1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 598 Emperor 590 Eight Confidence
Haihan's technical reserves in shipbuilding and navigation are indeed far ahead of this era, but these black technologies are all theoretical advantages. It is necessary to build a sea-going ship on the blueprint from scratch and form a large-scale shipbuilding industry. It still takes a lot of time and practice to realize it step by step.So far, Haihan has three or four shipyards, but the largest shipbuilding base is still the Shengli Port Shipyard in Sanya, where almost all military ships are built.

However, shipbuilding is a technical job that is unlikely to rely on continuous input of labor to expand production scale like road construction and mining. The number of professional shipwrights that can be recruited is limited. To expand production scale, it is necessary to spend time slowly training skilled workers. It is probably the biggest obstacle in the development of Haihan shipbuilding industry at present.

Of course, it was impossible for Shi Diwen to talk about these deep-seated problems to Xu Yuzhuo, so he could only comfort him and said: "Since we have signed an agreement with you, we should be able to deliver the ship on time. You only need to wait another year or so, and you will be ready We can have a fleet that can really fight at sea."

Xu Yuzhuo smiled wryly and said: "Students can wait, but the situation in Fujian can't wait now! Once the sea trade between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to the northeast is stopped, the interests of many people will be greatly affected. My father is now the commander-in-chief of Fujian. , and the pressure was enormous.”

After the route from the coast of Fujian to Ryukyu and Japan was blocked by Shibazhi, if the Fujian Ming army wanted to re-open the maritime trade line, they had to use military means to destroy Shibazhi, or they had to negotiate a truce with the other side.The former method is obviously unrealizable at this stage, and the latter has become the only alternative.Shi Diwen could also feel from Xu Yuzhuo's few words that Xu Xinsu's attempt to negotiate a truce with Shibazhi did not seem to be just his personal wish.

War or peace, which option can bring more benefits, on this issue Fujian and Haihan actually have different positions.Haihan naturally hopes that this war will continue for a long time until Haihan has the strength to control the Taiwan Strait.Fujian's consideration is more realistic, and economic interests are the primary consideration.

From an objective point of view, there is nothing wrong with the choice of the Fujian military. Continuing the fight will not have any practical benefits for both sides. No one can destroy the other, and it will only increase casualties.On the contrary, the truce can also increase income, recuperate, accumulate strength, and strive to defeat the opponent in one fell swoop in the next war.

However, this choice is unacceptable for Haihan. What Haihan needs is the continuous fighting between the Fujian military and Shibazhi, and the bloodletting of the opponent, so that it cannot grow further, so that it can enter Taiwan in a year or two. Straits reduce drag.Of course, what is more important is that what Haihan needs is the unconditional cooperation of the Fujian military, not purposeful concealment of movements, or even private contact with Shibazhi for truce and peace talks.

The Fujian side probably also realized that their small actions did not successfully hide Haihan's surveillance, so after the mission arrived in Zhangzhou this time, no matter whether it was Xu Xinsu or Xu Yuzhuo, they did not deliberately deny the possibility of a truce, but tried to Use various methods to let the Haihan envoys understand that Fujian's choice of the truce and peace talks is out of helplessness and various external pressures, not a betrayal of Haihan.

Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "Now you only see the losses caused by fighting with Shibazhi, but have you ever thought about how much benefit you will get if you keep fighting and after Shibazhi is destroyed?"

"Mr. Shi, how long will it take to destroy Shibazhi? We spend at least a few 10 taels of money on combat every year, with at least a thousand casualties. We have been fighting for more than three years. From the land back to the sea, to be honest, so far, the students have not seen any victory, let alone destroy Shibazhi." Xu Yuzhuo also shook his head and argued: "Didn't Shibazhi say that Shibazhi will be wiped out immediately?" No matter how great the benefits are after eliminating them, it will have no practical effect on the current situation in Fujian."

Shi Diwen said categorically: "At most two years, the eighteen Zhi will be destroyed!"

Xu Yuzhuo saw that he spoke so confidently, so he couldn't help asking: "Could it be that the Haihan militia intends to take action?"

Shi Diwen did not answer this question directly: "We still have a lot of things to do in the South China Sea, and it will take a year or two to make adjustments. When the time comes, we will choose to go north and settle down."

