1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 990
Yu Tiezhu's wife gave birth to a fat boy who weighed seven pounds and six taels. Everyone congratulated him immediately after hearing the good news.Ning Qi didn't have anything to give away at the moment, so he took out a circulation coupon of 50 yuan as a gift, but Yu Tiezhu didn't dare to accept it, so he gave way, and finally accepted ten yuan as a symbol of gratitude , so as to prevent Ning Qi from being refused to come down.

"Tie Zhu, do you plan to make your home here in Haikou, or send your son back to Sanya to study when he grows up?" During the meeting, Ning Qi took the initiative to ask Yu Tie Zhu. I still have some concerns about the matter, and I want to chat with people in the military whenever I have the opportunity. Yu Tiezhu has a teacher-student friendship with him, and some words should be spoken casually.

Yu Tiezhu put down his wine glass and replied: "Chief, where we soldiers will settle down in the future, it doesn't matter if we say it ourselves! It still depends on the arrangement above. As soon as the order comes, we have to pick up our weapons and set off immediately. I made a long-term plan... Last year I went to Miyako Island with Chief Wang to fight Shibazhi, and I thought I was about to be transferred to Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, but who knew I was transferred back to Hainan Island."

Next to him, Qiu Yuan interjected, "I've heard Tom Wang mention this matter. This arrangement also takes into account that your wife had a child in her womb at that time, so I transferred you back so that you can take care of your family."

Yu Tiezhu quickly responded: "The chief's kindness, the humble position naturally understands, it's too late to be grateful, how dare you have the slightest complaint."

The Battle of Miyakojima was an annihilation battle led by Wang Tom to attack the last lair of Shibazhi in early September last year. It was also the last combat operation carried out by the Haihan military in 1633.Yu Tiezhu was still the company commander of the [-]st Battalion and [-]th Company at that time, and he was promoted to the current position of Battalion Commander because of his military exploits in this battle and was promoted after the war.As far as his personal career is concerned, it is considered an extremely important progress, at least when he was a company commander, he would not be lucky enough to sit at the same table with the head of the executive committee for dinner.

After Yu Tie Zhu explained, he continued with what he just said: "From now on, when the child grows up, he still has to find a way to send him back to Sanya to study. If he can learn more skills, he can be a court official when he grows up. Isn't it much stronger than my big boss with a gun?"

"That's right! This is the right way to get ahead!" Yu Tiezhu's statement made Ning Qi very satisfied, and the unhappiness during the visit to the elementary school earlier also disappeared: "As long as the soldiers are in good health, you can fight. Everyone can do it, but if you want to be an official and govern the country, only those with real talents and learning can do it. If you want to have a good family background for future generations, you still have to follow the right way of studying.”

After hearing Yu Tiezhu's words, Ning Qi continued: "In the schools outside, the teachers are definitely not comparable to Sanya. When the time comes, I will arrange for you to study in Shenglibao Primary School."

Yu Tiezhu hurriedly got up again to thank him. The head of the executive committee personally arranged for his children to go to school.Most of the students studying in Shenglibao Primary School are the children of the chief, and the descendants of naturalized cadres who can enroll can be regarded as the lucky ones who won at the starting line.Ning Qi was a little proud of himself, let your military do whatever you want at the grassroots level, I just want to arrange as much as possible for the children of naturalized officers to study in schools directly under the Ministry of Education, receive orthodox education, and wait until the next generation takes office When in power, there will be no situation where the military is in power.

Civil and military disputes in the bureaucratic system are inevitable even if the political system is as advanced as Haihan.This kind of competition is not only reflected in the annual review of the military budget and the discussion meeting before each large-scale foreign military operation. The control of the direction of public opinion and the flow of talents may even affect some long-term plans a few years later. The measures are all in the calculations of both parties.

Haihan has been in a period of rapid expansion since it crossed, and it relies heavily on military power, which has also caused the military to maintain a relatively strong position in Haihan's political system.Even in every discussion related to the military, the civil servants will intentionally or unintentionally set up some obstacles, but in most cases, they can only compromise on the military's proposal in the end - the matter of conquering the world must be handed over to the military after all To do it, the neck of the Kahaihan army is equivalent to Kahaihan's own neck, which is not beneficial to itself. It is just a way to show its presence and avoid the military's dominance.

