1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 584
Of course, Xu Xinsu had to spend a considerable part of the benefits gained from controlling Fujian's coastal ports to Haihan as the cost of obtaining Haihan's military support.Without Wang Tom talking about it, Li Jin can imagine how Haihan goods, which have always been doing well in the Guangzhou market, are sold in large quantities to the Fujian market through Xu Xinsu's channel, earning considerable profits.

What Li Jin didn't know was that under the operation of Fujian, Haihan's products had already crossed the Fujian market two years ago and entered a region further north.Compared with the markets in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have stronger purchasing power. In the past two years, the sales situation has gradually approached that of Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, and has become the main source of income for Haihan’s export trade. one of the places.

But all these profits from Daming territory, if viewed from Wang Tom’s theory, all rely on the guarantee provided by the strong military strength of the Haihan militia, otherwise Haihan’s production would be sold far away to the north of the Yangtze River. Even if you want to sell to Guangdong, you have to ask the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River if they agree.

Originally, if the Guangdong navy was stronger, or if there were a few more discerning people like Xu Xinsu from Fujian, they might be able to benefit from Haihan's success. However, the best opportunity has already been missed. Now Haihan Without the cooperation of the Guangdong Navy, it is possible to control the main waterways and ports on the coastline of Guangdong and Guangxi.Similar to the navy camp stationed on Hong Kong Island at the mouth of the Pearl River, it is already facing the situation of being directly annexed by the Haihan militia. Received a little severance pay.

Li Jin had to admit that after learning about Haihan's operation mode combining military and trade, he felt even more lost.The Haihan people have indeed used this theory to perfection, but it is difficult to apply this successful example to Daming, so as to enrich Daming's existing military strength.Li Jin is not a politician, but he also knows that Daming's problems are not just due to the weak military power, and changing the status quo is not something that the Ministry of War can do alone.

"Okay, I still have business to deal with, so I'll discuss these issues with General Li some other day!" Tom Wang chatted with Li Jin for a long time, and felt that the routine was almost the same, so he took the initiative to see off the guests: "Wait for me Come back from this business trip, invite General Li to go out to sea with you!"

So many warships were assembled in Danzhou Bay, and supplies were constantly being transported onto the ships day and night. Li Jin was not blind, so he could see that the Haihan people were preparing for war, so he immediately asked: "Can General Wang reveal that this is preparation?" Where do you want to conquer?"

Tom Wang laughed and said, "Don't worry, we're not fighting Daming, and we haven't had this kind of thought all along. Don't you see that the government offices of Daming on Qiongzhou Island are still in good condition?"

Li Jin thought to himself that the yamen is still there, but everything has become a decoration.It has been more than a month since I, the general of Danzhou, have taken office, and my subordinates still only have four soldiers brought from the mainland. According to the establishment, even the lowest-level small flags have more soldiers than me now.If my former colleagues knew about this situation, I’m afraid I’d laugh my ass off—I spent thousands of taels of silver to obtain a position, but ended up traveling thousands of miles to Danzhou as a decoration.

Having lived in Danzhou for so long, Li Jin actually already understood who is in charge of the current Qiongzhou Island. This is true for a big city like Danzhou, let alone Yazhou and other places in the south of Qiongzhou Island.From Wang Tom's confident remarks, Li Jin can also clearly feel that Haihan's control over Qiongzhou has surpassed that of Daming, and they still retain the existence of the Daming government. Maybe it is really just what Wang Tom said, I don't want to start a war with Daming for this.

March 1631, 3, February 30th of the fourth year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty.On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the crossing, the task force commanded by Wang Tom left Danzhou Port and began to head south to the remote Natuna Islands in the South China Sea to perform combat missions.

On the day of departure, Li Jin also forcibly dragged Yan Mingjun to Danzhou Port to watch the departure scene of the Haihan Navy.Due to the degree of secrecy involved in this operation, neither the military nor the local authorities arranged public farewell activities. Only a few prominent figures from the local management committee were present to see the fleet off.And the two officials of the Ming Dynasty were considered to have obtained special privileges, and they could watch the process as guests.

