Chapter 1630 Final preparation
For a country, which form is more beneficial to the long-term development of the country, whether it is the supremacy of imperial power or executive committee-style democracy? This question is too profound, and it is difficult for Fei Cexian to understand the reason even with his knowledge. But judging from the current situation, Haihan's development speed from scratch in less than ten years is really amazing. Haihan also used this as an argument to control public opinion and shape the executive committee in the past few years. The image of a great and upright ruler emerged. Although Fei Cexian has not been here for a long time, he can already clearly feel that the authority of the Executive Committee in Haihan is no less than that of the imperial power in Ming Dynasty.
But Fei Cexian really couldn't convince himself to accept the argument that "the Haihan system was better than the Ming Dynasty", so he could only think that this was a temporary phenomenon. Haihan was not that powerful, but when this country was established, It happened that Ming Dynasty was in the most difficult time and had no time to take care of its existence. Given time, when the Ming Dynasty recovers from the war, it will surely be able to regain its former glory and let the people of Haihan see the true strength of the empire.
Of course, his idea was more like a helpless self-comfort. After all, judging from Haihan's current development momentum, it would be difficult for Daming to keep up with Haihan's development, let alone contain it. Fei Cexian himself is actually very aware of these situations, so he does not have any specific measures in his mind to make Ming Dynasty rise again, because he really can't think of how Ming Dynasty can dismantle Haihan's strength in all aspects. advantageous position. Every time you know more about Haihan, the temperature of your heart will become colder.
Haihan's war against Spain, the propaganda work in the preparation stage alone was so complicated and meticulous, it can be imagined that the military preparations were even more comprehensive. Fei Cexian recalled the history of the Ming Dynasty and found that it seemed that there were very few times when so many propaganda methods were used to target public opinion before launching a foreign war. Of course, with the size of the Ming Dynasty, it is indeed difficult to achieve the same propaganda coverage effect as Haihan. Moreover, Haihan also has the black technology of telegraph, which can send messages across thousands of miles, even in overseas territories. The latest official instructions were learned in a short period of time, and its efficiency was far from comparable to Ming Dynasty's "Eight Hundred Miles Expedited".
Although Fei Cexian had no direct contact with the Spaniards, he looked up the history of the Haihan War in the library the day before yesterday and learned that the results between the two countries had always been one-sided. Now that Haihan is actively preparing for the war, he wants to The city of Manila, which is thousands of miles away from the sea, may not be aware of this yet. This battle will probably become another military operation for Haihan to expand its territory.
It is nearing the end of the year, and many Daming merchants are waiting in Sanya to settle payments, finalize orders for the next year, and transport the last batch of Haihan goods back to Daming this year. The news about Manila City published in various newspapers in Sanya naturally attracted the attention of interested people.
Among the Ming Dynasty merchants who had trade relations with Manila, many of them sold the industrial and agricultural commodities produced in Haihan and acted as middlemen to earn the price difference. Some specialties of Spanish American colonies were also sold through this method. Channels entered Haihan and Ming dynasties. However, Haihan officials and the media have been constantly reminding businessmen to be cautious when going to Manila during this period. People with a little vigilance have begun to realize that Manila is not experiencing so many coincidental natural and man-made disasters, but is being affected by the sea. Han was targeted. As for the reason, anyone who has not lost their memory will remember the naval battle between the two fleets off the coast of Sanya more than a year ago.
Although Haihan won a resounding victory at that time, with the style of the executive committee, how could he let go of this kind of bullying? After a year, it is probably time to settle this old account. Some businessmen with bright minds and well-informed information have already begun to find connections, hoping to establish a connection with the Haihan military so that they can take care of their shops and personnel when they invade Manila, so as not to be displaced by the insurgent soldiers. spread.
Although such a move may sound exaggerated, for businessmen, it is one of the necessary means to protect themselves in war. The cost of giving some benefits to the military in exchange for peace is definitely worth it. Anyway, the targets that Haihan State wants to deal with are the Spaniards, not their maritime merchants who specialize in cross-border trade. If the military needs it, they can even entrust the military to bring letters to ask their family members stationed locally to cooperate with the Haihan Army's military operations in the local area, and exchange military merit for the military's protection.
