Chapter 919 Next step

Cam Ranh Port is the only one among the four ports in the south that is completely managed by the military. The person in charge here is Mu Xiabai, who has been stationed in Annan for many years. He, Feng Annan, and Qian Tiandun were one of the first three people stationed in Annan.

First, Qian Tiandun has now been transferred to the ZJ chief, while Feng Annan is based at the Tushan base in the north, and he and he are in charge of military affairs in Annan, south and north respectively.

For Haihan's garrison in Annan, life has been relatively easy in the past two years. Since Mushabi led his troops to defeat the Dutch twice in the Annan Islands in the summer of 1631, they have basically never carried out any combat type.

mission. Although the Dutch were unwilling to fail, they were severely beaten by the Malan army in the Battle of Batavia the following year, and completely lost the ability to revenge against Haihan in the short term. Haihan was also able to have a more powerful

Sufficient time to build military facilities in Cam Ranh Port and the Ambunas Islands in the South China Sea to prepare for continued southward expansion in the future.

Mu Xiabai was still a bachelor when he traveled through time. However, he married a Ming Dynasty woman the year before last. His eldest son is almost two years old, and his second child is already seven months old in his wife's belly. So he is living a good life.

Very comfortable.

"How is it? Is the life of a rich man like me okay?" Mu Xiabai hosted a banquet for Yan Chujie and his party in his manor. During the dinner, he also talked about the current living conditions: "Now that I have a wife and son, suddenly

I feel that it is no longer interesting to lead troops to fight everywhere. If I have some time, I just want to spend time with my family at home."

"You haven't moved for too long, so you become lazy." Yan Chujie smiled and gave his judgment, but he did not believe that people like Mu Xiabai could really live in leisure, and wanted to sign up to leave Sanya in the first place.

When conquering the world,

"There is no place to move even if I want to!" Mu Xiabai said with a bitter smile: "I would like to go south as soon as possible and conquer Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, but the Military Commission has never issued such an order! I can travel far now.

At that time, I basically went back to Sanya once a year to report on my work."

"In the past two years, the focus of the Executive Committee has been on the Ming Dynasty, so the Military Commission arranged to take over Taiwan last year and attack Zhoushan this year. The south is relatively peaceful, so of course we must seize the time to build it." Yan Chujie explained.

"Lao Yan, you don't need to talk about these official words. Tell the truth, when will the south plan to take action?" Mu Xiabai waved his hand to express that he was not satisfied with his explanation: "Take a break for two years, bones.

It’s all rusty, why don’t you just let me retire early and take care of myself.”

"You are only in your early forties, you are in your prime, why should you retire?" Naturally, Yan Chujie would not take Mu Xiabai's resentful words seriously: "The Military Commission has arranged such a large-scale military exercise this year because it pays attention to the situation in the South China Sea.

.It’s not that the south side is not moving, it’s also that we have to wait for a suitable time to launch.”

Mushaba sighed: "Wait, wait, wait two more years, the Dutch have rebuilt Batavia! Even if they can beat them, it will inevitably take a lot of effort. Let me tell you, Batavia last year

After the chaos in Asia, we should have led our army south, took advantage of his illness and took advantage of it, and now we have firmly grasped Batavia."

"You are just talking in anger!" Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "Batavia is more than 600 nautical miles away from the Ambunas Islands and more than 1,500 nautical miles away from Sanya. Even if we win it, it will not be that easy to manage. That place is no better than

During the Ming Dynasty, the Han people did not have an advantage in influence and status in the local area. The executive committee has never taken action in the south, which is also out of careful consideration."

Mu Xiabai said: "Old Yan, you should save these words to comfort Roger when you go to Anbu Na! I guess he has been moldy from squatting there for a long time. After returning from FJ last year, he paid back every month

The messages all complained that he had nothing to do. He didn’t have a family, so he could only devote all his extra energy to training troops. I heard that he trained a multinational force on Ambona Island, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Shortly after Mushaba defeated the Dutch at Ambrosia Island in 1631, he was transferred back to Annan to serve, and it was Roger who took his place and guarded the place. However, when Haihan raised his troops to attack Penghu last year, Roger

He was transferred to FJ to participate in this war. After the incident, he returned to the South China Sea, just in time for the chaos in Batavia. Roger had nothing to do on Ambrosia Island at the time, so he filed a report and applied to the Military Commission to form a local organization.