Although this fleet only has a dozen ships, the scale is actually not very large, but its combat effectiveness is already very shocking.Yan Mingjun, who has been staying in Danzhou City and has not been out recently, can't help shaking his head and sighing helplessly after seeing these huge warships sailing out to sea: "With the combat power of the Haihan militia, I am afraid it will be difficult for my Ming Dynasty to regain It's Qiongzhou."

Li Jin replied: "As long as they don't continue to expand northward, they will be lucky. Fortunately, according to the news I have inquired recently, this fleet is heading south and will not start a war with Ming Dynasty."

"It can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune..." Yan Mingjun was really not happy about Li Jin's "good news".

However, Li Jin didn't take Yan Mingjun's pessimistic attitude seriously: "Brother Yan, I have talked with the Haihan people many times these days, and found that they don't have much hostility towards Daming, but instead intend to support Daming to develop its military power. The Fujian Navy is the Haihan people who are behind the scenes to provide assistance. If they are willing to contribute to the imperial court, why worry about the troubles in the north?"

Yan Mingjun shook his head and said: "The Haihan people are easy to get along with? They do everything as if they are doing business. If you take a chicken feather from them, you will have to pay the corresponding price! Besides, the Haihan people now occupy On Qiongzhou Island, the imperial court knows the truth, how can they let it go so easily?"

"There's nothing you can do if you don't give up!" Li Jin shook his head and said, "Brother Yan has also witnessed the strength of the Haihan militia. How can the troops from Guangdong and Guangxi beat them? Besides, the imperial court probably can't afford military expenses to start a war in the south, otherwise Last year, we didn’t have to watch the Haihan people send militias to take over Qiongbei’s defense. Instead of fighting against them, we should think about how to use them to serve Daming.”

"The Haihan people only work for silver!" Yan Mingjun thought more thoroughly about this issue than Li Jin: "They never paid attention to the imperial court, what aid to the Fujian Navy, if Fujian doesn't take money , Will they help free of charge? Brother Li, you have also come into contact with Haihan people. These people have different accents and obviously do not come from the same place. They cooperate and exchange their military aid with money, land, and population, but doing so is tantamount to drinking poison to quench their thirst. Even if the military strength can grow, it will gradually be controlled by Haihan. And the speed at which they expand their strength is much faster than that of Da Ming. Come on, think about it, it’s only been four years since they came to Qiongzhou Island! What about ten years, twenty years? Can Daming really restrain the ambitions of these people?”

Li Jin sighed, shook his head and ended the discussion: "The current Daming can no longer control them."

After starting from Danzhou, the fleet led by Wang Tom went straight south, bypassed Changhua, and headed for Annan Da Nang.There, the fleet will meet with the field infantry battalion sent by the Annan militia, and continue southward after completing the assembly.The voyage from Danzhou to the destination Natuna Islands is more than [-] nautical miles. Counting the time needed to stop for supplies on the way, Wang Tom estimates that the voyage will take [-] to [-] days to complete.After completing the task and returning, it is estimated that it will be almost a month later.

On April 4, the fleet arrived in Danang, Annan as scheduled.The first-phase project of the port terminal here is nearing completion. Da Nang, with more than 1 residents, already has the prototype of a seaport city. In the next two or three years, it will continue to recruit naturalized people from the local area to complete the port terminal. The follow-up construction project, and build it into the most important foreign trade port in the central part of the Indochina Peninsula—of course, the so-called Annan foreign trade must and can only be controlled by Haihan.

Military use is not the main purpose of Da Nang. In the planning of the Haihan Military Commission, the Tushan Peninsula in the Beibu Gulf and Cam Ranh Port in the south are ports dedicated to military use.However, this does not prevent Da Nang from serving as a temporary military port. Before the arrival of the task force, the troop carrier carrying the Annan Militia Field Infantry Battalion had already arrived here, and had a short rest and supplies for a few days.

