Of course, the situation in Nanyang is still very different from Fujian, there is no giant country like the Ming Dynasty, and the civilization level of the indigenous regime is far less than that of the foreign colonists, so they do not have much home advantage and buffer zone when dealing with foreign invasions, and once they lose in one or two major battles, they are likely to usher in the disaster of national destruction. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

For these countries, it is really difficult to find a force like Haihan who is willing to sell relatively advanced weapons, because almost all the outsiders who come to their land come with the purpose of invasion, and naturally they will not provide them with weapons such as muskets and artillery. Even if there are occasional foreign forces that sell small amounts of weapons to these indigenous regimes in order to squeeze each other out, it is difficult to really change the balance of power between the two sides.

In such an environment, Haihan undoubtedly played the role of a spoiler, and it was the kind that caused considerable headaches for Western colonizers. The Dutch had already suffered several losses under the hands of the Haihan, and the post-war reconstruction of Batavia had involved most of their energy, even if they knew that the Haihan were intervening in the South Seas as arms dealers, there was no effective way to deal with it. After losing the Ambuna Islands for a while, the Dutch, who were already more intelligent, gradually saw Haihan's ambitions in the South China Sea. The archipelago of Ambuna, once used only as a supply point for the Dutch, is likely to serve as a springboard for the Haihan in the South China Sea, allowing them to extend their tentacles to Sumatra and Java. But even though the Dutch were aware of this crisis, they could not find a suitable way to resolve it, and could only watch as the Haihan and their accomplices the Portuguese infiltrated the South China Sea region little by little.

However, for Haihan, these indigenous regimes in the South China Sea are really too poor, not to mention that compared with the Xu clan in Fujian, they are even slightly inferior to Annam and Zhancheng, and the amount of arms orders placed to Haihan is not large, and the profits that can be brought to Haihan's military industry are relatively limited. If it were not for the political and long-term effects of such measures, the EC would not have been interested in spending time and energy on maintaining these relationships. Therefore, if it is to seek profit growth points, the effect of opening up new markets to the south is actually relatively limited.

Compared with the poor and white natives of the South China Sea, the situation north of the Fujian Strait is much better. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are one of the richest areas in the whole Ming Dynasty, and if you want to talk about purchasing power, Jiangsu and Zhejiang must be above Fujian and Guangdong. If the arms market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can be opened, it will play a great role in promoting Haihan's military industry. Of course, after the arms trade was opened, other Haihan industrial products and financial systems would also follow, and a large number of them would flood into this emerging market.

Prior to this, Haihan industrial products, including weapons, had actually flowed into Jiangsu and Zhejiang sporadically, and because of the scarcity of quantities, the market price remained high. The price of a set of limited-edition glass stationery made in Haihan is almost two to three times that of Guangzhou in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and most of the other industrial products show similar price trends. The part of the market price difference did not flow into Haihan's pocket, but was made by middlemen, and the Ministry of Commerce naturally hoped to control the local market through commercial means.

"The arms trade is definitely going to be done, but it needs to be done with a little care. The situation in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is more complicated than that in Fujian, and we need to spend more time identifying buyers. Qian Tiandun's statement was very cautious, and he did not immediately agree with the opinions of the Executive Committee conveyed by Shi Diwen.

"You mean that if you export weapons to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, there will be problems with the flow of weapons?" Shi Diwen immediately asked with understanding.

Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "From the Hongwu period to now, it has been more than two hundred years, and the pirates have been able to occupy the Zhoushan Islands for such a long time, and it seems that it is unreasonable to just use the statement that the government is incompetent. From what we know, there may be some unclean relations between the local government and the pirates. If we export weapons to the region, there is a good chance that they will be lost to pirates, just like you Americans did stupidly in the Middle East before the crossing. ”

In the time and space before the time travel, the United States has engaged in military exports in the Middle East for decades, but every time it has been shooting itself in the foot, the object of support has eventually become its own enemy, but the Americans are still happy to continue to play the role of regional-stirring sticks, constantly throwing large sums of money to train their opponents, and in this way perfectly explain to the world what it means to have a worrying IQ.

