Vice Admiral Zhong Lianggong, commander of the Imperial Navy of the Chu Empire and the Indian Ocean Escort Task Force, was currently on the command platform at the stern of the ship, looking forward with a large monocular telescope specially designed for lookouts.
The fleet is already at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca at this time, and it must be very careful when sailing here.
Because this is no longer a vast sea, but a narrow strait, especially there are many islands at the east end of the Strait of Malacca, which makes this sea area more complicated.
Looking at the looming islands in front and the land to the north, Lieutenant General Zhong Lianggong frowned slightly: "It seems that we are still planning to build a base here, otherwise it will be too unsafe to enter and exit the strait."
"Once you break into the strait and are blocked by the enemy's fleet, you will never come back!"
Rear Admiral Wei Yuanqing, chief of staff of the fleet beside him, also said: "This area is indeed very important, especially the Singapore Strait in front. It is extremely narrow. The width of the strait is not even 20 kilometers. At the same time, there are many islands around it, and the sea area is extremely complex. , the maneuvers and operations of the large fleet in such a small place will also be affected to a certain extent, but the galleys can play a big role!"
"When I was in the Strategy Department, I submitted corresponding reports. Let's not talk about other places in Southeast Asia, but the Malacca Strait must be controlled. To control the Malacca Strait, we must first control the Singapore Strait."
"To control the Singapore Strait, we must control these places. One is the easternmost tip of the Malay Peninsula in the northeast ahead of us, which is Singapore City. Although this place is inconspicuous now, its strategic role is extremely important."
"In addition to Singapore, in order to ensure complete control of the eastern end of the Malacca Strait, the enemy must interfere with the Singapore Strait, or prevent the enemy from bypassing the Singapore Strait and entering and exiting the Malacca Strait from other channels, so this place also needs to be controlled here."
Wei Yuanqing pointed to Batan Island on the opposite coast of Singapore Island on the map and said: "This island and several surrounding islands are as important as Singapore Island in the north!"
"If the empire wants to control the Strait of Malacca, it must capture this area, not just one or two of the islands, but all the islands at the eastern end of the strait!"
Looking at the area drawn by Major General Wei Yuanqing on the map, Fleet Commander Zhong Lianggong was speechless... Nima, people who don't know thought you were just talking about a few small broken islands, but... Nima, you are talking about this area. This place is almost the entire remaining territory of the Kingdom of Johor!
The Kingdom of Johor is still somewhat capable in the Strait area. Although it was defeated by the Portuguese before and was forced to retreat to the eastern end of the Malay Peninsula and the Lilac Islands, it has been able to survive to this day under the eager eyes of the Portuguese and the Dutch and has strong control. Singapore Strait, at the same time, in the past few years, counterattacks against Malacca have been launched several times...
Not to mention how strong he is, but he is somewhat capable.
At least if the navy of the Chu Empire, which came from afar, wanted to rely on this fleet to launch a war, the result would be terrible...
Besides, the Kingdom of Johor will also look for allies... The Dutch, who control the southern Java Island and the eastern part of Sumatra, are the natural allies of the Kingdom of Johor!
Previously, the Dutch wanted to pull the Kingdom of Johor to launch a counterattack against the Portuguese in Malacca... but they were resisted by the Portuguese.
If the Chu Empire wanted to control all the areas east of the Strait of Malacca, it would basically bring down the entire Kingdom of Johor... and the Dutch would never sit idly by.
Besides, the current overseas troop projection capability of the Chu Empire is relatively weak. If there is no supply base along the way, it would be quite difficult to go all the way south from the mainland and then engage in landing operations!
Lieutenant General Zhong Lianggong glanced at Wei Yuanqing and couldn't help but sigh. These people with a background as staff officers were all like this. They all spoke loudly and would destroy other people's countries at every turn.
However, he did not object to Wei Yuanqing's words, but said: "The Strait of Malacca is definitely under full control, but it also needs a process. The same is true at the eastern end of the Strait. With the current situation, we still strive to establish a foothold first, as long as there is a place to stay. , then we can continue to send more troops to this side of the strait... By then, it will not be difficult to control the strait!"
Lieutenant General Zhong Lianggong is also a staunch southward expansionist in China. He firmly supports seizing and controlling the Strait of Malacca, expanding the empire's sphere of influence in the Southeast Asia region, and using this as a basis to enter the Indian Ocean, set foot in the Indian Peninsula, West Asia and even the east coast of Africa. trade.
It's just that his idea is to go step by step, first plan for a foothold, and then gradually expand the control area, and finally take the entire Malacca into his pocket.
Instead of launching a large-scale war to destroy the Kingdom of Johor in a short period of time, and have a fight with the Dutch!
The situation in the Nanyang region is relatively complicated, and the empire's overseas troop projection is also limited. It is difficult to determine power in one battle, so it must be done slowly.
In other words, not only Lieutenant General Zhong Lianggong, but also most of the top naval officials support going south.
