Chapter 1623: Upright
In fact, we need to seriously consider the overall situation in the Far East. It is not that urgent to solve the Spanish entrenched in the Philippine Islands. After all, the last battle off the coast of Sanya has caused heavy damage to the Spanish. We can be sure that the other side will not be defeated in the short term. There are no more thoughts of starting a war. Moreover, the Philippine Islands occupied by the Spanish are also quite far away from the Haihan controlled area, and the possibility of direct friction between the two sides in terms of military or trade is not high.
But Haihan still hopes to solve this major problem before the tenth anniversary of the time-travel operation. So far, except for Spain, other Western colonial countries have either bowed to Haihan and become partners, or they have been excluded from the South China Sea and have no chance to enter this area. Only Spain still has an unsightly presence in the South China Sea, constantly reminding the Executive Committee that there is still an opponent that has not yet been eliminated. For Haihan, the political symbolic significance of using force to remove this opponent from the South China Sea may be greater than the military needs.
It is precisely because of this that the Executive Committee attaches so much importance to the preparations for this military operation. Almost all departments must give priority to the needs of this operation, and the Ministry of National Defense has received the greatest support in history, regardless of Whether it is troop deployment, military spending, material preparation and other projects, or the connection and cooperation with shipping, propaganda, medical, financial and other departments, almost all of them have green lights and no obstacles. Yan Chujie also issued a military order to the Executive Committee on behalf of the military very early, and he wanted to use this combat operation as a tribute to the tenth anniversary of the crossing.
Of course, if the military's confidence and determination are to turn into a victory, it cannot be done just by talking. It is precisely through these more than ten meetings and discussions that this action plan has gradually matured, and other departments besides the military are also preparing for this.
After the military's war preparation progress report is completed, the next step is the situation report from other departments. In accordance with the request of the Executive Committee, the Propaganda Department has been publishing articles in various newspapers recently, denouncing Spain's various actions in the South China Sea that undermine fair trade and regional peace. It also did not forget to mention the Spanish fleet's sneak attack on Sanya a year ago. matter, using such materials to create an atmosphere of public opinion that "this thief must be eliminated". Even an outsider like Fei Cexian, after carefully reading recent newspapers, has realized that Haihan's resentment towards Spain may be about to explode.
While this kind of publicity measure incites public sentiment, it may also attract the attention of Spanish intelligence agents lurking in Haihan. However, the Haihan Executive Committee attaches more importance to the justice of the war. The top management hopes to announce to the people the use of force against Spain. At that time, we can get the understanding and support from all the people, and this combat operation will be recorded in history as a just war.
Of course, doing so may expose the intention before the action, allowing the Spaniards to prepare in advance and even deploy heavy troops in Manila. But for Haihan, what is needed now is not a surprise victory, but to be upright on the battlefield. Defeating the opponent will allow all surrounding countries, including Ming Dynasty, to see clearly that Haihan is the number one power in the Far East in this era.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent an invitation letter to our major allies three days ago, asking them to send military observers to participate in military operations to be held in the South China Sea in the near future." Schneider began to introduce the preparations on his side: "In addition, the Ministry of Commerce has already The major ports in Fuzhou and Guangzhou have spread the word, advising Ming merchants not to go to Manila Port in the near future to avoid unnecessary trouble. Of course, if there are still people who refuse to listen, the Ministry of Security and the military will naturally teach them how to behave. .”
In fact, Schneider has not finished saying this. If he still insists on going to Manila after listening to Haihan's warning, then there is reason to suspect that his purpose of going to Manila is to tip off the Spaniards. Even if Haihan didn't intercept it at sea now, it would be recorded and he would settle the accounts slowly in the future. As for the Ming Dynasty merchant ships on Hainan Island, after receiving the warning, whoever dares to leave the port and go to the Philippine Islands in the east is really asking for death.
