Chapter 1634 Operation Conquest to the West

In this age of discovery, colonial countries had a very simple and crude way of dividing their spheres of influence. After occupying a natural harbor somewhere, they declared sovereignty over the land and everything on the land, and then incorporated it into their own country's territory.

.Sometimes it can’t even be said to be an occupation. As long as a country’s voyagers arrive at the place, they will be the first to plant a flag and unilaterally declare sovereignty. Especially the Western colonists who came to the Far East, because they were too far away from their own country, they could not even claim sovereignty.

There was no way to ask the country for instructions on everything, so this so-called "verbal occupation" became the norm.

Of course, if anyone relies on his superior strength, he does not need to care whether the place he is interested in has been occupied by another family, he can just take the people with him immediately. Everyone will fight against each other and speak based on their strength. No one will take this person for granted.

This kind of verbal occupation is really a serious matter - unless the country doing it is Haihan.

Except for a few ports given to Haihan in the form of concessions by Annan Kingdom in the form of concessions in return for the assistance of Haihan's army after the civil war, almost all of Haihan's colonies in the South China Sea were taken bit by bit by force.

. Countries that have tried to challenge Haihan in the past few years have all failed without exception. It is undoubtedly a very risky choice to compete with Haihan for territory.

If Haihan really declares its occupation of Luzon Island after defeating Spain, it can be expected that countries like Ming Dynasty and Annan will never have any objections, because they do not have enough ability to compete for this piece of land across the sea. And the Netherlands

Even if countries like Portugal are jealous, they don't dare to challenge Haihan's authority.

This time, the Northern Route Army assembled in Kaohsiung Port, in addition to several elite troops from Haihan, also joined as always a military observation group composed of several officers selected by the Fujian military to conduct the entire combat operation.

Observation. Haihan was not worried that there would be anything wrong with allowing Xu Xinsu's men to see their own side's highest combat power. In fact, during the Liaodong operation, there were always military observation groups from Fujian operating with the army. The Ministry of National Defense believed that this

The first is to consolidate mutual trust between the two sides, and the second is to allow the other side to clearly understand the size of the gap in strength between the two militaries, so as to dispel the other side's restless thoughts.

This time, the military observation group not only included military attaches from the Fujian Ming Army, but also military attaches from Korea. Due to the severe winter approaching in the Liaodong War, both sides unanimously chose to cease the war, so the Korean military observation group watching the war in Liaodong had nothing to do.

The general who led the team was named Li Xi, and he and King Li Zhu were distant relatives. Seeing that nothing happened in Liaodong, he wanted to sneak back to North Korea to rest for a few months, and then come back to Liaodong to watch the battle in the spring.

, but he never thought that the Haihan Army would take the initiative to invite him, asking him to go south with the army and go to the South China Sea to observe a battle that the Haihan Army would launch early the next year.

Li Xi was also a person who had a free-spirited nature and couldn't take time off. Hearing that there was still a battle to be fought in the south, he agreed immediately without asking how far south it was. Of course, if he had known at that time that the battlefield was

On an island six thousand miles south of Jinzhou, he really might not be willing to travel so far across the ocean to see the excitement.

In short, Li Xi left Liaodong with the Haihan Army in a daze. He first went to Zhifu Island in Dengzhou, Shandong for a few days, and then the troops reassembled and headed south from the sea, staying at Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang for a few more days. After Li Xi inquired,

Knowing that Zhoushan Port was more than a thousand miles southwest of North Korea, I thought that the battlefield Haihan mentioned was probably nearby. Unexpectedly, after staying for a few days, the fleet set off again, along the

The coastline continues southward, crossing the Fujian Strait and arriving at Kaohsiung Port.

Li Xi, who had never left Korea before, had no idea where the Kaohsiung Port was located. After asking General Haihan, he found out that this place was already three thousand miles south of Seoul. And it only took him so long to get here.

It was just half of the entire voyage to the battlefield. Only then did Li Xi realize that the "south" mentioned by the Haihan people was really not a joke. The march span of the participating troops was so large, which also made him speechless. He

As a general who leads troops, he naturally knows how difficult it is to mobilize large-scale troops in such a large area, and the logistical supply arrangements required for such a military operation are even more complicated.

