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- Target! Indian Ocean!
(0838)
The spring of the eighth year of Taichang will soon arrive in Nanyang. (_¡¶¡·)
Waves of gentle sea breeze blew across the sea, causing ripples in layers.
In various ports in Southeast Asia, it seems to be summer at this time, and it is hot everywhere. A large number of merchant ships lined up to enter the port to unload, and the merchant ships sailing out of the port lowered the waterline very low. You can imagine how much cargo was loaded. However, the sailors on the merchant ships seemed very optimistic and were not worried at all that the ship would sink.
For most merchant ship owners, natural storms are not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is the attack by enemy warships and pirates. But now, these two most dangerous things no longer exist. All armed merchant ships have removed their cannons and other weapons so that they can carry more cargo.
After the White Army successfully expelled the Dutch, the waters of Nanyang returned to calm. In the entire Nanyang Sea, except for the occasional white-coated navy warships patrolling, pirates are absolutely nowhere to be seen. Warships from other countries are also invisible. Generally speaking, if there is no need, the warships of the White Army Navy rarely appear.
The Spanish, Portuguese and French all wisely transferred all their warships back to their home countries. The white army navy is already invincible in Nanyang. It makes no sense for their warships to continue to stay in Nanyang. Rather than leaving the battleship behind and letting the white-clothed army feel a grudge, it is better to eliminate the grudge proactively and consciously.
Now Nanyang is a completely free trade port. All ports are open to legal merchant ship owners. The core of the White Army's strategy in Nanyang is free trade, where everyone has equal rights and obligations. As long as they abide by the relevant laws of the White Army, merchant ships from any country can freely exercise their rights.
Specifically speaking, any legal trade behavior of merchant ships will be protected by law. Whether it is a merchant ship from the Ming Empire or a merchant ship from other countries, when in danger, they can seek help from the White Army Navy. The white-coated army and navy will treat everyone equally. Of course, on the other hand, any illegal behavior will be severely punished.
A good trade environment has effectively promoted maritime trade in the Nanyang region. In the original Nanyang region, several great powers worked independently, were hostile to each other, and contained each other, seriously damaging the trade environment. There are also pirates backed by various countries who are causing trouble, causing merchant ships to go back and forth with great fear and great risks. All of this has seriously restricted the development of maritime trade in the Southeast Asia region. Now, the White Army has eliminated all risks, and maritime trade immediately exploded.
In just one year, the maritime trade volume in the Nanyang region has doubled. A large number of merchant ships departing from various ports in Nanyang went to the Ming Empire, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea and other places, creating a lot of profits during the round trip. Through groups of merchant fleets, the Nanyang region was successfully closely connected with the Ming Empire.
There are also some ocean-going merchant ships that follow the Kuroshio route to the American continent. According to the agreement reached between the Ming Empire and Spain, Spanish merchant ships enjoyed the same rights as Ming Empire merchant ships in the South China Sea. In exchange, Ming Empire merchant ships could also enjoy the same conditions as Spanish merchant ships on the American continent. All of this provided strong help for the merchant ships of the Ming Empire to enter the American continent. Those very large merchant ships that ply the east and west coasts of the Pacific earn even more profits. Of course, the risks they encounter are also high.
Fortunately, the White Army has always been considerate. The White Army was fully prepared for the risks that might be encountered by Ming Empire merchant ships heading to the American continent. Those eliminated sun and moon guns were sold to various merchant shipowners at a low price as an aid to landing on the American continent. In many cases, the white army simply gave away the sun and moon guns and supporting ammunition for free, allowing those armed merchant ship owners to fan the flames and gain a foothold in the American continent.
"Compared to this small footbath in the South China Sea, the American continent is the real concentration of wealth. Although it is said that the American continent has been quickly invaded by Western powers and divided their spheres of influence first. However, the emergence of the White Army brought huge changes to the history of the American continent. There is no doubt that the White Army is absolutely determined to seek corresponding interests on the American continent.
The main area controlled by the Western powers at that time was the east of the American continent. There is no force to control the western area yet. The armed merchant ships under the control of the White Army have established strongholds in various ports in the western part of the American continent. All the strongholds are connected together, and almost the entire Pacific Ocean has become the inland sea of ??the White Army.
Of course, it is still difficult for the White Army to completely control the American continent. With the current capabilities of the White Army Navy, it is still unable to deploy a battalion of army forces to the American continent and maintain the??The long fighting needs of this battalion. Therefore, we can only adopt the method of moving ants, and continue to penetrate to the west coast of the American continent through folk methods.
