Chapter 537: Drawing on the gourd

The Ministry of Security's deployment in Nanyang was much earlier than that of the military. Last year, Hao Wanqing had already arranged for his men to join the maritime merchant Zhan Gui's shipping company, and go south to Batavia and Malacca to participate in the establishment of trading houses - of course this so-called trading house

The warehouse has also undertaken the task of intelligence collection accordingly. Since the first half of this year, organized intelligence has been regularly transmitted back to Sanya from the local area by shipping.

For security reasons, the Ministry of Security has not deployed radio stations and radio transceivers locally, so it cannot be said to be timely. The contents of the reports received by the Ministry of Security are basically two months ago.

Well, if measured by the standards of He Xi and Hao Wanqing, this kind of work efficiency is actually unqualified. But the reality is like this. No matter how dissatisfied you are, you can only deal with it as it is.

Of course, part of the intelligence retrieved by the Ministry of Security was sent to the military staff. However, the military is not very clear about the specific layout and control of the Ministry of Security in the Nanyang region. Yan Chujie had already reported it,

It is necessary to establish a military intelligence office directly under the military, but it has been stuck due to funding issues. So far, it still needs to rely on intelligence provided by the Ministry of Security to a certain extent.

After Hao Wanqing started talking, Yan Chujie lowered his guard and said, "Then what kind of cooperation are you planning?"

Hao Wanqing did not immediately answer Yan Chujie's question, but instead asked: "Is Mr. Yan familiar with the geography of the South China Sea?"

Yan Chujie nodded and said, "If you mean looking at a map, then it's okay, but I've never been to the actual place."

"Then it's much simpler for me to say it." Hao Wanqing returned to the topic and said: "First of all, I have to determine one thing, that is, what is the approximate combat radius of the navy's current fleet? You don't need to give me a specific number. You can give me a

A rough range is enough.”

This cannot be said to be a military secret. There are often discussion threads about this on the online forums used internally by time travellers. Anyone who has a little knowledge of naval warship data can roughly guess it through simple calculations.

Yan Chujie did not deliberately conceal it and reported the data: "Daily combat readiness cruises should be maintained within a combat radius of two hundred nautical miles. If enough supplies are brought during wartime, the combat radius can be extended to about five hundred nautical miles. However, in combat

The intensity and time will be greatly limited, and the supplies carried by the fleet alone cannot sustain it for too long."

Hao Wanqing nodded and said: "This is basically consistent with what we speculated, but as a result, our supply points between Sanya and several major ports in Nanyang will be too few. If I remember correctly, the military

Is there only Cam Ranh Bay, the main military port in the southern part of Indochina?"

Yan Chujie responded: "Yes, Cam Ranh Bay is about 400 nautical miles away from Sanya, which is also within the combat radius of the naval fleet. In fact, the Ministry of Shipping and we also took this range factor into consideration when designing the warships.

.”

"The distance between Cam Ranh Bay and Sanya is not a problem, but going south from Cam Ranh Bay is more troublesome." Hao Wanqing continued Yan Chujie's words: "It is more than 700 nautical miles from Cam Ranh Bay to the Strait of Malacca, and to Batavia

The voyage range is more than a thousand nautical miles. Whether it is a warship or a civilian ship, such a long sea voyage is a very troublesome and dangerous matter. Moreover, it has exceeded the navy's combat radius. If something happens in Nanyang and the navy needs to go south,

, then combat supplies will be a very big problem."

"Can the Ministry of Security help us solve this problem?" Yan Chujie asked, staring at Hao Wanqing's face with a half-smile.

Hao Wanqing shook his head and said: "The Ministry of Security is not a fairy. How can we solve this kind of problem? At most we can give suggestions, but I think the military should have already made plans for this, right?"

Yan Chujie did not deny Hao Wanqing's doubts, and nodded: "Actually, if you look at the map, you will find that there are not many options to solve this problem. The most feasible way is to build another one between Cam Ranh Port and Nanyang's goal.

At least one large stronghold will be responsible for supply and transit."

