Chapter 348 Troops sent to South Vietnam

The Haihan people arrived on Qiongzhou Island only a little over a year ago, but they have already established many colonization sites and expanded at an alarming rate. This efficiency would make the Portuguese, who were once proud of colonizing the world, feel ashamed.

Portugal was the first European country to start colonizing Asia. In 1498, Vasco da Gama circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at Calicut, a port on the southwest coast of India. He established a stronghold and was appointed as the first governor of India. The spices produced locally were used for a long time thereafter.

During this period, it brought extremely huge profits to the Portuguese. However, more than a hundred years later, in addition to Goa on the west coast of India, the Portuguese's main colonies in Asia only added Manchuria, Timor and Haojingao.

Just waiting for a few places. Comparing the expansion speed of the Haihan people, Enrique felt that the successive governors of these colonies in Asia should be hanged.

Of course, Enrique, who is familiar with Portuguese colonial history, also knows very well that the process of his country's colonization in Asia is fundamentally different from that of the Haihan people. In comparison, the methods of the Haihan people can be described as "gentle".

When Da Gama first arrived in India, the locals rejected their trade demands because of his tough attitude, so Da Gama ordered artillery attacks on the locals and captured many hostages. More often than not, the Portuguese fleet played the role of

The role of robbers, slave catchers and criminals, rather than an advanced civilization that brings blessings to backward areas.

The Mughal historian Talish in the 16th century once recorded in his work what the Portuguese did at that time: "Pirates from Arakan on the northern coast of Myanmar were both Portuguese and local people. They used to come by water.

They carried out robberies in Bengal. They took the people they caught, stabbed their palms, put thin canes through the holes in their palms, and packed them into a pile below the deck of the ship. They left some uncooked rice every morning and

Like we feed chickens..."

Although the Portuguese themselves regarded their trip to Asia as a new Crusade and spared no effort to spread Catholic teachings, they tried to use massacres, torture, extortion and other methods to force people to change their religious beliefs. This also

It aroused strong religious hatred among the locals.

Of course, in Enrique's view, this situation is not all his fault. Due to the weak domestic foundation, the Portuguese cannot continue to provide manpower and financial resources for overseas bases. As a result, the Portuguese's position in Asia is being lost to the Dutch and British.

Instead, many Portuguese had to engage in piracy, or take over some small businesses that other European countries did not bother to do. Due to limited manpower, the colonial governance could only adopt simple and crude methods.

The colonial practices of the Haihan people that Enrique saw were undoubtedly much better than his own methods. The living conditions provided by the Haihan people for their Ming people and the Annan people were far better than they were.

It has reached the level before Victory Port and has a very complete civil affairs system to manage the increasing number of immigrants.

Although this method of using favorable conditions to attract immigrants is extremely effective, Enrique also knows that Haojing'ao or other Portuguese colonies cannot imitate it - the reason is very simple, the money and materials required to do so are too much.

Too much. If you don't have enough financial resources, you will definitely not be able to support such a big scene. Of course, even if you have such financial resources, the dignitaries will never waste a single silver coin on the common people and slaves who are like ants.

The new guest house built on the slopes of Fenghuangling in the northwest of Victory Port had just been opened in June, and Enrique was honored to be the first host and guest here. He had long heard that the Haihan people lived an extravagant life, but when he moved in

Only after arriving here did Enrique understand the true meaning of this statement. In addition to the eye-catching glass windows, what caught his attention even more was that the bathrooms here were all filled with ceramic equipment, wall tiles, and wash basins.

The flush toilet, as well as the hot water shower facility that supplies eight hours a day, Enrique felt that taking out any of these things would be enough to make the country bumpkins in Hao Jing O scream in surprise - even though he himself saw it at first sight.

At that time, he couldn't help but sigh.

The three meals a day are also very rich. The staple food is rice, and the meat is mainly seafood, and occasionally chicken and duck. Enrique is relatively sensitive in taste, and he can taste a variety of spices from the meals provided by the Haihan people.

