Tom Wang's explanation is not his personal understanding, but indeed a view held by many people in the Executive Committee. `

With the increase of Haihan's military strength, Eighteen Zhi is no longer an opponent that Haihan is difficult to match, and it is only a matter of time before he solves this pirate force. However, whether to choose a one-time solution or to squeeze out its use value, there are two different voices in the Executive Committee.

Of course, the ultimate goal of Haihan's northward expansion of its sphere of influence is not to stop at the Taiwan Strait, and there are still large areas of sea areas in Northeast Asia waiting to be conquered by the traversers. In this process, foreign wars are certainly the most frequently used means, but how to find a reason for going to war that has an explanation for the internal situation and a firm external justification for going to war is a matter that tests the executive committee's ability to govern.

No matter where Eighteen Zhi fled, Haihan could continue to pursue them in the name of justice - whether they could be completely eliminated was secondary, but it was certainly logical to send troops to more places overseas, so as to achieve the effect of expanding the sphere of influence.

Qian Tiandun has been stationed abroad for a long time, and he is a very pure soldier in his bones, so he doesn't think about these long-term plans as much as the executive committee, but with his mind, he already understands most of what Wang Tom said, and he can't help laughing at the moment: "Then where does the executive committee plan to drive them?"

"If they choose to go to the Dutch or the Spaniards on the island of Taiwan, that's the best outcome. Tom Wang analyzed: "The Executive Committee is still very interested in the island of Taiwan, but the Dutch and Spaniards have already occupied the best locations, so it is not very fun for us." There's going to have to be a reason for them to move their butts and get out of the way. ”

"How likely do you think it is that Zheng Zhilong will join them?" Now that this topic was mentioned, Qian Tiandun thought about discussing it with Tom Wang.

"The Dutch probably didn't dare to intervene. Tom Wang replied with a smile: "The East India Company has already given us an official reply at the end of the year, and will no longer maintain any kind of interaction with Shibazhi, including military assistance. The Dutch on Dayuan Island should have also been notified by Batavia, and they also know how severe the consequences of violating the agreement are, and I think they should not dare to play any tricks. Even if Eighteen Zhi has the intention of taking refuge in the Dutch, most of them can only be the result of a hot face and a cold ass. ”

"Then the Anbuna Islands are also safe for the time being?" Qian Tiandun immediately thought of another stronghold in the South China Sea that worried Haihan.

"Theoretically, that's true. Wang Tom nodded and said, "After we announced that we had taken control of the Ambuna Islands, the Dutch acquiesced in our actual control of the local area, and only asked to retain the nominal condominium. ”

"That's asking for a fig leaf. Qian Tiandun sneered: "The Dutch have a good calculation. ”

In the end, the Executive Committee only agreed that the local docks could allow Dutch merchant ships to dock, as for the condominium rights...... If the Dutch themselves think that there is, then take it as if they have, and we don't admit it anyway. When Tom Wang talked about this, he also looked disdainful.

The Dutch had only two options to secure their sea routes from Batavia to Northeast Asia, either to go to war with the Haihan and retake the island of Ambuna, the relay point, or to compromise and recognize the Haihan's control of the area in exchange for peace. However, the East India Company had lost confidence in the armed recapture of the Ambuna Islands, so it sent a mission to Sanya to try to negotiate with Haihan to withdraw. At that time, the Dutch mission dragged on in Sanya for more than a month, and if it were not for Schneider and others losing patience and finally showing the threat of force, the Dutch mission would probably continue to drag on this negotiation, which was destined not to achieve the results they expected.

However, since the Dutch chose peace, the pressure on Haihan in the South China Sea and Fujian was correspondingly reduced, and the naval combat ships previously deployed in the port of Cam Ranh in Annam could also be temporarily transferred to Fujian to participate in the attack on the Penghu Islands. Of course, the transfer of the naval fleet from Annam to Fujian is not an easy task, and it has to travel several ports and sail thousands of nautical miles on the way.

Qian Tiandun naturally thought of this matter, and asked, "Then has the order of the Annan fleet been ordered?"

