Chapter 800: Gaining Merit
"It's not difficult to besiege them, as long as we can send enough troops to the area." Chen Yixin's answer was quite satisfactory: "But this will probably drag our troops in Tamsui, and we will not be able to quickly move to the chicken coop."
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"Attack the fresh water first. You don't have to rush to capture the chicken coop." Qian Tiandun had a deeper consideration: "The Spaniards mainly rely on Manila for their supplies. It's not a bad thing to make them nervous. We can also take advantage of it. This is an opportunity to examine the Spanish’s supply capabilities.”
This reason is obviously far-fetched and not sufficient. Of course Chen Yixin can also sense that there is a problem. However, he had been in the system for several years. Although he was young, he had some experience, so he did not immediately go to the bottom of the matter to find out.
Of course, Qian Tiandun would not be so stupid as to give his opponent a buffer of time. If conditions allowed, he would naturally be eager to capture Spain's two main strongholds in Taipei in one fell swoop. However, the situation in Santo Domingo City seems to require the use of siege tactics, which will inevitably occupy most of the limited forces of the Penghu base, making it impossible for Qian Tiandun to divide his troops to attack the city of Salvador in Jilong Port at the same time.
Of course, if we request support from the base camp and transfer another battalion of the Army to help coordinate operations, it may be enough to adopt a two-pronged strategy in the attack on Taipei. However, Qian Tiandun did not want to take the initiative to share the benefits of conquering the Taipei area. He now needs to rely on this outstanding military exploits to obtain more care policies for the special operations battalion.
As the ace unit of the Haihan Militia, the Special Operations Battalion has indeed enjoyed many preferential policies. It can even independently recruit troops for training at the station and form its own ranks. Although the policy is good, the scale of the army continues to expand, and the material and equipment rations enjoyed have been stuck at the battalion level. What Qian Tiandun wants to do is to apply for an increase in the establishment as soon as possible and transform his troops from "special operations battalion" to "special operations battalion". "Promoted to the establishment of a "special operations group".
Even measured by the strength of a strengthened battalion, the strength of today's special operations battalion is infinitely close to that of an infantry regiment, and it is already greatly overstretched. But if the organization cannot be upgraded, then no matter how good the treatment is, it will only stay at the level of a battalion-level unit. Maintaining regiment-level operations with battalion-level treatment is obviously not a reasonable situation.
Qian Tiandun's application report had already been submitted, but like other military expenditure-related applications, it was stuck at the executive committee's approval level. The reason is very simple. When you advance from a battalion to a regiment, the required military expenditures will naturally increase accordingly. Moreover, the average military expenditure per soldier of the special operations battalion is among the highest in the military. This expansion means that the expenditure on this The cost of an army will double. For some people who keep an eye on military expenditures at all times, this is something that cannot be ignored. If Qian Tiandun wants to break through this layer of resistance, the best way is to show his irrefutable military exploits, claim credit for the special operations force, and then apply for an upgrade.
If he could think of other ways, Qian Tiandun would actually not want to use this kind of outside strategy, but he was also very dissatisfied with being constrained by the opposition. After thinking about it, it seemed that the only way to change the status quo was to gain military merit. . Of course, the risks involved in adopting this unconventional method are also very high. If the special operations battalion under his command fails in combat, or suffers serious casualties, the opposition may attack him. handle.
In the current external environment that Haihan is facing, there are actually not many people who can win and have a stable income. Qian Tiandun must give priority to the areas surrounding the residence when selecting his targets. The Dutch and Spanish will inevitably be included. within the scope of his investigation. Both of these two companies have strongholds on the island of Taiwan. They are in a purely competitive relationship with Haihan. They are also within the combat radius of the Penghu garrison. Their military strength is not as good as that of the Haihan militia. When all the conditions are combined, it is simply... The best choice for brushing merit points.
