Chapter 348: Troops sent to South Vietnam
The Haihan people arrived on Qiongzhou Island only a little over a year ago, but they have already established many colonization sites and expanded at an alarming rate. This efficiency would make the Portuguese, who were once proud of colonizing the world, feel ashamed.
Portugal was the first European country to start colonizing Asia. In 1498, Vasco da Gama circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at Calicut, a port on the southwest coast of India. He established a stronghold and was appointed the first governor of India. The spices produced locally were used for a long time thereafter. During this period, it brought extremely huge profits to the Portuguese. However, more than a hundred years have passed. In addition to Goa on the west coast of India, the Portuguese's major colonies in Asia have only added a few places such as Manchuria, Timor and Haojingao. Comparing the expansion speed of the Haihan people, Enrique felt that all the successive governors of these Asian colonies should be hanged.
Of course, Enrique, who is familiar with Portuguese colonial history, also knows very well that the process of his country's colonization in Asia is fundamentally different from that of the Haihan people. In comparison, the Haihan people's methods can be described as "gentle".
When Da Gama first arrived in India, the locals rejected their trade demands because of his tough attitude, so Da Gama ordered artillery attacks on the locals and captured many hostages. More often than not, the Portuguese fleet played the role of bandits, slave catchers and criminals, rather than an advanced civilization that brought good news to backward areas.
The Mughal historian Talish in the 16th century once recorded in his work what the Portuguese did at that time: "The pirates from Arakan on the northern coast of Myanmar were both Portuguese and local people. They used to come by water. Bengal carried out plunder. They took the people they caught, stabbed their palms, put thin canes through the holes in their palms, and packed them in a pile below the deck of the ship. They left some uncooked rice every morning. Like we feed chickens..."
Although the Portuguese themselves regarded their trip to Asia as a new Crusade and spared no effort to spread Catholic teachings, they tried to use massacres, torture, extortion and other methods to force people to change their religious beliefs. It aroused strong religious hatred among the locals.
Of course, in Enrique's opinion, this situation is not all his fault. Due to the weak domestic foundation, the Portuguese cannot continue to provide human and financial resources for overseas bases. As a result, the Portuguese's position in Asia is being undermined by the Dutch and British. So much so that many Portuguese had to engage in piracy, or take over some small businesses that other European countries disdained to do. Due to limited manpower, the colonies could only be governed in simple and crude ways.
The colonial practices of the Haihan people that Enrique saw were undoubtedly much better than his own. The living conditions provided by the Haihan people to their subordinate Ming people and Annan people were far better than those before they came to Victory Port, and they also had a very complete civil administration system to manage the increasing number of immigrants.
Although this method of using favorable conditions to attract immigrants is extremely effective, Enrique also knows that Haojing'ao or other Portuguese colonies cannot imitate it - the reason is very simple, the money and materials required to do so are too much. Too much. If you don’t have enough financial resources, you will definitely not be able to support such a big scene. Of course, even with such financial resources, dignitaries would never waste a single silver coin on common people and slaves who are like ants.
The new guest house built on the slopes of Fenghuangling in the northwest of Victory Port was just opened in June, and Enrique was honored to be the first host and guest here. He had long heard that the Haihan people lived a luxurious life, but only after living here did Enrique understand the true meaning of this statement. In addition to the eye-catching glass windows, what caught his attention even more was that the bathroom here was all made of ceramic equipment, including wall tiles, wash basins, toilets, and hot water shower equipment that supplied eight hours a day. Enrique felt that taking out any of these things would be enough to make the country bumpkins in Hao Jing Ao gasp in surprise - although he himself couldn't help but sigh when he saw it for the first time.
The three meals a day are also very rich. The staple food is rice, and the meat is mainly seafood, and occasionally chicken and duck. Enrique has a sensitive sense of taste, and he can taste the flavors of many spices from the meals provided by the Haihan people. He knows that this means that the spice trade that Tao Donglai said before was not a bragging. In Europe, only middle-class nobles could enjoy such food. If something hadn't happened, Enrique really wanted to live in Port Victory for a few months and enjoy this rare life.
One morning, Enrique was awakened from his sleep by a loud noise. He stood up and walked to the window, opened the curtains and looked outside. From here he could clearly see the beautiful scene of the entire Victory Harbor. But when he saw the scene on the dock, he immediately lost all sleep.
"Koko, you idiot, get up!" Enrique kicked the black slave who was sleeping on the ground awake.
The black slave stood up and hurriedly helped Enrique put on his coat and boots.
"Take my hat, let's go to the pier now!" Enrique didn't bother to check his clothes carefully and went out in a panic. The servant Koko didn't even have time to put on his shoes, so he grabbed Enrique's hat and followed quickly.
Enrique was so anxious because he saw a large number of armed personnel gathering on the dock to board the ship. Five warships, one large, four small, and five, plus at least four supply ships, were preparing to leave the port.
