For Gao Qiao Nan, his personal honor and disgrace have long been integrated with his boss Qian Tiandun, and the height that Qian Tiandun can achieve in the Haihan system also determines the upper limit of his future career in Gao Qiao Nan. Therefore, Gao Qiao Nan is also very concerned about whether the Annam garrison can have the opportunity to participate in the military operation of Haihan to occupy the northern part of Hainan Island.

Takahashi Minami didn't know the content of the telegram instructions sent by the base camp, but he heard the words "main force" very clearly, and as for Qian Tiandun's addition that "the task will be a little arduous," he didn't really care. Fighting a war is about fighting with your life, and what could be more difficult than fighting the battlefield?

"Pass on my order!" Qian Tiandun put down the telegram and began to dictate the order: "The combat units stationed in Heitu Port, Tushan Port, and Yongan Port should assemble and report to the Annam Field Training Center as soon as they receive the order! The local defense will be temporarily handed over to the police, militia, and logistics departments of the troops, all military personnel on leave will immediately return to the unit, and all combat ships of the navy will begin pre-war maintenance work!"

Qian Tiandun paused for a moment, and then said: "In addition, please ask Major Feng Anan from Tushan Port to contact the Annan military and arrange a high-level meeting within this month, and I will personally attend this meeting." ”

With Qian Tiandun's order, the entire northern coast of Annam moved. The troops of the Haihan militia stationed in Annam were not grouped together, but were stationed separately in several ports under the control of the Haihan in the concessions. The colonial area on the Annam side is one of the first pilot areas for the military to carry out the construction of the militia system, and after nearly three years of operation, the militia is also quite considerable, and the total population of these concession ports belonging to Haihan is only 30,000, but the militia has three battalions with a total strength of about 1,800 people, which is almost equal to the regular army stationed in the Annam area in terms of numbers.

As for combat effectiveness, the militia, a reserve force, certainly cannot be compared with the regular army that eats military rations, but the basic combat skills and tactics have been specially trained, and the commanders of the militia units are all former militia soldiers who have retired from the regular army and have a certain amount of actual combat experience. The equipment of the militia units is basically the old-fashioned arquebuses and some cold weapons that have been eliminated by the front-line troops, and the level is basically the same as that of the new army in Annam. Although these militia units are not enough to carry out combat missions on the frontal battlefield, they are sufficient to maintain and protect local law and order in peacetime.

Although Qian Tiandun's order was sent to various bases along the coast of Annam in the form of a telegram, it still took several days to complete the assembly and transfer of troops and the handover and change of guard with the militia forces. It was not until mid-June that the garrisons in various places successively completed the change of guard and rushed to the training base on Cat Ba Island by boat. During this period, Qian Tiandun commanded the training troops on the island and expanded the local garrison again, because the number of garrison training troops to be accommodated here in the next two or three months will be double the current capacity.

Qian Tiandun concentrated all the main combat units of the Haihan People's Regiment in Annam on Cat Ba Island, and then began to conduct targeted combat rehearsal training. This time, the military also made a bloody investment, and in accordance with Qian Tiandun's request, specially rushed to produce a large amount of ammunition and sent it to Cat Ba Island for the combat units to conduct live-fire exercises. There was even an artillery company with a complete operational establishment -- of course, this was temporarily transferred to Qian Tiandun's command, and the capital of the base camp was not yet strong enough to give the in-demand artillery establishment to the Annan Military Region.

In late June, Qian Tiandun handed over the training to Feng Annan and Mu Xiabai, who had already rushed back to Cat Ba Island, and took a few of his entourage to Tushan Port by boat, where he would hold an official meeting with Zheng Bai, the rebel general of Dingbei, in Annam.

Zheng Bai was already the commander-in-chief of the Hengshan defense line during the civil war in Annam a few years ago, and later went south to attack Hue, he commanded the North Vietnamese army to surround Hue City, and cooperated with the Haihan militia to fight with the meritorious service, so he added the title of "Dingbei Rebellion" in front of the original general rank to show his commendation. However, as far as his status in the army is concerned, he has basically risen and cannot be promoted, and if he goes up, he will have to be crowned king, and now Zheng Jie, the actual ruler of the Annan court, is not called the emperor, and he is only in the name of the king of Qingdu. Zheng Bai wants to go up further, unless Zheng Ji is the emperor, so as to free up room for him to rise.

