Chapter 2710

Judging from what we see in front of us, it is hard to imagine that this place was very busy more than ten years ago. Many foreign merchant ships come in and out of this place every day. There are many shops near the port, and the market gathers goods from all over the world. It can be called

Japan's premier trading port. However, after a war, the former prosperity did not leave many traces here. Now it is just an ordinary fishing port.

Bai Letong asked: "Don't the Japanese ever think about restoring the trade function of this place?"

Ishige Takedo: "The Hirado clan also tried to rebuild after the war, but all parties did not want to see this place restored to its former glory and were unwilling to express support. Therefore, even after so many years of war, there is nothing major here.

Change. If you look up, the ruins on the high slope next to the port are the Hirado Castle that was burned down."

Haihan and North Korea definitely don't want to see Hirado resurrected, even if the Tagawa clan has been completely overthrown and someone else is in charge of the Hirado domain. At this time, the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan is vigorously supporting the Nagasaki Port, which is under its direct control.

, hoping to use this to replace the trading functions of the Hirado Domain. Even if it is good without taking advantage of the situation, how can it support the plan to rebuild Hirado Port.

The Hirado Domain, which received no support from the outside world, and lost its main source of income from cross-border trade, naturally found it difficult to make a comeback. The Hirado Castle that was destroyed by the war has still not been rebuilt, and the Hirado Domain has

Later, they even simply moved the administrative office to Matsuura, dozens of miles east, and gave up the plan to rebuild Hirado Port.

The dilapidated castle that still stands on the high ground next to the harbor is a witness to the rise and fall of Hirado Port. It always reminds ships passing by who is the most powerful person in this area.

After sailing through the narrowest section of the Hirado Strait, you will reach Sasebo Bay about sixty miles south.

The two peninsulas extend from the north and south sides respectively, forming a pincer shape. The channel in the middle is less than two miles wide. This kind of terrain also reminded Tao Hongfang and others of their hometown of Victory Port.

Conspicuous coastal defense fortifications have been built on both the northern and southern peninsulas in order to guard the only channel in and out of the harbor during war. However, given the strength of the East China Sea Fleet, no one would have the guts to break through here. High on the peninsula

Fireworks signals have been released from the watchtower to notify the base in the harbor of the arrival of the fleet.

After driving through this narrow channel, things suddenly opened up. From a bird's-eye view, Sasebo Bay is a nearly cross-shaped bay, with the entrance channel to the west, mountainous cliffs on the east coast, and the road leading to Omura on the south side.

Of the straits in the bay, only the northern bay has a relatively flat terrain, where military bases and ports are concentrated.

Since this bay is almost at an angle of 90 degrees to the open sea, no matter how strong the wind and waves are in the open sea, it is almost impossible to affect the port and pier here. It is indeed a God-given place. And there are as many as 100 kilometers near the coast.

The more than ten square kilometers of coastal river valley plains have enough space for development, whether it is to cultivate farmland or build urban areas. Compared with the small Hirado Port, there is indeed a difference between heaven and earth.

Except for Shi Chengwu and Wang Anguo, everyone in the mission came here for the first time, so they felt it was strange. Compared with the Haihan Military Base they had visited before, the establishment time here was relatively short.

, the scale of port construction is indeed not comparable to that of large ports such as Zhoushan Dinghai Port. However, looking from the sea, all the facilities that a standard Haihan Port should have are all available, and the construction level is no less than that of domestic ports.

Similar to Zhoushan Port, in addition to the military base, there is also a civilian dock specifically for merchant ships and fishing boats to dock, so many civilian ships can also be seen coming in and out of the harbor.

The port dispatched a guide boat to guide the fleet's large and small ships to dock in sequence. From a distance, you can see that many people have gathered on the port pier to welcome the arrival of the fleet.

After the Zhoushan docked, local military and political officials were waiting for everyone on the pier. The leader was an old man in his fifties wearing a military uniform. The badge on his shoulder indicated that he was a major general. This was also the departure of the mission.

He is the highest-ranking Haihan officer whom he has met overseas since.

After the officials led by Shi Chengwu disembarked from the ship, they lined up to salute the major general. This person is the current commander of the Sasebo base, Major General Amakusa Shiro.

When the military decided to build a military base in Sasebo, it originally wanted to select a senior general with weight and qualifications to take charge here. However, several senior officials in Northeast Asia at the time were unwilling to take up this position for various reasons.

At that time, Chen Yixin was in charge of large areas along the coast of North China and Liaodong, as well as half of the Korean Peninsula. The area under his jurisdiction covered thousands of miles. How could he give up the territory he had operated for many years for a small Sasebo base?

Shi Diwen has also been operating in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas for many years, and the wealth of the area under his jurisdiction is one of the best in the world. Not to mention Sasebo Bay, even the entire Japanese archipelago is just a remote area for him. Naturally, he is not willing to leave the big and small to manage this.

place.

At that time, Wang Tom had already begun planning a plan to cross the Pacific eastward. He had no intention of staying, and naturally he was not very interested in Sasebo Bay. Qian Tiandun believed that the situation in Liaodong, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese archipelago was basically stable.

It is no longer necessary for our troops to stay in Northeast Asia. We have already reported to the Executive Committee and requested that we lead our troops south to continue to expand territory in the south where there is more room for development.

However, these senior generals did not give up completely. After some discussion, it was finally decided that Wang Tom would be in charge of the preliminary development work, and the Donghai Region and the Northern Region would be responsible for providing local logistics support. After the completion, the Donghai Region would send troops to station and take over.

Local defense. Qian Tiandun recommended his Japanese generals to serve as base commanders.

Originally, the Ministry of National Defense was interested in Takahashi Minami. After all, he is of Japanese descent and has great military exploits. Regardless of his qualifications and ability, he can take on this important task. But Takahashi Minami's loyalty to Qian Tiandun is known to everyone, even if he knows that there are senior officials

Houlu was waiting for him in Sasebo, but he still chose to continue fighting with Qian Tiandun, and took the initiative to write a letter to the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense to clarify his intention, and he refused the appointment.

After much selection, the job finally fell to Amakusa Shiro. As a Japanese officer who joined the army at the same time as Takahashi Minami, he also served under Qian Tiandun. His qualifications and abilities were not bad, and he was also a sea officer.

A leader among Chinese-Japanese officers. In addition, there is another objective reason. Amakusa Shiro's hometown is on the Shimabara Peninsula, more than 200 miles south of Sasebo, and he is relatively familiar with the situation in the surrounding area. He is appointed as the commander of the base.

It will be easier to handle relations with Japan.
Chapter completed!