1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 898
The group of people who traveled from another time and space, except for the two purebred foreigners Johnson and Morgan, had an innate fear and even hatred for Japan, a small East Asian country.However, in the current era, Japan's national strength is far inferior to that of Ming Dynasty, and it is even more difficult to say that there is any direct threat to Haihan.But if there is a chance, I believe that not only Shi Diwen, but even Qian Tiandun will not object to stepping on him.

But such a verbal argument is indeed difficult to convince the other party, because everyone is now looking at the map drawn hundreds of years later to talk about things.Not much is known about the actual situation of the local area in this era.Quite a few of the crossing team have traveled to Jeju Island and Kyushu Island, but the military information provided by the way of eating, having fun, taking pictures and taking pictures is simply pitiful and not of much reference value.

"Anyway, in the end, I have to go there myself." Qian Tiandun finally gave up trying to persuade Shi Diwen, and turned to seek a more scientific way to resolve differences: "Seeing is believing, is it good or not, and where should it be?" If you do it, you still have to go to the field to investigate before you can see the outcome, which is also what the Military Commission and the General Staff Department mean."

Shi Diwen said: "It's a pity that we can't make up our North American six-member team now, otherwise we can use this to relive the fun of visiting Heitu Port back then."

The North American six-member group that was in charge of going north to inspect the Annan Black Soil Port at the beginning has now gone their separate ways.Wang Tom became the commander of the navy and spent more time in Hainan Island.The two foreign doctors are currently in Sanya all year round. On the one hand, they provide medical insurance for the travelers, and on the other hand, they teach their apprentices their medical knowledge, especially surgical skills.Qiao Zhiya is in charge of the Changhua Industrial Park, and it is very likely that he will follow the path of politics in the future.Roger is far away in the South China Sea on Anbuna Island, guarding the gate of the South China Sea for Haihan, and probably will not move in a short time.And Shi Diwen went north to Zhejiang this time, and his future development direction is estimated to be all the way north.

Qian Tiandun shook his head and said, "Don't say Tom and the others can't participate, even you can't go."

Shi Diwen was stunned and said, "Why can't I go?"

"Things still need to be prioritized. Now that the East China Sea has not been cleaned up, how can you take the time to travel to the north?" Qian Tiandun joked: "If something happens to the East China Sea after you leave, do you want me To command a naval fleet?"

Shi Diwen frowned and said: "It's not a problem whether I go or not, but if I don't have my own people to go to the field to investigate, I'm afraid there will be problems."

The "one of us" that Shi Diwen mentioned naturally refers to the time traveler.With Haihan's current navigation ability, it is not difficult to send an expedition team composed entirely of naturalized people to carry out the mission, but the trained naturalized people may not be able to fully understand the traverser's intentions for future development. There will inevitably be deviations in focus.As for recording methods such as video photography, it is even more impossible to rely on the naturalized people. These priceless equipment must be operated by the traveler himself.

Qian Tiandun asked: "If you want to recommend a naturalized civilian officer to lead the team, who would you choose?"

"Wu Sen." Shi Diwen replied without taking too long to think: "The ability and loyalty are excellent, and there is no other suitable candidate in this fleet. But in the Northeast Asian waters It's a completely new area for him and it might be quite a test."

Although Wu Sen is Annan's general, his performance after joining the Haihan Militia has always been praised by the military's senior officials, and his professionalism and loyalty are beyond doubt.In this northward battle, the sea battle on Zhujiajian Island was completed by Wu Mori independently.

"It is also an unfamiliar area for us." Qian Tiandun corrected his statement: "Before this, including you, Wang Tom, and the gang from the Shipping Department, none of them should have run a ship in the waters near the Korean Peninsula and Japan. We don’t have any advantages in that regard.”

"But you can rest assured that Wu Sen will lead the team?" Shi Diwen still felt a little unsafe: "This round trip is a voyage of thousands of nautical miles, and it is also an investigation mission to an unfamiliar area. I think we still have to have our own Only people can sit in town."

"Don't worry, the Military Commission has already selected people." Qian Tiandun said with a smile: "Chen Yixin will come from Penghu in a few days. The above means to let him lead the team to carry out this inspection mission."