Shi Diwen was a Chinese-American before the crossing, and he also carried out military missions in the Middle East during his military service, but he did not intend to defend the United States' Middle East policy, but shook his head and said: "Those are all tricks that stupid politicians will play, and they are different from the situation we are facing now." But if what you're saying is true, it really needs to be handled carefully. ”

Although there is a generation difference in performance between the exported weapons and the weapons equipped by the Haihan militia itself, if a large number of these weapons and equipment flow into the hands of Haihan's opponents, it will also be a big trouble. Now that the military is aware of this hidden danger, it certainly cannot sit idly by.

"I've talked to Xu Xinsu here, and I hope he can introduce us to some reliable Zhejiang officials. However, it is not appropriate for our military to intervene in this matter, and it may still have to be presided over by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce. Although Qian Tiandun has made some preparations, it is obvious that these tasks have exceeded the scope of the military's authority, and the Executive Committee will probably not be happy to see the military take care of all diplomatic and commercial affairs.

"But if you leave it to those white shirts, I'm afraid it won't be able to produce results in three or five months!" Shi Diwen is obviously not optimistic about the efficiency of civilian officials, three or five months may not be too long in other systems, but it is not the case for the military. It has only been less than half a year since the Penghu garrison began to set foot in Taiwan in October last year and took full control of the main areas of the island's coastal areas in March this year.

"The process that should be followed in the official face still has to be followed, civil officials do civil officials, and we do ours. Qian Tiandun has been sitting overseas for many years, and he also has his own set of understanding of how to balance rules and freedoms: "We have autonomy over military reconnaissance operations in non-controlled areas. If there is a threat of force in the course of a reconnaissance operation, we can also retaliate. Do it when it's time to do it, as long as you control the force. ”

Shi Diwen is also thorough: "Isn't this the same as when I came here the year before, as long as I seize the opportunity, I will do it directly." ”

Qian Tiandun nodded and said, "That's the truth." The Executive Committee may not approve major military operations for the time being, but small military operations that do not require approval can also be meritorious. ”

"Or you have a way!" Shi Diwen couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

When Shi Diwen came to Penghu, what he was most worried about was not the run-in problem with his partner and subordinate fleets, but that there was no battle to fight in the short term, and he wasted the position of this front-line commander in vain. But Qian Tiandun's remarks just now undoubtedly gave another way to solve the problem. Although this kind of side-kick may not be supported by the Executive Committee, it should not explicitly prohibit the military from exploiting such loopholes, as long as it does not create a situation that is difficult to manage.

With the current strength of the Haihan Navy, it is very difficult for anyone in the Far East to have a one-on-one close confrontation with the Haihan warships, and even if the opponent has the advantage of forces, it is unlikely that they will be able to retain the Haihan warships with excellent sailing performance. As long as the Fujian fleet organizes a small-scale armed fleet in the name of reconnaissance, it can go north and enter the Zhoushan area at an appropriate time. At that time, it is reasonable to have a mismatch with the pirate gangs entrenched in the local area, and the navy will be able to brush up its achievements in addition to completing basic reconnaissance tasks.

Of course, this is easy to say, but there are still many details that need to be paid attention to when it comes to implementation. From Wenzhou to the Zhoushan Islands off Ningbo, there are many islands near the coast along this road, many of which are under the control of various pirate gangs, and it will take some time to slowly clean up the past. In addition, the Haihan military does not know whether these pirates will take the initiative to huddle, if they feel the threat of Haihan and choose to defend in a group, it will probably be difficult to completely defeat them by relying only on a small fleet.

"It's also after the anniversary celebration to move, so you can rest assured these days. If you want to go to Zhangzhou, this is a good time lately. Qian Tiandun said with a smile: "The officers of the Fujian Navy Division who went to sea with you to fight Nanri Island will be very happy to know that you are here again." ”

Speaking of this, Shi Diwen also showed a knowing smile on his face: "These guys may not be good at fighting, but they are good at eating, drinking and having fun, and the last time I went to Zhangzhou, they did greet them very well." If it hadn't been for the Military Commission to transfer me back to command the fleet, I would have really wanted to stay in Fujian and enjoy the blessings of Qingfu at that time. ”