A military training camp was set up to select suitable young men from slaves from various countries transported from the South China Sea for training, with the goal of training a local armed force that can adapt to the environment of the South China Sea.

Not only that, Roger's training camp also received a lot of foreign orders. Businessmen who invest in local industries on Ambon Island have the opportunity to send their personnel to local training camps for training. Because most of the employers of these personnel are from Nanyang.

countries, so the Ministry of Security has also set up local offices to identify candidates for development among trainees.

Yan Chujie said: "It is said that the force trained by Roger is quite good. This time, I am also going to inspect the results on behalf of the Military Commission. If it is as powerful as what he said in the report, then it will be established."

Mu Xiabai said: "But this time when we go south to Amborna Island, do we really need to bring so many ships there? The small port of Amborna Island cannot accommodate so many large ships."

Yan Chujie put away the smile on his face and said sternly: "Not all the ships heading south this time will dock at Ambuna Port. We will have other arrangements."

"Other arrangements?" Mu Xiabai immediately reacted: "Does that mean we are going to launch operations in other places?"

"The South China Sea has been inactive for two years. It's time to take action." This time Yan Chujie did not deny Mu Xiabai's speculation, but he did not specify what kind of action he would take.

"As long as you say this!" Mu Xiabai knew that military secrets should not be discussed in detail at the dinner table, so he did not rush to ask further.

Haihan's South China Sea development strategy aims to control the two most important straits between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. As long as it can control the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Sunda, it will basically control the maritime channels for the Western world to enter the Far East.

, the benefits are simply incalculable. But if you want to win these two places, you must have a strong enough strategic support point in the South China Sea. At present, Haihan only owns one place in the South China Sea, the Ambrosia Islands, and the local

Without a good port and limited support capabilities for the navy, it is actually not an ideal choice.

One of the purposes of Yan Chujie's fleet going south this time is to conduct an inspection in the South China Sea and find a suitable foothold for Haihan's next step of expansion to the south. The choice made this time will directly affect Haihan's decision.

The next strategic target is Malacca or the Sunda Strait. And the large-scale task force can also ensure that during the South China Sea inspection, it will not be affected by the ships of Western colonial countries.

As the southernmost military base in Haihan, Cam Ranh Port will play an important role in the future southward expansion, so the Military Commission is also very concerned about the construction situation here. One of the purposes of Yan Chujie's visit to Cam Ranh Port this time is:

It is to inspect the construction of the military port here and the training level of the South China Sea Fleet.

Haihan has invested millions of yuan in construction funds in Cam Ranh Port in the past few years, and sent more than 3,000 Han immigrants from the Ming Dynasty here to adjust the local population structure. The investment is quite huge. Not only has it been built here

There is not only a military port that is several miles long, but also a powerful coastal defense artillery fortification at the entrance of the harbor, a huge camp that can station 5,000 soldiers, a shipyard affiliated with the military, and more than 20 ships

The South China Sea Fleet consists of various ships.

The population currently living in Cam Ranh Port is close to 5,000, and more than 1,000 of them are militia troops stationed here. The rest of the people, regardless of their industry, almost all serve the military base here. In the four southern ports

Among the permanent population of the country, Cam Ranh Port has the highest proportion of naturalized citizens, accounting for more than 90% of the total population, which is even higher than the proportion of naturalized citizens in Sanya Port, Haihan’s base camp.

However, the person who is most interested in the local situation is not Yan Chujie who came here to inspect, but Annan’s young prince Zheng Zha. Zheng Zha showed a strong interest in the specific operation conditions of a large military port like Cam Ranh Port. This is because Annan

A military port is also being built on the coast near Hue Province. Based on the usual practice in the past, it is natural to follow Haihan's planning model for the military port. The reason why Zheng Zha went south with the fleet this time is not only to supervise the army, but also to

The purpose is to inspect Haihan Port and learn from experience.

In order to allow Zheng Zao to conduct a more comprehensive inspection, Yan Chujie specifically increased his stay from three days to four days, and set aside a day for people to take Zheng Zao around in the port area. Yan Chujie was not worried that Zheng Zao would

The military secrets of Cam Ranh Port can be seen at a glance. The construction capabilities of the two sides are too far apart. The port construction situation that Zheng Zha saw will definitely not be copied to Annan's own port project. It will be a big deal if a scaled-down version of the sample can be produced by then.

