Chapter 1074 Ready
Three officials from the Hangzhou Prefecture disappeared, and they all happened to be prominent anti-Haihan fighters in Zhejiang officialdom. Anyone with a discerning eye would probably subconsciously connect this incident with their opponent Haihan. However, for officials like Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, who already have a close interest relationship with Haihan, the mysterious disappearance of Liao Xun and others is not necessarily a bad thing. This means that the opposition to cooperation with Haihan in Zhejiang officialdom will be louder. In order to reduce costs, the various business projects currently being cooperated with Haihan may gradually turn from underground to semi-public, and the profits that can be obtained from them will naturally increase.
Qian Tiandun has been in Zhoushan for a year and has dealt with Qu Yutong a lot. He naturally knows the nature of this old fox and is not worried that the Ningbo government will suddenly change its stance and go against Haihan.
Sure enough, He Xiao changed his tune and asked about business matters: "Master Qu liked the snuff that you sent me last month after using it. I specially tell you this time to ask if you can." Can’t buy more”
Qian Tiandun knew that Qu Yutong was not asking about this to buy some snuff for his own use, but was instead asking about the agency's distribution rights for this stuff. Snus is a new product that Haihan has only recently begun to introduce to the Zhejiang market. It is not currently on sale. It has only been handed over to Changguowei Shipu Institute Qianhu Maling for trial operation in the Sanmen Bay area. Considering the market prospects of the tobacco business, the commerce department consciously handed over the agency rights to people with official backgrounds, so they sent samples to Qu Yutong and asked him to try them out. Sure enough, Qu Yutong realized the beauty of this thing and sent He Xiao to negotiate the agency rights.
However, Qian Tiandun was not the director of the trade department, and he did not want to interfere too much in this matter. He immediately ordered Yang Yun, the head of the Ministry of Commerce, to come over and ask him to discuss specific cooperation matters with He Xiao. Compared with this less urgent trade negotiation, Qian Tiandun was more concerned about the current progress of war preparations. After he explained the matter, he went to the military port to check the preparation status of the material personnel.
Haihan has continuously expanded its control area to the north in the past three years and has accumulated rich experience in how to build strongholds in target areas. However, this operation to the north still faces relatively large operational difficulties. The large-scale operation to the north The fleet will be a new test for the military's command and coordination capabilities.
Compared with the previous march into the Fujian Strait and Zhoushan Islands, the special feature of this northbound operation is that it has a relatively strict time limit. The Haihan Army must complete the basic construction of the stronghold, material hoarding and personnel deployment before winter. Otherwise, when winter arrives, the Bohai Sea will begin to freeze, and the navigation capacity of the coast near Zhifu Island will also be greatly reduced, making it difficult to transport large quantities of personnel and materials. In order to ensure that the troops going north can survive the first winter smoothly and to minimize uncontrollable variables, the plan for the northward journey formulated by the Ministry of National Defense is to maximize the transport capacity of the first batch of fleets and to try to use the materials and materials needed in the early stage of building the stronghold. Personnel are deployed to the local area in one step.
According to the sailing plan jointly formulated by the Navy and the Maritime Transport Department of the Ministry of Transport, the first batch of fleets to set off included naval ships larger than two full fleets, including two majestic-class battleships. In terms of the total tonnage of combat ships, the size of this task force has actually exceeded that of the fleet that entered Zhejiang from Fujian, and there are several expedition-class warships that have been converted to hybrid propulsion. In terms of sea mobility, it is stronger than ordinary warships powered by pure sails.
With a fleet of this size as a force guarantee, the military is fully confident in dealing with the few existing maritime armed forces on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Strictly speaking, it even means killing a chicken with a sledgehammer. After all, during the previous Denglai Rebellion, the Daming Navy stationed in Dengzhou Water City had been completely destroyed, and the few remaining naval forces and combat ships were taken by the rebels to Liaodong, at least on the northern coastline of the Jiaodong Peninsula. At present, there is no fully-organized armed fleet of the Ming Navy.
