1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 703 The Story of Seniors

As far as the executive committee is concerned, driving Shibazhi away from Penghu's old nest is also one of the options. However, when the military formulates an action plan, it must take Shibazhi's situation in Penghu as the main consideration. The mobilization of troops and the preparation of materials are all deployed based on the attack on Penghu.In order to prevent Shibazhi from being aware of the situation of Haihan's army pressing down on the border prematurely, they also specially used many deception methods in the process of transporting personnel and materials to Fujian.

But if you want to change your thinking and create external pressure on Shibazhi to drive it to abandon Penghu, you must abandon the previous approach and let Shibazhi realize that the enemy they are about to face has irresistible strength.Fortunately, Shibazhi is now thinking of fleeing, and the coalition forces don't need to spend a lot of time to promote force in the Taiwan Strait in advance. They just need to think about how to add fuel to the fire.

The two generals leading the troops on the front line in Fujian both believed that it was more feasible to drive Shibazhi away from Penghu than to try to annihilate it under the circumstances that the current preparations for war were not yet sufficient. This opinion also directly affected the decision-making of the Executive Committee.Of course, the more important reason is that if the coalition forces act according to the original plan, Shibazhi may escape without loss, and this is not the result that the leaders of the two sides of the coalition forces want to see—even if they intend to Let Shibazhi go away, then you have to peel off a layer of skin, so that it is difficult for them to recover in a short period of time.

On March 3th, under the authorization of the Executive Committee, the Military Commission issued a new troop mobilization order. The First Fleet of the Navy stationed in Sanya will set off in the near future, go to the Pearl River Estuary to join the Second Fleet stationed in Zhennan Port, and then join the Set off to Fujian to participate in a large-scale joint military exercise code-named "Strait Storm".The South China Sea Fleet stationed in Cam Ranh Port, Annan, will go north to Sanya for ship maintenance and upgrades. Fleet officers will also enter the Shengli Port Military Academy for short-term training during this period.

Of course, whether it's a military exercise or a ship's maintenance and upgrade, it's all just an excuse. Of course, people with discerning eyes know that such a large-scale military mobilization is not something that should be done in peacetime.At present, Haihan has only four fleets in total. After this transfer is completed, three of them will be concentrated in the Fuguang sea area. This situation of deploying a large number of troops overseas only occurred when it participated in the Annan Civil War.However, at that time, the strength of the Haihan militia was far less than it is now, and the distance to the base camp was much closer than now. Such a large-scale mobilization of troops would put a lot of pressure on Haihan's transportation and supplies.

In addition to the navy, the army stationed on Hainan Island will also deploy two battalions of troops to Fujian. After joining the garrisons in Fuzhou and Guangxi, the size of the Haihan militia army participating in the operation will also reach nearly 4000. It will be temporarily organized as a reinforced regiment.These include four infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, one logistics battalion, and the communications company, reconnaissance company, medical company, special service guard company, etc. directly under the regiment headquarters.Yan Chujie, the top leader of the military, will personally serve as the supreme commander and set off with the troops.

The total strength of the navy and army participating in the Fujian battle is nearly 7000, and it is also the largest military operation in the history of the Haihan military.The military estimates that this operation will consume at least 50 yuan of funds. Fortunately, this money does not need to be paid out of its own pocket. Fujian has promised to pay for this large amount of war expenses.Of course, if Shibazhi chooses to evacuate Penghu in the end, the war may not last long, and the actual cost may be lower than the estimated amount.

At this time, there was a small episode. The Portuguese envoy, who was inexplicably nervous, met with Tao Donglai and asked whether the transfer of troops had anything to do with Portugal.The nervousness of the Portuguese is not completely unreasonable. Haihan is now getting closer to the government of Daming in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces. Last year, there were several times of sending troops to fight against pirates for Daming. One of the battles even involved the Netherlands. people.The Portuguese stronghold in Haojingao is also their only port and trade gateway in Daming. Although the Ming government has never stated that it wants to take back this land, the Haihan people may not have the idea here. After all, the Pearl River Estuary The actual control of the sea area is now in the hands of the Haihan militia. If they really want to snatch Haojingao, it may be difficult for the Portuguese to have the ability to resist.

