1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3872

Xu Kaiyuan is the son of Xu Yuzhuo, the current head of the Xu family in Fujian, and is also a young general whom the Xu family is currently focusing on cultivating.

In 1658, Fujian was invited to send troops to the Luzon region to assist the local army in fighting against the Spanish entrenched on Sulawesi Island and to open up the sea route between Luzon and the southern New World. The commander who led the troops at that time was Xu Kaiyuan, and he was commended by the executive committee after the war for his outstanding performance.

Xu Yuzhuo entrusted him with an important task again, clearly hoping that he could take this opportunity to make new contributions and add a dazzling achievement to his resume.

The commander appointed by the Liangguang Regional Committee, You Zhiyuan, also had a powerful background, as he was also the offspring of a time traveler.

His father, You Yihan, was one of the pioneers who left Sanya in the early days of the journey to Guangzhou to establish a liaison office. Today, he is also an important member of the Guangdong-Guangxi Management Committee and the Shipping Department of the Ministry of Transport, and is in charge of the shipping industry in the entire Guangdong-Guangxi region.

Xu Kaiyuan and You Zhiyuan were both groomed by their fathers to become military officers from a young age, so they were sent to Sanya to study at an early age. In their teens, they entered military academies for training and completed their studies in the two major branches of the military, the Army Academy and the Naval Academy. Shi Chengwu, who was also arranged by his father to follow the military path, met the two of them while studying at the military academy.

However, Xu You and Shi Chengwu were several years younger than Shi Chengwu, so they were only considered his juniors from the same school. They knew each other, but they didn't have a deep friendship.

In Shi Chengwu's view, since these two men had followed the same development path as him and were leading troops in battle representing their respective regions, their professional competence should not be too poor. Although the operation in Ganzhou seemed to have encountered some difficulties, the reasons were not necessarily entirely the fault of these two commanders.

Furthermore, the proposed coordinated action does not require Jiujiang to follow their command. Instead, both sides can fight independently, coordinating their actions as much as possible in terms of timing. As long as the Jiangxi garrison is unable to attend to both sides, it should not be difficult to seize more areas amidst the chaos.

Ning Zijing sighed and said, "Regarding the matter of continuing to send troops, you should come up with a plan first. Also, this matter needs to be reported to the Executive Committee and approved before it can be carried out. If you take action without authorization, please forgive me for not being able to cooperate."

Shi Chengwu said confidently, "Zijing, there's no need to be nervous. If we really have to take action, the current troops in Jiujiang won't be enough. We'll need to bring in reinforcements from the rear. We'll definitely need to submit a battle plan. The same should be true for Ganzhou."

"As for whether or not to fight the subsequent battles, the Executive Committee has far more comprehensive information than we do. I believe that you senior leaders will weigh the pros and cons and make a wise decision."

Ning Zijing thought the Executive Committee might calm down the hot-blooded military officers a bit, but Shi Chengwu felt the chances of winning the Executive Committee's support were extremely high. Of course, this was on the premise that the plans proposed by the two command posts in Jiujiang and Ganzhou were feasible, and that the required support would not exceed Haihan's existing supply capacity.

Jiujiang and Ganzhou are nearly a thousand miles apart. For the Ming army, which was on the defensive, it was virtually impossible to come up with a plan for coordinated action and put it into practice. However, this was precisely Haihan's advantage.

The two Haihan armies, located at the northern and southern ends of Jiangxi, could quickly transmit information via radio and achieve a high degree of synchronization.

However, in the previous battles to capture Jiujiang and Ganzhou, the troops in various locations felt confident of victory and therefore did not use such a key tactic. But after the setback in Ganzhou, the Fuzhou-Guangdong troops clearly had a clearer understanding of the situation and took the initiative to invite friendly forces stationed in Jiujiang Prefecture to cooperate in the following operations.

When Yan Chujie reported the new plan proposed by the Ganzhou garrison to the Executive Committee, he emphasized the point of "north-south coordinated operations." "This is an excellent training opportunity for young generals in the army, because before this, they have almost never independently commanded such cross-regional coordinated operations. I think that no matter what the outcome, they should be given such an opportunity to try."

This time, Yan Chujie did not emphasize the significance of conquering other areas of Jiangxi, but instead prioritized the role of training young generals.

His words were not an exaggeration. The last large-scale military operation against the Ming Dynasty was three years ago. At that time, the operation was almost entirely commanded by Shi Diwen, Yan Chujie, Chen Yixin and others, with the younger generals merely assisting them.

Even when Shi Chengwu led his army to attack Yingtianfu, it was actually Shi Diwen who was in charge of the rear, coordinating intelligence and logistics.

Xu Kaiyuan and You Zhiyuan have even less practical combat experience than Shi Chengwu, who has been leading troops in the army for several years.

Approving their follow-up action plan is essentially equivalent to giving them Jiangxi province for training, a significant investment. However, Yan Chujie's statement represents the military's commitment to supporting these young generals at all costs.

Shi Diwen's attitude was self-evident; he was eager for Shi Chengwu to have more opportunities to lead troops into battle, and naturally sided with Yan Chujie.

Ning Qi, the most prominent anti-war figure on the executive committee, also became ambiguous in his stance after his son Ning Zijing took office in Jiujiang. He certainly understood that Ning Zijing's appointment was entirely a favor done to him by Tao Donglai and others in exchange for his support for the advance into Jiangxi.

If he were to stand up and oppose continuing the fight at this point, it would be seen as crossing the river and burning the bridge, and it would truly be a disservice to his old partners who had taken care of Ning Zijing.

Therefore, Ning Qi was quite unusual this time and did not voice his opposition, quickly voting in favor of the military's proposal.

The executive committee's discussion did not last long; it was merely a formality before reaching a consensus that authorized the garrisons in Jiujiang and Ganzhou to continue their advance into the surrounding areas, occupy them, and provide them with the necessary reinforcements and combat supplies.

Almost simultaneously, Yue Shizong, the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Hangzhou, also delivered his resignation letter to the Forbidden City.

In his letter, Yue Shizong stated that he had fallen seriously ill in Hangzhou and was no longer able to continue his work. Therefore, he requested the court to resign and asked the court to appoint another official to take over his position in Hangzhou.

The letter also included diagnoses and prescriptions written by several doctors in Hangzhou. The gist of the diagnosis was that Yue Shizong's long-term exhaustion had damaged his heart vessels and caused blood stasis, resulting in stiffness and difficulty in movement. He needed careful recuperation, otherwise he would not live much longer.

Having lost Jiujiang and Ganzhou in succession, the imperial court in the capital was racking its brains over how to negotiate with Haihan. However, at this critical juncture, the key diplomatic official in charge of dealing with Haihan resigned due to illness, which was undoubtedly another major loss for the Ming Dynasty.