The Ministry of Security had already arranged for his subordinates to join the ships of the maritime merchant Zhan Gui and go south to Batavia and Manraka to participate in the establishment of the merchant Merchant Zhan Gui last year. Since the first half of this year, there has been a regular collation of information from the local guò ship back to Sanya.

For security reasons, the Ministry of Security does not have a radio station and a transmitter and receiver in the area, so it is not very time-sensitive. The contents of the reports received by the Ministry of Security are basically two months old, and if measured by the standards of He Xi and Hao Wanqing, such work efficiency is actually unqualified. But the reality is like this, no matter how dissatisfied you are, you can only deal with it because of the ugliness.

Of course, some of the information obtained by the Ministry of Security was also sent to the military's general staff. However, the military is not very clear about the specific layout and grasp of the Ministry of Security in the Nanyang region. Yan Chujie had already made a report that he wanted to set up a military intelligence department directly under the military, but he was stuck because of financial problems, so he still needs to rely on the information provided by the Ministry of Security to a certain extent.

After Hao Wanqing opened his words, Yan Chujie also let down his guard: "Then what kind of cooperation method are you going to do?"

Hao Wanqing did not immediately answer Yan Chujie's question, but asked rhetorically: "Is Mr. Yan familiar with the geography of the South China Sea?"

Yan Chujie nodded and said, "If you mean to look at the map, then it's okay, but I've never been to the field." ”

"Then it's much easier for me to say. Hao Wanqing returned to the topic and said: "First of all, I want to determine one thing, that is, what is the approximate combat radius of the Navy's existing fleet? ”

This is not a military secret, there are often discussion posts in this area on the Internet forums used by the traversers, and anyone who knows a little about the number of naval warships can roughly guess it through simple calculations.

Yan Chujie did not deliberately conceal it, so he reported the number: "The daily combat readiness cruise is probably maintained within a combat radius of two hundred nautical miles, and if there are enough supplies in wartime, then the combat radius can probably be extended to five hundred nautical miles, but the intensity and time of the operation will be greatly limited, and the supplies carried by the fleet alone cannot be supported for too long." ”

Hao Wanqing nodded and said, "This is basically the same as our speculation, but in this way, between Sanya and several major ports in Nanyang, our supply points are too few." If I'm not mistaken, there is only one Cam Ranh Bay as the military's main military port in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula?"

Yan Chujie responded: "That's right, Cam Ranh Bay is about four hundred nautical miles away from Sanya, and it is also within the combat radius of the naval fleet. In fact, when the Ministry of Shipping and we designed the warship, we also took this voyage into account. ”

"The distance between Cam Ranh Bay and Sanya is not a problem, but it is more troublesome to go south from Cam Ranh Bay. Hao Wanqing continued to follow Yan Chujie's words: "Cam Ranh Bay to the Strait of Malacca is more than 700 nautical miles, and the voyage to Batavia is more than 1,000 nautical miles. Moreover, this is already beyond the combat radius of the navy, and if something happens in the South China Sea and requires the navy to go south, then combat supply will be a very big problem. ”

"Can the Ministry of Security help us solve this problem?" Yan Chujie asked with a smile on his face.

Hao Wanqing shook his head and said: "The Ministry of Security is not an immortal, how can we solve this kind of problem." At best, we can give a proposal, but I think the military should have planned for this a long time ago, right?"

Yan Chujie did not deny Hao Wanqing's doubts, nodded and said: "In fact, as long as you look at the map, you will find that there are not many options to solve this problem, and the most feasible way is to establish at least one more large stronghold between Cam Ranh Port and the target in the South Seas to be responsible for supply and transit." ”

"It seems that the military has already chosen a target, I don't know if it is consistent with the expectations of our Ministry of Security?" Hao Wanqing looked at Yan Chujie with a hint of hope in his eyes.

"There is no need to continue playing pantomimes, between Indochina and Sumatra and Java, the only suitable place is the Natuna Islands. Yan Chujie did not continue to go around in circles, but directly revealed the answer.

"Heroes see the same thing. Hao Wanqing nodded again and again: "Then the next thing is easy to say." ”

Located between Malay and Borneo, the Natuna archipelago consists of more than 200 islands with a total area of more than 2,000 square kilometers. Located about 500 nautical miles due south of Cam Ranh Bay, about 300 nautical miles northeast of Manraka and about 600 nautical miles of Batavia, this place is located almost exactly at the midpoint of the two major ports of Cam Ranh Bay and Nanyang, making it a perfect transit point for ocean voyages.

Of course, the reason why the military and the security department are interested in this place is not only because of its unique geographical location, but also because it has been regarded as the farthest point in southern China since ancient times, and has been included in the territory of the central court since the Song Dynasty. The earliest historical records can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty Yang Fu's "Foreign Matter Chronicles" has a record of "rising sea Qitou, shallow water and many magnets", and there are similar records in the "Nanzhou Foreign Matter Chronicles" written by Wan Zhen during the Three Kingdoms period. Since the Song Dynasty, the Natuna Islands have been used as a maritime boundary between China and foreign countries.

At the beginning of the 14th century, when Zheng He went to the West, the Natuna Islands were officially named "Wansheng Shitangyu" and recorded in the "Zheng He's Navigation Chart". Barracks and a large number of living facilities have been built in the area, and personnel have been stationed on duty. In 1433, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty gave the word "Wanshengyu, Anbuna", which exempted the people stationed on the island from paying taxes, so the island was called "Anbuna Island" by the people stationed on the island, which was also the first time that the central court officially recognized the ownership of this overseas enclave.