Awesome.

On September 25, the Haihan Navy and the Annan Fleet held the largest maritime military operation in recent years in the waters near Cam Ranh Port. More than 60 ships participated in the exercise, divided into red and blue armies. The Red Army consisted of

This time, the combined fleet heading south from Da Nang acted as the attacker, while the South China Sea Fleet stationed at Cam Ranh Port acted as the blue force on the defensive side.

The fleets of both sides practiced tactics in standard combat queues at sea and fired blank bombs to simulate a wartime environment. For the Annan fleet, this was the first time to participate in a maritime combat operation of this scale. Although it was just a drill, it was enough for it to learn.

A lot of things have been learned. For tactics such as seizing the T-head, if it were not for the Haihan fleet to conduct drills, Annan's officers would probably have a hard time imagining such a tactic that fully utilizes the ship's side artillery.

Zheng Zha also participated in this maritime exercise on his own flagship. In addition to learning tactics during the battle, Zheng Zha was really salivating at the configuration of Haihan, a big gun ship. The Haihan Majesty-class battleship

There are dozens of broadside guns, and a single round of artillery fire at close range is enough to destroy a sailboat. Although only blank bombs are fired, Zheng Zha can fully imagine the true power of such a warship in wartime. And steam

The propulsion system makes this huge hull extremely flexible at sea. It is difficult for a warship powered by sails to escape its pursuit.

In the two-day military exercise, the red and blue armies each had one victory and one defeat, which was considered a tie. However, the performance of the Annan fleet was slightly worse. In the naval battle, it was difficult to completely synchronize with the Haihan navy.

As for the performance of the Red Army that was dragged down on the first day of the exercise. Fortunately, Yan Chujie adjusted the combat deployment in time. On the second day of the exercise, he arranged for the Annan fleet to line up separately and launch an attack on the Blue Army at its own pace. This

There is no need to cooperate with Haihan's action rhythm. He can launch the offensive alone, and the effect will be much better.

On September 27, the fleet set off from Cam Ranh Port and continued to move south. At this time, the size of the fleet expanded a lot, because the South China Sea Fleet also joined this fleet. The huge fleet sailed out of Cam Ranh Port, and the team

The distance between one end and the other was about ten nautical miles.

When the fleet left Cam Ranh Port, it happened to encounter two Portuguese merchant ships traveling together, preparing to enter the port for supplies. After seeing this huge fleet, they immediately gave way to the channel and lowered the sails as a sign of peace. The sailors on the ship watched in stunned silence.

As the fleet sailed out of the harbor, some people even started to make the sign of the cross on their chests. Some knowledgeable people had already figured out who among the many forces in the South China Sea was going to be unlucky.

Starting from Cam Ranh Port and traveling southwest along the coastline for about 170 nautical miles, it is the last stop of the combined fleet, Vung Tau Port. The concession area designated by Hai Han here is Vung Tau, which is surrounded by sea on three sides.

The peninsula is very close to Saigon, the important coastal town of Champa State. More than half of the various transactions between the two parties each year are completed at Vung Tau Port, so the business atmosphere here is relatively strong.

The place name Saigon appeared around the time of the Ming Dynasty. After Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, many Middle Eastern and East African coastal countries sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and Saigon was the place where tribute ships from the west were en route.

One of the ports of call means "tribute from the west". The straight-line distance between Vung Tau Port and Saigon is only a hundred miles, and it is an offshore area. Flat-bottomed boats can also go back and forth between the two places. Every year, it is time for the grain harvest.

During the spring season, a large number of Saigon civilian ships were loaded with grain and transported from Saigon to Vung Tau for trading. However, by the time the combined fleet arrived here, the grain trading period had already passed, so there was not much prosperity in the port, and there was only a small amount of Champa.

Merchant ships dock.

The significance of the existence of Vung Tau Port is that it is the trade window between Hai Han and Champa. More than 70% of the trade here takes place between Champa and Hai Han. It can be regarded as the export of goods and values ​​​​from Hai Han to Champa.

the main channel.
Chapter completed!