1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 643
Van Longen didn't have much trust in these capricious wise men, and such backlash had happened many times before.When the Fujian Ming army could not capture Penghu, they used the pretext of peace talks to cease fighting, but during the peace talks, they detained the Dutch mission and threatened the Netherlands to withdraw from Penghu.And Xu Xinsu, who used to have close business cooperation with the Dutch, quickly drew a line with the Dutch after he surrendered to Daming and entered the officialdom, and switched to the Haihan camp.As for Shibazhi's gang of pirates, what they usually do is murder, smuggling and robbing ships, let alone their credibility. Even if they want to reach any agreement, it must be at the level of Shibazhi's big boss. It is only effective when people come out to speak, and Zheng Xinzhi's staff is far from enough.

Zheng Xinzhi was really prepared, and immediately took out a letter from his arms, and handed it in respectfully.Hans opened it with some doubts—of course, he couldn't understand a single word of the content, except that he could recognize Zheng Zhilong's signature on the signature.And it is only because Zheng Zhilong has written letters with him several times in the past that he can recognize this signature, and he has already seen this "pattern" by heart.

Of course, Zheng Xinzhi also knew that the other party would definitely not understand the content of this letter, so he immediately explained to them: "Falang Jiren is in the chicken coop and Danshui ports in the north of Dayuan Island. My lord can provide detailed defenses. Figure, you can also send people to sneak into the local area in advance, and cooperate with the inside and outside when it is launched."

After hearing this explanation, Hans couldn't help but his heart was moved. The several attacks he organized in the past few years failed to win, not because he was weaker than the opponent, but because he was unclear about the local situation and could not formulate a plan. A detailed and feasible combat plan led to the final defeat on the battlefield.If you can really get the local defense information, it will undoubtedly bring a great combat advantage to the attacker.

In terms of intelligence and reconnaissance, Shibazhi undoubtedly has obvious advantages. They have always maintained business contacts with the Spaniards, and they can collect local intelligence relatively easily.If they feel at ease and want to sell the Spaniard, it is really hard to guard against.

Of course, Hans also thought of another terrible possibility - if Shibazhi refused to accept the proposal, then maybe they would sell the Dutch information to others when necessary.In this way, if you want to reject Zheng Xinzhi, you need to carefully consider the consequences.

Hans glanced at the letter again, and put it on the table first. Of course, he would not make a decision so quickly. This letter must be read by someone. Consider whether to say yes to the other person's offer.

Hans asked Zheng Xinzhi to go back and wait for an answer. Zheng Xinzhi also knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he nodded and bowed back.

"Mr. Van Longen, if you want, I would like to invite you to our discussion about Shibazhi." Hans didn't intend to settle the matter further, and planned to follow up immediately.Of course, this involves the major event of war, and Hans can't just pat his head to make the decision. He still has to call the officials in charge of various affairs under his command to solicit their opinions.

"It's easy for me to work with Mr. Hans." Van Longen bowed slightly to indicate that he accepted the invitation.Several ships under his command were damaged to varying degrees in the artillery battles a few days ago, and they also needed to be repaired and maintained in Dayuan Port. During this time, he had nothing to do.

When Zheng Zhilong sent people to lobby the Dutch desperately, the fleet led by Qian Tiandun had also sailed into the waters of Fujian.In addition to eight troop carriers carrying a full-strength battalion army transferred from Annan, the Military Commission also generously equipped him with four "Explorer-class" and four "Explorer-class" ships, a total of eight warships, and a small task force composed of four integrated supply ships.This fleet will be stationed here in Fujian for a period of time, serving as a bridgehead for Haihan to develop its forces northward.In the Navy's shipbuilding plan, one of the three "Majestic-class" hybrid warships built in the second batch will be assigned to serve in Fujian. Of course, the earliest time for its entry into the fleet will have to wait until next year If there is a large-scale battle plan in the near future, it is still necessary to transfer the main ship from Qiongzhou to sit there.