The reason why the Ministry of National Defense went to great lengths to assemble such a large fleet to go north was not because the Ministry of National Defense had too much military budget and had no place to use it, nor was it simply to show off its power and intimidate the Ming Dynasty's defenders on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Another main purpose was to train troops. . The establishment of the Haihan Navy has expanded rapidly in recent years. Many sailors who have entered the navy in the past year or two have not even performed real combat missions and have relatively little combat experience. Even though the equipment and tactics of the Haihan Navy are ahead of this era, the lack of combat experience is an undeniable shortcoming, and the best way to make up for this shortcoming is to send more fleets overseas to perform various missions. Even though it knew that there was no strong armed fleet in the area, the Ministry of National Defense still used its own "skill" to carry out this mission.
In addition to practicing basic navigation skills and tactics, both the Ministry of National Defense and the Maritime Transport Department hope to familiarize themselves with the northern sea conditions as quickly as possible through this kind of mission. As soon as Haihan's database contains the most detailed nautical charts of this era, but that is only information that exists on the surface. The actual situation can only be felt by sailors after they go to the local area.
In addition, the Haihan military also urgently needs to test the equipment, weapons, and ships currently in service through on-site garrison, and test whether the equipment produced in the south can maintain normal performance in the cold winter environment in the north. Of course, the soldiers of the Haihan Army who need to be tested most at present are the soldiers of the Haihan Army. Most of them are from the south. How the Haihan Army will perform in Shandong is one of the issues that the military leaders are most concerned about. If it is difficult for the troops to adapt to being stationed in Shandong, then the Ministry of National Defense may have to make certain adjustments to future recruitment and even plans to enter Northeast China.
As for Qian Tiandun personally, the issue he is most concerned about is whether the combat skills his subordinates have practiced in the jungles of the south can still be used after arriving in the north. Although Qian Tiandun began to consciously recruit soldiers from the north after the special operations battalion was transferred to Fujian, so far, soldiers from the south still account for the vast majority of the special operations battalion. Although the special operations battalion has been stationed in Zhejiang for a year, Qian Tiandun is not sure whether his men can adapt to the environment further north. All he can do now is to try to obtain the best conditions for his troops in terms of military supplies.
The uniforms, gloves, leather boots, hats, etc. that the troops need for the winter have been prepared in sufficient quantities and are among the first batch of materials to be shipped. In this regard, the treatment of friendly forces may be slightly worse. At least it will not be their turn until the second trip to deliver supplies. The difference in treatment between ace troops and ordinary troops is sometimes reflected in these subtleties.
Sun Changmi, who was directing the loading of supplies at the dock, saw Qian Tiandun from a distance and waved to him. Qian Tiandun replied in the same way, and then walked over quickly.
"Minister Sun, is the troop transport ship I want in place?" Qian Tiandun got to the point concisely and concisely as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Well, those boats parked at Pier 3 are the ones that just arrived this morning." Sun Changmi pointed to the west pier and explained to Qian Tiandun: "They were launched at the end of last year. They are based on the expedition-class sailboat. An improved long-distance passenger ship with a full load displacement of 600 tons, a standard crew of 37 sailors, and a rated capacity of 320 people on board. If all the beds in the lower cabin are removed and the cabins are opened up to transport immigrants, then It can hold about a hundred more people. The ventilation system has been specially designed to ensure that fresh air can be circulated in the lowest cabin. If there is any disadvantage, the space for your soldiers to move is too small when the ship is full. Basically, I can only lie still on the bed.”
"It's better to have a bed than to sleep on the deck." Qian Tiandun is not the kind of person to be picky. This is already within his ability to find the best troop transport ship for his subordinates. What about the personnel of other troops? If you want to build a bunk on the gun deck on a battleship, you will have to squeeze into an ordinary passenger and cargo sailing ship, and many people may even have to sleep in the coal pile on the comprehensive supply ship. .
This new type of sailboat from the Ministry of Shipping is a passenger sailboat specially designed to transport immigrants over long distances. The cabins below the deck are all lined with three-tier canopy beds. Although there is not much room for movement, it can at least allow the soldiers to lie down relatively comfortably. Stay as fit as possible on the voyage north. Although Haihan also recruited many civilian ships as troop transports this time, the environmental conditions on board were still not comparable to those provided by Sun Changmi. "Everything is ready now, all we need is Lao Ha." Sun Changmi said: "We can set off after his precious war horse recovers."