Although these businessmen have not received any professional military training or intelligence training, if they can really serve as a leading party locally, they can indeed save the Haihan Army a lot of trouble during wartime. Therefore, among these people, the military and the Ministry of Security will also conduct purposeful screening to find some businesses with suitable conditions, and use their knowledge of the area and their offices in Manila to assist the military in carrying out its tasks.
"Dacheng Bank" is one of the commercial banks selected by Haihan officials. However, unlike those merchants on the market who are eager to find cooperation with the military, the reason why Dacheng Bank was selected was not because of the shopkeeper's help. joint, but due to its special background.
According to the information registered by Dacheng Bank in the Haihan Commercial Department, it is a commercial firm run by a Ming Dynasty businessman named Wang. It is mainly engaged in cross-border trade. In addition to Haihan, its trading partners also include Annan, Champa, Portugal, and far away countries. The city of Manila on the island of Luzon. At first glance, there seems to be nothing special about it, but if you look at Dacheng Bank's bank account at Haihan Bank, you will find that the source of its funds is actually a bank under the name of Xu Xinsu in Fujian. Of course, this bank has naturally reached a cooperative relationship with Haihan Bank for deposits and redemptions a few years ago, so it is very convenient for Dacheng Bank to mobilize funds between Fujian and Hainan Island.
The money Dacheng Bank earned from trade with various countries in the South China Sea was remitted back to the bank in Fujian through Haihan Bank, and was then used as development funds for the Xu Xinsu Group. And this Dacheng Bank itself was just a branch of Xu Xinsu's trading business in Nanhai. It was just for the convenience of doing things that they specially built such a shell of a trading company that on the surface seemed to have nothing to do with the Xu family in Fujian.
Of course, such a commercial organization affiliated with Xu Xinsu's private company will naturally be responsible for collecting intelligence. Dacheng Bank has offices in the jurisdictions of various trading partners. While conducting local trading activities in the form of business warehouses, it also secretly collects intelligence information on military, political, and commercial aspects. The relationship between Xu Xinsu and Haihan has long been inseparable and symbiotic. This information will naturally be shared with Haihan. Some tasks are even entrusted by Haihan to Dacheng Bank.
The shopkeeper of Dacheng Bank actually has a close relationship with Haihan. This person's surname is Wang Minglin, from Fujian. In 1631, Ning Qi led a delegation to Fujian and was assassinated in Zhangzhou City. Wang Lin was present and experienced the turmoil together, and thus became acquainted with Ning Qi. Later, after Ning Qi's introduction, Xu Xinsu sponsored Wang Lin to study abroad in Haihan for three years. Then Wang Lin opened Dacheng Bank under Xu Xinsu's instruction, with himself as the shopkeeper. When Wang Lin came to Haihan to study abroad, he originally wanted to learn Haihan's advanced technology or country governance. However, after arriving here, he was affected by the strong local business atmosphere and changed his profession to study business management. Later, under the arrangement of Ning Qi, Entered Haihan Commercial Department and worked as an intern for a period of time. Therefore, Dacheng Hong's business style is almost in line with Haihan, but it is somewhat different from the traditional Mingshang business style.
One of the reasons why Haihan officials chose Dacheng Bank was because Wang Lin was familiar with Haihan affairs, making it easier for the two parties to communicate. However, for the sake of confidentiality, the military only recently began to contact Wang Lin on this matter. The professional intelligence personnel deployed by the Ministry of Security have actually been lurking in Manila for a long time. The cooperation that private commercial institutions like Dacheng Bank can provide is only as a non-essential backup method.
Wang Lin has stayed in Sanya for several years, and has not cooperated with Haihan officials once or twice since he opened Dacheng Bank, so he is very calm about the tasks he has received. He himself is a well-informed upper-class person. He has already heard about Haihan's intention to attack Manila. Recently, newspapers have gradually confirmed this news. As for the official Haihan initiative to find him in the end, it is just a matter of course. After all, Dacheng Bank has offices inside and outside Manila, and its local knowledge is far better than that of ordinary maritime merchants. It can indeed provide more valuable intelligence information to the Haihan military.
