1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 588 Military Port Construction
Before the Haihan militia took action to annex the Xin'an Water Village, most of the people present here had already received information through various channels, and had preliminary ideas about their future.Although what Haihan said here is "send people to join the water village", everyone with a discerning eye knows that Haihan's move is not to give away weapons and money to the Daming Navy, but to let the people stationed in Hong Kong Island The Haihan militia has put on a layer of legality, and is openly operating in this area in the name of the Daming Navy.

Under this premise, cleaning the original personnel of the water village can be said to be expected, especially the military officers and veterans at all levels in the water village will become the focus of cleaning by the new owner.The people in Shuizhai also know that they are powerless to resist Haihan's force, and there will be no superiors to make decisions for them - those who can directly manage this matter have basically been blocked by the money Haihan sent Shut up, and even gave up his position altogether like a general who had just taken office.

As for armed resistance, let alone, Liu Xiang's group of pirates is a lesson from the past.Two years ago, the Haihan militia could beat Liu Xiang until he fled all the way back to Fujian. Would they still take this little Xin'an water village in their eyes two years later?What's more, since the Haihan people built Zhennan Port on the south side of the island, the Haihan warships have been cruising in the sea near Liyumen from time to time, deliberately showing off their force. The people in Shuizhai also know how heavy they are. No one who is not bored has certain unrealistic fantasies.

How to seek the greatest benefits for themselves at this juncture is probably what these people present are most concerned about.Those who don't have any special skills, or those who don't want to work under the hands of the Haihan people, the only way out is to take the severance pay and leave.Of course, Haihan did not do everything right. For Ming soldiers who voluntarily left the army, they still gave a way out. They could give priority to employment in the Haihan Shipping Department. The job content was of course sailors.After all, these people are all based in a water village. Even if they don't know how to drive a boat, at least they won't get seasick. As long as they take office, they can go to sea with the boat immediately, and they don't even need an adaptation period.

Of course, if some of these people want to join the Haihan Navy voluntarily, the military will be happy to see it, but they must first pass the specially formulated skill assessment and political review.As a matter of fact, a small number of Ming soldiers in Yazhou Shuizhai were included in the navy's establishment at the beginning, and there is a precedent for this.The difference is that Xin'an Water Village lacks a Luo Shengdong-style character, who can cooperate with Haihan in a more "harmonious" way.

Chen Yixin didn't want to spend too much time on these two 300 people. After explaining the policy in a few words, he ordered the registration to start. Those who didn't want to stay could get severance pay and leave immediately.As for Chen Yixin himself, he also has other things to do.

Although the strength of the Xin'an water village is weak, the fixed assets here still need to be counted and taken over, especially the surface ships owned by the water village. In the future, they will be assets of the military, and even a boat nail is indispensable.

Although Chen Yixin belongs to the army, his duty during his stay on Dawanshan Island was to manage land and sea. He also commanded the navy that lives in Wanshan Port. For the mission of the Dao Xin'an water village, the navy that had sent most of the elite to Nanyang did not send another person, but Chen Yixin was directly responsible.

Although the Xin'an water village was in a leaderless state before, and many people secretly took out military supplies and sold them for money, but no one dared to move the few warships in the water village—after all, this thing is considered to be sold, except for No one dared to accept it except for the daring Haihan militia, and these warships were probably the most valuable assets in the water village besides the sailors and boatmen.

Although the sailors in Xin'an Water Village have been very cowardly in recent years, and have always adopted a strategy of avoiding foreign enemies and not fighting, this also brings a benefit in disguise, that is, the wear and tear of the warships in the Water Village is extremely low.There are a few ships that have been in service for seven or eight years. Due to the little time spent sailing, they are still relatively new in appearance.

A navy officer who had been bought by Haihan earlier through a middleman took Chen Yixin to count the warships in the water village.Except for the two warships from the Wanli period that were in disrepair and could no longer be used, and could only be used as firewood, the other warships, in Chen Yixin's opinion, should at least have no problem sailing normally at sea.

