Chapter 748 Priorities

Although the Dutch had reluctantly signed an armistice agreement with Heyhan after suffering successive losses on the battlefield last year, and in fact acquiesced to Heyhan's control of the Ambrosia Islands in the South China Sea, what was signed at that time was only

The armistice agreement, in other words, the two sides did not officially declare the end of the war, and the war may restart at any time.

The Batavia War that broke out two months ago undoubtedly greatly reduced the strength of the Dutch East Indies, but the Dutch stronghold on Taiwan Island was not directly affected by it. The garrison and fleet of Dazhuang Port were affected by the long distance.

It was too far away and did not rush back to the south to reinforce Batavia, so there was still a certain military pressure on Haihan in the Fujian Strait area. Although Haihan defeated the Dutch fleet in the Fujian Naval Battle last year,

However, the nail in Taiyuan Port has not been removed. Considering that there is only less than fifty nautical miles between Taiyuan Port and Penghu, this threat is still very felt by the Haihan militia stationed in Penghu.

Restless.

From the military's point of view, it would be uncomfortable to have such a nail on the doorstep of your home. If it had a choice, the military would definitely make Taiyuan Port the first target to attack in the next step. But considering

By the time the Dutch had been operating in Damuan Port for several years and had built fortresses such as Jelandja City there, Haihan's attack there would be much more difficult than a naval battle, and the Executive Committee was worried that the war would slow down Haihan's attack on the North Sea.

We are advancing at a fast pace, and we don’t want to completely fall out with the Dutch at this stage.

The idea of ​​the Executive Committee is that if a large-scale introduction of immigrants from the north can be achieved, then Fujian can begin to organize the establishment of a colonial settlement on the west coast of Taiwan Island. With Haihan’s organizational and implementation capabilities, it can be achieved within one or two years.

Establish multiple colonial points on the west coast within a certain period of time. When the time comes, with Penghu on the left and right, the route to the north from Damuan Port will be sandwiched between them, and it will be much easier to slowly squeeze out the living space of the Dutch.

Of course, if we follow this plan to solve the problem of Taiyuan Port, it may take a long time, and the military does not want to carry this burden all the time. Who knows if the Dutch will one day be unable to think about it anymore?

There was a surprise attack on the Penghu base.

"It's just playing the piano randomly!" Qian Tiandun slammed the message he just received on the table: "Ning Qi himself came to Fujian for inspection last year, but he couldn't even figure out the situation! He shouted north, north, north every day, this Netherlands

How dare you send people to the north to open up new strongholds when they are still watching from behind!"

Chen Yixin picked up the telegram and read it. It was not that the Executive Committee had already made relevant decisions, it was just a briefing on the contents of the third quarter summary meeting. However, since the Executive Committee had included the proposal to expand the sphere of influence to the north in the briefing

Among them, it was obvious that they had certain expectations for this, and they sent a special telegram to Penghu, presumably to see what the attitude was like here.

After reading this, Chen Yixin also frowned and said: "Penghu currently only has two battalions of soldiers, and the fleet is not evenly organized. How can it develop to the north?"

Qian Tiandun said solemnly: "The Dutch fleet passes by the east of Penghu every month, which makes us nervous every time. How can I feel relieved unless this nail is pulled out!"

The East India Company's route to Northeast Asia started from Taiyuan Port and went north, passing through the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, all the way to its destination. The closest distance between Penghu and the west coast of Taiwan Island is only more than 20 nautical miles, and Dutch ships are often seen.

The figure of the team. Whenever such a situation was discovered, Penghu had to immediately enter a state of preparation for war to prevent the Dutch from undeclared sneak attacks.

In this era, there would be no advanced means such as radar warning, and the Dutch would not report their sailing plans to Haihan honestly. Therefore, although the Penghu base has never been attacked by foreign enemies, it is still

There will be a few days when alarms of unknown status will cause people to panic. Although everyone knows that the chance of the Dutch taking the initiative to launch a war at this time is extremely small, no one dares to take it lightly.

If an alarm is called, Qian Tiandun will still order all personnel to enter a state of combat readiness.

