Chapter 941 Star Island

The straight-line voyage from Ampur Island is only about three hundred nautical miles. At the speed of the Haihan sailing ship, it can be reached in two to three days, which is about one-third shorter than the voyage from Ampur Island to Belitung Island.

If Haihan wants to control the overall situation of the Strait of Malacca, settling here is undoubtedly an excellent choice.

Of course, no matter how good the choice is, it must have enough resources to implement it. In the past two years, Haihan's ability was only enough to extend his tentacles to the front line of Ambuna Island. He was not able to do anything about the Strait of Malacca and could not do it here.

However, Haihan has achieved a staged victory along the coast of the Ming Dynasty and can finally return its energy to the south.

On December 6, 1633, the sixth day of winter in the sixth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Yan Chujie planted the red and blue flag symbolizing the Haihan regime on the coast of Singapore Island, and named the island Xingdao on behalf of the executive committee.

Haihan continued to take foreign actions during this year. At the beginning of the year, he sent troops to capture two fortresses set up by the Spanish in Taipei. Then he sent troops from Fujian to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to attack the Zhoushan Islands outside Hangzhou Bay. In early September, Wang Tom led another team.

Headed to Miyako Island and wiped out the remnants of Shibazhi that had been worrying the executive committee. Then Yan Chujie led the team to go south for military exercises. They spent more than two months in the South China Sea and made a large circle, and finally arrived at the Strait of Malacca.

A flag was planted on the Star Island at the entrance. Haihan spent this year clearing the obstacles on the road to expansion and extending the actual control range by about 400 nautical miles from north to south.

What happened in the Ming Dynasty in the same year? In February, the peasant army invaded Hebei, successively captured Zhaozhou, Xishan, Shunde, Zhending and other cities, and defeated the regular army led by Zuo Liangyu in Xingtai. In the same month, Kong Youde

, Geng Jingzhong abandoned Dengzhou City and fled from the sea, and the Shandong war finally came to an end. However, these two rebel generals took artillery skills to the outside of the pass and surrendered the wild boar skin, leaving extremely serious consequences for the Ming Dynasty.

After July, the Jin army captured Lushun, an important town in Liaodong. General officer Huang Long, guerrilla Li Weiluan and other officers died in the battle. Among the generals who led this Jin army was Kong Youde, who had defected from the Shandong war.

At the same time when the Haihan fleet was cruising the South China Sea to expand its territory, the Central Plains peasant army, pursued and intercepted by the official army, invaded Huguang and Sichuan all the way south. Almost all of the Ming Dynasty's inner circle fell into the flames of civil strife. Throughout the year,

The Ming Dynasty has always been in the midst of internal and external troubles. The land in Liaodong was completely lost. The Jin army entered the pass with an aggressive momentum. The domestic peasant army rebellion has never been completely resolved. The entire empire seems to be on the verge of collapse.

At the same time, in order to avoid the war, the wealthy and well-connected upper class began to flock to the relatively stable Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and even went south to Fuguang, bringing false prosperity to these coastal areas.

The rapid expansion of emerging regimes and the decline of old empires are happening simultaneously in the Far East. So far, except for Fuzhou and Guangzhou, Haihan has not exerted much influence on the internal and external crises faced by the Ming Dynasty, and is basically still in a state of insecurity.

From the position of a bystander. For Haihan, occupying the maritime chokepoint in the Far East as soon as possible is far more important than interfering with the Ming Dynasty. The chaos of the Ming Dynasty just allowed more wealth and immigrants to join the influx of Haihan to rule the country.

It's not a bad thing for Haihan.

In 1633, more than 70,000 naturalized people were registered with the Haihan Ministry of Civil Affairs, an increase of 40% from the previous year. The proportion of naturalized people in the population of Hainan Island, the main base of Haihan, also increased from 30% to 30%.

50%. However, relatively speaking, places with a higher proportion of naturalized citizens are often newly opened colonies, because most of the personnel sent to these places for development have already obtained the status of naturalized citizens, and most of the rest are in the

During the inspection period, and in order to stimulate enthusiasm for population migration, overseas stationing can effectively shorten the naturalization inspection time for new immigrants and obtain naturalized citizenship faster.