The size of this fleet is much larger than that of the fleet of the Haihan Mission that visited two months ago. Although Xu Yuzhuo, the general of the Fujian navy who went to meet them in the open sea, had already expected it, he was still astounded by the greatness of the Haihan people. No end—just imagine the size of a fleet that Haihan sent to Fujian, and how amazing their armed forces at Qiongzhou Island would be!
Of course, Haihan's deployment of sea power near Hainan Island is not as exaggerated as Xu Yuzhuo imagined. A considerable part of the navy's combat ships have been allocated to the coastal areas of Annan and Guangdong.If you don't count the two or three "Majestic" warships currently in service, the size of the navy actually stationed on Qiongzhou Island is about twice as large as the fleet sent to Fujian by this branch.The Military Commission dared to deploy its troops to such a far place. In addition to being fully confident in its own logistical supply capabilities, it was indeed partly because there were no hostile forces in the South China Sea that could launch large-scale attacks from the sea to the main ports on Hainan Island. attacked.

"Haihan... This is really a posture to fight in Fujian!" Xu Yuzhuo couldn't help sighing as he watched the Haihan fleet waving flags on the sea in the distance from the deck.The Haihan mission that came here before only had a few warships, and they were able to take down the long-pending Nanri Island of the Fujian Navy in one fell swoop, but this time Haihan sent a fleet over in one go. Shibazhi is going to have a sea battle, and that's not enough to make those pirates scream.

However, the Haihan Fleet was far from Xu Yuzhuo's sense of tension. Qian Tiandun was standing at the front of the deck, introducing the situation in Fujian to Luo Wudan, a special reporter from the Propaganda Department.Of course, the introduction seems inappropriate, because the conversation between these two people is not like a working relationship.

"Last month, Shi Diwen led people to take down Nanri Island. It was Shibazhi's last large stronghold along the coast of Fujian, so there should be no major combat operations in the near future. After we arrive in Fujian The main task is to build camps and ports, and assist the Ming army to guard the sea. If you want, I suggest you live in Zhangzhou City, where the living conditions will be much better than the place we chose to station.”

"Qian Tiandun, don't lie to me. When you were in Annan, every time you sent troops to fight, you sent me away in advance, and didn't let me go to the front line to work!"

"The battlefield is very dangerous. Swords and guns have no eyes. If you let a little girl go to the battlefield, how can I explain to the executive committee if something goes wrong?"

"You are the commander of the theater, won't you protect me?"

"Not letting you go to the battlefield is protecting you!"

"What the hell is this protection..."

Takahashi Minami couldn't listen anymore, so he silently retreated a distance until he couldn't hear the two people's conversation clearly.Although Qian Tiandun didn't seem very happy when he heard the news that Luo Wudan was going to station in Fujian with the fleet, but during this period of time on the boat, the two of them quarreled and aroused some special feelings.Gao Qiaonan didn't see it in his eyes, but he was silently thinking about whether he should indeed find a girl from a decent family to start a family.

Gao Qiaonan also visited Zhangzhou a few years ago.At that time, he was exiled after being deprived of the title of warrior, and he had been here before, but because of his status, he couldn't find a job in Zhangzhou, and was coerced by others to become a pirate along the coast of Guangdong.He never thought that he would return to this place one day, and in his current capacity, he would enter Fujian in a splendid manner.

This was the first time for Xu Yuzhuo to see Qian Tiandun in person, and he had only heard his name before but never seen him in person.When Xu Yuzhuo was studying abroad in Shengli Port, many of the military courses Xu Yuzhuo studied were written by Qian Tiandun. He also heard about the many brilliant achievements of this senior general in the Annan Civil War. He even has the nickname of Haihan Ace Army, and he somewhat regards him as an idol in the profession of a soldier in his heart.

However, when he saw Qian Tiandun, he was still taken aback. It turned out that Qian Tiandun was not the veteran in the battlefield as he imagined. Although his complexion was dark, but judging by his facial features, he was no more than a man in his thirties That's all - in fact, Qian Tiandun's real age is not yet 28 years old, so he can be regarded as a young man.But Qian Tiandun is young, and has experienced a lot of battles. In addition, he has served as a military and political officer in Annan for a long time, so he still has the aura of a superior person, which is different from Shi Diwen who Xu Yuzhuo is familiar with. significant difference.

