Chapter 826 Reporting the situation

Compared with rifles, what is really difficult to imitate are heavy artillery and Haihan warships with higher technical content. The material processing and casting technology of heavy artillery are insurmountable technical obstacles for the military craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty. Even with relatively high technical content,

With low-quantity gunpowder bags and fire tubes, the imitations made by the Ming Dynasty have never been able to achieve the use effect of the original products. If Xu Jiaqi was lucky enough to see the artillery battle between the Haihan Army outside two Spanish castles in Taipei, he would

You will further realize that although the artillery equipped by both sides looks the same, their performance on the battlefield is the same as that of rifles. There is an obvious generation difference between the two.

As for warships, they are less difficult to imitate than muskets and artillery. An experienced shipwright can spend time figuring out the structure of the hull and deducing a rough shipbuilding method. However, the Haihan warship used a large number of materials on the ribs of the ship.

The metal structural parts used to reinforce the hull, as well as Haihan's unique steel-core mast, are parts that are difficult to build in the Ming Dynasty Shipyard. In addition, they are widely used on Haihan warships and were originally supposed to be invented by the Dutch in the next century.

The steering wheel system that came out has a special anti-disassembly device. As long as it is forcibly disassembled, the gear transmission system inside will be destroyed. Therefore, the imitation can only imitate its shape. For these black technologies that are beyond the times, the Ming Dynasty shipbuilders racked their brains.

Can't figure out how to copy it.

Since it cannot be copied, the final solution is to buy it with money. The Fujian Ming Army’s arms purchase contracts have always been handled by Xu Xinsu himself. The content and price of the purchased arms are directly negotiated with Haihan’s senior management, and no one else can get involved.

.However, the inspection and handover of goods was the responsibility of his trusted generals. In the past, the handover of arms between the two parties was usually in Sanya or Zhangzhou, depending on how the freight was handled in the contract. After the Haihan people occupied Penghu, they took the initiative

The transaction location was changed to Penghu, and the Ming army was responsible for receiving the goods. Naturally, it was the turn of the military observers stationed here.

For Xu Jiaqi, this is really a lucrative job. Every time there is an arms transfer, he will receive a red envelope from Haihan in private - a brand new Haihan Bank bearer banknote. The amount depends on the value of the goods handed over.

It depends, but since Xu Jiaqi took over this matter, the red envelopes have never been less than one thousand taels. This is much easier than living on empty pay and drinking the blood of soldiers in the army. The first batch at the beginning of the year was worth more than 300,000 taels of silver.

The Haihan artillery and two Haihan warships were delivered here. The Haihan people directly sealed a red envelope of five thousand taels of silver to Xu Jiaqi, which was extremely generous.

Xu Jiaqi took the money, and of course he quickly signed the relevant documents to receive the goods with understanding, and asked Zhangzhou to pay the money to Haihan Bank - in fact, the money had already been deposited in it, and it was just a formality to make an account. But

For Haihan, the faster the delivery time is, the less likely it is to have extraneous problems and the fewer related expenses incurred. In this link, a certain amount of expenses is paid in exchange for a smooth handover result.

Haihan cannot be said to have suffered a loss.

Xu Jiaqi lived a stable life here, collected money properly, and as time went on, he could become brothers with Qian Tiandun and other senior Haihan officers. At the same time, he was gilding his military career.

Military observers are indeed a wonderful job.

After being together for a long time, Xu Jiaqi could also feel that the Haihan people did not have any hostility towards Daming, but their view of Daming was not filled with awe, or even more of a condescending perspective. Qian Tiandun said this more than once

Opinions have been expressed on informal occasions such as the wine table, believing that the Ming Dynasty was full of various problems that were difficult to solve, and the root of these problems was the political system of the Ming Dynasty.

Regarding such "treasonous and unethical" remarks, Xu Jiaqi would not make any reaction or comment even if he drank too much, because he could feel that although the Haihan people could not see the various problems of the Ming Dynasty, they were willing to help in their own way.

The Ming Dynasty solved the problem. It drove away the Shibazhi, accepted northern refugees, sold arms and trained officers for the Fujian Ming Army. Although Haihan took these measures out of his own interests, they did help the Ming Dynasty alleviate the problem to a certain extent.

Social problems caused by military pressure in the southeastern seaboard and civil strife in the north.

