Chapter 2962
After the Haihan fleet passed Ca Mau Point, it turned again and sailed north along the coastline. The mission into the Gulf of Siam was mainly to promote force, so we chose a route close to the coast to ensure the best display effect.
However, the coastline north of Ca Mau Point is still an unchanging impact plain. Most of the coastal areas are tidal flats, without any bays convenient for building a port. There are only a few small fishing villages at the mouth of the river along the way. Obviously, there is no foundation for large-scale construction of maritime transport. condition.
Such a special geographical environment also makes it difficult for Champa to have too many military ambitions. Even if they want to build a powerful armed fleet, there is still a lack of natural harbors in the country for long-term training.
Therefore, so far, the main warships that the Champa navy is proud of are still only a few exploration-class warships bought from Haihan. It's not that the expedition-class warships with larger tonnage can't afford it, but because the military ports of the Champa navy are all located in inland rivers, it's not that convenient for the expedition-class to turn around on narrow inland rivers.
Although these small warships produced by Haihan have a certain degree of strike firepower, they are limited by their tonnage and have very limited self-sustainability. Their combat range is only in the offshore area. They are fine for self-defense, but it is very difficult to go on expeditions to other countries. It's difficult.
Four hundred miles north of Ca Mau Point is the border between Champa and Cambodia.
The border between the two countries is a river called Yongji River, with Champa bounded to the south and Cambodia bounded to the north. In order to protect the border, the two countries also built large-scale military fortresses on both sides of the Yongji River estuary, and stationed troops including naval forces.
Naturally, the Haihan Fleet would not miss such an important location. When the huge fleet appeared on the sea near the mouth of the Yongji River, it immediately caused panic among the Cambodian defenders.
Unable to immediately confirm the intention of the Haihan fleet, the Cambodian army immediately used firework signals to warn the rear and requested support.
However, they also knew that there was a huge gap in strength between them and the Haihan Army, so they did not send out a few warships to fight. They only sent a small boat out of the port to confirm the Haihan Army's intention.
"The Cambodian army is quite alert and immediately sent a signal when they saw us appearing." Qian Tiandun gave a positive evaluation of the performance of the Cambodian army.
Gao Qiaonan, who was standing next to him, put down the telescope in his hand and responded in a deep voice: "The Cambodian army's fortress is built on the hills near the sea. The defensive deployment of the fortress cannot be seen clearly from the ship. The ship-based artillery must fire at such a high angle and the range It may not be possible to obtain it yet, but it shows that the people who were in charge of building this place have put in the hard work.”
Qian Tiandun wanted to test the young officers accompanying him, so he asked: "Mu Zhennan, Wu Chengzhi, if you want to lead troops to attack this place, what tactics will you use?"
Both of these two men were outstanding young officers in the Annan garrison, but they did not have much actual combat experience. Feng Annan sent them to follow Qian Tiandun with the intention of letting them take this opportunity to learn their skills.
The two looked at each other, and Mu Zhennan was the first to answer: "As General Takahashi said, the fortress here is difficult to destroy directly with ship-based firepower. To show my humble position, we can go around to the north coast at night and drop troops to land. First cut off its retreat, and then encircle it and attack it. Wu Chengzhi said: "I will add another one. While landing around the north, I can allow the occupying army to conduct a frontal feint attack at the mouth of the Yongji River, as long as it can attract the firepower of the Cambodian army." Let our heavy artillery land smoothly and set up gun positions, and it will not be difficult to capture this place. If it is commanded by a humble leader, the city will be broken within one day!"
Qian Tiandun nodded slightly, but did not immediately comment on their tactics. Instead, he asked the same question to Gao Qiaonan again, obviously to enlighten the two young men.
Gao Qiao Nan said: "There is nothing wrong with what you said, but if we want to storm this fortress, our army will inevitably suffer casualties. Sun Tzu's Art of War says that when you surround an army, you must have a barrier. In my opinion, it is better to surround three towers, from the northwest, If the enemy dares to come out to fight, it would be best to launch a landing battle in the southwest and southeast. If they cannot retreat, we will use artillery fire to feign an attack, and at the same time let the people escape from the battlefield without a strong attack. He will definitely flee with the people.”
The two of them suddenly realized that Takahashi Minami was a brilliant fighter.
Qian Tiandun said: "You don't need to flatter him. The specific tactics to be used must be chosen based on the actual local situation and combat missions. If a death order is given to annihilate all the enemy troops here, Then we can’t simply apply the tactic of surrounding three buildings.”
While everyone was discussing tactics to capture this place, the envoy sent by the Cambodian army had arrived at the flagship of the Haihan fleet, the Wei Bang. Naturally, such a small person does not need to be received by Qian Tiandun in person, but can be dismissed by Mu Zhennan. He explained to the other party that the actions of the Haihan Army were only daily navigation exercises and would not launch a military attack on Cambodia.
As for whether such a statement can reassure the Cambodian army, that is not an issue that Mu Zhennan needs to worry about.
In addition to reconnoitring the geographical environment and coastal defense conditions of Cambodia's coast, making the Cambodian army nervous about this is one of the main purposes of this trip. If the accompanying Champa Army generals were to express their opinions, they would definitely suggest having a live-fire exercise at sea in Ha Tien and firing a few cannons to scare the Cambodian army, instead of just leaving peacefully.
In fact, if the Cambodian army calms down, they will soon think that it is unlikely that this place will be attacked by Haihan. Because if Hai Han launches a military attack on Cambodia, it will definitely be a war of annihilation. There are no big cities or important passes near Ha Tien, and its capital, Phnom Penh, is hundreds of miles away inland. Launching an offensive from here is not an ideal option.
After the fleet stayed briefly on the sea near Ha Tien, it continued northward along the coast. Not daring to be careless, the Cambodian army also sent several ships, falling far behind, to monitor the movements of the Haihan fleet. It wasn't until the Haihan fleet sailed into the waters under Siam's jurisdiction the next day that the Cambodian army's ship silently turned around and headed back home.
Qian Tiandun was slightly disappointed that although the coast of Cambodia was not as flat as Champa, it also lacked natural harbors with superior conditions. If Haihan intends to establish a military stronghold in the Gulf of Siam in the future, Cambodia will obviously not be able to provide a suitable environment.
But what Qian Tiandun didn't know was that there were actually no natural harbors like Sanya, Cam Ranh, and Manila on the entire coastline of the Gulf of Siam. Most of the coastline is a coastal plain similar to Champa. It is extremely difficult to build a large port, even for Haihan.
This geographical environment has also prevented the countries in the entire Gulf of Siam from building a strong navy. The Haihan Fleet can be said to be invincible in this large sea area.
(End of chapter)