He knew that this meant that the spice trade that Tao Donglai had mentioned before was not a boast. And in Europe, only middle-class nobles could enjoy such food. If something hadn't happened, Enli

Ke really wants to live in Port Victory for a few months and enjoy this rare life.

One morning, Enrique was awakened from his sleep by a loud noise. He got up and walked to the window, opened the curtains and looked outside. From here, he could clearly see the beautiful scene of the entire Port of Victory. But when he saw

After the scene on the pier, I immediately lost all sleep.

"Koko, you idiot, get up!" Enrique kicked the black slave who was sleeping on the ground awake.

The black slave stood up and hurriedly helped Enrique put on his coat and boots.

"Take my hat, let's go to the pier now!" Enrique didn't bother to check his clothes carefully and went out in a panic. The servant Koko didn't even have time to put on his shoes and grabbed Enrique's hat.

He quickly followed behind.

Enrique was so anxious because he saw a large number of armed personnel gathering on the dock to board the ship. Five warships, one large, four small, and five, plus at least four supply ships, were preparing to leave the port.

If it had been a few days earlier, Enrique might not have been panicked by this situation, because the Haihan people liked to assemble their troops to conduct various exercises without giving any warning. But yesterday, under very accidental circumstances, he

I heard two locals talking, saying that they were going to sea to fight in Annan soon.

Of course, Enrique is very aware of the attitude of the Haihan people on the civil war in Annan. If the Haihan people send troops again, it is obvious who they plan to deal with. Enrique originally wanted to talk to Tao Donglai today

Regarding matters in South Vietnam, even if the Haihan people cannot be organized, they must at least try to leave more buffer time for themselves and minimize the economic losses of the Portuguese in South Vietnam. But what he did not expect was that the Haihan people would actually take action at his word.

, I just heard the rumor yesterday and am ready to go today.

In fact, the preparation period for this war was not short. The Military Commission had proposed a plan for an attack on port cities in South Vietnam in early June. However, due to various objective reasons, this plan was delayed until late July before entering the implementation stage.

Prior to this, various departments had already made preparations for the war, and were waiting for the executive committee to issue the final order. This battle will be led by Navy Captain Tom Wang as the commander-in-chief, leading a fleet of nine ships to set off from Victory Port

, Captain Qian Tien Don of the North Vietnamese Army Division served as the second-in-command, leading the Black Tu Port Special Operations Force from North Vietnam. The two forces will meet near Hoi An in South Vietnam, and then launch an attack on Hoi An City.

"Tao... Mr. Tao, what are you... doing?" Enrique, out of breath from running, rushed to the dock and immediately asked Tao Donglai.

"You saw it, send troops!" Tao Donglai said calmly: "North Vietnam's allies have applied for assistance to us. From our point of view, there is no reason to reject them. So we decided to send troops to fight against the South Vietnamese rebellion.

The army will attack."

"You are provoking a new round of war!" Enrique yelled angrily.

"No, we are accelerating the end of the civil war in Annan. By destroying the rebels in South Vietnam, Annan will be able to gain peace and reunification." Tao Donglai didn't take Enrique's rebuke seriously at all. This kind of thief calls to catch a thief.

, Tao Donglai had watched the spokesperson of the Lighthouse Country perform countless times before traveling through time, and his thick-skinnedness was far beyond what Enrique could match.

"If you think what we are doing is inappropriate, you can take a boat to Annan now to prevent this war from happening." Yan Chujie was not as deep in the city as Tao Donglai, so he immediately launched a counterattack: "As long as you let Ruan's sacrifice

If the city surrenders, then we can keep his family safe and avoid unnecessary killings, do you think so?"

Enrique was dumbfounded and didn't know how to answer. Going to Annan to be a peace envoy to persuade these companies to put down their arms? How could that be possible? This is not a dispute that can be solved by paying money and apologizing, but a war for the power of a country.