Of course, civilian officials will not look down on themselves because of this, after all, it depends on soldiers to rule the world, and it still depends on literati to rule the world.Haihan pays equal attention to expansion and governance, and civil servants naturally have their own stage where they can play their role.From a long-term perspective, the main force to rule the country in the future will still be civilian officials. In order to prevent Haihan from gradually evolving into a military government under the current situation where the military is in a strong position, some necessary containment and prevention methods must be used early.

Regarding the work of the military, Yu Tiezhu had no obligation to report to Ning Qi, but Ning Qi's round-the-island inspection was in the nature of an imperial envoy, representing the Executive Committee rather than the science, education, culture and health system he was in charge of. It is understandable to listen to the report of the garrison commander on an informal occasion such as a dinner.After discussing private matters, Yu Tiezhu reported to Ning Qi the situation of the Haikou garrison.

Currently, the troops stationed in the Haikou area consist of most of the First Battalion of the Haihan Militia Army, including three combat companies and one engineering company. Another artillery company has already returned to Sanya in advance because it will participate in the military parade at the beginning of next month. Received queue training.In addition, the army also has an independent cavalry company stationed here, and it was the troops of this cavalry company that escorted Ning Qi and his party on the pier.

The navy originally had a complete fleet stationed in Haikou, but the Haihan militia has gone south and north in the past year, and foreign wars and maritime military operations have continued. The entire fleet has been mobilized to other places. The navy currently stationed here There are only eight exploration-class warships, two supply ships and two scout boats, all of which are small boats with a displacement of less than [-] tons.Of course, the Xuwen County of Leizhou on the opposite side of the strait has basically been completely infiltrated by Haihan. There will be no major problems in the security and defense of the Qiongzhou Strait. These warships are enough to maintain the maritime security near Haikou Port. order.

In addition to the regular troops of the Army and Navy, there is also a reserve militia organized into a battalion locally.The function of this force is mainly to temporarily take over the defense of the area around Haikou City, including the seaport, when the main force is transferred to other places to perform tasks.Compared with the regular army, the reserve militia unit is slightly inferior in terms of weaponry and combat experience, but the officers above the platoon level of this unit are all veterans of the militia, and all have certain actual combat experience, and the strength of the command system Still very solid.As long as no large-scale war breaks out, this militia force is enough to maintain local stability.

According to the military's arrangement, ace troops like the First Battalion of the Army will basically participate in at least one large-scale military operation every year. After the battle of Miyako Island off the coast of Taiwan last year, they returned to Haikou to station, mainly for rest and adjustment purposes. In the coming year, when going north or south, there will always be tasks assigned to him, and he will definitely not be able to stay idle. This is also one of the main reasons why Yu Tiezhu previously claimed that he was unable to make long-term plans.

Although the Military Commission has not yet made a clear arrangement on the whereabouts of the first battalion this year, since the beginning of the year, the amount of combat supplies shipped to Haikou has exceeded the daily needs. This is obviously a direct departure for a certain period of time in the future. The front lines are ready.

Although Yu Tiezhu didn't know the combat mission arrangement of the Military Commission this year, but as a member of the executive committee, Ning Qi knew a thing or two about it.During the review of the military budget at the end of last year, the information provided by the Military Commission clearly mentioned the main military plan in 1634.In addition to establishing the Xingdao comprehensive base at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca, there is also a plan to go north and continue to expand the control area along the Daming coastline.As for tasks like this to open up new maps, the Military Commission has always entrusted the ace troops under its command to be responsible. The top ranks in the army are probably Yu Tie Zhu's first battalion and the special forces currently stationed in Zhejiang. Battalion these two teams.

