1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3732

"This time we are going to patrol the Indian Ocean. The journey of thousands of miles must be very tiring. You guys are not young anymore, so you must be extremely careful and don't make any mistakes!"

Tao Donglai shook hands and said goodbye to Shi Diwen, Gao Huan and Tian Yeyou who were about to leave, and reminded them to take good care of their health.

Ning Qi went on to say, "The health department has assigned seven famous doctors to accompany you, and they have also prepared several large boxes of various precious medicinal materials. They should be able to protect you well. But I would rather they don't have to do anything this time, don't use any herbs, and just come back the same way they went."

Having said that, when you are out at sea for a long time, even if you have a famous doctor accompanying you, the medical conditions on board are definitely not as good as those in Hangzhou. Ordinary headaches and fevers may be treated, but if you really encounter a serious illness, the famous doctor team may not be able to help.

Many of the time travelers who have passed away in recent years have died of pneumonia, stroke, myocardial infarction and other diseases that can quickly kill people if not treated properly. For the time travelers who are now generally in their fifties or sixties, few dare to say that they can withstand it.

These diseases may be treated and saved in places with concentrated medical resources such as Sanya or Hangzhou, but if you get sick away from home, in a place far away from a big city, then it basically depends on your luck.

Therefore, going to an unfamiliar area thousands of miles away to carry out patrol missions like they do actually involves considerable risks. Those who have the courage to take on such missions are considered to be the best among the time travelers.

Tao Donglai and other senior officials of the Executive Committee were almost all present today to see Shi Diwen and the other three off on the bank of the Qiantang River.

Shi Diwen cupped his hands and said, "We will definitely complete the tasks assigned by the Executive Committee. The military and political affairs of the East China Sea Region will be temporarily entrusted to you!"

Tao Donglai said: "Your second son is calm and steady, just like you when you were young. The Executive Committee will help him keep an eye on anything."

Tao Donglai's words also gave Shi Diwen a reassurance, promising that the ruling power of the East China Sea region would not change because of his trip. During this period, Shi Chengxin would temporarily manage the affairs of the East China Sea region on behalf of his father, which was indeed in line with the personal arrangements made by Shi Diwen.

This was exactly the promise that Shi Diwen wanted. Now he had no worries and immediately boarded the ship with Gao Huan and Tian Yeyou.

The ship they were on sailed along the Qiantang River all the way to Hangzhou Bay, and then they changed to the Zhoushan which was waiting there. Then the entire fleet completed the first round of assembly in the waters between Ningbo Zhenhai Port and Zhoushan Dinghai Port.

At this time, the number of ships in the fleet had reached nearly 100. All the ships involved in the operation, whether official or civilian, even the North Korean fleet that had just arrived two days ago, all raised the red and blue flags.

This huge fleet stretched for miles on the sea, creating a spectacular scene. Behind the fleet were many civilian ships that were watching the excitement, vying to see this rare spectacle.

Few people noticed that among the surrounding civilian ships there were a few inconspicuous foreign ships.

In addition to the Portuguese who were very concerned about Hai Han’s big move, the Japanese were also following quietly all the way.

Although Hai Han had publicly stated that its destination for this operation was the distant Indian Ocean, the Japanese were still worried that Hai Han's move was a bluff, claiming that it was heading west, but its actual target was the Japanese archipelago, which was only 1,500 miles away from Zhoushan. It was no wonder that the Japanese had such concerns. After all, the civil war had consumed a large amount of Japan's military resources. At this time, let alone Hai Han's invasion, even if North Korea wanted to cut off the source of the trouble, I'm afraid both sides of the civil war would not be able to withstand it.

Although Hai Han’s top brass has publicly stated on many occasions that they have no interest in conquering Japan, the credibility of this statement is of course very limited. After all, Sasebo Bay was forcibly occupied by Hai Han, and who knows if Hai Han will ever set its sights on another place.

Such a large armed fleet, led by the East China Sea Fleet's flagship Zhoushan, looks like an expeditionary force no matter how you look at it.

If we set out from Zhejiang and head straight for Kyushu, Japan, it would take about three days. A high-speed warship like the Zhoushan could even shorten the time to two days. The local area would probably not have enough time to organize resistance measures.

Fortunately, the fleet showed no signs of turning eastward. The Japanese ships followed the fleet all the way to the waters of Wenzhou, and only after confirming that the fleet was still heading south to the Taiwan Strait did they withdraw from the tracking with peace of mind.

Although the Japanese were very careful and stayed 20 to 30 miles behind the fleet, these tracking methods still seemed a little immature in front of the experienced Shi Diwen.

However, Shi Diwen could understand the nervous reaction of the Japanese. As the creator of the Japanese civil war, he knew that the warring parties there had long been frightened. Now any movement of Hai Han might be interpreted by Japan as a sign related to its civil war.

However, Shi Diwen's interest in the situation in Japan was gradually declining, because the speed of resource consumption there was even faster than he expected. Now all parties involved in the war have entered a borrowing mode, relying on the military funds provided by Hai Han to barely maintain the state of war.

Judging from the current situation, in another three to five years, even if Hai Han is willing to lend money, it will be difficult to continue the civil war in the current mode.

By then, the resources and prestige of the Tokugawa shogunate will gradually be exhausted, and the local daimyo who originally submitted to the shogunate's rule will gradually return to a separatist state and refuse to hand over various resources to the shogunate whose strength has seriously declined.

When the situation reaches that point, Shi Diwen will achieve his true goal - to ignite a full-scale civil war in Japan and return it to the Warring States Period of warlords.

However, even if a full-scale civil war breaks out in the Japanese archipelago, it is estimated that not many gold coins will be produced due to the scarcity of supplies, so Shi Diwen's goals have begun to shift to farther overseas.

The East China Sea region has actually joined in the development of North America and South Ocean through various channels and methods. Of course, there is no reason to miss the progress made by the special operations division in the Indian Ocean direction.

There is the Arabian Peninsula with endless energy reserves, as well as key waterways connecting the East and the West. The development prospects are extremely bright.

Most importantly, the resources possessed by the Special Operations Division are not sufficient to support it to complete the development and construction of the region on its own. Foreign aid is necessary to promote the implementation of these colonial projects.

The East China Sea region headed by Shi Diwen is definitely capable and qualified to cooperate with the special operations division to develop these areas.

However, the specific mode of cooperation between the two parties can only be effectively negotiated after meeting with Qian Tiandun.