Chapter 2260
As the Ming Dynasty has gradually declined due to internal and external troubles in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain sufficient deterrence against neighboring countries. Its ambitious neighbors are not only the Manchus in the north, but also Annan, whose national power is rapidly growing. I came up with the idea of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty.
The Guangdong and Guangxi regions are far away from the power center of the Ming Dynasty, and Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangdong, Siming Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, Zhen'an Prefecture, Guishun Prefecture, Pingxiang Prefecture, Siling Prefecture and other places in Guangxi border on the northern border of Annan State. If these places had not had complex terrain and inconvenient transportation, Annan might have been unable to restrain its ambition to expand northward a few years ago.
Of course, if Annan were to do it themselves, they would still be somewhat wary of the Ming Dynasty's accumulated prestige over the past two hundred years. Therefore, after the Annan people came up with this idea, the first thing they had to do was not to raise troops, horses, food and grass, but to find ways to Convince your allies to send troops to share this cake.
Haihan's operations in the coastal areas of Guangdong over the years have been noticed by the people of Annan. Almost all the upper echelons of the coastal states have been bribed by Haihan, and there are a large number of private industries related to Haihan. Although these places still belong to the Ming Dynasty and have not been directly included under Haihan's rule, if Haihan wants to annex these areas one day, the resistance he will encounter will probably be extremely limited.
But from another perspective, if Annan wants to take action in these places that have been penetrated by Haihan for several years, he will definitely face the risk of offending Haihan. Therefore, if Annan wants to expand northward, he must also inform Haihan in advance. At the same time, they had to bypass areas where Haihan had direct interests.
Zheng Zha's proposal to carve up Guangdong and Guangxi with the Leizhou Peninsula as the boundary actually left Haihan room for bargaining, because Lianzhou Prefecture to the west of the Leizhou Peninsula was also within Haihan's sphere of influence, and it was unlikely that this would be divided. The place only a hundred miles away from Black Earth Port was handed over to others. As long as Haihan has the intention to negotiate on this matter, Zheng Zao will follow the trend and hand over Lianzhou Prefecture to Haihan, while Annan will only take the land in the direction of Guangxi.
And is it enough to just bring Shanghai Han together for such a big move? The Annan people believe that the momentum is still not big enough. If Xu Xinsu from Fujian can also participate, the coastal areas from the Indochina Peninsula to the Fujian Strait can be connected. Although they belong to three parties, at least they are allies with closely linked interests. In the future, if they want to expand their sphere of influence to the northern continent, they can also take care of each other.
However, Xu Xinsu was still nominally a local official of the Ming Dynasty. Allowing him to participate would be tantamount to starting a rebellion and establishing his own company. The consequences of this would probably be much more complicated than Annan and Haihan's invasion of Ming Dynasty territory.
And this is also the point that the Annan people least considered, that is, they don't know whether Xu Xinsu has the will to rebel, and they can only try to persuade the other party to accept it. And once Xu Xinsu does not accept this suggestion, there will be big problems with this plan.
He Xi said: "Young prince, you still don't understand our position. We need the Ming court to focus on the north, so that we can have time and space for us to develop. In short, attacking the Ming Dynasty is not in line with our interests at this stage. .”
Zheng Zha looked at Xu Yuxing, and Xu Yuxing also shook his head and said: "Little prince, Mr. He is right, this will not work."
Zheng Zhuo still said unwillingly: "But isn't the land and population of the Ming Dynasty the resources we need? We used to send troops across the sea to fight in other countries, and in the end, wasn't it just to get these? Why can other countries fight against the Ming Dynasty? Can’t fight? Wouldn’t it be good for us to rule the Ming Dynasty from now on?”
He Xi was silent for a moment before responding: "Little Prince, I think you found me first instead of directly going to the military leaders. You probably also want to test our country's attitude. Then I can only tell you with regret, Executive Committee There is no room for negotiation whether you go to Tao Donglai or Yan Chujie. I suggest you give up this idea as soon as possible, because... our country will not support it. Your country launched a war against the Ming Dynasty.”
He Xi originally wanted to speak more harshly, but after thinking about it, she felt it was a bit inappropriate, so she finally chose a slightly more tactful statement.
