Chapter 2970
Kelantan's location for the capital was similar to that of many small countries on the Malay Peninsula. It also chose a location near the mouth of a large river.
This kind of place has relatively flat terrain, abundant water conservancy resources, and can use its coastal location to develop maritime transportation. It is a good environment for building large cities.
According to Li Yuande, since Kelantan does not have a natural bay like Pattani and lacks the natural conditions to build a large-scale trading port, all port terminals can only be built along the inland rivers. The entry and exit of merchant ships is definitely not as convenient as the coastal port.
Many foreign merchant ships prefer Pattani instead of Kelantan as a berthing place. The port environment is one of the most important factors. Kelantan is inherently deficient in this aspect, so the scale of foreign trade has always been slightly lower than Pattani.
However, in recent years, due to Haihan's mining in Kelantan, wealth has been created at a rapid rate. In Li Yuande's view, Kelantan's economic strength has surpassed its northern neighbor.
The Hai Han fleet was stationed in Pattani for three days, which was enough time for the news to reach Kelantan. So not long after the fleet docked, the welcoming team from Kelantan arrived.
Kelantan's welcome was also of a very high standard. King Suji and a group of ministers took a boat to the temporary anchorage of the Haihan Fleet. After obtaining permission, they boarded the fleet's flagship Wei Bang and expressed their welcome to Qian Tiandun in person. .
But what really caught Qian Tiandun's attention was a familiar face in the welcoming team.
Roger's adjutant, Tan Tianlei, actually came with the King of Kelantan.
Qian Tiandun had met Tan Tianlei at a meeting in Cam Ranh Bay earlier. He knew that this young man was also a second-generation descendant, and his father Tan Juren was the chief executive of the Xingdao Region. And Tan Tianlei will appear here, this is probably not a coincidence.
After King Suji introduced several ministers who came with him, Tan Tianlei took the initiative to come forward to meet Qian Tiandun. It turned out that he came to Kelantan specially to wait for the arrival of Qian Tiantun on the order of Roger.
The reason is also very simple. From Kelantan all the way south, it is the sphere of influence of the Sing Tao Region. Tan Tianlei's appearance here symbolizes that the military power of the Star Island Region has also begun to join the action.
Qian Tiandun noticed that King Suji's attitude towards Tan Tianlei was quite respectful. Combined with the information he had previously obtained, it can be seen that Xingdao's influence in Kelantan is indeed not small.
I don’t know whether it was Kelantan’s intention to show off or it was an idea from Sing Tao. The welcome ceremony here had one more arrangement than Pattani, which was a review of Kelantan’s newly established naval fleet.
More than a dozen warships formed a long snake formation on the river, which looked really majestic. As far as the entire Malay Peninsula is concerned, there are only a handful of countries that can possess an armed fleet of this level. After all, there are indeed few countries in this region that have the strength and channels to purchase Haihan warships in large quantities, and Kelantan does have the confidence to be proud of it.
Qian Tiandun had the illusion of suddenly teleporting to the Datong River in North Korea, where he reviewed the North Korean navy fleet more than once - it was also an armed fleet that was Chinese-styled from top to bottom.
Qian Tiandun's face was calm, but he was sighing secretly in his heart. From the Kelantan fleet in front of him, it can be seen that Haihan's influence in the South China Sea has become more and more powerful, and there are more and more auxiliary troops. .
Although the armed forces of these small countries are far behind those of Haihan, when their military systems are gradually transformed into Haihan, it means that they can seamlessly connect with the Haihan army in wartime and cooperate with them to carry out some less intensive combat tasks. .
Not only do these auxiliary troops not need Haihan's money to support them, but they will pay Haihan a lot of money for military purchases and personnel training. It is indeed a very cost-effective deal for Haihan. In addition, Haihan can also use these auxiliary troops to indirectly control the political situation of certain countries. If necessary, he can even let the army launch a coup and take over the power of the country.
"Just last month, I have submitted a new batch of warship orders to your country. A total of eight exploration-class warships will be delivered within two years. In the next ten years, I plan to make our country's warships The number reaches more than 60, becoming the most powerful maritime force in this region!”
King Suji was very proud to inform Qian Tiandun of his military expansion plan. It can be seen that he attaches great importance to naval construction and does not hesitate to invest heavily in it.
Qian Tiandun pretended to be puzzled and said: "Does His Majesty the King intend to start a war?"
King Suji responded seriously: "There are many people in this region who covet our country's wealth. Only with strong force can we dispel these people's ambitions."
Qian Tiandun said: "Your Majesty the King, the fleet you plan to build is a bit too large for your country. Based on the size of your country's population, this means that for every ten people, at least one is a naval soldier or related to Navy-related logistics personnel.”
Qian Tiandun is not a naval general, but he is well aware of the extent to which the navy burns money. A naval force has more than 60 warships, so the force size of this force is at least 7,000 to 8,000 people. Including the personnel who provide logistics services for the navy, the total number should have exceeded 10,000 people.
The total population of Kelantan is only more than 100,000. If one-tenth of the population is serving the navy, this is obviously not a reasonable ratio. Even in wartime, it is an exaggerated number.
King Suji seemed very calm: "Everything is unpredictable. Maybe ten years from now, our country will have enough population and military expenditure to maintain such a maritime armed force."
In ten years, Kelantan can become richer at most, but if the population is to grow rapidly, this time is obviously not enough. The only way to realize the king's wish is probably to annex other countries.
Qian Tiandun looked at Tan Tianlei and saw that his expression was as usual. He seemed not surprised by the king's remarks. It seemed that Xingdao was also aware of this.
Tan Tianlei felt Qian Tiandun's gaze and took the initiative to say: "General, most of the warships purchased by Kelantan from our country are built at the shipyard in Sing Tao. So in theory, as long as Kelantan can pay , Xingdao can build a large-scale armed fleet for Kelantan.”
So it turned out that Qian Tiandun finally understood Kelantan's confidence.
From Sing Tao's point of view, while supporting Kelantan, and at the same time making money from the arms trade, why not do it?
If Kelantan really becomes a regional power in ten years, it will not be a hindrance to Sing Tao. Maybe the arms purchase orders from Kelantan will increase several times by then.
But Qian Tiandun is still somewhat worried. Xingdao's arms export seems to far exceed the level allowed by the country. It is not yet possible to make a clear judgment on whether provoking these small countries to fight each other will strengthen Haihan's control over the region or cause chaos to the international order in the region.
(End of chapter)