Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 927

The Foreign Intelligence Agency judged: The armed conflict between Liu Laoxiang and Zheng Zhilong is imminent, and it is only a matter of time before the two sides start a full-scale fight.

The reason for making such a judgment is because according to the historical trajectory of the old time and space, Zhu Cailao and Liu Xiang were defeated and wiped out after leaving Guangdong’s lair to fight with Zheng Zhilong. There was also the blockade of Macau in between. Not by chance.

The intelligence agency guessed that the real reason behind these events was the shrinking demand in Europe caused by the Thirty Years War.Europeans spent their money on military spending, which generally led to less silver being exported to Asia in East-West trade.Merchants began to turn to imports of Japanese silver.

It is very likely that Liu and Zhu went north to get involved in the trade between China, Japan and the Netherlands, and the financial importance of Macau to Ming Dynasty declined—in the melee of maritime merchants along the coast at the end of Ming Dynasty, the main battlefield was always the coast of Fujian, not the traditional foreign trade ports. Guangzhou.

Not long ago, the Ming court's order to seal off Macau's port had been officially issued to Guangdong. The Foreign Intelligence Service kidnapped Gao Shunqin, removing a major obstacle to returning to Guangzhou. However, the blockade of Macau still happened according to its inertia.It shows that history is still running according to the normal track, but the joining of the crossing people makes the situation more complicated, and the situation faced by Liuxiang Group is also more difficult.

The Liuxiang Group resolutely gave up the territory of the Pearl River Estuary and moved northward. Its purpose was obviously not entirely to fear the Australian naval power, but more to compete for commercial trade.It is obviously not in the commercial interests to continue to occupy the Pearl River Estuary, where the value of trade has dropped greatly, and to fight head-to-head with the ferocious "kun thieves".After all, the Sino-Japanese-Dutch trade in Fujian is the biggest fat.

After the Battle of the Pearl River Estuary, the navy established a Hong Kong detachment on Hong Kong Island. In addition to protecting the safety of navigation in the Pearl River Estuary, another important purpose was to use this as a base to suppress the activities of the Liu Laoxiang Group in Daya Bay, forcing it to be unable to go south. .

During the first phase of the shipbuilding and maintenance plan, the navy launched the "Consolidation Operation around Hong Kong". Shi Zhiqi and Le Lin carried out a series of small-scale operations around Hong Kong to clean up the small groups of local pirates and suppress the local clans.In particular, the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, the western part of the Virgin's Bay (Victoria Bay) and the Tseung Kwan O area were focused on.The actual control line was pushed to the Shatian, Yantian, Dapeng Bay, and Qingshui Bay on the back of the Kowloon Peninsula. At the same time, the maritime patrol area was expanded to Daya Bay, and the surrounding salt fields and rice production areas were initially controlled.

During the implementation of this consolidated combat operation, the navy dispatched two 2-class cruisers, four spy boat squadrons, and a minecraft brigade to berth on Hong Kong Island, ready to launch a decisive sea battle in Saintes Bay or Daya Bay once Liu Xiang launched a counterattack. .

But Liu Xiang did not dispatch, and there was no example of direct contact with the navy at all.In addition, the information collected by the intelligence personnel that its main force is not in the Chaozhou area of ​​Shanwei shows that this seems to confirm the judgment of the Intelligence Bureau.

"Fifty push-ups per person! Move fast!" a burly man wearing a camouflage uniform with an almost square body roared.He wears a high production benny hat and has a thick neck, giving him a stocky body.A dozen or so soldiers also wearing camouflage uniforms and with pot heads were doing push-ups quickly on the bumpy deck.

"Move fast! Slow like a bitch!" It was Qian Shuixie, the captain of the Sanya branch of the Special Investigation Command, who kept yelling around the soldiers like a cannibal.The Sanya detachment was the earliest and the best performing detachment of the Special Investigation Command to carry out sea training, so it was selected to participate in the engine operation.The detachment first selected some people to participate in the northbound reconnaissance mission of the Haitian.

The main task of the special reconnaissance team is to escort the reconnaissance team to the landing survey and mapping work. When necessary, it will also conduct some armed reconnaissance operations such as harassment, ambushes and assassinations to test the readiness and combat capabilities of various hostile forces.

Li Ziping looked at the VZ68 submachine gun on Qian Shuixie's shoulder that never left his body, and couldn't help but lament that the Senate spared no expense on the special investigation team.In terms of weapon configuration, the special investigation team has always been the first-class configuration, and all the products used are from the old time and space.The SKS-D semi-automatic rifle with 20 rounds of magazines used in the past is not suitable for reconnaissance operations because of its long length. Since the Lando weapon has been removed, it has been replaced with a 0.22LR bullet MGV-176 submachine gun and MB77B1 assault rifle. , Another soldier is equipped with a bolt-action rifle with a scope for sniping.Even according to the standards of the old time and space, it can be said to be armed to the teeth.

