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Chapter 1208 Attack instead of defense
"Don't rush to volunteer. This arrangement of mine will not only make the Spanish uneasy, but also force them to gather troops to encircle and suppress us!

Since Pearl Harbor has been exposed, we can no longer hope that the enemy will not come, but we don’t know when the enemy will come. Being in a state of combat readiness every day will make the soldiers physically and mentally exhausted over time.

At this time, we should find a way to make the enemy act according to our needs, but the enemy is not stupid and will definitely not tell us the plan in advance. The only way is to anger them.

As long as these two warships hit hard enough and caused the Spanish to suffer heavy losses, they would be anxious to get rid of them. If they happened to learn that a port or a ship was about to be attacked, the Spanish would gather a large number of warships nearby and hide to surround and destroy them.

What I want is this opportunity. Spain will find itself surrounded. As long as they are not too unlucky, they should be able to inflict heavy damage or even annihilate them. After this battle, the Spanish will not be able to launch a large-scale attack on the Hawaiian Islands within two or three years.

Once Pearl Harbor is built and the supplies are stored, it won't matter whether the Spanish come to retaliate. If they don't come, I will take the initiative to find them and wipe out all the Spanish towns on the west coast one by one, leaving no one behind!

You guys should discuss it first. If you think my method is feasible, then hurry up and decide on the ambush area and ships. By the way, Captain Settle volunteered, and I have approved it. He will be one of the two harassment ships."

Hong Tao did not agree to Settle's impatience immediately, but drew a rough battlefield situation on the map, and while drawing, he laid out his plan. Then he threw away his pen, put a cigar in his mouth and sat back in his chair, patiently waiting for the results of the discussion of many generals of the General Staff and the Navy Staff.

As the age, experience and skills of the naval commanders increased, he could no longer outsmart them in many aspects, such as specific parameters and troop deployment. He could only occasionally have some creative ideas in terms of the general direction and strategy, but he would shut up immediately after speaking, and keep a sense of mystery to make them more awed.

The General Staff and the Naval Staff did not easily adopt the emperor's suggestion. They argued over the map for more than an hour. Since no one could convince the other and no better plan could be put forward, they had no choice but to make concessions and unanimously passed the strategy of luring the enemy and encircling and annihilating them.

With a consensus at the strategic level, the next specific plan would be much easier. The General Staff was responsible for logistics, and the Naval Staff was responsible for operations. They each drew up a set of plans, and then the emperor presided over a docking meeting to integrate the two plans into one.

It's easier said than done. It's actually very time-consuming. It's been a week since Hong Tao arrived in Manila, and the final plan has not yet been released. There's no point in being anxious, as a lot of data needs to be confirmed. In an era without radio, communication was done by horse hooves and sails, and the measurement unit was months.

But there is also good news. The commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, Jie Ji, has arrived with reinforcement ships.

This was the Marshal's order issued by the Emperor's handwritten letter when Hong Tao passed through the Port of Colombo on his return trip. The order temporarily reduced the mobile fleet ready to reinforce the Cape of Good Hope to three ships, and then transferred three ships back from the Persian Gulf, making a total of 3 combat ships and 3 armed cargo ships, which were quickly rushed to the Port of Manila to assemble and wait.

"Stop thinking about how to reduce the supply volume at Hormuz. I have fought there myself. The environment is not only harsh but also full of dangers. We cannot reduce the supply volume any further."

"Your Majesty, I have emptied the entire Maritime Administration and even added the ships that were prepared for maintenance to the expedition list, but it still does not meet the minimum quota. If we set out like this, once the Spaniards do not fall into the trap immediately, the expedition fleet will be in danger!"

That afternoon, the Emperor rejected the supply plan submitted by the General Staff for the third time, which made the Chief of General Staff, the astronaut, angry and annoyed, and he rejected it bluntly in front of a room full of officers.

It was no wonder that he lost his composure in front of the emperor. The first time the General Staff planned to requisition civilian ships as transport ships to accompany the expeditionary fleet to the ambush sea area. The emperor rejected the plan on the grounds that civilian ships lacked experience in long-distance voyages and would suffer heavy losses if they encountered weather factors. The second time, Tan Mingming proposed to requisition civilian ships to replace the supply missions of Hormuz Port and Cape of Good Hope, and free up the cargo ships of the Maritime Transport Command to follow the expeditionary fleet eastward. The result was rejected again. The reason given by the emperor was that there were many pirates in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and civilian ships lacked protection and were unsafe.

However, the number of transport ships of the Maritime Transport Command and the fleets is limited, and the transport capacity is of course fixed. No one can create a large amount of transport capacity out of thin air without finding a way to increase the number of ships. If you can't have the best of both worlds, you can only save one first. Isn't this an obvious thing?

"Hey, you're not smart enough but you want to glare at me. You don't even have any manners!" Faced with the disrespect of his generals, Hong Tao did not hesitate. He slammed the table and stood up, putting on the airs of an emperor.

"…Your Majesty, calm down. The Chief of Staff shouldn't have made such a fuss, but he is also very loyal and is worried that something might go wrong with the expedition fleet."

Seeing that the emperor was really anxious, Zhu Haiou quickly stood up to help speak in a good way. He and the astronauts had been arguing for so many days because of official business. If the chief of the general staff was punished for this, he would not only feel bad, but also have a hard time doing his job in the future.

Astronaut and Tan Mingming have been in charge of the General Staff for so many years and have done a very good job, mainly because they have always paid attention to naval construction. It would be a great loss if the new person in charge is more inclined towards the army.

"And you, can you send so many warships without consuming supplies? This is an ambush, a surprise attack, relying on quality rather than quantity. Do you think I am under a lot of pressure to lead the expedition, and I wish I could send all the mobile ships to feel at ease?"

Unexpectedly, the emperor didn't buy it at all, and even spared him, who was trying to mediate the dispute. The implications of his words were even more heartbreaking, pointing directly to the dark side deep in his heart.

"..." Now all the generals in the room were silent, and they didn't even dare to look up, for fear that a glance would cause trouble.

"Don't play dead. I won't get angry for no reason. I'm angry because I see you guys are busying around without any purpose. You have ready-made ships but you insist on harassing civilian ships. You are a rotten tree that can't be carved!"

Can you escape the punishment by not speaking? Obviously not. This is the advantage of teaching from a young age. You know exactly what kind of personality and habits a person has. It is useless to pretend. You can't avoid the scolding you deserve.

"Your Majesty, where do the ready-made ships come from?"

Tan Mingming had a strong sense of self-esteem and had always been a good student. He was very reluctant to be called stupid, even if it was said by the emperor. He had already thought of all the ships that could be used, and there were no omissions, so he had to ask for an explanation.

"If I say there is, there is, and it will be here in a minute. But you, as the military leaders in charge of the Ming Dynasty's sea borders, said you didn't know. This is dereliction of duty. I will give you five minutes to think carefully. If you still can't think of it, don't blame me for being cruel. You will all be demoted one level as a punishment. Wang Chengen, report the time!"

Hong Tao ignored Tan Mingming's question and glanced at the generals present. He found that everyone had a confused look in their eyes. This time he was really angry. He was no longer limited to verbal criticism, but was going to take real action.

(End of this chapter)