Chapter 703 Senior’s Story
For the Executive Committee, driving the Shibazhi to abandon their home base in Penghu was originally one of the alternatives. However, when formulating the action plan, the military must take the situation of Shibazhi clinging to Penghu as the main consideration. All Troop mobilization and material preparation were all based on the attack on Penghu. In order to prevent Shibazhi from being aware of the Haihan army's pressing situation prematurely, they also used many covert methods in the process of transporting personnel and materials to Fujian.
But if we want to change our thinking and create external pressure for Shibazhi to voluntarily abandon Penghu, we must give up the previous approach and make Shibazhi realize that the enemy they will face has irresistible strength. Fortunately, Shibazhi has already begun to think about escaping. The coalition forces do not need to go to great lengths to promote force in the Taiwan Strait in advance. They only need to think about how to add fuel to the fire.
The two generals leading troops on the Fujian front both believed that under the current insufficient preparations for war, it was more feasible to drive the Shibazhi away from Penghu than to try to annihilate them. This opinion also directly affected the decision-making of the Executive Committee. Of course, the more important reason is that if the coalition forces act according to the original plan, it is possible for Shibazhi to escape without any losses, and this is not the result that the leaders of both sides of the coalition forces want to see - even if they intend to If Shibazhi is allowed to leave, a layer of skin must be peeled off, making it difficult for them to recover in the short term.
On March 25, with the authorization of the Executive Committee, the Military Commission issued a new troop mobilization order. The First Fleet of the Navy stationed in Sanya will set off in the near future to the Pearl River Estuary to rendezvous with the Second Fleet stationed in Zhennan Port, and then together Depart for Fujian to participate in a large-scale joint military exercise codenamed "Strait Storm." The South China Sea Fleet stationed at Jinlan Port in Annan will return north to Sanya to carry out ship maintenance and upgrades. During this period, the fleet officers will also enter the Victory Port Military Academy for short-term training.
Of course, whether it is military exercises or ship maintenance and upgrades, they are all just excuses. People with a discerning eye certainly know that such large-scale military mobilization is not an action that should be taken in peacetime. Haihan currently only has a total of four formed fleets. After this transfer is completed, three of them will be concentrated in the Fuguang Sea. This situation of deploying a large number of troops overseas only occurred when it was involved in the Annan Civil War. However, the strength of the Haihan militia at that time was far less than it is now, and the distance to the base camp was much closer than it is now. Such a large-scale mobilization of military power would put considerable pressure on Haihan's transportation and supplies.
In addition to the navy, the army stationed on Hainan Island will also dispatch two battalions of troops to Fujian. After joining the troops stationed in Fujian and Guangzhou, the size of the Haihan Militia Army troops participating in the operation will also reach nearly 4,000. , will be temporarily established as a reinforced group. It includes four infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, a logistics supply battalion, and communications companies, reconnaissance companies, medical companies, special service guard companies, etc. directly under the regiment headquarters. The top military leader Yan Chujie will personally serve as the supreme commander and set out with the troops.
The total strength of the navy and army participating in the Fujian War was nearly 7,000. It was also the largest military operation in the history of the Haihan Army. The military estimates that this operation will consume at least 500,000 yuan. Fortunately, this money does not need to be paid out of pocket. Fujian has promised to bear this large sum of war expenses. Of course, if Shibazhi chooses to evacuate Penghu in the end, the war may not last too long, and the actual cost may be lower than expected.
A small episode occurred at this time. The Portuguese envoy, who was inexplicably nervous, met with Tao Donglai and asked whether the troop mobilization had anything to do with Portugal. The Portuguese's nervousness is not without reason. Now the Ming government in Haihan and Fuguang provinces are getting closer. Last year, they sent troops several times to fight pirates on behalf of the Ming Dynasty. One of the battles even involved the Netherlands. people. The Portuguese stronghold in Haojing'ao was also their only port and trading gateway in the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty officials never expressed their intention to take back this land, the Haihan people may not have the idea of taking it back. After all, the Pearl River Estuary The actual control of the sea area is now in the hands of the Haihan militia. If they really want to seize Haojing Ao, it will be difficult for the Portuguese to resist.