Of course, this support does not mean that we support direct attacks from land and capture places like Vietnam and Myanmar. That is all the matter of the army and has nothing to do with their navy.
Their navy directly seizes some important places in the Southeast Asia, establishes naval bases, expands the scope of the navy's activities, and expands the empire's interests in the Southeast Asia and even the Indian Ocean region. Only in this way can the navy's influence be further expanded.
On the other hand, the army side is a determined group of westward marchers... They dream of entering the Western Regions, overthrowing Jungar, taking over Kazakhstan, expelling Tsarist Russia, and annexing Mobei Mongolia... and finally dominating Central Asia.
Why? Because this series of actions are all ground wars, the army is the only participant. As for the navy, it can move as far as it goes...
After the empire was unified, the interests of the army and the navy have been greatly diverged. Therefore, in the past two years, the navy and the army have become more and more dissatisfied with each other...
In the past two years, the Army has been tossing things in the west, establishing Kham, Kangxi, and Qinghai provinces, and also caused the surrender of the Heshuo Special Department. With the cooperation of the Heshuo Special Department, it was almost peaceful. The Qingkang Plateau area was recovered.
Now the Army is busy in the Qingkang Plateau, especially in the Kham District, to suppress bandits in various ways, in order to completely smash the local chieftain plus serf system that has lasted for thousands of years, establish a new administrative rule, and fully implement the integration policy.
The Chu Empire, or China, has been very good at this kind of integration policy since ancient times. The military estimates that it will be able to complete a comprehensive and thorough bandit suppression operation in the Qingkang area before Chengshun thirteen years.
The Ministry of Ethic and Education is also very optimistic that by the 13th year of Chengshun, the entire Qingkang area will have completed the basic reform of etiquette.
Well, the reform of ethics and the military's suppression of bandits were basically carried out simultaneously.
Because wherever the armies of the Chu Empire go, Hanfu and the Chinese language will be promoted there, thoroughly culturally baptizing the local area from the inside out, and guiding the local serfs who still stayed thousands of years ago to integrate into the industrial civilization of the new era. .
And when things in the Qingkang area are over, it is estimated that the army will be thinking about entering the Yarkand Khanate and directly confronting the Jungar tribe.
The Army has its own plan, and the Navy cannot lag behind others... This is why the Navy will generously send an entire fleet to escort the Nanyang Trading Company's merchant fleet.
Escorting and exploring routes are one aspect. In addition, the navy has other thoughts, which is to find a way to establish a foothold in Nanyang.
It's not the kind of store that is set up in a port controlled by another country, but a foothold that is directly controlled by the Chu Empire and can garrison troops. Well, it can also be called a military base.
But, this kind of thing is not easy!
On the one hand, if you want to grab land, whether it is from the indigenous people or from other colonial countries, it will cause strong resistance.
Secondly, all fools know that once the military power of the Chu Empire obtains a military base in Nanyang and then establishes a firm foothold, it will bring great consequences to all countries, whether they are indigenous, Dutch, Portuguese or Spanish. A deadly threat...
Well, in the eyes of outsiders these days, the Chu Empire is not a harmless rabbit, but an extremely powerful Eastern dragon!
There were no military bases before. No matter how powerful the army of the Chu Empire was, it would be impossible for them to cross the entire Southeast Asia and conduct a large-scale sea crossing...
But once the Chu Empire has a foothold in Nanyang... then it will be completely different.
By then, the Chu Empire's army that appeared in the Nanyang region would no longer be a few battleships, but a large-scale regiment numbering tens of thousands.
Just thinking about this scene can make the scalps of the Dutch, Portuguese and even a group of indigenous countries tingle!
Under such circumstances, no one wants to see the Chu Empire obtain any military base in the Nanyang Sea, especially in the Strait of Malacca.
If we act rashly, it is likely to arouse joint opposition from the Dutch, Portuguese, Kingdom of Johor, Kingdom of Aceh and other countries in the Strait of Malacca region!
No... just look at the several Dutch warships following the fleet and you will know it!
And ahead, the fleet of the Kingdom of Johor is also ready... It is said that it is escorting the fleet of the Chu Empire to prevent those short-sighted pirates from disturbing the escort operations of the Chu Empire Navy, but in fact it is just a precaution...
Lieutenant General Zhong Lianggong also expected this. Seeing that the Dutch and the Kingdom of Johor looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, he did not intend to provoke them.
"Everyone is told to go down, restrain themselves, don't provoke, and safely sail through the Singapore Strait!"
This trip is to escort the escort, explore the road, draw up the route chart along the way, and collect intelligence data on the terrain, hydrology, military strength and other information of the target area. As for actually launching a military attack and occupying a certain foothold, that is the follow-up Something happened.
You can't go into a fight with goods worth millions, right? If something unexpected happens, you won't be able to explain it to the country!