In fact, with the help of the Sun and Moon Guns, armed merchant ships from the private sector have developed quite rapidly in the American continent. The local indigenous people, who use scimitars, bows and arrows, are naturally no match for rifled guns. Often a large merchant ship equipped with 500 sun and moon guns and a sufficient amount of ammunition can establish and control a small stronghold. Even if the local indigenous people continue to launch attacks, they cannot clear the stronghold.
When Xu Xingxia founded the White Army, he promised his subordinates a five-year military service system. After the overall situation was basically stable, the five-year military service system was established as a law and regulation. In other words, as long as you have served for five years, you have the right to apply for retirement. Three years after arriving in Taichang, many officers and soldiers have already met this condition. Therefore, some officers and soldiers chose to retire. As time goes by, more and more officers and soldiers are retiring.
These retired white-coated officers and soldiers have more or less accumulated some wealth when they were in the army. If you fight actively and perform well, you should accumulate more wealth. Basically, there will definitely be no problem with livelihood in the three to five years after retirement. However, it is absolutely unrealistic to expect to use the wealth accumulated in the past to live a lifetime. Therefore, they must find other ways to make a living.
However, many officers and soldiers of the White Army have basically no other skills except fighting and killing. What can they do after retiring? The best choice is of course to become a mercenary. The only purpose of mercenaries is to fight and kill people. The opening up of the American continent required a large number of armed merchant ships and a large number of mercenaries, who just met the needs of this market. As a result, the two hit it off, and many professional mercenary teams came into being.
Between the third year of Taichang and the eighth year of Taichang, how many retired white-coated officers and soldiers joined the mercenaries through various channels? It is estimated that Xu Xingxia has no way to count. A conservative estimate is that there will be no less than 50,000 people. These 50,000 mercenaries are basically active on the American continent. One can imagine what they will bring to the American continent.
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In March of the eighth year of Taichang, a large number of warships gathered at Palembang Port. The flag of the White Army Navy is hung on the mast of each warship. Among them, the largest warship has a displacement of nearly 2,000 tons. After the battle with the Dutch, the White Army Navy rarely assembled so many warships. Therefore, some people who are concerned about the current situation are secretly guessing what the white army and navy are going to do.
The Spaniards and Portuguese were secretly uneasy, thinking that the white army and navy were going to fall out with them. What they worry about most is this outcome. If the White Army Navy drives them out of the Nanyang Sea, they will have no choice at all. Fortunately, later, news came that the White Army Navy was just organizing a mixed fleet to head to the Indian Ocean. After the news was confirmed repeatedly, all the forces gradually relaxed.
In fact, the White Army Navy is indeed planning to organize a mixed fleet to head to the Indian Ocean. The sea surface in Nanyang has been completely stabilized. There is no need for the White Army Navy to stay here for a long time. It is time to set off to the farther sea. After training in the South China Sea, the current white army navy has accumulated a certain amount of experience and can take on heavier tasks.
After two months of preparation, on June 6, the eighth year of Taichang, the mixed fleet of the White Army and Navy officially set off from Palembang Port and headed for the Indian Ocean. This is a huge mixed fleet, with a total of more than thirty warships of various types and more than thirty large merchant ships of various types. After half a month of continuous sailing, they finally entered the Indian Ocean.
This is after Zheng He¡¯s fleet, the Han people appeared again in the Indian Ocean.
Chen Zhan, the commander in charge of leading the mixed fleet, personally wrote a colorful note in the sailing diary of that day. He was able to lead the mixed fleet to the Indian Ocean this time, but Xu Xingxia personally ordered it. Although Xu Xingxia did not come to Balinpang to see him off in person, he sent someone to send a personal letter to fully encourage the naval mixed fleet to go to the Indian Ocean. Therefore, Chen Zhan did not dare to slack off at all regarding his tasks.
Chen Zhan¡¯s biggest characteristic is that he is good at summarizing experience. He has a good cultural background and is quick to learn new things. His ideas are also quite flexible and he never sticks to rules. Under the leadership of Chen Zhan, the Fourth Fleet may not have the strongest combat effectiveness, but it is the fastest in accepting new things.
The White Army mixed fleet heading to the Indian Ocean this time actually has the Fourth Fleet as its core. In addition to more than thirty warships, there are also more than thirty large merchant ships. In addition to carrying necessary navigation supplies, these large merchant ships also carried a large fleet of white-coated navy troops.??Soldiers of the war team. They are armed to the teeth.
