Although the top military leaders did not agree to the plan put forward by the Guangzhou Office due to objective conditions at that time, in the long run, whether it was out of the need to control the shipping lanes of the Pearl River Estuary or to lay the foundation for future expansion into the Taiwan Strait, the establishment of a military base in the waters of the Pearl River Estuary is a necessary step in the mainland's future strategy. But in order to establish a long-term foothold on the ground, it is not necessary to prepare materials and personnel to implement it, and the military must also consider how to deal with the complex environment on the ground.

In terms of geographical environment, of course, Hong Kong is the best choice, but there are local Ming naval divisions stationed, and the military is unlikely to openly build some military facilities under the nose of the other side, so the candidate area can only be temporarily delineated in the nearby Wanshan Islands. The Ming army is not the only force entrenched in the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, and as far as the military knows, there are at least two pirate forces nearby, and their existence is likely to pose a threat to the operation of the Pearl River Estuary stronghold.

In terms of military strength alone, the Haihan militia naturally did not need to be afraid of the East Asian pirates of the 17th century, but the problem was that the current development of the navy and land forces of the Haihan militia was extremely unbalanced, and the level of the army was enough to beat any East Asian army of the same size, while the navy had just begun to start, and there was only one warship officially included in the ranks, and in terms of fleet tonnage, it was not even as good as Yazhou Shuizhai, and it could also bully and bully an opponent like South Vietnam whose combat strength was negative. If you really want to pull out and fight with people at sea, you don't need to talk about it, the military is still very clear that it does not have such strength at present, after all, the vast majority of people in the navy are still rookies with no experience in water combat.

If you want to establish a stronghold in the Wanshan Islands at the mouth of the Pearl River, you must take into account that the distance between the local area and the port of Shengli is more than 300 nautical miles, and if you cannot station a powerful water force there, then the actual significance of establishing this stronghold is not very much. No matter how adventurous the members of the Executive Committee were, they would not dare to casually leave the hard-trained troops on an isolated island hundreds of nautical miles away.

"The launching and outfitting of ships No. 2 and No. 3 will be over this month, and we will have three warships available at hand by then, and if we rebuild a few more armed merchant ships, it will actually be enough to protect a small island. As the supreme commander of the navy, Wang Tom still hopes to send his surface troops out to carry out combat missions as soon as possible.

"Cost, in the final analysis, is still a matter of cost!" Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "It is both the navy and the army, and such a unit has been stationed in the field for a long time, where does the military expenditure come from? ”

"In my opinion, this won't work alone, you'll have to find a way to pull in other units. Gu Wei lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth and muttered: "Risks and everything are actually secondary, is it a big risk to go to Annan to fight? It is much more risky than building a stronghold in the Wanshan Islands, right? But why did the Executive Committee finally agree to send troops, you think about it carefully." Mr. Yan, you are also a member of the executive committee, and you should know the most about the doorway in the middle, you can talk about it. ”

Yan Chujie nodded: "Old Gu, you have a point, in the matter of sending troops to Annan, the balance considered by the executive committee is risk and benefit. The risk is there, but it is worth it compared to the war dividends that we can reap. We want to establish a base in the Wanshan Islands, and the Executive Committee will also consider this balance. If it is simply invested in military spending without reasonable output, coupled with the risk of objective storage, it is difficult to expect the Executive Committee to be able to understand this plan. ”

"Old Gu, listen to what you mean, what do you think, say it, let's go to the staff together!" Wang Tom patted Gu Wei's shoulder and urged.

"Simply put, it's about making this plan produce money. Seeing that neither of them objected to his previous statement, Gu Wei boldly proposed: "We can use the name of the Guangzhou Office or 'Qiong Lianfa' to build a trading house and warehouse in the Wanshan Islands, and build a cargo transfer station in the local area, and the money will come." ”

Yan Chujie hesitated: "It's easy to say, but it's not easy to say whether you can make a profit with this thing!"

"You don't have to worry about that. Take a good look at the topography of the Pearl River Estuary!" Gu Wei walked to the table, pointed to the map on the table, and explained: "At present, many goods shipped from the direction of Chaozhou, Huizhou, and Fujian must be transported to Guangzhou first, and after trading with the Guangzhou Office, they will be transshipped from Guangzhou to Shengli Port. If foreign merchants want to buy goods, they must first go to Guangzhou, load goods from the Pearl River Wharf, and then return from the original route. In fact, this can completely save the round-trip voyage from the Pearl River Estuary to Guangzhou, and directly transfer goods in the Pearl River. ”

Gu Wei said quickly, picked up a ruler and compared it on the map: "You see, from the Wanshan Islands to the Pearl River Wharf outside Guangzhou, the voyage is more than 80 nautical miles, and at the speed of a Chinese sailing ship, it will take several days to come and go. If there is a convenient transshipment port at the mouth of the Pearl River, merchants will certainly be willing to transfer the place of handover of goods from Guangzhou to a more convenient place. Ten thousand steps back, even those merchant ships that sail directly from their production areas to Shengli Harbor can choose the Wanshan Islands as their last supply point and safe haven before leaving the mainland. As long as there is a certain flow of passengers, then there is a reasonable need for the transfer station in this place. ”

Yan Chujie touched his chin and nodded again and again: "It's very reasonable, it seems that Lao Gu is not usually idle, you think it very thoroughly!"