If this place is still controlled by the Ming Dynasty, then it is easier for Haihan to start, anyway, the local population is not large, and it will not be much more troublesome for Haihan to occupy that place than to occupy the county seat on Qiongzhou Island. But the problem is that it has been thirty years since Daming lost this place, and Haihan's idea of attacking this place again is more troublesome.

In 1601, Dutch colonists occupied Batavia, the area of what became Jakarta, on the island of Java, and established the headquarters of the East India Company there. Soon after this, the Dutch sent armed men to occupy "Ambuna Island" and renamed it "Ambona Island", which was later renamed "Natuna" because of its renaming with another place, which became the name of later generations.

When the Haihan group traveled to this time and space, the Natuna Islands had already been occupied by the Dutch, so they did not have time to affect this history. However, the Dutch did not have much energy to manage the Natuna Islands, because there were no natural harbors with superior conditions except for forests, and there were no high-value natural resources to exploit - there is a seabed in the northeast of Natuna Island that is said to be the world's largest oil and gas field, but even if these traversers have mastered all kinds of black technology, it is probably impossible to see the development of oil and gas fields on the seabed while they are alive.

Therefore, the greatest value of Natuna Island, both for the Dutch and for the Haihan, is still its geographical location, which does not have much commercial development value other than being a transit and supply station on the shipping route. But for the Dutch, this transit point was probably even more important than its journey to the Haihan, because after leaving here and continuing north, the next Dutch colony was 1,400 nautical miles away, and the navigators had to cross the entire South China Sea to reach the city of Geranza in the southwest of the island of Taiwan.

If this place were to be lost, the Dutch sailing ship from Batavia would have to drift about 2,000 nautical miles at sea to reach another port of its own country, which would greatly increase the risk of the sailing ship on the voyage, and it was certainly not a situation that the Dutch were happy to see.

As for sharing the local port with the Dutch, Yan Chujie had no such plans, and he believed that the Dutch would not have such thoughts. If it was just a merchant ship or a civilian ship, maybe it would not be a big problem to dock locally, it would be nothing more than paying money, but it was not just merchant ships that Haihan wanted to send to the south. If the Dutch could honestly let Haihan's warships dock in port, then they probably wouldn't have become one of the maritime hegemons of this era.

"I've read all the reports sent by your Ministry of Security before, I just want to know how many ambushes you have fought, and what are the things about the situation in the Natuna Islands that are not mentioned in the report?" Yan Chujie was not frightened by Hao Wanqing's words, and asked a profound and direct question.

"Mr. Yan, you really think too much. Hao Wanqing immediately flatly denied Yan Chujie's suspicions: "The report we submitted to the military has not been changed in any way, and what we saw when we received the report was the same as what you saw." ”

"Really?" Yan Chujie still didn't believe it. The intelligence agency has always been secretly poking at their work style, and although Yan Chujie can't say how bad his impression is of them, he really lacks a sense of trust.

"Really, there is no need for me to deceive you on this matter, after all, this time it is our Ministry of Security that is looking for your military to cooperate, and it is also our duty to provide you with intelligence information. Hao Wanqing said sincerely.

"Okay, if we're here to establish a supply point, then what do you security departments want to get out of it?" Yan Chujie decided not to delve into the question just now, and returned to business.

"Before we can establish a permanent colony in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra or Java, we need a more secure foothold in the South China Sea to improve the efficiency of the local intelligence agencies. Hao Wanqing paused and made a more detailed explanation: "You must know that for security reasons, the intelligence stations we have set up in Malacca and Batavia do not have radio stations. If we can set up a workstation in the Natuna Islands, then our intelligence transmission speed can be at least twice as fast as before, and this is what our Ministry of Security wants to get. ”

"So the Ministry of Security means to provide intelligence and cooperate with us to take the Natuna Islands, so that your Nanyang intelligence network can operate more efficiently?"

"Very correct understanding. Hao Wanqing responded: "This is not only beneficial to us, but also to your military. ”

"The problem is that we don't have enough forces right now to go south and take the Natuna Islands. Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "Our existing fleet is a little tight to protect the Qiongzhou Strait and the Pearl River Estuary, let alone go south to fight." ”

"It doesn't have to be done by the Navy. Hao Wanqing said solemnly: "We only seek to achieve the goal, and we don't need to pay special attention to what means we use." Mr. Yan has also read the report, there are not many armed personnel stationed in the local area, and the defense strength is low, so we don't need to make a big move. ”

"The defense strength is low, so you have to send troops to do it, the main force of the militia is now deployed in the Qiongbei area, and you can't get out of it in a short time" Speaking ......of this, Yan Chujie suddenly stopped: "You mean, what we have done in Qiongbei, we can do it again?"

"Why not?" Hao Wanqing's mouth showed a dark smile: "Pirate stalk, I think I can play for at least a few more years." Many things, as long as someone takes the blame and allows them to stay out of the matter, then it doesn't matter what to worry about. ”

"Your security department should have been planning this for a long time, right?" Yan Chujie didn't take his words, but continued to ask.

"It didn't take long, that is, after the third anniversary of the landing this year. Hao Wanqing said very frankly: "To be precise, it was only after the executive committee made a plan that we began to plan. ”

"While you are doing it in Qiongbei, you are staring at the South China Sea, this is really eating in the bowl and looking at the pot, amazing!" Yan Chujie couldn't help but extend his thumb and praise sincerely: "Why don't you merge it into our military's general staff, this plan is much more reliable than the methods that those guys in the staff came up with!"

Of course, Hao Wanqing knew that Yan Chujie was joking, and said modestly at the moment: "Mr. Yan has won the award, and we are just painting the scoop according to the gourd, and the root of this idea is still in the action of burning the plain." Besides, the final implementation of this plan will still depend on your military. Of course, we at the Ministry of Security will do our best to cooperate. ”