Of course, Xu Xinsu had to pay a considerable part of the benefits he received from controlling the coastal ports of Fujian to Haihan as the cost of obtaining military support from Haihan. Needless to say, Li Jin can also imagine how Haihan goods, which have always been in a good market in the Guangzhou market, were sold to the Fujian market in large quantities through Xu Xinsu's door and earned considerable profits.

What Li Jin didn't know was that under the operation of Fujian, Haihan commodities had already crossed the Fujian market and entered the more northern region as early as two years ago. Compared with the market of Fuguang and Guangzhou, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have stronger purchasing power in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the sales in the past two years are gradually approaching that of Fuguang and Fuguang provinces, and have become one of the main sources of income for Haihan's export trade.

But all these revenues from the territory of the Ming Dynasty, if you look at Wang Tom's theory, all rely on the strong military strength of the Haihan militia to provide protection, otherwise the production of the Haihan is sold to the north of the Yangtze River, even if you want to sell it to Guangdong, you have to ask the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River whether they agree.

Originally, if the Guangdong sailors were stronger, or a few more people with vision like Xu Xinsu in Fujian, they might be able to get some more benefits from the development of Haihan, but the best time has been missed, and the current Haihan does not need the cooperation of the Guangdong sailors to control the main waterways and ports on the coastline of Guangzhou. Similar to the sailor camp stationed on Hong Kong Island at the mouth of the Pearl River, it is already facing the situation of being directly annexed by the Haihan militia.

Li Jin had to admit that after learning about Haihan's mode of operation that combined military and trade, he felt even more lost. The Haihan people did apply this theory perfectly, but it was difficult to apply this successful example to the Ming Dynasty, so as to enrich the existing military strength of the Ming Dynasty. Li Jin is not a politician, but he also knows that the problem of the Ming Dynasty is not only because of the weakness of the military force, and it is not something that the military department can do alone.

"Okay, I still have official business to deal with now, let's discuss these issues with General Li another day!" Wang Tom chatted with Li Jin for a long time, and felt that the routine was almost the same, so he took the initiative to send off the guests: "When I come back from this business trip, I will invite General Li to go to sea to have fun together!"

With so many warships assembled in Danzhou Bay, and supplies constantly being transported on board day and night, Li Jin was not blind, so he could naturally see that the Haihan people were preparing for war, so he immediately asked: "Can General Wang reveal where this is going to be conquered?"

Wang Tom snorted and said, "Don't worry, it's not a fight with Daming, we haven't had this idea all along." Aren't all the Ming official mansions and yamen on Qiongzhou Island all in good condition?"

Li Jinxin's yamen is still there, but it has all become decorations. It has been more than a month since he took office, a Danzhou general, and his subordinates still only have four personal soldiers brought from the mainland. If this situation is known to former colleagues, I am afraid that I will laugh off my big teeth - the position that cost thousands of taels of silver to move to the position will result in a thousand miles of coming to Danzhou as an ornament.

After living in Danzhou for so long, Li Jin actually understands who said the current Qiongzhou Island, and Danzhou is still the case in a big city, not to mention Yazhou and other places in the south of Qiongzhou Island. From Wang Tom's confident remarks, Li Jin can also clearly feel that Haihan's control of Qiongzhou has surpassed that of the Ming Dynasty, and they still retain the existence of the Ming Dynasty's official mansion, which may really be just what Wang Tom said, and he doesn't want to start a war with the Ming Dynasty for this.

On March 30, 1631, the twenty-eighth day of February in the fourth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the crossing, the task force under the command of Tom Wang sailed out of Danzhou Port and began to head south, heading to the Natuna Islands in the distant South China Sea to carry out combat missions.

On the day of departure, Li Jin also forcibly pulled Yan Mingjun to Danzhou Port to watch the departure scene of the Haihan Navy. Due to the certain degree of secrecy of this operation, neither the military nor the local authorities arranged a public farewell event, and only a few leading figures from the local management committee were present to see off the fleet. And the two Ming officials were allowed to be present as guests to observe the process.