"A few days ago, when there was a conference, Schneider and Gu Kai sat in front of me, and I happened to hear them talking about the complaints of some Ming businessmen about the transshipment of goods, and I had this idea. Gu Wei did not hide it, and pointed out the source of this idea: "Their business people also hope that there will be a transshipment station in the Pearl River Estuary, and I think this matter can be done jointly with them." Moreover, if the uninhabited islands of the Pearl River Estuary are developed in the name of 'Qiong Lianfa', it will be better to explain to the local government of Guangdong. ”

"Looks like it's time to talk to Schneider. After Yan Chujie listened, he had more confidence in the plan proposed by Gu Wei. No one in the group will question Schneider's business vision, and as long as Schneider says that this plan has the value of commercial development, the executive committee will inevitably agree.

"It's a good idea to build a transfer station, but the place you chose is not very suitable. ”

The next morning, Schneider was also invited to the office of the Military Commission to participate in the discussion of this plan, but after listening to Wang Tom's explanation, he immediately poured cold water on the military representatives: "The commercial trade transfer station needs a lot of land to build freight terminals and storage facilities, but the place chosen by your military on Dawanshan Island has no advantages other than a good natural haven. The entire island is almost mountainous, and there is not much land available for development, and there is little potential for commercial development. There are no special products on the island, and the only promising thing is probably fishing. Of course, I personally agree with your idea, it would be very good if a military stronghold was built in this place, the terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the commanding height of the island can overlook a radius of dozens of nautical miles, which is suitable for monitoring the shipping lane. ”

Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "Mr. Shi, the purpose of setting up this stronghold is not to build the local area into a commercial and trade center of the scale of Shengli Port, what we want is actually an excessive temporary institution, and after two years of strong soldiers, this transshipment point will definitely be moved to Hong Kong Island, maybe even the military base will be moved there at that time." ”

"So you just want me to vote in favor of your plan on behalf of the Commerce Department on the Executive Committee?" Schneider was so shrewd, as soon as he heard Yan Chujie speak, he immediately understood what the military meant.

"It's a mutually beneficial win-win measure. Yan Chujie explained solemnly: "Your department can get a safe and convenient transfer station, and our military can also complete the task of monitoring the waterway of the Pearl River Estuary." ”

"It's risky!" Schneider still refuses to relent.

"Doing any business is risky, the key is the rate of return, isn't it?" Yan Chujie continued to persuade without relaxation: "Mr. Shi has also taken a lot of risks in the business he has done before, why is he afraid this time?"

Schneider smiled and said: "It's different from the past, you can run to other countries if you mess up before, but now if you mess up, there is nowhere to hide!"

"You don't have confidence in our military like that?" Tom Wang was a little anxious: "Whether it is a pirate or a Daming sailor, it will be a chicken and a dog for us in the end! Although we still have relatively few warships, we can't wait until there are more warships than the other side to start planning for the expansion of the sea supply point!"

Schneider shrugged and said, "Then how are you going to deal with the pirates in the surrounding waters? If a transshipment station is set up, the place will be more attractive to pirates, and as far as I know, the navy does not have the strength to go to sea to engage the enemy head-on, right?"

"In the early stage, we mainly stuck to the port, and we were ready to deploy at least one company in the local area. Yan Chujie patiently explained to Schneider: "Within this month, the navy will have three warships, and in the first half of the year, there will be three small, one and four warships in the ranks, and then a few ships will be sent to the local area as an escort force." We are now starting to prepare for the construction of this stronghold, and it will take more than half a month to start implementing it, and when the local fortifications and warehouses and other facilities are built, the warships on the side of Victory Port will almost be in place. ”

"In other words, if you want to build a transfer station, then it will probably be put into use in the second half of the year?" Schneider thought for a while and asked, "What is Mr. Tao's opinion on this matter?"

Mr. Tao said that in terms of military affairs, he agreed with the plan of the Military Commission, but commercial development requires Mr. Shi's nod. As soon as Yan Chujie heard this, he immediately added. Early this morning, Yan Chujie had already gone to Tao Donglai and explained the situation to him. Tao Donglai's statement seemed to say nothing, but after savoring it, he was actually on the side of the military, as long as he persuaded Schneider to nod, then this plan could be approved by him.

