Chapter 3459
From the time Qian Shaobao can remember, Gao Qiaonan has always been with his father. He has been at the forefront of all battles and has been at the forefront. His loyalty has withstood the test of time and life and death, and he is absolutely trustworthy.
Takahashi Minami also regarded him as a nephew. When he was young, he would often accompany him to the mountains to hunt birds and fish in rivers. When he was a teenager, he taught him how to shoot a gun and target, and trained him in physical skills, which laid the foundation for him to join the army in the future. A solid foundation.
Qian Shaobao spent most of his adult life away from his father, but he still maintained a deep friendship with Gao Qiaonan as both teacher and friend. In correspondence with his father, it was indispensable to send greetings to Gao Qiaonan.
The last meeting between the two dates back to when Qian Tiandun returned to Sanya to report on his duties before leading his troops south. It has been more than a year ago.
Qian Shaobao and Li Yuande rode their horses to the pier, and saw that many soldiers had already disembarked and lined up. They quickly dismounted, looked for an officer who was forming a team, and asked about Gao Qiaonan's whereabouts.
Before Qian Shaobao finished asking, he heard a familiar voice from behind saying, "Young Master!"
He quickly turned around, and sure enough he saw Gao Qiaonan's familiar smile. He quickly stepped forward, saluted him with a military salute, and said: "Uncle Gao, we finally meet again!"
Of course Qian Shaobao knew that "Gao Qiao" was Gao Qiao Nan's real surname. Gao Qiao Nan took the trouble to correct this "mistake" when he was a child, but he always insisted on calling Gao Qiao Nan this way. Even Takahashi Minami could only admit his paranoia.
As for the name "Uncle Gao", among the entire special warfare division, only Qian Shaobao would call him this, and there was no other semicolon.
Gao Qiaonan returned a military salute, then patted Qian Shaobao's shoulders with both hands and said, "I haven't seen you for a year. Have you grown taller again? Are you twenty-two this year? Why are you still growing taller?"
Qian Shaobao corrected him with a smile: "Uncle Gao, today is the Haihan New Year. I am twenty-three this year!"
Gao Qiaonan ignored his nonsense, reached out and gestured to Qian Shaobao's head again: "Your head is already almost half a head taller than your father's, right?"
The two exchanged warm greetings for a while, and then Takahashi Nan said that he would return to the division headquarters to resume his duties first, and then make an appointment with Qian Shaobao for dinner later.
Qian Shaobao was also a little curious about what tasks his father Qian Tiandun had assigned to Gao Qiaonan, so he simply interrupted his trip and wanted to follow Gao Qiaonan to the division headquarters.
Qian Tiandun was not surprised when he saw the two of them arriving together. As the saying goes, a wise son is as good as his father. He knew what Qian Shaobao had in mind without even asking. Therefore, when Gao Qiaonan reported on the execution of the mission, he did not let Qian Shaobao leave the room, but acquiesced to him listening.
The mission that Takahashi Minami led the fleet of the special warfare division to go to sea this time was to explore the sea conditions of the Myanmar Sea and the Bay of Bengal in the waters west of Phuket Island. By the way, he also confirmed the sea route from Ceylon Island to Phuket Island on his return trip. .
There are only four countries in this area, Siam, Burma, Mughals and Ceylon.
The Mughal Kingdom was the predecessor of India, and Ceylon later became Sri Lanka. This island country is located on the southwest side of the Indian Peninsula. Its area is a hundred times larger than Phuket, and it is separated from the Mughal Kingdom by the Palk Strait, which is a hundred miles wide.
The country of Ceylon has not had an easy life in modern times. It has been invaded by the Portuguese since the last century. The war between the colonists and the local indigenous kingdoms has lasted for a full hundred years. Both sides have won and lost. No one can fully control Ceylon. Orchid Island. In recent years, the Dutch have also joined the battlefield on the island of Ceylon. The three parties have refused to give in to each other, making the local situation more complicated.
There are no particularly valuable properties on the island of Ceylon. The reason why it attracted the covetousness of the colonists is that it is located at the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula, at the intersection of the Bengal Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Ceylon Island is a must-pass route between the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea coast and the Strait of Malacca, and the major ports on the east and west sides are each four to five thousand miles away from Ceylon Island. Many multinational merchant ships passing through this sea area will Choose Ceylon Island as a supply point.
Of course, from a military perspective, controlling Ceylon is almost equivalent to controlling the most important waterway in the Indian Ocean.
Watching Takahashi Nan report in front of the chart and point out the locations visited during this mission, Qian Shaobao quickly understood why his father was so interested in this place four thousand miles away from Phuket Island.
However, if military action is to be taken against Ceylon Island, such a long-distance maritime force projection will be a big test, and subsequent supplies may also limit the performance of the special operations division on the island.
"Shaobao, what do you think of Ceylon Island?"
Qian Tiandun's question woke him up from his meditation, and he quickly responded: "Father, since this place is a must-pass point across the Indian Ocean, of course its strategic value needless to say. But as Uncle Gao introduced, Portugal and The Netherlands has invested its armed forces on this island. If we intervene again, won't we face a melee situation? ”
"Furthermore, both countries have colonies on the Indian Peninsula, and they can obtain supplies nearby. However, we need to transport supplies to the local area across four thousand miles of sea. Once we get into a protracted war, the troops on the island may have a hard time fighting."
Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "The situations you mentioned will indeed make it objectively more difficult for us to take action. I really don't want to use force against this place. But..."
Qian Tiandun protracted his voice and said slowly: "Our goal is to cross the Indian Ocean and head west. Even if Ceylon is not under our control, it must not fall into the hands of the Europeans!"
Qian Shaobao was startled when he heard this, and then understood what his father meant.
If Haihan wants to establish a long-distance route across the Indian Ocean, it must consider security issues. If European colonial armed forces are allowed to station troops locally, Haihan's route can be cut off at any time.
Even if it just creates some supply trouble for Haihan ships passing through the local area, it will be enough to greatly increase Haihan's transportation costs and risks on this route.
Although Portugal is currently an ally of Heyhan in name, and the Netherlands is also a partner with a trade treaty with Heyhan, it is not easy to say whether these relationships will remain strong when conflicts of interest actually occur.
Judging from Qian Tiandun's reaction, at least he could not trust these European colonists, so he planned to intervene in the dispute on Ceylon Island.
As for the three countries of Mughal, Burma, and Siam, they are all countries with vast territories and great strategic depth. It is not difficult to defeat them with the strength of special warfare divisions alone, but it is unrealistic to occupy or even annex them. Realistic.
Qian Tiandun's plan was to take Ceylon as the primary target, deliver troops there as soon as possible, and then try to squeeze the Europeans out of Ceylon depending on how the situation developed.