Zhu Cixiang believed that the Annan War should be the last battle of the Ming Empire in the Eastern world. After so many years of hard work, those in the surrounding areas who dared to jump out and stink had basically been shot to death by him.
There are only five countries left in the entire Eastern world: Daming, Japan, Kimchi, Siam, and India. India is still a mess and cannot pose any threat to the Ming Dynasty.
If something really happens, it can only be caused by chaos among these countries or within the Ming Dynasty...
However, the military attaches from the allied countries who followed the Ming army saw a completely different war from before.
The Ming army invested a large number of helicopters in the Annan battlefield. This kind of aircraft is particularly effective in fighting on terrains with many rivers and mountains.
In particular, French and Dutch military attachés believe that helicopters are particularly suitable for their own troops to fight on their territories in Africa and India. Dutch South America also needs helicopters.
With the arrival of helicopters, the indigenous guerrillas will no longer be able to pose a serious threat to the country's regular army. Instead, they will be severely damaged or even annihilated by the hovering helicopters.
Not only did they see this, but the Ottoman and Inca military attaches also realized that the more mountainous the area, the more useful this weapon would be.
Before the coalition forces ended their operations in northern Annan, Zhu Cixiang had already received orders for more than 5,000 helicopters.
The two old friends, the Ottomans and the Inca, each placed an order for two thousand aircraft. They also had to introduce technology, purchase production lines, and quickly achieve localization.
However, Zhu Cixiang had no intention of changing the previous export time limit, and was still scheduled to start delivering helicopters to overseas customers on New Year's Day, 1730 AD.
Customers who order more than 100 aircraft can send pilots to Daming three years in advance to receive relevant training, including flight, repair, maintenance, bomb reloading, etc.
For VIP customers like the Ottomans and Incas, Zhu Cixiang could even let their trainee pilots experience this new aircraft on the Annan battlefield...
Emperor Hao Jing could assure Ibrahim and Poirot that their pilots could already serve as instructors after the helicopters arrived in the country.
These two even strongly requested their country's special forces to fight side by side with their counterparts in Ming Dynasty. It was obviously worth the experience.
Zhu Cixiang was too embarrassed to refuse, so he could only agree. Anyway, there were not many enemies in Annan and the north.
It was said that he was studying, but due to the speed at which the coalition forces destroyed Zheng Fan's troops, he almost didn't catch the last train.
Ibrahim wanted his men to learn how to fight in the mountains, while Poirot's men wanted to learn how to fight in the mountains and in the rainforest.
Ottoman officers even hoped to witness the Ming army's large-scale tactical use of armored forces combined with helicopters in deserts or plains.
But the enemies on this kind of terrain have been wiped out by the Ming Dynasty King's division long ago. Now the corpses have turned into skeletons, and there is no chance at all.
The one in the Dnieper River Basin was considered the last big scene. If you want to see it again, you have to wait until a certain head of state who wants to die takes the initiative to provoke Ming...
Ruan Fuwei, the controller of southern Annam, saw that Zheng Fan's troops were exposed and beaten by the Ming army, so he wisely chose to stop fighting and tried to take the initiative to show his favor to Zhu Cixiang.
This time is different from the last time the Ming army invaded Annan. The last time it was just an occupation, it was still dominated by local people, and the Ming people were only a minority.
This time the Ming Emperor ordered all the locals in northern Annan to be relocated. This was clearly to completely devour this area. The locals would not be able to resist the Ming in the future because they were all in another place.
There is only one consequence for refusing to move. The Ming army, with its powerful firepower and absolute advantage in military strength, is completely able to eliminate any resistance forces.
The national power in the south of Annam was originally weaker than that in the north, and Ruan Phu Wei had much fewer troops than Zheng Fan.
It was very difficult to deal with Zheng Fan, and it was impossible to resist hundreds of thousands of elite Ming troops.
Now the Ming army's armored ships are cruising on the sea in the coastal areas, and they may launch an attack on us at any time.
Especially those who came from the north said that the dog barbarians carried out a long-term bombing campaign against them.
No town was spared, almost to the point where there were corpses everywhere and it was hard to survive.
Under the encirclement and suppression of the Ming army, the space for the guerrillas to move became smaller and smaller.
Many guerrillas were wiped out by the opponent in less than a year.
