Chapter 748 Priorities
Although the Dutch had reluctantly signed an armistice agreement with Heyhan after suffering successive losses on the battlefield last year, and in fact acquiesced to Heyhan's control of the Ambrosia Islands in the South China Sea, what was signed at that time was only The armistice agreement, in other words, the two sides did not officially declare the end of the war, and the war may restart at any time.
The Batavia War that broke out two months ago undoubtedly greatly reduced the strength of the Dutch East Indies, but the Dutch stronghold on Taiwan Island was not directly affected by this. Because the garrison and fleet at Damuan Port were too far away, they did not rush back to the south to reinforce Batavia. Therefore, they still maintained a certain military pressure on Haihan in the Fujian Strait area. Although Haihan defeated the Dutch fleet in last year's Fujian naval battle, the nail in Damuan Port has not been removed. Considering that there is only less than fifty nautical miles between Damuan Port and Penghu, this This kind of threat is still very disturbing to the Haihan militia stationed in Penghu.
From the military's point of view, it would be uncomfortable to have such a nail at the door of your home. If it had a choice, the military would definitely make Taiyuan Port the first target to attack next. However, considering that the Dutch have been operating in Damuan Port for several years and have built fortresses such as Jelandia City there, Haihan's attack there will be much more difficult than a naval battle, and the Executive Committee is worried that the war will slow down the naval battle. Hanbei is advancing at such a speed that he does not want to completely fall out with the Dutch at this stage.
The idea of the Executive Committee was that if a large-scale introduction of immigrants from the north could be achieved, then Fujian could start organizing the establishment of a colonial settlement on the west coast of Taiwan Island. With Haihan's organizational and implementation capabilities, it is possible to establish multiple colonies on the west coast within one or two years. By then, with Penghu on the left and right, the route to the north from Damuan Port will be sandwiched. If it is too slow, It will be much easier to squeeze the living space of the Dutch slowly.
Of course, if we follow this plan to solve the problem of Taiyuan Port, it may take a long time, and the military does not want to carry this burden all the time. Who knows if the Dutch will one day be unable to think about it anymore, right? There was a surprise attack on the Penghu base.
"It's just playing the piano randomly!" Qian Tiandun slammed the message he just received on the table: "Ning Qi himself came to Fujian for inspection last year, but he couldn't even figure out the situation! He shouted north, north, north every day, this Netherlands How dare you send people to the north to open up new strongholds when they are still watching from behind!”
Chen Yixin picked up the telegram and read it. It was not that the executive committee had made relevant decisions, but it was just a briefing on the contents of the third quarter summary meeting. However, since the Executive Committee has included the proposal to expand the sphere of influence to the north in the notification, it obviously has certain expectations for this. It specially sent a telegram to Penghu, presumably to see what the attitude is here.
After reading this, Chen Yixin also frowned and said: "Penghu currently only has two battalions of soldiers, and the fleet is not evenly organized. How can it develop northward?"
Qian Tiandun said solemnly: "The Dutch fleet passes east of Penghu every month, which makes us nervous every time. How can I feel relieved unless this nail is pulled out!"
The East India Company's route to Northeast Asia started from Taiyuan Port and went north, passing through the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, all the way to its destination. The closest distance between Penghu and the west coast of Taiwan Island is just over 20 nautical miles, and the Dutch fleet is often seen. Whenever such a situation was discovered, Penghu had to immediately enter a state of preparation for war to prevent an undeclared sneak attack by the Dutch.
In this era, there would not be any advanced means such as radar warning, and the Dutch would not honestly report their sailing plans to Haihan. Therefore, although the Penghu base has never been attacked by foreign enemies, it is still There will be days when alarms of unknown status cause a panic. Although everyone knew that the chance of the Dutch taking the initiative to initiate a war at this time was very small, no one dared to take it lightly. Every time an alarm came from the sea, Qian Tiandun would still order everyone to enter a state of combat readiness.