The rulers of the Haihan Kingdom are a group of Chinese from hundreds of years later. Their obsession with the Han territory is incomprehensible to people of this era. It’s okay to be from the Xu family in Fujian. After all, they are also of Han origin with upright roots, so there won’t be much of a psychological barrier to cooperation.
Although Annan is considered a good partner, he is still a foreigner in the eyes of Haihan executives. Military alliances are okay, and there is no problem in carving up overseas interests, but if we want to move areas under the rule of the Han Dynasty, there is no need to discuss it.
In the Guangdong and Guangxi areas, whether it is ruled by the Ming Dynasty or whether it is slowly taken over by Haihan in the future, in Haihan's plan, Annan will not have anything to do with it, and it is impossible for Annan to directly participate in his own military operations against the Ming Dynasty, or It’s time to send troops together to carve up the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
Regarding this point, He Xi was very sure of the attitude of the executive committee, so he could reject Zheng Zha's proposal in a very firm tone and suggested that he give up such an idea as soon as possible.
Hearing such a reply, Zheng Zha was undoubtedly very disappointed. Although he also thought that it might be difficult to persuade these two families to send troops, he did not expect that their attitudes were unanimous and resolutely opposed. Hearing He Xi's decisive reply, Zheng Zha even had the illusion that Haihan's ally was actually Ming Dynasty and not Annan. Otherwise, why would they protect Ming Dynasty's interests so much?
Zheng Zha smiled bitterly and said: "This is really beyond my expectation... I thought that your country had already made corresponding plans to replace the rule of the Ming Dynasty. It seems that I was wrong!"
He Xi said: "Whether to replace the rule of the Ming Dynasty depends on the future development of our country and is not something to be taken for granted. For our country, there are many things more important than overthrowing the rule of the Ming Dynasty. If your country wants to expand, I personally It is recommended to consider developing towards the west and south. ”
From Haihan's standpoint, Annan would never be allowed to easily get involved in the Ming Dynasty's territory, but He Xi could also understand Annan's desire for external expansion after his national power increased. The root cause of Annan's war with neighboring countries is territorial disputes. However, these countries on the Indochina Peninsula are definitely not as rich as the Ming Dynasty. Annan probably has never made up his mind to focus on the western front and the South China Sea for external breakthroughs.
But now that Annan has revealed his ambitions for the Guangdong and Guangxi areas under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, Haihan must face up to this situation and respond to Annan's plan in a timely manner. The only way He Xi could think of at the moment was to get Annan to focus on other neighboring countries besides the Ming Dynasty.
However, Zheng Zha never explained whether this plan was his personal intention or the intention of his father, King Zheng Zhe of Qingdu, which also made He Xi somewhat embarrassed in terms of measures. If it was just Zheng Zha's personal idea, then He Xi would probably handle the differences between the two parties with a more relaxed attitude. But if Zheng Zha specially asked him to test it, then the other party must be clearly aware that Haihan is firmly opposed to this. attitude. And this matter must be reported to the executive committee later to unify the official statement. Otherwise, if Zheng Zha is not willing to go to other people to lobby, if anyone's attitude is not so firm, the Annan people may take it. Get to the point.
As for Fujian, He Xi was not too worried. Xu Xinsu was a businessman and just wanted to be a local emperor in Fujian without anyone to care about him. He did not plan to lead troops to conquer the world, so how could he be interested in the Annan people's proposal. Haihan now plans to use various means to help Xu Xinsu obtain a hereditary title of vassal king, so that when he passes away and returns to the west, the descendants of the Xu family will not resort to extraordinary measures because of their loss of status.
As long as the Xu family stays in Fujian, there won't be much trouble along the southeastern coast, and the route from Haihan to the north will also receive adequate security. For Haihan's current situation, this is far more important than taking over several coastal state capitals.
At this point, it's basically impossible to continue the topic, and continuing to argue will inevitably hurt the harmony. The dishes have just been served, so it would be a bit awkward to leave like this. The three of them had no choice but to change the subject and talk about the martial arts competition that was about to start tomorrow.
