Chapter 500 Showing Sharp Teeth
Under the Haihan system, the construction of the military was to serve political purposes. The Haihan Militia established a large military region to increase the size of the establishment. To put it bluntly, it was to prepare for the next expansion plan led by the Executive Committee. The truth behind this can be imagined by anyone with a little bit of political sensitivity, and Qian Tiandun, who is already a local official, is no exception. However, because he is based in Annan and is restricted by objective conditions, he is not very clear about the latest trends of the Executive Committee. Therefore, when he comes back this time, he will take advantage of the opportunity of debriefing to find out what the intended goals of the Executive Committee are. It's better to prepare early.
April 2, 1630, Luhuitou Peninsula Militia Army Base. Although the Military Commission also has a large office space in Fort Victory, with the increase in military personnel and affairs year by year, it has become increasingly inconvenient to handle various daily affairs in Fort Victory, and on the east coast of Victory Port The military base was large enough, but access required taking a boat across the Tiandu River estuary, which was also troublesome, so the military moved its main offices to the Luhuitou Peninsula and located them at the same location as the army base.
Although it is during the anniversary holiday, these days are quite busy for the senior officers of the Military Commission, because officers stationed abroad can only have time to return to Sanya at this time of the year. Participate in high-level meetings within the military. Whether it is military funding or personnel establishment, officers stationed abroad have to take advantage of these limited days to move around.
"Eight hundred rifles? No, no, you're just talking like a lion!" Yan Chujie shook his head repeatedly and rejected Qian Tiandun's request: "The Guangdong Military Region reported that they wanted 500 rifles and they haven't even shown up yet!"
"How can the Guangdong side compare with me? Their recruits are not even there yet, but my recruits are about to finish their training and start to be commissioned! No matter how anxious they are, they are not as anxious as I am!" Qian Tiandun is right! He argued with evidence: "This gun should be allocated to our Annan Military Region first!"
"Colonel Qian, what you said is a bit unreasonable!" Now that the names had been called, Yu Yao, the representative of the Guangdong Military Region, could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, and responded: "It's very peaceful over there in Annan. , there will be no major military operations in the near future. We are so anxious to arm the troops over there that they won’t be of much use. We in the Guangdong Military Region have just begun to lay out their airs and don’t even fire guns. So what are we going to do? What kind of troops are you recruiting? How can you protect Haihan’s interests in the coastal areas of the mainland?”
Qian Tiandun would not be so easily persuaded by Yu Yao, and immediately retorted: "It's too early for you to form an army over there. I have a ready-made team here. They can be equipped with weapons and go to the battlefield immediately. We must protect Haihan's interests." , I have a reorganized regiment here that can be mobilized at any time! Can the recruits from Guangdong be relied on to fight on the frontal battlefield? It still depends on our Annan Military Region!"
"Don't be so arrogant. The troops of your Annan Military Region have good combat effectiveness, but they are still suitable for fighting guerrillas in the field. For group operations on the frontal battlefield, we have to leave it to Sanya to train regular troops." Gu Wei, chief instructor of the militia, listened. At this point, I couldn't help but join in the battlefield: "Not to mention anything else, the Annan garrison probably rarely practiced this tactic of joint attack with artillery. It's nothing to fight in a small way. On the big battlefield, you can't fight with the artillery." The troops cooperate very well, how can we fight the battle?”
This point Gu Wei said can be regarded as hitting the shortcomings of the Annan garrison. Due to the emphasis on field combat capabilities in complex environments, the Annan militia army is not equipped with a large number of heavy artillery, and is mainly equipped with light equipment. The biggest disadvantage of this is that the local troops There is a lack of experience in combined operations with established artillery units, and the top brass of the Military Commission are almost all fanatics who believe in big bomb doctrine and wish that all battles could be solved with artillery. This shortcoming of the Annan Militia Army destined them to be unlikely to assume the main frontal combat mission in large-scale battles.