After counting, there are a total of [-] warships, two eagle ships, two Cangshan ships, two haicang ships, ten net shuttle ships, and a number of various far and near attack weapons on board. .In terms of ship configuration, it is similar to the original condition of the Yacheng Water Village, but because the boats here are better maintained, the quality of the boats is much better than that of Luo Shengdong's.It is worth mentioning that since Luo Shengdong joined Haihan, almost all of the original ships under his control have been replaced, and now they are all taken over from Haihan's shipping department. Because of this, some people in the Ministry of Shipping gave Luo Shengdong the nickname "The Receiver".

In terms of the shape and structure of these ships, there is still a big difference from the warships used by the Haihan Navy. Even mixed formations will have certain problems, and the firearms equipped on the ships are relatively primitive in Chen Yixin's opinion. The effectiveness is very low, and it is not suitable for the tactics pursued by the Haihan Navy.However, this does not prevent the navy from receiving these Ming warships and using them as naval training ships.

Due to the gradual progress of the mainland offensive, the military expansion measures of the army and navy are also being implemented step by step.The Military Commission has previously formulated a plan to set up a special military port in the local area after taking Hong Kong Island, so as to better control the waters of the Pearl River Estuary and the main waterway from Guangdong to Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.At that time, the sailors recruited from the mainland can receive recruit training nearby, and there is no need to transport recruits from the mainland to Sanya for training. After training, they will be sent back to the coastline of the mainland from Sanya to station.Using Daming's ships and training Haihan's soldiers should save the military a lot of military expenses.

Chen Yixin didn't know how much money the relevant departments had spent to take down this water village, but judging from the condition of these warships, at least the money was worth the money. What they bought back was not a pile of rags, but Something the military can actually use.

"Seal up all these boats first, and arrange another platoon to live on this pier and guard these boats." Chen Yixin gave the order after counting these boats.Although they have now taken over these ships, the militia has no use for them for the time being. After all, no recruits have been assigned here for training. The first thing to deal with is the personnel issue of Xin'an Water Village.

Of course, the resettlement policy announced by Chen Yixin on behalf of the Haihan military could not satisfy everyone involved. After he left the venue, some people did try to make trouble.However, the soldiers under Chen Yixin are almost all veterans who have participated in several vicious battles such as the defense of Lijiazhuang, the attack on Dangan Island, and the defense of Wanshan Port. , I don't have any concept of Ming officers and soldiers being superior to others in my mind. When I see someone trying to make trouble, I immediately fuck him.After knocking down a few restless guys, the crowd that was about to move became quiet, and began to honestly follow the instructions of the Haihan military and choose their own way out.

After two days of statistics, among the nearly [-] personnel of the Daming Navy in Xin'an Water Village, nearly [-]% of them chose to stay, and nearly [-]% of them chose to go to the Haihan Military Only about [-]% of the people recommended to work in the Haihan Shipping Department chose to leave after taking the severance pay.But as for whether those who want to stay can get their wish, it depends on whether they can successfully pass the professional assessment test of Haihan Navy.

In addition to handling the reception work of the Xin'an water village, there are actually a series of projects in the northern part of Hong Kong Island that require Chen Yixin to participate in the command and coordination.

The first is the reconstruction and expansion of the Xin'an Water Village. If this place is only to maintain the size of the previous garrison, it is barely enough, but this time the Haihan Navy transferred five warships to station here. "level", but it has already made the space in the water village very crowded, and this obviously does not meet the requirements of the navy for the use of the military port, and the reconstruction and expansion project is imperative.

Another military project that will be started in the near future is the coastal fortifications on both sides of Lei Yue Mun Waterway, which is very close to the water village.The opposite bank of Shau Kei Wan is the mainland, and the narrow waterway formed between it and Hong Kong Island is the only way for almost all ships from the east of the Pearl River Estuary to enter the Pearl River system. Pass through Lei Yue Mun.Guarding this key waterway is almost equivalent to controlling most of the sea trade between Fuzhou and Guangzhou. No matter from the political, economic or military point of view, controlling this place has considerable practical significance.