"The order has been issued, but it has not yet come out over there, and preparations are still being made before the war. If our side wants to start in advance, then the Annam fleet may not be in time. Tom Wang said with regret.

Even though Haihan's warships outperformed their contemporaries in sailing, it still took a lot of time to complete such a long-distance voyage, and the fleet needed to prepare a lot of war materials. By the time the Annan fleet arrived all the way from Cam Ranh Port to Fujian, it is estimated that it will be a month later at the earliest.

"If you are in a hurry, you can only let Annan's troops change their guards to Sanya. Qian Tiandun immediately thought of another temporary solution.

Tom Wang nodded and said, "If you want to start in advance, you can only do this." `”

The method Qian Tiandun said was to let Annan's fleet be stationed in Sanya, and then let the local fleet stationed in Sanya directly go to Fujian to participate in the war. In terms of fleet size, weapons and equipment, staffing, etc., the fleet stationed in Sanya is undoubtedly the strongest, and the main function of this fleet is to protect the maritime security of the base camp, and it was not originally among the participating troops attacking Penghu. However, extraordinary things are done in extraordinary times, and it seems that this is the only way to ensure that more combat ships will rush to Fujian to participate in the war.

"Back to business, do you think Eighteen Zhi will get involved with the Spaniards?" Qian Tiandun returned to the previous discussion.

Wang Tom thought for a while and said: "It's unlikely, when Eighteen Zhi cooperated with the Dutch before, he also cooperated with the Dutch to intercept the Spanish merchant ships at sea and the Ming merchant ships that went to Manila to trade, and the Spaniards should not be treated with these pirates." Moreover, Spain has not been based in northern Taiwan for a long time, and the number of armed personnel stationed in Taiwan is estimated to be very limited, and these eighteen Zhi took tens of thousands of people to take refuge, so it is difficult to say who will be the master at that time. ”

"That's right, after all, Eighteen Zhi started as pirates, and no one would let them into the house lightly. Qian Tiandun also agreed with Wang Tom's speculation: "If the Dutch and the Spaniards did not accept them, then they would probably have to continue north." ”

"There are only two roads left, either find a big island to live on the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, or go northeast and go to Ryukyu to occupy a place. Wang Tom still has a good understanding of the maritime situation in Northeast Asia, and immediately responded: "With their strength, no provincial sailor in the Ming Dynasty can descend, and it is not too much of a problem to seize an island off the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but I think they are more likely to choose the direction of Ryukyu." ”

"Let's hear why. ”

"It's very simple, as long as Zheng Zhilong is not stupid, you can see the trend of our exhibition along the Daming coastline all the way north, if they settle in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, after a while, when we set foot in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they will become targets again, will they continue to retreat north at that time?" Wang Tom said eloquently: "And retreating in the direction of Ryukyu has two advantages. First, the strength of the Ryukyu Kingdom is not strong, and there is nothing to do about this group of pirates, they can choose a place to settle in the Ryukyu more calmly, without worrying about being driven away by the master's family. Second, Zheng Zhilong stayed in Japan in his early years, and when he withdrew to Ryukyu, he could also do business with the Japanese to make a living, and if necessary, he could even take his subordinates all the way to Japan. With such an armed force of tens of thousands of people, it will not be difficult for it to gain a foothold in Japan. ”

"Hearing you say that, I'd love to try to drive them away in the direction of the Ryukyus!" Qian Tiandun's eyes lit up after hearing Wang Tom's opinion.

"Do you want to lay the foundation for a war with the Japanese in the future?" Tom Wang immediately guessed Qian Tiandun's intentions.

Qian Tiandun did not deny this, nodded and responded: "There is no need to mobilize to fight Japan, as long as the time comes, the Executive Committee will definitely approve of it." In my lifetime, being able to defeat Little Japan can be regarded as fulfilling a wish I had when I participated in the crossing. ”

"You think so, it will make your henchmen chill, right?" said Tom Wang.