Regardless of whether it is South or North, those in power will definitely not give up the power they hold - even if it costs thousands of lives, they will not hesitate to do so.

"Don't expect to get back what you can't get on the battlefield just by talking!" Yan Chujie looked at Enrique's deflated look, and his mood finally improved, but he still didn't forget to ridicule him again.

When Enrique heard these words, he suddenly realized why the attitude of the Haihan people was so tough. After all, it was because of the force they had in their hands. If South Vietnam could perform well on the battlefield, then the Portuguese would mediate, maybe to some extent

It can play some role. However, the combat power of the Haihan militia is obviously much greater than that of the South Vietnamese army. To simply rely on mediation at the negotiation table to stop the Haihan offensive is indeed to oversimplify the matter.

Enrique took another look at the Haihan warship that was slowly sailing away from the dock. The sailors and crew members stood in a row beside the ship and raised their right hands to salute the Haihan military salute to the farewell team on the dock. The people seeing off also also

responded with warm cheers. It didn't look like a fleet going on an expedition at all, but more like an ordinary patrol out to sea. Enrique also understood that this was the local people's extremely high fighting ability of the Haihan Militia.

Confidence, because this unit has never lost a battle since its establishment. The militia participated in the war half a year ago, and finally won a large amount of war dividends for Victory Port. Now that they are fighting in South Vietnam, the people must be confident about victory.

The results are beyond doubt.

"Is there no other solution to all this?" Enrique said very frustrated.

"Maybe, but that's not what we want." Tao Donglai looked at the sailing shadow in the distance and responded without looking back.

Ten days before the Haihan troops were dispatched, the North Vietnamese army had already begun to mobilize large-scale forces along the Zhengjiang and Hengshan lines in accordance with the prior agreement. Thousands of North Vietnamese troops were added to various checkpoints, which also caused the South Vietnamese army to mobilize

In order to prevent the North Vietnamese Army from breaking through this line of defense, the South Vietnamese Army began to mobilize troops from Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces to gather north. South Vietnam even specially mobilized 5,000 troops to station in the area that was last attacked by the Hai Han Militia.

They conducted a sneak attack on Dong Hoi at sea to prevent the baggage and grain transported to the front line from being damaged by the enemy again. However, what they did not expect was that this time their opponents had no intention of attacking Dong Hoi at all, but instead targeted South Vietnam, which was far away from the war zone.

hinterland.

On the same day that the naval force set off from Victory Port, the Black Tu Port special forces that had assembled at Vinh An Port also boarded the ship and headed south. The voyage from Vinh An Port to Hoi An is almost the same as the voyage from Victory Port to Hoi An, so it is convenient for both parties.

It was agreed to meet directly in Hoi An, instead of having the fleet depart from the base camp to make a round trip to the north.

After the war in January, the Black Tu Port Special Operations Company was awarded for its outstanding performance in the battle, and the Military Commission also gave the green light to the military expansion plan proposed by Qian Tiandun. After half a year, the Black Tu Port Special Operations Unit has already

From the establishment of one reinforced company to three strengthened companies. If the number of artillery in North Vietnam was not seriously insufficient, Qian Tiandun would actually like to add another artillery company to upgrade the special operations force to the battalion level.

unit.

The current resources of the special operations force are still mainly North Vietnamese immigrants, and more than 80% of the soldiers are from Annam. The training location of this force is not in Heitu Port, but on Cat Ba Island, across the sea from the Do Son Peninsula.

Above. The training environment of this unit is much more difficult than that of the base camp, and the corresponding field survival and combat capabilities are also much stronger. However, compared to the base camp, this unit has much fewer combat opportunities.

In several military operations conducted by the Military Commission in the mainland, troops were mobilized from the base camp to participate. However, because the distance to Black Earth Port was too far, they basically had no part in it. Although the opponents in the south were weak, they did not have direct orders from the Executive Committee.

