Chapter 1750 Folk Rumors

The reason why Fei Cexian was angry was that this opening poem was not written by the storyteller himself, but was a farewell poem written by Emperor Shizong Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty when Mao Bowen, Minister of the Ministry of War, went on an expedition to Annan. Although the poem was written a hundred years ago,

Ordinary people may not know its background and significance, but as Fei Cexian is an official of the Ministry of Rites, the storyteller's tricks cannot be hidden from him.

The storyteller’s opening poem only read the first four lines that are more appropriate to the theme. The poem actually has the last four lines: There is a species of unicorn in the sky, how can the ants in the hole escape. On the day when the imperial edict comes back in peace, I will explain to you sir

Battle robe.

Of course, the word "I" mentioned in the last four sentences is obviously inconsistent with Haihan's system, so it has been omitted. However, this article uses the imperial poem of the Ming Emperor to describe the expedition of Haihan Army to Xiaoxiao.

If you say it is nondescript and forcefully pieced together, it would be a humiliation to the Ming Dynasty. Fei Cexian could have protested at the diplomatic level and let Haihan officials investigate and deal with this misconduct.

But this is no longer the first time Fei Cexian arrived in Sanya, and he has a relatively deep understanding of some of the local folk conditions. For example, the storytellers who performed in teahouses and restaurants, the content they performed actually went through the Haihan Propaganda Department

review, which means that everything including this opening poem should have received official tacit approval. If Fei Cexian wanted to protest, he would probably be kicked back and forth between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Propaganda, and in the end it would not be possible.

Of.

Fortunately, the storyteller did not use this opening poem to write other articles. After reading it, he got to the point. The foreign war that occurred at the beginning of this year had a great impact on the South China Sea. Haihan and Spain could

It is said that they are the two countries with the most powerful military force in the South China Sea, but in the two confrontations in the past few years, Haihan had the upper hand. And this battle to determine the title of the strongest in the South China Sea naturally attracted the attention of other countries.

focus on.

During the Battle of Manila, the progress of the war at the front could only be reported to Sanya through the military's radio. Then the military and the Propaganda Department screened some of the information and released it to the public through newspapers. Although it was often just a few words of information, it almost made people feel uncomfortable.

The "Haihan Times" on the market was out of stock every day, so much so that scalpers once hoarded the stock and raised the price. Later, the public outcry became too loud, and the propaganda department began to gradually release more news and intensify private reading of the newspaper.

The publicity campaign only slightly alleviated the public's thirst for news of victory.

However, the news released by the officials is often similar to "On a certain day of a certain month, a certain unit of our army captured a certain stronghold in Manila City, captured and destroyed several enemies", or "On a certain day, the Western Army launched a counterattack against our army's position but failed."

Simple and stereotyped models such as "Captured enemy commander so-and-so in front of the battle today". Such news certainly cannot satisfy the public's desire to know the battle situation on the front line. Therefore, under the instruction of the Propaganda Department, private creators will also use

Write some stories about the progress of the war and interpret them through the storyteller's mouth.

Of course, these unofficial publicity channels are not so rigorous, and there are many exaggerations and even conjectures in them. However, the Haihan publicity department is not very strict in this aspect. As long as the content is positive and uplifting, most of them can pass smoothly.

Official censorship. As for whether these various interpretations contain official instructions, it’s hard to say. From Fei Cexian’s point of view, Haihan has always been strict about publicity monitoring, and it should be inevitable that some official requirements must be added.

content.

After the Battle of Manila, the details of the battle process were gradually revealed, and the content of the performances by the folk storytellers was gradually improved. There was no need to rely purely on imagination like in the previous two months. The restaurant owner said this before

There is news from the military, but it is not necessarily bragging. After all, many troops who participated in the war have returned to Sanya and will participate in the National Day military parade tomorrow. When these soldiers come back to meet their relatives and friends, they will also talk about the war situation in Manila.

Some of the news from the front lines is not surprising.

The storyteller hired by the Cantonese restaurant is talking about the Haihan Navy's attack on Manila Port today. Haihan officials have actually disclosed a lot about this battle, but the thousand-character article in the newspaper cannot be as clever as the storyteller.

The eloquent performance was interesting, so the guests present were still very enthusiastic about it.

