Chapter 2093
For a professional soldier like Minami Takahashi who devotes all his attention to the military, only leading troops to fight can truly make him feel excited and fulfilled. As for whether the opponent is the Spaniards, the Liaodong Manchus, or the Japanese, it actually doesn't make much difference to him. Since he has been recognized as an enemy by the Executive Committee, defeating the opponent on the battlefield will count as fulfilling his duty.
As for whether there are other deeper political considerations for the military operations of the Hirado Domain, that is not a question that Takahashi Minami will ponder. He knows his identity very well, and Qian Tiandun has taught him to concentrate on leading the army for many years. Soldiers, don't focus on issues that should not be considered by soldiers.
Now that the Ministry of National Defense is not concerned about his Japanese identity and is ready to hand over this combat mission to himself, Takahashi Minami believes that this is also an excellent opportunity to prove his loyalty to Haihan.
Gao Qiaonan took over the errand from Qian Tiandun, and then returned to the regiment headquarters to convene his officers to hold a mobilization meeting to convey the latest arrangements of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense. Officers above the company level and the staff department of the regiment will participate in the formulation of this combat plan, and the preparation and mobilization of various combat supplies will also begin at the same time.
However, before formulating a combat plan, officers still need to provide more detailed intelligence information from the fleet that conducts reconnaissance missions locally. Another thing that has to be prepared in advance is to determine the frontline supply base. Previously, the reconnaissance fleet chose Seogwipo as the supply port. In theory, the local area can also provide the same services to Haehan's armed fleet, but it must be You need to say hello to North Korean officials first. After all, the size of the Haihan army that will set off from the Datong River to the area in the next combat mission must be much larger than the reconnaissance fleet sent there previously.
In addition to Haihan's own troops, this operation will also notify Haihan's allies. Based on the principle of voluntary participation, allies can choose whether to participate.
In two large-scale overseas military operations last year, Haihan's allies sent troops to participate. In the campaign to conquer the West at the beginning of the year and the campaign to aid Korea in the middle of the year, the Portuguese, Annan and Fujian Ming armies all sent armed forces of varying sizes to participate in the battle. In this process, in addition to training troops and bringing closer relations, these troops participated in the war. All the forces have benefited more or less after the war.
Whether in Manila or post-war North Korea, these participants have obtained permission to conduct business and trade locally, thus adding at least two more destinations to their overseas trade routes. Moreover, with the big tree of Haihan as a shield from the wind and rain, the allies would have to face much fewer difficulties when building commercial institutions there.
Will these allies be interested in participating in military operations against the Hirado Domain? Regarding this issue, the Executive Committee has generally consulted the opinions of various envoys stationed in Haihan in Sanya.
First of all, the Xu family of Fujian must take part in relevant actions because the affairs of the Hirado clan have already involved Xu Xinsu's mortal enemy Shibazhi, which makes him unable to remain idly by. To put it more seriously, even if Haihan does not launch military measures this time, Xu Xinsu will definitely try to eliminate the remaining Eighteenth Party members who have the potential to make a comeback, and may even apply for assistance from Haihan and others.
The Fujian side responded exactly like this. Xu Xinsu said that he could send 5,000 naval troops and 100 warships to fully participate in Haihan's military operations against the Hirado clan. As long as the Haihan military finalizes the action plan, the Fujian Navy will definitely cooperate with it. The positive attitude shown by the Fujian side even exceeded the two military operations last year. This shows that Xu Xinsu still has a deep obsession with the Eighteen Zhiyu Party and must get rid of it quickly.
The troops that Annan Kingdom sent to Korea to participate in the war last year have basically withdrawn to the south. After all, there are opponents such as Siam, Champa, and the Ming Dynasty around Annan Kingdom, which have not been dealt with very much. From time to time, there will be armed conflicts on the land and sea borders. Such The surrounding environment made it impossible for Annan to deploy his few elite troops overseas for a long time.