But Zheng Jie wants to be the emperor, and it is estimated that he will not implement it for a while. In addition to traditional moral and reputational considerations, Annam has not yet completely calmed down, and in the vast mountainous region north of Thang Long Province, there are still some rebels of the Lê Dynasty who are still resisting. In the words of Haihan's military advisers, these rebels are extremist terrorists. Before the complete eradication of the northern mountainous areas, Zheng Jie could not be said to have "completed merit" for the time being, and forcibly claiming the title of emperor would most likely affect his own reputation.

As a high-ranking member of the military, Zheng Bai also knew what was at stake, so he did not pin his hopes on Zheng Jie's early proclamation as emperor in exchange for his own promotion space, but pinned his hopes on the next generation.

Zheng Bai's second son, Zheng Ting, was sent by Zheng Bai to the Tushan training camp to receive training as a military adviser to the Haihan when he was just in Annan and Haihan, and later fought with the Haihan troops on the front line in the Annan Civil War, and also went to Sanya to participate in the advanced training course for senior army officers held by the Haihan militia, and even went to Guangdong with the militia army in 1628 to observe the militia army's combat in Lijiazhuang and Dangan Island at close range. Zheng Ting can be said to be the first batch of young officers in the Annan military to receive systematic Haihan military training, and he was quickly reused in the Annan army.

This unit made a lot of achievements in the Annan Civil War, and Zheng Ting also rose to the top and became a representative figure of young and senior officers in the Annan Army. If he is a good person, Zheng Ting will definitely be able to enter the top positions of the Annam military before the age of forty, and it is even likely to surpass the achievements of his father Zheng Bai now—behind Zheng Ting, in addition to the support of the Zheng family itself, there is also a force to be reckoned with in the Haihan.

In the early days of cooperation, the Zheng family father and son actually had a lot of precautions against Haihan, and they knew very well that the various military support measures provided by Haihan to Annan were not gratuitous, and Annan paid for it, such as land, population, and sky-high wealth, as well as various local regulations that were obviously biased towards Haihan's side. But later they found that the Haihan people were not satisfied with these benefits, but tried to gradually infiltrate Annam's society in a variety of non-obvious ways.

In recent years, the commodities of the Haihan, the culture of the Haihan, and the various ideas of the Haihan have continued to pour into Annam, and the merchants who have established trade relations with the Haihan have made a fortune, and the Annan people who can speak Chinese and can write Chinese characters can find a job with a stable income under the Haihan people at any time as long as they want, and even young officers like Zheng Ting, who have received military training from the Haihan, have more and faster promotion opportunities than the traditional way.

Qian Tiandun once had a private meeting with Zheng Bai on this matter, and expressed Haihan's attitude: Haihan could try to push Zheng Tingquan to the top of the military, on the condition that the Zheng family father and son try their best to influence the Annan military, so that its pace is highly consistent with Haihan, and the military cooperation between the two sides will continue - simply put, it is to ensure the continuation of arms orders and military training.

The method adopted by Haihan is simple and effective, and the Haihan military will appoint Zheng Ting to attend the annual exchange of military personnel between the two sides. In the annual joint military exercise, the commander of the Annan side appointed by Haihan also named Zheng Ting. In short, as long as it is a matter of dealing with the high-level military of the militia group, Annan's side can basically only let Zheng Ting come forward, and this kind of resource ensures Zheng Ting's status in the Annan military - although it may attract envy, as long as Zheng Tingren is still in the army, others will not want to snatch this resource away at all.

Although the father and son of the Zheng family did not agree with the Haihan infiltration of Annan, they could not refuse the olive branch that the Haihan people took the initiative to throw. After all, now the Annan court has to rely on the Haihan people, if it really makes them unhappy, maybe they will not have to worry about their lives, but if they want to raise another person to replace Zheng Ting's position in the Annan army, it is only a matter of time. You must know that there are really not too many young officers in the Annan Army who admire Haihan now, and you can pick out a large number of people who are willing to cooperate with the Haihan militia, and these people probably won't have as many scruples as the Zheng family's father and son, and they will never stop when they can climb up.

