1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 806
On August 1665, 8, Jianye, the military building.

Under the guidance of an officer, Lu Hongsheng, the treasurer of the Persian Trading Company, was next to Bai Yuangui, the chief treasurer of the Indian Trading Company, Jiang Ruliang (formerly the secretary of Honglu Temple), the chief treasurer of the Bangladesh Trading Company (separated from the Indian Trading Company), Luan Jinxing (formerly the former secretary of the Nanyang Trading Company), and Luan Jinxing, the chief treasurer of the Nanyang Trading Company. Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) and the others sat down next to each other, and after exchanging greetings, they quietly waited for the arrival of King Qi.

The theme of this military meeting, the participants all know that it is to negotiate and discuss the matter of sending troops to conquer the Egyptian province of the Ottoman Empire.More than a dozen people from the Qi State Mission were killed in the Port of Suez. The Pasha at the location bears the unshirkable responsibility, and it is not even ruled out that the perpetrators were themselves.Therefore, under the raging public opinion, Qi State must make a strong response to seek justice for this tragedy, and at the same time maintain the great power that Qi State has accumulated with great difficulty for more than 20 years.

After receiving the conquest order from King Qi, various military departments such as the Military Command, the General Staff, the Navy, and the Army have begun limited war mobilization, and spies from the Black Guards and the Public Survey Office are also actively looking for And collect intelligence and data from all parties, and provide necessary reference and reference for the staff to conduct war games and formulate combat plans.

After more than half a month, after more than ten rounds of war games, the General Staff Department has preliminarily formulated several sets of corresponding military plans, reported to Queen Qi, and today held this military intelligence conference with the presence of personnel from all parties. Discussions to coordinate the actions of all parties and optimize military programs.

As for the big shopkeepers of the Persian Trading Company, the Indian Trading Company, and the Bangladesh Trading Company, it is natural that this war will involve and utilize the resources and manpower they have locally.

"Your Majesty is here!"

While everyone was whispering, he suddenly heard the guard outside the meeting room chanting loudly. Surrounded by a group of Imperial Guard officers, Qi Tian stepped into the room, and then walked straight to the main seat.

"All the ministers, and the big shopkeepers of the trading company, I think their respective affairs are extremely busy, so let's not talk nonsense." After sitting down, Qi Tian looked at the maps and military deduction maps on the wall, and couldn't help nodding. , and then said directly: "Now, He Yunfeng, the Chief of the General Staff, will give a brief introduction on the military operation to attack Suez, Egypt. If any department or business company is involved, please bring it up immediately. Solve it."

"Your Majesty, all the lords of the Ministry, and several big shopkeepers." The chief of the general staff, General Guangwei (Major General) He Yunfeng first paid a military salute to King Qi, and then stood in front of the venue and looked at the crowd, loudly Said: "In view of the fact that the local armed forces in Suez, the Egyptian province of the Ottoman Empire, brazenly murdered more than ten members of our Qi mission, the behavior was heinous, and the consequences were unacceptable, so that domestic public opinion was raging and the people were boiling. For this reason , The king issued an order to assemble the sea and land forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire."

"Although this military operation is in the name of conquest of the Ottoman Empire, the actual scope of attack is limited to the local Pasha armed forces in Suez. The military goal achieved should also be to destroy or capture the armed personnel involved in the assassination of the mission in Suez. Capture and kill the local pasha and relevant key officials."

"In order to achieve the above-mentioned military objectives, the General Staff recommends dispatching eight warships, two supply transport ships, and two steam-powered ships under the navy's local fleet and the Weiyuan fleet, and eight warships and one supply transport ship under the Indian fleet. , [-] small and medium-sized galley warships, three armed merchant ships under the Indian Trading Company and Bangladesh Trading Company each, forming a special attack fleet, led by General Luo Shouxun, commander of the Indian Fleet, to fully control the sea power from the Red Sea to the Port of Suez, and Annihilate any incoming enemy ships, and secure and cover the landing of the army at the port of Suez."

"The army will transfer the first mixed battalion, the seventh mixed battalion, the eighth mixed battalion, and the ninth mixed battalion, and two artillery companies to form a mixed regiment. The Bangladeshi trading company and the Indian trading company will transfer 400 armed guards locally. The Kingdom of Sultan dispatched two battalions of the new army, with a total of 200 armed soldiers, all of which were under the command of the army, under the unified command of General Guangwei (Major General) Li Fade..."

"General He, I have a question here, and I still don't understand it, so please explain it to me, General." Lu Hongsheng, the treasurer of the Persian Trading Company, interrupted suddenly: "As far as I know, the place in Egypt is a plain and desert, and the terrain is very flat. There are various cavalry in the Pasha armed forces in various parts of Egypt. Come to think of it, there are not a few cavalry in the local armed forces in Suez. In this way, our Qi army is all musketeers, and it is not difficult to defeat them. But the enemy If the army is defeated, but they can ride their horses and flee, how can our army wipe them out?"