At that time, the person in charge of receiving Shi Diwen was Xu Yuzhuo of the Fujian Navy, and his other identity was Xu Xinsu's fourth son, and he was also one of the many generals from the Xu family in the Fujian Ming Army. At that time, Xu Yuzhuo brought a group of officers and greeted Shi Diwen very thoughtfully every day, if it wasn't for the assassination case later, Shi Diwen would probably really be trapped in Zhangzhou City and didn't want to move. Of course, Shi Diwen is not unaware of the true purpose of the other party, although they are close to each other at the wine table, but this kind of friendship is still for the interests of his own camp after all. He can also understand what Qian Tiandun said-Since you have a good relationship with the high-level of the Fujian Navy Division, you might as well use this time to go to Zhangzhou to inquire about official information and see if you can get some useful information from the officers of the Navy Division.

"Then I'll go to Zhangzhou tomorrow and meet with Xu Yuzhuo's gang to see if they have made any progress!" Shi Diwen happily responded to this task.

Early the next morning, Shi Diwen took a team of guards and went to Zhangzhou by boat. Xu Jiaqi, the representative of the Ming army stationed in Penghu, also sent a special person to accompany him, so that he could organize the reception work as soon as Shi Diwen arrived in Zhangzhou.

From Penghu Magong Port to Zhongzuo Station off the coast of Zhangzhou, the straight line voyage is about 100 nautical miles, Shi Diwen's boat departs early in the morning and does not arrive at its destination until the time of the lantern. Since the center left is a military restricted area, a small boat approached before entering the port to check the identity of Shi Diwen's ship. At this time, the people sent by Xu Jiaqi to follow the boat played a role, lying on the side of the boat and loudly identifying the Ming army on the boat: "This official is Liu Biao, a lieutenant under General Xu Jiaqi, and on the boat is General Shi Diwenshi from Haihan, and he will quickly inform the adults in the city." ”

Xu Jiaqi's lieutenant is just that, but the general Hai Hanlai is not a small person. The Ming army on the dinghy did not dare to ask any more questions, and at that moment one person went from the side of the ship to the deck along the rope net in order to navigate the helmsman of the ship. The rest of the people quickly turned back to the harbor in small boats and reported the news back.

Zhangzhou is the most important trading port in southern Fujian, and it is also the base camp of Xu Xinsu, and the Zhongzuo Institute is the maritime barrier of Zhangzhou, and a large number of naval and land armies are stationed all year round. The main force of the Fujian Navy Division is currently stationed here, and Xu Yuzhuo, the main object of Shi Diwen's visit, is also in the city.

Before Shi Diwen's ship docked, the city gate of the center left was opened, and a team of people and horses welcomed out of the city, and Xu Yuzhuo was the first. Although he didn't know why Shi Diwen suddenly appeared at this point in time, Shi Diwen's status in the Haihan Army was no less than that of Qian Tiandun, and his station was not in Fujian, so it would probably not be a coincidence that he appeared here.

"General Shi, long time no see!" Seeing Shi Diwen walking down from the springboard, Xu Yuzhuo also dismounted and took the initiative to greet him.

"General Xu too, he looks good!" Shi Diwen looked at Xu Yuzhuo, who was a little fat, and greeted with a smile: "I am relieved to see that you are a lot fatter than two years ago." ”

Xu Yuchu said with a smile: "Your army defeated Eighteen Zhi last year, and without Zheng Zhilong, the troublemaker, the Fujian coast is calm, and the official has nothing to do all day, so he can only indulge in eating and drinking." As he spoke, he patted his belly, which was already slightly bulging, quite complacently: "A little fortune is inevitable, who doesn't like this peaceful day, right, General Shi?"

"Anyway, you are the most reasonable to eat, drink and have fun, I don't think anyone can say anything about you. Shi Diwen replied with a smile: "I came to you to eat and drink this time, you won't dislike me as an uninvited guest, right?"

"General Shi's status is noble, if you can't invite you if you want to, how can you dislike it!" Xu Yuchou waved his hand again and again to deny: "I'm afraid that I won't take good care of myself and let General Shi not have enough fun, that's a sin! This Xu Jiaqi is also really, knowing that General Shi has arrived in Fujian, he doesn't say hello early, so that he can have more time to prepare!"