As a member of the navy, Li Ziping is very interested in how the special investigation team will play their role.He remembered the permission from his Navy colleagues to be transferred to the Foreign Intelligence Service, and he had once advocated that the Navy should have its own intelligence system and armed reconnaissance team.

"Fireworks on the island!" shouted the lookout.

"Pay attention to observing the enemy's situation." Li Ziping said, raising the binoculars again.

The lookouts did not observe any hostile ships on the sea, but as they approached Nan'ao Island, more visible smoke trails emerged from the island.Apparently, the Ming army had noticed their arrival and started a general alert.

"Be careful." Li Ziping put down the binoculars and ordered, "Right rudder 14 degrees, heading 229."

"Right rudder 14 degrees, heading 229." The helmsman repeated the order in tune.

The bow of the Haitian was slowly tilted over, the sails were beating, and the blue Venus flag was fluttering in the sea breeze. Under the command of Li Ziping, the Haitian sailed straight to Nan'ao Island. Li Ziping was going to test Nan'ao Island How much vigilance does the Ming army have, and what kind of response it will make.In addition, the prospectors of the long-distance survey team also need to conduct hydrogeographical surveys around Nan'ao Island, especially to correct the maps and charts.

"Drumming for battle

Immediately, the sound of "preparation for war" drumming sounded on the Haitian.Said that the battle is imminent.

"Boss! Take the lead!" Li Ziping ordered.After Zhucai's complete defeat, Ren Fu switched to the Australians. After a period of education, he became a knowledger of current affairs and joined the navy.He has been active in the Fujian and Guangdong seas for a long time, and he is much more familiar with the terrain and sea conditions near Nan'ao Island than they are.

"Understood!" Ren Fu responded loudly.

Under the command of Ren Fu, the Haitian gradually approached Nan'ao Island. This move obviously triggered a higher level of alert on the island. More smoke trails rose from Nan'ao Island and nearby islands. It is very likely that the troops of the Ming army The mobilization is being carried out relying on this signal.

He ordered: "Report the boiler pressure immediately!"

An orderly immediately opened the cover of the communication tube and loudly conveyed the order to the engine room.

"The air pressure is normal!"

"Prepare to boost!" he ordered.The biggest disadvantage of steam engine power is that the response of the power system is too slow.In order to be prepared to slip away if there is a problem, start increasing the boiler pressure from here.

Under the command of Ren Fu, Haitian began to sail around the entire Nan'ao Island.The surveyors on board the ship observed the shape of the coast and surveyed the water depth and channel in the harbor.Ren Fu is familiar with the coast, islands and reefs in this area.Although the sea was rough, under the command of Ren Fu, the Haitian sailed smoothly around the whole island for a week.

During the entire exploration process, Li Ziping noticed that some people were probing along the coast of the island, but no large-scale armed personnel appeared, and there were more ships near the Haitian—among them there must be some ships of the Ming Army Navy.They are obviously guarding themselves.

Judging from the opponent's reaction, the Ming army obviously had a strong guard against them, but it was obviously not prepared to be an enemy of the crossing crowd.Even the formed troops have not come out.Li Ziping reckoned that even if he wanted to land at this time, the opponent would most likely stick to the fortress—anyone could see that a single ship could not occupy the entire Nan'ao Island.

"What, what? The fight is about to start." A man appeared on the deck, wearing a camouflage uniform, a helmet, and a holster. It was Liu Zheng of the long-distance exploration team.This time he brought a surveying and mapping team along with the Haitian to the north, and carried out surveying, mapping and exploration tasks along the way.

"Not yet." Li Ziping said, "It seems that the Ming army has no intention of going to war with us, but is just guarding against our attempts."

"If Nan'ao Island is occupied, it will be a very suitable transit base." Li Ziping said.

Liu Zheng is also very interested in the game of being a soldier and fighting a war.He was a little seasick when he first set sail—he had never been in such a small boat.After adapting to this, I have been observing the surrounding environment of Nan'ao Island with great interest on the deck, and from time to time, I have also guided the survey and mapping work of the naturalized students.

"The agricultural development on this island is quite good, and the population will not decrease." Liu Zheng said, "If we simply occupy the island, I estimate that we can get a population of more than 1."

In addition to serving as a transit point, there are [-] to [-] soldiers and civilians on this island alone, which is much higher than the population density of Hainan Island.It is a very good source of labor and soldiers.The local Hakka people are known for their hard work and hard work, and in history, the Hakka Shuiyong in the Shantou area of ​​Chaozhou was famous for being brave and good at fighting.As long as the geographical barriers can be effectively broken, it will be a useful human resource under the Senate.

"It would be great if human resources can be developed on a rolling basis." Li Ziping thought: If he has enough troops, he can directly occupy Nan'ao Island and destroy Chen Ting's army.Then enough troops can be recruited from the manpower on the island to develop the next island.This is a common method used by warlords and grass-headed kings in troubled times: completely destroy towns and villages, force everyone to follow them, and soon be able to snowball a large number of troops.

(End of this chapter)