Chapter 916 The inside story of cooperation
While Li Maozi and others were gearing up to open a private shipyard in Jilong Port, Taiwan, thousands of miles away in Da Nang, Annan, Yan Chujie was inspecting a local shipyard with Zheng Zha, the eldest son of Annan's actual ruler, King Zheng Zhi of Qingdu. A shipyard jointly run by both parties. Annan's current emperor is Li Shenzong, but this emperor is just a puppet in Zheng Zhi's hands. Zheng Zha's actual status in Annan was the same as that of the eldest prince. Although the meeting between Yan Chujie and Zheng Zha was under the banner of "joint military exercises", in addition to military exercises, the two parties also have many other cooperation projects to discuss, including the construction results of some previous cooperation projects. For acceptance, the shipyard in Da Nang is one of them.
As early as 1629, after the Annan Civil War ended, Da Nang had been assigned to Hai Han by the Annan court as a "permanent concession". In fact, it became one of the overseas enclaves controlled by Hai Han. As for "concessions" of this nature, in addition to Da Nang, there are three seaports in Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh, and Vung Tau in southern Annam, which are distributed along the coastline of the Indochina Peninsula from north to south. These four concession ports used to be under the rule of the South Vietnamese regime. Da Nang is not the one with the largest scale of construction, but because it was actually occupied by Haihan at the earliest, the development and construction progress and the completion of supporting facilities are also four. The highest among the ports, it also includes a large shipyard.
The cooperation agreement between Haihan and the Annan court also included Haihan providing technology to assist Annan in developing its navy and maritime trade, and the shipyard was one of the necessary means to achieve these goals. About one-third of the construction funds for the Da Nang Shipyard were provided by Annan. Therefore, after the completion of the shipyard, in addition to building warships for the Annan military, it also took on the mission of training shipwrights for Annan. Annan selects a group of people every year to come here to learn shipbuilding techniques while working.
Of course, Haihan's shipbuilding technology is not so simple to copy. Many key technologies related to ship design and construction are only known to Annan shipwrights who lack systematic knowledge and do not know why. You can learn to build a ship step by step, but it is still difficult to design and build a Haihan-style warship from scratch. In addition, the manufacturing of some key parts on the ship, such as the manufacturing technology of the steering wheel transmission system, is a technical barrier that Haihan has kept secret.
There are ten slipways in the Da Nang Shipyard, four of which are large slipways that can be used to build thousand-ton ships. However, the military ships currently built here are only small and medium-sized warships provided for the Annan military. Hai Han’s own Warships will not be built here because their technical standards are different from those for export. The visit of high-level officials from both sides to the Da Nang Shipyard coincided with the completion and launch of the 12th "exploration-class" warship built by the Da Nang Shipyard for the Annan military. Although part of the outfitting project was not completely completed, Zheng Zha was very happy to participate in the launching ceremony held by the shipyard.
The captain, first mate, and bosun who will be responsible for commanding the ship in the future were selected six months ago and sent to Sanya by the Annan Ministry of War to receive relevant training. The navigation knowledge, warship operation methods, naval warfare tactics, etc. that these officers learned were all taught in accordance with the standards of the Haihan Navy. The purpose of this is not only to ensure that the Annan military can smoothly put it into use after receiving the warships, but also to ensure that the Annan navy can seamlessly connect with its ally Haihan during wartime and join Haihan's combat system for coordinated actions. Over the past few years, Haihan has trained dozens of officers for the Annan Navy. More than 80% of the officers currently serving on the front lines of the Annan Navy have received training at the Haihan Military Academy.
Although all this was done in the name of military assistance, in fact the relevant personnel training costs were still paid by the Annan court. In order to build a surface armed force capable of guarding Annan's long coastline, the Annan court has invested millions of dollars in recent years. Of course, the effect of the huge investment is also quite obvious. Currently, Annan already has two small fleets that use Haihan-style warships, stationed at Tu Son Military Port in the Beibu Gulf and Hue in the south. As for the coastline south of Hue, due to the limited strength of Annan's navy and Hai Han owns four ports in this area, Hai Han, an ally, is basically responsible for coastal defense security.
