Chapter 346 The Portuguese’s concerns
Although the South Vietnamese court and the local Portuguese had a certain willingness to exclude Hai Han products and expected to use trade sanctions to crack down and restrict Hai Han's commercial activities, they underestimated the role of economic laws and simply wanted to To completely prohibit the entry of Haihan goods through legal means has already involved the interests of too many people, and it will be difficult to achieve at a time.
Therefore, when Qian Tien Don and others strolled through the streets of Hoi An, it was not difficult to find Hai Han products everywhere, and their presence was even comparable to that of Guangzhou. In addition, you can see Chinese people wearing Ming Dynasty costumes everywhere, and almost all the accents you hear are from the Fuguang area. Most of the buildings on the streets are Chinese-style buildings. Qian Tiandun didn't walk long before he saw places where Chinese people gathered, such as the Chaozhou Guild Hall, the Fujian Guild Hall, the Guangzhao Guild Hall, and the Qiongfu Guild Hall. There were also Chinese-style religious buildings such as the Mazu Temple and the Guandi Temple. It seemed that the incense was quite good. .
Judging from the scene on the street, it is no different from the towns along the coast of Guangdong. It is difficult to imagine that this is actually another country thousands of miles away from Guangzhou. However, this way, without the language and cultural barriers, it saved Qian Tiandun a lot of trouble in his reconnaissance mission.
Based on the information collected and compiled by relevant departments in advance, as well as some information provided by Zhan Gui, Qian Tiandun set the targets into two categories when formulating the reconnaissance plan. The first is the local military objectives, including the local garrison situation, the location of military facilities, the main means of defense, the status of military deployment, and nearby large-scale garrison areas, etc.; the second is the local economic objectives, in other words, the attack war. The target to be attacked and robbed.
Hoi An City is located on the north bank of the Thu Bon River. The area near the mouth of the sea is an alluvial plain formed by the Thu Bon River for thousands of years. There are many river forks. Therefore, South Vietnam does not have enough strength to defend on the water surface. . As the largest maritime trade port in South Vietnam, although there is also a small-scale navy here, in Qian Tiandun's view, its main purpose of existence is to maintain the security order of port shipping, and the role that the military can play is Extremely limited. It is difficult for a fleet of small boats like this, all with a displacement of less than fifty tons, to pose a substantial threat to the Haihan large warships that are armed to the teeth.
As for the so-called Hoi An City, its city defense facilities are not even as good as those of a county town in the Ming Dynasty. For example, although the Yacheng adjacent to Victory Port is suspected of being in disrepair, it is still much more reliable than the low brick-and-earth mixed city wall of Hoi An City. As for South Vietnam's army strength, Qian Tiandun had seen it on the battlefield before, which was about the same level as North Vietnam.
Perhaps because they have stayed in this trading port for a long time and are used to the bustling scene of people coming and going, the South Vietnamese troops here are not very alert to the outside world - of course they may never have thought that anyone would be thinking of attacking here. . Qian Tiandun and his team encountered almost no obstacles in their reconnaissance activities, and collected a large amount of military intelligence information on the first day.
When it got dark, Qian Tiandun and others returned to the Chinese Association where they had stayed, and found Zhan Guizheng pacing back and forth at the door with an anxious look on his face. When Zhan Gui saw them coming back, his expression relaxed. He hurried up to greet them and said, "Brother Qian, why are you back at this time? Is everything going well?"
"Smooth, much smoother than expected. Let's go in and talk!" Qian Tiandun knew that Zhan Gui was too nervous and didn't want him to reveal his flaws in a public place, so he quickly pulled him into the club.
Zhan Gui has been handling transactions at the dock today. Half of the goods loaded on this ship have been sold and he has made several thousand taels of silver. But Zhan Gui is not happy at all now. After Qian Tiandun left, Zhan Gui's thoughts followed suit. Every time he saw patrolling South Vietnamese soldiers coming from the dock, Zhan Gui would worry whether they were coming to arrest him. Although Qian Tiandun had promised him that nothing would happen during his trip to Hoi An, Zhan Gui still couldn't completely relax.
