Chapter 2227
This year, Haihan teamed up with Fujian to launch a cross-sea expedition against the Hirado clan. The main purpose was actually to wipe out the remaining Shibashiba forces hiding in the area.
No matter how hard the Hirado clan tried, it was still just a powerful local in a corner of Japan. The Shiba Shimo Party, which had been lingering and causing trouble for Haihan, was what made Haihan so afraid that he had to carry out military operations in the area. The real reason for the blow.
The grievances between Shibazhi and the Haihan Kingdom and the Fujian Xu family have been around for a long time, and it is impossible to resolve them. However, the remaining members of the Shibazhi Party who were forced to leave Japan have never given up their intention to retaliate against Haihan. A series of gun-related incidents have fully proved that Shibazhi tried to make a comeback in Hirado and colluded with anti-Haihan forces from various places to cause trouble. Of course, Haihan cannot sit back and watch this unfavorable situation continue to develop.
This year, Haihan's conquest against Hirado eliminated Gao Hongfu, Lu Yuanlong, Wei Zhi, Wen Jianyi and other Shibazhi leaders who were hiding there, and the harvest was quite fruitful. However, the key figures among them, Tagawa Suke and his adopted son Tagawa Shichizaemon, both escaped by chance, which still left consequences for this operation.
And Tagawasuke's appearance in Hirado again will inevitably affect Zhoushan, the Kaihan-controlled area closest to Hirado. It was impossible for Shi Diwen to pretend to be deaf to such important news, but at present, apart from sending personnel to the local area as soon as possible to collect more information, it seemed that there was no other method available for the time being.
As a local official, Shi Diwen has military and political power, but he does not have the power to independently decide to send troops when encountering such a situation. The situation must be reported to Sanya first, and the executive committee and the Ministry of National Defense will jointly decide whether military means are needed. to cope.
After the staff meeting in Zhoushan, Shi Diwen sent a telegram back to Sanya, detailing the information currently available and asking the executive committee for next steps.
“Shi Diwen’s focus is wrong!”
In Sanya Victory Fort, after reading the content of the telegram sent by Shi Diwen, Tao Donglai said to Yan Chujie sitting opposite him: "There are 1,600 miles between Zhoushan and Hirado. There are East China Sea Fleet and If an infantry battalion is stationed for a long time, there is no need to worry about how much trouble the Hirado gang can afford! Is it possible that we have to launch another cross-sea expedition for the sake of Tagawa Suke? "
Yan Chujie said: "In terms of military strength, the Hirado clan is indeed no longer worthy of our war. Lao Tao, what do you think we need to pay attention to in this matter now?"
"The arsenal of the Hirado clan and the ordnance technology they possess." Tao Donglai said calmly: "This is what really threatens us, and we cannot let it spread."
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The ordnance and shipbuilding technology mastered by the Hirado Domain came from the Shiba Shiba Party, and the technology for manufacturing weapons such as muskets and artillery came from the Spanish. Although there is still a clear performance gap between locally manufactured weapons and Haihan, the fact that they can mass-produce standard weapons is already a danger signal.
The reason why the Hirado clan has grown rapidly in recent years and even slowly expanded its influence to the mainland coast is that in addition to relying on the huge wealth obtained from the local trade environment, another very important reason is the Shiba Shiba belt. To the military and navigation skills of Hirado. These advanced technologies greatly improved the armed strength of the Hirado clan, and gave them the confidence to negotiate terms and cooperation with forces at home and abroad in Japan, and even gave them the illusion that they could fight Kaihan.
Of course, an illusion is an illusion after all. The consequence of provoking Kaihan was that the Hirado Domain's many years of management were completely destroyed by the war and were almost completely wiped out by the Kaihan Expeditionary Force. Even if the Hirado clan could repeat the good luck of previous years, it would still be no match for the military conquest from Kaihan.
But if these technologies flow from the Hirado Domain to the hands of some more powerful hostile forces, the trouble that will be caused may not be so easy to solve.
The Eighteen Shiba Yu Party relied on the Hirado Domain just because the local area could provide them with an environment for a comeback. However, the situation of the Hirado Domain after suffering a military attack is already very bleak, and the Eighteen Shiba Yu Party's prospects of seeking revenge are also increasing. The more slim it becomes, under such circumstances, there is indeed the possibility that the Eighteenth Party Committee will find another way out.