This measure was not only to isolate Manila from trade links with the outside world as much as possible before the war, but more importantly, to cut off local information channels, making it difficult for the Spaniards to confirm what had happened to the outside world in a short period of time even if they realized that the situation was wrong. What's up. Even if they knew that this was Haihan's intentional move, without further information, it would be difficult to determine whether Haihan wanted to block Manila's trade channels or was planning to go to war with Spain.
The relevant blockade measures did not tighten the fence at the beginning, but slowly tightened it as various war preparations progressed. We are still at the stage of warning maritime traders at various seaports. In a few days, all ships will probably be banned from visiting the Port of Manila and a stricter blockade order will be implemented.
As for the entire process of dealing with the Spaniards, the Executive Committee hopes to show it to Haihan's allies so that they can witness with their own eyes how Haihan took the initiative from beginning to end and finally used war to defeat this powerful opponent.
Of course, even if the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense have made preparations for a tough battle, some unconventional methods will still be used in the fight against Spain. In terms of special information collection, Haihan is conducting operations against Manila. While the intelligence was being blocked, local military and political intelligence was also collected through spies deployed there, and then managed to be sent back to Sanya.
There are thousands of Han people settled in Manila. Although their social status is not high, it is much easier for Haihan to send people to integrate into the local area. In the past few years, the Ministry of Security has sent seven or eight groups of people to sneak into the area. Except for one of the spies who got a fever and died before being treated, the other groups of people were very calm inside and outside Manila. He lurked under various identities and sent back a steady stream of information.
However, there is no precise estimate of how long the local intelligence network will be able to operate. At present, it can only be inferred that after the Spaniards are aware of the changes in the external situation, they will definitely take measures similar to Haihan to block the port. , prohibiting all non-Spanish ships from leaving the port and going to sea to prevent local military information from leaking out. At that time, the Haihan intelligence officers lurking in the local area will have no choice but to cease their activities, try to hide their identities, and wait for the Haihan army to break through Manila before making plans.
While Haihan was preparing intensively for war, Fei Cexian, who was addicted to the ocean of library information, finally escaped from this closed environment temporarily, because according to the arrangement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhang Qianzhi wanted to take him to visit Tiandu Industrial Zone.
To the outside world, this place in the interior of Sanya known as "Tian Du" is undoubtedly a very mysterious place. It is said that Haihan's muskets and artillery, as well as powerful gunpowder that can cause landslides and earth to crack, and other powerful weapons are all here. Made locally, even ordinary Haihan citizens are not allowed to enter this special area located in the mountains at will.
Most of the intelligence officers sent to Haihan in the early years of the Ming Dynasty were tasked with finding out what happened to Tian Du, but no one had ever succeeded in so many years. Almost all of the intelligence officers who had made such an attempt ended up mysteriously missing. , and in the end even the bones could not be found. Fei Cexian can understand this. After all, it is a place where important weapons of the country are manufactured. How can it be allowed to be visited by others at will? None of the North and South Ordnance Bureau, Military Warfare Bureau, and Gunpowder Bureau under the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty could allow idlers to enter, let alone foreigners. When he came to Haihan, he basically no longer targeted Tian Du, because he also knew very well that the Haihan people were unlikely to arrange for foreign senior officials to visit their weapons manufacturing sites.
But now this idea was broken by the Haihan people themselves. Fei Cexian didn't understand why the Haihan people made such an arrangement, but since the other party took the initiative, he would definitely not object. Let's go and see what the Haihan people are selling. What kind of medicine is it?
"Zhang Qianzhi, please tell me first, what is this Tiandu Industrial Zone for? What is industry?" Fei Cexian asked Zhang Qianzhi on the way from the Guest House to the train station. According to the arrangements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they will take the train from Fort Victory Railway Station to Tiandu. This arrangement is also to allow Fei Cexian to experience the advancement of steam locomotives and railways up close.
Zhang Qianzhi responded: "The so-called industry is the industry that collects raw materials and processes them. The industrial zone, as the name suggests, is the place where this kind of industry is most concentrated. Mr. Fei saw it in the local market a few days ago. Most of the various Haihan products are produced in Tiandu, including the weapons you have seen in Haikou.”
