Chapter 661 Deployment and Mobilization
Although the level of development of the Natuna Islands is far less than that of Taimu Port, its geographical location is no less important than Taimu Port. On the waterway between Damien Port and Batavia, the Natuna Islands are a very important supply point. Whether they are Dutch merchant ships heading south or north, they will almost always choose this port as a must-stop port. This is also The main reason why after Natuna Island changed hands, Dutch merchant ships frequently surrendered there.
To put it bluntly, even if the Dutch merchant ship now knows that this place is occupied by pirates of unknown origin and chooses to circumvent it cautiously when passing through the surrounding waters, it actually cannot go very far. More than a hundred nautical miles east of Natuna Island is Borneo. The natives there are also very hostile to the Dutch. Dutch sailing ships cannot even resupply locally. Under normal circumstances, they would not choose to sail close to the coastline of Borneo. to avoid being treated "unfriendly" by the indigenous people. The Anambas Islands, nearly a hundred nautical miles to the west, are also waters with frequent pirate activities, and there is no safety in going around there.
Natuna Island's presence in peacetime was extremely thin, and even the crew and sailors who traveled here didn't think there was anything special about this place. However, after the change of ownership, everyone suddenly noticed the strategic position of this place, and it completely became The pirates on the island had the ability to compete with the East India Company by force. Of course, their threat could not be ignored by the company's board of directors. The defeat suffered by the armed fleet on Natuna Island was even more serious than the defeat in Fujian - at least the failure on Fujian's side would not immediately affect the waterways between Damuan Port and various parts of Northeast Asia. Safety.
"I think the company's board of directors will be more inclined to solve the problem on Natuna Island first." Van Longen said very straightforwardly without any detours: "If Mr. Hans wants to request assistance from the company, I estimate that it will be possible within the year." Little sex.”
Hans also immediately realized his negligence. The failure in Fujian did not have a great direct impact on the company. If the hidden dangers in Natuna Island could not be properly resolved, the company's layout in the entire Northeast Asia region would be affected. will be affected. Which one is light and which one is serious can be clearly distinguished by anyone who understands the truth. If he were in the position of Governor Cohen, he would probably consider Natuna Island as a priority option at the moment.
However, this situation is not necessarily bad news for the person in charge of Taiyuan Port. The more important the company's board of directors takes the role of Natuna Island, the smaller the impact of Fujian's failure will be, and the responsibilities of relevant personnel will naturally be reduced a lot. Just imagine that the elite sent by the headquarters suffered a big loss at the hands of a group of unknown pirates. Then the Fujian side lost to the Haihan people who were not weak in strength. It seems that it is not a shameful record.
Hans was silent for a while before responding: "I will write a personal letter and ask you to deliver it to Governor Cohen for me. My servant will send the letter to you later."
"I'm willing to serve you." After the conversation came to an end, Van Longen stood up and left knowingly. He could see that the uncle and nephew probably had some personal topics to talk about.
The reason why he gave the autographed letter to Van Longen instead of Van der Wegen to take back was not that Hans could not trust his nephew, but because Van der Wegen's social level was not high enough and he simply could not complete this mission. And Van Longen is one of Governor Cohen's capable men. He will definitely meet with Cohen after returning to Batavia. It will also be very convenient to submit the chief's personal letter at that time. Of course, Hans would not let him go in vain. When he sent a letter to Van Longen later, he would also give him a benefit.
"If it weren't for Van Longen's reminder, I would have almost forgotten about Natuna Island." After Van Longen left, Hans's face looked much better and his tone became lighter: "I will tell the Governor in the letter Explain the reasons for the failure of this battle and help you reduce your responsibility as much as possible.”
Seeing that Van der Wegen still looked uncomprehensive, Hans could only continue to explain: "The reason why I didn't use this method before was because I was worried that it would be counterproductive. The company would think it was a shirk of responsibility, and it would increase the punishment for you. But I forgot about the Natuna Island incident. Spikes and Brower went out together and suffered a defeat. They lost to the pirates, and we lost to a regular fleet with a full lineup. The company will be against The punishment you impose cannot exceed theirs. The purpose of writing this letter is to remind Governor Cohen to be fair and not to end a young man's future because of such an accidental defeat."
