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Chapter 924 The Answer is in Myanmar 2
Therefore, Hong Tao did not plan to send the army to fight in northern Myanmar, that is, Upper Burma, so he turned his attention to southern Myanmar, located on the northeast coast of the Indian Ocean, that is, Lower Burma.

As long as there is a port city, even a large fishing village, it is enough for the Marine Corps to land. Coincidentally, the southern part of Lower Burma is the Irrawaddy River floodplain, which is not only flat but also has rivers that go deep inland, which is more conducive to the navy's surprise attack.

What’s even more coincidental is that 80 miles north of the mouth of the Lai River is Thanlyin, the largest port in Lower Burma. Merchant ships heading to Lower Burma from Southeast Asian countries basically load and unload goods here, and some merchant ships sailing eastward from the Indian Peninsula and the Arabian Sea also stop here.

"I obey your order!" Wang Sheng did not express any opinion on the emperor's affirmation. He did not guess the correct answer but just got it by chance. He had no opinion on whether to attack this place or not.

The emperor ordered us to fight, and we would fight wherever he directed. As a naval commander, he was not good at strategic vision and professional skills, but he was obedient, which was his only strength that could rival anyone else.

"Excuse me, but can a surprise attack on Thanlyin really pull Burmese troops back from Upper Burma to Lower Burma?"

But Zhu Haiou dared not follow the crowd. The Navy Chief of Staff had to participate in the formulation of the combat plan throughout the process and had to fully understand all the circumstances of the operation, including the purpose. Otherwise, if there was a deviation in the plan, he would be the one who would be held responsible in the end.

"It is indeed not enough, so I called you here to see if we can stand firm again. After losing the Port of Thanlyin, there is basically no larger port available in Lower Burma. The King of Burma will definitely not turn a blind eye and will most likely send troops to attack.

If the navy can hold the port of Thanlyin firmly, prevent the Burmese from easily taking it back, and cause relatively heavy casualties to the enemy, they will have no choice but to transfer troops from Upper Burma to the south. "

Hong Tao ignored the submissive Wang Sheng. He was sent to be the Navy Governor just for show, and never expected any surprises. As long as Zhu Haiou and the Navy Staff were not bad, the Navy would not be worse than when Yuan Keli was in office.

"…Your Majesty, the Navy General Staff does not have the detailed parameters of this river. We need to send professionals to conduct on-site surveys before we can start formulating a plan."

Zhu Haiou stood up and walked to the large map. With the help of several young eunuchs, he climbed the ladder and found the location of Shalian Port. He carefully measured it with a compass and a protractor. In the end, he did not give a definite answer, but instead made additional requests.

"I won't wait for you to do it yourself. Take a look. This is the detailed hydrological data of Thanlyin Port and the Lai River. This is the Portuguese description of the combat effectiveness and tactics of the Burmese army."

Zhu Haiou's performance made Hong Tao feel more at ease. If he dared to say that he would complete the task without leaving the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, the Chief of Naval Staff would have to be replaced, and dozens of staff members of the Naval Staff would also have to be examined one by one.

But the criticism still needs to be made. Although the southern waters of Myanmar are not under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Fleet, they are still our neighbor. Why do you have time to lead the fleet around to catch pirates? Why don't you have time to go over and take a look? There is still a big lack of military intelligence!
"...Student, may I ask one more question? Who got these?" Holding down the two folders that the emperor pushed over from the desk, Zhu Haiou opened them and took a quick look before asking another question.

"No! Hurry up and take a look. The general plan must be finalized today. Prime Minister Oyani is in the Queen's bedroom. We will work on the details after we return!"

This time, Hong Tao refused without mercy. Then he made further demands, not only the battle plan had to be issued immediately, but also the loan had to be completed today. The emperor who really holds real power is so efficient in doing things, and he does things immediately without any delay. Of course, if he makes a mistake, he is also efficient, and no one can blame him.

But this time, Hong Tao felt that his decision would not be wrong. The basis... was not from the memories of future generations, but from the two documents that Zhu Haiou was looking through.

It described in detail the details of Thanlyin Port and several nearby cities, including the city size, city wall structure, number of garrisons, traffic conditions, and even the width of the river, depth at high tide and low tide, as well as estimates of the political and economic conditions in Lower Burma.

With the aid of these data, I dare not say that it can fully meet the needs of formulating battle plans as if I were there in person. If there was this level of intelligence reference when we marched west to the Yarkand Khanate, the process would be much smoother and the results would be much more perfect.

Unfortunately, the Statistics Department only has two intelligence geniuses, Wang Datou and Jin Gui. Even if Liu Shimin who is far away in Europe is included, it cannot achieve the effect of full coverage. The rest cannot be said to be useless, but they are all humanoid machines that do whatever they are told to do and lack autonomy.

That's right, this detailed information was provided by the Nanyang Branch of the Statistics Department. Since the cooperation between the Ming Empire and the Dutch East India Company was facilitated, the big-headed monster was no longer satisfied with wandering around in the Nanyang, but extended its tentacles to the West, and Shalian Port was his first stop.

Why did they choose Thalín Port? It was a coincidence that Wang Datou was very familiar with Portuguese merchants and even developed some peripheral intelligence agents among them, collecting intelligence through a mutually beneficial way.

As early as the 16th century, the Portuguese arrived in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal and established residential areas and trading houses in Chittagong, which then spread to the surrounding areas. At that time, the Arakan Kingdom ruled Chittagong. The later Rakhine State and Kyaukpyu Port were within the territory of the Arakan Kingdom.

With the Arakan Mountains on its back and the Bay of Bengal in front, the territory is long and narrow, lacking the conditions for developing agriculture, but it is very suitable for maritime trade. The Arakanese did so, and they were keen on sailing long ago and were famous for their maritime strength along the Bay of Bengal.

However, with the arrival of European galleons, the Arakanese, who still used paddle boats, suffered a lot. Fortunately, they did not let the Portuguese merchants take advantage of them due to their numerical advantage, and the two sides were in a state of both cooperation and defense.

By the end of the 16th century, the two kingdoms of Pegu and Toungoo in Lower Burma were caught in a chaotic war. The King of Arakan saw that the opportunity was not to be missed and immediately contacted the Portuguese to seize the southern port of Thanlyin.

The Portuguese naturally wanted to have an additional supply port in the East Indies where their words could be trusted, and they immediately agreed after the terms were negotiated.

Led by a captain named Philip, he gathered more than 200 Portuguese adventurers and carried out a raid with the cooperation of the Arakan Kingdom fleet. They easily occupied the port of Thanlyin and became the first governor of Thanlyin, affiliated to the Arakan Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)