Tao Donglai, who couldn't laugh or cry, had to comfort the Portuguese that nothing they were worried about would happen. This military deployment was not aimed at Portugal, and he would not launch any form of attack on Hao Jing'ao. In order to convince the Portuguese of this, Tao Donglai had to say that if Haihan really planned to seize Haojing'ao, there was actually no need to use so many troops - probably half of it would be more than enough.
Tao Donglai's "reasonable and well-founded" statement finally appeased the anxious Portuguese envoy. Fortunately, there was no need to repeat this statement to the Guangdong officials because the matter had already been resolved by Malico and others from the Guangzhou office. People went to do it. Although Haihan's fleet going north will stop briefly at Hong Kong Island for supplies, it will not sail into the Pearl River Estuary, so it will not cause too much tension to the Guangdong officials.
April 1 is the annual celebration day for Haihan’s landing in Victory Harbor. This year has reached its fifth year. It is a day of joy and congratulations for everyone who participated in the crossing operation. Five years have passed. Not only have they successfully established themselves in this time and space, but they have also successfully achieved continuous external expansion. So far, Haihan has achieved self-production of necessities such as food, energy, and metals, established a primary industrial system, and achieved primitive wealth accumulation through foreign trade.
With Haihan's current strength, there is no longer any need to worry about establishing a country on Hainan Island. Even if the Ming Dynasty court would be furious about this, there would be no effective way to deal with the powerful Haihan, Qiongzhou Strait This natural chasm was enough to stop the Ming army on the other side. Of course, the Guangdong government has long been aware of the situation on Hainan Island, but as long as the Haihan people do not raise a flag to rebel for a day, everyone can continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb and pretend not to know. After all, they will lead their troops to fight against the Haihan people. Damn it, how can I sit at home and collect cash every year and feel comfortable and comfortable.
And precisely because of the repeated tolerance of the Guangdong government, Haihan was not in a hurry to declare independence. Anyway, all parts of Hainan Island have begun to re-establish the ruling institutions according to the model planned by the Executive Committee, slowly erasing the influence of the Ming Dynasty. The longer the time, the more obvious the effect will be. And if they don’t fall out with the Ming Dynasty, the raw materials and population from the mainland will be continuously imported into Hainan Island, and then sold back in the form of industrial products to earn profits. The Executive Committee is happy to see the results of this mature operating model. .
In accordance with the practice of previous years, various forms of celebrations were held throughout the Haihan area, and Victory Port also held a military parade as always. The army and navy units that are about to go on an expedition will all appear at the military parade. The officers who made meritorious service in the South China Sea and Fujian last year finally have the opportunity to be personally awarded by the chiefs at this highly anticipated event. For the officers of the Haihan Militia, the sense of honor brought by the award ceremony on the anniversary even exceeds the award itself, because only on this occasion can most of the awardees have the opportunity to compete with the superior officers. Heads of committees have face-to-face contacts. Of course, the leaders did not forget to take advantage of this opportunity to give the officers who were about to go on the expedition a good fight, so that they could embark on the journey with full fighting spirit.
On April 2, the navy, which had just received many military awards the day before, set off from Victory Port. In addition to more than a dozen combat ships, they were also accompanied by a fleet of ships carrying supplies and transporting army troops. There were more than forty ships in total. The fleet will first go to Zhennan Port, where it will meet up with local troops and then sail to Fujian together.
The "Blue Shark" frigate is an "exploration-class" warship that was just commissioned last year. Nearly half of the sailors on board were recruits who served last year and have relatively little combat experience. This expedition to Fujian is the first time they have participated in such a Large-scale military operations are inevitably stressful and exciting.
Shortly after sailing out of Victory Harbor, the fleet turned eastward. After the deck was idle, a group of new recruits surrounded the veteran and asked him to talk about the naval battles he had participated in before.
"It's all in the past, there's nothing to show off!" The surrounded veterans refused to cooperate and waved their hands to signal everyone to disperse.
It wasn't until a recruit wisely took out a cigarette and handed it to the veteran. The veteran saw that it was the "Fort Victory" sold in the market for a triangular pack, not the free low-end product with white shells supplied internally, and finally relaxed. Mouth: "Since you want to hear the story so much, let me just tell you a few paragraphs..." "Light, click." At that moment, the knowledgeable sailor took out a match and lit the cigarette for the veteran.
