1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3789

It took the coalition forces only half a day to capture the port of Sohar and the small town adjacent to it, but the investigation into the inland mines lasted a full three days.

The few mines that were still being mined using primitive methods did not have much to see that was worth lingering in for a long time. However, the geological team sent by Tian Yeyou believed that it was necessary to collect enough mineral vein samples to confirm whether the mineral deposits here were worth large-scale development.

If it were not limited by objective conditions, they would even like to set up large-scale drilling equipment here to directly extract ore samples from deep underground and then estimate local mineral reserves.

However, the transportation and installation of large-scale drilling equipment is extremely troublesome, and it is obviously not suitable to be carried out simultaneously with the military operation to attack Sohar Port. Even if this is a necessary step in mining, it will probably have to be postponed until Hai Han fully controls the area.

Although the exploration methods were limited, after three days of hard work, the geological team finally collected more than a hundred samples.

According to the geological team's preliminary opinion, the coal and copper ore produced here are of medium to high quality. The only thing that cannot be confirmed in the short term is the scale of the mineral reserves.

However, this was enough for Qian Tiandun to make a decision. Not only would he deploy the engineering equipment needed to mine the minerals here, but he would also build downstream industries of mineral processing and smelting nearby.

As for the labor force, it of course came from the Suhar tribe that had just been conquered.

Although the Suhar people were not keen on mining before, and there were few local miners, the decision-makers from now on will no longer be the tribal elders, but Hai Han, which rules here in the name of the Xihu Kingdom. Whether to be a miner or a sailor, it is not up to them to choose.

When Qian Tiandun and his party left the mine and returned to Suhar City, Gaoqiao Nan had already completed the basic reorganization of the local area in the past few days and had appointed a new governor to temporarily take charge of the civil affairs here.

Considering that the action to annex the Suhar area was carried out in the name of the Xihu Kingdom, the governor appointed by Takahashi Minami was naturally from Xihu. The candidate was recommended by little Abdullah, who was one of his cousins ​​and one of the first Xihu warriors trained in Fubo Port.

Hai Han will deploy an infantry company and two exploration-class warships from the Special Warfare Division, plus more than one hundred Xihu troops, to be stationed in Suhar Port.

As for the command of the garrison troops, that would naturally still be controlled by Hai Han. The local Suhar tribe disarmed all its weapons and only maintained a 30-man security team to handle local civil disputes, but this security team also had to obey the orders of the Xihu governor.

Takahashi Nan said that the elders of the Suhar tribe hoped to be received by Qian Tiandun. It was obvious that the other party also realized that the army attacking here was not something that the small Xihu country could possess.

But Qian Tiandun did not agree to such a request. He did not intend to spend precious time establishing direct contact with these tribal elders.

What he needs to do now is not to create a people-friendly image in front of these Arabs, but to make them understand the necessity of obeying orders.

"It seems that the people of Suhar are still too idle... Tell little Abdullah that the Xihu Kingdom does not keep idle people. Let him arrange for the people of Suhar to start working as soon as possible!"

After hearing Qian Tiandun's order, Gao Qiaonan responded and then asked, "Your Excellency means to arrange for them to be miners?" Qian Tiandun said, "It will take time to expand the mine, and the current mining area can't accommodate too many miners... I think we should organize them to build a road from the mine to Suhar Port, at least to a level that can allow heavy-loaded carriages to pass smoothly."

"After the geological team has formulated a mining plan, we will gradually adjust the labor force arrangement and increase the number of miners. In short, we must make full use of the manpower and not let them sit idle. If they are idle, they will easily have random thoughts and speculations."

Whether it is the construction of this dozens of miles long road or the expansion of the production capacity of inland mines, a large amount of labor is required to be continuously invested. Arranging the people of Suhar to these jobs can also consume their energy and will to a certain extent, which will definitely help maintain local stability.

Gao Qiaomin understood and said, "Your Excellency is really thoughtful."

Seeing that he did not take the initiative to withdraw, Qian Tiandun knew that there must be something else, so he asked: "What else is there? Tell me quickly!"

Takahashi Nan said: "There is indeed one more thing that needs your decision. We found an organization sent by Yariba in the city. There are dozens of people. Should we let them go or detain them as slaves?"

Qian Tiandun did not make a decision immediately this time, but instead asked Shi Diwen for his opinion.

Shi Diwen said: "If you have plans to go to war with Yariba in the near future, then don't let them go back, so as to avoid leaking the news and letting the other side prepare. If you don't have such plans, I think it's okay to let them go back, as a way to express goodwill to the Yariba people."

Is such goodwill necessary? The answer is yes. The Arabs’ territory is located on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Although they may not be strong enough to fight Hai Han, if they want to disrupt the waterways in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, it will cause Hai Han considerable trouble.

With the existing ship configuration of the special operations division, it is impossible to expand the daily patrol area to areas outside the Strait of Hormuz. There is indeed no need to actively provoke the Arabs at this stage.

Of course, if the Yariba people are dissatisfied with the change of ownership of Suhar Port and want to seek justice for the Suhar people, that is another matter. It may greatly advance the timetable for Hai Han to deal with Yariba.

Qian Tiandun agreed with Shi Diwen's opinion and asked Gaoqiao Nan to deal with it quickly.

The arrangement of letting the Suhar people serve as road builders inevitably caused a small commotion. After all, this tribe has long lived by the sea, and most of the young and strong are engaged in jobs related to the sea. Sailors and fishermen have always been their main occupations.

But now they were suddenly arranged by the new conquerors to switch jobs to road construction, and it was heard that they would also have to work as miners afterwards. This inevitably made many people feel uneasy, thinking that this was not in line with the long-standing livelihood of the Suhar people.

Some more radical people made it clear that they would not accept it and demanded that the newly established local government change such unreasonable arrangements.

Young Abdullah did not indulge these Suhar people and immediately announced new measures. Anyone who disobeyed the arrangements would be demoted to a slave and all their property would be confiscated.

The order took effect immediately, so before the few protesters could figure out what was happening, they were treated as an example to scare the monkeys.