Schneider naturally understood the overtones of these words, nodded and said, "I understand." I'll ask people to come over and get the information on the Wanshan Islands, Mr. Yan, you can prepare it. ”

As for military affairs, Schneider naturally did not dare to listen to and believe in it lightly. The only person he can fully trust is Tao Donglai, the principal, since Tao Donglai also approved the military's plan, then Schneider is a bit provocative to question its feasibility from a military point of view.

Yan Chujie said happily: "Don't bother, I'll let someone send the information to you later." ”

At Schneider's point, the chances of the plan being passed are at least doubled, and with Tao Donglai's support, the military can basically start drafting a plan to submit to the Executive Committee.

Regarding the geographical situation of Dawanshan Island, in addition to the contents of the database itself, Yu Yao and Xiao Liang of the Guangzhou Office have also taken a boat to the local area for field research in the past six months, and have taken a large number of video materials, which have been sent back to the base camp together with their plans. Therefore, the military has to draw up a plan for building military bases in the area, and there is quite a lot of information on the ground for reference.

Wanshan Islands is located in the south of the Pearl River estuary, which is the only place for the Pearl River to pass through the sea channel, including more than 70 large and small islands, walking on the sea surface of about 2,600 square kilometers. The Wanshan Islands are the largest archipelago in the Wanshan Islands, and the Dawanshan Island selected by the military is the main island of the Wanshan Islands, located about 20 nautical miles directly south of Zhuhai City in the later generations, with an area of more than 8 square kilometers, the island is hilly and undulating, and the highest point is more than 400 meters above sea level.

According to historical records, the first batch of residents who moved to settle on the island only appeared in the 50th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, and there were only more than 1,000 registered residents on Wanshan Island until the data before the crossing. The island has abundant fresh water resources and forest resources, the island shore is tortuous and steep, mostly rocky and steep, only Wanshan Bay in the southwest is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and there is a natural haven.

According to later information and the results of the preliminary investigation of the Guangzhou Office, the military believes that permanent wharf facilities for docking ships of less than 500 tons can be built in this harbor. On the one hand, it can be used as a commercial cargo transshipment point, and on the other hand, it can be used as a future naval supply port for the military in this area. It is also worth mentioning that Wanshan Islands is one of China's seven major fishing grounds, with very rich fishery resources, and the waters around Dawanshan Island are also China's first marine development pilot zone, with more than 200 species of economic fish in this area.

For the development and utilization of this uninhabited island, the crossing group has actually had relevant experience before, that is, Fushuizhou Island, which is located between Halong Bay and Hainan Island. As a relay station for coal transportation routes, Fushuizhou Island has been silently playing a role since its development, but because the local area is not located on a popular shipping lane, and almost all the ships passing through the group's own merchant ships, so the island has not been specially developed commercially or militarily except for some basic supply facilities. However, there will not be much difference between the two in the initial construction process, and there are many things to learn from.

In the vicinity of Wanshan Island, there are also small Wanshan Island close at hand, and Baili Island and Dong'ao Island in the north, three islands that can be developed, are also currently in the state of uninhabited islands. Although these islands are not as large as Dawanshan Island, if they can control the surrounding waters and ensure the safety of the sea in the area, they can be used as fishing bases for large-scale development.

On 15 April, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of Commerce jointly submitted to the Executive Committee a plan for setting up a commercial and trade transshipment station and a military base in the Wanshan Islands. The plan proposes that the safety of the Pearl River Estuary and commercial development must also enter a new stage under the current situation that the group is increasingly relying on the window of Guangzhou to export industrial products and import raw materials to the mainland. The establishment of local cargo transfer stations, supplemented by military escorts, has become a development need under the new form, and the implementation of this program should be started in the near future to improve the efficiency of cargo transportation in the foreign trade sector and increase the monitoring of the Pearl River Estuary waterway.

Unsurprisingly, questions were raised about the safety of the construction of military posts and cargo transit points in the region, but the military expressed sufficient confidence in this. As a representative of the Ministry of Commerce, Schneider also expressed optimism about the prospect of building a cargo transshipment point in the local area, and believed that the profit income after the completion of this transshipment point can fully offset the cost of stationing troops in the local area for a long time. Schneider's remarks basically cut off other people's doubts about military spending, because at present, all units stationed abroad are gradually entering the state of independent accounting of operating expenses, and if the local funds are sufficient, it makes sense not to say that a company of troops is garrisoned, even if it is expanded into a battalion like Heitu Port.

In the final vote by show of hands, Tao Donglai, Yan Chujie, Schneider, Ren Liang, and Bai Kesi immediately expressed their approval, and then the old man Yuan of the Ministry of Agriculture once again unexpectedly and decisively stood on the side of the military.

Afterwards, someone asked why Old Man Yuan chose to side with the military, and whether he didn't notice the military risks, and the old man's answer was also very thought-provoking: "When farming still encounters natural disasters, how can you be 100% sure of winning a war, and you have to take the risks that should be taken! Everyone abandoned a qiē and crossed over to this place, this incident itself is the biggest risk, what could be more powerful than this?"