Chapter 1317 A big fuss
Everyone has surprisingly unanimous opinions on whether the invading Spanish fleet has the ability to compete with their own army. No one doubts that the troops stationed in the mainland can defeat the Spanish armed forces that come to the door on their own. The main point of disagreement lies in the arrival of the Spanish fleet. Will the news of the attack cause a relatively large impact and turmoil on the local society? The military wants to maximize the results of the war and annihilate all enemy forces as much as possible, while the civilian officials want to minimize the impact of the war on Hainan Island - if they can prevent the local people from noticing that a war has occurred That would be best.
Of course, that is an unlikely situation. Even if the Haihan Army has a strong fighting capacity, there will still be many traces to follow when it comes to gathering troops to prepare for war. Tao Donglai's order has been deployed separately, and soon all the garrison troops will be busy and busy. All military personnel on leave will definitely be notified to immediately cancel their leave and report back to the army. Troops all over the island must begin to assemble and stand by. It is impossible for no one to notice such a big move, so the impact on the civilian population is inevitable. It just depends on the severity.
Tao Donglai smiled bitterly and said: "I think your estimate of the current situation may be too optimistic. Although our strength is indeed much stronger than the Spaniards, please don't forget that in this confrontation, we are temporarily in a Passive position. The current intelligence we have shows that Sanya is the opponent's preferred target, but this does not mean that the Spanish attack target is limited to this area, so I ordered the entire island's border defense forces to enter a state of war preparation. We are now considering how to reduce the impact of the war on social stability. I think it is better to vaccinate the people first and let the official release the news than spreading rumors among the people."
Tao Donglai never thought of concealing the situation that Haihan was facing a foreign invasion from the public. The Executive Committee had a very high prestige in the country. As long as the Executive Committee took the initiative to disclose war information, it would be hidden from the public. It is impossible for Xiaoxiao to use the war to create any big rhythm. And as long as the people are not in chaos, this battle that was predicted in advance will not cause any major losses to Haihan.
Tao Donglai's prestige within the Time Travel Group is still quite high, and most people are accustomed to the tradition that Tao Donglai makes the final decision on major issues. Regarding the opinions given by Tao Donglai, everyone in the meeting looked at me and I looked at you, but no one raised any doubts about him.
Upon seeing this, Tao Donglai continued: "Since everyone has no objections, I suggest that the Propaganda Department take action as soon as possible to inform the people that sporadic wars may occur in the coastal waters of Hainan Island in the near future. As for the reason... let's say it is to exterminate pirates. Okay, let’s wait until the war is over before slowly releasing the truth to the people.”
With a few words from Tao Donglai, the Spanish fleet was classified as a low-class pirate. This is why Haihan had such confidence. If it were fellow Europeans such as Portugal and the Netherlands, they would definitely not dare to despise the Spanish Empire so much. Armed fleet. Especially the Dutch, who had been fighting with the Spaniards on Taiwan Island for several years. In order to compete for control of the Northeast Asian routes, the two countries fought quite frequently in Taiwan and nearby waters. The Dutch suffered a lot and were quite wary of the Spanish armed sailing ships, so they have not yet set foot in the waters near Luzon Island.
Ning Qi smiled and said: "Old Tao, you are very quick to throw the blame away. You just threw the matter to me in just a few words?"
Tao Donglai said sternly: "How can this be called scapegoating? This is the organization's new appointment to you. The Propaganda Department is the mouthpiece of the Executive Committee. If you don't use it now, how can you wait for it? When you are done here, go back and open one Yes, let’s arrange the work. By the way, remember to notify Yu Xiaobao and ask him to take action on the Youth League.”
After the general tone was set, a response plan was quickly released. In addition to Tao Donglai's previous orders to garrisons in various places, the Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and other departments will also start to implement their respective preparations in various fields in response to war needs.