Qian Tiandun called Zhan Gui into his room, rejected the irrelevant people, and then asked Gao Qiaonan to take out a few pieces of equipment from his backpack. Zhan Gui saw that these things were square or flat, some were like a small box, and some were cylindrical, and he couldn't understand it for a while.
Qian Tiandun picked up a thin booklet, opened the cover, flicked it with his fingers a few times, and handed it to Zhan Gui: "There are a few places, and I need Boss Zhan to help identify them."
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Zhan Gui looked around and saw that this was not a brochure, but a flat piece of Haihan glass with black frames on all sides, and a clear picture in the middle, which was a building in the city. This painting was so detailed that it was far beyond human ability to describe it. It was as if the real scene was placed in front of him. Zhan Gui was stunned and speechless for a moment. Although he had long known that the Haihan people had all kinds of magical tools, he was still shocked when he saw the thing in front of him - was it a magic or a fairy magic?
Of course this is not magic or magic, but a tablet computer brought from the 21st century. The black technology that transcends the times is in hand, which gives the military great convenience when conducting reconnaissance missions. It has all kinds of photography, video, and recording equipment. It is naturally a trivial matter to take some photos secretly. During the reconnaissance process, Qian Tiandun took pictures of some buildings with unknown functions in the city and transferred them to his computer. When he returned to his residence at night, he took them out for Zhan Gui, who was familiar with the local situation, to identify them one by one.
"Boss Zhan, do you recognize this place?" Seeing that he remained silent, Qian Tiandun urged him to ask again.
Zhan Gui suppressed his thoughts forcibly, and after looking at the scene carefully again, he responded: "This is the residence of Ruan Shan, a big merchant in this city. It is said that Ruan Shan is related to the Ruan family who is in power in Hue Prefecture."
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Qian Tiandun nodded, flicked his finger on the screen, and changed to another screen: "Then look at the next one..."
After looking at the pictures for more than an hour, Zhan Gui's errand was finally finished. Qian Tiandun stood up and walked him out of the room. When Zhan Gui walked to the door, he suddenly turned around and said, "Brother Qian, is there any possibility of selling this treasure you took out just now?"
Qian Tiandun was stunned and said: "You want to buy it?"
Zhan Gui plucked up the courage and said, "I am willing to give you a thousand taels of silver."
Qian Tiandun shook his head and said: "Sorry, we can't sell it."
"Then I'll add another thousand taels!" Zhan Gui felt that Qian Tiandun's tone was not very tight, so he decided to test it again.
"It's not a matter of money, you don't understand." Qian Tiandun shook his head and said: "We can't make this thing with the current conditions of Victory Port. We won't sell things that we can't make ourselves. Boss Zhan should give up on this idea." Zhan Gui did seem to understand, but Qian Tiandun's words also proved how precious this thing is. Zhan Gui reluctantly glanced back at the "baby" on the table before stepping out of the room.
In the next few days, Qian Tiandun continued to lead his men to conduct reconnaissance activities in and around Hoi An City. Zhan Gui, on the other hand, talks about business during the day and helps Qian Tiandun organize intelligence pictures at night. Perhaps due to the stimulation of the "baby", Zhan Gui's enthusiasm for participating in intelligence work was obviously much stronger than before coming to Hoi An. He looked at photos for an hour or two every night without showing any signs of fatigue.
Five days later, the reconnaissance team completed its work and boarded ships to evacuate Hoi An. When Zhan Gui left, he also took the concubines he married locally and disposed of his local properties, because he knew that within this month, the Haihan army would come to the city and attack the port city. The South Vietnamese military strength in Hoi An will definitely not be able to resist the offensive of the Hai Han militia. The fall of the city is only a matter of time. After the attack here, I am afraid that it will be difficult to recover within two or three years. In the future, it is estimated that South Vietnam's maritime trade business will be difficult to reach the current level of prosperity.