Many weak-willed people couldn't hold on, so they chose to seek refuge in Manming, using reports in exchange for their own safety.
In this case, Nguyen Phuc Vie had to think carefully, lower his body, and pray to Ming Guo to survive.
Many of Nguyen Phuc Wei's ministers and many businessmen expressed opposition to this.
Some people strongly demanded a bloody battle with Man Ming. The feud between the south and the north was just a family matter, and it was not Man Ming's turn to intervene.
Now that Man Ming has occupied the north, the next step is to invade their southern region.
Compromising with the enemy at this time is tantamount to seeking skin from a tiger, and will eventually be eaten by the tiger.
Businessmen are also very dissatisfied that local timber and rice cannot be exported to Manming, and instead the market is squeezed out by the other party's products.
Nguyen Phuc Hoi was asked to unite with France, the Netherlands and other countries to fight against the Ming Dynasty, so that they could take advantage of the situation and regain the lost territory in the north.
Even if there are many smart armored ships on the sea, they can march north through the inland.
Moreover, Manming had already established a vassal state in the south and west of Annan, and it was already starting to move.
In order not to be attacked from both sides, we cannot sit still and wait for death.
Even if it is impossible to counterattack the Ming Dynasty's northern army, it must first repel its vassal troops in the southwest.
This is to scare Man Ming so that he does not dare to underestimate the King of Ruan Army...
In mid-January 1722 AD, the Ruan army and Zhu Cizhao's troops attacking eastward officially started fighting for the strategic town of Lu Ning.
Loc Ninh is the Nguyen clan's largest stronghold west of the Saigon River and a bridgehead for controlling surrounding areas.
Zhu Cizhao had already captured Saigon with the help of the Ming Dynasty navy, and now Lu Ning and the surrounding areas became a salient.
The only regret is that Zhu Cizhao did not have many troops to mobilize. There were only three brigades of regular troops, and the rest were all armed soldiers.
These troops were armed with the help of weapons and equipment provided by his brother, otherwise Zhu Cizhao would only have one brigade to grab territory.
Starting from Saigon, there was only one brigade of troops heading north along the Saigon River to attack Loc Ninh.
But with the support of a large number of river gunboats, the firepower of Zhu Cizhao's brigade is equivalent to that of two or three brigades.
Loc Ninh was built on the edge of a tributary of the Saigon River. Like other cities, it could facilitate the defenders to obtain water.
This kind of planning and design greatly facilitates the attacking side. Even in the dry season, it can push to the opponent's city in one go.
There are less than a thousand Ruan troops guarding Lu Ning, and there are not many heavy artillery, but there are a bunch of small artillery.
But in front of the Ming vassal army's fighter planes, artillery and artillery could only be reduced to being hunted targets.
Zhu Cizhao's air force is not equipped with heavy fighters such as the "Blackfoot Albatross", only single-engine "Albatross".
Fortunately, dozens of helicopters were obtained, and twelve "Vulture" utility helicopters were transferred to the Luning front line.
Together with the twelve "Albatross", they have become the absolute masters of the battlefield.
The defenders only had one "Albatross". Seeing that the situation was not good, they wanted to escape in multiple ways.
As a result, not long after taking off, it was besieged by several opponent's fighter planes, was eventually shot down, and crashed on the spot not far outside the city.
The air force has an absolute advantage, and the navy has sunk countless enemy wooden ships along the way. Without encountering an enemy, only the army is left with a good start.
Zhu Cizhao's general Zhu He then led his troops under the cover of the air force to bombard Luning City with heavy artillery. When the defenders could no longer resist and broke through, tanks were used to cover up the enemy.
The plan was good, but Zhu He ignored one issue, that is, the defenders could run away overnight and there was no need to hold on for a long time.
Even a fool knows that the city cannot be defended. If you break through early, you can save a few more people, but if you break through late, the whole army may eventually be annihilated...
As a result, the defenders decided to break out that night, and no less than 400 people escaped, but Zhu He was very angry.
Fortunately, Luc Ninh was captured without much effort. The next step was to lead the troops across the Saigon River and advance eastward to the banks of the Dong Nai River.
Zhu Cizhao's grand strategy was to first seize the two river basins formed by the Saigon River and Dong Nai River. After his eldest brother completed the recovery of northern Annam, his troops would cooperate with the navy to seize the coastal areas of southern Annam.