Two hours after the secret report was sent to Fort Victory, Yu Xiaobao also received a notice from the Executive Committee, requiring the Youth League to cooperate with the Propaganda Department and notify various units as soon as possible that the military would soon clear out pirates in the waters near Hainan Island. .
pirate? Yu Xiaobao was obviously a little confused when he received the news. Pirates have completely disappeared from the waters around Hainan Island in recent years. Moreover, the Haihan Army has a "bad reputation". Even sporadic pirates active in the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea east of Palawan Island will never take the risk to rob the territory ruled by Haihan.
For the pirates, although Haihan Country has a lot of wealth, their own lives are more important. I thought back then that the Shibazhi, who dominated the coast of Fuguang, had tens of thousands of troops and thousands of ships, but they were also wiped out by the Haihan people. At that time, some Shibazhi personnel who fled to the South China Sea also spread the ferocity of Haihan's army to wherever they went, making pirate gangs who had never dealt with Haihan regard him as a devil that should not be messed with. Therefore, Hainan Island has not been attacked by pirates in recent years. However, the Ministry of National Defense often uses military means to deal with some troubles in the name of suppressing bandits.
In the age of peace and prosperity, how could blind pirates actually come to the door? Yu Xiaobao's first reaction to this order was to wonder if the news was wrong. There were not many countries in the South China Sea that had the courage to openly oppose Haihan. Why would there be private armed forces like pirates rushing over? Hainan Island to die?
Yu Xiaobao thought something was wrong, so he immediately called Ning Qi to ask what was going on. Ning Qi did not elaborate on the reason due to confidentiality reasons. He only mentioned to Yu Xiaobao, "This propaganda is needed to cooperate with military operations."
Yu Xiaobao put down the phone receiver and thought about it for a while before he roughly guessed the truth. The military may have to deal with a special target that is not suitable for the public to know, so it needs to use the name of exterminating pirates to issue war warnings to the people. However, Yu Xiaobao did not associate the matter with Manila, thousands of miles away. He just subconsciously believed that the military needed propaganda to cover its combat missions.
Since it was a task assigned by the executive committee and there were clear time requirements, Yu Xiaobao did not dare to neglect it and quickly summoned his subordinates to assign work. Although the Youth League has great authority and influence, there are actually not many full-time staff in this department. After Yu Xiaobao finished busy with this task, he remembered that he had a newly recruited publicity expert Liu Shang who could come in handy, and immediately He also asked someone to send a message to the training center and asked Liu Shang to come back and report as soon as possible. Liu Shang came out of Fort Victory, went back to his residence to pick up his luggage, and then went to the training center to check in. Not long after finishing these things and resting in the dormitory, Yu Xiaobao's notice arrived. Liu Shang was also a little bit dumbfounded. Can he still complete the induction training? I entered the training center twice, and both times I was caught before the class started. And this time it was faster than the previous time. I didn't even get a meal before I was recruited by Yu Xiaobao again.
Although he was a little emotional, he still had to take on the errands that he should take on, and this was not something that Liu Shangneng could refuse. Now I could only pick up my luggage again and go through the school leaving procedures again.
Later that day, news began to appear in the market in Sanya. Officials said that unidentified armed ships had recently been found operating in nearby waters. The military believed that this might be a pirate fleet cruising nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack people entering and leaving Hainan. Start attacking merchant ships in various ports on the island. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of ships from various countries traveling to and from Hainan Island, the military will launch a large-scale maritime anti-bandit operation in the near future. During this period, it will also strengthen inspections of ships and personnel entering and leaving the port to ensure social stability.
Not everyone may believe this statement, but the vast majority of people still trust the information released by the authorities. The Haihan Army has always won every battle, and has never been defeated in battles against pirates in the past. Therefore, when they heard that the official army was going to send troops to fight against pirates, the people's reaction was very stable. Almost no one worried about whether the Haihan Navy could The only suspense about the hypothetical proposition of defeating pirates is how long it will take the navy to complete such a task.
Of course, some people are worried about this. For merchant ships that need to enter and leave the port in the near future, the official news will undoubtedly greatly increase the risks of navigation. Originally, one of the reasons why many businessmen chose Sanya as a trading port was that it had better security. However, if there are pirates operating near Sanya, then it can be said that there are no safe ports in the entire South China Sea.