"The superiors really value young people!" Shi Diwen couldn't help sighing.

In fact, Chen Yixin is 25 years old now, and he is not particularly young.It's just that he was still a teenager when he participated in the time-traveling, so the impression he gave people has remained at that time.When it comes to age, Qian Tiandun is only four years older than Chen Yixin, but Qian Tiandun has been entrusted with important tasks by the Executive Committee since he crossed over, and has become a member of a party in an overseas colony early on. Being a professional soldier again, he is indeed much stronger than juniors like Chen Yixin in terms of ability and experience.However, with the rapid expansion of Haihan's territory, Chen Yixin is also getting more and more opportunities to exercise on his own.

After Haihan gained a foothold in Zhejiang, it not only opened the market door of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but also established a maritime trade network radiating Northeast Asia based on this in the future.It is definitely not enough for Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen to sit here. In the next period of time, more traversers and naturalized officials will come to Zhoushan to establish a more complete management organization. .

Chen Yixin had an extremely fulfilling life in the first half of 1633. Since he led the team to reconnaissance in Tamsui in January, he basically never stopped to rest.During late February and early March, Haihan successively conquered the Danshui and Jilong areas originally controlled by the Spaniards. While developing Taipei, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen led the team northward to Zhejiang, and the defense of Penghu and Taiwan , and temporarily handed over to Chen Yixin to take charge.

Before that, the area under Chen Yixin's sole jurisdiction was only a small place like Wanshan Island. After arriving in Fujian, he mostly assisted Qian Tiandun, and all the defenses of the three new ports including Kaohsiung, Danshui, and Jilong were handed over at once. In his hands, he truly realized the difficulty of being a military director.However, the military had already planned for his appointment, and it didn't take long for Yu Yao, who had more experience, to be transferred from Guangdong.

At the same time, Chen Yixin received instructions from the Military Commission that he would continue to be transferred to the north at the right time.Chen Yixin didn't have any objection to this. Transferring to the north was equivalent to being able to work with Qian Tiandun again, which was actually a good arrangement for him.With the mature and prudent Qian Tiandun in charge of the overall situation, he no longer has to worry about making mistakes due to lack of experience.

On July [-]rd, at the same time as the Ma Yue incident broke out in the East China Sea, Chen Yixin, who was in Penghu, finally received a dispatch telegram from Sanya. Task.

"Good thing, brother!" Yu Yao exclaimed at the farewell banquet for Chen Yixin: "Once Zhoushan is captured, the next thing is to go north to the Jiaodong Peninsula, or to go northeast to Korea and Japan. No matter which direction you go, you will be a big party from now on Maybe you will be the governor of Japan and the governor of North Korea in the future.”

Chen Yixin said with a smile: "Even if there is such a position, it should be General Qian and General Shi first, so it's my turn."

Yu Yao shook his head and said, "Don't just stare at the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. We haven't officially set foot on the mainland yet. When we really start to compete in the Central Plains, Qian Tiandun and the others will at least be the commanders of the war zone. The Military Commission will not send them overseas to enjoy the blessings."

Chen Yixin thought, then I should be exiled to Japan and North Korea to be the emperor of the country?However, although he was a little unhappy, he thought that Yu Yao must have drunk a little too much, so he didn't care about the flaws in his words.

On July [-]th, Chen Yixin packed his bags and set off from Magong Port in Penghu to the north by boat. He only stopped in Wenzhou for one day to replenish supplies, and then sailed all the way to Ningbo.In the middle of the day, Chen Yixin arrived at Dinghai Port in Zhoushan smoothly.

"The Military Commission means that we hope that you can lead a team to complete the preliminary investigation in Northeast Asia." Qian Tiandun explained the situation to Chen Yixin at the welcome banquet: "As for the purpose of the investigation, it is mainly for us to choose where to stay in Northeast Asia. land."

"Is there any alternative at present?" Chen Yixin asked casually.

