Chapter 2094

Based on the past experience of the Haihan Navy fighting against the armed sailing ships under Shiba Shiba, it is not difficult to judge that a warship of this tonnage will have a crew of about a hundred people, and the standard warship that has been discovered by the reconnaissance fleet in the area around Hirado Island has

There were already more than ten ships, and there were several warships under construction in at least three shipyards. From this, Yuan Zhi deduced that the number of personnel in this armed fleet secretly formed by his opponent was at least a thousand people.

above.

It’s hard to say what level an armed fleet of this size is in Japan, but if it can be fully staffed, its combat effectiveness will definitely exceed that of the naval forces stationed in most coastal states of the Ming Dynasty. Its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated. Fortunately,

This armed fleet has not yet been fully formed. If the Haihan Army takes action as soon as possible, it should be able to block it in Japanese waters.

As for whether there are secret bases similar to those discovered by Yuan Zhi in the Goto Islands, Hirado Island and Kitakyushu area, there is no definite answer yet. But there is no doubt that the preparations made by the Hirado clan for this far exceed Haihan's imagination.

, if it were not for on-site inspection, it would be difficult to predict that this small Hirado Domain in a remote area of ​​Japan could have such a big plan.

Because the reconnaissance operation in this bay was delayed, Yuan Zhi and Amakusa Shiro's rendezvous was more than half a day later than originally planned. Amakusa Shiro's reconnaissance of Nakatoshi Island did not yield similar results. After the two of them combined,

He decided to return to Seogwipo Port in Jeju Island first to replenish supplies and wait for new instructions from his superiors.

Haihan's war preparations are not only carried out on the North Korean side, but in the Ministry of National Defense's troop dispatch plan, the Zhoushan garrison in Zhejiang will also participate in this operation.

In terms of distance, the voyage between Zhoushan and Hirado in Zhejiang is about a quarter closer than that from the Datong River base to the area. The reason why the Datong River base, which is located farther away, is to send troops during the reconnaissance operation is mainly because

Considering that all the elite naval forces are currently in the north, and Wang Tom is also stationed at the Datong River base, it is naturally safer for such a large-scale military operation to be directly directed by Wang Tom.

However, as one of the earliest fleets stationed overseas, the Haihan East China Sea Fleet stationed at Dinghai Port in Zhoushan is also very powerful. Although the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas have been relatively peaceful in recent years, there are not many situations that require the Zhoushan garrison to take real action, and there are few meritorious services.

Opportunities to show their faces. However, thanks to the huge benefits brought by the prosperous maritime trade in this region, the East China Sea Fleet has quietly grown in strength in recent years. There are already four Majesty-class warships alone, which is also the number of stationed ships.

It has the largest number of Majesty-class battleships in any foreign navy.

The reason why we can still have so many top-level warships without fighting is certainly not because the Ministry of National Defense has any preference for Shi Diwen, but because Haihan's business conditions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are quite good, and a considerable part of them are military industries——

For example, the entire Dinghai Port Area. Of course, the Ministry of National Defense will not allow the revenue generated by these military industries to be used for other purposes, and a considerable part of it is used as military expenses for the Zhoushan garrison.

Shi Diwen also used these military expenditures quite boldly. He only used a small part of them on infrastructure and personnel expenses, and most of them were used to expand the size of the East China Sea Fleet, including the purchase of warships.

In the past two years alone, the East China Sea Fleet has acquired more than ten warships, large and small, and its troops have also increased by more than 2,000 people. In fact, even part of the garrison at the Datong River base was transferred from the East China Sea Fleet.

past.

The Ministry of National Defense gave Shi Diwen such great authority mainly because of Zhoushan Island's unique strategic geographical location. It is the only military port under the control of Haihan between the Shandong Peninsula and the Fujian Strait. Next to it is the most prosperous island in Ming Dynasty.

In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, the entire Hangzhou Bay and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are under the surveillance of the East China Sea Fleet. Naturally, a powerful naval fleet is needed to suppress the situation. For example, several large-scale military exercises held near Hangzhou Bay in recent years have received excellent reviews.

The effect is that at least there is no clear voice against Haihan in Zhejiang official circles.

In addition, there are North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries in the East China Sea. Although these countries have no conflicts of interest with Haihan for the time being, and North Korea has even formed an alliance with Haihan, maintaining necessary military presence is still of great significance to Haihan.

Whether it is rushing to aid North Korea or attacking Japan, the East China Sea Fleet is undoubtedly the first choice for carrying out such military missions.

