, then I think First of all, we need to examine whether we have achieved our original goal. By the way, I would like to remind all of you that we set three goals at that time. The Qing implemented military strikes so that it could not divide its forces to invade Ming; the third was to obtain more benefits from Ming and North Korea on the condition of containing the Manchu Qing."

"If you look at the current situation, we have basically achieved the goals we set at that time. We have controlled Jinzhou, pinned down tens of thousands of Qing troops in the Liaodong Peninsula for a long time, and established allies with both Ming and North Korea. Although Some details were not handled satisfactorily, but the whole process was relatively smooth.”

Listening to Ning Qi's analysis, everyone nodded slightly in agreement.Those present here were roughly the people who formulated the Liaodong strategy in Shenglibao, so when Ning Qi mentioned the resolution at that time, everyone still had a relatively clear impression.

Yan Chujie said: "Although the goals set at the beginning have indeed been achieved, if we want to cease war with the Manchus, the local situation may be repeated. The Manchus are not good men and women. The purpose of their attempt to cease war with our country can be imagined. Knowing, it is necessary to free up hands and feet to deal with Daming!"

Ning Qi said: "We certainly can't just sit back and watch Daming be invaded by the Manchus, but the reality is that our containment effect in Liaodong is gradually weakening as the Manchus grow stronger. In the past few months, the Manchus have mobilized 10 People marched south to invade Ming Dynasty, but the Liaodong direction still maintains enough troops to confront our army, which shows that we need to use some new means to contain the Manchu Qing."

Yan Chujie said: "If the Executive Committee can approve more military budgets, then of course we can also send more troops to Liaodong, or increase the frequency of military operations in Liaodong, so that the Manchu Qing will also have to invest in Liaodong Peninsula. More resources to maintain the military balance. But I need to remind everyone that the current overseas military deployment of our country is already in a relatively obvious state of emphasizing the north and despising the south. Unless we can recruit and train organically formed troops in the north, Otherwise, the imbalance in the size of the garrison between the north and the south will be further exacerbated."

"Before investing more military expenditures in the north, I would also like to remind everyone to consider the ratio of input to output." Schneider continued Yan Chujie's words and said: "As we all know, our country's investment in the north has been unable to make ends meet these years, especially in the Golden State Region, in order to maintain local operations and the stability of the Golden State Isthmus defense line, we spend millions of dollars in various expenses there every year, and so far there is no sign that the income-expenditure gap tends to be evened out.”

"Of course, I also know that the strategic significance of the Golden State to our country cannot be simply measured by the number of local revenues and expenditures, but you must know one thing. The Golden State area is currently the only area in our country that is in a state of war all year round. Therefore, the local The level of military expenditure is also much higher than that of other overseas ruled areas. If we can only maintain its containment effect on the Qing Dynasty by increasing the size of the garrison, then I am personally worried that Jinzhou will become a bottomless pit that cannot be filled! "

Yan Chujie took a look at Schneider, and responded lightly: "There is no need to complain so quickly, right? Besides, if the Haihan Army hadn't formed an effective containment in Jinzhou in the past few years, Daming's decline would only be exposed. Faster and more thorough!"

"I also think that increasing troops in the direction of Liaodong will not help solve the current problem. We should change our thinking, increase income and reduce expenditure, and consider ways to check and balance the Manchu Qing from other directions." Beks suggested: "Why don't we increase the intensity of arms exports to Ming Dynasty, Let the Ming Dynasty arm more firearms troops, so that they can cope with the military pressure exerted by the Manchu Qing on their own."

Gu Kai, who was sitting next to him, immediately shook his head and objected: "I'm afraid this is not appropriate. This time the Qing army fought all the way to Shandong, and many problems in the Ming army's combat system have been exposed. The number of troops that can really fight is so limited. There are a few of them, and the person in charge of them has little influence in the Ming Dynasty Hall, if we sell arms directly to Daming, it may not be able to get into the hands of these people who intend to kill the enemy."

"We can try to deal directly with these people. Who are more reliable? I think Ning Qi can make a detailed list based on historical data. As long as we establish relationships with these high-ranking officials who lead the troops, we can slowly ask Daming The main combat faction exerts influence." Beks was prepared for this, and immediately responded to Gu Kai's question.