The competition between the First Lu Battalion and the Special Operations Battalion has a long history, and there have been hints of this since Haihan intervened in the Annan Civil War. Fortunately, it is a healthy competition within the army, and it will not hurt the peace.But objectively speaking, the special warfare battalion that Qian Tiandun has personally practiced for many years does have a slight advantage in terms of overall strength, and Haihan Military Industry has provided a lot of cooperation in ordnance, and many advanced equipment of an experimental nature are often provided to the special warfare battalion first. try out.

In addition to cooperating with large units in urban battles, many small units can independently perform combat tasks, especially in mountainous and wild environments. The accumulation of military merits has always been ahead of the First Lu Battalion.When Takahashi Nan was promoted to the commander of the Special Operations Battalion, Yu Tiezhu was still the company commander, so the lag in promotion speed was due to the fact that he belonged to different units.

However, in the past two years, the Military Commission has also realized that it is not safe to put all eggs in one basket, so it has also begun to give other troops more opportunities to perform.If the Lu First Battalion can go north to perform missions within this year, it may be that there are few opportunities to compete with the Special War Battalion in recent years. When Yu Tiezhu talked about this festival, there was a little uncontrollable excitement in his tone.

Ning Qi is not very interested in the affairs of the military's combat operations, but he is more concerned about the fields he is in charge of, such as the science, education, culture and health work in the army.Originally, Yu Tiezhu planned to arrange for them to visit the drill of the First Lu Battalion the next day, but Ning Qi still refused after thinking about it. Don't expose your own military strength too much.As for the military parade that will be held in Sanya in a few days, it can only be watched as a show, and the military information that can be obtained from it is actually very limited.

On the second day's inspection itinerary, Ning Qi, led by Qiu Yuan, visited local official institutions and some foreign merchants.In the Haikou area where no war will break out in the near future, administration and commerce are undoubtedly the most important affairs in this period. Merchants from Leizhou Prefecture, Gaozhou Prefecture, and Lianzhou Prefecture across the sea will now conduct business with Haihan. The ports for trade are mainly located in Haikou Port and Danzhou Port in Qiongbei, and there is no need to go around half of Hainan Island to Sanya.The establishment of these trade relations has also enabled Haikou Port to develop rapidly in the past two years, and the resident population has increased slightly compared to when Haihan occupied it.

But Van Diemen was a little bit uninterested in this kind of itinerary. The field where the East India Company and Haihan had the smallest gap was probably in terms of trade.In terms of business skills, the Dutch, known as the coachman of the sea, can be said to be no less inferior to any competitor in this era, so Van Diemen's relationship with the merchants of Ming Dynasty is actually not too big. Interest, Haihan's trade policy is actually similar to that of the East India Company, and the reason why there is a relatively large gap in the performance of the two parties, Van Dieman believes that the main reason is that Haihan has the geographical and ethnic aspects. inherent advantages.

The East India Company still hoped to make up for this gap. After several years of operating in Taiwan, they have actually achieved certain results. Every year, there are a lot of Ming merchants from Fujian and even Jiangsu and Zhejiang who go to trade, to The East India Company sells raw silk, porcelain, tea and other goods. It is not impossible to build a regional trade center similar to Sanya Port in Dayuan Port in time.

But the appearance of the Haihan people ruthlessly extinguished the hope of the Dutch. They first drove away Shibazhi, who was acting as a thug and middleman for the East India Company, and then opened ports for trade in the occupied Penghu Islands, and even blocked the The channel from Fujian to Dayuan Port has taken away a lot of business.In the end, it simply landed on Taiwan Island and built Kaohsiung Port in the Dagou area south of Dayuan Port, almost robbing the East India Company of its business.

After losing the regional advantage of Dayuan Port, the local Han people employed by the East India Company will not be of much use. You can't ignore its existence and come to Dayuan Port to do business.At present, the coping strategy of Chief Officer Hans can only be to let his subordinates go to the nearby Kaohsiung Port to purchase the needed goods from Haihan, and then transfer them back to Batavia.

Although Fan Dimen intends to seek a breakthrough in business and trade during his visit to Hainan Island, he also knows that it is unrealistic to poach the wall under the eyes of a high-ranking official like Ning Qi, so he simply pretended not to be interested. In case the Haihan people have been maintaining extremely high vigilance.

(End of this chapter)