Harugong's cavalry battalion has not made any achievements yet, but it has become a drag on this operation. However, the cavalry battalion is an inaccessible force in this operation, so other troops have to wait in Zhoushan. Although this is not enough to make everyone feel bad about the cavalry camp, it will inevitably give rise to a sense of helplessness. Fortunately, these horses seemed to be recovering well after being recuperated ashore for a few days, and should soon be able to meet Harugong's departure requirements.
Qian Tiandun looked at the crowded sailboats parked on the pier and suddenly said with emotion: "After going north this time, I don't know how long it will take to return to the south."
Sun Changmi smiled and said: "Why, you feel tired and want to retire from the army and change careers? Then all ministries and commissions will fight for talents like you!"
Qian Tiandun shook his head and said: "I have no such plan. I just feel that I have been leading troops to fight outside after time travel. I really don't know what kind of situation our Haihan country has developed. If I can have some vacation time, , I really want to walk around and see the changes in Haihan Kingdom.”
"Then it will be difficult for you to stop." Sun Changmi joked: "After we gain a foothold in Shandong, Haihan's territory will span nearly 5,000 kilometers from north to south. With the traffic conditions of this era, , you haven’t even completed the journey yet, and our territory is expected to expand a lot.”
After Haihan moved north, the northern end of the territory would extend from the current Zhoushan Islands to Zhifu Island in the Jiaodong Peninsula, while the southern end would be Bangka Island and Belitung Island in the South China Sea where tin mines had begun to be built. The distance between the south and the north is almost equivalent to the span of two Ming Dynasty territories. If Haihan hadn't mastered the black technology of delivering information, it would have been difficult to maintain effective rule over these scattered colonies. . As of now, probably no one within Haihan has completed an inspection of the country's existing territory.
Qian Tiandun said: "Actually, it can be fast. If you take those two catamaran sailing boats, you can run at least one or two hundred nautical miles a day. One month is enough to complete the one-way trip. But this kind of trip is definitely a quick trip. Hua, I guess I can’t see anything deep.”
"Then what do you want to see?" Sun Changmi asked curiously.
"Take a look at what the country I am fighting for is like." Qian Tiandun said solemnly: "Although my purpose in participating in the time travel is to become a famous general who will be recorded in history, there are also other I have to find other motivation to support my fight, otherwise sooner or later I will forget my true intention and become a state of numbness where I fight for the sake of fighting and kill for the sake of killing.”
"In order to liberate all mankind, how about this as motivation?" After Sun Changmi finished speaking, the two of them looked at me and I looked at you, and laughed together.
The reasons and purposes for them to participate in the time-travel operation are different, but after time-travel, they have all become high-ranking figures. If they ask themselves, it is difficult for them to explain how different their current mentality and goals are from when they first came to this time and space. , but there are indeed some other people who have chosen a lifestyle that is more comfortable and content with the status quo, and no longer work hard for their careers or Haihan as a collective. If they cannot find the motivation to keep themselves motivated, they may one day become tired or numb to their career, which is not the outcome they want.
For the Haihan Army, all military operations are fighting for the country, but for generals like Qian Tiandun, which direction should their career go and what is the goal of the current stage? It was an issue he had to consider carefully. After all, he holds military power, and his every move, word and deed may affect the lives of hundreds or thousands of people, and any wrong move may cause big trouble.
On July 22, Harugong finally expressed his attitude at the combat preparation meeting, believing that the condition of the cavalry battalion's horses had reached the level of performing combat missions and that they could prepare to board the ship and set off. For the troops going north, this is basically the last condition before setting off.
In the next three days, large quantities of fresh vegetables, livestock, fresh water, and ammunition reserves were continuously loaded onto numerous cargo ships docked at Dinghai Port. After completing the loading of this batch of goods, the fleet will depart from Zhoushan and head north to Shandong.
(End of chapter)