As soon as the news came out, the port management centers of Victory Port and Sanya Port were swarmed by merchants. Everyone was very concerned about the specific sea area where the pirates appeared and whether the military would block the entry and exit of the port during this operation. Can the safety of foreign and foreign ships in Sanya and other ports be guaranteed?
Fortunately, the port authorities were well prepared for the merchants' reaction, and immediately announced some new security measures. First, it was recommended that ships traveling to and from various ports on Hainan Island in the near future purchase the "Navigation Safety Insurance" officially launched by Haihan. In order to avoid possible property losses; second, it is recommended that merchant ships travel together to reach a fleet size of more than ten ships, and Haihan warships can also be hired at cost to escort; third, cooperate with port arrangements, temporarily adjust routes, and try to avoid Navigation route east of Hainan Island.
The news soon reached the ears of the Portuguese and Dutch envoys living in Sanya. These people were very aware of the current security situation in the South China Sea. They had a much sharper sense of smell than ordinary people. They immediately judged that the suppression of pirates was just an excuse for the Haihan military. , there must be another reason for gathering the troops. Although each of them has signed a peace agreement with Haihan, these colonialists also understand that the initiative for peace is not in their own hands. As long as the Haihan people think it is necessary, they can tear up the agreement and start a war at any time to fight for themselves. The colonies controlled in the southeastern waters of the Ming Dynasty—Macau occupied by Portugal and Damuan Port occupied by the Netherlands—are all within the range of the Haihan Fleet.
The two embassies invariably sent people to visit Fort Victory, hoping that the Haihan Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense would provide a clear explanation for the arrangement of this military operation with questionable purpose. However, they did not receive a more detailed explanation. Haihan's official reply was to ask them to be patient and wait for further news.
It would be damned if this could go well. The envoys of the two countries failed to get a definite answer, and the ominous feeling in their hearts became even stronger. The Dutch were counting on Haihan to take action against Macau, which was closer to Hainan Island, while the Portuguese could only hope that there really was the pirate fleet claimed by Haihan in the South China Sea. Of course, they never thought that the Spaniards, who had been silent and silent, would jump out and cause trouble at this juncture. All Haihan's reactions were caused by this. In fact, they had no direct relationship with them and were just adding to the drama. It's just too much.
Haihan's senior officials couldn't care less about these worried dramatists at the moment. The top priority now was to mobilize troops to attack the Spanish fleet. Although everyone is convinced that their navy can defeat the Spanish, sufficient attention must be paid to tactics. The steam fleet that had just been disbanded in Danzhou a few days ago was asked to rush to Sanya immediately to assemble. Tao Donglai was convinced that with this powerful fleet guarding Sanya, there would be no way that enemies could invade from the sea.
Even the iron-clad test ship "Warrior", which became famous in the military exercise, was also called by the Ministry of National Defense. The weapons, steam engines, iron armor, steel keels, etc. equipped on the ship all represent the highest level of Haihan Industrial manufacturing at present. It can be said to be a truly powerful weapon that transcends the times. Even if it is put into actual combat, it will not be a big problem. However, the construction and operating costs of this ship are very considerable, and the construction period is also long. It cannot be mass-produced in a short period of time. It can only be used as a prototype ship to accumulate experience and train operators. Using this ship to fight a war is actually a bit of an overkill. However, the Executive Committee strongly requires that the Ministry of National Defense must be foolproof, so it has no choice but to add this weight to the scale.
Of course, the Ministry of National Defense had to add an additional temporary military expenditure for this purpose to ensure that the "Warrior" has sufficient supplies of materials and ammunition. Not only does this ship need at least two to three supply ships to accompany it when it goes to sea, but it also has to send two more warships as escorts to prevent the "Warrior" from being attacked by the enemy during its previous operations. Bought the bottom. In this way, the cost of this ship's battle is almost equivalent to half a fleet.
However, in the end, the senior officials of the Executive Committee covered their eyes and signed the military expenditure application. No matter how expensive the military expenditure was, the war would still have to be fought. At worst, after the war was over, they would try to ask Spain for compensation to fill the account.
(End of chapter)