If it had been a few days earlier, Enrique might not have been panicked by such a scene, because the Haihan people liked to assemble their troops to conduct various exercises without giving any warning. But yesterday, by chance, he heard two locals talking, saying that they were about to go to sea to fight in Annan.
Of course, Enrique is well aware of the attitude of the Haihan people on the Annan Civil War. If the Haihan people send troops again, it is self-evident who they plan to deal with. Enrique originally wanted to go to Tao Dong to talk about South Vietnam today. Even if he could not organize the Haihan people, he would at least try to leave more buffer time for his family and minimize the economic losses of the Portuguese in South Vietnam. . But what he didn't expect was that the Haihan people would take action as soon as they asked. They just heard the rumors yesterday and were ready to go today.
In fact, the preparation period for this war was not short. The Military Commission had proposed a plan for an attack on South Vietnam's port cities in early June. However, due to various objective reasons, this plan was delayed until late July before entering the implementation stage. Prior to this, various departments had already made preparations for war, and were waiting for the executive committee to issue the final order. This operation will be led by Navy Captain Wang Tom as the overall commander, leading a fleet of nine ships to set off from Victory Port. Captain Qian Tiandun of the North Vietnam Military Division will serve as the second-in-command, leading the Black Tu Port special operations force to disembark from North Vietnam. The two forces were to meet near Hoi An in South Vietnam and then launch an attack on the city of Hoi An.
"Tao... Mr. Tao, what are you... doing?" Enrique, out of breath from running, rushed to the dock and immediately asked Tao Donglai.
"You saw it, send troops!" Tao Donglai said with a calm face: "North Vietnam's allies have applied for assistance to us. From our point of view, there is no reason to reject them. So we decided to send troops to fight against the South Vietnamese rebellion. The army carried out a strike.”
"You are provoking a new round of war!" Enrique yelled angrily.
"No, we are accelerating the end of the civil war in Annan. By destroying the rebels in South Vietnam, Annan will be able to achieve peace and reunification." Tao Donglai did not take Enrique's rebuke seriously at all. Tao Donglai had watched the spokesperson of the Lighthouse Country perform this trick of calling a thief to catch a thief countless times before traveling through time. His shamelessness was far beyond what Enrique could match.
"If you think what we are doing is inappropriate, you can take a boat to Annan now to prevent this war from happening." Yan Chujie was not as deep in the city as Tao Donglai, so he immediately launched a counterattack: "As long as you let the Ruan family offer If the city surrenders, then we can keep his family safe and avoid unnecessary killings, do you think so?”
Enrique was stunned and didn't know how to answer. Go to Annan to be a peace envoy to persuade these companies to put down their weapons? How is that possible? This is not a dispute that can be solved by paying money and apologizing. It is a war for the power of a country. No matter whether it is South or North, those in power will definitely not give up the power they hold - even if they have to pay for it. Thousands of lives are not spared in the eyes of those in power. "Don't expect to get back what you can't get on the battlefield just by talking!" Yan Chujie looked at Enrique's deflated look and finally felt better, but he still didn't forget to ridicule him again.
When Enrique heard this, he suddenly realized why the Haihan people had such a tough attitude. After all, it was because of the force they had in their hands. If South Vietnam can perform well on the battlefield, then the Portuguese mediation may have some effect. However, the combat power of the Haihan militia is obviously much greater than that of the South Vietnamese army. To simply rely on mediation at the negotiation table to stop the Haihan offensive is to oversimplify the matter.
Enrique took another look at the Haihan warship that was slowly sailing away from the dock. The sailors and crew members stood in a row beside the ship and raised their right hands to salute the Haihan military salute to the farewell team on the dock. The people seeing off also also Responded with warm cheers. It doesn't look like a fleet going on a long journey at all, but more like an ordinary patrol at sea. Enrique also understands that this is because the local people have high confidence in the combat power of the Haihan Militia, because this force has its own Since its establishment, it has never lost a battle. The militia's participation in the war half a year ago finally won a large amount of war dividends for Victory Port. Now that they are fighting in South Vietnam, the people must be convinced of the victory.
"Is there no other solution to all this?" Enrique said very frustrated.
"Maybe, but that's not what we want." Tao Donglai looked at the sail shadow in the distance and responded without looking back.
Ten days before the Haihan troops were dispatched, the North Vietnamese army had already begun to mobilize large-scale troops on the front line of Zhengjiang and Hengshan in accordance with the prior agreement. Thousands of North Vietnamese troops were added to various checkpoints, which also aroused the vigilance of the South Vietnamese army. In order to prevent the North Vietnamese Army from breaking through this line of defense, the South Vietnamese Army began to mobilize troops from Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces to gather north. South Vietnam even specially mobilized 5,000 troops to station in Donghai, which was attacked by the Haihan militia from the sea last time, to prevent the food and supplies transported to the front line from being damaged by the enemy again. However, what they did not expect was that this time their opponents had no intention of attacking Donghai, but instead targeted the hinterland of South Vietnam far away from the war zone.