There is no good solution to this problem. The most thorough solution is to clear out the Dutch strongholds on the west coast of Taiwan and force Dutch merchant ships to travel between the South China Sea and the East China Sea along the route designated by Han. But Qian Tiandun himself is also very clear that there are still some technical problems that have yet to be solved by the Dutch who want to clean up Damuan Port - such as a comprehensive reconnaissance of the inside and outside of Damuan Port, a combat plan to quickly break down the fortress defenses, etc.
"Even if the executive committee passes this plan, we will still vote against it." Qian Tiandun did not hide his dissatisfaction in front of Chen Yixin: "The Spaniards can let it go temporarily, but the Dutch will not solve it. You can’t rush northward!”
Compared with the Dutch who stick to Haihan like a plaster, the Spanish base in northern Taiwan is not that obstructive. The Jilong Port they occupied is located on the northeast corner of Taiwan Island, and the routes between it and Luzon Island in the South China Sea are mainly concentrated in the waters east of Taiwan Island. There is no direct conflict of interest with Penghu. In Haihan's previous conflict with Shibazhi and the Dutch, the Spaniards also wisely chose to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and tigers, and did not join the battle.
The Spanish's choice is naturally related to their political stance. The Dutch and Spanish are currently fighting fiercely on the European battlefield. One is for independence, and the other is to maintain their status as the leader of Europe. Since both countries are skilled in navigation, their battlefields are almost all over the world. The Spanish's purpose of seizing Jilong Port was to a large extent to restrict the Dutch's maritime trade in Northeast Asia.
From this interest perspective, the Spaniards and the Haihan people actually have very similar interest demands. Both sides hope to remove the Dutch from their sphere of influence. However, it is not easy to achieve this goal. The two countries each have their own victory or defeat in the maritime battle in the Far East, and no one has a clear advantage. This is also the main reason why the Dutch representatives were finally forced to admit defeat by Heihan's extravagant moves during the Dutch-Sea negotiations last year. The Dutch were really worried that the Heihans would join forces with the Spanish. If the two families sent troops at the same time, even if the Dutch soldiers No matter how brave and skillful they are, it may be difficult to withstand their attacks.
Of course, Haihan doesn’t really intend to join forces with the Spanish. For Haihan, all external forces are competitors. If you can use them, use them. If you can’t, try to eliminate them. Haihan can only join forces to form an alliance. They will choose those forces that are controlled by themselves as targets. For example, the military of Annan Kingdom is a staunch Haihan ally. The Spaniards themselves can make guns, cannons, and ships, and their accumulation in navigation far exceeds that of Haihan. An alliance with them is of no benefit to Haihan. The most important thing is that the Haihan military has been coveting Jilong Port for a long time. Jilong Port is known as Keelung Port in later generations. In the 45th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, that is, 1617, the book "East and West Yang Kao" written by Zhang Xie, a Ming Dynasty scholar, contains Jilong Society, Jilong Port, and Jilong Port. City, Dajilong Street and other records. Spanish colonists invaded here in 1626 and built a fortress on Sheliao Island outside the port, naming it "San Salvador City".
Jilong Harbor is surrounded by mountains on three sides in the east, west and south. In between is a long and narrow bay with a depth of about 3.6 kilometers and an entrance of about 300 meters wide. Outside the bay, there are islands such as Sheliao, Zhongshan, and Pantong as natural barriers, forming a natural harbor surrounded by mountains and water with calm waves. The water area in the port is about 2.5 square kilometers, and the average water depth is about ten meters. Large ships can enter and exit the port without any pressure. Of course, the Spanish colonists did not have such strong engineering construction capabilities as Haihan, and the port construction they implemented locally was also very limited, and they did not fully utilize the local geographical environment.
For the Haihan military, the terrain of Jilong Port is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is the military's favorite semi-enclosed port. It has sufficient development space for both military and commercial purposes. Coupled with the rich local forest resources, large shipyards can be built. The rich fishery resources in the nearby waters made this place still the largest fishing port in Taiwan even in later generations, and the black sea bream it produced was very famous.