?????After seven years in Taichang, the White Army Marine Corps has been formally formed. According to the military order signed by Xu Xingxia, the Marine Corps is a branch of the military and is directly under Xu Xingxia's command. There is no mutual affiliation between the Marine Corps and the Navy. In other words, the Marine Corps does not need to accept the command of the Navy, but only cooperates with the Navy in operations.
This emerging force has a total of three battalions, named Shark Battalion, Swordfish Battalion and Flying Fish Battalion. The standard establishment of each battalion is about 8,000 people. Including auxiliary troops, the total strength exceeds 10,000. In fact, due to different combat needs, the establishment of the Marine Corps will be very flexible and may be changed at any time.
However, at the beginning of the eighth year of Taichang, except for the Shark Battalion, which was basically full, the other two battalions were just empty frames for the time being. It's not that Xu Xingxia doesn't have money, but that he doesn't have the corresponding talents. The formation of the Marine Corps is much more complicated than that of the Army. He must wait until a group of officers and soldiers in the Shark Battalion accumulate experience before he can effectively expand the army.
The target of the mixed fleet¡¯s maiden voyage was Ceylon, which would later become Sri Lanka.
This is the key point where the Indian Ocean enters the Pacific Ocean. As long as it is a normal sailing ship, if it enters the Pacific Ocean from the Indian Ocean, it will dock at the Port of Ceylon. Conversely, this is also the point where the Pacific Ocean enters the Indian Ocean. After entering the Indian Ocean, ships from the Pacific also need to dock at the Port of Ceylon to rest the sailors, replenish fresh water, and inspect the ships.
This point, even after four hundred years, has not changed much. In the era of nuclear-powered warships, if conditions permit, warships coming and going will still choose to stop in Sri Lanka for a short time. For example, some U.S. warships often dock in Sri Lanka. As for ordinary ships, the number of calls is even greater.
Ceylon was in Portuguese hands at the time.
The representative of Portugal in Ceylon is a small figure at the director level.
?Obviously, the Portuguese do not pay much attention to Ceylon itself. The main reason is that Ceylon itself has no valuable resources. The most valuable "spice" in the Eastern world simply does not exist in Ceylon. In the world at that time, the purpose of sailing was to make money. For areas without money-making projects, they will definitely not be taken seriously.
Due to its weak naval strength, Portugal implemented a free and open policy in Ceylon. The Port of Ceylon itself is undefended. There are no warships, no forts, no garrison, and only a handful of armed personnel to maintain local security. As long as a certain fee is paid, all ships, including warships, can dock freely at the Port of Ceylon. Sailors go ashore to rest, replenish fresh water and food, inspect the ship, and do whatever they want.
It is precisely because of the implementation of an open and liberal policy that it did not attract attacks from other powers.
The concept of sea power at that time had not yet been formally formed. Even the Western powers only realized that the ocean could bring wealth. But control of key points in the ocean is not yet clearly understood. To be precise, they do not yet have a clear concept of maritime hegemony in their minds. If it were hundreds of years later, after Mahan proposed "Sea Power", the status of the Port of Ceylon would have become extremely popular, and it is estimated that the major powers would have defeated it.
The white army and navy took effective control of the Port of Ceylon just before they could react. The Western powers did not understand the theory of sea power, but Xu Xingxia himself knew it very well. If you strike first, you will be stronger, but if you strike later, you will suffer disaster! This was a crucial step for the white army's navy to enter and exit the Indian Ocean, and for the army to attack the Mughal Empire.
To the north of Ceylon is the Mughal Dynasty in ancient India.
The Mughal dynasty at that time was still relatively powerful. Well, to be precise, it is relatively powerful in South Asia. After more than a hundred years of development, the Mughal Dynasty has completely dominated the South Asian continent. Its last emperor was Akbar the Great. This man is very famous in the history of India. After Akbar's death, Jahangir succeeded him. This person's talents are not very good, he is not aggressive enough, but he can still maintain his achievements.
The basic strategy of the White Army is to first control various ports of the Mughal Dynasty, and then control most of the Mughal Dynasty's coastline. Finally, a certain size of army was used to deal a fatal blow to the Mughal Dynasty. The mission of the mixed fleet of the White Army and Navy is to find a suitable breakthrough and drive a nail firmly in.
Among the ports of the Mughal Empire, the most important was of course Kalikhat. Initially, the Portuguese came to the coastal areas of India and discovered the value of Kalikhat at a glance. They immediately built a port there, stationed soldiers, built fortresses, and turned it into a Portuguese stronghold. But later, the Spanish arrived and this stronghold was controlled by the Spanish. Later, the DutchSince then, Kalihaite has been controlled by the Dutch.