If measured by North Korea's military strength, it is absolutely impossible to realize such an action plan. Let alone go to the South China Sea, where Kaohsiung Port is located, North Korea cannot send an organized fleet to fight here.

During his stay in Kaohsiung Port, Li Xi also saw Haihan's various preparations for this battle. He was secretly glad that North Korea did not become Haihan's opponent.

I think that when Wang Tom brought most of the fleet to the vicinity of Seoul, his momentum had already made North Korea lose the courage to resist. Now this fleet also includes several other people who fought on the Liaodong front line and the Jin people were unable to fight back.

It is an elite unit, and its strength cannot be doubted. However, it is said that this is only the Northern Route Army among the three participating units, and the other two armies will set off from other places and then meet at the predetermined combat location.

Li Xi can also participate in some pre-war mobilization meetings with a low level of confidentiality as a military observer, so he has a rough understanding of Haihan's next combat operations. Although Li Xi does not know the other two routes,

What is the lineup of the Han army? But since the Haihan elites he knows can only play one-third of the three-pronged army, it is expected that the strength of the other two armies should be almost the same. With such a thunderous momentum, a concentrated attack will be carried out.

With the goal in mind, their opponent, the Spaniards, would have to ask for their own blessings.

Now the troops participating in the war in Kaohsiung Port are basically ready, and they are just waiting for the departure order from Sanya.

In fact, the combat troops assembled at the two ports of Kaohsiung and Jinlan completed their preparations for the war earlier than the Sanya base camp. The reason is that the Sanya Navy will bring the "Warrior" class prototype ship that has completed sea trials to go with it this time, and the ship's steam

The maintenance work of the power system had to be temporarily re-produced due to quality problems with some spare parts, which resulted in a delay in the entire war preparations.

Of course, the military can also choose not to take this new warship to the expedition, but the Navy insists that actual combat is the best test. This cross-sea battle is far more useful than a hundred sea trials. It is just the right time to see this

There are still problems with the operation of the ship in combat conditions. So even if the progress of preparations for war is delayed because of this, the Navy still chooses to take the ship with it on the expedition.

Naturally, no one would want to leave unless the navy left, so the participating troops at the Sanya base camp waited for three more days. It was not until all preparations for the prototype ship were ready that the Ministry of National Defense submitted an application to the executive committee for departure.

The code name specially formulated by the Executive Committee for this operation is also very vivid and relevant - Zhengxi. According to Tao Donglai's explanation, this "West" refers to both Spain and the Western colonial countries that have entered the Far East. Now with

All the Western countries that Haihan had fought against had given in. Spain was the only opponent that was still strong and refused to bow its head. Defeating this opponent was indeed of extraordinary and special significance to Haihan.

The day before the troops departed, the "Haihan Times" published a special issue for the first time in a long time, announcing to the people that the Haihan Kingdom would send troops to go on an expedition to Manila as revenge for the Spanish initiative to provoke the war last year, and at the same time to liberate the local people.

The bullied Han immigrants. If the Spaniards refused to surrender, the Haihan army would attack Manila and drive the local Spaniards out of the South China Sea.

Due to the previous long-term propaganda offensive as a basis, and the troops stationed in Sanya recently starting to gather on standby, it was not hidden from the people who knew the news. The people of Haihan who learned the news were not particularly surprised. Haihan launched wars with foreign countries with a very high frequency.

, what's more, the opponent we are going to fight this time is Spain, which has taken the initiative to provoke Haihan before, and the majority of the people support this.

But the people who are most supportive and excited about this matter are not the citizens of Haihan, but the ministers of Portugal and the Netherlands in Haihan. As Spain's direct competitors around the world, these two countries are of course eager to win.

Seeing Spain's misfortune. Although they have been unable to do anything against the Spaniards in the Far East in the past few years, this time it was the Haihan people who rolled up their sleeves and took action. No matter how powerful the Spaniards are, they will only get beaten when they encounter this god of death.

Dead.