"Okay, you guys don't go too far off topic!" Seeing that the topic of discussion shifted from rifle allocation to combat methods, Yan Chujie quickly spoke and brought the topic back: "The quota for rifles and other arms is not about how much you ask for. How many can there be! The militia army has expanded rapidly in the past two years, but Tian Du’s arsenal cannot expand at such a fast pace! The total number of workers manufacturing guns and ammunition is less than 3,000. Not only does it have to produce The production capacity cannot keep up with the weapons and equipment supplied to your three major military regions, as well as the arms sold to the Ming Dynasty, Annan, Champa, and the Portuguese every year!”
"If you can't keep up, add more manpower!" Qian Tiandun responded: "If three thousand is not enough, then four thousand; if four thousand is not enough, then five thousand! Doesn't Sanya now claim to have 20,000 to 30,000 industrial workers?"
"The 20,000 to 30,000 industrial workers include those working on collective farms and the many laborers doing manual labor in the port area." Yan Chujie shook his head helplessly and said, "Except for those in administrative institutions, the rest are Chemical workers are basically classified as industrial workers. The growth rate of technicians needed in arsenal is still far behind the demand for production tasks, but workers in this industry need to master processing technology, and it takes a long time to train qualified workers. It’s very long. This problem cannot be solved in a short time.”
The military leaders present were silent now. Tian Du's arsenal could not be built, so it would not make much sense for them to fight here. In fact, this problem is not without solutions. For example, small arsenals can be built in each station, and each military region can solve part of the needs on its own. But no one dares to take the risk of this, because the Executive Committee has very clear regulations that all hot weapons, including ammunition, can only be produced by the Tiandu Arsenal, and local garrisons can only be manufactured locally at most. Arm the reservists with some cold weapons.
This approach is also for security reasons and prevents the Executive Committee from losing control of overseas military leaders and allowing them to develop into local warlords. And this bottom line must not be challenged. Anyone who talks about this matter out of curiosity will probably be immediately transferred back to Victory Port for internal review. Therefore, even if they knew that the arsenal in the base camp had insufficient production capacity, the military could only admit it with pinched noses.
"You don't have to fight about the rifle quota. The Military Commission has already made a rough allocation plan. Every family has a share, but don't expect to get the quantity you applied for in one go." Yan Chujie decided to end this topic and start discussing the next item. Topic: "It has been three years since we arrived at this time and space. The Executive Committee believes that our current situation is developing more smoothly than the expected five-year plan, so some external expansion plans can also be considered for implementation in advance..."
As soon as everyone heard Yan Chujie's words, they immediately cheered up again. A large part of the reason why these people chose to participate in time travel was to realize their dream of leading troops in war and becoming famous generals. However, after the Annan Civil War ended in the first half of last year, the troops stationed in various places were put into storage with swords and guns, and there was no more fighting. Although the usual military training, recruitment, and expansion are still carried out step by step, it is always a pity for these soldiers that there is no war.
They are very clear about the foreign policy of the Executive Committee, which is to seek self-preservation first and then seek expansion. Although the militia participated in the Annan Civil War and achieved great success, it also exposed many problems. One of the most important ones was that it had too few troops and it was difficult to complete large-scale combat tasks independently. Although the attack on Hue was relatively smooth at the beginning, if the North Vietnamese army did not block the South Vietnamese defenders' passage out of the city for them in the west, it would be difficult for the militia to confidently and boldly concentrate their forces to the north to attack the city wall.
But for the Haihan military, military strength is not a problem that can be solved simply through conscription. First of all, the population under Haihan's rule is very limited. In terms of population ratio alone, the size of Haihan's army can be described as militaristic. If the number of conscripts is further expanded, it will definitely affect social stability and other areas that require young and strong labor. The production department is operating normally. Secondly, due to the popularization of thermal weapons in the Haihan Militia, the equipment and training costs for individual soldiers are far beyond those of traditional armies, and the requirements for industrial production capacity are also very high. A large number of troops in a short period of time will not only fail to effectively improve combat effectiveness, but will instead Add unnecessary burden to various departments. With Haihan's current strength, it is difficult to maintain an overly large army for a long time.
