Chapter 968 Pros and cons of war

Annan ended the domestic Civil War in 1629 and gained valuable time for peaceful development. In the next five years, he gradually repaired the wounds caused by the civil war that lasted for several years, and his national strength even improved compared to before the war.

.But the days of peace seem to have come to an end. The war Annan is facing this time is not the Champa Kingdom in the south that has always been wrong, nor is it the remnants of rebels in the country causing rebellion, but the conflict with the Lancang Kingdom to the west of its border.

Friction arose over territorial and trade differences.

The Lancang Kingdom, also known as the Nanzhang Kingdom, was later known as Laos. This area was under the rule of the Funan Kingdom from the first to the seventh century AD, and from the mid-14th century to the mid-14th century, it was under the rule of the Chenla Kingdom until 1353.

King Ang established the Lancang Kingdom in Luang Prabang.

The country of Lancang borders the Ming Dynasty to the north, Chenla to the south, Annam and Siam to the east and west, and borders a small state-owned section of Myanmar to the northwest. It is a completely landlocked country. And the saddest thing is that the surrounding countries

The country's national power is basically above it, and only the Chenla Kingdom, which has been on a decline for two hundred years, is almost at the same level. In such an era, falling behind will be beaten is not a propaganda slogan, but a real reality

In reality, Lancang, a country with relatively weak national power, has experienced a lot of foreign wars in the past two hundred years, and has basically fought with neighboring countries. Although the results of the wars are fewer wins and more losses, in the end it is still

The country's system was kept afloat.

The current king of Lancang is King Pa Mengkou who has just succeeded to the throne less than two years ago. This old man naturally had plans to develop his ambitions after he came up. He saw that the trade between neighboring Annan and the Haihan people was flourishing.

With the rise of water, China's power has been significantly improved in just a few years. It would be a lie to say that he is not jealous. Naturally, he also wants to follow suit and open up a trade channel with Haihan so that domestic resources can be exchanged.

Return the money and weapons to Haihan. But in order to achieve this goal, we must first overcome a huge problem, which is the geographical environment of Lancang Kingdom.

If Lancang wants to carry out trade with Haihan, it must first open a sea channel. Looking around Lancang, the nearest coastline is its eastern neighbor Annan, and the shortest distance from Lancang is less than a hundred miles.

As long as there is a land passage leading to the sea, Lancang's precious timber, minerals, medicinal materials, furs and other products can be exported to Haihan. Of course, this idea did not arise after seeing Haihan's trading capabilities.

, in fact, the Lancang Kingdom has always wanted to get a passage to the sea a long time ago. For this reason, it has often had conflicts with Annan, which has a long and narrow land and a long coastline. The purpose is to hope that it can create a passage to the sea from west to east on the territory of Annan.

Come through the channel.

But after King Pamengko made this request to Shenglong Mansion, it was rejected without mercy. The reason is also very simple. There are some unresolved grievances between the two countries, and Zheng Jie does not want to let this restless neighbor

Even if he were willing to use the road to do business in his own territory, domestic public opinion would not agree with this decision, which is tantamount to treason.

During the Annan Civil War, the Lancang Kingdom was not idle. It secretly paid and sent troops to assist the small southern court. The exchange was that after the south won the war, it would obtain an exclusive territory in Dong Hai County, three hundred miles north of Hue.

Port - this is the coast closest to Lancang Kingdom. Of course, this plan eventually came to nothing due to the defeat of the southern court, but Zheng Zhi, who learned the inside story after the war, wrote down the account

, just waiting for the right time to settle the settlement with Lancang State. Now that Lancang State actually made the request, wouldn't it just give Zheng Zhi a chance to slap him in the face?

The Lancang Kingdom did not give up even after being rejected. King Pameng Kou knew that it would be difficult to change Zheng Zhi's mind, so he decided to find another way, such as trying to use force to directly open a road to the coast in the middle of the Annan territory. Of course.

The consequences must be intolerable to Annan, because it is equivalent to dividing Annan's land into two again, artificially creating a situation of north-south division. In recent years, the two countries have had conflicts on the border in the central region of Annan.

There have been several frictions, but one side was never determined enough to launch a full-scale war, and the other side was unwilling to escalate the situation and affect the domestic stability, so no large-scale armed conflict broke out.

However, this kind of friction on the national border has become more and more intense since last year, and the Annan people discovered that their opponents had begun to frequently send personnel across the border into the coastal areas. This was clearly intended to survey the terrain before the war. So the Annan court announced

All gates with Lancang were closed, and all personnel activities and trade exchanges were stopped. As a result, Lancang could still realize trade with Haihan through Annan merchants, but all trade with Haihan was terminated.

The Pa Mengkou King of Lancang Kingdom obviously does not expect to resolve this issue that has plagued the two countries for many years through negotiation and consultation. Starting from the end of last year, he mobilized troops to gather on the west side of the border near Tonghai County in Annan. The troubled people

Thang Long Mansion also planned to resolve this matter once and for all, and also began to mobilize troops to the local area.