This division of labor was once quite controversial in the Annan court. Indeed, no country would hand over its borders to foreign troops to guard, even if it was its own allies. It was too awkward. However, those who hold objections cannot come up with an effective solution, because the Annan Navy does not currently have enough troops and ships to deploy to the far south to take over the garrison function of the Haihan Navy. After the Haihan Navy was stationed in the southern ports, the local situation that was harassed by Western colonists was greatly improved. This was an effect that the Annan Navy could not achieve.
Haihan doesn't have much fear about the division of labor in maritime defense. The gap in strength between the two sides' maritime armed forces is too big, and it cannot be changed by Haihan helping them build a few fleets. Moreover, the Annan military is highly dependent on the armaments provided by Haihan. If it loses the support of Haihan, the combat effectiveness of the Annan official army will be difficult to sustain for long. To put it bluntly, how much combat effectiveness Annan's navy can have, its lifeline is still in the hands of Haihan. If Haihan does not support it, Annan will never think of stationing a navy in the south. However, only the people involved understand this truth. Those civil servants who only hang out in the court have no idea of these tricks at all.
And the "benefits" this highly dependent military cooperation method brings to Annan are not only saving troops and military expenses. Annan's military personnel, as long as they are related to military cooperation, have gained practical benefits from it. Even Zheng Zha, who came here for inspection, is also a member of the list of vested interests.
The initial contact between Haihan and the top officials of Annan was made by Zheng Zha. Zheng Zha was also involved in almost all subsequent agreements and cooperation matters. Since the timing of Haihan's intervention in Annan coincided with its civil war, the official relationship between the two sides was basically based on military cooperation, and the huge profits from arms procurement also provided Haihan with the services and policymakers like Zheng Zha. "Feedback" provides a lot of convenience.
When meeting a person of Zheng Zha's level, it would be too low-end to directly give him any gold and silver treasures. Although Annan is poor, it is still a country with an area of thousands of miles. Zheng Zha will inherit the actual rule of this country in the future. If you give real money and silver to people like him, if you give it too little, others will not appreciate it. If you give it too much, they will not appreciate it. If there are too many, it will inevitably affect one's own profits, so the benefits provided by the business department must be more subtle and clever.
Zheng Zha obtained the franchise rights for most Haihan products in Annan from the Ministry of Commerce. From this alone, his annual income can reach one million. What he needs to do is to ensure that the military cooperation between the two parties and the huge arms purchase orders Annan places to Haihan every year will not be interrupted. Of course, the prerequisite for reaching such a tacit deal is that Annan does have needs in this regard, and the only one who can help them is Haihan. A natural monopoly will inevitably bring huge profits. What Haihan does is to benefit from such huge profits. A portion of the proceeds will be given back to important figures in Annan’s ruling class.
This method does not reveal anything, and Annan's dignitaries can receive benefits with peace of mind. They do not have to worry about being impeached in court, and they can benefit for a long time. In the terminology of the Haihan people, this is called "sustainable development." . Of course, the ambitions of the Annan people will not stop here. This time Zheng Zaonan came down to meet with Yan Chujie. In addition to leading troops for military exercises, he also had other cooperation projects that he wanted to discuss with Haihan. "General Yan, how have you considered the suggestion that my father made to you last time?" After visiting the warship launching ceremony, Zheng Zha took the initiative to ask Yan Chujie about the business.
Yan Chujie responded: "If I remember correctly, the young prince is talking about dealing with the Champa Kingdom, right?"
"That's exactly what happened." Zheng Zha's eyes showed unconcealed expectation: "I wonder if the executive committee has made a decision?"
Annan has always been at odds with the Champa State, which is located at the southernmost tip of the Indochina Peninsula. Even before the civil war, there were frequent wars with the south. Although peace has temporarily stabilized in the past two or three years under the mediation of Haihan, the Annan court has never been able to let go of its southern neighbor. Moreover, the territory of the Champa State is almost all fertile plains, and its area is much larger than the Red River Delta, the grain-producing area in northern Annam. Champa rice is also the most famous food crop among the countries in the South China Sea. Even Haihan will produce it every year. A large amount of food is imported from the local area. This vast grain-producing area is an irresistible temptation for Annan, which has a long and narrow terrain and numerous mountains.