The veteran took two puffs and puffed out the smoke while saying: "Speaking of it, I, Lao Cao, joined the army relatively early. In the first year of Chongzhen... Bah! It was the year of Haihan in 1628, so I came to Shengli Port to join the army. At that time, you monkeys didn’t even know where Victory Harbor was, right?”
Almost all of these recruits were immigrants who immigrated to Hainan Island after 1628, so no one questioned Lao Cao's statement of showing off his qualifications.
Someone next to me asked: "Captain Cao, what did you do before you surrendered to the army?"
Lao Cao responded: "Before? I was eating military rations in Yacheng Water Village before, so after I joined the militia, the leaders still assigned me to the ship as an errand."
Someone in the crowd murmured: "It turns out that there were navy masters in Yacheng before!"
"There were some in the early years, but the imperial court and the Ministry of War couldn't allocate a few taels of silver a year. They didn't even have enough to eat. They had already declined." Lao Cao sighed: "You probably don't know that now in Tielugang Many of the salt-carrying ships were warships from the former Yacheng Shuizhai. If it weren’t for the kindness of the leaders, more than half of the people in Shuizhai would have died of starvation.”
"I heard that Mr. Luo Shengdongluo, who often appears in Victory Port, was also from Yacheng Shuizhai in the past?" Someone who knew the inside story asked.
"From Shuizhai? Hehe!" Lao Cao calmly took two puffs of his cigarette, whetting the appetite of the people around him, and then said: "Master Luo is the number one person in Shuizhai, Yacheng Shui He is the general of the village!”
Everyone around showed varying degrees of surprise, which satisfied Lao Cao's vanity, and he continued: "At the beginning, Mr. Luo was also discerning and saw that the leaders of Haihan had extraordinary backgrounds and were doing... He decided to cooperate with the chiefs and help them sell salt in various places in Qiongzhou. After a long time, Mr. Luo no longer wanted to eat military rations, so he simply turned Yacheng Water Village into Yacheng Commercial Store and installed it. I started doing business with peace of mind. I have made quite a lot of money in the past few years. The houses built in Sanya for wealthy businessmen cost thousands, but Mr. Luo bought several of them to live in. "
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"Boss Cao, why don't you follow Mr. Luo's example and do business too?" someone asked curiously.
"You think anyone can make a lot of money by doing business!" Lao Cao stretched out his hand and knocked the man on the head: "You still need a brain to do this! I can't even figure out how to do the math, so what else can I do? Trading? Besides, Mr. Luo is also a person with a background. His father-in-law is the governor of Yazhou! The Haihan leaders are willing to hand over the sea salt business to Mr. Luo, which is why they are interested in this relationship. Inside.”
Lao Cao flicked the remaining cigarette butt into the sea and continued: "Crabs have their own way, and shrimps have their own way. You don't have to envy others who have made a fortune in business. Work hard in the navy, and after a few years of military service, you should be rewarded. Houses should be divided, and fields should be divided. If we want to retire and return home in the future, the executive committee will arrange things to do. Isn't that much safer than doing business? Maybe after this trip to Fujian, we will have more on this boat. Several people were promoted to lieutenants based on their military merit.”
"Is this military merit so easy to win? Isn't it dangerous to fight at sea?" someone asked again.
"Dangerous ass!" Lao Cao scolded: "It is much easier for the navy to get military honors than for the army. Even if the army has guns and cannons, in the end the battle will still have to be in close combat and risk your life. Nowadays, our navy fights with the enemy behind us. Use cannons from far away until the opponent surrenders or sinks the ship. It has been several years since the navy was established, and no ship has been sunk by the opponent at sea."
Although what Lao Cao said is true, it is not that comprehensive. Of course, the navy still suffered casualties in several sea battles, but the casualty rate was indeed lower than that of the army. Moreover, the risks taken by the navy are not just during wartime. During sea voyages, they have to face the challenges of nature almost all the time. Naval ships have been damaged or even sunk due to bad weather several times in the past few years, but the military will not publicize them more.
(End of chapter)