"If Shibazhi was still there at that time, it would definitely become a stumbling block for you!" Xu Yuzhuo suddenly realized.

Shi Diwen's statement made Xu Yuzhuo realize that Haihan's current arrangements for the Fujian military to fight Shibazhi actually have a deep meaning.Although Haihan wanted to destroy Shibazhi, for some reason, he was temporarily unable to send troops to Fujian to participate in the war.As for whether Shi Diwen was bragging, Xu Yuzhuo didn't have such doubts. After all, he also knew about Haihan's military strength. He could send troops to fight in Annan a year or two ago, and even attack Jiancheng. With an army capable of cross-sea combat, it shouldn't be too difficult to wipe out the pirates entrenched on the island.What's more, in Xu Yuzhuo's view, the warships owned by the Haihan Militia were considered giants at sea.

Seeing the thoughtful look on Xu Yuzhuo's face, Shi Diwen continued while the iron was hot, "Once the Eighteen Zhis are destroyed, your Xu family will have the final say on the entire coast of Fujian. We don't need to take advantage of you, as long as we take over the ten Bazhi's territory is enough."

"You want Penghu and Dayuan Island?" Xu Yuzhuo immediately recovered from his contemplation when he heard this.

Shi Diwen nodded and said: "These two places don't mean much to you, but we have experience in developing islands, and we can completely turn the place into another Sanya. By then, the trade volume between us will also increase. Multiplied several times."

Shi Diwen kept silent about the military occupation, and only talked about the future trade prospects, in order to avoid stimulating the other party's sensitivity.The Xu family is the local emperor in Fujian, even if it is a partner like Haihan, they would definitely not want him to station troops in Fujian waters.And building a colony on Taiwan Island across the sea will not stimulate the Xu family so much.

Xu Yuzhuo hesitated and said, "But there are still red-haired people on Dayuan Island..."

"We can continue your trade with the red-haired people." Shi Diwen responded immediately: "Believe me, you don't need business partners like them, and losing them will do nothing to you loss."

"So your plan is to drive away the red-haired man while destroying Shibazhi?" Xu Yuzhuo immediately came to his senses.

"That's not necessarily the case. If they are honest and obedient, it's not that they can't coexist peacefully." Shi Diwen didn't say anything dead, but he also knew that the Dutch executive committee probably couldn't tolerate the sand in the Netherlands, and would probably resort to force when occupying Taiwan Measures drove the Dutch away.

"The students heard that the Dutch built a fortified city in the south of Dayuan Island, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has set up a lot of artillery." Xu Yuzhuo didn't fully believe what Shi Diwen said. The red-haired man is not like Shibazhi Bandits, their level of armament is much higher, and they also have a large number of armed merchant ships, and their combat effectiveness is quite strong regardless of whether they are on land or at sea.Even if the Haihan militia makes a move, it seems that it is not such an easy opponent to win.

"Zelandia City, I know." Shi Di replied confidently: "In front of the Haihan militia, there is no such thing as a strong city or a strong city. The city we want to capture will definitely be able to win."

Shi Diwen raised his finger and pointed to the "Prestige Signal" warship parked on the pier: "In your opinion, this ship should be considered a very powerful warship, right?"

Xu Yuzhuo nodded without hesitation. Fujian couldn't manufacture such a warship equipped with dozens of cannons. If he encountered such an opponent at sea, Xu Yuzhuo's first reaction would be to turn around and run away. it is good.Although the red-haired people on Dayuan Island also have many armed sailboats, they are really insignificant compared to this kind of gunboat.

Shi Diwen went on to say: "In two years, about five or six warships of this level will enter service, and the larger warships are likely to have already been built on the berth. With the red-haired man in the How can the deployment of force on Dayuan Island compete with us? By the time their reinforcements arrived all the way from Batavia, the land in Zeelandia City had already been turned over and plowed several times by our shells! "

Shi Diwen spoke with confidence, and Xu Yuzhuo was terrified when he heard it.He also knew that the Haihan people had great ambitions, but it still caused him a lot of shock when he actually heard a Haihan officer show his ambition in such an undisguised manner.