"So that's it! I will always be grateful for everything you have done for me!" Van der Wegen finally understood the real reason why Hans suddenly proposed to write a personal letter.
Hans waved his hand and said: "There is not much I can do for you. After returning to Batavia, you will have to do everything by yourself. Also, build a good relationship with Mr. Van Longen during this voyage." , don’t think he is just a maritime businessman, maybe he can’t help you much, but it is easy to do bad things!”
"I will remember your teachings, dear Uncle Hans." Van der Wegen responded respectfully. In terms of how to behave, he indeed still has a lot to learn from his uncle.
While the Dutch on Taiwan Island are still racking their brains on how to deal with the accountability of the company headquarters, Haihan has already begun preparations for the defense replacement and development of the Ambuna Islands.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs plans to immigrate about 3,000 immigrants to the local area in the second half of the year. This number is basically the same as the indigenous people left there. On the one hand, it is to increase the labor force on the island and provide manpower guarantee for the subsequent development and construction. On the other hand, The large-scale immigration of naturalized people will also help Haihan implement its own unique social system in the local area. After completing this stage of immigration, the number of permanent civilians on the island will reach five to six thousand, and this number does not include the island's garrison.
Due to the need for a transfer of power, the Annan militia troops acting as pirates are no longer suitable to be stationed in the Ambuna Islands. This force will be stationed in the Qiongzhou Fucheng area in northern Qiongzhou, and their families and relatives will also move there voluntarily from Annan - this is what the executive committee promised to this force. One of the post-war benefits. Mu Xiabai, the commander of this force, did not choose to return to Sanya, but planned to garrison at Cam Ranh Bay. After all, that will be Haihan's largest military base in the South China Sea in the next few years. The size of the garrison force may even be It will surpass Sanya. However, there are unreliable rumors among the top military officials that Mu Xiabai already has a partner in Annan, but the marriage has not yet taken place. This is one of the important reasons why he chose to settle in Annan. But Mu Xiabai didn't mention it himself, and his colleagues were not very willing to take the initiative to support him. Yan Chujie could only tacitly approve a one-month vacation for Mu Xiabai. The destination could be chosen at will within the Haihan control area. All expenses were reported, and it should be regarded as a congratulatory gift from the official.
The senior officer who will represent Haihan to Amborna Island to replace Mu Xiabai is Roger from the North American Gang. He had been transferred out of the Tiandu Industrial Zone together with Shi Diwen before and officially entered the military establishment. When Shi Diwen led the Haihan Mission fleet north to Fujian, Roger also took over the military control of Qiongzhou Fucheng and parts of the Qiongzhou Strait.
Because Haihan had made preparations in advance, after the Ming Dynasty candidate officials arrived on Hainan Island at the beginning of the year, they basically failed to cause any waves, and Qiongbei Fucheng has always been firmly under Haihan's control. The local chief executive Qiu Yuan's methods were much more ruthless than his colleague Zhang Xin in Danzhou, and there had never been any incidents like Yan Mingjun, Li Jin and the Danzhou riots. Here in Fucheng, anyone who openly takes the lead in opposing Haihan will be killed and arrested. Even if they just make such remarks, they will be warned or even forcibly relocated from the local area.
The iron-fisted measures implemented by Qiu Yuan in Qiongzhou Fucheng made Roger very relaxed after he was stationed there. There was almost no pressure at all, and he did not even conduct any large-scale military operations during his short tenure. But there is also a disadvantage in such an environment, that is, there is no military merit at all. Shi Diwen followed the mission to Fujian, and by chance, he assisted the Ming army in capturing Nanri Island occupied by Shibazhi. He had achieved a good result, and Roger was naturally enthused. , I wrote a war report to the Military Commission almost once a week, hoping to lead troops in the war zone instead of enjoying peace in the Haihan-controlled area.
