Chapter 1622 Preparing for War
"That Fei Cexian has been spending time in the library these days? This person is really eager to learn and make progress!"
In the Fort of Victory, Tao Donglai couldn't help but express his feelings after listening to He Xi's report. Regarding the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty, the attitude of the executive committee was to treat them with courtesy and wait for opportunities to bribe them. Of course, if they can be used for their own purposes, it would be the most ideal result. The relevant departments have also made corresponding preparations for this. The Ministry of Security even arranged for Zhang Qianzhi, a cadre, to be next to Fei Cexian as a tour guide who would serve people before and after running. As long as he looked for Fei Cexian's weaknesses, he would Find an opportunity to start.
However, after arriving in Sanya, Fei Cexian behaved very conscientiously and was not eager to start social activities locally. Except for a few banquets and entertainment events arranged by Haihan officials, Fei Cexian almost stayed between the guest house and the embassy construction site. Maintain two-point and one-line activities. Zhang Qianzhi has repeatedly tried and tested these days, but can hardly find Fei Cexian's obvious weakness. This man has no obvious desire for money, power, or beauty, and he is also relatively calm. It can be seen that Ming Dynasty had full consideration in choosing him to serve as envoy Haihan, and he had great trust in his character and loyalty.
Of course, Haihan is not in a hurry to subdue this Ming envoy. Today, Haihan still takes the initiative in the relationship between the two countries. Work related to the various treaty ports established in the Ming Dynasty is also in full swing. Since the Ming envoy is here There is no rush to start negotiations, and Haihan is eager to buy more time to further consolidate the advantageous position he has achieved. In addition, Haihan is now planning to launch a military operation against Spain in the South China Sea. At this time, it is best not to have any disputes with Ming, lest the military pressure exerted on Ming by the north is not enough and it will have other thoughts.
He Xi introduced: "The materials this person borrows from the library are relatively mixed, and he can read everything related to my country. Because of the reading permissions, all he can see now are very basic things, and there is no one Explain to him, and Zhang Qianzhi is watching next to him, so there is no need to worry about leaking secrets.”
"There are some things that Zhang Qianzhi can tell him. There's no harm in understanding them." Tao Donglai responded with a smile.
He Xi nodded understandingly, indicating that he understood. Haihan has many secrets, but he also has many advanced technologies that are suitable for showing to the outside world. For an outsider like Fei Cexian, it is probably not enough to just let him see the library. It is best to combine theory with practice and arrange for him to go there. Look at the real power of industry. No one in this era can remain calm in the face of the industrial changes brought about by the steam engine, and Fei Cexian is no exception.
"Lao Yan, tell me about the preparations for war at the Ministry of National Defense!"
Since He Xi had made arrangements, Tao Donglai did not need to pay too much attention to Fei Cexian's affairs. The most important thing for Haihan at the moment was still preparations for war. Regarding the attack on Manila, the military has actually been planning for a long time, but it only officially entered the implementation stage in the second half of this year.
Since the Spaniards have been operating in Manila for decades, and the land and sea armed forces deployed there are not weak, this opponent is not so easy to deal with. Although Haihan had defeated the Spaniards twice in the Far East in the past, once he launched a surprise attack on Taiwan Island, catching the opponent off guard, and the other time he fought at home, fully occupying the home court advantage. The planned operation this time is to go to Luzon Island, which is more than a thousand kilometers away from Sanya. There are almost no supply points on the way. The operation is much more difficult than the previous operations in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty.
There are only two options before Haihan. One is to fight the Spaniards quickly and fight a blitzkrieg. Considering the cross-sea supply problem, regardless of whether Manila City can be captured, Haihan can only launch a wave of offensives. Of course it would be best to capture the city in one fell swoop, but if the attack fails and the city of Manila is not captured for ten days and a half, then most likely they will have no choice but to retreat to Hainan Island.