For example, in the planned new colony where Yan Chujie is planting his flag now, most of the thousands of people who will move in in the next six months will come to settle here as naturalized citizens.

"We will build a military base and a trade port here. In a few years, this will become a regional trade center, which will replace Batavia's function and status to a certain extent." Yan Chujie unabashedly promoted Haihan to his allies.

Ambitions: "Whether the Dutch make concessions in the negotiations will not affect the development of the situation. Even if they guard the stronghold of Batavia in the future, they will only slowly decline."

"What should we do about the Kingdom of Johor? Speaking of which, this is considered the territory of the Kingdom of Johor. Will Haihan use force to resolve this matter?" Zheng Zha asked with concern.

The Kingdom of Johor is located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is separated from Sing Island by a strait of more than 1,000 meters wide. It cannot be closer. In the past, the stronghold established by the Kingdom of Johor on Sing Island was completely destroyed by the Portuguese, but

This does not mean that they have completely given up the pursuit of this land. If Hai Han came here to establish a stronghold, it is really difficult to predict what kind of attitude the Johor Parliament will take. If we only look at the differences between countries

Judging from the relationship, it is very likely that the State of Johor will have a hostile attitude towards Hai Han. After all, Portugal and Hai Han have an alliance. From the perspective of the State of Johor, the two groups are of course the same breed.

"If they are honest, it will be easy to talk about anything. Any differences can be resolved through negotiation, but if they try to use force to resolve territorial disputes, then we don't mind giving them a good lesson." Yan Chujie's answer

Ambiguous and very official.

However, Zheng Zha has been dealing with Haihan for several years, and he has learned a lot about the ability of these senior officials from Haihan to make fun of each other. From Yan Chujie's answer, he can be sure of at least two things. First, this behavior of Haihan people has not happened before.

I have said hello to the Kingdom of Johor. Secondly, the Haihan people will not hesitate to start a war in order to occupy this place.

Haihan's combat power will be higher than that of Johor. Zheng Zha is certain about this. After all, Johor cannot even defeat the Portuguese, and the Portuguese are defeated by Haihan. The gap in strength between the two sides is still very obvious.

It’s no wonder that Yan Chujie is so confident. But from Annan’s point of view, Zheng Zao really hopes that Johor can do something. After all, the dead Taoist friends are not dead, and the strength of neighboring countries has been weakened by the war. For Annan,

It is obviously beneficial.

Since Yan Chujie clearly said that Haihan was going to build a regional trade center here, Annan and Champa naturally couldn't miss this good opportunity to make a fortune. At that moment, Zheng Zha and Fan Ji expressed their intention to participate on behalf of their respective countries. Xingdao is here

The strategic significance of this place can be seen at a glance on the sea map provided by Haihan, and there is no need to explain it further. Annan and Champa themselves are definitely not able to cross the sea to come here to expand their territory, but they can follow Haihan here.

Some benefits are good too.

Of course, the inspection in Xingdao is not just a flag-planting activity. The Ministry of Construction needs to complete a preliminary port terrain survey here to prepare for the next infrastructure project. The military will station a troop here.

To declare Haihan’s occupation here to surrounding countries.

On the third day after the fleet arrived here, a Portuguese fleet discovered smoke rising from the coast when passing through nearby waters, and came over to check the situation. For the Portuguese, in order to ensure the safety of this waterway, the strait must be

The armed strongholds and population centers along the coast were all eradicated one by one, but what they did not expect was that what appeared in the strait this time was not the desperate Johorese, but a large-scale Haihan fleet.

In order to avoid suspicion, the Portuguese merchant ship did not get too close to the coast. After watching it from a distance, it turned around and left. But it can be imagined that the Portuguese's mood at this time was very complicated. They wanted to monopolize the Strait of Malacca and wished they could defeat all their competitors.

They are all excluded from this area, but Haihan's strength is there, and they are clearly not someone they can drive away. Fortunately, Haihan is at least an ally. If they enter this area, they will pose a direct threat to the city of Malacca.

Not too big.

As for whether Haihan's fleet happened to pass by here, the Portuguese probably don't have much hope in this report. Because in the past two years, they have never seen Haihan's warship set foot in this place, and according to the past

Experience shows that wherever Haihan warships appear, this area will most likely be brought under Haihan's rule.

