New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 103 A small temple has a strong demonic wind; a shallow pond has many turtles.

On February 15th of the third year of the Han Dynasty, the Beiyang Fleet of the Great Han Navy, along with more than one hundred official and civilian ocean-going transport ships, carrying a total of 30,000 troops and necessary supplies, set sail from Shanghai Port.

After exiting the Yangtze River estuary, it first sails northeast, passes through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of ​​Japan, and then passes through the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu Island and Ezochi (Hokkaido) into the Pacific Ocean.

Then, following the North Pacific currents, they sailed eastward and finally arrived at Qiaojiatun Port in the Americas on April 5th.

At the end of last year, Zhang Zongyu specifically reported to the emperor, requesting instructions to arrange for more troops to come to the Americas.

On April 5th, after receiving a report from the communications soldier, I immediately boarded a firewood-powered steamship and rushed to Qiaojiatun Port to meet him, filled with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

When the steamship approached Qiaojiatun, Zhang Zongyu was clearly startled when he saw the rows of sails on the river mouth and the sea.

"How can there be so many? There are way too many ships this time!"

Zhang Zongyu was not worried about supply issues.

Wooden transport ships, unlike modern steel warships, have a very high load-carrying ratio, sometimes exceeding 50%.

In other words, a wooden boat with a capacity of 20,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) can carry 10,000 shi of cargo.

Ten thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) is equivalent to five to eight hundred soldiers, plus enough food for these soldiers to last a whole year.

Sailing does not require fuel, and the main supplies replenished along the way are fresh water.

If you are sailing on a well-established shipping route and know that there is sufficient fresh water at the destination, then the transport ratio and endurance will be extremely high.

A transport ship with a capacity of 20,000 shi (1280 tons) can carry 500 soldiers at sea for a whole year.

This time, the Beiyang Fleet's more than 100 ships not only brought 30,000 soldiers to the Americas, but also the food needed for these soldiers to be stationed there for a whole year.

Zhang Zongyu sailed to the flagship in the middle of the fleet and met Li Anbang, the newly appointed general of the American Army.

After the two sides met and exchanged greetings, Li Anbang first read out the emperor's edict and military orders.

The first part covers appointments and adjustments.

Li Anbang was appointed as a general in the American military command to oversee construction and combat operations in the Americas, with the full cooperation of everyone in the Americas.

Zhang Zongyu was reinstated to the Imperial Guard and served as a fifth-rank regimental commander under the Imperial Guard troops that arrived in the Americas, while also continuing to serve as the commander of a militia guard.

Zhang Zongyu spent two years in the Americas, and his hard work and meritorious service in overseas operations led to his promotion from company commander to regimental commander.

The second part is the general battle plan formulated by the emperor and the military council.

First, we must control and defend the west coast of North America, and resist the harassment from the United States and the British army.

Then seize California and subdue Mexico.

The third part is a special requirement: to arrange for militia to protect artisans exploring for potential coal resources in the western Americas.

In the future, if steamships are used to travel to and from the Americas, it will be impossible to transport coal from the mainland; it will definitely have to be supplied locally in the Americas.

In Liu Yulong's memory, there should have been coal mines on Vancouver Island, where the First Village was located.

Liu Yulong asked for a map of the west coast obtained by the American militia and drew a circle on the central eastern part of Vancouver Island and the northernmost point, respectively, and ordered the local craftsmen and militiamen to explore these two places first.

If you can't find coal mines in these two places, try looking in the inland areas of the middle and upper reaches of the Columbia River and in southwestern California.

Liu Yulong was unsure if his memory was accurate, so he didn't give the military council any guarantees, but simply told them to give it a try.

After the imperial edict and military orders were read aloud, Li Anbang pulled Zhang Zongyu aside to inquire about the local situation in detail, and then they discussed how to arrange this year's troops.

It took the fleet eighteen days to unload all the personnel and cargo they brought.

Then, the Vice Admiral of the Beiyang Fleet commanded half of the naval fleet to escort most of the ocean-going transport ships back to the mainland to transport the second batch of troops.

The fleet admiral led half of the fleet to remain in the Gulf of America to cooperate with the American military in carrying out subsequent combat operations.

They immediately dispatched two medium-sized warships, along with four medium-sized ocean-going transport ships, carrying intelligence personnel disguised as merchants, to California and the Mexican mainland.

Under the guise of trading with Han merchants, they gathered intelligence on both sides and investigated the most critical military and political situations.

Li Anbang accepted Zhang Zongyu's suggestion and stationed 10,000 imperial guards near the Second Garrison for rest and training, resuming their training status on the mainland.

The 20,000 militiamen were dispersed to other military settlements for garrison duty, and were deployed to participate in local production and construction activities in coordination with the militiamen from the previous two years.

With these 20,000 militiamen, the Americas suddenly had an abundance of manpower in all aspects.

The number of militia in the Wenjiatun Valley increased to five thousand, and they began to fully develop this vast and fertile river valley land, striving to supply the food needed for 30,000 people in the coming year.

Fort Fordholm was reinforced with a thousand militiamen, primarily to guard against potential immigrants from the United States.

The thousand garrison troops were then divided into groups of two hundred men each, taking turns to patrol and guard the mountain pass in the southern passage, while the remaining personnel used water pumps to irrigate and cultivate the land.