"Everyone, although the Spaniards suffered two defeats at the hands of our Haihan Army before, they are not simple characters. I think that Luzon Island was originally under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. When the Sanbao eunuch went to Nanyang, he used the name of Emperor Yongle

The edict appointed the local Han leader Xu Chailao as the governor of Luzon. However, after the Spanish arrived in Luzon, they took the place as their own. In terms of combat power, before our Han army took action, no country in the South China Sea could

Compete with it.”

Su Keyi couldn't help but snorted when he heard that the storyteller deliberately praised Spain's combat power. Of course he knew that this was to pave the way for the Haihan Army's achievements in the future, but if no country could compete with it, then that country would not be able to compete with it.

The Indian Company was not convinced. When the Dutch East India Company was established in 1601, its capital was already 44 times greater than that of the British East India Company, which was established three months earlier. In the thirty years after its establishment, the Dutch East India Company

An average of 22% of annual income is returned to shareholders, which is much better than Spain's operating level in the Far East.

Of course, the economic rivalry was only part of the dispute between the two countries. The real conflict lay in the Dutch War of Independence that began in 1568 - and the Spanish Empire called it the Low Countries Rebellion. After many

After the naval battle, the two countries signed a 12-year armistice agreement in 1609. However, after the armistice agreement expired in 1621, the war between the two countries restarted again. Until now, they are still in a state of war. Naturally, their overseas colonies in the Far East have also been at war.

They were hostile. Therefore, regarding Haihan's attack on Manila, the Dutch attitude was that they were happy to see the outcome and hoped that the Spaniards would suffer as much as possible.

Although these two parties did not have many direct confrontations in the Far East, they both happened to have a head-on conflict with Haihan. The Spaniards were defeated again and again. Now they even exported Manila, while the Netherlands only lost the island of Ambona.

, at least Taiyuan Port on the west coast of Taiwan Island has been well preserved, while the stronghold built by the Spanish in Taipei has long since become Jilong Port under the rule of Haihan. In Su Keyi's view, who is stronger is

It is obvious that the Spaniards have the right to claim to be the second largest country in the South China Sea.

When Su Keyi was dissatisfied, the storyteller had already gone on to introduce the defense situation of Manila Port. The Spanish had invested a lot of resources to build coastal defenses, which were enough to make any enemy who invaded Manila Bay fearful, even Haihan.

The Navy is no exception.

These introductions aroused Fei Cexian's attention. If the coastal defense line can be built with solid coastal defenses and powerful artillery, then even a strong enemy like Haihan will have to avoid three points. This may be the key to defending against Haihan in the future.

One solution is to launch an attack from the sea - of course, the premise is that Ming Dynasty can get enough large-caliber coastal defense guns.

However, the war in Manila has long ended, and Fei Cexian also knows that the Spanish defense strategy did not play its due role in the end, so where the Spanish failed was also something that he needs to carefully understand.

.

Of course, the Haihan Army's method of defeating the enemy does not seem to be complicated. It is to actively bypass the port fortifications on which the Spaniards have high hopes, land far away from the city of Manila, and choose another direction from the land to attack the city of Manila.

Launch an offensive. But this is easier said than done. To accurately judge the defensive deployment of the defenders and adjust their tactics accordingly, not just any army can do it, not to mention that Haihan is several miles away from home.

It is not easy to collect intelligence when fighting in an unfamiliar environment thousands of miles away. It is even more difficult to know yourself and the enemy well enough to arrange your troops in a reasonable manner.

Of course, the storyteller didn’t know how far in advance Haihan started his intelligence work before the war. He didn’t even know how Haihan obtained the Spanish’s city defense deployment information, so that he could choose the south of the city as the focus of the attack. But no

Inside information doesn't matter, he has his own way of attracting the audience's attention.

"The Western thieves have laid a heavy defensive trap in Manila Port, waiting for our Haihan fleet to crash into it. However, our Haihan army has conquered all over the world and is invincible. Our combat experience is far superior to that of the Western thieves. How can these evil tricks defeat our army?"

Fooled? Navy Commander Wang sent his general Wu Sen to sail to Manila Port to find out."

"Everyone, this general is not an ordinary person. He is a stranger who was conquered by the leaders in Hue, South Vietnam in the early years when they personally conquered Annan. It is said that General Wu is the reincarnation of a dragon in the South China Sea. He can stay in the water for seven days and seven nights, and he is even more capable.