Just less than ten years ago, the Fujian Ming Army and the Dutch had a head-to-head confrontation in Penghu.In the second year of Tianqi, the fleet of the Dutch East India Company occupied Penghu and blocked the mouth of Zhangzhou.Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian at that time, also recruited Zheng Zhilong to deal with the Dutch, but the effect was not satisfactory.

At the end of the third year of the Apocalypse, Nan Juyi directly imprisoned the Dutch delegation at the armistice peace talks banquet in Xiamen, and took the opportunity to burn down the Dutch warships docked on Xiamen Island.In February of the fourth year of Tianqi, Nan Juyi personally went to Jinmen Island to supervise the battle. The Ming army dispatched more than [-] warships and over [-] soldiers to cross the sea to attack the Dutch stronghold in Penghu.

At that time, Fujian General Soldier Yu Zigao and garrison Wang Mengxiong led troops to land on Baisha Island, but due to inferior weapons and combat methods, they failed to capture the Dutch stronghold.In July, Nan Juyi sent firecracker troops to reinforce them. Although they made some progress on the battlefield, they entered a stalemate again.In August, the Ming army again divided into three groups and surrounded the Dutch stronghold.

The battle lasted until September. The Ming army spent seven months and spent 17 taels of military expenditure before finally capturing Penghu.At that time, the Dutch guard Gao Wenlu was captured alive by the Ming army, and the other remnants of the defeated generals fled to southern Taiwan.Afterwards, Gao Wenlu was escorted to Beijing to beheaded and displayed to the public. Ming Xizong also "sacrificed to the suburban temple, and the imperial gate was captured. The punishment of Gao Wenlu was equal to that of Xishi, and the head was passed on to all sides to show the world."

The battle was won, but it took seven months for the Ming army to drive the Dutch away from Penghu with more than ten times its strength. This also shows the strength of the two sides.Not only did the self-confidence of the Ming army not improve because of this war, but it became even more fearful of the Dutch.Of course Xu Yuzhuo did not participate in that war back then, but he was no stranger to the battle process at that time. In his opinion, the combat power of the red-haired people and the Haihan people were relatively close, and the Haihan people might be a little weaker in terms of weapon performance. prevail.But what Shi Diwen said was that the Haihan militia wanted to crush the red-haired man, which really made Xu Yuzhuo a little unbelievable.

Seeing the impressive expression on Xu Yuzhuo's face, Shi Diwen roughly guessed what he was thinking, smiled and said, "How much do you know about the red-haired man?"

"Students only know that they are from the far west, tens of thousands of miles away from Daming..." Xu Yuzhuo didn't know much about this, and couldn't continue after a few sentences.

"Let me tell you the details of these red-haired people!" Shi Diwen interrupted him with a smile: "It just so happens that I have been to their country before."

"Mr. Shi has been to such a distant place?" Xu Yuzhuo was shocked by Shi Diwen's words again.

Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, set off from Fujian 200 years ago when he went to the West. However, the farthest place Zheng He has ever been to is said to be quite far away from the country of the Western Fans.Xu Yuzhuo has lived for more than [-] years, and he has never heard of anyone who has been to the country of the Western Fans.

Shi Diwen nodded and said: "We call the red-haired people Dutch. They are a special ethnic group formed by mixing many races on the western continent. It has only been a few decades since the country was established. Let me calculate... The time when they founded the country was about the eighth year of Wanli! Moreover, this country is not big. If you compare it with Fujian, it is only about one-third of the size of Fujian. Not to mention the population, which is different from that of Ming Dynasty. far."

"Listening to what Mr. Shi said, this red hair... No, this Dutch country is just a small country!" Xu Yuzhuo heard these introductions for the first time, and he felt very novel at the moment.

"Small is small, but this country is not weak." Shi Diwen continued to introduce: "In this world, the Netherlands can be regarded as the overlord of the sea. Their strength at sea far exceeds that of Daming."

"How is this possible!" Xu Yuzhuo felt a little unbelievable.

"Let me give you an example. The Dutch in Batavia and Dayuan Island are not considered their regular army. They are just private armed forces under a joint company organized by Dutch merchants." Shi Diwen said: "It's like the armed escort under the name of 'Qione Lianfa' in charge of escorting at sea, but the scale of their firm is much larger than that of 'Qione Lianfa'."

(End of this chapter)