Dumbfounded, Tao Donglai had no choice but to reassure the Portuguese that what they were worried about would not happen. This military transfer was not aimed at Portugal, nor would it launch any form of attack on Haojingao.In order to convince the Portuguese of this point, Tao Donglai had to say that if Haihan really planned to seize Haojingao, he did not need to use so many troops—about half of them would be more than enough.

Tao Donglai's "reasonable and well-founded" statement finally calmed the anxious Portuguese envoy. Fortunately, this kind of rhetoric does not need to be repeated to the Guangdong government, because this matter has been reported by Maiko and others in the Guangzhou office. People do it.Although Haihan's fleet going north will stop briefly at Hong Kong Island for supplies, it will not sail into the Pearl River Estuary, so it will not cause too much tension to the Guangdong government.

April 4st is the annual Haihan Landing Victory Harbor Celebration Day, and this year is the fifth year. For everyone who participated in the crossing operation, this is a gratifying day.In the past five years, they have not only successfully gained a foothold in this time and space, but also successfully achieved continuous external expansion.So far, Haihan has achieved self-production of necessities such as grain, energy, and metals, established a primary industrial system, and achieved primitive wealth accumulation through foreign trade.

With Haihan's strength today, there is no need to have any major scruples about establishing a country on Hainan Island. Even if the Ming court would be furious about this, there is no effective way to deal with the powerful Haihan, Qiongzhou Strait, etc. This natural moat is enough to stop the Ming army on the other side.Of course, the Guangdong government has long been aware of the situation on Hainan Island, but as long as Haihan does not set up a flag to rebel for a day, everyone will continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb and pretend not to know. If you die, how can you feel comfortable sitting at home and collecting money every year.

And precisely because of the repeated tolerance of the Guangdong government, Haihan was not in a hurry to declare independence.Anyway, all parts of Hainan Island have begun to re-establish the ruling institutions according to the model planned by the Executive Committee, and slowly erase the influence of Ming Dynasty. The longer the time, the more obvious the effect will be.And if you don’t turn against Ming Dynasty, the raw materials and population from the mainland will be continuously imported into Hainan Island, and then sold back in the form of industrial products to earn profits. The executive committee is happy to see this mature operation mode. .

According to the usual practice in previous years, various celebrations were held in various places in the Haihan area, and a military parade was held in Victory Port as always.Both the army and the navy that are about to go to war will appear at the military parade. The officers who have made meritorious service in the South China Sea and Fujian last year have finally waited for the opportunity to be personally awarded by the chiefs at this highly anticipated event.For the officers of the Haihan Militia, the sense of honor brought by the award ceremony on the anniversary even surpassed the award itself, because most of the awardees have the opportunity to compete with the superior executives only on this occasion. Heads of the committee have face-to-face contact.Of course, the chiefs did not forget to take advantage of this opportunity to give the officers who are about to go to the expedition a good fight, so that they can embark on the journey with full fighting spirit.

On April 4, the navy, which had just received many military awards the day before, set off from Victory Port.In addition to more than ten combat ships, there is also a fleet of ships that load supplies and transport army troops. The team has a total of more than 2 ships.The fleet will first go to Zhennan Port, where it will meet up with the local troops, and then sail to Fujian together.

The "Blue Shark" frigate is an "expedition-class" warship that just entered service last year. Nearly half of the sailors on board are recruits who served last year and have relatively little combat experience. This is the first time they have participated in such an expedition to Fujian. Large-scale military operations are inevitably both tense and exciting.

Not long after sailing out of Victory Port, the fleet turned to the east. After the deck was idle, a group of recruits surrounded the veteran and asked him to talk about the naval battles he had participated in before.

"It's all in the past, there's nothing to show off!" The surrounded veteran refused to cooperate, and waved his hand to signal everyone to disperse.

It wasn't until a recruit tactfully took out a cigarette and handed it to the veteran. The veteran saw that it was the "Victory Fort" on the market that wanted a pack of triangles, not the free low-end goods that were supplied inside the white shell, and finally he was relieved. Mouth: "Since everyone wants to hear the story so much, I will just say a few paragraphs..."

