Chapter 2976
Qian Tiandun's speech seemed to express Haihan's official attitude. How to formulate and maintain the international order in the South China Sea in the future must be decided by Haihan. If anyone feels dissatisfied, you can first consider whether you have the ability to challenge the Haihan Army stationed on Star Island.
If in the past few years, Haihan had still treated the countries in this region with an equal attitude on the surface, then Qian Tiandun's statement at this time was to completely tear off the mask and show his willingness to take the lead. Big brother's style.
When Roger's civil and military officials heard this statement, they were naturally delighted and very excited. But the other guests couldn't help but look at each other in confusion. Some were worried, while others were gnashing their teeth. After all, most people felt uneasy about this.
Qian Tiandun saw the reactions of these people in his eyes and was not surprised. He was just giving a shot of vaccination to the representatives of various countries today. After the Haihan Army really starts to take action, many originally hidden conflicts will inevitably intensify. That's when the conflict breaks out.
As for whether announcing Haihan's purpose at this time would cause some countries to step up their preparations for resistance, Qian Tiandun didn't really care. He believed that Roger would be the same. If someone tries to resist, it can be used as an example to other countries, so that the leaders of various countries can see what will happen if they go against Haihan.
After the banquet, Qian Tiandun and his party returned to the station. On the way, Li Yuande asked him: "Why do you want to deliberately show a tough attitude? This will arouse the vigilance of other countries. Wouldn't it make subsequent actions more difficult?"
Qian Tiandun said: "If the action is not difficult, then what is the reason for us to come all the way to the South China Sea?"
Li Yuande was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
Qian Tiandun continued: "The meaning of the existence of a special warfare division is to fight. Whether it is to open up territory or defend the border, in short, there must be opponents and war, so that the special warfare division can show its value."
"The overall situation in the north has been decided. No matter the Ming court, the Qing court, or the countries in the East China Sea, it will be difficult to challenge our country's authority. The place where conflicts are really likely to occur, and where special warfare divisions will come in handy, I think will be the South China Sea."< br>
Li Yuande finally understood what Qian Tiandun wanted to express: "A war must break out in the South China Sea before the special operations division's move south will be meaningful!"
Qian Tiandun nodded slightly and said: "If there is no opponent, the special warfare division becomes just a decoration, how boring that would be!"
It is still unknown whether Qian Tiandun's speech at the reception banquet can stimulate some people, but the preparations for the special operations division actually started when they moved south from the north.
Although the troops and equipment have been greatly reduced compared to when they were stationed in Liaodong, and they are relatively unfamiliar with the environment in the South China Sea, Qian Tiandun is convinced that his troops can quickly adapt to the environment here and maintain their due combat effectiveness. The special operations division is also eager to It would take a war to prove this to the Executive Committee.
In terms of action progress, the troops responsible for the Nanhai West Road have lagged far behind the Luzon garrison responsible for the East Road. The East Route Army conquered many Spanish towns and pushed the front to the central part of the Philippine Islands. However, the West Route Army had just completed its assembly in Xingdao and failed to achieve even a single victory.
If no action is taken, even if no one has doubts about the Western Route Army, which is known for its combat effectiveness, famous generals like Qian Tiandun and Luo Jie will suffer loss.
However, just when Qian Tiandun was delivering a tough speech, the East Route Army, which had been advancing so triumphantly, stumbled in Cebu Island. The battle report was transmitted to Xingdao via the radio. Qian Tiandun couldn't help being surprised after reading it. During the attack on Cebu Island, the East Route Army suffered three-digit casualties. This was the number of casualties suffered by the Haihan Army in recent years. An extremely rare situation in combat operations.
The time goes back to a week ago.
The 4th Mainland Division and the 4th Detachment of the South China Sea Fleet acted in coordination and successively captured Masbate Island, Panay Island, Samar Island and Leyte Island among the seven major islands in the central Philippine Archipelago, and cleared more than 20 islands in total on these islands. In a Spanish colonial settlement, more than a thousand resistance elements were eliminated and more than 3,000 prisoners of war were captured.
This is the largest victory achieved by the Haihan Army in the Philippine Islands in the past two decades since the Battle of Manila. Yu Tiezhu, commander of the Fourth Army Division, and Jiao Fei, commander of the Luzon Navy, both received telegram awards from the Executive Committee.
The situation was excellent, so the Luzon authorities decided to strike while the iron was hot and capture Cebu Island.
This is not the first time Haihan has attacked Cebu. Since 1638, Haihan has sent troops many times to carry out military attacks on Cebu Port, the seat of the Spanish colonial authorities, in an attempt to overthrow Spanish rule in this area.
Although each of Haihan's troops sent out ended in victory, the effect of suppressing the Spaniards was not ideal.
More than half of Cebu Island, which covers an area of more than 4,000 square kilometers, is virgin mountain forest. However, the amount of troops Haihan dispatches each time is far from enough to completely clear the mountainous forest area on Cebu Island. The long maritime supply line is not enough to support Haihan's long-term occupation of this place.
So every time Haihan retreated, the Spaniards who hid in the mountains and forests would come back and repeatedly reinforce the city's defense facilities. Later, based on the experience of escaping from wars many times, a number of shelters were built in the deep mountains and old forests near Cebu Port, and a large amount of materials were transported into the mountains and stored in preparation for the guerrilla fight against Haihan.
Haihan was not unaware of such war preparation methods. After all, the two major intelligence agencies, the Security Bureau and the Military Intelligence Bureau, each sent many spies to Cebu. But the problem is that even if they know that the Spaniards have been quietly preparing for war, the Luzon authorities have no way to stop their opponents.
After evaluation, the Luzon authorities believed that attacking Cebu would not be much more difficult than before, and they hardly encountered strong resistance during their march south to attack the Spanish colonies.
Based on this judgment, the Luzon authorities believed that the expeditionary force should be able to capture the important target of Cebu in one fell swoop. It is even very likely that the Haihan fleet will arrive at the port of Cebu, and the Spaniards will once again abandon the city and flee.
But what the rear command did not expect was that instead of abandoning the city and escaping, the Spaniards concentrated all the armed forces in the area into Cebu, relying on the layers of defenses they had built there over the years. , compete with the Haihan Army on the frontal battlefield.
Although Haihan's local spies took great risks and sent intelligence, pointing out that the Spaniards had made desperate preparations for this battle, the headquarters believed that its own strength was enough to crush the opponent, so it decided to follow the original plan and attack Suzhou by sea. The attack was carried out in Wucheng District.
(End of chapter)