Of course, out of duty considerations, Xu Jiaqi would regularly report the attitude and opinions of the Haihan people to his uncle Xu Xinsu, so that he could take care of the many businesses under the Xu family's name with peace of mind. Although Xu Xinsu holds the title of Fujian General Soldier,

But he is mainly responsible for making decisions at critical times, and specific matters in the army are basically left to trusted officers. Xu Xinsu only needs to know the general situation and movements of Haihan's troops stationed near Fujian, and make sure that they will not cause harm to the Ming Dynasty.

As for purchasing large amounts of armaments from Haihan every year, there was indeed an actual need to expand the strength to resist the Eighteen Zhizhi in the past. However, after Haihan drove away the Eighteenth Zhi and suppressed the Dutch, the coastal areas of Fujian are no longer as peaceful as they used to be.

Under great defensive pressure, such a transaction has become more like the protection fee paid regularly by the Fujian Ming Army to Haihan.

However, for the business empire under Xu Xinsu's name, although this expenditure is not a small amount, it is not a heartache. Besides, the money is not in vain, and the Fujian Ming Army has indeed enriched its war effort.

power, and the Haihan people will continue to maintain the military base in Penghu to provide a certain degree of protection for the Fujian coast. Of course, the most important thing is the bilateral trade brought about by the military trade, which is enough for the Fujian side to spend the money on Haihan.

The money was earned back in multiples from other places in the Ming Dynasty. As long as this trade system can operate well and continue to bring benefits to Xu Xinsu's business empire, then he also believes that it is worth spending money to maintain the current relationship between the two armies.

cost.

Under this general background framework, it is not a big deal for handlers like Xu Jiaqi to obtain some personal benefits from military trade activities. Even if Xu Xinsu knew about it, he would definitely turn a blind eye to it.

After all, he also needs specialized personnel to handle the relationship with the Haihan military. If he replaces the existing personnel and finds someone to replace him for a small profit, it may affect the relationship between the two parties for a period of time. This should be put in perspective

In Xu Xinsu's mind, the balance must be that the gain outweighs the loss - a lot of money has already been spent, why do you still care about this?

Of course, this kind of leisurely life will occasionally be disrupted suddenly. For example, Xu Jiaqi had just woken up and had not eaten breakfast when he received a message from Qian Tiandun, inviting him to the base headquarters for a talk.

.

Usually military observers from the Ming Dynasty are invited to meet at the headquarters, and it is more formal matters that need to be communicated. But for a temporary meeting like this that has not been scheduled in advance, it may be that an emergency has arisen. Xu Jiaqi did not dare to put on any airs, and hurried

After tidying up, we took a few personal guards and rushed to the Haihan headquarters.

"General Qian sent people to recruit the last generals early in the morning. Is there an urgent military situation?" After seeing Qian Tiandun, Xu Jiaqi asked straight to the point.

"There is indeed military information that I want to report to you." Qian Tiandun saw Xu Jiaqi's face becoming nervous, and immediately said with a smile: "General Xu, don't worry, it's not Shiba Zhi who has come back."

For the generals of the Ming army in Fujian, Shibazhi was undoubtedly a nightmare that had troubled them for many years. Even in the later stages of the war, the Ming army, supported by Haihan, gradually took the initiative and even forced Shibazhi to withdraw its scope of activities.

, voluntarily giving up the control area on the Fujian coast, it is still difficult to completely alleviate the psychological shadow caused by the long-term beatings of the Ming army. Even if the Haihan Army took the initiative to drive Shibazhi out of the Fujian Strait last year, senior officials like Xu Jiaqi

The officer still has some bad memories of Shiba Zhi. If there is any slight disturbance, he will first think of Shiba Zhi.

Xu Jiaqiang smiled and said: "General Qian is joking, thinking that the thieves of Shibazhi were killed by the coalition forces last year and abandoned their armor and fled. They didn't even want to live in their hometown. In just one year, what happened to them?

How dare you come back and die! With your army stationed in Penghu, Fujian will not have to worry about coastal defense!"

Qian Tiandun accepted Xu Jiaqi's flattery calmly and continued: "We invite General Xu to come for a meeting today mainly for two reasons. First, our army has officially launched an attack on the Kingdom of Spain, the Ming Dynasty, a few days ago.

The so-called Franco Kingdom declared war. The second thing is that our army has conquered two armed strongholds built by the Spanish in the northern part of Taiwan Island and completely expelled them from Taiwan Island."

