Chapter 1331 Everyone has their own plans

"Using war to promote peace? The entire South China Sea separates Manila from Hainan Island, and there are no supply points in between. Wouldn't it be too risky to launch an offensive against Manila?" Ning Qi said.

Yan Chujie raised objections to his opinion.

In the past two years, Haihan has focused most of its energy on opening up the northern route of the Ming Dynasty. The expansion to the south has only focused on the development of Star Island and Bangka Belitung Islands. As for the Philippines controlled by the Spanish,

Haihan only sent a small number of intelligence personnel to lurk in the islands, and did not take any real military measures to contain or attack them.

This is not because Haihan looks down on the areas occupied by Spain, or ignores Spain's presence in the South China Sea. On the contrary, it is precisely because Haihan is quite afraid of Spain and does not want to further intensify the existing conflicts. In addition,

In the short term, there is no intention to expand the area of ​​control to the Pacific, so there is no need to forcefully establish a strong enemy in the east. In the long run, the two sides are indeed competitors, but Haihan at least has no plans to take active force against Manila.

Considering the nature of this war, it is reasonable for Haihan, as the victor, to take some retaliatory measures against the Manila authorities. However, at this time, we have to take into account the limitations of the objective environment. Haihan’s influence on the waters of the Philippine Islands

The geographical environment is unfamiliar, and the risks of conducting such long-distance cross-sea operations will also be considerable. In terms of the current preparations for the war, they are probably not much different from the Spaniards who came to Sanya blindfolded. That's why Ning Qi thinks that

The military's attitude was too radical and they quickly spoke out against it.

Yan Chujie said: "No, no, no, please listen to what I have to say first. When I say war to promote peace, I don't mean attacking Manila specifically, but launching operations at sea to limit the scope of activities of Spanish ships. As long as they can cut off their movement from north to south.

commercial routes, the Spaniards will soon be overwhelmed."

Ning Qi said: "The problem is that these sea routes are not so easy to cut off. How many fleets do we have to send to the distant seas to perform such tasks? Does our fleet have sufficient combat endurance? If the fleet needs to patrol the sea for a long time to perform it

In a blockade mission, how do we maintain a supply line over such a long distance?"

Ning Qi's series of questions are basically to the point. The straight-line distance between Manila and Hainan Island is more than 700 nautical miles, and the distance between Haihan's overseas colonies rarely exceeds 500 nautical miles. This is

It has even exceeded the voyage between the two overseas bases from Zhoushan, Zhejiang to Zhifu Island, Shandong. Except for some very small islands and reefs, there is basically no large area of ​​land in the South China Sea. Long-term cruising at sea will indeed face supply problems.

.

Spain's plan to attack Sanya this time was also limited by these objective conditions, so it tried to use quick tactics, but in the end it failed. And if Haihan wanted to find another way to engage in a protracted war, the material supply problem he would face would only be

More difficult than the opponent.

Yan Chujie, as the Minister of Defense of Haihan, has commanded quite a lot of battles, large and small, in the past eight years. With his combat experience, could he fail to consider such a simple issue? Ning Qi would not underestimate it so much.

Knowing Yan Chujie's level, he believed that the other party's plan, which seemed to have many loopholes, actually had other purposes. For example, it was to propose to the Executive Committee to expand the navy's establishment, increase the number of warships planned to be built, etc.

As expected, Yan Chujie responded solemnly: "What Minister Ning said makes sense. Our naval strength does still have many shortcomings at this stage. It does not mean that after winning this battle, we will be invincible in the South China Sea."

, there are still many places that are beyond our reach. So in order to avoid such a situation, I think the navy’s establishment still needs to be further expanded, especially the armed fleet with long-range combat capabilities and long-term sea endurance, which should be used as a future

The main direction for the development of our country's navy in the past few years. There are some preparations with a relatively long cycle, and they can be implemented gradually now."