"Takahashi doesn't think of himself as a Japanese anymore. Qian Tiandun shook his head with a smile and said: "Besides, he was born as a samurai, for him, the concept of nationality is very vague, and the master is the greatest." His allegiance was to the Executive Committee, not to the Emperor or Shogun of Japan. If you don't believe it, wait and see, we will do something against Japan in the future, and Takahashi Minami is definitely still the first batch of officers to ask for war. ”

"It comes down to you being well-trained. Wang Tom saw that Qian Tiandun was serious, so he stopped joking with Gao Qiao Nan: "Actually, my personal idea is to drive Eighteen Zhi to the north, and Mr. Tao and Mr. Yan also have this meaning." Mr. Tao said, this is called driving the tiger and devouring the wolf, let Eighteen Zhi go to the road for us first, step on the road flat, and we will follow up all the way. ”

"You guy, it turns out that you've been testing me with words!" Qian Tiandun reacted when he heard him say this, since Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie had already expressed their attitudes, it showed that the military high-level had a relatively unanimous opinion on this, but Wang Tom kept going around without directly explaining, obviously testing his attitude.

Wang Tom smiled: "It's not that I can't believe you, it's just that the Military Commission wants to know your real views on the future situation, after all, you are the commander who sits on the front line, and what you see and think of may be a little different from the base camp." If you have a better idea of solving the Eighteen Zhi, the Military Commission will also seriously consider it. ”

Qian Tiandun said: "In the future, I will definitely agree with the Military Commission on the matter of attacking Japan. ”

"Now that Eighteen Zhi has revealed his intention to take the initiative to give up Penghu, then we might as well think about whether it is possible to drive them to the northeast. Tom asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

Qian Tiandun replied without hesitation: "First of all, we must let them abandon their plans to move to the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and I think it is necessary to let the Fujian Navy Division step up patrols on the west side of the Taiwan Strait and create obstacles for the withdrawal of Shibazhi to the Big 6." ”

"Set aside the channel on the eastern side of the strait and give them an escape route. Tom Wang added.

Qian Tiandun continued: "Secondly, we can also think of ways in Zhejiang, for example, to spread the news that Shibazhi is about to attack a certain place along the coast in the market, so as to create a tense atmosphere. ”

"What should I do if the Zhejiang government doesn't accept the offer?" asked Tom Wang.

"It doesn't matter, Eighteen Zhi can't be sure whether the Zhejiang government has paid attention to this kind of news. After all, they can't afford to lose now, and if they are frustrated in the target area, then I'm afraid there will be no way for Eighteen Zhi to move to the next target area. Qian Tiandun analyzed: "They can only find soft persimmons to pinch now, what we have to do is to make the direction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang not look like a soft persimmon." ”

"It's possible. Tom Wang nodded, pondering Qian Tiandun's method in his heart.

Although the relationship between the Fujian government and Haihan is very close, there is no way to directly influence the policy trends in Zhejiang, so it is unlikely that the official channels will be used directly. However, it is much less difficult to disseminate information among the people. In addition, Fujian has just intercepted a maritime merchant fleet coming to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so it can take advantage of this incident to spread rumors and artificially create a tense atmosphere in the coastal areas to the north.

However, this matter must not be done by Haihan himself, and most of the time he still has to count on Xu Xinsu to complete it. But if Xu Xinsu is willing to cooperate with this plan, it still needs to be discussed with him.

"Let's sort out the situation first, send a telegram back to the base camp to report, and see what the executive committee decides. Wang Tom pondered for a while, but decided to follow the standard handling channels and inform the executive committee first.

The following will be re-edited later

Although the relationship between the Fujian government and Haihan is very close, there is no way to directly influence the policy trends in Zhejiang, so it is unlikely that the official channels will be used directly. However, it is much less difficult to disseminate information among the people. In addition, Fujian has just intercepted a maritime merchant fleet coming to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so it can take advantage of this incident to spread rumors and artificially create a tense atmosphere in the coastal areas to the north.

However, this matter must not be done by Haihan himself, and most of the time he still has to count on Xu Xinsu to complete it. But if Xu Xinsu is willing to cooperate with this plan, it still needs to be discussed with him.

"Let's sort out the situation first, send a telegram back to the base camp to report, and see what the executive committee decides. Wang Tom pondered for a while, but decided to follow the standard handling channels and inform the executive committee first