The second plan is a larger scale operation, which is to land and establish a stronghold near Manila, and then use it as a base to deliver troops and military supplies to the local area. After preparations are made, an offensive will be launched nearby Manila. The advantage of this is that the pre-war preparations are more complete, and the troops do not need to immediately engage in high-intensity siege battles after crossing thousands of miles of sea. They can also obtain supplies nearby, and the combat effectiveness they can exert must be greater than that of a wave. offensive. Even if the war goes unfavorably, the troops that Haihan sent to the local war will have a buffer and can continue the offensive for a longer period of time.
But no matter which plan is adopted, the amount of manpower, material and financial resources consumed during the period is not small, and the operational risks cannot be ignored. Even though the Ministry of National Defense has rich command experience, it is extremely cautious in handling this operation. From demonstration to implementation, every step was reported to the executive committee for discussion. The formulation process of the operational plan can be said to be very careful.
The reason why Haihan is so cautious is because Spain, his opponent this time, is not that easy to deal with. Since 1571, the Spanish colonist Legaspi invaded and occupied the Philippines from the Manitoba mainland, and built castles and forts there. The city of Manila became the capital of Spanish colonial rule in the Far East. In order to consolidate the foundation of their rule, the Spaniards have been constantly renovating and strengthening this city for decades, and have deployed almost all of Spain's elite armed forces in the Far East locally.
Although there is still a clear strength gap between the Spanish army in Manila and the army that served the Spanish royal family on the European battlefield, it is undeniable that this army is still stronger than the military power of Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands in the Far East. Many, the equipment rate and quantity of muskets and artillery are also much higher than those of their European counterparts, and the number of troops is in the thousands. If the city is entrenched and defended, it will not be easy for the Haihan army to capture it.
"Our combat plan is prepared in two stages." After the attendant hung the map of Manila Bay on the wall, Yan Chujie explained to everyone present: "The first stage is to destroy the Spanish maritime power. According to what we have According to the information, there are about eighteen to twenty-five warships stationed in Manila Bay, ranging in displacement from one hundred to five hundred tons, and there are no less than thirty armed merchant ships. Six Spanish galleons. They set off from Manila Bay in May, but they are still floating in the Pacific Ocean. They will arrive at the port of Acapulco in the Americas in about a month. However, their return journey will follow the ocean currents and sail directly to the Philippine Islands, which will only take about three months. It’s time to get back to Manila, so if we want to take action, it’s best to complete the operation before March next year.”
"As long as we can quickly clean up Manila Bay in the first stage, then it will be relatively easy to attack Manila City in the second stage." Yan Chujie pointed to the east side of Manila Bay and said: "If we take the first action plan, We have about ten days to attack the city, but according to the intelligence we have now, if we try to storm Manila, in addition to the consumption of ammunition, the number of casualties will probably not be too small. "How many troops do the Spaniards have?" Tao Donglai asked with concern.
"The army remains at least around 2,000 to 2,500 men, not counting the sailors and Spanish civilians they can recruit into the army at any time as temporary soldiers. In addition, the local armed forces they can command are almost the same size. Although These local armed forces mainly use cold weapons, but they are still a trouble that cannot be ignored. According to our estimates, they can gather more than 6,000 people to participate in the war. I have to say, this war. It may be more difficult than hunting wild boar hides in Liaodong.”
Yan Chujie's description is very cautious, which shows that the Ministry of National Defense is also very careful about this. Although Haihan has been able to achieve a record of winning more with less in foreign wars all year round, this is still due to the huge disparity in combat effectiveness between the two sides. If the opponent is equipped with a considerable number of firearms, has a fortified city for defense, and is fighting at home, then the Haihan Army will have to pay a certain price in exchange for victory.
The Executive Committee and the military do not doubt that they can achieve the final victory of the war, but the price they need to pay for it and whether the results obtained can meet expectations are currently uncertain. The Executive Committee and the military are also constantly evaluating this, hoping to make the most favorable judgment for themselves.
"Then what is the military going to do? Take a gamble or take it slow?" Schneider asked.
