1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 925 Southward to Borneo

Roger personally trained this unit because its strength is just above the company, and below the battalion level, it is not suitable for company or battalion level organization, so the temporary organization currently obtained is "South China Sea Special Warfare Brigade" Such a slightly nondescript title.However, Roger didn't care much about the name. Now he wanted to get this army out of Abunna Island earlier to perform some real combat missions.Roger believes that the training level of the group of people under him has actually surpassed that of ordinary militia troops, but the shortcoming of experience is indeed too obvious, and only by participating in actual combat can it gradually make up.

That night, Luo Jie hosted a celebration banquet to reward his subordinates, and he couldn't hold back at the wine table, and began to ask Yan Chujie about the next action plan: "Mr. Not just cruising the South China Sea, but another big move, right?"

Yan Chujie put down his wine glass, nodded and said, "The South China Sea is too far away from the base camp, and we have to pave the road one by one. It has been two years since we got to Annbuna Island. It's time to extend our control area to the south." Already!"

"Okay!" Luo Jie was gearing up when he heard the news. Although he had expected seven or eight points in advance, after verifying it from Yan Chujie at this time, he still couldn't restrain his excitement.He has been nesting in the South China Sea for such a long time, waiting for the Executive Committee to adjust its strategy. Although the waiting time seemed a bit long to him, it was not in vain.

Yan Chujie continued: "We plan to control at least one of the two Straits of Malacca and Sunda in the South China Sea within a year or two. But at present, Malacca is still in the hands of the Portuguese. The target is still the Sunda Strait."

"Is that going to hit Batavia?" Roger asked tentatively.

"Whether we should completely tear ourselves apart from the Dutch, the executive committee has not yet decided." Yan Chujie said with a solemn expression: "Our current navigation capabilities are not enough to open up routes in the Indian Ocean, and the western leg of the East-West trade still remains It needs ocean-going ships from countries such as Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain to bear the burden, and completely turning against them may hinder our plan to open up western trade routes. "

The situation Yan Chujie mentioned does exist. If Haihan wants to use all his strength to attack Batavia, the possibility of being able to take it down is very high, but problems that may arise in the future must also be taken into consideration. .At present, the commercial and trade system between European countries and the Far East is basically monopolized by several major maritime countries, and the Netherlands accounts for nearly half of it. The name of the sea coachman is not for nothing.

According to historical records, the tonnage of merchant ships owned by the Netherlands during this period accounted for three-quarters of the total tonnage of European merchant ships, with as many as 17 merchant ships.Most of the spices from Southeast Asia, cotton textiles from India, and silk, porcelain and tea from China were transported to Europe by Dutch merchant ships.It was not until the Netherlands lost the six-year Franco-Dutch War in the late [-]th century that their dominant position in global maritime trade was gradually replaced by rising European powers.

If Haihan starts a full-scale war with the Netherlands, it will definitely affect the trade pattern between the East and the West in this era.Of course, a country like Portugal, which is competing with the Netherlands on a global scale, will definitely be happy to see it. If the Netherlands loses power in the Far East, they will have the opportunity to replace it. Haihan's dependence on it in terms of maritime trade will also be affected. Ascension, from Portugal's point of view, of course, I hope that the two will fight as hard as possible.

From the perspective of Haihan, finding a port suitable for long-term development is more important than eliminating current competitors.The Executive Committee has held several discussions on this, and most of them agree that Batavia and Malacca are not suitable for long-term operation as regional trade centers, and the topographical conditions have limited their development prospects.The construction capabilities of the current era are unable to complete large-scale projects such as reclamation and port construction. When Haihan is looking for overseas bases, it often gives priority to natural harbors to reduce investment in the process of port construction.

For places like Annabuna Island, if there were no other options, Haihan probably would not have built this place as an important stronghold in the South China Sea.However, Anbuna Island has limited natural conditions, and it is difficult to build a large seaport that can deploy a fleet. Therefore, in the process of continuing to expand southward, Haihan will have higher requirements for geographical conditions when looking for the next foothold, otherwise it will be far away. It will be difficult for the fleet in Cam Ranh Bay to provide timely military support to the new strongholds in the South China Sea.

And this time, Yan Chujie personally led the fleet to the south to conduct a more comprehensive cruise in the South China Sea, hoping to find a suitable place to stay in the area south of Ambuna Island.

After listening carefully to Yan Chujie's narration, Roger asked a sensitive question: "Do the Portuguese know our plan?"

Yan Chujie said: "The Portuguese have an office in Sanya. The large-scale trip of the navy fleet must not be hidden from their eyes. So we informed them of the situation in advance to prevent these foreign devils from misunderstanding."

Roger said: "Unless we go to war with the Dutch, the Portuguese will probably not be happy to see us open up new ports in the South China Sea."

"You are right. Their consul in Sanya, Thomas, has already lodged a protest with the Executive Committee, believing that our actions will affect their rights and interests in the South China Sea."

"How does Tao always answer the Portuguese?" Roger asked with great interest.

"Boss Tao was so stubborn that he beat Thomas back with one sentence—whoever has the bigger fist is right." After Yan Chujie finished speaking, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Roger was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed.With Haihan's current strength, he could indeed hold his head up high and say no to the foreign devils.To put it seriously, the status of the Portuguese in the Far East is actually closely related to Haihan's support for them.Almost all the import and export trade between Portugal and Daming can only be carried out under the permission and protection of Haihan, and there is no capital to dictate to Haihan. The tough attitude that Fang hoped to see.