Tiandun did not dare to lead his troops south to start a war on his own. As for the sporadic pirates in the Beibu Gulf, they had been wiped out by the special battle company long ago. Now, from Heitu Port to Lianzhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture on the Daming side,

No more pirates appear.

Therefore, when a new combat opportunity appeared this time, Qian Tiandun paid special attention to it and started special training more than a month in advance. After returning from the reconnaissance operation in July, Qian Tiandun also used the information at hand to conduct special training at Yong'an Port

A simple training ground was built to simulate the street fighting after the invasion of Hoi An. With the new short-barreled smoothbore shotguns provided by the military industry department, the special operations forces were even more powerful, and they were waiting to go south for a big fight.

On August 2, Qian Tien Don finally arrived at the main fleet of the base camp after traveling in a large circle at sea. The two fleets met at the sea about forty nautical miles away from Hoi An, and then Qian Tien Don took a transportation boat.

Boarded the flagship "Exploration" for this operation.

The specific combat plan has been formulated long ago. This meeting is mainly to finalize some details after the landing. Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun are veterans who have participated in many military operations and are familiar with this battle.

Their understanding and attitude were relatively consistent, so the talks were quickly completed and the combat process was determined.

In the evening of the same day, the fleet sailed into the port of Cham Island, which is only ten nautical miles away from Hoi An. The militiamen on the ship took control of the fishing village on the island with lightning speed, and temporarily detained more than 20 fishermen families together. In order to be able to

Let the soldiers adjust to the best combat condition. They did not rush to launch an attack the next day, but rested for a whole day. It was not until dawn on August 4 that the fleet left Cham Island and headed towards

Drive west towards the mouth of Thu Bon River.

Such a fleet with a total tonnage of more than 3,000 tons is inevitably very eye-catching when it sails on the sea. Hoi An is the most prosperous commercial port in South Vietnam, and there is a constant flow of ships entering and exiting the Thu Bon River estuary. Soon,

Someone discovered this fleet of unknown origins. Of course, no one really realized the danger at this time, because no one could have expected that a rear area like Hoi An would be attacked - and this attack was actually

It comes from the sea, which South Vietnam has always regarded as a natural barrier.

When the fleet entered the mouth of the Thu Bon River, someone finally discovered something was wrong: "This is not a merchant ship, this is a warship! Look at the gun windows on the side of the ship!"

Some people rushed to the estuary by boat, trying to escape from the area that was about to be attacked; others rushed to the dock outside Hoi An City, trying to warn the city before the enemy arrived. But it was a pity that this was not the case.

This kind of warning came too late. From the estuary of the Thu Bon River to Hoi An City, the voyage is only about 5 nautical miles. Such a short time is not even enough for the defenders to mobilize their troops. Of course, maybe Wang Tom and others are eager for the defenders to mobilize.

Being able to gather all the troops together, you can use the fierce artillery fire offensive to directly hit the enemy.

Although South Vietnam also deployed some armed personnel and ships on the Thu Bon River, compared with the invaders who broke into the Thu Bon River, the South Vietnamese navy's ships were simply small sampans, and they did not even have the courage to approach the opponent. Only

One by one, the South Vietnamese warships that rushed over to try to block the fleet were directly crushed by the "Explorer" and turned into a pile of wood chips floating on the river without any suspense.

"All gunners enter the combat position, open the gun windows, and prepare for battle!" Wang Tom issued an order to the warships in the team through the walkie-talkie.

"Infantry inspect weapons and prepare for landing!" Qian Tiandun also issued an order to his men.

Ahead, you can already see the riverside pier outside Hoi An City, as well as the local people fleeing in panic on the pier. So far, it seems that no local garrison has appeared in an organized area.

"Fire the guns and tell them we are coming!" Wang Tom put down his telescope and gave the order to the artillerymen on the second deck.
Chapter completed!