After reaching an agreement to establish diplomatic relations and trade relations with North Korea, most of Annan's troops have withdrawn. The personnel remaining in the north are now made up of officials, businessmen and a small number of officers who stay in the Haihan Army as military observers. Even if Annanguo is willing to participate in this operation, but for the time being it does not have the ability to send troops. And once again deploying troops from Annan to participate in the operation, it would be too fussy. Afterwards, there may not be enough benefits from the local area as a reward for the Annan army.
The Portuguese still have several armed warships stationed in North Korea's ports. In their words, they are to protect the Portuguese Kingdom's commercial interests in North Korea. But Haihan knew very well that this was just an excuse used by the Portuguese. Their purpose was probably to seek a territory in North Korea using Macau's operating methods. However, the Koreans are more wary of Westerners. Although the Portuguese also made a lot of efforts in last year's aid operation to Korea, they did not get a semi-permanent military base like Haihan, but only got a trade support. that power.
The Portuguese have always been happy to participate in Haihan's overseas military operations, but Japan is probably an inconvenient target for them. The Portuguese still have a functioning business office in Nagasaki, and several Portuguese merchant ships still go to Japanese ports for trade every year. If Portugal joins the war, it is likely that its trade relations with Japan will come to an end, and it is likely that sending troops to join the war will not be worth the loss.
Thomas, Haihan's envoy in Sanya, was indeed very vague on the matter, saying that the matter might need to be coordinated with the Portuguese Business Council in Macau, and then it would be necessary to review whether the northern combat troops met the conditions for war. In addition, before the war started, they had to try to notify the Portuguese expatriates in Nagasaki and Hirado to evacuate in advance to avoid being involved in the war. After listing these many conditions, it is clear that they don't want to send troops, but the Portuguese will definitely not reject Haihan's invitation directly, so they can only achieve their goal through tactical detours.
The Executive Committee did not show any dissatisfaction with the vague attitude of the Portuguese. After all, the Portuguese did not know that their short-sighted behavior would not help preserve their trade qualifications in Japan. According to the original history, the Tokugawa Shogunate completely banned the Portuguese from entering. This is probably what will happen in Japan in the next one or two years. When the time comes, the Portuguese will look back at their decision and will probably regret their previous soft-heartedness.
After such a round of questioning, the only one who is truly willing and able to send troops is Shiba Zhi's old enemy Xu Xinsu. However, this result was basically within the expectations of the Haihan military, so it cannot be said to be a disappointment.
As an old partner who completely copied the Haihan military system, the Fujian Ming Army is one of the few allied forces that can maintain a tacit understanding with the Haihan Army on the battlefield. It is relatively easy to cooperate with them in carrying out combat missions. In the past few years, the two militaries have jointly dispatched troops no less than ten times, and they have accumulated rich practical experience in this regard. Xu Xinsu made it clear that as long as it was fighting against Shibazhi, the Fujian Ming Army would be willing to cooperate with the Haihan Army's actions at any time.
At this time, the reconnaissance fleet in Japan had completed its operations in Nagasaki and was heading west again to the waters of the Goto Islands.
Amakusa Shiro also stayed in Nagasaki for three days. During this period, in addition to having contact with Portuguese merchants, he also entered the city of Nagasaki and learned in detail about the local trade status and some information related to the Hirado Domain. However, Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi did not know at this time that the senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense had fabricated a telegram drafted by them, allowing the Executive Committee to decide to initiate military operations against the Hirado Domain in a very short period of time. According to their action plan, before returning to Jeju Island, the fleet will also conduct a more detailed close-up reconnaissance of the Goto Islands area to confirm whether there are armed fleets hiding in the dark nearby. After discovering the two shipyards and armed warships in Hirado, they became increasingly worried that the Goto Islands, originally the home of Japanese pirates, had been secretly controlled by the Hirado clan, and stationed some maritime armed forces here to avoid outside attention. .
However, there are quite a few small harbors along the coast of the Goto Islands for anchorage, and it is not easy to search this area. After discussion between Amakusa Shiro and Yuan Zhi, it was decided that the two reconnaissance ships would be divided into two groups to search the island coastline of the Goto Islands from the east and west directions, and after completion, they would rendezvous at the predetermined location. The key targets of the search are the two islands with the largest area and longest coastline, Nakadori Island and Fukue Island.