This opportunity did not take long to appear. The war in Fujian made the Executive Committee realize that the time had come to openly seize control of Ambuna Island, and it was logical to add more troops to the island to control the East India Company. South China Sea route. Originally, the Executive Committee preferred to dispatch officers from Guangdong to carry out this task, but after Wang Tom's persuasion, the final candidate decided by the Military Commission was Roger.
Of course, the reasons given by Tom Wang are also very good. Roger, like Shi Diwen, is a professional in engineering machinery. In a place like Ambrosia Island that lacks supplies, he can complete some ordnance repair and maintenance work locally and reduce Dependence on base camp. In addition, the professional skills of the North American gang members in navigation are also an important reason that the top brass of the Military Commission cannot ignore. Roger's presence there will help disrupt the Dutch routes at sea, and several senior officers stationed in Guangdong are all from the army. , obviously not as obvious as Roger in naval warfare.
In addition, there is another reason why it is not open to the public, that is, except for two doctors in the North American Gang who cannot be entrusted with the important task of leading troops due to their special professional nature, several other members of the North American Gang have been reused one after another - Tom Wang After becoming the commander of the Navy, Qiao Zhiya was responsible for the construction of the coal-iron composite industrial base in Changhua. Shi Diwen had recently made military exploits on behalf of the Haihan Militia in Fujian. Only Roger had not accomplished much yet. Even for the sake of fairness, he should be given a chance to perform, not to mention that his personal ability is not bad, and he has performed very well in all the special operations he participated in in the early stages of time travel. In addition, Roger himself has a very strong desire to fight. Due to both emotions and reasons, the Military Commission should give him a chance to perform.
The second battalion of the Haihan Militia that will accompany Roger south was established at the end of 1628. It is the same as the Annan Militia currently stationed on Ambuna Island. This is also a strengthened battalion of the 44th establishment. Since Operation Prairie Fire last year, He has been stationed in the Qiongbei area. The entire battalion is fully staffed with more than 800 men. For this deployment south, the Military Commission also arranged for an additional engineering company and an artillery company to go south together.
In the earlier confrontation on Ambuna Island, the Annan militia led by Mu Xiabai lacked experience in artillery warfare, which directly led to the unfavorable situation during the engagement phase. More than a dozen forts failed to block the opponent's landing operation. This also caused reflection among the top military officials after the war. Although the staff department also has to bear certain responsibilities in related tactical design, through this battle, the Annan militia did expose their shortcomings in positional warfare-after all, this unit is based on surprise attacks and mountainous environments. Special operations are the basis for training, and even heavy weapons are not their standard configuration. The fighting method on the frontal battlefield is indeed not what they are good at.
In order to make up for this shortcoming, the Military Commission made this special transfer. Although the artillery company is equipped with only eight army guns, the power that professional artillery units can exert on the battlefield is not comparable to that of temporary guest infantry.
The engineering company will be mainly responsible for building defenses in the port area of Ambon Island. The sudden attack by the Dutch last time made the Military Commission realize that the previous idea was too simple. Perhaps the Dutch attach great importance to Ambon Island. It will be beyond imagination, and there will definitely be an island seizure operation against Ambon Island in the future. The temporary fort has proved to be of extremely limited use in the last battle. If you want to securely defend the port, you still have to copy the existing successful experience and build strong and large-scale defenses on the coast.
Of course, just sending an engineering company to the local area is not enough. For this purpose, the Ministry of Construction also needs to mobilize a batch of construction materials and transport them to the local area by fleet. In view of the amount of work required to build coastal defenses, this will undoubtedly be another huge military expenditure. However, this money really cannot be saved. Even Gu Kai, who has always questioned the military budget, did not object this time - after all, the Dutch had landed ashore last time, and if they don't build the fort, they may regret it too late. That’s it.
Therefore, even though the executive committee did not plan to invest too many resources in the local area to build Haihan-style coastal defenses when planning to occupy the Ambuna Islands, after going back and forth, everyone found that this step could not be skipped at all. However, the money that should be thrown in is still not saved.
(End of chapter)