The newly arrived fleet will stop at Zhongzuo Station for two days to rest and then go to Nanri Island to take over the mission troops still stationed there.Ning Qi also rushed to Zhongzuo Institute from Zhangzhou ahead of schedule to participate in the reception banquet prepared for Qian Tiandun and others.

After the banquet, just as Qian Tiandun returned to his residence, Ning Qi came to visit him.After the two exchanged a few simple greetings, Ning Qi began to get to the point: "According to the information we have recently obtained, Shibazhi may attack Nanri Island again within this year. You must be mentally prepared to go to war after you take over."

"I came to Fujian to fight. After two years of peaceful life in Annan, I feel that my bones are about to rust!" Qian Tiandun joked: "It would be best if they took the initiative to attack, and I will also train soldiers by the way. Before this group of people had no experience of fighting in such a subtropical environment, this time stationed in Fujian is a good opportunity to increase their experience."

The special warfare battalion under Qian Tiandun is considered a leader with rich combat experience in the entire militia army. From the South China Sea to the coastal areas of Guangdong, this troop has been involved in a wide range of battlefields, and has faced a variety of enemies , Ming's army, Annan's rebel army, wandering pirates, and even the Portuguese, these rich combat experiences are indeed very valuable wealth for this group of soldiers.If they are lucky enough to continue to save their lives on the battlefield, then in a few years, the vast majority of these soldiers will grow into leaders of the militia army like Takahashi Minami.

"It's not just Shibazhi, maybe the Dutch will also get involved." Ning Qi added.

"Oh? Is there any definite news?" Qian Tiandun slowly put away the smile on his face and asked solemnly.Shibazhi raised troops to attack, which is completely different from the concept of Shibazhi and the Dutch jointly sending troops.Just as the Dutch don't want to offend Haihan at the moment, Haihan also doesn't want to turn against the Netherlands too early. That's why he pretended to be a pirate in the South China Sea military operation to occupy Ambuna Island.But if the Dutch really directly intervened in the struggle for Nanri Island, then Haihan would no longer be able to pretend that nothing happened, and might even implement the plan to attack Dayuan Port in advance.

"It was Xu Xinsu who gave us the news. He has his own intelligence channel in Dayuan Port." Ning Qi explained: "Shibazhi sent envoys to Dayuan Port. It was asking for military assistance from the Dutch."

"Has the Dutchman expressed his opinion?"

"Not yet." Ning Qi shook his head and said, "However, it's hard to determine the attitude of the Dutch, because we don't know what conditions Shibazhi will offer them."

"Then, does Xu Xinsu have any further definite information about the armed strength of the Dutch in Taiwan?"

Qian Tiandun is a very practical person. Since there is objectively the possibility of fighting on the battlefield, the most sensible way is to immediately start collecting intelligence data on the opponent so as to make corresponding preparations in advance.

"That's why I came to you." Ning Qi took out a stack of papers from his briefcase and handed it to Qian Tiandun: "This is the information provided by Xu Xinsu. I asked the people from the security department to sort it out again. Take it and study it. This is mainly about their troop deployment, weaponry, commonly used tactics, and rough statistics of combat ships."

"It's much easier if you have this." Qian Tiandun didn't rush to read the content, patted the cover with his hand and said: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can win a hundred battles. If the Dutch really want to come to Nanri Island to die, then I will take care of it." Teach them how to write dead characters."

"Don't get too excited, chase all the way out, stick to Nanri Island is your immediate task." Ning Qi reminded: "Probably won't send reinforcements to you this year, because the Military Commission is paying attention now. The power is temporarily placed in the South China Sea."

"What happened to South China Sea?" Qian Tiandun asked in surprise.He was floating at sea these days, and did not receive the information from the base camp in time.

Ning Qi responded: "The Dutch sent a fleet to raid Abunna Island a few days ago, but they failed and withdrew after fighting for two days. The troops stationed on the island suffered certain casualties. The battle this time was not as smooth as usual."

(End of this chapter)