"Business Manager Lu is very worried!" He Yunfeng nodded with a smile, "Since there may be a large number of cavalry troops in the local armed forces in Suez, my general staff suggested that the Indian trading company negotiate with the Maratha people and hire them. You have hundreds of brave cavalry under your command to resist the local cavalry in Suez. Of course, if your Persian trading company can hire hundreds of cavalry from the Safavid Empire, that would be the best, and it also saves the trouble of long-distance transportation. I heard that, The Safavid Empire and the Ottoman Empire have always been at odds, and they have fought against each other for a hundred years. Perhaps, they are willing to send some cavalry to the Ottoman territory."

Lu Hongsheng turned his head to look at Bai Yuangui, and saw that he didn't have any intention of refusing to refute. He presumably had communicated with the military in advance, and was sure to hire hundreds of cavalry from the Indian Marathas to go to Suez with the army.

As for whether they can hire cavalry from the Safavid Empire through their Persian trading company, it may be due to their short operating time in the local area and limited network resources. Moreover, the Safavid Empire has just had a truce with the Ottomans for not many years. Did not report much hope.

"Will our attack on Suez arouse the dissatisfaction of the Ottoman Empire, and then mobilize elite troops to help?" Qi Dajiang asked.

"The exact information we got confirmed that when the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt more than 100 years ago, there were more than 3000 elite guards stationed in Cairo. However, at this time, with the tension on all fronts of the Ottoman Empire, the soldiers stationed in Cairo There are less than [-] horses, and their combat power is far inferior to their local guards and the new army on the European front. Even if they come to help, the number will be very limited. Moreover, we are [-]% sure that the Ottoman Empire will attack the local Pasha armed forces in Suez. They will take a sidelined attitude. If, after the war, we can give the Ottoman Empire a step up, or a decent explanation, they will not even pursue our military strikes."

"Are you so sure?"

"Return to the Duke of Zhen." He Qing, the commander of the black guards, got up respectfully and replied: "In the past few months, we have not only basically mastered all the troops stationed in the Egyptian province through the bribery of the personnel of the Ottoman mission stationed in Jianye. and armaments, and also have a certain understanding and understanding of the internal politics, economy and foreign policy of the Ottoman Empire. The most critical core interests of the country are in the homeland and Europe. As for Egypt, Arabia, and even the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, they belong to their fetters The country’s ruling power is relatively weak. Even if these areas are attacked, as long as Cairo and the two holy cities on the east coast of the Red Sea are not threatened, the Ottoman Empire will definitely not go to war and send elite troops from the mainland to help.”

"Oh, you black-clothed guards are actually able to bribe Ottoman's mission to our country? ... You won't let others be deceived, right?"

"Returning to the Duke of Zhen, the Ottomans are greedy and have no integrity. Their Murdu representative even hinted to me that the guards in black only need to pay him three thousand Hanzhou silver dollars, and he will send them Topka Also tell us everything about the Pa Palace (the place where successive sultans lived and worked)!"

"The Ottoman Empire...isn't it one of the few regional powers in the world?" Qi Dajiang felt a little unbelievable, "How could their representatives stationed in our country of Qi be so...shameless?"

"When the old empire is going downhill, everyone in the officialdom will be like this." Qi Tian is not surprised by this. The Ottoman Empire has been tyrannical for more than 100 years, but now it is beginning to decline. The rising European countries are already somewhat unable to do what they want.In other words, the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty during this period, I wonder if they have begun to degenerate and become unusable?
"On the North Indian Ocean, from October to March-April of the following year, the northeast monsoon prevails on the sea. Therefore, the combat ships and army troops drawn from the mainland should be ready for departure before November, and no later than next year In January, he arrived in India and made a short stay to rest. Then, together with the Indian fleet and the local landing force, he went to Suez to launch a military operation against the local Pasha. Before that, the Indian and Persian trading companies must Before February, they used their respective armed merchant ships to hoard all kinds of living supplies needed for the expedition attack fleet on Xuanling Island (now Socotra Island, Yemen).

"For this expedition, four mixed battalions were drawn from the mainland, Weiyuan, Xuanhua and other regions, and almost all the armed forces in the country were evacuated. If there are police in the surrounding areas, wouldn't the mainland face a situation where there are no troops to deploy?" Wang Yansong, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, pondered for a moment and asked.

"This expedition spanned tens of thousands of miles of sea routes. According to the most ideal combat progress, it will take up to a year. Therefore, in order to face the problem of the lack of local military power and the inability to deal with surrounding emergencies, the military command and The General Staff suggested to expand the number of Army personnel and add three new mixed battalions."

"Expand the army?" Qi Yanhui (formerly the treasurer of Hanzhou Big Bank), Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, became a little anxious when he heard the words, "General He, don't you know that the cabinet's finances have been in deficit every year and can't make ends meet. For this expedition, the household The Ministry has to pay an additional military expenditure of nearly 50 Hanzhou silver dollars, which does not include the cost of the war extension and the compensation for the personnel after the incident. Now, you have opened up again to expand the soldiers of the three mixed battalions, which is already quite embarrassing. How will the cabinet's finances continue to be supported?"