Of course, with the strength of the troops stationed in Penghu, it would be a big deal to attack these two companies at the same time, and Qian Tiandun did not want to take too big a risk. However, the Dutch were still well-informed. After Qian Tiandun led the fleet to Taiyuan Port for an armed march, they took the initiative to seek a compromise and used human trafficking as a condition of exchange for Haihan's promise not to launch an armed attack on Taiyuan Port. . In this transaction, Haihan's side indeed took a big advantage. Qian Tiandun did not want to beat the Dutch to death with a stick, so after confirming the development process of Kaohsiung Port, he quickly turned his attention to the Taipei area. of Spaniards.
Although the Spaniards have not taken the initiative to provoke Haihan so far, the fact that they established a stronghold in Taiwan is already an original sin, and one of Haihan's mid- and long-term goals is to control the entire South China Sea. Sooner or later, the Spaniards will do the same Stand on the opposite side of Haihan. The confrontation between the two sides was only a matter of time, and Qian Tiandun planned to use the Spanish stronghold on Taiwan Island to practice his skills first. Of course, Qian Tiandun would not take the initiative to disclose these deep-seated purposes. Even if Chen Yixin was also from the military, Qian Tiandun had no intention of telling him. If Chen Yixin realizes the truth on his own in the future, that's another story.
If the city of Santo Domingo can achieve fire suppression with warships alone, then Qian Tiandun did have a plan to quickly capture Tamsui and then attack Jilong Port, but Chen Yixin's reconnaissance results threw a basin of doubt on this plan. Cold water, the local environment is obviously not suitable for a simple and crude combat method such as directly bombarding the city with naval guns. If the special operations battalion wants to capture the local Spanish stronghold, the safer way is to lay siege to the city for reinforcements and put pressure on the Spanish in the stronghold by cutting off the supply lines. As a last resort, Qian Tiandun did not want the infantry to attack this stronghold equipped with many artillery. Even if he wanted to attack by force, he would have to wait until his own heavy equipment was put on the battle line.
But this small difficulty will not make Qian Tiandun give up the idea of taking action against Taipei. What he needs now is to get permission from the Executive Committee and the Military Commission. On the day Chen Yixin reported the reconnaissance results and returned to Kaohsiung Port, Qian Tiandun drafted a long message and sent it back to Sanya, proposing a proposal to attack the Taipei area and attaching a rough battle plan. "We just fought against the Dutch in October last year. It has only been a long time ago. Kaohsiung Port has just started construction, and he can't wait anymore. I'm not against using war to achieve foreign expansion, but is the frequency of wars too high? A little? ”
When this proposal was discussed at the executive committee, it was not surprising that it was met with skepticism. The foreign expansion advocated by the opposition through economic, cultural and other means is actually not completely contradictory to military expansion. On the contrary, the two have always complemented and promoted each other. But if it involves a temporary increase in military spending or an expansion of the size of the military, the heads of these departments will still stand up and express their objections as always.
"Let me correct you. We did not fight the Dutch last October. We just had the fleet pass by the gate of Damuan Port twice." Of course Yan Chujie would not sit back and watch the only opposition voices in the venue, and immediately responded. : "I need to remind everyone that the last time the militia army carried out a combat mission was the Battle of Penghu in May last year. Everyone here has heard the report of that battle, and the intensity of the battle was not very high. Until now Eight months have passed, and it is basically enough for the troops to rest for such a long time. Is this frequency considered high? If anyone loses his memory, he can look through the files and think back to the first three years we came here. How many battles have been fought, once every few months on average, and then compare it with the current situation.”
The period from 1627 to 1629 was indeed the period of most frequent wars after Haihan crossed over. Although the scale of the Haihan Militia was very limited at that time, the frequency of combat was astonishingly high. Just take 1628 as an example. At the beginning of the year, the aid operation to Vietnam began. The militia army went to Annan to assist the North Vietnamese court in fighting. In May, the militia army conducted two operations in Lijiazhuang and Dangan Island in Guangdong, annihilating local bandits and pirates. In August, they launched another attack. South Vietnam attacked Hoi An Port; in September, it cooperated with the North Vietnamese army to attack the Hengshan defense line of Zhengjiang. The North Vietnamese court finally began to gain the upper hand in the dispute between the north and the south of Annan; in December, the militia navy engaged Liu Xiang's armed fleet at the Pearl River Estuary and defeated the opponent. It directly gave up Shibazhi's sphere of influence on the Guangdong coast.
