Chapter 2898
"Actually, the reason is very simple. The Executive Committee wants to use this method to strengthen its control over Star Island." Roger reluctantly told the whole story: "Abolish the independent establishment and return the command power to the Ministry of National Defense, so that the local government can There is no possibility of rebellion.”
Qian Tiandun would not easily believe his words, and responded in a deep voice: "Then you must have done something that exceeded the rules, which made the executive committee change its mind and cancel the independent establishment of the Star Island Garrison."< br>
Since the establishment of the Haihan Army, only two units have truly obtained independent establishments. One is under Qian Tiandun, and the other was created by Luo Jie.
The establishment and growth process of the Nanhai Independent Battalion was similar to that of Qian Tiandun's troops. It was initially just a private armed organization formed by Roger himself. After proving its strength through repeated military exploits, it was officially recognized and included in Haihan. The regular army is being established.
Being able to secure an independent establishment among the many Haihan garrison units is in itself a compliment and recognition of its strength by the Executive Committee. Roger's troops guard the southern border for the country all year round. Their importance is extraordinary, and it is reasonable to enjoy an independent establishment.
The reorganization work that began a few years ago has reorganized troops stationed in various places and given unified designations. However, Qian Tiandun's troops were not affected by this. Not only were they steadily promoted to division-level units, but they also continued to retain independent establishments. Logically speaking, another independently organized unit should also handle this, but the actual experience was completely different. In Qian Tiandun's view, this was obviously not as simple as the difference between closeness and distance.
Roger smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "What's overstepping the rules? It's just that what I did was not in line with the executive committee's wishes!"
After speaking, Roger drank another glass of wine, and then told Qian Tiandun the whole story.
The Star Island area that Roger guards is extremely important geographically. It is the gateway to the sea route connecting the Eastern and Western worlds. Of course, it will also become a battleground in the eyes of colonists from all over the world.
Before Haihan entered this area, the Portuguese and the British had settled here successively, trying to gain control of this important waterway by establishing colonies. However, their methods were obviously not as good as those of the latecomer Haihan. Not long after Roger led his troops to station on Star Island, they defeated the coalition of British and local indigenous forces on the battlefield, and achieved initial control of this area by force.
Since Roger had chosen Xingdao, a place far away from the mainland of Haihan, he would not be content with just defending his territory. After establishing a foothold, Roger took advantage of the local's unique geographical location to develop maritime trade, and at the same time used business income to vigorously improve the strength of the garrison.
After participating in the Battle of Manila in 1637, Roger's troops were upgraded from the South China Sea Special Warfare Group to the South China Sea Independent Battalion based on their military exploits. Roger also took this opportunity to expand and prepare, and began to form an armed fleet affiliated with Star Island.
Two or three years later, Bintan Island, Batam Island, Lempong Island and other large and small islands on the west side of the Strait of Malacca were all included in the jurisdiction of Sing Tao, and the population under its jurisdiction expanded to more than 50,000. people.
Although the geographical location of Star Island is excellent, it cannot expand its own strength by promoting industrialization like the territory occupied by Haihan in the northern continent. The reason is also very simple. There is a lack of industrial mineral resources such as coal and iron in the surrounding areas, and it is impossible to establish a regional industrial center to meet its own development needs.
The two major mineral sources currently under the jurisdiction of Sing Tao are the tin mine located on Bangka Belitung Island and the Dumai oil field on the coastline of Sumatra Island in the Strait of Malacca. Although the latter had completed exploration work long ago, due to limitations in mining technology, it did not officially start production until 1649.
Although these two minerals can create good economic benefits for Xingdao, they cannot provide the basic conditions required for industrial development. The lack of industrial manufacturing capabilities means that Star Island's military construction must rely on local support. The executive committee's development positioning of Xingdao is to build it into a regional shipping and trade center, and does not want the place to become a military fortress. Let Xingdao take the route of commercial development by operating tropical cash crop plantations and ports, which is obviously different from Roger's idea.
Although he could not get the full support of the executive committee, Roger was still finding ways to achieve external expansion. After finally amassing an armed fleet, Roger quickly organized many expeditions to explore areas that had not yet been included in Haihan's territory.
Between 1640 and 1650 alone, Roger personally led the fleet on as many as eight expeditions, especially in the Bay of Bengal on the north side of the Strait of Malacca.
The fleet headed north along the Malay Peninsula and conducted many explorations of the coastlines of Siam, Burma, Mughal and other countries, and did not turn back until the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula.
It is precisely because of this that Roger will firmly oppose Feng Annan's proposal to use the Strait of Malacca as the line and all the Indochina Peninsula in the north to be assigned to Annan's garrison. In terms of his understanding of the west coast of Indochina, how could Feng Annan be his opponent? Handing these areas over to Feng Annan would mean that Xingdao's voyages and expeditions over the years would have been in vain.
In addition to this direction, Roger also organized a southward expedition, traveling southeast from Sumatra and Java to the edge of the Spanish sphere of influence in the Banda Sea.
If it weren't for the lack of stable and reliable supply points in the local area, the fleet starting from Star Island might have entered northern Australia long ago.
Roger's troops are not bad in strength, but in the past ten years, there have been few opportunities for Haihan's army to fight in the South China Sea. Most of the countries in the region have joined the South China Sea Business Alliance led by Haihan. There is no suitable reason. It's good to take the initiative to start a war. Occasionally there are some regional conflicts, but they are often over by the time the news reaches Star Island, and Roger is not even given the opportunity to participate in mediation by armed peacekeepers.
Roger reported to the Executive Committee many times, requesting to expand the Haihan colonial settlement on a larger scale and carry out active strikes against the Western colonial armed forces that threatened the safety of the Haihan route. However, the Executive Committee did not want the peace situation in the South China Sea to break down, so it always suppressed Roger's report and did not allow him to take unauthorized actions.
Having all his abilities but nowhere to use them may be the best description of Roger's situation in the past few years. But Roger is not a person who is willing to be mediocre. The executive committee did not allow him to come openly, so he found a way to do it secretly.
Since 1650, the Singdao garrison has repeatedly dispatched armed personnel to many surrounding countries in the name of military assistance to participate in various military operations.
Although Xingdao reported to Sanya that these people only went to serve as local military consultants, the actual situation was that the well-established Haihan Army participated in the local operations.
When the news came back to Sanya, the Executive Committee naturally did not agree with Xingdao's approach, so it canceled the independent establishment of the Xingdao garrison on the grounds of troop reorganization, and cut the local garrison into two parts, sea and land, to further weaken Luo. Jay's command.
(End of chapter)