1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 748

Although the Dutch had reluctantly signed an armistice agreement with Haihan after suffering successive losses on the battlefield last year, and in fact acquiesced in Haihan's control over the Annabuna Islands in the South China Sea, what was signed at that time was only The armistice agreement, in other words, the two sides have not officially announced the end of the state of war, and the war may restart at any time.

The Batavia War that broke out two months ago undoubtedly greatly reduced the strength of the Dutch East Indies, but the Dutch stronghold on Taiwan Island was not directly affected by it.The garrison and fleet at Dayuan Port were too far away to rush back to the south to reinforce Batavia, so they still maintained a certain amount of military pressure on Haihan in the Fujian Strait area.Although Haihan defeated the Dutch fleet in the Fujian naval battle last year, the nail of Dayuan Port was not removed. Considering that the distance between Dayuan Port and Penghu was only less than [-] nautical miles, this This kind of threat is still very disturbing to the Haihan militia stationed in Penghu.

From the consideration of the military, the feeling of having such a nail on the doorstep is naturally uncomfortable. If there is a choice, the military will definitely take Dayuan Port as the first target to attack in the next step.However, considering that the Dutch have been operating in Dayuan Port for several years and have built fortresses such as the city of Zeelandia, it is much more difficult for Haihan to attack the local area than naval battles, and the executive committee is worried that war will slow down the sea. The speed of Hanbei's advance does not want to completely turn against the Dutch at this stage.

The idea of ​​the Executive Committee is that if the large-scale introduction of immigrants from the north can be realized, then the Fujian side can start organizing the establishment of a colonial point on the west coast of Taiwan Island.With the organizational and implementation capabilities possessed by Haihan, it is entirely possible to establish multiple colonial points on the west coast within a year or two. It would be much easier to squeeze the living space of the Dutch slowly.

Of course, if such a plan is used to solve Dayuan Port, it may take a long time, and the military is unwilling to carry this burden all the time. Who knows if the Dutch will be overwhelmed someday, yes A surprise attack came to the Penghu base.

"It's just playing the piano!" Qian Tiandun slammed the telegram he had just received on the table: "Ning Qi himself visited Fujian last year, so why didn't he even know the situation! People are still watching from behind, how dare they be drawn to the north to open up new strongholds!"

Chen Yixin picked up the telegram and looked at it. It wasn't that the executive committee had made a relevant decision, but it was just a briefing on the content of the third quarter summary meeting.However, since the executive committee has included the proposal to expand the sphere of influence northward in the report, it is obvious that they have certain expectations for it. They sent a telegram to Penghu, presumably intending to see how the attitude is.

After reading it, Chen Yixin also frowned and said, "There are only two battalions in Penghu now, and the fleet is not uniform. How can this develop to the north?"

Qian Tiandun said with a sullen face: "The Dutch fleet passes by the east of Penghu every month, and it makes us nervous every time. If this nail is not pulled out, how can I be relieved!"

The route of the East India Company to Northeast Asia departed from Dayuan Port and went northward, passing through the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, all the way to the destination.The shortest distance between Penghu and the west coast of Taiwan Island is just over 20 nautical miles, and the Dutch fleet is often seen there.Every time such a situation is discovered, Penghu has to immediately enter a state of preparation for war to prevent the Dutch from sneaking attacks without declaring war.

In this era, there will be no advanced methods such as radar early warning, and the Dutch will not honestly report their sailing plans to Haihan. Therefore, although the Penghu base has never been attacked by foreign enemies, it is still there every month. There are going to be a few days of wild goose bumps with unidentified alarms.Although everyone knew that the chances of the Dutch voluntarily launching a war at this time were very small, but no one dared to take it lightly. Every time an alarm was sent from the sea, Qian Tiandun would still order all the staff to enter a state of combat readiness.