After the merchant ship set sail from Hoi An, it did not rush back north. Instead, it stayed at Cham Island, less than ten nautical miles away from Hoi An, for a day. This island is actually an archipelago composed of seven neighboring small islands. The largest Cham Island covers an area of about 13 square kilometers. There is a small natural haven on the island. The base camp had already taken a fancy to the geographical location here when formulating the operational plan, and planned to use this place as a near-shore base to launch the offensive when implementing the operation. According to the investigation results of the reconnaissance team, there is only a small fishing village on the island, with about twenty households. By then, the Haihan Militia can easily take over the harbor on the island.
After completing the last reconnaissance mission, the merchant ship returned to Yong'an Port in the north along the original route. After dropping off a group of people belonging to the Black Tu Port Military Region, it shipped a batch of North Vietnamese souvenirs and dozens of selected people locally. The immigrants then returned eastward to Victory Port. It is worth mentioning that although Qian Tiandun can use various black technologies in reconnaissance activities, these data can still only be sent back to Victory Port using the most primitive methods. Therefore, it was not until mid-July that the Military Commission finally received the first-hand information sent back by the reconnaissance team.
With this information, the military's combat plan can be planned in more detail. Especially after the city is breached, the targets that need to be attacked and plundered are basically based on the information sent back by the reconnaissance team. By then, each company can use the photos as a reference, and it will be much easier to find targets in the city.
However, just as the military was making final preparations in full swing, an uninvited guest came to Port Victory - the Portuguese envoy João Enrique Badac Thomas from Macau.
"Dear Mr. Tao, it's an honor to meet you again!" This guy was still wearing flashy European-style clothes and spoke a Cantonese Mandarin that was seriously inconsistent with his appearance. Tao Donglai, who had always greeted him, greeted him loudly.
"Mr. Enrique, we meet again." Tao Donglai did not forget that the last time this guy took the initiative to build a relationship, he asked himself to call him "Enrique."
"This is really a great port city! Mr. Tao, as a businessman who has traveled to many countries, it is really hard for me to believe that you have completed such a miracle in just over a year!" Enrique came up. He unabashedly praised the prosperity of Victory Port. From his professional perspective, the dock design and work efficiency here have far exceeded traditional trading ports such as Macau and Guangzhou, but the Haihan people have only settled here for a little more than a year.
"If you are willing to live here for a while, I think you will see more miracles." Tao Donglai was not very modest in his appreciation of the other party. After all, the facts are right in front of him. East Asia in this era is indeed It is difficult to find another force that can build a port city with the efficiency of the Crossing Group.
"I would be happy to stay in this beautiful place for a while. The sunshine and beaches here look very good!" Enrique praised sincerely: "And it seems that the environment here is also very safe!"
Like other outsiders who came to Port Victory for the first time, Enrique was also attracted by the fortifications in the port. This was the first time he had seen such a density of forts in East Asia. Although the Ming Dynasty also had several forts along the Pearl River Estuary, their density was far less than that of Victory Port. Moreover, the Haihan people's fort was obviously not built as a scary display. When Enrique's ship sailed into the harbor, it was only a few dozen meters away from the shore. Enrique could clearly see the gun on the fort. door cannon. With his knowledge of weapons, he could easily tell from the diameter of the muzzle that it was an approximately 24-pound artillery piece - which was almost the largest caliber artillery piece that the Portuguese could equip on armed merchant ships in East Asia.
Of course, the range and performance of the artillery mounted on the ship cannot be compared with this kind of coastal defense artillery. Enrique also knows this very well. The barrels of artillery on ships are generally shorter to facilitate placement and loading, and the range is mostly controlled within 500 meters. However, since there is no space limit for coastal defense guns, the barrels can be made thick and long, even if the range exceeds 2,000 meters. The meters are all normal. The fortifications on the left and right sides of the Port of Victory were equipped with at least more than thirty artillery pieces. This kind of firepower density was simply disappointing. Enrique did not need to make too complicated calculations to know that his own armed merchant ships basically had no basis. The possibility of breaking into Victory Harbor with superior firepower.
