Chapter 2496
What Chen Yixin can think of can actually be thought of by others. When the Liaolu Colonial Region was preparing to build an airport in advance, Shi Diwen, who managed the Donghai Colonial Region, also began to consider the possibility of using aircraft as a means of transportation in the future.
Compared with the Liaolu region in the north, the area under Shi Diwen's rule is obviously more scattered. Jeju Island and Sasebo Bay are both overseas enclaves, and it is difficult to implement timely and effective management across the vast East China Sea. Even if he is always diligent, it would be nice to visit these places twice a year.
But if we have more efficient means of transportation in the future, perhaps the efficiency of managing these overseas enclaves will be different. So almost at the same time, Shi Diwen also launched a plan to build an airport. Moreover, it has started construction in three areas under its jurisdiction at the same time, and it has one more airport than the Liaolu Region in the north.
At the same time, Shi Diwen also specially asked people to follow up on the development of the aviation project in Sanya, and also sent a large amount of money to the Aviation Research Institute, which meant that after the project was completed, he would be one of the first batch to purchase it. Mass production model people.
In the spring of 1653, Haihan made a request to Ming Dynasty to conduct a new round of negotiations on the division of spheres of influence between the two countries, and the venue was Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.
Haihan attaches great importance to this negotiation. Two senior military and political officials, Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie, went to Hangzhou to attend the talks in person.
To make such a stance, the conditions Haihan wanted to put forward were naturally not simple. During the meeting, Tao Donglai proposed straight to the point that he would rule the Yangtze River with the Ming Dynasty, and all the areas south of the Yangtze River under the Ming Dynasty would be allocated to Haihan.
Naturally, the lion's request could not be recognized by Ming Dynasty, and Haihan's conditions were directly rejected. But Haihan had made up his mind at this time. This meeting was more of a showdown with Ming than a negotiation.
If Ming agrees to the conditions, peace may be maintained for another ten years, but as long as Ming refuses, a full-scale war will inevitably break out.
The meeting lasted only three days, and the two sides broke up on bad terms. However, Haihan had already predicted this result, and Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie were not disappointed.
After the talks, they did not return to the south. Instead, they stayed in Ningbo, which had become the boundary between Haihan and Han Dynasty, and personally directed the preparations for the war.
The Ming Dynasty was not unaware of Haihan's changes, but the problem was that the military strength of the two sides was too far apart. Even if it was prepared for the military attack that Haihan was about to launch, it was still difficult to withstand the fierce offensive of Haihan's army. Regarding this, local officials knew it, the court knew it, and Emperor Chongzhen also knew it.
But if they want to surrender directly, they are unwilling to do so, and they still have to resist after all. Many people are still taking chances, thinking that although Haihan has said harsh words, he may not actually launch a full-scale attack. If resistance is adopted, the Haihan people may feel that the cost is too high after attacking several state capitals, and they will retreat on their own.
But what the Ming Dynasty didn't know was that as the time travelers gradually aged, more and more people lost the patience to continue waiting for the decline of the Ming Dynasty, and seizing the world with arms gradually became the consensus of Haihan's senior officials. Many people want to see Haihan become a true Eastern Empire in their lifetime, and seizing control of the East Asian continent and completing the replacement of the Ming Dynasty is a milestone goal for the time travelers.
Under such a general trend, using force to seize Ming's territory became Haihan's top priority. For this reason, the Executive Committee even suspended almost all external expansion plans and mobilized armed forces originally deployed in various places near the mainland. Even the garrisons of the Philippines Region and Singdao Region were transferred north in large numbers to take charge of moving from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions to the mainland. Inland assault combat mission. After half a year of preparations, the Haihan Army launched an offensive in the autumn of the same year. The war did not break out in a few areas in the south as Ming Dynasty thought, but showed a comprehensive victory from the beginning.
War broke out in all coastal provinces except Jiangsu at almost the same time. At the same time, the Haihan Navy's troops, headed by the East China Sea Fleet, sailed in from the Yangtze River Estuary, launched operations upstream, and transported land forces to attack cities along the river.
The city of Hangzhou, which was used as the venue for negotiations between the two countries in the first half of the year, was lost only four days after the war began. The troops under Shi Diwen used heavy artillery to open the gates of Hangzhou City. After the Ming army defending the city made only symbolic resistance, officials from the Sansi Yamen came forward to ask for surrender.
Many cities in the south that were on the front line of the war were not even as good as Hangzhou. As soon as the Haihan army arrived at the city, they chose to surrender on their own.
This is also one of the results of Haihan's infiltration through various channels over the years. The local officials in these cities know that there is no hope of resistance, and it is difficult to refuse the olive branch offered by Haihan - as long as they can ensure a peaceful transition in the local area, then in After Haihan takes over the area, they will still hold official positions in official institutions.
Although he can no longer be the magistrate of the prefecture and county, he can still continue to be an official under a different name, and the salary given by Haihan is even more than that of the Ming Dynasty, and he can save his own life, so why not do it?
Ming Dynasty probably never expected that as soon as the war started, people everywhere would be in despair. The city of Nanjing, regarded by the Ming Dynasty as the political and economic center of the south, only lasted five days before it fell after Haihan's troops came to the city.
After losing Nanjing, Chongzhen and the court officials truly realized the seriousness of the situation. Although there was no sign of the Haihan Army in the capital at this time, the Haihan Fleet had appeared at Dagukou for many days, but had not yet landed. It was obviously waiting for the opportunity to launch - or waiting for the Ming Dynasty to make a statement.
But at this time, there were different opinions in the Ming Dynasty. The peace-seeking faction believed that the situation was over, and Haihan should be allowed to cease fighting first. Preserving the country was more important than anything else. The main war faction believes that Haihan has never invaded too far inland for many years, and maybe they will take advantage this time and then retreat on their own.
Chongzhen hesitated, and the opportunity was delayed again and again. By the end of 1653, the Ming Dynasty had lost nearly half of its territory in Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and other places. Although the situation in the north is better, the Haihan army in Liaodong and Shandong directions has been eyeing it. The Ming Dynasty did not dare to send troops south for reinforcements. It could only watch how many prefectures and counties were destroyed by the sea in the daily battle reports. Han captured.
At this time, various parts of the Ming Dynasty saw that the momentum had shifted towards Haihan, and some people started to raise troops to respond. After all, if you don't surrender until you reach the door, you can only be regarded as a surrender. If you raise troops in advance, you can also occupy the name of the rebel army. In the future, you will also get an opportunity to reward Haihan.
(End of chapter)