Although the Dutch East India Company did not send ships and manpower to participate in this operation like Portugal, it generously donated a batch of cotton cloth and cotton yarn produced in the Indian Peninsula to the Haihan Army as a support for this operation. Although

The East India Company may not be able to reap any benefits from Luzon after the war, but Spain has been stepped on. The trade-off between the two means that the Netherlands can get more trade opportunities in the Far East. This is exactly

The change in the international situation that the East India Company dreamed of. Regarding Haihan sending troops to attack Manila, the Dutch were naturally happy to see this happen, so that Haihan's army could completely drive the Spaniards out of the South China Sea, and drive them as far away as possible.

In addition to competition in colonization and trade, the Portuguese also have a special relationship with the Spanish in domination and resistance. Now that Portugal's domestic independence struggle is in full swing, any opportunity to attack Spain overseas will naturally

It is not to be missed. So this time Portugal sent two ships and hundreds of people to directly participate in the operation led by Haihan, hoping to take this opportunity to give Spain an unforgettable blow.

However, during the operation, the Portuguese could only hand over the command of the participating troops to Haihan, and all combat instructions were uniformly issued by Haihan. Although this inevitably gave a sense of inferiority, the Portuguese wanted to

To achieve the goal of attacking Spain, we should not care about these details. Besides, with the powerful Haihan Army as the main force, even if they go, they may not be able to get the opportunity to directly participate in the battle on the front line.

Of course, the presence of the Annan Military Observation Group is also indispensable among the troops departing from Sanya. If the situation between Annan and Siam had not become tense, Annan would definitely have had a deep cooperative relationship between the two countries for many years.

An elite force will be sent to Manila with Haihan's army to assist in the war. Although Annan did not directly send troops to participate in the war this time, he lent troops to Haihan and deployed them to the Star Island base in the Strait of Malacca to temporarily replace Roger's South China Sea special operations.

The brigade can be regarded as indirectly helping Haihan a big favor. Of course, this favor is not in vain. According to the conditions agreed in advance between the two countries, Haihan will deliver four exploration-class warships to Annan within the year. This loan

Soldier's thanks.

In addition, part of the supplies needed by the Haihan army assembled in Cam Ranh Bay were purchased nearby in Annan, which received strong cooperation from the local government and saved Haihan a lot of trouble.

On January 3, 1637, the Haihan Executive Committee issued an order to the Ministry of National Defense to launch the "Operation to the West." The troops assembled in Sanya, Kaohsiung, and Cam Ranh Bay finally waited for the moment of departure.

This time, the Ministry of National Defense mobilized a number of elite troops from all over the country to participate in the operation. The troops were divided into three groups and marched towards Manila at the same time. More than 5,000 people from the army and navy participated in the operation, and more than 100 ships, including troop transports and supply ships, participated in the operation.

This can almost be regarded as the largest overseas combat operation since the founding of the Haihan Army. If in the past, the Haihan Army's operations were often based on small numbers and large numbers, with a huge disparity in troop strength, then at least this operation will not be inferior in terms of troop strength.

There are too many opponents.

A sea-crossing expedition of this scale requires an astonishing amount of supplies. There are more than 20 comprehensive supply ships that provide coal and fresh water to naval steam warships. Considering the long journey, it is difficult to complete the journey here.

The route maintains a dense frequency of supply transportation, so when the expedition went out, it brought enough supplies to sustain the troops for twenty days of fighting. Although the military has also formulated a follow-up supply transportation plan, everyone hopes that this war will continue.

Don't delay it too long, because for Haihan, the military expenditures for this war are too great. If the war lasts for a long time, the national finances will be in a deficit that is difficult to fill at the beginning of the year.

The military expenditures of the thousands of people participating in the war, calculated from the time they received the order to leave the station and go to the assembly point, averaged tens of thousands of yuan per day. The military expenditures during the assembly period alone had already cost hundreds of thousands. This is not even mentioned.

The cost of transferring troops to the original garrison areas of these participating troops is taken into account. The consumption of various military supplies purchased in advance for this battle is even more than one million. If it were not for the auction of military purchase orders in September,

Having made a huge profit from the Dutch and the Maldives, Heihan's military expenditure during the preparation period may have made the executive committee change its mind not to fight this war.
Chapter completed!