And when he saw the rumored giant steel ships deep in the harbor, he completely gave up the idea of having a showdown with the Haihan people at sea. Enrique has been to many countries in Europe and has seen countless sea-going ships, but he has never seen a country that can build such a huge sea-going ship, and this ship is made entirely of steel! Enrique is not an ignorant person. He knows very well how advanced shipbuilding technology is required to build such a large ship, not to mention that it is made of heavy steel. The fact that the Haihan people can sail such a large ship across the sea to Qiongzhou Island at least shows that their shipbuilding technology is far ahead of Western countries.
Before that, rumors that the Haihan people were good at shipbuilding and could build iron ships with millions of kilograms of fine iron also reached the ears of the Portuguese in Macau. Of course, this extremely low-credibility rumor was not taken seriously by many people. Thing - they believe that when it comes to sailing and shipbuilding in this world, the Portuguese are at least among the top three. Shipbuilding technology that even the Portuguese have never heard of cannot exist in this world. But after Enrique confirmed this fact with his eyes, he began to secretly curse the pedantic officials in the Portuguese Council in Macau. Those arrogant guys should really come to Port Victory to see with their own eyes, so that they would give up as soon as possible. In an attempt to use sea power to suppress the Haihan people's desire to submit.
After months of protracted quarrels, the Portuguese Council of Macau finally received news of the Hai-Han militia’s attack in Panyu County—although the official communique described the situation as saying that the Lijiazhuang militia defeated thousands of rogue bandits that besieged the local area. However, it has long been rumored among the people that it was the local rich man Li Jifeng who spent a lot of money to invite the Haihan people's regiment training militia from Qiongzhou Island to achieve the final victory. However, the rogue bandits besieging the local area were far more than what the official said. There were thousands of people, some said three to five thousand, some said six or seven thousand, and some even claimed that there were tens of thousands of heroes from all walks of life who attacked Lijiazhuang at that time. But no matter which theory is used, it is a recognized fact that these bandits and gangsters suffered heavy casualties in the battle.
The Portuguese Council confirmed at least a few things from this: First, the Haihan people on Qiongzhou Island do have the ability to fight across the sea. Regardless of whether the battlefield is in Annan or Guangzhou, they can carry out operations across this distance if necessary. attack. Secondly, Haihan's equipment level is very high, with weapons such as muskets and artillery available. Although this was also mentioned in the information from Annan earlier, the Portuguese in Macau at that time generally believed that this was Annan. It was just an excuse for the defeat at the border, but now it seems that this is not an excuse thought up by the defeated, but a terrible fact. Thirdly, with the strength of the Portuguese people stationed in Macao, they can only temporarily organize an armed force of no more than 500 people at most. Compared with the Haihan people, there seems to be a big gap in this strength. This is enough to make the directors You will start to feel a little uneasy.
A few days after the incident in Panyu, Macau received new news that the Haihan people had united with many wealthy businessmen to build a stronghold on an uninhabited island at the mouth of the Pearl River, and it seemed that armed personnel were stationed there. . At this time, the council couldn't sit still at all, because the Pearl River Estuary waterway is the only waterway for its merchant ships to go south. To have a foreign armed force establish a stronghold in this location is almost tantamount to being strangled by the throat. .
If it were a year ago, if it encountered such a troublesome matter, the council might take advantage of the opponent's fledgling power and decisively use force to solve it. But the risk of using force against the Haihan people is too great now, not to mention that it also involves a large commercial bank called "Qiong Lianfa" that has recently become famous in Guangdong Province. This super-commercial firm formed by more than a dozen wealthy businessmen from Fujian and Guangzhou provinces can be said to be rich and powerful. No one dares to offend them publicly, whether privately or officially, and the Portuguese are no exception - they have offended these powerful people. Merchants, maybe it will be difficult to even purchase Ming Dynasty goods in the future.
(End of chapter)