There is no good solution to this kind of thing. The most thorough solution is to clear the Dutch stronghold on the west coast of Taiwan, and force the Dutch merchant ships to travel between the South China Sea and the East China Sea on the route designated by the Han Dynasty.But Qian Tiandun himself is also very clear that there are still some unresolved technical problems for the Dutch who are going to clean up Dayuan Harbor—such as comprehensive reconnaissance of Dayuan Harbor inside and outside, the combat plan for quickly breaking the fortress defense, and so on.

"Even if this plan is passed by the executive committee, we will still vote against it." Qian Tiandun did not hide his dissatisfaction in front of Chen Yixin: "The Spaniards can let it go temporarily, but the Dutch don't solve it. You can't venture north!"

Compared to the Dutch, who were stuck next to Haihan like a plaster, the Spaniards' base in northern Taiwan was less of a hindrance.The Jilong Port they occupy is located on the northeast corner of Taiwan Island, and the routes between Luzon Island and Luzon Island in the South China Sea are mainly concentrated in the waters east of Taiwan Island, and there is no direct conflict of interest with Penghu.In Haihan's previous conflict with Shibazhi and the Dutch, the Spaniard also wisely chose to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and did not join the battle.

The choice of the Spaniards is naturally related to their political stance. The Dutch and the Spaniards are currently fighting in the European battlefield. One is for independence, and the other is to keep their position as the leader in Europe.Since these two countries are proficient in navigation, their battlefields are almost all over the world. The purpose of the Spaniards to seize Jilong Port is to a large extent to restrict the maritime trade conducted by the Dutch in Northeast Asia.

From this interest point of view, the Spaniards and the Haihan people actually have very similar interest demands, and both sides hope to remove the Dutch from their sphere of influence.However, it is not easy to achieve this goal. The two countries have their own victories and losses in the sea battles in the Far East, and no one has a clear advantage.This is also the main reason why the Dutch representatives were finally forced to admit defeat by Haihan's out-of-the-box tricks during the Holland-Hai negotiations last year. The Dutch were really worried that the Haihan people would unite with the Spaniards. No matter how brave and good they are at fighting, it will probably be difficult to resist their attack.

Of course, Haihan does not intend to join hands with the Spaniards. For Haihan, all external forces are competitors. If they can be used, they will be used, and if they cannot be used, they will try to eliminate them. They will choose those forces that are subject to their own control as targets. For example, the military of An Nanguo is a staunch Haihan ally.The Spaniards can build guns, cannons, and boats by themselves, and their accumulation in navigation far exceeds that of Haihan. It is not beneficial for Haihan to form an alliance with them.The most important thing is that the Haihan military has been coveting Jilonggang for a long time.

Jilong Port is called Keelung Port by later generations. In the 45th year of Ming Wanli, that is, in 1617, in the book "East and West Foreign Studies" written by Ming Dynasty scholar Zhang Xie, there are Jilong Club, Jilong Port, Jilong City, Dajilong Street and other records. In 1626, Spanish colonists invaded here and built a fortress on Sheliao Island outside the port, named "San Salvador City".

Jilonggang Harbor is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and south sides, with a long and narrow bay about 3.6 kilometers deep and 300 meters wide at the entrance.Outside the mouth of the bay, there are islands such as Sheliao, Zhongshan, and Pantong as natural barriers, forming a natural harbor surrounded by mountains and water with calm seas.The water area in the port is about 2.5 square kilometers, and the average water depth is about ten meters. There is no pressure for large ships to enter and leave the port.Of course, the Spanish colonists did not have such strong engineering construction capabilities as Haihan, and the local port construction was also very limited, and did not make full use of the local geographical environment.

For the Haihan military, the terrain of Jilong Port is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is the military's favorite semi-enclosed harbor, and there is plenty of room for development, whether it is military or commercial.With the rich local forest resources, large shipyards can be built.The rich fishery resources in the nearby waters make this place the largest fishing port in Taiwan even in later generations, and the black sea bream it produces is very famous.