"Old Tao, what do you mean, we have to prevent Shibazhi from leaving Hirado to develop elsewhere?" Yan Chujie seemed to have understood Tao Donglai's thoughts.
Tao Donglai nodded and said: "Especially in the north!"
A raid on the Liaodong front line before the end of last year caused Haihan to lose a patrol team in an ambush by the Qing army's musketeers. This incident attracted great attention from the military, and at the beginning of this year, the Marine Corps went deep into enemy-occupied areas and eliminated this musketeer team.
Later investigations revealed that the weapons and training of the musketry team belonging to the Qing army were provided by the Hirado Domain. This was one of the reasons that prompted the high-level officials of Haihan to make up their minds to launch a cross-sea expedition against the Hirado Domain.
Moreover, after the Hirado War, judging from the weapons transaction records found at Tagawasuke's home, the number of weapons they sold to the Qing army was more than the amount of equipment required to destroy the musketeers. This means that the Qing army may still have another weapon at any time. Another musketry team was revealed, which caused the Liaodong front line to tighten the scope of the patrol team's activities after receiving this information, and took the initiative to maintain a safe distance from the actual control area of the Qing army.
Considering that the Hirado clan and the Qing army had already established a secret cooperative relationship before, arms trading was probably just one of their cooperation projects. If Shibazhi wanted to find another backer, it would be very difficult for them to flee to the Qing Dynasty. Said it might be a good way out.
Although Haihan had achieved complete control of the sea on the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula, and would even send small groups of troops to land from time to time to attack and plunder areas controlled by the Qing army, it was necessary to completely block access to the Qing-controlled areas from the sea. channel is still unlikely to be realized.
What's more, if you want to enter the Qing ruled area from Japan, you don't necessarily have to go through the Liaodong Peninsula. You can go north from the sea via the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, land near the northern border of North Korea, and enter the Qing Dynasty through the mountains. Although the itinerary of this route is troublesome as it alternates between sea and land, it will not be interfered by the Haihan Navy, and safety is more guaranteed.
Yan Chujie reminded: "Old Tao, even if we deploy several times more naval power in the north, it is impossible to completely block the sea route from Japan to the Liaodong region. Moreover, with the current capabilities of the navy, it is impossible to let the entire fleet Long-term patrol at sea"
Tao Donglai nodded and said: "Of course I understand this. If we cannot prevent the worst case scenario from happening, we must be prepared to deal with this situation first." "You mean that the Qing army will be equipped with a large number of firearms in the future? "Yan Chujie's expression also began to become serious.
"There are some things that even we can't prevent from happening." Tao Donglai said: "Actually, I had a bad premonition before I was unable to find a workshop producing muskets in Hirado. I think those Shibazhi People will no longer sit back and wait for death in Hirado, and will definitely find ways to continue causing trouble for us.”
For Haihan, the most difficult enemy at present is the Qing army in Liaodong. Since the area occupied by Haihan in Liaodong is too far away from the mainland of Hainan, the scale of the troops deployed there has almost reached the upper limit of what supplies can support, and the navy with the greatest advantage can play a relatively limited role in the local area, so it is difficult to Relying on the limited garrison in Jinzhou area to realize the attack on Liaodong.
The current confrontation between the two sides near the Golden State Isthmus is a dynamic balance formed after many battles over the past few years. If either side wants to break this balance, it must significantly improve its strength.
If the Qing army with superior strength suddenly obtains a large number of advanced standard weapons in terms of weapons and equipment, then this balance may be broken, endangering the stability of the Jinzhou region.
Of course, there are two places near Liaodong, the Zhifu Island Base and the Datong River Base, which can ensure that there are reinforcements for the Jinzhou War and a retreat, and there is no need to worry about the situation getting out of control in a short time.
But from a long-term perspective, as long as the Qing Dynasty obtains the manufacturing technology of advanced firearms, the balance of strength between the warring parties will inevitably change slowly, and the pressure on the Jinzhou garrison will also increase, which will affect the sea. This is never a good thing for Han.
Yan Chujie was in charge of the Haihan army and the navy. He could naturally imagine such consequences. He sighed and said: "You are right. Even we, there are many things that we cannot do... Then if there are signs from Liaodong, , we can only try to send more troops to Jinzhou to consolidate the defense line.”