There is no good solution to this problem. The most thorough solution is to clear out the Dutch strongholds on the west coast of Taiwan and force Dutch merchant ships to travel between the South China Sea and the East China Sea along the route designated by Han. But Qian Tiandun

I also know very well that there are still some technical problems that have yet to be solved by the Dutch who want to clean up Taiyuan Port - such as a comprehensive reconnaissance of the inside and outside of Taiyuan Port, a combat plan to quickly break down the fortress defenses, etc.

"Even if this plan is passed by the executive committee, we will still vote against it." Qian Tiandun did not hide his dissatisfaction in front of Chen Yixin: "The Spaniards can let it go temporarily, but the Dutch will not solve it.

You can’t rush northward!”

Compared with the Dutch who stick to Haihan like a plaster, the Spanish base in northern Taiwan is not that obstructive. The Jilong Port they occupied is located on the northeast corner of Taiwan Island, and the route between it and Luzon Island in the South China Sea is also

Mainly concentrated in the waters east of Taiwan Island, there is no direct conflict of interest with Penghu. In the previous conflicts between Haihan and Shibazhi and the Dutch, the Spanish also wisely chose to sit back and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.

Didn't join in the battle.

The choice of the Spanish is naturally related to their political stance. The Dutch and the Spanish are currently fighting fiercely on the European battlefield, one is for independence, and the other is to maintain their status as the leader of Europe. Since both countries are proficient in

Navigation, so their battlefields are almost all over the world. The Spanish's purpose of seizing Jilong Port was largely to restrict the Dutch's maritime trade in Northeast Asia.

From this interest perspective, the Spaniards and the Haihan people actually have very similar interests and demands. Both sides hope to remove the Dutch from their sphere of influence. However, it is not easy to achieve this goal. The two countries are in the Far East.

Each side has its own victory or defeat in the sea battle, and no one side has a clear advantage. This is also the main reason why the Dutch representatives were finally forced to admit defeat by Haihan's extravagant moves during the Dutch-Sea negotiations last year. The Dutch were really worried about the sea battle.

The Han people would unite with the Spaniards. If the two families sent troops at the same time, no matter how brave and skillful the Dutch soldiers were, they would probably not be able to withstand their attack.

Of course, Haihan doesn't really intend to join forces with the Spanish. For Haihan, all external forces are competitors. If you can use them, use them. If you can't, try to eliminate them. Haihan can only join forces to form an alliance.

They will choose those forces that are controlled by themselves as targets. For example, the military of Annan Kingdom is a staunch ally of Haihan. The Spaniards themselves can make guns, cannons, and ships, and their accumulation in navigation far exceeds that of Haihan.

, it would be of no benefit to Haihan to form an alliance with it. The most important thing is that the Haihan military has been coveting Jilong Port for a long time.

Jilong Port is known as Keelung Port in later generations. In the forty-fifth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, that is, 1617, the book "East and West Yang Kao" written by Zhang Xie, a Ming Dynasty scholar, contains Jilong Society, Jilong Port, and Jilong Port.

City, Dajilong Street and other records. In 1626, Spanish colonists invaded here and built a fortress on Sheliao Island outside the port, naming it "San Salvador City".

Jilong Harbor is surrounded by mountains on three sides in the east, west and south. In between is a narrow bay with a depth of about 3.6 kilometers and an entrance width of about 300 meters. Outside the mouth of the bay, there are Sheliao, Zhongshan, Pantong and other islands as natural barriers, forming a mountain surrounded by water.

It is a natural harbor surrounded by calm waves. The water area in the harbor is about 2.5 square kilometers, and the average water depth is about ten meters. Large ships can enter and exit the port without any pressure. Of course, the Spanish colonists did not have such strong engineering construction capabilities as Haihan.

The port construction implemented was also very limited and did not fully utilize the local geographical environment.

For the Haihan military, the terrain of Jilong Port is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is the military's favorite semi-enclosed port. There is ample room for development whether it is military or commercial use. Coupled with the rich local forest resources, it can

A large shipyard was built. The rich fishery resources in the nearby waters made this place still the largest fishing port in Taiwan even in later generations, and the black sea bream it produced was very famous.

In addition, due to the large volcanoes in the area, mineral resources are also very rich. There are many gold, silver and copper mines distributed in Jinguashi Mountain, Caoshan, Jimuling and other places, which are the areas with the highest concentration of gold mines on the island of Taiwan.