"It seems that the military has already selected a target. I wonder if it is consistent with the expectations of our security department?" Hao Wanqing looked at Yan Chujie with a hint of hope in his eyes.

"There is no need to continue playing riddles. Between Indochina, Sumatra, and Java, the most suitable place is the Natuna Islands." Yan Chujie did not continue to talk in circles, but directly revealed the answer.

"Heroes see the same thing." Hao Wanqing nodded repeatedly: "Then the next thing will be easy to explain."

The Natuna Islands are located between the Malay Peninsula and Borneo Island. They consist of more than 200 islands with a total area of ​​more than 2,000 square kilometers. This place is located about 500 nautical miles south of Cam Ranh Bay and about 300 nautical miles northeast of Malacca.

Batavia is 600 nautical miles due north of Batavia. Its geographical location is almost exactly at the midpoint of the two major ports of Cam Ranh Bay and Nanyang. It is perfect to be used as a transfer station on ocean voyages.

Of course, the reason why the military and the Ministry of Security have taken a fancy to this place at the same time is not only because of its unique geographical location, but also because it has been regarded as the farthest point in southern China since ancient times. It has been used since the Song Dynasty.

The central court was included in the territory. The earliest historical records can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. In the "Foreign Objects Chronicles" written by Yang Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is recorded that "the rising sea is rough, the water is shallow and there are many magnets", and Wan Zhen during the Three Kingdoms period wrote

There are similar records in "Nanzhou Foreign Objects". Since the Song Dynasty, the Natuna Islands have been regarded as the maritime boundary between China and foreign countries.

When Zheng He sailed to the West in the early 14th century, the Natuna Islands were officially named "Wansheng Shitang Island" and were recorded on the "Zheng He Navigation Chart". Barracks and a large number of living facilities were built locally, and also

Personnel were stationed on duty. In 1433, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty bestowed the title "Wansheng Island, Anbu Na", which exempted the people stationed on the island from taxes. Therefore, the island was also called "Anbu Na Island" by the personnel stationed on the island.

This is also the first time that the central court has officially recognized the ownership of this overseas enclave.

If this place is still controlled by the Ming Dynasty, it would be easy for Haihan to take action. Anyway, the local population is not large. Haihan's occupation of that place will not be much more troublesome than the county seat on Qiongzhou Island. But the problem lies with the Ming Dynasty.

It has been thirty years since this place was abandoned. It will be more troublesome for Haihan to try to take advantage of this place again.

In 1601, the Dutch colonists occupied Batavia on Java Island, later known as Jakarta, and established the headquarters of the East India Company there. After that, the Dutch quickly sent armed personnel to occupy "Ambuna".

Island" and renamed it "Ampona Island". Later, because it had the same name as another place, it was changed to "Natuna", which became the name for later generations.

When the Haihan Group traveled to this time and space, the Natuna Islands had already been occupied by the Dutch, so they did not have time to affect this period of history. However, the Dutch did not have much energy to manage the Natuna Islands, because here

Except for the trees, there are no natural harbors with superior conditions, and there are no high-value natural resources that can be developed - there is an oil and gas field on the seabed northeast of Natuna Island that is said to be the world's largest oil and gas reserve. However, even if you have mastered various

It is probably impossible for these time-travelers who cultivate black technology to see the development of oil and gas fields under the sea while they are still alive.

Therefore, whether it is for the Dutch or Haihan, the greatest value of Natuna Island is still its geographical location. In addition to being a transit supply station on the route, this place does not have much commercial development value. However,

For the Dutch, the importance of this transit station is probably even greater than its importance to Haihan, because after leaving here and continuing north, the next colonial stronghold belonging to the Dutch is 1,400 nautical miles away.

Travelers need to cross the entire South China Sea to reach Relanjia City in the southwest of Taiwan Island.

If this place is lost, the Dutch sailing ship starting from Batavia will have to drift about two thousand nautical miles at sea before reaching another port of its own. This will greatly increase the risks of the sailing ship during the voyage. It is certainly not what the Dutch want.

A situation I would like to see.

As for sharing the local port with the Dutch, Yan Chujie has no such plan, and he believes that the Dutch will not have such an idea. If it is just a merchant ship or a civilian ship, it may not be a big problem to dock locally. It is nothing more than paying money.