When Fei Cexian stayed in Haikou a few days ago, Qiu Yuan arranged for him to visit a weapons target practice, and the excellent performance of Haihan weapons also left a deep impression on him. At this time, according to Zhang Qianzhi, the places to visit next seemed to include a weapons manufacturing workshop. This was definitely a historic breakthrough for the Ming Dynasty's intelligence work.
Of course, from an objective point of view, Fei Cexian was not the first Ming Dynasty official to visit Tiandu Industrial Zone. There were also Ming Dynasty officials of much higher rank than him, such as Xu Xinsu, the general of the Fujian Army, who had visited Tiandu Industrial Zone several years ago. I’ve been to Tiandu. It was precisely because he saw with his own eyes Haihan's advanced technology for making weapons and knew that Ming Dynasty might never be able to build weapons with the same performance that he chose to follow Haihan.
It's just that the Ming officials who entered Tiandu before this, almost without exception, ended up siding with Haihan, so what they saw and heard in Tiandu did not become intelligence and fed back to the relevant yamen of the imperial court. This resulted in a situation where Daming only knew the name of this Tiandu Industrial Zone but did not know the details. Fei Cexian was probably the first official in history who was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and was allowed to visit this sensitive area, which can be regarded as a historical precedent.
Haihan used to be tight, but now it is relaxed, mainly because the two countries have officially established diplomatic relations, and the Ming Dynasty also recognized Haihan's right to rule Hainan Island, so the possibility of a large-scale war between the two countries has dropped to a very low level. , some things no longer need to be hidden, and it may not be a bad thing for Daming to have a little understanding of Haihan's industrial and military technological strength.
Fei Cexian didn't know what Haihan's change of attitude meant, but he knew that since the other party had made such an arrangement with confidence, he probably wouldn't be afraid of him. But he knew that he had to seize this opportunity, remember everything he saw and heard, write a memorial later, and report it to the court in detail.
When the two arrived at the train station, Zhang Qianzhi went to the ticket window and bought two tickets. As for Fei Cexian's entourage, naturally they couldn't go with them. Fei Cexian didn't have any objections to this. After all, the place did not allow idlers to enter. If it hadn't been for Haihan's initiative to arrange it, he, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Zuo Si, would not have been able to touch Tian Du's door. As for his entourage.
Regarding steam locomotives and railways, Ming literati who came to Sanya have many records and descriptions. Fei Cexian also saw a lot when he was in Ming Dynasty. For this kind of iron guy who is said to be able to pull tens of thousands of pounds of load and run on the plains, many people think that it is the ingenuity of the Haihan people, and even regard it as magic and witchcraft, but Fei Cexian does not Such a crude view.
Fei Cexian believes that Haihan must have mastered some advanced technology that ordinary people cannot understand to be able to create such incredible things as trains. While soaking in the library a few days ago, he also looked up some information about steam locomotives. Although they were only superficial introductions, they were much more credible than the various accounts heard by Ming people. Although Fei Cexian doesn't understand how to turn coal and water into the driving force to drive the train forward, since this is the statement made by the Haihan people, let's believe it for now. After all, so far, he has not found anything wrong with the Haihan people. The story of cowhide. Zhang Qianzhi also told him that steam locomotives and railways are both part of industry. It is undoubtedly an excellent choice to start understanding the industry advocated by Haihan Kingdom by taking a train.
Fei Cexian was certainly very excited when he took the train for the first time, but when he saw the Haihan people standing calmly outside the yellow line on the platform waiting for the train, he felt that he should not be too superficial, lest he be treated as if he had not seen anything. The out-of-this-world countryman also acted calmly at the moment, as if he was waiting to take the bus to work in Tiandu like everyone else.
Not long after, the train came along the railway track from the southwest. From a long distance away, you could already feel the slight vibration of the ground from the soles of your feet, which also showed how impressive the weight of this big iron guy was. Fei Cexian looked at the slowly approaching train that was spitting out white smoke. Even though he had been mentally prepared for this scene, he still felt a huge impact and shock.
(End of chapter)