No wonder the Western powers attach so much importance to Kalihet. It is actually the strategic position of Kalihite that is very important. It is one of the most important ports in the eastern Indian Ocean. How important is it? Indispensable! If the Caliheit Port cannot be successfully controlled, the difficulty and cost of merchant ships traveling to and from the Indian Ocean will greatly increase.
In an era when scurvy had not been completely prevented, all sea-going ships had to travel along land as much as possible so that they could dock at any time. Once the voyage took too long, sailors would contract scurvy, which could only be cured by docking. In the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the sea is vast and there are not many islands that can be docked.
The northern part of the Indian Ocean is very wide, and Socotra in the west is a large island. Kalihet in the east is the closest port to Socotra. Whether it is wind direction or ocean current, the two are very closely connected. From Socotra to Kalihet is definitely the most convenient, safest and lowest cost route.
To control the Indian Ocean, Kalihet and Socotra are two indispensable strongholds.
At present, the Dutch still have a considerable number of troops stationed in Caliheit. After the Dutch lost their interests in the Southeast Asia region, they used Caliheit as their base camp to safeguard their interests in the East and continued to stay there. The Dutch warships and merchant ships that had escaped from the Southeast Asian region all gathered in Caliheit. Of course they will not accept their failure. They also tried to use Calihet as a bridgehead to accumulate strength and prepare to launch a counterattack against the White Army.
?According to estimates from the White Army intelligence department, the Dutch stationed more than 5,000 troops in Caliheit. Purely in terms of the number of armed sailors stationed there, Kalihat is comparable to Jakarta. However, the number of various warships is somewhat inferior. The Dutch assembled only a dozen or so warships in Caliheit.
Chen Zhan has thirty large warships in his hands. There are more than one hundred and fifty howitzers that can fire simultaneously. Such a strong sea power is enough to attack Kalihet. However, Chen Zhan was not in a hurry. He has plenty of time.
Kalikhat is not the final goal, the Mughal Empire is the final goal.
The White Army is accumulating strength in the Indian Ocean for the purpose of attacking the Mughal Dynasty
Xu Xingxia has been coveting the continent of South Asia for a long time. He is not interested in the indigenous people here, but is very interested in the various resources here. The cotton produced in India is quite famous. If the White Army needs a large colony, India is the best choice. India's cotton output can fully meet the needs of the entire East.
Although due to the emergence of Xu Xingxia, the process of the industrial revolution has been disrupted. However, the demand for cotton is increasing day by day. In the Jiangnan region of the Ming Empire, the textile industry was very developed. The largest cotton spinning factory has thousands of spinning machines and looms and more than 5,000 employees. Especially the Songjiang Prefecture area is simply the base camp of the textile industry. The cotton output in the Central Plains obviously cannot meet the needs of the market.
The latest improved Jenny spinning machine has increased the spinning efficiency by more than eighty times. No matter how much cotton there is, it is not enough for the spinning jenny. The large-scale application of the Jenny spinning machine not only improved production efficiency, but also greatly reduced the cost of cotton cloth, greatly increased the output of cotton cloth, and accelerated the popularity of cotton cloth. As long as there is enough cotton, people all over the country, and even the world, can enjoy cheap cotton cloth.
For the White Army, the dumping of a large amount of cotton cloth will of course bring considerable profits. Originally, the Ming Empire was the trade center of the world, and goods such as glass, silk, tea, and porcelain were basically profitable commodities. If you add a cotton cloth, it will be even worse. This is very helpful for the White Army to control markets around the world.
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There are actually many good ports near Ceylon Port. For example, Galle in the south can be expanded into a huge port. Chen Zhan has every reason to believe that as long as the Galle Port is slightly constructed, there will be enough berths to dock large warships and merchant ships. No matter how many merchant ships there are, they can dock smoothly at Galle Port.
After Chen Zhan carefully inspected the Galle Port, he wrote a detailed report and sent it directly to the Navy Deputy Commander Chen Xinhai. After Chen Xinhai received the report, he quickly sent someone to deliver the report to Xu Xingxia who was still in Leizhou Mansion. Xu Xingxia approved immediately.
Soon, multiple squadrons of the White Army Navy escorted a large number of merchant ships to Galle Port. These merchant ships brought large quantities of cement and steel bars. With the addition of locally collected sand and gravel, reinforced concrete is no longer a problem. Countless amounts of reinforced concrete were poured, and the appearance of Galle Port has been fundamentally changed.
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