1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 607 Combat Readiness
June 1648, 6, Timor Island, Zhenhai (now Dili, East Timor).

Luo Ziwei, the general manager of Timor Island, stood on the high bell tower in the city, overlooking the entire city. Whether it was the government offices, residential buildings, workshops, or everyone below, including Han people and natives, they were all under his control.

As of March this year, the Timor Island area occupied by the Qi State has a population of more than [-], and it firmly controls the coastal areas of the island, and the two native kingdoms in its territory have long been Existing in name only, it only serves as a tool for the Qi State to forcibly recruit many laborers from the island.

Next month, Luo Ziwei will step down as the chief governor of Timor Island and change to the prefect of Daxing Prefecture (now Brisbane, Australia) in the eastern part of the mainland.As for the candidate to take over the position of the local chief executive, according to the gossip from Jianye City, it seems that Hu Pingjiang, the magistrate of Yunyang, is tentatively determined.

In recent years, there has been a lot of friction between the Qi State and the Dutch East India Company. The immigration issues of Daming, India, Annan, Makassar Portuguese, and Nanyang Ming people have continued to be dirty. There is a great possibility of fierce confrontation , Even if war breaks out, that is also a natural thing.

The strategic position of Timor Island is very important to Qi. The south faces the Dutch Spice Islands, and the west faces Java Island, the core area of ​​influence of the Dutch rule. Moreover, the western half of Timor Island There are also several Dutch strongholds such as Kupang, Oecussi, Toyneck, and Balatay.

It can be said that Timor Island is equivalent to the first line of defense outside the mainland of Qi, and it is also the base for attacking the Dutch East India Company, and it is also an important food and timber supply place.

Hu Pingjiang's transfer to Timor Island may be due to his experience in managing Xinsheng Island (now Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam) more than ten years ago.At that time, facing the two invasions of Guangnan State and the continuous blockade by the Dutch, Hu Pingjiangjun responded well-founded and handled it with ease.

Now, facing the increasingly unfriendly behavior of the Dutch, Qi has begun to make advance deployments for the war.

A large number of storage facilities are being built in Zhenhai City. In addition to hoarding necessary weapons and ammunition, they are also increasing their reserves of various living materials.Although, half a year ago, the entire Timor Island was hit by two huge typhoons, which almost destroyed the harvest of nearly half of the farmland, and the personnel and materials were also damaged to varying degrees.

However, officials at all levels in the Timor Island General Administration responded quickly and mobilized the people under their jurisdiction and tens of thousands of natives. In addition to emergency rescue and disaster relief, they replanted the next crop in time, and planted a large number of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the damaged farmland. Transition food crops, so as not to cause food shortages.Overall, although the two typhoons have affected the local area, they will not harm people's livelihood.

I heard that the northern and eastern regions of Hanzhou have suffered from drought and flood respectively, and grain crops have experienced reduced or even no harvests.But Luo Ziwei didn't worry too much about this, because the local grain stocks in Hanzhou can last at least six to eight months, enough to survive the next season's grain harvest.But if the personal reserves of the people in the country are included, it can even maintain the food supply for nearly a year.What's more, Qi's current merchant ships going out for trade from Nanyang, Annan, Luzon, and even India will be destined to return a large amount of grain.

The phenomenon of countless starving people dying in the fields after the disaster in Daming will definitely not appear in Hanzhou.

As a high-level official of the Qi State, Luo Ziwei is well aware that the Qi State is currently taking advantage of the disaster situation, using the purchase of food as a cover, and stockpiling all kinds of war preparations. In order to deal with the possible second Sino-Dutch war, Doing active preparations.

Luo Ziwei no longer rejects fighting. Instead, he thinks that it is time to fight the Dutch again so that they can maintain the respect they deserve for Qiguo.

Although they fought against the Netherlands ten years ago, these barbarians were obviously not convinced, thinking that the Qi State did not dare to face it head-on. country reached peace.In the eyes of these barbarians, Qi State is the same as the Tubang Kingdom in the Nanyang region, except that it is slightly stronger and has a higher level of development.

Then, it is necessary to fight another battle with the Dutch to make them sober. Daqi is not an ordinary small country.It may not be possible to compete in the Central Plains to save China, but if you want to beat you, a Western colonial company, and establish our Daqi as a powerful country in this region, it is still somewhat certain.

"My lord!" Commander Gu Sanping of Zhenhai came up to the clock tower, bowed to Luo Ziwei and said: "The boats at the dock are ready and ready to sail at any time."

"Yeah." Luo Ziwei nodded, then turned to look at Gu Sanping, "I'm patrolling the defenses of the district, and I'll take care of all the affairs here."

"Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely complete the tasks assigned by my lord one by one." Gu Sanping said respectfully.