Although this fleet only has a dozen ships, the scale is not very large, but its exposed combat effectiveness is already very intimidating. Yan Mingjun, who has been staying in Danzhou City recently and has not gone out, couldn't help but shake his head helplessly and sighed after seeing the scene of these huge warships sailing out to sea: "With the combat power of the Haihan militia, I'm afraid it will be difficult for my Ming Dynasty to recover Qiongzhou." ”

Li Jin responded: "As long as they don't continue to expand northward, it's lucky, but fortunately, I recently heard that this fleet is going south and will not start a war with the Ming Dynasty." ”

"It can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune......" For Li Jin's "good news", Yan Mingjun really couldn't be happy.

Li Jin was a little disapprehensive about Yan Mingjun's pessimistic attitude: "Brother Yan, I have talked with the Haihan people many times these days, and found that they do not have too much hostility towards the Ming Dynasty, but they intend to support the Ming Dynasty to develop military strength. If they are willing to contribute to the court, why should the troubles in the north be unjust?"

Yan Mingjun shook his head and said: "How can the Haihan people get along well? They do everything as if they are doing business, and if you take a chicken feather from them, you will also have to pay a corresponding price! Besides, now that the Haihan people have occupied Qiongzhou Island, and the imperial court knows the truth, how can they give up lightly?"

"If you don't give up, you can't help it!" Li Jin shook his head and said: "Brother Yan has also witnessed the strength of the Haihan militia with his own eyes, where can the army of Liangguang beat them? Besides, the imperial court probably can't afford to start a war in the south with military funds now, otherwise there would be no need to watch the Haihan people send a militia to take over the defense of northern Qiongbei last year." Instead of fighting against them, it is better to think about how to use them and work for Daming. ”

"The Haihan people will only work for the silver!" Yan Mingjun thought more thoroughly about this question than Li Jin: "They haven't taken the imperial court seriously, what kind of aid to the Fujian sailors, if Fujian doesn't take the silver, will they help for free? Brother Li, you have also come into contact with the Haihan people, these people have different accents, obviously not from the same place, it is useless to talk to them about the righteousness of the family and the country." That's right, the Ming can cooperate with them and exchange silver, land, and population for their military aid, but doing so is tantamount to quenching their thirst, even if the military strength can be strengthened, it will gradually be subject to the Haihan. And the speed at which they expanded their strength was much faster than that of Da Ming, think about it, they have only been on Qiongzhou Island for four years! What about those ten years, twenty years? Can Da Ming really restrain the ambitions of these people?"

Li Jin sighed and shook his head to end the discussion: "Now the Ming Dynasty can't control them anymore. ”

The fleet led by Wang Tom set out from Danzhou and headed straight south, bypassing Changhua and heading for Da Nang, Annam. There, the fleet would rendezvous with the field infantry battalion sent by the Annam militia and continue its march south after completing the assembly. The voyage from Danzhou to its destination in the Natuna Islands is more than 1,000 nautical miles, and considering the time it takes to make a stopover on the way, Tom Wang expects the voyage to take 12 to 14 days to complete. When I return from the mission, it will probably be about a month later.

On April 1, the fleet arrived in Da Nang of Annam as scheduled. The first phase of the port terminal project here is nearing completion, and Da Nang, which has more than 3,000 inhabitants, has already taken the shape of a port city, and in the next two or three years, it will continue to recruit naturalized people from the local area, complete the follow-up construction of the port wharf, and build it into the most important foreign trade port in the middle of the Indochina Peninsula -- of course, the so-called foreign trade of Annam must and can only be controlled by Haihan.

Military use is not the main purpose of Da Nang, in the planning of the Hai Han Military Commission, the Tu Son Peninsula in the Beibu Gulf, and the port of Cam Ranh in the south are the ports dedicated to military use. However, this did not prevent Da Nang from temporarily serving as a military port, and before the task force arrived, troop carriers carrying the field infantry battalion of the Annam militia had already arrived here in advance and had a few days of short rest and supplies.