After receiving the news from the messenger from Tushan Port, Zheng Bai set out from Thang Long Mansion and spent two days rushing to Tushan Port, waiting for Qian Tiandun's arrival. He had dealt with Qian Tiandun many times, and he also knew that this young Haihan officer was very pragmatic and took the initiative to ask for talks, and there must be some practical things that needed to be negotiated. Moreover, Zheng Ting was not named to participate in the talks again this time, most likely because the secrecy of this matter was relatively high, and its importance can be seen from this.

Qian Tiandun arrived at Tushan Port only three hours later than Zheng Bai, and after landing on the shore, he did not go to the Tushan training camp, but asked Zheng Bai to go there to invite Zheng Bai to the Haihan office on the Tushan Peninsula for negotiations.

"General Qian specially invited this official to come here for a while, I don't know what to see?" Zheng Bai didn't take any shelf after receiving the news, and rushed over on horseback, and the two didn't have too many greetings after meeting, and quickly cut to the point.

"The main thing is to discuss with General Zheng the arrangements for this year's joint military exercises. Qian Tiandun responded: "In previous years, joint military exercises were scheduled at the end of the year, but this year, because we have some changes on our side, I hope to be able to move the military exercise to about two months." ”

"That's about three months from now?" Zheng Bai estimated the time and continued to ask.

"That's right. Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "In addition, the time, place, and method of the military exercise will change greatly compared with previous years. ”

"Oh, I want to hear about it!" Zheng Bai faintly felt in his heart that this matter was probably not only a matter of changing the arrangement of the military exercise, but also the reason for the change was probably the focus of this matter.

"This year's joint military exercise, the location will be on Qiongzhou Island, the content of siege operations and field clearance, the process will use live ammunition, but the transportation of personnel, as well as the cost of materials and ammunition during the military exercise will be borne by our side. Qian Tiandun explained to Zheng Bai unhurriedly.

After Zheng Bai heard this, his heartbeat immediately accelerated. Although Qian Tiandun said it lightly, Zheng Bai had already heard something unusual from it.

In previous years, almost all of the joint military exercises were held on Cat Ba Island, with about 1,000 soldiers from each side conducting coordinated operations or group confrontations, and the content was mainly amphibious landing, mountain warfare, and jungle warfare. In order to avoid unnecessary casualties during the exercise, it is very rare that live ammunition is used, and as for directly pulling it to overseas military exercises, it is an unprecedented move.

Zheng Bai noticed several points mentioned by Qian Tiandun - Qiongzhou Island, siege battles, live ammunition, and the cost of being borne by the Haihan side. In previous years, the military exercises were all at their own expense, and Haihan never offered to help Annan's troops participate in the exercise to bear the expenses. Even the materials consumed in the process were provided by Haihan, and the Annam military paid off every penny.

Qian Tiandun's words reminded Zheng Bai of a long-rumored thing - sooner or later, the Haihan people would occupy the entire Qiongzhou Island and become independent from the Ming Dynasty. Although Zheng Bai himself had not been to Qiongzhou Island, he had heard Zheng Ting describe in detail the scale of the operation of the Haihan people on Qiongzhou Island, and it was really just a matter of time to take over the whole island. But why didn't the Haihan people do it, the Zheng family father and son could probably guess a few points, just because they didn't want to offend the behemoth of the Ming Dynasty.

But Qian Tiandun's arrangement, there is no doubt that Haihan is planning to do something to Daming. But whether this matter is good or bad for Annan, and whether it is worth getting involved, Zheng Bai is difficult to judge for a while. Therefore, after Qian Tiandun finished speaking, Zheng Bai frowned tightly and did not reply immediately.

Qian Tiandun waited for a while, and when he saw that Zheng Bai didn't speak, he asked again: "If General Zheng doesn't understand anything, you might as well ask me directly, and I will try my best to answer your questions." ”

Zheng Bai came back to his senses at this time, and asked hesitantly: "Dare to ask General Qian, ...... Is this an ordinary military exercise, or is it going to war?"

"The best effect is to train troops in actual combat. Qian Tiandun did not immediately answer Zheng Bai's question head-on, but went around in circles: "Our joint military exercise this year, or joint military operations, can also be called live ammunition, attacking real cities, and General Zheng is not wrong to understand that it is a war." ”