1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2493
Of course, Wang Tom's plan did not start from this time. In fact, when he led the Northern Fleet to explore the northern part of the Sea of ​​Japan in 1638, he had already moved his mind to go to America through the Bering Strait.

However, limited by objective conditions at that time, the Northern Fleet returned home without even going to the Bering Sea, and the plan to explore transoceanic routes was shelved.

From this, Wang Tom also realized that this matter cannot be implemented completely relying on official resources, so he began to slowly prepare a private fleet.As a senior general of the military, although he doesn't have any direct business under his name, he has a lot of indirect investment targets, almost all over Haihan's overseas colonial areas, and he has accumulated a lot of savings over the years.

Wang Tom used part of his personal property to order large sailing ships, recruit ocean-going sailors, and prepare various materials needed for immigration.A few years ago, Morgan and Johnson also joined his plan. These two people were originally from North America. Now they are both over [-] years old, and they both have the idea of ​​returning to their roots.

With the help of these two men, Wang Tom's plan was greatly accelerated, and he formally submitted his resignation to the executive committee in 1652 when all preparations were completed.

In the eyes of the outside world, this is just the curtain call of a Haihan veteran in the military.If he wanted, he could have worked in politics for another decade or so.But insiders know that Tom Wang no longer has this ambition. After he resigned, he led his private fleet to leave Haihan soon, and headed to the other side of the ocean to open up a new world.

Considering that European counterparts in this period had already established colonies on the California Peninsula on the west coast of North America, the appearance of Wang Tom might cause conflicts with the local Western colonists. His private fleet has powerful sea firepower, and it is enough for him to arm at least 3000 troops after arriving at his destination.

According to the plan formulated by Wang Tom and others, their route this time will use the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific Ocean as the relay point, with San Francisco Bay as the first destination, and San Diego Bay in the south as the second destination.

These two bays can be regarded as the best natural harbors on the west coast of North America. Tom Wang naturally preferred such a strategic location if he wanted to establish a colonial area there.

However, these two places currently belong to Spain's sphere of influence, so it is very likely that they will face a fierce battle immediately after arriving there.

Fighting wars is of course commonplace for Wang Tom, but fighting in a place so far away from Haihan's sphere of influence, I'm afraid it will not be as easy as before.Therefore, the risks faced by this journey are actually not small. For this reason, King Tom also specially recruited many veterans, including many old subordinates who have followed him in the South and North for many years.

Just a few days after the National Day in 1652, Wang Tom and others were ready to set off from Sanya.On the day of their departure, the cross-travelers who received the news and a large number of people rushed to Victory Port to see them off.

Ordinary people only know that this is a long trip after Tom Wang retired, but the people who travel through the world know very well that they probably won't have the chance to meet again after they leave.In particular, Morgan and Johnson, who are now very old, have little chance of returning to East Asia from North America in the future. This collective farewell is also a tribute to the contributions the two have made over the years.

On the pier, Tao Donglai said to Wang Tom and the others: "Traveling thousands of miles across the ocean is a huge risk, everyone, be careful all the way! Also, if things don't go well there, don't fight hard, you can come back at any time."

Yan Chujie's attitude is the usual military style: "If there is a real fight over there, it must not be defeated! The Haihan Army is invincible in the world, whether it is in Asia or America, this tradition cannot be broken!"

Tom Wang smiled and said, "You guys are not too worried. With our current armed forces, those Europeans will definitely not be able to defeat us. If everything goes well, I should come back in a few years to take a look."

Tom Wang spoke lightly, but everyone present knew how difficult it was to establish a colony far away overseas.What's more, the North American region they were going to was an undeveloped primitive land, and the local aborigines were difficult to naturalize. The population would restrict the development of these colonies for a long period of time.Maybe it will take two or three generations until the local area has a certain population base, and the situation will gradually improve.

But everyone has their own ambitions. Since Wang Tom and others have identified this path, it is meaningless to discourage them.What's more, if the operation is successful, it can be regarded as a feat of transoceanic colonization.There may not be any near-term benefits, but the impact of actions today may not be felt until centuries from now.

After several leaders boarded the ship without hesitation, the huge fleet slowly left Victory Port.This fleet included more than ten warships and more than [-] cargo sailboats, with a total of more than [-] crew members, including most of the family members of the three leaders.

The first stop after leaving Sanya will be the Port of Manila on Luzon Island.The fleet will replenish and rest locally, and then enter the Pacific Ocean from the east side of the Philippine Islands. On the way, it will head to Guam for rest and rest, and the next stop is the Hawaiian Islands.Both locations in the Pacific Ocean will have Haihan colonies set up, if possible.

But even if all goes well, it will be a few months before the fleet arrives on the west coast of North America.And it is still unclear whether transoceanic communication can be achieved through radio in the future.If it is no longer possible to transmit messages in the form of telegrams, then the speed at which the North American colonial area will become independent may be faster than expected.

The departure of Wang Tom and others also caused quite a stir among the crossing people.Many people woke up with a start. It turns out that there is not much time left, and there are still unfulfilled wishes. They should hurry up now.

And this further caused the issue of power transfer in Haihan. The departure of Wang Tom and others also took away many backbones of the army. The vacant high-level positions need to be filled, and many were born after 1627. Naturalized officers began to enter the upper ranks.

And this kind of renewal does not only appear in the military system. As more and more senior officials retire, the power in their hands has also begun to be handed over to the new generation.The descendants of the traversers accounted for a very limited proportion of them, and a large number of emerging bureaucratic aristocratic classes were born in this era.Especially in the various overseas colonial areas, most of the officials holding important positions are people who have no blood relationship with the transversal people.

(End of this chapter)