In addition, two thousand militiamen were specially dispatched to search for coal mines on the east and north sides of Vancouver Island.

Liu Yulong's memory was correct; the two exploration teams operating on Vancouver Island quickly found traces of coal mines.

The main bodies of these two coal mines are located tens to hundreds of meters underground, but their ends are exposed above the surface.

The local indigenous people had already discovered the coal, but they didn't know what it was for.

Upon receiving the news, Li Anbang immediately ordered the reclamation of land near the coal mine and the construction of a port and wharf in a suitable location.

The mining of local coal began officially, initially to supply the surrounding military settlements.

The indigenous population living around the coal mine, as well as the American prisoners captured earlier, were all sent there to work in the coal mines.

From then on, steam engines on the west coast of America would have a regular fuel supply and would no longer need to burn wood.

Two months later, shortly after the summer harvest of the third year of Hanchang was completed, the fleets that had gone south to investigate the situation in California also returned one after another.

Li Anbang summoned his staff and Zhang Zongyu, who was most familiar with the local situation, to review the intelligence summary sent back by the intelligence personnel and begin discussing the subsequent combat operations.

After reading the report, Li Anbang passed the document to others for review and then gave a blunt and direct assessment: "This place is truly a small temple with a strong wind, a shallow pond with many turtles—"

Mexico received a warning from the United States in 1836 and indeed prepared to strengthen the defenses of California as much as possible.

The plan is to increase the garrison in San Francisco from one hundred to five hundred.

From the Mexican perspective, this already demonstrates a significant effort to strengthen defenses.

Regardless of whether such data changes are meaningful to the Han Dynasty.

The key issue is that the so-called enhanced defense plan, once completed, has never been truly implemented.

The troops that the Mexican government was preparing to transfer were the private armies of Mexican generals, and the generals did not want to go to California.

California is a very remote and desolate place in mainland Mexico, mainly because it is separated from the core area of ​​the mainland by a large desert.

At this time, the political situation in California itself, and even in the San Francisco city area, was as chaotic as that in the rest of Mexico.

The total number of registered residents in the entire California region, even including native Catholics, is only a little over seven thousand.

However, these Spanish immigrants, Citizens' immigrants, and other European immigrants are rife with internal conflicts.

In addition, in 1833, the Mexican Congress passed the California secularization plan, which stripped the church of its grassroots administrative power and land ownership.

The bill requires churches to transfer their churches to the government and the land they control to civilians.

What should have been a secular law for social revolution became a tool for speculators to seize church property and destroyed the basic social order maintained by the church.

Governors and mayors typically serve only a few months in office, and very few take office and leave office in a normal manner.

In the past year (1836), there have been five different governors.

Mayors and governors who have taken office through various means often immediately allocate large amounts of land as a "gift" to their relatives and supporters.

In November 1836, a man named Juan Bautista Alvarado organized an uprising of more than two hundred immigrants, driving out the newly appointed governor.

The rebels then declared independence and established a new state, even preparing a constitution and a national flag.

The rebel leader, Alvarado, has now declared himself governor.

After receiving news of the uprising in California, the Mexican government appointed another governor and prepared to send 500 troops to suppress Alvarado's independence and strengthen defenses.

However, they have yet to assemble an army that can actually play a role.

The Mexican government and the new governor had no choice but to abandon the use of force to quell the rebellion and begin negotiations with Alvarado, preparing to exchange greater autonomy for Alvarado's abandonment of independence.

After reading the report, the recruits all agreed with Li Anbang's assessment that this place was truly a makeshift operation.

Then everyone felt that now was an excellent opportunity to launch a direct attack.

Now that California has declared independence, the Han army is no longer attacking Mexico, but rather California itself, this newly independent small country.

Zhang Zongyu, who was also attending the meeting, said with a wry smile, "Given the situation in California, any time is a good opportunity to launch an attack."

"The Han army should have been able to take over directly in the past, and it is estimated that there will be no large-scale, high-intensity battles."

Li Anbang forced himself to stay alert, not wanting to appear too dismissive or disdainful: "In that case, let's prepare for the takeover operation."

According to the Military Advisory Office's analysis, the disputed territory between the former United States and Britain, namely the Oregon and British Columbia regions, has now been occupied by the Han Dynasty.

The strongholds of the Americans and Britons in this region have all been turned into military settlements and villages of the Han Dynasty. Now, if their troops come to the west coast by boat, they can no longer land in these places.

Their next best option should be to land on the coast of California in Mexico, especially in San Francisco, where the port conditions are the best.

Apart from the California region, the climate in the northern strongholds controlled by the Rakshasa Kingdom is too harsh, and there is not even enough food to support a slightly larger population.

The central coastal region of southern Mexico is separated from California by vast deserts and is 6,000 miles from Oregon, which is really too far away.

California is practically their only option. They will likely land and establish a base there before moving on to a location near the Gulf of America and Qiaojiatun Port to build new outposts and confront the Han militia.

To avoid this situation, the Military Council advised the Great Han American Military Command to take the initiative, directly occupy the California region, cut off their possibility of using California as a transit base, and then blockade the coastline from Columbia to California.

In Liu Yulong's view, deciding to directly attack and seize target territory simply to prevent potential threats is a very aggressive and self-defeating approach.

However, considering the current chaotic state of Mexico, Liu Yulong still approved and authorized this operational plan.