"Qi Shangshu, you just saw how much money this expedition will cost, but have you ever thought about how much our expeditionary army will seize from Suez? It is said that the local water and grass are lush, and there are tens of thousands of cattle and sheep grazing. There are quite a few of them. After they are captured, in addition to reselling them to Persia and India, we can also ship some of them back to the mainland of Hanzhou, or sell them, or lend them to farmers on credit. This is the government’s income, isn’t it? , with the powerful force of our expeditionary force, it is no problem to capture the port of Suez, and some materials can be seized in this city. Can all of these make up for part of your government's financial deficit?"

"Having said that, if your military department expands the establishment of three mixed battalions at once, it can consume 20 yuan in the financial budget every year. With these extra funds, you can transfer and resettle three or four thousand immigrants. With these Immigrants are enough to strengthen my own county!"

As Qi Yanhui said, he secretly glanced at King Qi, feeling a little apprehensive.If there is no acquiescence from the king for the expansion of the military department, they dare to propose it.However, I am in charge of Qi's money bag, and there are places where money is spent everywhere. If I don't hold it tightly, I will not be able to complete the annual budget arrangement at all. Therefore, I don't have to study every expense item in detail.

"Qi Shangshu, it is precisely in consideration of the financial constraints of the cabinet that the military department expanded the establishment of the three mixed battalions this time, not for the real amount, but for the establishment of the shelf battalion. In this way, the number of soldiers can be controlled within [-]. If there are police around and a war breaks out, the full staff can be recruited at any time.”

The Qi Army currently has ten mixed battalions and two artillery battalions, totaling more than 3000 troops.However, only six of the mixed battalions are full-staffed, deployed in Changshan Island, Ryukyu, Annan, Guangning (including Temasek Island), Xuanhua, and Weiyuan respectively, and four empty battalions are deployed in mainland China.

Qi State established a "elastic" shelf army more than ten years ago, which can be expanded at any time during wartime without affecting its combat effectiveness.According to Qi's military plan, the army's downsizing and expansion are possible at any time. In the shelf troops, a relatively high proportion of officers and non-commissioned officers is maintained, because "the basic conditions of officers and non-commissioned officers are higher than those of soldiers, and it is more difficult to train them." ".

Therefore, an empty shelf battalion has only [-]% of the strength of the full-staffed state, but after the reserve soldiers are recruited into the ranks in wartime, they can quickly form combat effectiveness.In this way the transition between peace and war can be conducted in an orderly manner, and temporary infirmities and dangers can be avoided.

Qi's principle of combat readiness is not to maintain a large standing army in peacetime, ready to go into battle at any time, but to build a small number of troops that have been educated and trained in scientific and complex military professions. It should serve as the backbone or skeleton of a huge army in the future, and it can impart the skills and abilities gained from usual training to inexperienced recruits.

In addition, Qi's combat readiness also includes a large number of reserves.In addition to maintaining more than 3 active-duty troops, the Qi Army recruits a large number of new recruits every year. After [-] years of discharge, he entered the reserve service.Reserves require regular training and return to the army to maintain the combat effectiveness of soldiers.Reserve soldiers can return to the army at any time to participate in front-line operations.

After 3 years of reserve service, reserve soldiers will be incorporated into the reserve service, and the requirements for them are lower, but they must also undergo certain training every year.The requirement for them is that once a war breaks out, they will be recalled to the troops for short-term training before being sent to the battlefield.In addition, there are also large-scale local rotating military forces that can serve as backup.

However, the Hanzhou Continent and several overseas territories that Qi State occupies are surrounded by the sea on all sides, and there are no strong enemies around them. It only needs to maintain a strong navy to ensure that Qi State remains invincible.However, this kind of combat readiness system of being prepared for danger in times of peace has been preserved since it was established at the beginning of Qi State more than 20 years ago, and has been gradually refined and improved.

"This battle is not difficult to win. But I request that the expeditionary force must fight cleanly and with incomparably powerful combat power to show the might of our country to the pashas in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Whether it is the navy, As for the army, we must defeat the enemy we meet in a devastating way, so that our opponents feel hopeless and fearful, and thus give birth to fear."

Holding the baton, Qi Tian drew a big circle on the vast Indian Ocean area on the map.

"In the future, we will control the entire Indian Ocean, the southern tip of Africa and the east coast, the coast of the Red Sea, Arabia, Persia, India, and Myanmar, which will become our future important industrial raw materials and commodity dumping markets. With control of the Indian Ocean, Europe and the Western Ocean The routes of forces traveling to and from the east will also be under our control. In this way, the hundreds of years of our country’s national destiny will be established. Now, we are launching an expedition to the Egyptian provinces of the Ottoman Empire to achieve the above goals. The most important first step!"

(End of this chapter)