1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3919

After answering the question, Qian Shaobao clearly realized his father's purpose and immediately followed up, "Father, do you think that Sing Tao is tightening its support for us?"

Qian Tiandun did not respond directly, but instead stated his own assessment: "With the current strength of Xingdao, it is clearly impossible for them to open up new colonies in two directions at the same time."

The two directions Qian Tiandun mentioned refer to the New World and the Indian Ocean region.

The colonies in the New World, such as Swan Harbor, are operated independently by the Star Island Region, while the Indian Ocean side is being developed in conjunction with the Special Forces Division. Currently, the development process on both sides requires Star Island to invest a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, which has obviously exceeded Star Island's capacity limit. It is unlikely that Star Island can have its cake and eat it too.

Qian Tiandun's subtext was that he believed Xingdao might make some adjustments to the existing cooperation and allocate some resources to the New World. The reason was that the investment there was expected to yield returns more quickly, recovering the development and construction costs within a few years.

Sing Island's actions are certainly understandable, but if even the resources raised by the special operations divisions are intercepted by Sing Island and sent to the New World, the impact will be enormous, which is precisely what Qian Tiandun is worried about.

Qian Shaobao said, "If this trend really exists, shouldn't we make some adjustments?"

Qian Tiandun asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Qian Shaobao said, "We can allow Li Yuande's fleet to bypass Xingdao when transporting important supplies and personnel, and instead directly pass through the Strait of Malacca to dock at our port. This way, we won't have to hurt our relationship with Xingdao."

"Or perhaps we should handle these special transport missions ourselves. Star Island can't just detain the people on our warships, can it?"

Qian Shaobao's mind worked extremely fast, and he immediately came up with two solutions, both of which seemed quite feasible.

Qian Tiandun remained noncommittal, then changed the subject, saying, "Our office shouldn't be idle either. It's better to find out what arrangements Sing Tao has made than to keep guessing here."

Qian Shaobao quickly agreed. He knew that the "office" his father mentioned referred to the special operations division's branch office in Sing Tao. Its main task was usually to coordinate logistical matters with Sing Tao, such as immigration transportation and material supply. However, when necessary, it could also be used temporarily as an intelligence department.

If the Sing Tao authorities have changed their attitude toward the partnership, then there will certainly be more than just the interception of technical personnel; the office should be able to gather more information locally.

After a brief discussion, the father and son, Qian Shaobao, hurriedly left to issue relevant orders to various departments, while Qian Tiandun then summoned Gao Qiaonan.

As Qian Tiandun's top lieutenant, Gao Qiaonan has been quite busy over the past year. In addition to traveling to various parts of the Indian Ocean to train indigenous auxiliary troops, he also personally led troops to conquer several key areas for the Shihu Kingdom in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula.

In terms of commanding troops and fighting battles, Takahashi Minami is now highly skilled, even comparable to Qian Tiandun. Given the current situation, Qian Tiandun feels it's time to give Takahashi Minami another opportunity to shine.

After entering the office, Takahashi Minami stood at attention and gave a standard military salute.

Qian Tiandun gestured to a chair, indicating that he should sit down and talk. Gao Qiaonan took off his military cap and sat down in front of Qian Tiandun. The two had been superior and subordinate partners for many years and had met like this countless times. Qian Tiandun got straight to the point, concisely explaining the current situation, his views, and countermeasures, and then asked Gao Qiaonan for his opinion.

Having followed Qian Tiandun for thirty years, Takahashi Minami knew his superior better than anyone else. After hearing his description, he had already guessed some of Qian Tiandun's next plans.

Takahashi Minami said in a deep voice, "Sir, since you have entrusted Shao Bao with the plan to deal with Xingdao, then the purpose of your summons to me should not be directly related to Xingdao. I think you intend to accelerate the control of the Red Sea region, right?"

Qian Tiandun nodded and said, "If we can't influence the decision of Xingdao, then we can only open up the Mediterranean trade route as soon as possible and make the Executive Committee reconsider the resource allocation arrangement."

Takahashi Minamido: "With the country currently waging war against the Ming Dynasty, the Executive Committee may not support our actions in the Red Sea."

Qian Tiandun said, "So this time we can only operate on our own. Don't expect support from the country. Let's produce results first."

Qian Tiandun's idea was that since the Executive Committee believed that there would be no major breakthroughs in the expansion in the Indian Ocean direction and was trying to adjust the allocation of resources, the Special Operations Division could only bring forward the timetable for westward expansion and open up the key shipping route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean as soon as possible in order to draw the Executive Committee's attention back to this direction.

The original plan for this step was to take place two to three years later, once the special operations division had established a foothold in the Arabian Peninsula, had a certain industrial base and available auxiliary troops, and had solved the problems of military spending and logistics. Then, taking control of the key areas of the Red Sea by military means would be a natural outcome.

However, if the Executive Committee and the Sing Tao Region reduce their support for the Special Operations Division, the original operation time will inevitably be affected and postponed, resulting in less attention and support for the Special Operations Division, which creates a vicious cycle.

To break this vicious cycle, the only way is to implement the original plan ahead of schedule.

The special operations division has already built Zhenhai Port at the southern end of the Red Sea, which has to some extent controlled the key shipping lane between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

However, this is still far from the goal of opening up trade routes between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, because it is nearly 5,000 miles from Zhenhai Port northward across the narrow Red Sea and then across the Nile Delta to reach the Mediterranean.

Moreover, the Nile Delta, which connects to the Mediterranean Sea, is not unclaimed territory. It is currently under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and they would never give up this strategically important region.

The Ottoman Empire spanned three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. This opponent was not easy to deal with. If a large-scale war broke out, the special forces divisions in the Red Sea region, lacking support, might not be able to outlast the powerful adversary.

Considering the hidden risks, Qian Tiandun was somewhat hesitant about this, so he did not tell Qian Shaobao about this plan beforehand, but instead planned to consult Gao Qiaonan's opinion first.

After all, in terms of combat experience, Qian Shaobao could never compare to Takahashi Minami, who had fought in numerous battles over thirty years. Clearly, Takahashi Minami's opinion was more valuable.

Takahashi Minami pondered for a moment and said, "It's not difficult to open up a route to the Mediterranean, but it's difficult to defend it. That place is too far from the rear and is completely surrounded by the Ottoman Empire. If we can't solve the logistical problem, even if we seize the place, we won't be able to hold it."