"I'm afraid we don't have the conditions to take it slow." Yan Chujie explained: "For this operation, the Ministry of National Defense is preparing to concentrate all elite forces, including the special operations battalion and Marine Corps stationed in Liaodong, and the Donghai station in Zhoushan. The fleet, the South China Sea Fleet stationed in Sanya, the South China Sea Special Warfare Group stationed in Xingdao, etc. This large-scale defense transfer will have certain security risks. For example, Liaodong and Shandong areas had to transfer three infantrymen from the south. Battalion as a supplement. We will eventually need to assemble about two full fleets and four battalions of land forces. This does not include the logistics troops. Even if we can maintain cross-sea supplies for a long time, we still have to deal with Manila City as soon as possible. Prevent other overseas control areas from being exploited. ”
Yan Chujie's words clearly demonstrated the military's determination to complete the victory in one battle. It has been very rare in recent years to mobilize elite troops in one place like this. The distance between the northern and southern ends of the original deployment area of the participating troops, from the Liaodong front line to Bangka Belitung Island in the South China Sea, was thousands of miles away. This shows how difficult it was to mobilize and change defenses.
In mobilizing these elite troops deployed on the front line to fight in the South China Sea, the Ministry of National Defense naturally took a lot of risks. The longer the battle in Manila drags on, the more dangerous the original garrison areas of these troops will become. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense hopes to solve the problem once and for all to avoid triggering a chain reaction.
"Even if all the troops on Hainan Island are mobilized, it won't be enough to fill the hole, right?" Although Schneider was not a military expert, he still knew the general situation of the Hainan Army, and he immediately continued to ask Yan Chujie.
Yan Chujie nodded and admitted Schneider's guess: "So this time we secretly borrowed some troops from our allies. Annan State sent about 1,500 troops south to Xingdao to help defend it, and then Xu Xinsu transferred about 1,000 troops from Fujian The musketeers were sent to Liaodong for the time being, and the Portuguese also sent 500 people, who will go to the Philippines with us."
"The Portuguese are very good at seizing opportunities." Schneider expressed his understanding that the Portuguese would take the initiative to participate. After all, they want to break away from Spanish rule. If they can seize the opportunity to beat the Spanish in the Far East, they will not miss it. The five hundred people sent by Portugal will definitely not be doing odd jobs on the front line. Their musketeers and artillerymen all have good military qualities. They were also military advisers to the Ming Dynasty in the past. They should be able to provide some assistance to the Haihan Army during the battle. .
"It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but it takes a while to use it. We have provided military assistance to these allies in the past years, and now we have finally received some rewards." Tao Donglai said with great relief. Of course, in fact, the military assistance Haihan provided to these allies was not free. On the contrary, he earned considerable economic benefits from it. However, these allies are actually very happy to participate in such borrowing operations. After all, being able to send troops to station on the front line of Haihan border defense is also an extremely rare means of training troops, and there is no need to worry about heavy casualties - at least Haihan had promised that no large-scale war would break out wherever they went.
As for the reason for not directly borrowing troops to participate in the battle, the main reason is that the Ministry of National Defense believes that there is a certain strength gap between the troops of these allies and the Haihan regular army, and the command system is not unified. It is not a big problem to conduct military exercises in normal times, but in real When fighting an opponent like Spain, it would be safer to use your own troops. As for why the Portuguese were able to join the coalition, Haihan thought that they were connected with the Spanish language and culture, so that they would no longer need to carry field translators, and they could be responsible for the custody and interrogation of Spanish prisoners of war after the war. Portugal only sent 500 men to participate in the war. In fact, it was only two or three ships. It could not help much in a battle of this scale, but it could not cause any trouble.
Of course, it is necessary to assemble troops deployed in different parts of the world, prepare combat materials, and then transport them to the Philippine Islands more than 2,000 miles away to fight. The time required and the coordination of all aspects of this process are also very troublesome. The system engineering of the Ministry of Defense alone is difficult to complete, so the Executive Committee needs to take the lead in convening meetings to coordinate the work of various departments. Today's meeting is already the thirteenth meeting held on this theme in three months.
(End of chapter)