This kind of combat density is astonishing when you look back at history. It was the intensive combat frequency at that time that allowed Haihan to have several excellent anchorages at the Pearl River Estuary in Guangdong and southern Annan, which laid the foundation for the future. The expansion plan from south to north has laid an excellent foundation. Since the 1631 Shilu labor camp riot until now, the only large-scale combat mission carried out by the military has been the Battle of Penghu. But as Yan Chujie said, this battle was actually a battle with heavy thunder and small rain. The Haihan militia came out with all their elites. As a result, Shibazhi ran away without saying a word. The militia conquered the city without spending much effort and was abandoned by the opponent. of the Penghu Islands.
Although the military also awarded awards to those who performed meritorious service after the war, senior officials generally believed that the battle did not fully achieve the purpose of military training. The navy might be better. After all, it eliminated two pirate fleets on the way to Penghu that came out to stall for time. However, the army basically did not compete with its opponents on the frontal battlefield. After landing in Penghu, it only did the work of cleaning the battlefield. If the opposition says that the frequency of fighting has been high in the past two years, the military will definitely not accept it.
"Is it worthwhile for us to go to war against Spain at this point in time? Has there been a systematic weighing and objective evaluation?" Of course, the opposition will not give in easily and will continue to question the military's strategy.
"Now is the perfect time to attack the Spanish stronghold in Taipei." Yan Chujie responded: "First of all, the Dutch suffered heavy losses last year and now have no ability to fight us. We don't need to worry when dealing with the Spanish. The Dutch are causing trouble behind the scenes. Secondly, the Spanish are not ready for war and are not sufficiently wary of us, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of the militia army's operations. Finally, there are many mines in Taipei that are worthy of our occupation. market resources, the significance of fighting this war is not only to drive the Western colonists out of Taiwan Island, but also to expand our financial resources. Everyone, if we win this war, our benefits will be very considerable. To put it simply, There is really a golden mountain waiting for us to dig in Taipei! ”
Everyone couldn't help but start whispering after hearing this. The precious metal veins in Taipei have not been discovered by the Spaniards yet, but if Haihan continues to leave this place to the Spaniards, then sooner or later they may discover this treasure land. Although in history it was not until the 19th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty more than two hundred years later that immigrants discovered the gold veins in Jinguashi, but because the arrival of Haihan disrupted part of the original development process of the world, no one could guarantee that the local Will the gold mine be born early?
In addition to gold mines, there are also symbiotic sulfur-arsenic-copper and sulfur-antimony copper veins in the local area. Whether it is sulfur or copper, they are extremely important strategic materials for Haihan. The veins that can be snatched will never be let go. Pass. Just for this mine, Haihan had enough motivation to take military action to seize control of this area.
"Spain is an old colonial empire. Is Qian Tiandun confident enough to confront them head-on?" This is one of the concerns of neutral people. The Haihan militia is strong when it is strong, but if it confronts Spain, a European power of this era, will it still be able to achieve a complete victory like in the past?
"The Penghu garrison has completed the reconnaissance of the Tamsui stronghold and formulated a combat plan." Yan Chujie responded: "Qian Tiandun and his men have made preparations for war. Now they are waiting for the executive committee to come up with an idea. The Spaniards are not as strong as we thought. Qian Tiandun believes that the certainty of victory is...100%. What is uncertain is only the actual combat time, consumption and casualties, but he expressed confidence in the telegram. These numbers are kept at a relatively small level. Comrades, this is a score question! As long as we nod, Qian Tiandun and his soldiers can capture Taipei for us in the past few days! Have Qian Tiandun and his troops disappointed the Executive Committee even once this year? The special operations battalion is our ace unit. Since they have expressed their stance, isn't it enough to gain your trust and support? ”
It has to be said that Yan Chujie's rhetorical skills once again came into play. His provocative explanation caused the heads of departments with voting rights to change their attitudes from their initial doubts. If this battle will not only cause no losses to Haihan, but will actually bring numerous practical benefits, then why do we need to oppose this good thing?
(End of chapter)