That's all, but it's not just merchant ships that Heihan wants to send to the south. If the Dutch could honestly let Heihan's warships dock in the port, then they probably wouldn't become one of the maritime overlords of this era.

.

"I have read the reports sent by your security department before. I just want to know how many more ambushes you have laid. What are the things about the Natuna Islands that were not mentioned in the report?" Yan Chujie did not.

Frightened by Hao Wanqing's words, he asked a profound and direct question.

"Mr. Yan, you really think too much." Hao Wanqing immediately denied Yan Chujie's suspicion: "The report we submitted to the military has not been changed in any way. What we saw when we received the report is different from what you said.

What you see is the same.”

"Really?" Yan Chujie still didn't quite believe it. The people in the intelligence agency always had a secretive style of doing things. Although Yan Chujie couldn't say he had a bad impression of them, he did lack trust.

"Really, there is no need for me to deceive you on this matter. After all, our Ministry of Security is looking for cooperation with your military this time, and it is our duty to provide you with intelligence information." Hao Wanqing said sincerely.

"Okay, if we are here to establish a supply point, what does your security department want to get from it?" Yan Chujie decided not to delve into the question just now and returned to the topic.

"Before establishing a permanent colony on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra or Java, we need a more stable base in the South China Sea to improve the operational efficiency of local intelligence agencies." Hao Wanching paused and made a more detailed explanation.

Explanation: "You have to know that for security reasons, the intelligence stations we set up in Malacca and Batavia do not have radio stations. It takes a month for these messages to be sent back to Sanya from the local area, which is absolutely impossible.

Most of the timely information has lost its use value when it is transmitted back. If we can set up a workstation in the Natuna Islands, then our intelligence transmission speed can be at least doubled than before. This is what our Ministry of Security wants.

Get something.”

"So what the Ministry of Security means is to provide intelligence and cooperate with us to take down the Natuna Islands so that your Nanyang intelligence network can operate more efficiently?" Yan Chujie finally figured out the clue.

"A very correct understanding." Hao Wanqing responded: "This is not only beneficial to us, but also of great benefit to your military."

"The problem is that we don't have enough power to go south and capture the Natuna Islands." Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "Our existing fleet is a bit tight to protect the Qiongzhou Strait and the Pearl River Estuary, let alone go south to fight."

"This matter does not necessarily have to be done by the navy." Hao Wanqing said sternly: "We just want to achieve the goal, and there is no need to be particular about the means we use. Mr. Yan has also read the report, and there are not many armed personnel stationed locally.

, the defense strength is also low, we don’t need to go to war."

"The defense is low, so we have to send troops to do it. The main force of the militia is currently deployed in the Qiongbei area, and they won't be able to escape in a short time..." At this point, Yan Chujie suddenly stopped himself: "Your

It means that what we did in Qiongbei can be done again?"

"Why not?" Hao Wanqing showed a dark smile on his lips: "I think the pirate joke can be played for at least a few more years. For many things, as long as someone takes the blame and stays out of it, then there is no need to worry about it.

"

"Your security department must have been planning this matter for a long time, right?" Yan Chujie did not answer him, but continued to ask.

"It didn't take long, that is, it happened after the third anniversary of this year's landing." Hao Wanqing said frankly: "To be precise, we only started planning after the executive committee decided on the plan to start a prairie fire."

"You are taking action in Qiongbei while staring at the South China Sea. You are really eating from the bowl and looking into the pot. It's amazing!" Yan Chujie couldn't help but extend his thumbs up and praised: "Why don't you merge into our military?

Forget it, General Staff, this plan is much more reliable than what those guys from the General Staff came up with!"

Of course, Hao Wanqing knew that what Yan Chujie said was a joke, so he said humbly: "Mr. Yan, thank you for the praise. We are just copying the gourd. The root of this idea is still in Operation Prairie Fire. Besides, the final implementation of this plan still depends on your military."

You just have to take action. Of course, our security department will do our best to cooperate within our capabilities."
Chapter completed!