In addition, due to the large volcanoes in the area, mineral resources are also very rich. There are many gold, silver and copper mines scattered in Jinguashishan, Caoshan, Jimuling and other places, which are the areas with the highest concentration of gold mines on Taiwan Island. In addition, the sulfur mineral resources formed by the local volcanoes are also very rich and have a wide range of uses in industry and military fields.
Therefore, although Jilong Port did not block Haihan's northbound channel, it was still included in the list of "must win" targets by the military. However, compared with the thorny position of Tai Yuan Port, seizing Jilong Port seems less urgent.
Of course, no matter where we are going to attack, Qian Tiandun and the Penghu garrison will most likely serve as the main force, and Qian Tiandun must also consider the occupation issue after the attack - with the existing strength of the Penghu base, divide the troops Occupation is obviously not an option. Either deploy troops from Hainan Island, or wait until the locally recruited recruits complete their training to expand the garrison. However, no matter which solution is chosen, it cannot be completed in a short time.
"It would be good to be able to bring out two to three companies of new recruits before the end of this year..." Qian Tiandun thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and said, "If we want to divide our troops to defend Damuan Port, and then send troops north to open up new strongholds, The troops are definitely not enough.”
"It would be great if there was a way for the Dutch to have a fight with the Spaniards. If we reap the benefits, we might be able to easily take over the island of Taiwan." Chen Yixin came up with an idea.
Qian Tiandun responded: "You mentioned this move. In fact, I have thought about it before. It is theoretically feasible, but in practice there are too many uncontrollable factors and the timing is difficult to grasp. Moreover, the Dutch have been seriously injured recently. In the short term, They probably won't take the initiative to launch military operations against external forces. Besides, they don't have much chance of winning against the Spaniards. Compete.”
"What should we do? If the executive committee makes a decision, even if we oppose it, it will actually have no practical effect." Chen Yixin looked worried. Although he had not been in Penghu for a long time, he had no idea about the situation here. It's clearer. If the executive committee is determined to go north, the Penghu base will indeed face certain risks.
"Don't worry, this proposal is just a proposal at the moment. If we really want to start deliberation and voting, we will probably have to wait until the general meeting at the end of the year. The executive committee is not just what the civil servants say, there are many people on our side. . I will draft a message and send it back, asking Mr. Yan and Tom to think of a solution in Sanya.”
Chen Yixin did not answer. The power struggle among these senior officials was not within his reach. Even a general like Qian Tiandun could not directly refute the opinions of the executive committee. Even if he speaks loudly, he will still reflect his thoughts according to the formal procedures - no matter how opposed he is, the authority of the executive committee must continue to be maintained. After all, Qian Tiandun is a senior member of the party and can express his opinions casually in private. But if Chen Yixin does the same, he will appear to be unsteady. After all, his current position is far from being able to influence the decision-making of the executive committee. The degree of gesticulation.
Time entered October 1632, and the first batch of recruits at the Penghu base had begun training. Under the careful selection of Qian Tiandun and others, only a total of more than 270 people passed the recruitment review and successfully joined the army. Compared with the new immigrant base of nearly 10,000 people, this number is really not that much. And not all of these recruits will be formally established after completing training. At least one-third of them will be eliminated and, together with those who are qualified but not in excellent conditions during the recruitment, will be shipped to Sanya to receive ordinary training. military training. These people may have no problem becoming qualified Haihan soldiers, but Qian Tiandun's requirements are not just qualified.
Different from the paid training conducted by Roger at Ambuna Port in the South China Sea, the soldiers under Qian Tiandun not only had to learn basic combat skills, but also received advanced tactical training. Most of what ordinary soldiers need to learn through promotion and go to the Haihan Army Military Academy in Sanya as an officer can be learned under Qian Tiandun. If Sanya's military training targets qualified soldiers, then Qian Tiandun's training method is to train every soldier into an elite. When necessary, each of these soldiers can temporarily serve as a grassroots commander, and use this as a framework to quickly expand the army to ten times the basic strength.
Such high standards and strict requirements must be achieved through arduous training, which also makes many recruits complain endlessly. They never imagined that being a soldier would be such a difficult job.
(End of chapter)