The officer leading the Annan militia is Mu Xiabo. He participated in the reconnaissance to the south last year and is relatively familiar with the situation on Natuna Island.After completing this combat mission, he will be stationed as the local leader, and this will also be the farthest base for overseas travelers to be stationed so far.

The task force stayed in Da Nang for only one day. After joining six troop carriers, the fleet expanded to [-] ships left Da Nang and continued southward.However, since the troopships of the Annan Militia were all traditional Chinese sailboats, the speed dropped a lot, and it took two and a half days to arrive at Cam Ranh Port, the next stop [-] nautical miles away from Da Nang.

Although the development and construction project of Cam Ranh Port was theoretically launched last year, due to the shortage of labor force, the progress of the project is relatively slow. So far, only a 200-meter-long standard wharf, a dozen warehouses, and a small number of civilian buildings have been completed. facility.The supplies that can be supplied here are relatively small, only fresh water, vegetables, fruits, poultry and meat are in short supply here, and the only seven or eight pigs that can be slaughtered on local farms are all sold by the fleet. It was requisitioned in the name of military supplies.

From Cam Ranh Bay to the south, there are no other supply points on the way, and there are still more than 500 nautical miles away from the destination. Even if everything goes well, it will take about four days to complete this voyage.

Fortunately, the journey went smoothly and there was no bad weather. Eighty hours later, the fleet sailed into the waters of the Natuna Islands.

Of course, Wang Tom was not so arrogant that the troops bumping all the way immediately launched an attack on the harbor on the main island of Natuna. Instead, he chose to stop at the uninhabited island north of Natuna Island to rest.The voyage from here to the destination is about 60 nautical miles, so there is no need to worry about being easily discovered by the opponent, and it is also easy to plan the time to launch an attack.

During the rest of the fleet on the uninhabited island, Wang Tom did not forget to send a lucky boat disguised as a merchant ship to the port of Natuna Island for supplies, and contacted the secret agents of the Ministry of Security on the island to confirm the island's status for the last time. defense status.

The news sent back the next day made the nervous officers heave a sigh of relief. Perhaps they were paralyzed by the meekness shown by the Han people on the island. The Dutch were obviously not very vigilant, and they also I don't think there is a possibility of a large-scale attack here. After all, there is no condition for building a large port here, and the military value and development prospects are very limited. In this sea area, neither the Portuguese nor the Spaniards are obviously unlikely to take a fancy to this place.

The Dutch armed forces on the island are still in the early 12s, plus about the same number of militiamen mainly equipped with cold weapons, it is almost all the defense forces of Natuna Island.Apart from the arquebus, the only heavy weapons were a few six-pounders arranged in the small castle where the Dutch lived.And this kind of weapon is obviously not enough in front of the ten 24-pound guns and two [-]-pound guns specially prepared by the Haihan Militia for this battle.

In addition to the defensive force on land, the defensive strength deployed by the Dutch on the sea is also very limited. There is only one armed merchant ship stationed here, and the firepower on board is also extremely limited. According to the reconnaissance of the carpenter Li Dagui, this ship The few small-caliber artillery on the ship are obviously not enough to pose a threat to the task force equipped with more than a hundred naval guns.In Wang Tom's words, if this kind of broken ship can fire a second round of shells in the battle, it will be a disgrace to the task force.

Of course, the Military Commission sent such a powerful fleet to carry out this mission, not entirely for the purpose of crushing the opponent when attacking Natuna Island. It is powerless to stop the landing operations of the Haihan militia.The reason for sending such a strong lineup is to verify the reliability of the "Majestic Class" warship during the long voyage, and to exercise the cooperation between the warship and the supply ship by the way. The armed merchant fleet from this sea area to the Netherlands should be able to destroy the opponent in one fell swoop with this lineup.

With a detailed plan of the harbor and defense layout, statistical data on weapons and equipment and military strength, coupled with the huge gap in strength between the two sides, the conclusion of this battle can be drawn in advance before it even starts. On April 4, the fleet hidden on the uninhabited island completed its rest and reorganization, left the station and continued southward to the destination to begin the final combat mission.

(End of this chapter)