"Light it up." The sensible sailor took out a match and lit a cigarette for the veteran.

The veteran took two puffs, swallowed the cloud, and said: "Speaking of which, I, Lao Cao, joined the army relatively early. The first year of Chongzhen... Bah! It was the year of Haihan 1628, so I came to Shengli Port to join the army. At that time, you monkey cubs probably didn’t even know where Victory Harbor was, right?”

Almost all of these recruits were immigrants who immigrated to Hainan Island after 1628, so no one doubted Lao Cao's statement of showing off his qualifications.

Someone next to him asked, "Boss Cao, what did you do before joining the army?"

Old Cao responded: "Before? I used to eat soldiers in the Yacheng Shuizhai, so after I joined the militia, the chiefs still assigned me to the ship as a errand."

Someone in the crowd murmured: "It turns out that there used to be sailors in Yacheng!"

"It was there a few years ago, but the imperial court and the Ministry of War can't allocate a few taels of silver a year, not even enough to eat, and it has long since declined." Lao Cao sighed: "You probably don't know, but now in Tielugang Several of the ships transporting salt were warships from the former Yacheng Shuizhai. If the chiefs hadn’t been kind-hearted, more than half of the people in the Shuizhai would have starved to death.”

"I heard that Uncle Luo Shengdong Luo, who often shows up in Shengli Port, was also from Yacheng Shuizhai before?" someone who knew something inside asked.

"Born in the water village? Hehe!" Lao Cao took two puffs of cigarettes calmly, and after whetting the appetite of the people around him, he said, "Master Luo is the number one in the water village. The village general is him!"

The people around showed varying degrees of surprise, which satisfied Lao Cao's vanity, and continued: "Master Luo was also discerning at the beginning, and he saw that the heads of Haihan are extraordinary. Those who have serious affairs will decisively cooperate with the chiefs and help them sell salt in various parts of Qiongzhou. After a long time, Lord Luo doesn't want to eat military food anymore, so he simply turned the Yacheng water village into a Yacheng business store, and An I started the business with peace of mind. I have made some money in the past few years. The houses built in Sanya exclusively for wealthy businessmen cost thousands of dollars for one set, but Lord Luo bought several sets and kept them.”

"Boss Cao, why don't you follow Master Luo and go into business?" Someone asked curiously.

"You think anyone can do business and make a lot of money!" Lao Cao stretched out his hand and knocked on the man's head: "You still need to have a good brain! I don't even know how to calculate accounts, what else do I do?" Buying and selling? Besides, Master Luo is also a person with a background, and his father-in-law is the magistrate of Yazhou! The heads of Haihan are willing to hand over the sea salt business to Luo Ye as an agent, which is why they have taken a fancy to this relationship inside."

Lao Cao flicked the remaining cigarette butts into the sea, and continued: "Crabs have their way of crabs, and shrimps have their way of shrimps. You don't have to envy others who made a fortune in business. Work hard in the navy and accumulate military achievements over the years. If you want to leave the army and go home in the future, the executive committee will arrange things to do. Isn’t that much safer than doing business? Maybe we will have more people on this boat when we come back from Fujian this time. A few were promoted to lieutenants by virtue of their military merits."

"Is this military merit so easy to get? Isn't it dangerous to fight at sea?" Someone asked again.

"Dangerous fart!" Lao Cao scolded: "It is much easier for the navy to gain military merits than the army. Even if the army has guns and cannons, it will still have to fight hand-to-hand in the end and fight with our lives. Now our navy fights through the old Far directly use bombardment until the opponent surrenders or sinks the ship. The navy has been in the army for several years, and no ship has been sunk by the opponent at sea."

Although what Lao Cao said is true, it is not so comprehensive. Of course, the navy still suffered losses in several sea battles, but the casualty rate is indeed lower than that of the army.Moreover, the risks taken by the navy are not only in wartime, but also face the challenges of nature almost every moment during sea navigation.Naval ships damaged or sunk due to bad weather have appeared several times in the past few years, but the military will not publicize it more.

(End of this chapter)