Discerning the wind and clouds, the fleet can avoid bad weather at sea. After General Wu joined our Haihan Army, he made many military achievements, so he can serve as the navy's vanguard in the Battle of Manila..."

Fei Cexian was secretly amused when he heard this. He had access to much more information than ordinary people, and he happened to have checked out Wu Sen's information in the municipal library. He knew that this man was not a strange person reincarnated by a dragon.

It was just a naval officer of the small court of South Vietnam who chose to change camps and join Haihan after being captured. He was not as miraculous as the storyteller claimed. Of course, there are many exaggerated elements in storytellers' interpretations.

Let's just say it for now, and no one will ask whether Wu Sen really has special powers.

Then I heard the storyteller continue to spit and say: "The ship driven by General Wu also has a certain background. It is a warship specially built for him by the Sanya Shipyard, named 'Black Shark'. This ship not only has high speed on the sea,

It is as fast as lightning, and the hull is covered with steel armor, making it extremely strong. Ordinary artillery can't damage it at all. The most powerful thing is that the ship is equipped with two extremely powerful thunder cannons, which can sink a ship with one shot!

At this point, you will definitely ask, compared with the Black Shark and the Navy's majesty-class battleship, which one is the Navy's first-class combat power? Hehe, I personally asked the Navy's military commander about this matter. Stay here and drink.

Take some tea to moisten your throat, and then continue."

The storyteller stopped there, picked up the tea cup and pretended to taste the tea. At this time, someone came out with a tray and started collecting rewards from the tables. Of course, the audience here had already received a tea fee, so

This reward is not a forced consumption. If you think you are happy, just pay for it. The more rewards from the audience, the more emotional the storyteller will be during the performance.

Fei Cexian and Su Keyi were the shopkeepers who took the initiative to entertain guests, but they had not paid for the tea table before. Seeing the tray coming to collect rewards, Su Keyi rushed ahead and took out the money and put a one-yuan Haihan coin on the tray.

, the man quickly responded, "Thank you, sir, for the reward!"

Fei Cexian said: "It seems that Mr. Su was very happy to hear it."

Su Keyi laughed dryly and said: "Although this man talks a lot of nonsense, I also want to hear his comments on the advantages and disadvantages of the Black Shark and the Majesty-class battleships."

Regarding the situation of the "Black Shark", Su Keyi, who has been stationed in Sanya for a longer time, knows much more than Fei Cexian. This warship made its debut in the 1635 Leapfrog military exercise, and its terrifying performance aroused the attention of various countries.

However, in the following period, this warship did not enter service as soon as various countries expected. Instead, it continued to conduct trial adjustments in some secret waters in a very low-key manner. Until Haihan's expedition to Manila this time, this warship

The battleship finally officially joined the Haihan Navy under the name "Black Shark".

Regarding the performance of the "Black Shark" in Manila, there are only a few words in the official report, that is, the number of enemy ships sunk and damaged by the warship during the battle. But if someone like Su Keyi had bothered to count the official results,

Those who are interested in data will find that the performance of the "Black Shark" accounts for a rather astonishing proportion of the naval results. In Su Keyi's view, there are only two possibilities for such a result, either the Spanish warships are lining up.

Let the "Black Shark" bombard it to improve its record, or the combat efficiency of this warship is too high, and the combat effectiveness of one ship can be as small as half a fleet.

The answer is obviously the latter, so Su Keyi is also very interested in knowing whether this new type of warship will replace the existing majestic class warship in the Haihan Navy. Since the storyteller claims to have comments from people in the military,

That's certainly worth listening to.

After collecting a round of rewards, there were two or three yuan in the tray. The storyteller saw that it was almost time, put down the tea cup, patted the wake tree, and continued the previous topic: "Everyone, there is a junior here.

My relative is on duty in the navy, and this time he went to Manila to fight. He just returned to Sanya two days ago. Some topics cannot be discussed publicly, so let’s not talk about them, lest the Propaganda Department comes to pass them on later. Let’s go to the Yamen for tea. But there are some

I can tell you, but I would like to share a few things with you, and it’s not in vain that you all gave me your money and rewarded me just now.”
Chapter completed!