After receiving the order from Sanya, Shi Diwen immediately ordered the cancellation of all leave arrangements for the Zhoushan garrison, and all officers returned to Dinghai Port to be on standby. For the East China Sea Fleet, there are not many opportunities to get such combat missions. It must be

Seize the opportunity and perform well to be worthy of the huge investment in recent years.

"Currently, the executive committee has only given out goals. The specific action plan will be jointly formulated by the East China Sea Fleet and the North Korean military base stationed at Datong River. As for the navy, our East Sea Fleet will serve as the main force of this operation. In principle, I will give priority to the deployment.

Troops that were not dispatched last year will participate in this combat operation."

Shi Diwen's intelligence briefing greatly excited the senior officers present. For them, the annual routine exercises in Hangzhou were far from reducing their desire for war. They could only train the Ming Dynasty Navy as an imaginary enemy. Last year

The East China Sea Fleet has successively deployed some of its troops to participate in the wars in Manila and North Korea, but most of them can only wait for the plum blossoms to quench their thirst, and have not got the chance to fight at all. This time Shi Diming stated that priority will be given to the troops that did not fight last year.

That would be tantamount to giving military honors to these officers.

Regarding the secret operations of the Eighteen Zhiyu Party along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, the Zhoushan garrison also participated in the investigation before the end of last year, and dispatched elite troops to work with the Ministry of Security to destroy the salt merchant musketeers in Yangzhou, which had already begun to take shape. At that time,

Although the battle was fierce, it was actually just child's play for the military. If he hadn't been worried that sending troops into the Ming Dynasty would cause a diplomatic incident, Shi Diwen would have sent troops to Yangzhou to completely cleanse the salt merchant groups from Shanxi and Shaanxi.

.

Therefore, when the follow-up investigation traced the clues to Japan and confirmed that this series of events had a major connection with the Eighteen-year-old Zhiyu Party, Shi Diwen was not particularly surprised. After all, he had previously determined that the Spaniards were attacking the local tycoons in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Selling arms, it is obvious that there are Han people who are matchmaking in the process. The Shibazhi are very familiar with the southeastern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty, so it is natural to complete such an errand.

The Executive Committee named the Shiba Shiyu Party who was hiding in the Hirado Domain of Japan. This was a normal decision in Shi Diwen's opinion. He actually didn't know much about Sanya's opinions on whether to directly use military means to eliminate hidden dangers.

There was a dispute, but as a senior general guarding overseas, of course he looked at the problem from the standpoint of the military. Since Shibazhi's actions have posed a threat to Haihan, and may also pose a threat to Haihan

If it causes unpredictable losses, of course it must be dealt with mercilessly.

Relevant combat plans need to be formulated in consultation with the Datongjiang base, but since the troops are divided into two groups to go to Japan, local preparations in Zhoushan can be started first. The personnel and materials required for such a large-scale operation are all

It's not a small number. After the meeting, the heads of the combat troops and the logistics department started organizing and preparing for the war.

In addition to the East China Sea Fleet's own preparations, Shi Diwen also has another task to complete, which is to prepare a temporary port for the Allied forces participating in this operation so that they can complete the rendezvous before setting off together.

Go to destination.

However, this task is familiar to the Zhoushan garrison. When the coalition forces rushed to the Korean battlefield last year, several coalition forces from the south briefly rested in Zhoushan. But this time, the only coalition forces present were the Fujian Navy.

Foreign troops such as Annan and Portugal can save a lot of trouble in terms of communication and coordination.

Due to the large number of ships coming and going from Dinghai Port, and considering the need for confidentiality, this temporary port to receive the Allied fleet was not located on Zhoushan Island, but was located in a bay on the east coast of Zhujiajian Island next to Zhoushan Island. If it were not for a special trip from the sea,

When you come to this place, it is difficult for ships passing by Zhoushan to find that there is a natural harbor here. And this place is only about half a day's sail from Dinghai Port, so it is easy to contact you in time if you need anything.

Taking into account Xu Xinsu's initiative to dispatch 100 warships and 5,000 sailors this time, Shi Diwen also specially arranged to stockpile a batch of grain and grass on Zhujiajian Island in advance to prepare for the Fujian Navy's operational needs. Although he also expected

The Fujian Navy will definitely prepare the supplies needed for the war on its own, but whether to do this or not will mean two different attitudes to the Fujian side. The other side will definitely be more willing to see the Zhoushan authorities show a positive and friendly attitude

.