Ning Qi thought to himself that this is what you really wanted to say, but he didn't want his statement to be used as a topic by Yan Chujie so easily. He shook his head and said: "Lao Yan, these words of yours are all clichés. Expanding the army

Of course, it is an inevitable measure in the process of national growth, but it does not happen as soon as you think of it. Your military already has a development plan, and the Executive Committee has also approved the military expenditures that should be allocated on an annual basis. If you find reasons to apply for additional military expenditures,

It’s unreasonable.”

Yan Chujie was exposed to Ning Qi's thoughts, but he did not look ashamed. He continued to talk: "This Spanish invasion is an emergency, and there is no such drama in our plan. Although we are

We won the battle, but the Spaniards have also sounded the alarm for us. Even if our existing force is the strongest in the region, we still can't stop the enemy from coming to our doorstep. Therefore, in the current international environment, seven or eight

The radius of a hundred nautical miles is not absolutely safe. We need to ensure that the combat radius of the naval fleet can reach this level, so as to maintain sufficient deterrence against those with ulterior motives like Spain, and our existing fleet is obviously unable to reach this level.

standards, so I will propose a new development plan.”

Ning Qi did not answer immediately. He glanced at Gu Kai, who was sitting opposite him, and saw that his face was also gloomy. The Ministry of Security and the Ministry of National Defense successively made requests to change the current situation at today's post-war summary meeting. This may be

It's just a coincidence, but it's also possible that He Xi and Yan Chujie had reached some tacit understanding beforehand. The Ministry of Security and the Ministry of National Defense they manage have always had many in-depth cooperation projects in the fields of security and intelligence. Politically speaking, it can be said that

He is a natural ally, and wherever he needs help, he will naturally spare no effort to promote it.

Ning Qi and Gu Kaike cannot be said to be political allies. In fact, there are still many political differences between them. However, they have relatively consistent views on the power restrictions of the military and security departments, and believe that there must be strict supervision.

Mechanisms are used to limit the development of these privileged departments and violent organs, so as to prevent the power they control from being too expanded and gradually breaking away from the management of the Executive Committee. By then, there will be a bunch of civilian bureaucrats sitting in offices and governing the country in Victory Fort, and it will be difficult to

A political balance has been maintained with the military and intelligence agencies that hold special privileges.

Gu Kai and Ning Qi's eyes met, and he said understandingly: "Of course I can propose a plan, but please come up with a specific written document and submit it to the executive committee to arrange a special meeting for discussion. But today's

The main purpose of the meeting is to summarize the war, and I think some issues that are not directly related should not take up the precious time of this meeting. Let’s get back to business, let’s discuss the placement and handling of prisoners of war!”

Gu Kai believed that the proposals of the military and the Ministry of Security were all improvised ideas, and no corresponding written materials should have been prepared. If we continue to discuss this at this time, it would actually be to let He Xi and Yan Chujie increase their presence here. So he

He interrupted decisively and used a procrastination technique to bring the topic to an end, preventing Yan Chujie from letting it go any further.

Yan Chujie chuckled, but did not force the topic to continue. He followed Gu Kai's wishes and returned to the previous business issue.

There is actually not much discussion value about the placement of prisoners of war. After experiencing many foreign wars, Haihan has a relatively mature routine for handling prisoners of war, and the division of labor and cooperation between various departments is relatively clear. Even so

The targets this time were Spaniards, but there was nothing special about them. All you had to do was follow the old routine for handling prisoners of war. Those who should be detained were taken into custody, and those who should be sent to hard labor camps were sent away. There were some craftsmen who could be retained.

We will find out the details as soon as possible and there is no big evil, and then we will assign him to the corresponding labor unit to take up a job.

The few remaining prisoners of war who are to be exchanged for ransom and war compensation must first be well taken care of and the injuries and illnesses that need to be treated must be treated. If they die in the prisoner of war camp, it will be a real loss of money.

Schneider came up with a compensation plan he had drawn up overnight, preparing to claim three million Spanish silver coins from the Manila authorities for the Spanish fleet's attack on Sanya. Of course, this amount was only a unilateral standard, based on the actual military expenditures of Haihan's battle.

