On the official road from Hangzhou City to Yuhang County, a convoy composed of envoys from various countries was slowly moving forward.
Su Yongshan kept staring out of the car window. What attracted his attention was not the beautiful scenery along the way, but the armed cavalry escorting the convoy.
These armed cavalry in gray military uniforms are not only uniformly dressed, but even the saddles and bridles are standard equipment. They all carry slender sabers on their waists, and there is a specially designed saddle bag on the other side of the saddle. The short-barreled rifle used by the cavalry is inserted into this saddle bag.
Su Keyi noticed the envious look on his son's face and said with a smile: "They look very majestic, right? But they are actually just honor guard cavalry, not a combat force."
Su Yongshan said in astonishment: "How can you see this?"
Su Keyi said: "The tall horses they ride are not native breeds and are extremely difficult to cultivate. They are usually only provided to generals as mounts. However, the Donghai Region is rich and can afford to raise such an honor guard cavalry team. It can truly perform combat functions. Most of the cavalry troops ride Mongolian horses. In comparison, Mongolian horses are small, have good endurance, are adaptable, and are easier to breed.”
Su Yongshan said: "Didn't father do his homework specially?"
Su Keyi said: "My father has visited several military horse farms of Haihan in the south. The military horses they raise are basically Mongolian horses. The good quality horses are supplied to the cavalry troops, and the worse ones are used as pack horses."
"But the cost of maintaining a cavalry is quite high, and the horses also need additional material support. Even as wealthy as Haihan, the size of the cavalry force is very limited. I think Haihan has not attacked the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and this is one of them One of the reasons.”
Su Yongshan nodded in agreement with his father's statement: "The territory of the Ming Dynasty is really vast. It often travels hundreds of miles across states and prefectures. If we rely entirely on the two legs of infantry to march, this battle will indeed be very difficult."
"But having said that, this time the Ming Dynasty carried out assassinations in Hangzhou, but it really offended the Haihan people... I heard that the Ming Dynasty embassy has been rushing north in the past few days. It probably feels that the situation is irreversible and is preparing to go to war. Go! ”
Su Keyi wanted to test his son, so he asked him: "Yongshan, in your opinion, if Haihan goes to war against the Ming Dynasty, will it be more beneficial or harmful to us?"
Su Yongshan thought for a moment before responding: "I think the advantages should outweigh the disadvantages."
Su Keyi said without comment: "Tell me what you think."
Su Yongshan said: "The war between Haihan and Ming Dynasty will definitely not be a small fight. In this way, Haihan will have to concentrate its troops and supplies on the mainland, and the South China Sea may be stopped for a while."< br>
Su Keyi said: "But Haihan's strength is superior and the probability of victory is greater. If more land and population are obtained from the Ming Dynasty, it means that Haihan's strength will be further expanded. By then, in the entire Far East, I’m afraid no one can compete with Haihan.”
Su Yongshan said: "Father, you don't think that the Dutch can still have a chance to make a comeback, do you? I think the company's board of directors should express its attitude as soon as possible and make up for the old grudges with Haihan as much as possible. It is best to replace Portugal. Become Haihan's ally and share the various resources Haihan has. Only in this way can the East India Company's business conditions improve."
Su Keyi was silent for a long time before responding: "At the beginning, the Portuguese also thought that all problems could be solved as long as they formed an alliance with Haihan. But when Haihan developed to a certain stage and began to compete with Portugal in some areas, how did they do it? Made? ”
Su Yongshan said: "You are talking about the Strait of Malacca? So the company's board of directors is also worried that Haihan may treat us in the same way?" Su Keyi said: "This is not a possibility, it is a certainty. Haihan will spare no effort to achieve them sooner or later, the East India Company will once again become an obstacle in their way, and then they will kick us aside without hesitation."
Su Yongshan was thoughtful after hearing this, and then continued to ask: "Father, what do you think is the most beneficial situation for us?"
Su Keyi said in a deep voice: "Of course, Haihan and the Ming Dynasty will fight in a lose-lose situation... It is best if this battle can last for decades with no outcome, and it will always hold back Haihan's military power, so that they have no time to worry about overseas."< br>
Su Yongshan said in astonishment: "To achieve such an effect, don't we have to side with Ming Dynasty?"
Su Keyi sighed and said: "Unfortunately, even if we are willing to provide support to Ming Dynasty, we are still unable to support it alone, and it will not change the balance of strength between the two sides."
Su Yongshan said: "Perhaps we can transfer some weapon manufacturing technology to Ming Dynasty, which should allow them to close the gap with Haihan."
Su Keyi shook his head and said: "Similar methods have been tried by the Portuguese decades ago. Not only did they sell weapons to the Ming Dynasty, they also sent craftsmen to teach the Ming Dynasty how to make guns, and sent officers and mercenaries to train new soldiers for the Ming Dynasty. army, and even went to the battlefield to participate in the battle.”
"But what was the final result? The Ming Dynasty could neither deal with the Qing army in the north nor the peasant army in the country, let alone fight against the Haihan. With the current situation, can we do more than the Portuguese?"
Su Yongshan said: "But it sounds more like Ming Dynasty's incompetence rather than a problem with the Portuguese methods."
Su Keyi said: "You are right. The problem of Ming Dynasty is internal and lies in the incompetence of the rulers. Even if we support Ming Dynasty with the Portuguese, or even Spain, it is unlikely to change anything. On the battlefield, the Ming army Still can’t defeat the Haihan Army.”
Although it is helpless, this is the reality before us. In the entire Far East, no army of any country could stand up to the fully-equipped Haihan Army on a frontal battlefield.
Intervening in the war between Haihan and Ming Dynasty to delay Haihan's overseas expansion may only be wishful thinking.
But fortunately, no one who had such an idea, whether it was Su Keyi or the Portuguese diplomat, did not act rashly. Because neither party can afford the consequences of being involved.
"Father, look, it's an artillery piece!"
Su Yongshan's eyes suddenly lit up. There were artillery carts pulled by packhorses on the road, and there seemed to be a lot of them. Judging from the direction it is heading towards Yuhang, it should be the troops that will participate in the military exercise today.
Although he had only seen these equipment at the military parade and subsequent arms exhibition a few days ago, Su Yongshan still couldn't hide his excitement. He had long heard of the fame of the Haihan Artillery, but had never been able to see its combat performance in person. Now he finally had such a rare opportunity.