1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2458
After the signing of the Golden State Peace Treaty in 1639, although the northern frontier area of ​​the Ming Dynasty achieved temporary peace, both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty understood that this was only a phased ceasefire agreement, and did not stop preparing for war.Especially in terms of armament upgrades, both countries have a very clear goal, which is to form a Haihan-style firearms unit as soon as possible to enhance the combat effectiveness of the army.

However, there are obvious differences in the upgrading methods of the two countries. The Qing Dynasty obtained the gun manufacturing technology improved by the Japanese Hirado military craftsmen, and the firearms training plan provided by the Spaniards; while the Ming Dynasty obtained it through various channels. A large number of guns and artillery were purchased from Haihan, and imitations were carried out at the same time, but the combat effectiveness of the imitations was still significantly different from that made by Haihan, so the counterattack outside the pass did not achieve ideal results.

But after this battle, both sides also realized that the opponent's fighting style has changed, and if they want to defeat the opponent, they must work more on armaments.

As the two sides went to war again, the Golden State Peace Treaty automatically expired.Since Daming did not request Haihan to send troops through official channels, Haihan also had no intention of participating in the back and forth strangulation between the two countries between Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou.During this period, the trade volume with the Manchu Qing was already considerable, and the benefits brought to Haihan also made the Executive Committee have to be cautious about the choice of going to war with the Manchu Qing again.

At this time, because of the emptiness of the national treasury, Ming had to continue to send additional taxes to the country to supplement military expenditures.In particular, areas in the south that have been heavily infiltrated by Haihan, such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang, have become key areas for additional taxation.There is no other reason. At present, there are only these places in the Ming Dynasty because they have maintained a stable situation for a long time and the foreign trade is prosperous, so they are relatively rich. In the eyes of the court, there is still a lot of money to be squeezed.

However, parts of Guangdong have been controlled by Haihan, and Fujian is controlled by Xu Xinsu. It is not easy to get money out of his pocket. The close interest relationship also violates the orders of the imperial court.

In the autumn of 1642, the eunuchs who were sent to Fujian to supervise tax collection clashed with local officials. Xu Xinsu arrested all the eunuchs and his party in a rage, beheaded the leaders, and publicly announced that Fujian would not accept the imperial court. Additional taxes.

Although there are governors and officials appointed by the imperial court in Fujian in name at this time, most of the areas are already under the control of the Xu family forces. If Xu Xinsu releases it, it will be more effective than the imperial court's decree.If the imperial court wants to hold Xu Xinsu accountable for this, then this conflict is likely to turn into a war that splits the territory.

Chongzhen finally chose to compromise in the face of the pressure of the outbreak of civil war.He knows that Fujian's local armed forces are not comparable to the Central Plains Peasant Army. The elite troops under Xu Xinsu's command are almost all Haihan equipment, and many military officers have the experience of fighting with the Haihan army. If they want to attack Fujian, the consequences are afraid. will be unmanageable.

But even though the imperial court remained silent on Xu Xinsu's transgression, it still accelerated the speed of Fujian's secession from Daming.Not long after, Xu Xinsu found some reasons and announced that he would take over the local government affairs in Fujian, replace the original Sansi yamen with the administrative agency in Zhangzhou, and carry out a major purge of local officials.Those officials who still took a clear stand and insisted on allegiance to the court became the targets of purges, and their positions were replaced by officials loyal to Xu Xinsu.

This purge lasted until 1643. During this period, although the imperial court tried to reach a reconciliation with Xu Xinsu, it still could not stop Xu Xinsu from doing whatever he wanted in the local area.The intermittent conflicts between the North and the Manchu Qing made it impossible for the Ming Dynasty to spare enough troops to deal with the civil strife in the South.What's more, once the war breaks out in the south, Haihan, who is in the same spirit as Xu Xinsu, is likely to fight at the same time. I'm afraid it won't be just a Fujian province if he loses it by then.

When both the north and the south began to annex Daming, Shi Diwen in Zhejiang was unwilling to be lonely, but the Executive Committee did not agree to make a big move against Zhejiang, because Haihan still needed to import a large amount of goods to the Yangtze River Basin in the interior of Daming through this area , and thus obtain various materials and raw materials, once a war is triggered, trade may be interrupted for a long time.

In desperation, Shi Diwen had no choice but to turn his mind to Japan across the sea again. In the spring of 1643, the East China Sea Fleet with strong troops sent troops to Japan again, and carried out another round of cleaning on Hirado Island, which was being reconstructed.

At this time, the establishment of the East China Sea Fleet is not only the navy, but also two battalions of the army to march across the sea together.With such a force configuration, it is no problem to take down Hirado Island, which has just recovered a bit of vitality.However, for the large number of Japanese captured by the army in the local area, Shi Diwen did not intend to transport all of them back to Zhoushan Island with limited land for resettlement. Instead, he sent his troops south after the battle and directly occupied Sasebo, which the military has been thinking about for many years. bay.

Shi Diwen's purpose is very clear. Since the scope of expansion in Zhejiang is limited, if you want to continue to expand the scope of control, you can only attack other countries.And he has reached a tacit agreement with Chen Yixin in the north. Chen Yixin is in charge of the area north of the Korean peninsula, and Shi Diwen is in charge of the south.The island of Taiwan in the south is directly managed by the executive committee, and Shi Diwen can't intervene, so naturally he can only focus on Japan.

The Zhoushan authorities were responsible for half of the funding for the operation themselves, so the Executive Committee raised no objections to this.After Sasebo Bay is brought under control, Shi Diwen can use this as a basis to gradually control Japan's import and export trade, and can also introduce people nearby. In the long run, it will definitely be a good deal.

Moreover, after the establishment of a military base in Sasebo Bay, Shi Diwen also has more sufficient reasons to continue to expand the establishment of the East China Sea Fleet.Although the Japanese archipelago is poor in natural resources, it is enough to support a powerful fleet with a range of activities that can radiate the entire Western Pacific.

In 1644, Haihan launched a bigger operation in the South China Sea.

The Manila authorities sent troops southward to sweep up the remaining Spanish colonies in Mindanao and the Sulu Sea area, and took over the Spanish colonies in the Sarangani Bay at the southern tip of Mindanao, and moved more than [-] Han immigrants to the area.

In the direction of the Strait of Malacca, Roger led his troops southward from Xingdao, reached the Sunda Strait, and captured Banda Lampung at the southern tip of Sumatra Island.This was originally a small seaport belonging to Aceh, but after Haihan took control of this place, the southern waterway from the Indian Ocean to the Java Sea and the South China Sea was no longer the exclusive resource of the Dutch East India Company.

(End of this chapter)