In addition, the sulfur mineral resources formed by the local volcanoes are also very rich and have a wide range of uses in industry and military fields.

Therefore, although Jilong Port does not block Haihan's northbound channel, it is still included in the list of "must capture" targets by the military. However, compared with the difficult position of Taiyuan Port, capturing Jilong Port

It doesn't seem so urgent anymore.

Of course, no matter where the attack is, Qian Tiandun and the Penghu garrison will most likely serve as the main force, and Qian Tiandun must also consider the occupation issue after the attack - with the existing strength of the Penghu base, divide the troops

Occupation is obviously an undesirable solution. Either we can mobilize troops from Hainan Island, or we can only wait until the locally recruited recruits complete their training and expand the garrison. However, no matter which solution is chosen, it cannot be completed in a short time.

of.

"It would be good to be able to bring out two to three companies of new soldiers before the end of this year..." Qian Tiandun thought about it, then shook his head and said: "If we want to divide our troops to defend Taiyuan Port, and then send troops north to open up new strongholds,

The troops are definitely not enough."

"It would be great if there was a way for the Dutch to have a fight with the Spaniards. If we reap the benefits, we might be able to easily take over the island of Taiwan." Chen Yixin came up with an idea.

Qian Tiandun responded: "You mentioned this move. In fact, I have thought about it before. It is theoretically feasible, but in practice there are too many uncontrollable factors and the timing is difficult to grasp. Moreover, the Dutch have been seriously injured recently. In the short term,

They probably won't take the initiative to launch military operations against external forces. Besides, they don't have much chance of winning against the Spaniards. At most, it's a 50-50 split. I don't think the Dutch still have the guts to challenge the Spaniards at this stage.

Compete."

"What should we do? If the executive committee makes a decision, even if we oppose it, it will actually have no practical effect." Chen Yixin looked worried. Although he had not been in Penghu for a long time, he had no idea about the situation here.

It's relatively clear. If the executive committee is determined to go north, the Penghu base will indeed face certain risks.

"Don't worry, this proposal is just a proposal at the moment. If we really want to start deliberation and voting, we will probably have to wait until the end of the year for the general meeting. The executive committee is not just what the civil servants say, there are many people on our side.

.I will draft a message and send it back later, asking Mr. Yan and Tom to think of a solution in Sanya."

Chen Yixin did not answer. The struggle for power among these high-level officials was not within his reach. Even a general like Qian Tiandun could not directly refute the opinions of the executive committee. Even if he said it right.

Awesome, but he will still reflect his own ideas according to the formal procedures first - objections are objections, and the authority of the executive committee must continue to be maintained. After all, Qian Tiandun is a senior member of the party, and he can express his opinions casually in private.

But if Chen Yixin did the same, he would appear to be unsteady. After all, his current position is far from being able to dictate the decisions of the executive committee.

Time entered in October 1632, and the first batch of recruits at the Penghu base had begun to receive training. Under the careful selection of Qian Tiandun and others, only a total of more than 270 people passed the recruit review and successfully enlisted. Compared with recent times,

In terms of the base of new immigrant soldiers of 10,000 people, this number is actually not that large. And not all of these recruits can be formally established after completing training. At least one-third of them will be eliminated, which is different from conscription.

Together with those who are qualified but not in excellent conditions, they are transported to Sanya to receive ordinary military training. These people may have no problem becoming qualified Haihan soldiers, but Qian Tiandun's requirements are not just qualified.

Different from Roger's paid training at Ambuna Port in the South China Sea, the soldiers under Qian Tiandun not only have to learn basic combat skills, but also receive advanced tactical training. Ordinary soldiers need to be promoted to become officers.

Most of what you can only learn at the Haihan Army Military Academy in Sanya can be learned under Qian Tiandun. If the military training in Sanya is aimed at qualified soldiers, then Qian Tiandun's training method is

Train every soldier to become an elite. When necessary, each of these soldiers can temporarily serve as a grassroots commander, and use this as a framework to quickly expand the army ten times the basic strength.

Such high standards and strict requirements must be achieved through arduous training. This has also caused many recruits to complain, and they have no idea that being a soldier is such a difficult job.
Chapter completed!