Haihan's strong capabilities in logistics and construction were once again demonstrated at this time. In the two days after landing, the military not only built three trestles for ships to dock near the coast, but also built ten more on the shore.

Two prefabricated boat-shaped houses, as well as the most basic peripheral defenses. After completion, this temporary military base will be able to accommodate 200 to 300 soldiers stationed for a long time, and a coastal defense battery facing the sea will be built near the military camp.

The only regret that Yan Chujie feels is that there is no real natural harbor here, so Haihan must spend more energy and investment in the subsequent port construction and defense deployment. The currently selected camp is located at

The opposite coast of Sentosa Island is one of the most important container terminals in Singapore in another time and space, and the terrain is just about right. Although it is not as good as natural harbors such as Annan Cam Ranh Bay and Tainan Kaohsiung Port, it is certainly better than

The islands of Ambuna and Belitung are much better. At least the port conditions here can accommodate cargo ships of 10,000 tons or even larger without any problem, and the potential for future development is also large enough.

The real problem that gives Yan Chujie a headache is not the future development and construction of Star Island. In this regard, Haihan has too much theoretical accumulation and practical experience for reference. As long as there is sufficient manpower and financial investment, building a new colony is just a matter of time.

It was just time, but he was quite embarrassed as to who should give the command of the garrison here.

In view of the geographical location and strategic significance of Xingdao, it will definitely be the military's command center in the South China Sea for a period of time in the future, and the commander here will undoubtedly be the controller of the armed forces in the South China Sea. From now on

There is no doubt that both Mu Xiabai and Roger are qualified to compete for this position.

Both of them had military experience before participating in time travel, and their professional qualities were similar. After time travel, they both participated in large and small military operations, and were stationed overseas for a long time. Their ability to lead troops in training and command operations was also the same.

It is obvious to all. Yan Chujie personally prefers Mu Xiabai. After all, Mu Xiabai is seven or eight years older than Roger. He is more prudent in his work and has been leading troops in the South China Sea. It is reasonable for him to be promoted further.

.And Roger’s service experience in the South China Sea after leaving Hainan Island was basically limited to Amborna Island, which was relatively insufficient.

However, Roger has an advantage that no one in the military can match, and that is that in his service experience before time travel, he was briefly stationed at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore with the US Navy's Seventh Fleet for half a year.

Of course, whether this can be regarded as an advantage depends on how you say it. After all, Changi Naval Base is a product of another time and space hundreds of years later. There is no real comparison between Singapore at that time and the deserted Star Island today.

, and the Changi Naval Base is a piece of land created by land reclamation at the east end of Star Island. Currently, Haihan does not have the engineering capabilities to replicate a naval base for Roger to use.

But Roger's short service experience here did help him as a commander to adapt to the geography and climate here more quickly. He was also more familiar with the sea conditions here than Mu Xiabai - when the North American gang came from Europe

When the sailing ship defected to Haihan, their route passed through the Strait of Malacca and made a brief stop in Singapore. For the future garrison with the navy as the main body, a commander who is familiar with sea conditions and has rich navigation experience is obviously

more appropriate.

As for who should be appointed as the commander here, the Military Commission has actually discussed it before, but it has not reached a conclusion recognized by the majority. Both candidates have their own advantages, and it is difficult to simply judge which one is better.

Which one is worse? Yan Chujie mobilized them together when he went south this time. He also wanted to combine their actions during this period to see their performance and their plans for the future.

While staying at Xingdao, Yan Chujie spent one night, called the two men to his tent, dismissed the guards, and then frankly stated the opinions of the Military Commission to them.

"The Military Commission's employment standards are unified. Whoever has greater advantages and is more suitable for this place will stay here as a commander. Note that the advantages I mentioned are not only the accumulated military exploits in the past, but also the quality of the person himself." Yan Chujie

Emphasized: "I hope you can talk about your advantages from an objective perspective so that the Military Commission can have some reference."

"Respect the old and love the young, old Mu will speak first." Roger spoke first, but took the initiative to give the opportunity to speak first to Mu Xiabai. Of course, in a one-on-one debate, speaking first is not necessarily a good thing.

It is very likely that your opponent will take advantage of your words and counterattack.
Chapter completed!