"However, selling weapons to the Ming army in large quantities may become a hidden danger that threatens the interests of our country in the future." Gu Kai still does not quite agree with the idea of ​​arming the Ming army to check and balance the Qing Dynasty.

"It is imperative to sell weapons and equipment to Daming." Tao Donglai interjected, "Minister He, please tell us the latest news."

He Xi, who was sitting in the back row, then said: "According to the information collected by the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau in the warring areas in Shandong, the Qing army that attacked Jinan this time has already formed an organized musketeer and artillery unit. Its combat effectiveness seems to be higher than that of the Ming army. We have reason to believe that the ordnance manufacturing technology mastered by the Spaniards has flowed into Liaodong through the Hirado Domain of Japan, and achieved a certain scale of mass production in the Qing Dynasty. But regarding the firearms troops The scale of the establishment and the production capacity of related weapons and equipment, we do not have more detailed information for the time being, pending further investigation."

After listening to He Xi's words, Gu Kai understood what Tao Donglai said just now: "This means that if we don't provide weapons and equipment to Da Ming, then the gap in combat effectiveness of the Ming army will be widened?"

Tao Donglai nodded slightly and said, "That's right. If we don't intervene at all, maybe in two or three years, the Ming army will be completely unable to defeat the Qing army on the frontal battlefield."

In fact, at this time, it was only about five years before the Qing army entered the customs and captured the capital to replace the Ming Dynasty. However, the butterfly effect caused by the appearance of Haihan in this time and space allowed the Qing Dynasty to master the advanced weapon manufacturing technology. Maybe it will make the Manchu Qing launch earlier than in history.

"Going off topic, let's discuss the issues that need to be dealt with in Jinzhou first." Ning Qi tried his best to bring the topic back to the original track: "Do you want to accept the peace talks request from the Qing Dynasty?"

Tao Donglai said: "Actually, this is also related to what we discussed just now. The two are not contradictory. If we accept the armistice plan proposed by the Qing Dynasty, it means that we may have to give up the containment in the direction of Liaodong and the Ming Dynasty. direct military intervention. To allow Ming to protect itself in this situation, perhaps it can only be achieved by upgrading the armed forces of the Ming army.”

Ning Qi asked: "Then can we ask the Manchu Qing to cease war with our country, and at the same time enter into a state of armistice with Ming? If necessary, we can also draw North Korea as part of the armistice conditions."

Tao Donglai frowned slightly and said: "You can try, but the hope is slim. The Manchu Qing should have seen through this invasion of Shandong that we and Daming seem to be in harmony, and think that there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, so they proposed to us again. demand for an armistice and peace talks."

In the year before the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji also led an army of [-], preparing to cross the Yalu River to conquer North Korea, but before crossing the river, Haihan began to send armed warships on the Yalu River to prevent the Qing army from crossing the river, and then directly sent troops to intervene During the war, they blocked the main force of the Qing army on the banks of the Datong River, and then drove the Qing army all the way to the north bank of the Yalu River before retreating.But this time when they invaded Daming, the Qing army broke into Shandong all the way, and even crossed the Yellow River and captured Jinan Prefecture, but there was no sign of the Haihan army.

Comparing the performance of the Haihan army on the Korean battlefield the year before last, there are only two possibilities. One is that Da Ming refused to let Hai Han send troops to help out of suspicion, and would rather be beaten to pieces than let Hai Han intervene; Asked Haihan for help, but because some conditions could not be negotiated, Haihan finally chose to stand by and watch.

But no matter what the situation is, there is no doubt that there is a huge gap between the two countries, and the military alliance declared on the surface has not been fulfilled.Since Haihan didn't intervene after fighting like this, from the standpoint of Manchu Qing, it is natural to try to see if he can stop Haihan's actions in Liaodong, so as to relieve his worries about future attacks on Daming.

If Haihan wanted to bring Ming or North Korea into the truce negotiations, and make the Manchus promise to enter into a truce with these two countries at the same time, it would be tantamount to tying the Manchus to their own hands.If this kind of condition can be negotiated, then the only one who suffers from the negotiating parties is probably Manqing.

(End of this chapter)