As the Ming Dynasty vassal king, Zhu Cizhao wanted to take over the entire south in one go. However, he only had the main force of three brigades, and the Min soldiers could only be used as defense troops.
Just these three trips cost Zhu Cizhao a lot of money. If it weren't for his father giving him one million silver coins and his eldest brother giving him 10 million silver coins when he left the country.
The eldest brother also provided him with a bunch of weapons and equipment free of charge several times. He simply couldn't afford to support three brigades, let alone buy a large number of heavy weapons.
The annual expenses of one brigade are nearly 100,000 silver coins. Including logistics and supplies, it is at least 300,000. The cost of three brigades is nearly one million.
In order to be able to support himself, Zhu Cizhao had to export wood, gems, and spices to the mainland to make money. By the way, he also asked a certain elder brother for some free rice from time to time...
Not knowing how expensive firewood and rice are, Zhu Cizhao wanted to expand the number of troops by three more brigades, so that the number of Min soldiers could be matched.
If there are not enough funds, even if it decides to expand, it will not be long before it is forced to disband due to military pay issues.
A few days ago, Zhu Cizhao finally received a big red envelope from a certain eldest brother - five million silver coins!
The requirement is also very simple, that is to toss hard in the south...
Taking money and not working is definitely not possible, so Zhu Cizhao decided to capture Luning!
But as soon as Zhu He's troops left, the defenders who broke out came to fight after finding helpers.
Zhu He did not leave many troops in the city, only one battalion, and after Minbing took over, this battalion also had to fight with the main force.
At this time, Zhu He, who had just led his troops across the Saigon River, could only order his troops to turn around and go back, and cooperated with gunboats and fighter planes to launch a net-like encirclement and suppression of the enemies in the area.
A brigade of 5,000 troops was dragged into the Luning area by less than 1,000 troops.
This is not Zhu He's command error. Facing the guerrilla warfare launched by the indigenous people, the Ming Dynasty King's Division also had a headache.
Of Zhu Cizhao's three brigades, one was pinned down in Loc Ninh, one was sweeping along the Dong Nai River, and the other was counter-guerrilla in the Xuan Loc area.
In early March, after Nguyen Jun found out the situation in Saigon City through detailed operations, he even launched a sneak attack on the city.
There were only a thousand Min soldiers and Zhu Cizhao's guards in the city, and they were caught off guard.
Fortunately, the opponent only invested a few hundred troops. Facing the counterattack of the Ming vassal army led by tanks, it was impossible to withstand it.
In the early days of the war, Nguyen Phuc Wei did not invest too many troops in the southern battlefield.
Mainly composed of less than 5,000 regular troops plus a large number of rural warriors recruited, they have no ability to fight in the field, and they all use guerrillas and sneak attacks to contain the opponent.
The good news is that he met an opponent whose strength was comparable to his own, and Zhu Cizhao only had 30,000 troops at his disposal.
After facing a tight situation ahead, Zhu Cizhao hoped that his younger brother Zhu Cican could help him.
The latter was worried that his brother would seize the opportunity to seize his troops, so he used the excuse that his troops were launching an attack in the Mekong River Basin and it was difficult to divide the troops!
The two brothers actually have almost the same amount of troops. Although they have the same father and mother, they are brothers who want to settle scores. Don't worry about the soldiers and horses in my hands.
Zhu Cican assured his brother that his troops would only attack to the north, and the entire east side would belong to the other side, as long as the other side's troops could defeat it...
In desperation, Zhu Cizhao could only ask someone to plead with Jiexuan to send troops. Three brigades of marines were deployed on the north-south dividing line.
Anyway, I am idle, so why not give the Ming Dynasty vassal a helping hand?
Jiexuan is following the order of Emperor Haojing, and the court will not start war against the Ruan family in the south for the time being.
The three brigades of Marines are responsible for blocking positions and acting as roadblocks to remind the other party not to act rashly.
As for the Ruan family's territory, the two vassal princes can fight if they can. If they can't fight, then just stare at each other~!
The regular armies under the vassal king have undergone systematic training, and their combat capabilities must exceed those of the Ruan native army.
Emperor Haojing did not deliberately send a large number of veterans to his two brothers' troops, lest the other side think that he was planting spies.