Tao Donglai said: "I think some preparations can be started now, such as notifying Jinzhou of relevant information, strengthening the fortifications and bunkers on Jinzhou's defense line, and dispatching more artillery units from the south to the area. Regions... take preventive measures before they happen, and don’t have to wait until something really happens to panic.”
"You're right, these preparations must be deployed as soon as possible." Yan Chujie agreed, but then asked another question: "Should we sound a wake-up call for Ming Dynasty?"
Tao Donglai thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "You arrange the time, we will meet with Ambassador Fei Cexian and give him the general situation."
The Jinzhou Defense Line is currently the highest latitude military base under the rule of Haihan, but its significance is not only a symbol of the country's northern border, but also an important weight in maintaining regional military balance. It was by virtue of this small place that Haihan held back a considerable part of the main force of the Qing Dynasty, preventing them from attacking Ming Dynasty in the west and North Korea in the east by land.
If the Qing army was allowed to act without scruples, the troops they would have invested in attacking North Korea last year were estimated to be tens of thousands more elites. In that case, even if Haihan intervened, it would be more difficult to prevent the Qing army from moving south. .
The Ming Dynasty was not much better. The Qing army was knocking on the pass every year, and the resistance the Ming Dynasty could only rely on to defend a small number of fortified city passes, leaving large open areas for the Qing army to plunder. If the Qing army hadn't considered their retreat and the Haihan army might jump out to cause trouble at any time, they would have marched straight in and begun to occupy the Ming city.
From the perspective of an ally, Tao Donglai believed that it was still necessary to give Ming a warning so that they could prepare in advance for the possible direction of the war situation in the future. Of course, with the Ming Dynasty's willful style, even if they were reminded, they might not listen, and even if they listened, they might not be able to feel comfortable enough to take measures according to Haihan's suggestions.
Fei Cexian has been living quite well in the past six months. Although the arrival of the crown prince of Joseon last year made him feel inconvenienced for a while, the prince's appearance has been greatly reduced since he entered school. Fei Cexian felt inconvenienced in diplomatic situations. It also became much less.
The North Koreans were also very wise and chose the place furthest away from the Ming embassy in the designated area for the embassy they built. In this way, everyone will meet less often, and embarrassing situations can be avoided as much as possible.
Fei Cexian's daily work is to read various news released by Haihan officials through newspapers and other channels, and then corroborate it with folk rumors, record major events in detail, and add his own interpretation to each A memorial was written and sent back to the court once every half month.
As for interactions with ambassadors from other countries in the embassy area, Fei Cexian actually has a hard time, because most of the countries that have established embassies in Sanya have a similar attitude towards Haihan as North Korea, and regard it as their ally or trading partner. , and this role has been played by Ming Dynasty for the past two hundred years.
Although these countries still respect the Ming Dynasty, their diplomatic relations are obviously not as close as with Haihan. Whenever he heard envoys from various countries talking about the various trade agreements or military alliances signed with Haihan, Fei Cexian would feel uncomfortable, as if Ming Dynasty was like these small countries, establishing so-called military alliances with Haihan for some petty profits. trade relations, or reached military cooperation with Haihan in order to seek asylum.
Although the Ming Dynasty acquiesced in the many areas that Haihan occupied by military means on its own coastline from south to north, in Fei Cexian's view, this was just because the Heavenly Kingdom did not care about the gains and losses of this small country. The internal and external troubles faced by Ming Dynasty will eventually be resolved. When the time comes, they will turn around and deal with Haihan, and they will naturally regain the lost land along the coast.
As for Qiongzhou Island, it is estimated that it will be a bit difficult to take it back by military means. After all, the Haihan people’s armed fleet is there. Even if Fei Cexian is military-illiterate, he knows that it is difficult to defeat it with the Ming Navy. These sea monsters.
But as long as the trade route between Daming and Qiongzhou Island is cut off, Haihan's maritime trade will no longer be able to continue, and its national strength will inevitably be greatly damaged. If the Haihan people were willing to humble themselves and ask the Ming Dynasty to allow them to live temporarily on Qiongzhou Island and open a few ports for them to do business, then it would not be impossible to negotiate.
(End of chapter)