On the same day that the naval force set off from Victory Port, the Black Tu Port special operations force that had assembled in Yong'an Port also boarded the ship and headed south. The voyage from Vinh An Port to Hoi An is almost the same as the voyage from Victory Port to Hoi An, so the two parties agreed to meet directly in Hoi An, without the need for the fleet departing from the base camp to make a circle to the north.
After the war in January, the Black Tu Port Special Operations Company was awarded for its outstanding performance in the battle, and the Military Commission also gave the green light to the military expansion plan proposed by Qian Tiandun. After half a year, the Black Earth Port Special Operations Force has changed from one reinforced company to three strengthened companies. If it weren't for the serious shortage of artillery in North Vietnam, Qian Tiandun would actually like to add an artillery company to upgrade the special operations force to a battalion-level unit.
The current source of special operations forces is still mainly composed of North Vietnamese immigrants, and more than 80% of the soldiers are from Annam. The training location of this unit is not at Black Earth Port, but on Cat Ba Island across the sea from Tushan Peninsula. The training environment of this unit is much more difficult than that of the base camp, and the corresponding field survival and combat capabilities are also much stronger. But compared to the base camp, this unit has much fewer combat opportunities.
In several military operations conducted by the Military Commission in the mainland, troops were mobilized from the base camp to participate, but Heitu Port was basically not involved because the distance was too far. Although the opponents in the south were weak, Qian Tiandun did not dare to lead his troops south to start a war on his own without direct orders from the Executive Committee. As for the sporadic pirates in the Beibu Gulf, they have been wiped out by the special battle companies long ago. Now, from Heitu Port to Lianzhou Mansion and Leizhou Mansion on the Ming side, there are no more pirates.
Therefore, when a new combat opportunity appeared this time, Qian Tiandun paid special attention to it and started special training more than a month in advance. After returning from the reconnaissance operation in July, Qian Tiandun also used the information at hand to build a simple training ground at Vinh An Port to simulate street fighting after entering Hoi An. With the new short-barreled smoothbore shotguns provided by the military industry department, the special operations forces are even more powerful, and they are just waiting to go south to fight.
On August 2, Qian Tiandun finally arrived at the main fleet of the base camp after traveling in a large circle at sea. The two fleets met off the coast about forty nautical miles away from Hoi An, and then Qian Tiandun took a traffic boat and boarded the flagship "Exploration" of the operation.
The specific combat plan has been formulated long ago, and this meeting is mainly to finalize some details after the landing. Both Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were veterans who had participated in many military operations, and their understanding and attitude towards this battle were relatively consistent, so they quickly completed the talks and determined the combat process.
In the evening of that day, the fleet sailed into the port of Cham Island, which is only ten nautical miles away from Hoi An. The militiamen on the ship took control of the fishing village on the island with lightning speed and temporarily detained more than 20 families of fishermen. In order to allow the soldiers to adjust to the best combat condition, they did not rush to launch an attack the next day, but rested for a whole day. It was not until dawn on August 4 that the fleet left Cham Island. , heading west towards the mouth of Thu Bon River.
Such a fleet with a total tonnage of more than 3,000 tons will inevitably attract attention when sailing on the sea. Hoi An is the most prosperous commercial port in South Vietnam, and there is a constant flow of ships entering and exiting the estuary of the Thu Bon River. Soon someone discovered this fleet of unknown origins. Of course, no one was really aware of the danger at this time, because no one expected that the rear areas such as Hoi An would be attacked - and this attack actually came from the sea, which South Vietnam has always regarded as a natural barrier. .
When the fleet entered the mouth of the Thu Bon River, someone finally discovered something was wrong: "This is not a merchant ship, this is a warship! Look at the gun windows on the side of the ship!"
Some people rushed to the estuary by boat, trying to escape from the area that was about to be attacked; others rushed to the dock outside Hoi An City, hoping to warn the city before the enemy arrived. But unfortunately, this warning came too late. From the estuary of the Thu Bon River to Hoi An City, the voyage is only about 5 nautical miles. Such a short time is not even enough for the defenders to mobilize their troops - of course, maybe Wang Tom and others I wish the defenders could gather their forces together, so that they could directly use the fierce artillery attack to cause a disaster.
Although South Vietnam also deployed some armed personnel and boats on the Thu Bon River, compared to the invaders who broke into the Thu Bon River, the boats of the South Vietnamese navy were simply small sampans, and they did not even have the courage to approach the opponent. The only South Vietnamese warship that rushed over to try to block the fleet was directly crushed by the "Explorer" and turned into a pile of wood chips floating on the river without any suspense.
"All gunners enter the combat position, open the gun windows, and prepare to fight!" Wang Tom issued an order to the warships in the team through the walkie-talkie.
"Infantry inspect weapons and prepare for landing!" Qian Tiandun also issued an order to his men.
Ahead, you can already see the riverside pier outside Hoi An City, as well as the local people running away in panic on the pier. So far, it seems that no local garrison has been established.
"Fire the guns and tell them we are coming!" Wang Tom put down his telescope and gave the order to the artillerymen on the second deck.
(End of chapter)