For the construction of coastal defenses on both sides of the narrow waterway, Haihan has accumulated a wealth of experience, from the early Shengli Port, Tielu Port, and Heitu Port to the recently developed Zhennan Port and Jinlan Port. Fang has always regarded the coastal fortifications with the fort as the main defense method of the colony.Although this method requires a large investment and a relatively long construction period, it is superior in that it has a strong output of firepower. It is difficult for ordinary armed merchant ships or even warships to compete head-on with the dense firepower of coastal defense forts.Moreover, after this kind of turret is built, it is relatively simple to use and maintain. Compared with the long-term investment of the navy, it is much smaller, and its durability is also very good. It only needs to upgrade the artillery as the technology tree climbs, and the turret itself is at least Can be used for decades.

The conditions of the Lei Yue Mun waterway are unique for the construction of coastal defenses. The narrowest section of the waterway is about 700 meters away, while the distance between the two banks is only about 500 meters. Even though it is steep, cargo ships can be used to transport building materials and construction personnel from the shore to the slope. The construction difficulty is much less than when the Yulinjiao Fort was built.

The only problem is that the opposite bank is still controlled by Xin'an County, Guangdong. It is not convenient for Haihan to directly erect the fort there, so the first phase of the project can only be carried out on the slope next to Shau Kei Wan for the time being.But within this range, the coastal defense guns currently produced by Haihan can completely cover the firepower without dead ends at any point on the shore, so even building a fort on the south bank alone is enough to cover this waterway.

What's more, there is a naval garrison right next to it. As long as the high-level lookout post warns, the navy's warships can be dispatched in time to block the nearby waterway, making it impossible for opponents to rush through this fire-intensive waters.

After seeing the terrain and soil quality, the on-site survey personnel sent from Sanya assured Chen Yixin that as long as the building materials and labor were in place, the project of the fort with [-] cannons could be completed within a year. The lookout post on the top of the mountain and the supply ramp at the foot of the mountain can be repaired together.

Where will the labor force for construction come from?Chen Yixin is not worried. After taking Hong Kong Island, Haihan's immigration speed will also accelerate compared with previous years.

With the gradual expansion of Haihan's influence in the mainland, the executive committee is no longer satisfied with the size of the only Lijiazhuang immigrant camp.Although there are still a lot of land near Lijiazhuang, which can be expanded on a larger scale, the problem is that the radiated area is relatively limited, and the waterways near Lijiazhuang are relatively narrow, so it is not suitable to build a large wharf, which also limits local shipping. scale.Now it is not a big problem to transport two to 3000 people per month, plus dozens of cargoes. If the scale of shipping is further increased in the future, the role of Lijiazhuang as a population transit point will be limited.In addition, this place is always under the eyes of Guangzhou City, and there are still many scruples in doing things. The Executive Committee has long been interested in establishing a large-scale transshipment point on an outlying island in the waters of the Pearl River Estuary.

The most suitable place for this purpose is Hong Kong Island. The location here not only guards the Pearl River estuary, but also can radiate to the eastern part of Guangdong. Immigrants coming from Fujian can also gather here first, and after screening and identification, they are transported to Hainan separately. Places all over the island.

Of course, during the first two years of crossing, the Executive Committee could only drooling and thinking about it. After all, at that time, its own strength was still weak, unable to control an area as large as Hong Kong Island, and it was not sure that it would be able to eat well. Living in Daming will not cause a backlash from the Guangdong government.But now Haihan's wings have gradually hardened. For Haihan, taking Hong Kong Island is a matter of course, and the plan to establish a new immigration transfer base on Hong Kong Island has been put on the agenda again.

　It's almost the end of the month, please check your account to see if there are any monthly tickets that you forgot to cast, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)