Although Haihan and Portugal have formed a partnership, each has its own agenda.The Portuguese want to use Haihan's force to suppress competitors in the Far East and expand their own business routes, and Haihan also hopes that Portugal can take on more cargo tasks in the East-West trade, so that they can let go of Spain people and the Dutch.However, Portugal still lacks such strength for the time being. After all, even their country is still under the rule of Spain and has not gained independence. In recent years, the Far East, especially the areas west of Malacca, have basically been struggling. A thigh, they may not even be able to keep the existing control areas.

However, Portugal's opposition was not ineffective at all. They knew more about the situation in the South China Sea than Haihan. Without the support of this source of information, Haihan would have to spend more time on preparations.

Roger said through his drink: "I'm drinking a little too much now. If you tell me the specific action plan, I will definitely not be able to remember it. I just have one request. This cruise will also take my people out to see the world."

Yan Chujie readily agreed, and he also wanted to see how the team performed after leaving the training ground.Moreover, there are many landing and reconnaissance missions in Haihan's cruise in the South China Sea this time, and it is indeed necessary to have an army that is more adapted to the local environment to act with the fleet.

Along with the Haihan fleet, Zheng Zuo, the young prince of Annan, and Fan Ji, the general of Champa, also visited today's troop assessment as military observers.For the performance of this new Haihan army, they can only be envious and jealous. A new army that has not set foot on the battlefield has already trained better than their own regular army. The gap is simply unbelievable. Thoughts of resistance.The only good news is that the training items of the Haihan army are similar to those of our own army. If we put more effort into the usual training, there should still be a chance to narrow the gap.

The military assistance that Haihan gave them also included the training plan of the troops. In this regard, Haihan did not hide too much secrets. The gap between the two sides in terms of skills and tactics is actually more reflected in the quality of the commanders, not just Differences in individual abilities of individual soldiers.In the Haihan militia, starting from the rank-level officers at the squad leader level, they are all veterans with actual combat experience. Those who can be promoted to company platoon commanders also rely on their military exploits, and most of them have received further training in the military academy. It is far from comparable to the grassroots commanders in the army of Annan Champa.Although the two countries send military officers to Sanya every year for advanced studies, there are not many low-level military officers, and almost all of them are gilded by various related households. When they come back, they can use this resume to get promoted and make a fortune. The effect on the overall strength of the army is very limited. .

Because of this, truly insightful people pay special attention to the opportunity to conduct military exercises with the Haihan Militia Army, even if it requires a huge amount of money for such exercises and risks mobilizing elite troops to unknown places thousands of miles away , but also strive for this only once a year opportunity.

From the day the United Fleet arrived at the Port of Ambuna, military control was imposed on the port, and all civilian ships and merchant ships could only enter and exit, so as to ensure that the whereabouts of the United Fleet would not be leaked in a short time.Although this arrangement will make some businessmen feel dissatisfied, they also know that the Haihan people have very strict rules. If they break the rules, they will never want to do business with the Haihan people again.Fortunately, the living facilities on the island are much more complete than before, and it won't be too sad to live here for a while, it's right to be forced to take a vacation for a while.

The fleet stayed in Anbuna Port for four days, during which Yan Chujie and others seized the time to inspect various tasks on the island, while the soldiers and sailors took this opportunity to rest.On October [-], the Combined Fleet sailed out of Anbuna Port one after another and headed southeast.

The first destination of the United Fleet was Borneo, which is only more than 100 nautical miles away from Abona Island. This third largest island in the world is also known as Boni, Poli, etc. in Chinese history.The earliest description of this island was found in the book "Topographic Guide" written by Ptolemy in 150 AD. As early as two to three centuries BC, civilization existed here.The earliest record of navigation between China and Borneo appeared in the "Liang Shu" in the fifth century AD.The current national regime on Borneo is called Sukardana, and its ruler is loyal to the Mataram Kingdom on Java Island, which is the country to which the army that swept the Dutch colony and almost captured Batavia last year belonged.

However, Haihan is not very interested in Borneo at present. First, because this big island lacks a natural harbor, the development cost is high; Set up a stronghold in Borneo; the third is to have scruples about the Sukardana country on the island. After all, the Matalan country behind it is considered a first-class power in South Asia. Such a country can easily mobilize tens of thousands of indigenous troops to fight, and it is not a small trouble to be an enemy.

The cruising route formulated by the Navy is to go south along the west coast of Borneo and enter the Java Sea, depending on the situation, whether to cross the waters between Borneo and Java Island, and go to the north shore of Java Island to find out.

There are more than [-] large and small islands in the sea area from Ambuna Island to Borneo, such as Subi Island. However, these places have been repeatedly cleared by the garrison of Abuna Island in the past two years, and they are relatively safe areas. .The fleet maintained a relaxed atmosphere, and it took a day and a half to sail to the coast of Borneo.

The fleet used small boats to send a group of people ashore near the shore. The purpose of their landing was not to scout the enemy situation here, but to collect samples of local flora and fauna.These samples will be made into specimens during the cruise, and will be sent back to the research institution in Sanya for collection in the future.

According to Ning Qi’s report to the Executive Committee, ten species of primates, 350 species of birds, 150 species of reptiles, and 1.5 species of plants live in Borneo. There is no reason to miss such a good place for natural science observation.Today's research results will be valuable knowledge for future generations.Although Yan Chujie thought in his heart that this kind of research would not help Haihan expand its territory, since it was a special task entrusted by the executive committee, he would still carry it out without hesitation.It's just that it took two to three days for the staff to collect the specimens, which made Yan Chujie a little unbearable.

Zheng Zuo and Fan Ji were the most ignorant. They didn't know why the United Fleet stayed on this barren and inhabited coast. Judging from the natural conditions, this place is not suitable for building a port.The nearest local town is at least two hundred miles away from this place. Even if the Haihan people want to trade with the locals, they shouldn't find it here.

(End of this chapter)