This topic is closely related to the current mission of the three of them. Zheng Zha and Xu Yuxing both represented their respective camps to observe this event. As the head of Haihan Intelligence, He Xi naturally paid no less attention to this than the two of them. They will also be there to watch the competition between students from various countries. Moreover, part of the peripheral security work for this competition was carried out by He Xi's security department, and the entire event was closely related to him.
For people at their level, whether a Fujian student takes first place or an Annan student wins, the result of the competition is actually not that important. What they care more about is observing the strength displayed by other competitors in the process.
To enter the Haihan Official Military Academy in Sanya, the cost is not a small amount, and the number of places is also subject to certain restrictions. Therefore, almost all students sent to Sanya for training from various countries are selected through layers of selection. Elite in the military. The foreign military cadet competition held by the Haihan official is a great honor and a rare opportunity for all participants. Basically, no one will deliberately hide their secrets in this kind of activity, so it can be used for observation. The military strength of other countries.
Although this is unavoidable, it is suspected that the leopard is hidden from the inside, but with the level of international exchanges in this era, it is difficult for countries to find a more suitable opportunity to observe the military situation of other countries than during this event. That's why a big shot like Zheng Zha took the trouble to come across the sea from Annan to attend the event. One of the purposes was to confirm with his own eyes whether there were obvious changes in the strength of the soldiers of various countries.
"Actually, what I personally care about the most is the students from North Korea." Zheng Zhu said without hesitation: "Speaking of it, North Korea can be regarded as a new member of our military alliance, but as for their strength, we are still at the level of Among those battle reports from a year ago, I really want to see if these North Korean officers can perform amazingly after receiving training in Sanya for more than half a year.”
"Then I'm afraid, young prince, you will be disappointed." Xu Yuxing said with a smile: "I just met with Xu Jiajun's students yesterday and asked similar questions. According to them, the foundation of these people in North Korea is too poor and their actual combat experience Not even half a year of training is enough for them to reach the same level as our two families.”
Zheng Zha said suspiciously: "It's not that bad, right? I heard that these people are also the elite of the North Korean army. Have they not learned anything in more than half a year?"
He Xi responded: "It's not that exaggerated. According to the news I heard, these Koreans worked very hard during training, and they probably knew that their strength was different from others. Although they may not be as good as you two in the competition field students, but there shouldn’t be much of a problem passing the military academy’s graduation exam.”
The current batch of North Korean military cadets in Sanya are the first batch of North Korean soldiers to study abroad. According to past experience, it would be good if the first batch of cadets can complete the assessment and graduate successfully. The outstanding performance of the trainees sent by Xu Jiajun and Annan Army is largely due to the fact that the military personnel trained by Haihan over the years brought back some basic training methods and content, which enabled them to send If the personnel who come for training have a certain foundation, the training effect will naturally be better.
As for students from other countries, due to objective reasons such as financial resources and distance, the number of students sent to Haihan for training is far less than that of these two companies. Naturally, there is a clear gap in overall strength.
Zheng Zhu said: "With your country's training level, it shouldn't be difficult for them to pass the assessment, right? I just don't know if there are any powerful figures among the North Korean students. When the time comes to the competition field, they will be caught off guard, then it won't be Wonderful.”
When Xu Yuxing heard this, he realized that Zheng Zha didn't trust the information he provided. He just shook his head slightly and did not argue with him. Xu Yuxing believed that his source of information would not be wrong. The Annan people were so cautious for fear of losing face, so he was free to think wildly.
He Xi said: "The land projects are not bad. As long as you are willing to practice hard, you can see obvious improvement in strength in a few months. But the strength of the North Korean navy is indeed too poor. Many subjects have to be learned from scratch. With the two of you, The gap between families is indeed not something that can be caught up in a short time. Regarding this, the young prince can rest assured. ”
Zheng Zha nodded and said: "This is reasonable."
Xu Jiajun and Annan's army began to purchase new warships from Haihan very early, and the training and tactics of the naval fleet also imitated Haihan. North Korea is almost blank in this regard. Everything about maritime operations must be started here. After starting school, more than half of the year was spent learning land combat subjects, and sea subjects could only be learned superficially, and the strength was naturally far inferior to these two.
(End of chapter)