Chapter 2494

Haihan's military strength has not been significantly affected by the departure of Wang Tom and others, at least not in the short term. In the more than 20 years since the establishment of the Haihan Army, it has trained batches of There are many officers with outstanding abilities. Although they may not be as knowledgeable as those who have mastered advanced technology, they have also honed rich combat experience in their many years of military career, and their professional abilities far exceed those of the same era. competitors.

The military command system formed by these young officers allows the Haihan Army to maintain its inherent combat capabilities despite its continuous expansion, and its overall military strength continues to rise.

As for the young officers who have gradually taken over power and become the main force in the military, if they want to continue to climb up until they reach the top of the Ministry of National Defense, they must prove their abilities with real military achievements.

However, considering the current international situation, Haihan cannot actually find a suitable opponent in East Asia.

The Manchu and Qing Dynasties retreated to the area north of Shenyang. The area bordering Haihan and Haihan was almost entirely mountainous, which was not conducive to carrying out combat operations. Moreover, the two countries have been in peace in recent years since they signed a trade agreement. Trade exchanges became more and more frequent. As long as it was profitable, neither side had any intention of restarting the war. Under this situation, neither the Executive Committee nor the Liao-Shandong Colonial Region was willing to initiate a war against the Manchus.

The Ming Dynasty knew that it was defeated by Haihan, so it placed all its important affairs in the north and continued a long-term and unrelenting struggle with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. On the one hand, Haihan wanted to digest the existing ruling area, and on the other hand, he did not want any more internal control within the Ming Dynasty. If war breaks out, it will affect many of its trade activities in the Ming Dynasty, so it will not easily launch military operations against the Ming Dynasty.

As for competitors from Europe, represented by Portugal and the Netherlands, they have chosen to cooperate with Haihan and solve problems through negotiation. Countries that are unwilling to cooperate with Haihan, such as Spain, are now difficult to see in East Asia. There is no trace.

After Li Hao returns to the country, Korea will gradually become a situation of North and South division. It can be said that it is completely under the control of Haihan and there will be no more chaos in the short term. The Japanese shogunate implements a policy of isolation and is itself an island country with scarce resources. , neither has much appeal to Haihan, nor does it pose a threat. Therefore, neither North Korea nor Japan will become the target of Haihan's use of force.

As the international situation on the East Asian continent stabilizes, the military can only shift its expansion direction to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. Three months after Wang Tom left his job and went to the other side of the ocean, the Ministry of National Defense issued a new military plan, the content of which is roughly as follows: It is planning the expansion direction in the next five to ten years.

According to this plan, the Haihan Army will launch a series of military operations in the Indian Ocean region west of the Strait of Malacca. First, it will establish colonies and transit ports on the coast of the Indian Peninsula on the west side of the Bay of Bengal, and then the next step will be to cross the Arabian Sea. Colonies were established at the two geographical strategic points of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, and maritime routes between East and West Asia were launched.

In order to realize this plan, armed forces, mainly naval forces, must be stationed in the above-mentioned colonial areas to ensure that Haihan's interests in the area are not infringed. Because the geographical span of these colonial areas is too large, at least in each Only a medium-sized naval fleet can be deployed in each colonial area.

The scale of this military expansion plan is indeed not small, but if it is extended to a time span of five to ten years, adding three medium-sized naval fleets is not too exaggerated. With Haihan's existing shipbuilding capabilities, it is completely

can meet such needs.

Of course, the funds required to build these fleets are not a small amount. Just for shipbuilding, it is expected that the military expenditure required for each fleet will reach about two million yuan. And the further away from Haihan's traditional sphere of influence, the longer the daily maintenance of the fleet.

The cost of operation will be higher, and over time it will become astronomical.

The Ministry of National Defense only made some symbolic suggestions on how to make profits through the operation of these future colonial areas to offset related military expenditures. After all, this is not the responsibility of the military. The Ministry of Commerce and other departments must also join in.

.

Opening military roads, building trade bridges, and focusing on colonization, this is basically Haihan's operating routine for overseas expansion. However, in the past two decades, Haihan has been operating in East Asia and Southeast Asia, which he is relatively familiar with, and what is included in this plan

The areas involved can be regarded as blind spots for Haihan and will face relatively high operational risks.

After the military plan was submitted to the Executive Committee for review, it caused a heated discussion. Some people believed that Haihan still needs to continue to adhere to the development strategy centered on the East Asian continent and should not disperse its forces prematurely for overseas expansion. This will

It will greatly delay Haihan's time to conquer the mainland.

Others, represented by the military, insist that Haihan should control some geographical points of strategic value as soon as possible. The significance is far from being measurable by immediate gains and losses, but a feat that can benefit future generations. If it can be established as early as possible,

The direct sea passage to the Middle East and East Africa will play a great role in Haihan's future westward expansion.

After discussions at several meetings, both parties were unable to convince the other party to fully accept their views. In the end, the military's proposal could only be partially adopted in a compromise manner, that is, only the first phase of the plan would be implemented for the time being.

The construction of a colonial zone at the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula is the primary goal. After achieving this goal, it will be decided whether to implement the second phase of the plan based on the international situation at the time and Haihan's own development.

Although the military did not achieve the ideal results, it did not return empty-handed. With this first-stage plan, it could apply for a large military budget.

The candidate specifically responsible for implementing this plan is naturally the Star Island Colony in the south. Roger had already organized a fleet to cross the Bay of Bengal and visit the Indian Peninsula a few years ago. For future choices on the Indian Peninsula

Regarding the establishment of a colonial area at the same site, Roger had already been making corresponding plans.

In fact, Roger was one of the content makers of the westward expansion plan submitted by the Ministry of Defense to the Executive Committee for review.

There are two targets chosen by Roger. One is the Gulf of Galle located at the southern end of Ceylon Island, which has a natural harbor with ideal hydrological conditions and is undeveloped. The other is Tutico located at the southern end of the Indian Peninsula.

Lin, compared to the Galle Bay of Ceylon, has a larger basic population, which can provide sufficient labor force and can achieve a faster speed in the early construction stage.
Chapter completed!