For this reason, although the people in the Military Commission are very aware of the shortcomings of the militia, the expansion of the army is restricted by many objective conditions and cannot be rushed. It can only be done step by step as Haihan's overall strength gradually grows. be implemented.
Now that the step of expanding the army is half completed, considering the time required for preparations, it is indeed time to consider the next move. After all, if military operations are to be carried out again, action plans must be formulated at least several months in advance and targeted military training must be conducted.
Seeing that everyone's attention had returned to him, Yan Chujie continued: "Currently, our scope of control is not limited to Hainan Island. We also have many bases and ports overseas, but this also highlights our local expansion. The speed is slow. Please look at the map! ”
Yan Chujie stood up while talking, walked to the map of Hainan Island hanging on the wall, raised his finger and pointed at it and said: "Currently, the areas we actually control in Hainan Island include Yazhou, Thanksgiving, Changhua, Lingshui, and Wanzhou. It can be said that about two-thirds of the areas along the coastline of Hainan Island have belonged to us. Although the Ming official institutions in these places still exist, they basically exist in name only, and the local government affairs have been handled by our people. Gradually took over.”
Yan Chujie raised his arm and pointed to the northern end of Shanghai South Island on the map and said: "The areas still under the control of the Ming Dynasty are mainly concentrated in the north, including Danzhou, Lingao, Chengmai, Qiongzhou Fucheng, and Wenchang on the east coast, and we are here this year The goal is to take actual control of these places in the most peaceful way possible and complete full rule of Hainan Island.”
"Okay! I've been waiting for this day for a long time!" Gu Wei was the first to respond: "After we have unified Hainan Island, we won't have to be so secretive in doing things in the future. It's time to show our Haihan flag. ”
However, not everyone was as excited as him. The mature and steady Mu Xiabai asked aloud: "Small counties are okay, but in big cities like Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng, the defenders may not give in easily. When the time comes, there will be an outbreak." An armed conflict could easily turn into a war between Ming and Haihan. If this happens, what will the Executive Committee do? ”
A large part of the reason why Haihan has not been eager to expand its control area on Hainan Island is because the Executive Committee is unwilling to prematurely break up with Ming Dynasty over territorial issues. The current military pressure that Ming Dynasty can exert on Haihan is very limited, but it can add many obstacles to Haihan in terms of maritime commerce, immigration affairs, and thus affect Haihan's expansion speed. Everyone understands this truth, which is why Mu Xiabai asked this question.
Yan Chujie responded: "As for how to deal with the relationship with the Ming Dynasty, this problem has indeed always existed, and will continue to exist for a long time to come. But it is not about using force to seize the territory that originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty. It must be based on the Make judgments based on the development of the situation and make decisions after weighing the pros and cons.”
"So now the Executive Committee believes that even if we use force to occupy the entire Hainan Island, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?" Mu Xiabai immediately understood the unfinished meaning of Yan Chujie's words.
Yan Chujie did not deny his point of view, nodded and said: "After comprehensive weighing, the Executive Committee believes that our development has reached a bottleneck period, and the best way to quickly break through this bottleneck is to occupy the entire island as soon as possible. Establish our own political power! As for the issues of trade and immigration, the situation now is much better than a year or two ago. Our agents and partners are everywhere along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi. These businessmen know very well about us and the Ming Dynasty. Between the two, who can give them more benefits? As long as there are enough benefits, these businessmen will continue to do what they should do even if we enter a state of war with Ming Dynasty. Of course, the premise is that we have to help them in advance. Get rid of those troublesome Ming navy masters.”
When Yan Chujie said this, he pointed to Wang Tom and said: "This matter is the mission of your navy!"
Wang Tom whistled easily and said: "This is not a problem at all. Even if the two new ships are not used, the existing warships can completely block the Qiongzhou Strait, and can block the Qiongzhou Strait from the Beibu Gulf and Leizhou Peninsula to the Pearl River Estuary. To deploy defenses in this area, even if Ming could gather millions of troops in Guangdong, they would not be able to fly directly across the sea.”
After three years of time travel, this monster dormant on the shores of the South China Sea is finally ready to show its sharp teeth and begin to conquer the world.
(End of chapter)