Zhoushan Island has long been stocked with war-prepared military rations, but whenever a big operation comes, the military will still try to purchase food on the market as a supplement, and this time is no exception. Zhoushan Island has offered 100,000 kilograms to Ningbo grain merchants

The food orders also gave well-informed people a different smell than usual.

Most of these orders were placed by He Li's rice store. The quartermaster who handled the matter was an old acquaintance with He Li. However, when He Li asked why he wanted to buy a large amount of grain in March, the quartermaster said

It was because he was concerned about his left and right and avoided talking about it. He Li then guessed that there must be some reasons why it was inconvenient to disclose it.

So he quickly informed his brother He Xiao of the news, and He Xiao also tasted the news and quickly informed his boss Qu Yutong.

Qu Yutong has been dealing with Haihan for several years. When he heard that the Zhoushan authorities were purchasing large quantities of grain again, he actually guessed 70% of the truth. He just didn't dare to confirm who Haihan planned to deal with this time, and he was slightly worried.

This is a follow-up to the Yangzhou incident last year.

At the end of last year, Haihan made a big fuss in Yangzhou, causing more than a hundred local casualties. When Qu Yutong heard about the situation in Yangzhou, he was very worried that Shi Diwen would use this as an excuse to fight. Later, both Daming and Haihan both

There was a tacit agreement not to pursue what happened in Yangzhou. Qu Yutong met with Shi Diwen, and the other party did not mention the matter again, which made him think that the matter should be considered settled. However, the Zhoushan authorities suddenly purchased grain and followed the past

Judging from experience, this was clearly a signal to mobilize troops. After much deliberation, Qu Yutong could not think of anyone else in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who had offended Haihan recently, so he could not help but associate this with the Yangzhou incident.

"Go to Zhoushan Island as soon as possible, meet General Shi, and find out what the situation is." Qu Yutong knew that this kind of thing could be big or small, but he had to seize the opportunity, otherwise Haihan would remain silent.

If you take action, you will inevitably become passive.

But Shi Diwen also thought things through very carefully. Before He Xiao left Ningbo, Shi Diwen had already sent a handwritten letter to Qu Yutong's home, asking him not to misunderstand the recent measures of the Zhoushan authorities to purchase military supplies.

Shi Diwen did not explain the real reason for the purchase in the letter, but he assured Qu Yutong that Haihan would not launch large-scale military operations in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the near future.

This official explanation made Qu Yutong feel a little more relieved. After all, with the relationship between him and Shi Diwen, there was no need for the other party to write a special letter to deceive him. It was just that he thought about the tone of Shi Diwen's letter, and it seemed that

There is no denying that the Zhoushan garrison will take action, but the destination is probably not local.

"Could it be that the situation in the north has become tense again?" Qu Yutong couldn't guess the intentions of the Haihan people, so he could only speculate based on his own understanding.

Qu Yutong also knew that the Haihan army had been confronting the Qing army in Liaodong for several years. Last year, the two armies fought in North Korea for several months. Although the final result was that the Haihan army won, the Qing army was just forced to

Withdrawing from North Korea to Liaodong seems to have not damaged the vitality. If a large-scale war breaks out between the two countries in the north again, then the Zhoushan garrison may have to go north for reinforcements.

Qu Yutong's speculation was reasonable, but he never expected that the actions of the Zhoushan authorities were really a follow-up to the Yangzhou incident last year, and their target was not in the far north, but in Japan to the east of the East China Sea.

Qu Yutong and his staff are not the only ones who have noticed the unusual movements of the Zhoushan authorities. In Ningbo, a place where people are mixed, there are still many thoughtful people who have noticed some purchase orders issued by the Zhoushan authorities in the past two days.

"The Haihan people not only bought grain, but according to our investigation, they also ordered a batch of canvas, more than two hundred pieces of gauze, and a considerable amount of medicinal materials. Usually such purchases occur in a concentrated manner before the Haihan people prepare to launch an external war.

"

In a certain house in Ningbo City, a man in black was reporting the situation to another old man who looked like a businessman who was sitting on the Grand Master's chair.

The old man asked: "Have there been any changes in Haihan's various institutions in Ningbo City? For example, people left the city in batches, or a large number of unidentified people entered them."

The man in black bowed and responded: "I haven't found the situation mentioned by the shopkeeper yet. It seems that I am not planning to take action locally."
Chapter completed!