The officer who led the Annan militia was Mushabai, who had been involved in the reconnaissance of the southward movement since the previous year and was relatively familiar with the situation on Natuna Island. After completing this combat mission, he will be stationed as the local leader, which will also be the farthest base to be stationed overseas to date.

The task force stayed in Da Nang for only one day, and after joining six troop carriers, the fleet expanded to 17 ships left Da Nang and continued south. However, because the troop carriers carried by the Annam militia were traditional Chinese sailing boats, the speed was reduced a lot, and it took two and a half days to reach Cam Ranh Port, the next docking point 300 nautical miles from Da Nang.

Although Cam Ranh Port theoretically started the development and construction project last year, due to the shortage of labor, the progress of the project is relatively slow, so far it has completed a standard wharf only 200 meters long, more than a dozen warehouses, and a small number of civil facilities. There were relatively few supplies to be supplied here, only fresh water, vegetables and fruits, poultry and meat were in short supply here, and the only seven or eight pigs that could be slaughtered on the local farms were all requisitioned by the fleet in the name of military supplies.

Continuing south from Cam Ranh Bay, there are no other supply points on the way, and there are still more than 500 nautical miles from the destination, and even if it is a qiēshun lì, it will take about four days to complete this journey.

Thankfully, the journey was smooth sailing, and there was no bad weather, and after eighty hours, the fleet was already in the waters of the Natuna Islands.

Of course, King Tom was not so arrogant as to let the troops who had come all the way immediately attack the harbor on the main island of Natuna, but chose to stop at the uninhabited island north of Natuna Island to rest. There are still more than 60 nautical miles to travel from here to the destination, so you don't have to worry about being discovered by your opponents, and you can plan the time to attack.

During the rest of the fleet on the uninhabited island, Wang Tom did not forget to send a lucky ship disguised as a merchant ship to the port of Natuna Island to replenish the port, and contact the secret agents of the Ministry of Security on the island to confirm the defense status of the island for the last time.

The news sent back the next day made the officers who were still a little nervous breathe a sigh of relief, perhaps paralyzed by the meekness of the Han people on the island, the vigilance of the Dutch was obviously not high, and they did not think that there was a possibility of a large-scale attack here, after all, there were no conditions for building a large port here, and the military value and development prospects were very limited, and it was obviously unlikely that either the Portuguese or the Spaniards would take a fancy to this place in this sea area.

The Dutch armed men on the island are still in their early 100s, and together with about the same number of militias, mainly armed with cold weapons, make up almost all of Natuna's defenses. Apart from arquebuses, the only heavy weapons were a few six-pounder cannons in the small Dutch castle. And this kind of weapon is obviously not enough in front of the ten 12-pounder guns and two 24-pounder guns specially prepared by the Haihan militia for this operation.

In addition to the defense force on land, the Dutch had very limited defenses at sea, with only one armed merchant ship stationed here, and the firepower on board was extremely limited, and according to the reconnaissance of carpenter Li Dagui, it was clear that a few small-caliber guns on this ship were not enough to pose a threat to the task force equipped with more than 100 naval guns. In the words of Tom Wang, if this kind of broken ship can fire a second round of shells in a battle, it will be a disgrace for the task force.

Of course, the military commission sent such a powerful fleet to carry out this mission, not entirely to crush the opponent when attacking Natuna Island, after all, according to previous intelligence, it was already known that there were no shore defense artillery facilities in this port, and it was completely powerless to prevent the landing operation of the Haihan militia. The reason for sending such a strong lineup is to verify the reliability of the "Majesty-class" warships during long-distance operations, and to train the cooperation between the warships and the supply ships by the way, and secondly, to worry that if the armed merchant fleet in this sea area to the Netherlands is unlucky, it should be able to destroy the opponent in one fell swoop with this lineup.

There are detailed harbor plans and defense layout maps, statistics on weapons and equipment and troops, and a huge gap in strength between the two sides, so that this battle can be concluded in advance before it has even begun. On April 12, the fleet hidden on the uninhabited island completed its rest, left the station and continued southward, heading to the destination to begin the final combat mission.