In addition, due to the existence of large volcanic groups in the area, mineral resources are also very rich.There are many gold, silver and copper mines in Jinguashi Mountain, Caoshan Mountain, and Jimu Ridge, which are the most concentrated areas of gold mines on Taiwan Island.In addition, the sulfur ore resources formed by the local volcanic groups are also very rich, which has a very wide range of uses in the industrial and military fields.

Therefore, although Jilonggang did not block Haihan's northward passage, it was still included in the military's "must win" target list.However, compared to the position of Dayuan Port, which is in the throat, it is not so urgent to seize Jilong Port.

Of course, no matter where you want to fight, Qian Tiandun and the Penghu garrison are very likely to be the main force, and Qian Tiandun must also consider the issue of occupation after the defeat-with the existing strength of the Penghu base, divide the troops Occupation is clearly not an option.Either transfer troops from Hainan Island, or wait until the locally recruited recruits complete their training and expand the garrison, but no matter which solution is chosen, it cannot be completed in a short time.

"By the end of this year, it's not bad to bring out two or three companies of recruits..." Qian Tiandun thought about it, but shook his head and said, "If we want to divide our troops to defend Dayuan Port, and then send troops north to open up new strongholds, There are definitely not enough troops."

"If there is a way for the Dutch to fight the Spaniards, it would be great. We can reap the benefits of the fisherman, and maybe we can easily take Taiwan Island." Chen Yixin suggested.

Qian Tiandun replied: "You said this trick, I actually thought about it before, it is theoretically feasible, but in practice there are too many uncontrollable factors, and the timing is difficult to grasp. Moreover, the Dutch have been seriously injured recently. They probably won’t take the initiative to launch military operations against external forces. What’s more, they don’t have much chance of winning against the Spaniards. Competition."

"Then what should we do? If the executive committee makes a decision, even if our side opposes it, it will have no practical effect." Chen Yixin showed a worried look. Although he has not been in Penghu for a long time, he is also concerned about the situation here. It's clearer.If the executive committee goes northward with all its heart, the Penghu base will indeed face certain risks.

"Don't worry, this proposal is only a proposal at the moment. If we really want to start deliberation and voting, we probably have to wait until the end of the year. .I will write a telegram and send it back later, so that Mr. Yan and Tom can think of a way in Sanya."

Chen Yixin didn't answer the question. The power struggle among these high-level officials was beyond his reach. Even a general like Qian Tiandun couldn't directly refute the opinions of the executive committee.Even if he speaks loudly, he will still reflect his thoughts in accordance with the formal process - objection is objection, and the authority of the executive committee must continue to be maintained.At any rate, Qian Tiandun is a senior member of the party, so he can express his opinions casually in private, but if Chen Yixin does the same, he will appear not calm enough. After all, his current position is far from being able to influence the decision-making of the executive committee. The degree of finger-pointing.

Time entered October 1632, and the first phase of recruits at the Penghu Base had begun training.Under the careful selection of Qian Tiandun and others, a total of only 10 people passed the recruit review and successfully joined the army.Compared with the base of nearly 270 new immigrants, this number is really not that much.And not all of these recruits can be formally established after completing the training, and at least one-third of them will be eliminated. Together with those who are qualified but not excellent at the time of conscription, they will be transported to Sanya to receive ordinary training. military training.These people may have no problem becoming qualified Haihan soldiers, but Qian Tiandun's requirements are not just qualified.

Different from the paid training conducted by Roger in the Nanhai Port of Anbuna, the soldiers under Qian Tiandun not only have to learn basic combat skills, but also have to receive advanced tactical training.Ordinary soldiers need to go through promotion and go to the Haihan Army Military Academy in Sanya as an officer to learn most of the content, but they can learn most of it under Qian Tiandun's command.If Sanya's military training is aimed at qualified soldiers, then Qian Tiandun's training method is to train every soldier to be an elite.When necessary, each of these soldiers can temporarily act as a grassroots commander, and use this as a framework to quickly expand an army ten times the basic strength.

Such high standards and strict requirements can only be achieved through hard training, which has also caused many recruits to complain, and it is completely unexpected that being a soldier is such a difficult job.

(End of this chapter)