Xu Jiaqi's expression at this time can only be described as dumbfounded. He never imagined that Qian Tiandun would come to him to report such news. To be honest, it would not be a big deal for Ming Dynasty for the Haihan people to start a war with the Folangji people.

The slightest influence, as for seizing the opponent's stronghold in the northern part of Taiwan Island, it has no direct relationship with the Ming Dynasty. What Xu Jiaqi was surprised was that the Haihan people suddenly declared war on the Folangji people without any warning and launched an attack.

Attack, and in a very short period of time, they captured the opponent's fortress and drove them out of Taiwan Island.

In fact, Xu Jiaqi had heard a little bit about the Fo Langji people building a colonial stronghold in the northern part of Taiwan Island. The Xu family's maritime trade business was very large, not to mention the Fo Langji people living in Taiwan Island, and even Luzon

There have always been business contacts in Manila City over there, so Xu Jiaqi still has a certain understanding of the strength of the Folangji people. Although they are not necessarily stronger than the Haihan people, they are at least on the same level as the red-haired people in Damuan Port.

On a horizontal line. I have heard before that the red-haired people have launched attacks on the Folangji stronghold in the north more than once, but they all returned without success. This shows that the local stronghold is not that easy to deal with.

However, this does not seem to be a big problem for the Haihan people. According to Xu Jiaqi's observation records, the main force of the Haihan fleet stationed in Penghu should have left the port about ten days ago. At that time, they left in the name of going to sea for training.

There were also the main forces of the special operations battalion. Although Xu Jiaqi had a little doubt at the time whether the daily training of the Haihan people was too intense, he quickly put the matter behind him. Looking back at this time, he probably

The armed forces leaving the port went directly to the north. However, Qian Tiandun never left during this period, but Gao Qiaonan had disappeared for many days. Thinking about it, Gao Qiaonan should be commanding this time from the front line.

military operations.

But in just ten days, the Haihan people not only conquered the two strongholds of the Folangji people, but even expelled all the people from Taiwan Island. The speed of this battle was too fast. You must know that back then

Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, led the Ming army to besiege the red-haired people in Penghu. They fought ten thousand against nine hundred. They fought for seven months and consumed hundreds of thousands of silver. Finally, the red-haired people were driven out of Penghu.

The strength of the Folangji people is no worse than that of the red-haired people, and they have been operating in the northern part of Taiwan Island for several years. Under Haihan's offensive, they did not survive even half a month. This gap really made Xu Jiaqi

Very surprised.

Perhaps due to confidentiality considerations, or perhaps because he did not intend to let the Ming army intervene in this matter, Haihan had not informed the Ming army about this before. Today, Qian Tiandun's calm and straightforward explanation can be regarded as telling the Ming army.

Official notification from the military. Although it was a little late, it was still notified after all, which can be regarded as a kind of respect for the military allies.

Xu Jiaqi is not a loser. After the initial surprise, he quickly remembered that Haihan had previously sent a fleet to frighten the red-haired people in Taiyuan Port, and opened a port in Kaohsiung Port to build a port city. Now he quietly pushed forward

After defeating the potential rivals in the north, there will be no established force on the entire island of Taiwan that can compete with Haihan. In other words, Haihan has actually gained actual control of Taiwan Island.

Xu Jiaqi certainly knew how big Taiwan Island was. From the time the Haihan people landed on the island to survey more than half a year ago, to the occupation of Kaohsiung, and now even Taipei, the time it took the Haihan people to acquire this land was only half a year.

It's just up and down. The speed of territorial expansion is indeed quite fast. Since the Ming Dynasty did not include Taiwan Island under its rule, the Fujian government would not have any objections to the control of the Haihan people - even if they did

After all, strength speaks for itself.

For Ming Dynasty, Haihan's occupation of Taiwan Island was actually a good thing to a certain extent. This meant that it held up a huge protective umbrella for Ming Dynasty on the southeast coast. If there is a powerful foreign force that wants to invade from the sea in the future,

Daming, then you must first pass the Haihan level.

Xu Jiaqi quickly got over his surprise and congratulated Qian Tiandun with a smile: "Congratulations to General Qian for his military exploits! Congratulations to Haihan for gaining new land!"

"Same joy!" Qian Tiandun also bowed his hands and said in return: "Taiwan Island is so big, and the space available for development is also large enough. If the Fujian government is interested, it can also participate in the development of Taiwan Island. What about Kaohsiung Port?

You can do it in other places, follow the rules and make a fortune together!"
Chapter completed!