"Zhenhai was already a strong city ten years ago. In addition to the continuous construction these years, the city defense is even worse than before. If the Dutch people don't want to die, they will not attack this place again." Luo Ziwei pointed to the city below, "but here It is our base that will be sent out before the Qi State invades Nanyang in the future, and its status is extremely important. When we fight together, we must do all the logistical support."

"The new manager is expected to arrive here in July. You need to be more careful. Don't make any mistakes and make him unhappy. I heard that this manager Hu was an Annan who was killed on Xinsheng Island back then. Even if the human fleet is blocked, he can still resist without losing the prestige of our Great Qi. Moreover, he is also the earliest veteran of the dragon, and he is under his management, so he should do his best."

"Be humble and remember the teachings of adults." Gu Sanping said with his fists clasped.

Luo Ziwei nodded, then went down the bell tower with Gu Sanping and came towards the pier.

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On September 7, Jianye.

"...So, I also want to do something big!"

After Qi Dahai finished speaking, he looked at Qi Tian nervously.It has been three years since he came to Hanzhou, and he still can't connect the current king of Qi with his former younger brother. In addition, the storyteller he heard in Daming described the emperor as ungrateful and ruthless. There is a little fear, completely different from the second and third younger brothers who are very familiar with Qi Tian.

"Brother, when we were young, we were all dependent on uncle and you to take care of us in order to survive in this chaotic world." Qi Tian looked at Qi Dahai's somewhat panicked expression, and sighed slightly, "Now, we are in Hanzhou Building Establishing a career has already achieved great things. I brought you and your family from Fujian to let you enjoy wealth and live without worries. But if you don’t want to stay at home and want to start a career, I also support it. Have you ever What do you want to do?"

"I don't know what to do." Qi Dahai scratched his head and looked at Qi Tian expectantly, "...Your Majesty, I wish you could arrange a job for me. I don't need any high position, let alone any prominent status. Even if you let me go to the army as a soldier, I am also willing."

"Brother, have you ever left behind your skills at sea?"

"I just rested in Hanzhou for three years. If I go out to sea, I think I should be able to pick up the work of eating back then." Qi Dahai's eyes showed a gleam.

"Our exploration fleet discovered many islands in the east and south of Hanzhou. The natives there are ignorant, but rich in products, which can be used for colonization." Qi Tian said: "In addition, we also plan to establish several islands on the eastern ocean in advance. Supply point, make some preparations for continuing to explore a route to the East American continent in the future."

"To the eastern waters of Hanzhou?" Qi Dahai was stunned, "I thought... was going to the navy fleet."

"Brother, Qi State's naval training and combat methods are somewhat different from those of the Zheng family, and it is also quite different from your previous environment in the Dengzhou Navy. You may not be used to it when you go." Qi Tian said with a smile: "However, it should be simpler to establish several supply bases overseas to obtain colonial benefits."

"But I don't know how to manage the place, domesticate the natives!"

"It's okay. I'll let the Ministry of Civil Affairs pick you a smart and capable civil affairs talent." Qi Tian said: "However, you may have a harder time in the early stage, and the local people will not give you much support."

"I know." Qi Dahai nodded and said, "Our country of Qi is going to fight the Dutch red-haired ghosts. I originally thought that I could go to the navy and help you to kill a few more red-haired ghosts. "

"We are preparing to fight the Dutch again, but everyone is making preparations or looking for an excuse. In the short term, we probably won't be able to fight again." Qi Tian said leisurely: "Actually, I would rather I feel that it would be better if the war could be postponed for a few years, so that our strength can be increased a little, and the Dutch may encounter greater difficulties."

I vaguely remember that it was during this period that the British seemed to have fought a battle with the Dutch, and the Dutch, who were ill-prepared, suffered a big loss.

At that time, the maritime battlefields of the two countries were mainly concentrated in the Strait of Dover and the Mediterranean Sea, among which the Strait of Dover theater was the main one.In almost every naval battle, both sides have to invest 2 to 3 sailors and 6000 to 8000 cannons, and the number of battles is probably rare in history.

据说有人作了次统计，仅在1652年5月至1653年8月的15个月之内，双方舰队作战次数已经不亚于当时世界各海洋历次战役的总和。

However, it is somewhat unrealistic for Qi to take the opportunity of the Anglo-Dutch War to challenge the Dutch East India Company's maritime hegemony in the Southeast Asia region again.Regardless of whether the timelines can overlap, even if the European form can be used, the process and outcome of the war ultimately depend on their own strength.

Of course, Qi Tian did not expect to completely expel the Dutch from Nanyang through war. After all, they have been operating in this area for decades, and there are more than 100 ships. Although they are all merchant ships, they are armed.

Qi's goal is to first establish itself as the top two powers in the region through war, break the Dutch monopoly on the Nanyang Islands, and gain the respect and recognition they deserve.At the same time, obtain the opportunity to expand the Nanyang Islands and extend the power of Qi.

(End of this chapter)