The Haihan military did not summon him publicly, but sent a carriage to Wang Lin's house one night and took him to Victory Fort to meet with senior officials from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Security. Wang Lin himself had been to Manila once, so he knew a little bit about the local area, and he tried his best to give detailed answers to the questions raised by Haihan senior officials.
After nearly two hours of questioning, Dacheng Bank was finally selected as one of the foreign aid agencies to provide assistance to Haihan's military in the attack on Manila. However, Wang Lin did not need to take any risks for this. He did not need to go to Manila in person. He only needed to revise a letter and hand it over to the military, and then tell the local Dacheng Bank staff what to do.
Similar to the situation of Dacheng Bank and Wang Lin, there are actually other candidates arranged in Haihan's preparations. The Ministry of National Defense hopes that after the army arrives at the local area, no matter how bad the local conditions are, it can find a trustworthy leader in the shortest possible time. Although the intelligence personnel deployed by the Ministry of Security to the local area are more reliable, after all, their number is very small, and the guidance and help they can provide will be limited. If more civilian forces can be mobilized, the military's local operations may be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
On December 28, at the last plenary meeting of the Executive Committee at the end of the year, Tao Donglai summarized the relationship between Haihan and Spain and the current situation of Manila City. After the meeting, he concluded with the Executive Committee’s In the name, a note was issued to envoys from various countries that military operations would be carried out in the near future against the city of Manila under Spanish rule in retaliation for the Spanish fleet's attack on Sanya last September, and at the same time to rescue the Han immigrants in Manila who were oppressed by Spanish colonists. The note reminded all countries to restrict their nationals and ships from heading to Luzon Island in the near future to avoid unexpected events during the war. In addition, if any country, organization or individual tries to stand in the same camp as the Spanish, Haihan will be regarded as an enemy and will be attacked using military means.
The content of this diplomatic note can be described as very domineering. It did not give Spain any chance to explain, nor did it leave any room for other countries to try to make peace. It directly announced that it would take action. Although this was expected by many people, when the war actually comes, people will still be impressed by the determination and decisiveness of the Haihan Executive Committee.
When Fei Cexian received this diplomatic note, he was supervising the work at the embassy construction site with his legs crossed. There was not much in the note that surprised him. Apart from not announcing the detailed time of the operation, it was basically consistent with what he expected. Occupying the commanding heights of justice, denouncing opponents, completing war preparations, and launching war, this process is already familiar to Haihan.
After the Executive Committee announced this decision, it seemed that there was no big commotion in Sanya. After all, foreign wars had never stopped before and after the founding of the Haihan Army. From last year to this year, the Haihan Army's overseas military operations have continued. There has been no interruption. The East China Sea Fleet used excuses to blockade Hangzhou Bay, the South China Sea Xingdao defeated the Johor Allied Forces, and clashed with the Spanish Fleet off the coast of Sanya. The Haihan Army landed at Lushunkou and launched a spring offensive in Liaodong. Wang Tom personally led the fleet to demonstrate in Seoul, North Korea. The people of Haihan have long been accustomed to so many military operations, and they do not regard foreign wars as anything special.
After all, every time Haihan launches a foreign war, the final result is extremely beneficial to Haihan. Although this war has not started yet, since the Executive Committee has unilaterally declared war, most of the citizens who know the news Everyone will subconsciously think that this is just the beginning of another victory. Perhaps in a few months, that city thousands of miles east of Sanya will become Haihan's ruling area. This is a real thing that happened in Haihan's history.
In fact, three days before the Executive Committee issued the diplomatic note, the elite troops transferred back from the north had already completed their assembly in Sanya, Kaohsiung Port on Taiwan Island, and Camran Port in Annan. In order to save time on the road, the military did not transfer all participating troops back to Sanya. Instead, they arranged to assemble nearby and attack Manila in three directions. Among these three armies, Sanya has become the departure point for the farthest voyage.
(End of chapter)