All horses are recruited by the lord himself. The advantage is that they can be used with confidence. The disadvantages are also obvious. There is an essential difference between veterans and recruits in actual combat...
The Navy has more than a dozen marine brigades, yet naval bases are scattered around the world.
They are deployed in Crete in the Mediterranean, Panama in Central America, Ceylon in the northern Indian Ocean, and the East Indies.
The troops are too dispersed. Except for the one brigade that stays in the mainland, the three brigades that can be temporarily deployed have already appeared on the Annan battlefield.
Regarding the plea of a certain vassal king, Jiexuan only said that he was helpless.
However, if the other party is willing to attack the coastal areas controlled by the Ruan family, he would be willing to dispatch a fleet to cooperate.
Zhu Cizhao's main force was held back by the damn natives, and the defense area was much larger than before. How could he still have the troops to worry about attacking other places?
Besides, we can't defend it even if we defeat it. Is it possible that the soldiers and horses of the mighty Ming Dynasty lord can be used as robbers? Just grab a handful and leave?
Jiexuan had done similar things in his early years and was not ashamed of being a pirate.
It can not only reduce one's own casualties, but also attack the enemy. Why not do it?
The entire Zheng family is a member of the same group, and they had a lot of fun back then...
Even now, some warships of the Navy are engaged in extortion at sea.
As long as it is an Annan ship, whether it belongs to the south or the north, if you catch it, you will go up and loot it.
If you dare to resist or escape, you will be sunk directly on the spot!
Jiexuan pretended not to see this at all, because the opponent was too weak and the entire navy was already at a loss for what to do.
For northern Annan, the navy can completely block its coast and prevent the opponent from entering the sea.
For the southern area controlled by the Ruan family, Jiexuan used this trick to knock the mountain and shake the tiger to make the other party understand.
If you have a clear mind, it is best to beg for surrender, lest you cannot accept your tragic end in the end.
Jiexuan already knew that the emperor would probably not continue to attack the southern region before letting Ming Dynasty digest the northern part of Annan.
If you find an opportunity to defeat the enemy without fighting, or even force the entire country to surrender, you can also save a lot of military expenses.
Don't be embarrassed. The annual military budget is calculated in units of tens of millions of silver coins.
You can save hundreds of millions of silver coins at once and build two giant battleships for the navy!
Regarding a certain younger brother's request, Zhu Cixiang could only deal with it temporarily, that's all.
Tens of thousands of troops have been fighting continuously for a long time, and the imperial court has no extra troops to deal with the natives in the south.
The Japanese army can continue to hire, but Zhu Cixiang does not intend to blindly swallow the entire Annan, and still intends to digest and absorb it step by step.
After Master Ming Dynasty showed off his muscles, Zhu Cixiang also wanted to see how long the Ruan family could hold the prey while fighting with a certain vassal king.
It's a good idea to use a certain brother to bleed the opponent.
Zhu Cizhao had someone in his hand, so he gave him weapons and a sum of money.
Then you can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. Even if there are two pigs fighting below, you can still watch the fun!
The Ming Dynasty did not fight in person, but used vassal kings to fight. This became a proxy war.
A certain emperor also wanted to see if this model worked well, and maybe it could come in handy in the future.
South Annan is a tropical area and is suitable for fighting all year round.
Zhu Cixiang could use the money in his pocket to help a certain younger brother work hard in the south...
To maintain the men and horses of three armies and nine brigades is less than five million a year.
If he could see results in the first year, Zhu Cihong decided to continue investing in the second year.
After investing for three consecutive years, the Ruan natives would have been beaten to death or paralyzed by the vassal king.
When the other party kneels down and begs for mercy, the two brothers will add two to one to divide their territory.
After careful calculation, Zhu Cihong only spent 50 million silver coins to obtain more than half of the land on the Ruan family's territory.
Compared to the costly Annan-Northern War, this was a great deal.
Using the same model to bulldoze the Ruan family in the south, including previous expenses, the total investment will be as high as one billion, or even more.
Zhu Cixiang had to consider an economical way to attack. A certain brother was his wage earner!
The small goal set for him is to beat Ruan Fuwei into a street boy!
Among the two younger brothers in Angkor, whoever performs well will receive more assistance.
Regarding the aid of millions of silver coins every year, Zhu Cixiang did not believe that the two younger brothers would not be moved...