However, similar to Annan's situation, Haihan also provided a certain degree of military assistance and weapons and equipment to the Champa State. Relying on the food-for-weapons agreement, the weapons currently installed by the Champa Army are basically the same as those in Annan. In particular, the high-end weapons are almost all imported from Haihan. The difference in strength between the two sides is mainly reflected in the number of troops. In the several small-scale conflicts between the two sides in recent years, the occupying side showed no obvious signs of suffering a loss. The two sides were attacking and defending each other, and they fought back and forth. If Annan wanted to forcibly annex the Champa State through force, the price he would have to pay might be very heavy.
However, the King of the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Zhi, could not completely give up this plan. After all, any ruler would have the intention to expand territory and pass on his fame to future generations. If he could gain another territory for the Annan Kingdom while he was in power, that would be It is an achievement that can be recorded in history. To the north of Annan is the Ming Dynasty, to the west is the Kingdom of Siam, and to the east is the HN Island occupied by Haihan across the sea. These three are not easy to deal with, and the Champa Kingdom in the south can be regarded as the only country in Annan that is strong enough. It's a goal that can be achieved.
But it would be difficult to achieve this goal if Annan relied solely on his own strength. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the Haihan people opened arms purchases to Champa was enough to make the Annan army pay a heavy price during the battle with the Champa army. Moreover, the scale of Annan's troops deployed in the southern region is limited, and the number of troops that can be assembled may not be as large as that of Champa. If he takes the initiative to attack, he is likely to be driven back by Champa in the end. So after Zheng Zheng realized this, he set his sights on Haihan. The Han Nationalist Army's force value in the South China Sea was already the number one in the South China Sea. The army of the Champa State would definitely not be able to resist the attack of the Haihan National Army. Just like the blow suffered by the Nguyen regime in South Vietnam, Haihan's military front was invincible wherever it pointed. Moreover, Hai Han is located in the southernmost port of Vung Tau among the four southern ports. Its location is close to the border between Annan and Champa. If it can be used as an offensive springboard and supply center, it will undoubtedly greatly alleviate Annan’s difficulties during the offensive. Logistical pressure. Of course, the premise of these combat plans is that Haihan can follow Zheng Zhi's proposal in the first half of the year and join forces to deal with Champa. To put it bluntly, even if the Haihan people don't take action directly, as long as they can cut off military assistance and arms supply to Champa, Annan's confidence can at least increase a little bit.
But Yan Chujie's answer disappointed Zheng Zha: "The Champa Kingdom is also one of Haihan's partners. From our standpoint, we cannot make such a betrayal decision. At the same time, we do not recommend that your country Champa takes hostile actions because this may affect our food supply security.”
Of course, Yan Chujie's statement is only an official reason. Although Haihan imports a lot of food from Champa every year, it is not so much that it affects the security of food supply. The main purpose of this kind of trade is to open the commercial door to Champa. , and indirectly controlled its national defense by exporting arms to Champa in barter. A large part of the reason why we need to support the Champa Kingdom is to build a fence for Annan in the south to control it.
Although the two sides are now close allies, from a long-term perspective, the Executive Committee believes that there are still some restraints on Annan, and supporting Champa is one of them. Annan wants to take action against Champa, but Haihan will choose neutrality on the surface, but will still support Champa in resistance secretly. Of course, there is no need to say this directly. If Zheng Zha can understand it, he will understand it. If he cannot understand it, he will have to ask for trouble.
Yan Chujie continued: "It has only been three or four years since your civil war ended. Many areas in the country are still in dire straits. We suggest that the King of Qingdu should focus on domestic economic construction and let the people Recuperate and recuperate. Fighting is a waste of money and people, but there may not be a good return. You need to be cautious and cautious. ”
(End of chapter)