Ever since, under the tension between the Dutch and the Kingdom of Johor, the warships of the Chu Empire escorted the merchant fleet through the Singapore Strait smoothly and continued towards the Port of Malacca in the middle of the Strait of Malacca.
After Dachu's fleet left, both the Dutch and the Kingdom of Johor breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn it, these Da Chu people put too much pressure on people!
Although the merchant fleets of the Chu Empire often passed through the Singapore Strait before, there were even cases where warships passed through the Singapore Strait to escort Malacca.
But there has never been a situation where the entire fleet entered the Singapore Strait before!
Because of the complicated situation in this area, in order to avoid over-stimulating the Dutch, the Chu Imperial Navy’s previous convoys in the Nanyang and large fleet escorts were basically limited to the Nanyang waters. The escort into the Strait of Malacca was relatively restrained, and only a small number of warships were often dispatched. Enter.
And this is the first time that this happened!
The strength of multiple warships and multiple large armed merchant ships is enough to launch a war in this area, and the Dutch cannot help but treat them with caution.
But then again, with today's move, the Chu Empire basically has its strategic goal of setting foot in Nanyang written directly on its face. The rest is just a matter of when and how to do it.
The Dutch are worried about this.
On the contrary, the Portuguese expressed great welcome to the arrival of the Chu Empire and took the initiative to send warships out of the port to meet them.
Because after the arrival of the fleet of the Dachu Empire, they brought a large number of various weapons and equipment for trade, ranging from matchlocks, artillery to plate armor, swords and spears.
The Portuguese are now under particularly heavy defense pressure in Malacca. At the same time, they are still fighting the Dutch on the island of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean.
When the Portuguese were engaged in the War of Independence in mainland China, the Dutch took the opportunity to seize large areas of the Portuguese overseas colonies. I will not talk about other places. I only mentioned the nearby and important Ceylon Island and Malacca, which were the goals of the Dutch.
It's funny to say that the Thirty Years' War is now in full swing in Europe. The Dutch just fought an independence war with the Spanish and gained de facto independent status, but they still failed to gain widespread recognition.
The Portuguese are also at war with the Spanish and seeking independence...Similarly, the Portuguese's independent status has not gained widespread international recognition so far.
In other words, they were actually annexed by Spain for a time, and then became independent. They are brothers in the same boat in Europe, and occasionally help each other to reduce their own pressure.
But overseas the Dutch and Portuguese are fighting each other again...
The reason for the emergence of this nonsense relationship is simply that the interests between the native country and the colonies are actually not consistent most of the time!
The colonial war between the Dutch and the Portuguese will not be discussed elsewhere, but only in India and Southeast Asia. This was actually a war between the Dutch East India Company and the Portuguese East India Company.
Strictly speaking, this is a business competition between private companies, but the competition is relatively intense, and the film is started directly with battleships and guns...
In this commercial war, the Portuguese on the island of Ceylon were retreating steadily, and the situation in Malacca was not much better. The year before last, they had just suffered a joint attack by the Dutch and the Kingdom of Johor, but they were defeated. I couldn't resist it.
Since their retreat in Macau, the Portuguese have increased their defense of Malacca, an important stronghold entering Southeast Asia. Even after some troops were subsequently transferred to reinforce Ceylon Island, the city of Malacca still retained a considerable number of troops.
Today, there are still more than 600 Portuguese regular troops stationed in Malacca. Coupled with the local expatriate militia and the recruited indigenous troops, it is not a problem to have one to two thousand troops.
But it's useless to have people. We still need weapons, equipment, and more importantly, food and ammunition and other supplies.
The Dutch hunted Portuguese ships everywhere, and colonies in Ceylon and other places were also attacked by the Dutch. Therefore, the Portuguese in Malacca had no way to get support from the outside world.
In this way, trade from the Chu Empire became particularly important.
You have to ask why the Dutch went to war with the Portuguese and blocked Malacca, preventing Portuguese ships from passing through. Why did they still watch the merchant ships of the Chu Empire heading to Malacca...
Well, this question... The Dutch actually objected, but their objections were ineffective!
The Da Chu Empire's policy of opening up the sea clearly stated that the empire is engaged in free trade... Our Da Chu Empire can do business with whomever it wants, and no one has the right to interfere.
At that time, the Dutch sent a letter of protest to Jinling. The Minister of Counselor on duty took a look at it, and then instructed the Domain Affairs Department of the Ministry of Ethnic Education to reply. The letter contained a lot of crackling classical Chinese, and the Dutch said they could not understand it... I found it. After the translation, I finally understood it, but then my face became ugly...
The meaning of this reply is actually not complicated, that is: If you dare to interfere with the empire's free trade, the empire will send a fleet to destroy you...
In the words of Yuan Gaofeng, the Counselor in charge of industrial, commercial and economic affairs: Even if the King of Heaven comes, I cannot interfere with the free trade of the country, let alone with the barbarians!