After enduring several days of bumps on the reconnaissance ship, Yuan Zhi finally focused on a bay on the northern coast of Fujiang Island.
In fact, they had passed by this bay once when they came here, but there was nothing unusual that attracted their attention at that time. Looking towards this bay from the sea, they could clearly see the coastline filled with rocks in the bay. It didn't look like a suitable place for a boat to anchor, so they didn't stop there.
However, when he returned to this place again on his way back, Yuan Zhi discovered through his telescope that a large sailboat had sailed into this bay, and then disappeared from his sight without a trace.
Yuan Zhi knew that this was certainly not a cover-up, but that there was a hidden secret in this inconspicuous bay. If he hadn't seen a ship sailing in, he probably wouldn't have guessed that this place was not as simple as it looked from the outside.
However, the channel width of this bay is less than a hundred feet. If a reconnaissance ship were to sail here, its whereabouts would inevitably be exposed to broad daylight. If there is a target that Yuan Zhi is looking for, it will definitely alert the enemy. With such a narrow channel and the unknown environment inside, Yuan Zhi did not dare to sail in in the dark at night.
In desperation, Yuan Zhi could only consider landing reconnaissance, which was relatively easy to implement. The terrain on the east side of this bay is relatively flat, but there are acres of farmland in this area, and landing can easily expose your tracks. The west side of the bay is a mountainous area near the sea, which is almost no man's land. However, the coastline is rugged with rocks and there are reefs under the water. It is very risky to swim ashore.
In the end, Yuan Zhi had no choice but to leave this place and go to a fishing village ten miles away. He sent people ashore at night to get a local fishing boat back. Then the next day, Yuan Zhi personally led a team dressed as local fishermen and drove a small sampan slowly and leisurely into the bay.
The entrance of the bay is due north. When the fishing boat sailed into the bay from the entrance channel, Yuan Zhi knew that he had been deceived by the appearance of this place. This bay is not as small as it appears from the outside. Hidden behind the mountains to the west of the entrance is a bay with an area of at least five thousand acres.
And that's not all. When the fishing boat sailed into this hidden bay, Yuan Zhi discovered that there was another winding channel leading to the east. There was also a large bay there, and there seemed to be some special facilities on the coast. .
When the distance was a little closer, Yuan Zhi discovered that there were clearly several shipyards side by side, and in the shipyards, several sailboats were under construction at different stages of construction.
Yuan Zhi was no stranger to the appearance of these ships. He had seen them once near Hirado Port. If Shiro Amakusa was here, he would probably be able to confirm with greater certainty that this was the type of warship he had seen at the two shipyards on Hirado Island. The shipyard hidden in this harbor seems to have a larger construction scale than the two places in Hirado.
When Yuan Zhi tried to get closer to the shipyard, he discovered that this was not all the waters of the bay. There was another bay to the southwest of the shipyard extending inland. Judging from the color of the sea water, it should be the mouth of a certain river. In this most hidden bay, Yuan Zhi finally saw the port and dock, as well as a sight that made his heart beat faster.
In addition to the common large and small fishing boats docked in this harbor, there are also several Chinese warships of the same shape and tonnage neatly moored on the pier. Yuan Zhi suppressed his ecstasy and counted roughly. There were eight warships parked here alone. In addition, there were four ships under construction in the dock. It seemed that this place should be a It is an extremely important military base.
If viewed from a high place, this bay with complex topography is actually S-shaped, and the part that can be seen outside the bay may actually only account for about one-tenth of the entire bay. Without going inside, it's hard to imagine how great this bay is.
Taking advantage of the fact that the fishing boat did not attract the attention of the locals, Yuan Zhi quickly drove the boat back the way he came from with his men. If they were blocked in this bay, even if there were hundreds of warships on the sea outside, it would be difficult to rush in immediately for rescue.
Fortunately, they were lucky enough to evacuate to the sea smoothly and rejoin the reconnaissance ship. Such a major discovery can basically confirm that Fukue Island is indeed under the direct control of the Hirado Domain.
(End of chapter)