"Hang up the map." Qian Tiandun put down his chopsticks and ordered immediately.The place where he hosted a banquet for Chen Yixin was in the headquarters of Fort Dinghai. Military maps were always on hand. Immediately, a soldier brought a large map of Northeast Asia and hung it on the wall.It is a habit in the military to hang up the map for discussion whenever it comes to serious matters, even when eating.Chen Yixin has long been accustomed to this, and he is not surprised to see such a situation, on the contrary, he is a little kind, because after Qian Tiandun was transferred to the north, few people usually hang out the map in the middle of a meal to discuss business like this.

"The inspection area this time is mainly the west coast of Kyushu Island, the Korean Strait, and the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. There are two key inspection places." Qian Tiandun introduced: "One is Jeju Island, and the other is the Wudao Islands. What do you have? view?"

Chen Yixin looked at the map before saying: "These two places are close to North Korea and Japan respectively, so there should be advantages and disadvantages for each!"

"Young people shouldn't be so tactful." Shi Diwen next to him grinned at Chen Yixin.

"Just say what you think, there is no need to have any scruples." Qian Tiandun also encouraged.

Chen Yixin said: "From the perspective of immigration, Jeju Island is more suitable. Not only can we introduce immigrants from the Korean Peninsula, but the Jiaodong Peninsula can also be used as a source of population. The voyage from Jiaodong Peninsula to Jeju Island is slightly shorter than that of Zhoushan. It is closer, and the climatic conditions are more suitable for immigrants from the north to settle. Anyway, this place will not be returned after it is occupied. I think it should be considered for the needs of long-term development. Although the Goto Islands are close to Nagasaki, they are developing The space is limited, and it will be abandoned sooner or later. If we really need to occupy a seaport in the Kyushu area of ​​Japan as a long-term base, I suggest that it is better to target Sasebo Bay. That place is still an undeveloped fishing village, and we want to occupy the local area It will be relatively easier, and there will be no problem in stationing a large fleet or building a commercial port."

"Do your homework in advance!" Qian Tiandun knew that he was prepared when he heard Chen Yixin's answer.Judging from his choice of Sasebo Bay, his understanding of the geographical environment near Kyushu, Japan has even surpassed that of Shi Diwen.

"I just study blindly when I'm free." Chen Yixin replied with a smile.

After hearing this, Shi Diwen slapped his forehead and said, "How could I have forgotten about Sasebo? This is the third largest US naval base in Japan!"

Although the place of Sasebo is still unknown in the current era, in the original history, after Togo Heihachiro discovered this treasure land in 1883 when he entered the port for survey, the small fishing village quickly developed into a combat base and shipbuilding center for the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1889, the "Sasebo Town Guard House" was established here, making it the defense center of western Japan and the main base for sending troops to the Asian continent. In the Battle of Tsushima Strait in 1905, the Japanese combined fleet that defeated the Russian Baltic Fleet was dispatched from this place.After World War II, it was taken by the Americans and taken over by them.Of course, the watchdog of the Americans, the Japanese Sea Self-Fleet, is also stationed in this harbor.

In terms of port conditions, this place is naturally more than eight streets behind the Goto Islands. The American naval base in Japan is only larger than Kure Port in Hiroshima and Yokosuka Port in Yokohama.If Haihan wants to station a fleet in this area in order to control the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula at the same time, then Sasebo Bay is indeed more suitable than Jeju Island.

But it is still only a theoretical choice, and the real situation still needs to be investigated on the spot.Chen Yixin only had a three-day rest in Zhoushan Island before getting ready to go on the road.

As the commander of the East China Sea Fleet, Shi Diwen allocated four ships for this expedition, including an exploration-class warship, an exploration-class warship, a light reconnaissance ship and an integrated supply ship.The person in charge of commanding the fleet is Wu Mori, who has been appointed before. The expedition personnel include 180 six sailors and a special operations battalion with a full-strength platoon. There are eight personnel, six personnel from the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Commerce and other units, and the total number of staff is about 260.

Compared with the team of only 17 people who inspected Heitu Port back then, the current expedition team can be said to be strong and strong, fully demonstrating the improvement in strength brought about by Haihan's own development in the past few years.

(End of this chapter)