In terms of expenses, it can be said that the lion has opened its mouth. Schneider is not sure that the other party will definitely agree. In the end, it will have to be slowly resolved through several back-and-forth negotiations.

Fortunately, the voyage between Sanya and Manila is not too exaggerated. If the British prisoners of war captured by Xingdao dealt with post-war matters just by sending a letter to the British base in India, the round-trip voyage would be calculated in months.

After several rounds of bargaining, the result may not come until next year.

Schneider has handled similar war claims matters many times in the past, and is quite familiar with the process and scale, so no one has much objection to his operation plan. Moreover, Schneider is the only financial expert on the executive committee, and the others

It is also difficult to come up with more reasonable opinions from the professional field.

Of course, the most outrageous thing is that Schneider's official letter to the Governor of Manila was written in Spanish. This skill is difficult for anyone to imitate. In addition, this letter also specifically includes the positions and autographs of the Spanish commanders currently captured.

, to confirm that these people are still alive.

Schneider's only worry is that the official and military positions of these personnel are generally not very high, and they are not the leaders of the fleet. It is really difficult to judge how determined the Manila authorities will be to spend money to redeem them. Therefore, he

Although the letter proposed a relatively high claim amount, it still left room for bargaining. As long as the other party is not a fool, he should be able to understand his hint.

While Haihan senior officials were discussing the disposal of prisoners of war, these humanoid self-propelled chips had already begun working in the prisoner of war camp. Due to the large number of prisoners of war, the prison facilities at the naval base could not hold so many people, so they were temporarily placed in

In the vacated troop camp, this treatment only lasted less than twenty-four hours before being canceled. An interpreter told them in less than proficient Spanish that they must build a prisoner of war camp on their own next.

Otherwise, the rest of the detention period will be nothing but chaos.

Except for a few injured people with limited mobility, the vast majority of prisoners of war were organized. After being given labor tools, they began to dig drainage ditches and septic tanks, build dry latrines, set up tents, and build barbed wire isolation belts in the prison camp. This arrangement

Although some prisoners of war inevitably complained, the vast majority of them picked up the tools and followed the instructions obediently, because the prisoners of war knew very well that if the Haihan people decided to execute them, there would be no need to waste such effort.

. Since a temporary prisoner of war camp is now being built, it at least means that they can save their lives for the time being.

However, a few officer prisoners of war knew very well the reasons for Haihan's arrangement. During yesterday's interrogation, they had already signed their names on the letter registering their identities and requesting compensation. As long as the negotiations between Haihan and the Manila authorities did not break down,

People like them can live well. And this kind of negotiation may not be able to reach an agreement for a while, so such a temporary detention camp is also very necessary. Of course, not all people who are imprisoned here will have the opportunity to return.

When we return to Manila, after all, the people who can make the authorities pay ransom for freedom will definitely not be those stinking sailors.

Two days after the battle ended, "Haihan Times" finally published a special issue about the fighting. One thousand copies of the special issue for the general public were sold out almost instantly. Under the strong demand of the people

, and another 500 copies were printed and put on the market that afternoon, but they were also sold out.

Due to the nature of his work, Liu Shang saw this special issue right away, and he also participated in the writing of some of its contents. Seeing these contents printed and distributed in newspapers and periodicals, he had mixed feelings for a while. He

As an intelligence officer of the Ming Dynasty, he lurked to Sanya in order to collect military and political intelligence about Haihan, but now he accidentally became a staff member of Haihan's propaganda department and wrote articles to promote Haihan's military strength.

He is the official mouthpiece of Haihan. He originally came to subvert Haihan, but now he is working for Haihan official. This strange sense of dislocation makes him not know how to position his current situation.

The most terrifying thing is not to advocate this for Haihan, but to believe it myself. I have seen the actual operations of Haihan in so many places, the exercises of Haihan Army and this actual battle.

, and the attitude of the people of Haihan towards the war, Liu Shang really did not dare to have much hope for the Ming Dynasty to regain Hainan Island.
Chapter completed!