In theory, the current Annan army no longer needs to hire the Haihan militia to directly intervene in the war. Their own strength is enough to deal with foreign enemies like Lancang. However, out of caution, the Annan army still hopes to order a batch in advance.

Arms to cope with the consumption and losses that will occur in the war. Since Lancang is a landlocked country, Annan’s navy cannot be used, so this order is almost all based on army equipment, especially the consumption in the war.

There was a huge amount of ammunition, and this time it accounted for nearly half of the amount.

"It seems that the Annan people are not satisfied with defeating their opponents. They really intend to have a good fight with the Lancang Kingdom." After reviewing the order submitted by Zheng Zha to Haihan Ordnance Industry, Tao Donglai made no secret of it.

He expressed his opinion: "This time the quantity is much larger than the arms order they placed with us during the civil war!"

Wang Tom said: "The staff also analyzed the strength of both sides and believed that the Annan Army should be the obviously dominant side. After all, we are involved in everything from weapons and equipment to personnel training. There is no reason why we can't defeat an army that is still stuck in the cold weapon era.

is a small country. However, this war is likely not to end in a short time, because Lancang is almost entirely covered with continuous mountainous areas, and the transportation construction is relatively backward. Even if the Annan Army can invade Lancang, the army's baggage will

Supply transportation will face great challenges."

Annan's existing armed forces are almost in line with the Haihan Militia. A large number of officers have received training from Haihan military consultants at the Tushan training base on the northern coast of Annan. Some senior officers even studied abroad at the Haihan Military Academy in Sanya.

The experience, combat command methods and concepts have all copied the Haihan model. And the weapons and equipment of its army are highly dependent on Haihan. Basically all the guns and artillery currently installed are produced in Haihan, and they can be called Haihan.

loyal fans.

However, this kind of army that relies on thermal weapons has an obvious disadvantage, that is, it is more limited by logistical supply. As long as the ammunition supply is cut off, the combat effectiveness will plummet. The greater the proportion of thermal weapons installed, the more likely this trend will be.

Obviously. Even their masters, the Haihan people, did not have a very effective solution in this regard. In land operations, they could only rely on a large amount of labor and animal power to transport and deliver supplies, and their operational efficiency was no better than that of the feudal armies of the same era.

How much higher is the dynasty's army?

Therefore, Haihan's strategy for outward expansion has always been to choose offshore areas, rather than expand too much inland, because the military's top brass is very clear that the performance of the Haihan Militia Army far away from the coastline is easily limited by logistical supplies.

, a decline in combat effectiveness will be inevitable. The Annan army, which learned from Haihan, also has the same shortcomings. After entering the inland mountainous area, the two sides that were originally relatively strong and weak are likely to enter a tug-of-war state. The staff is currently

This led to the conclusion that the war would not end in the short term.

As an ally of Annan, Haihan will of course choose to support Annan when the war breaks out. However, if the war lasts longer, it may not be bad news for Haihan. When the cannon is fired, gold will be paid, at least for Annan.

The arms sales order will generate a lot more revenue as a result. Moreover, the examples of battles between the Annan army and the Lancang army in the inland mountainous areas will also become a reference for the Haihan army to revise its tactics in the future. After all, the Haihan militia army entered the inland area.

There is not much combat experience in mountainous areas. It seems that only the militia army entered the Qiongzhong Mountain Area to quell the rebellion after the Shilu Mine Riot in 1631, which was a small test of the militia army's combat capabilities in this area.

Bai Kesi, who is in charge of arms production, said: "However, we do not have such a large inventory of foreign trade arms, so we can only sign an agreement with them for batch delivery. I don't know if the Annan people can accept it."

"I don't think the Annan people have the idea of ​​being picky. For them, it would be a good idea if we didn't cut off part of the order. After all, the arms orders they submitted before have never been completed in sufficient quantities." Tao Dong.

Lai responded with a teasing smile.

Although Haihan and Annan are allies, for the sake of security and long-term control, the export of arms and equipment has always been very tight. Annan people cannot buy many things for how much they pay. Annan Xianghai

The contents of the military purchase order under the Han Dynasty, if you can buy it 100%, you can laugh at 60%. As for the delivery time, this is not a transaction condition that Annan people care about.

"But they bought a lot of arms this time. If they didn't end up fighting against the Lancang Kingdom and this batch of arms flowed into their arsenal, they probably wouldn't receive any more orders from them in the next two to three years." Bai Kesi

There are still some doubts about whether this batch of arms will eventually be used in the war.

Haihan does not want the arms sold to become the buyer's inventory. Only through constant consumption can the arms business continue for a long time, and war is undoubtedly the best way to stimulate arms consumption. If Annan really fights the Lancang Kingdom

In the event of a total war, there seems to be no problem in selling a two-year supply of arms to Annan at one time.

"The staff believes that the possibility of war is very high. In addition to the old grudges between the two countries, Annan is also very willing to expand outwards. However, Champa and Chenla in the south are not so easy to deal with, and the Ming Dynasty in the north is

Not to mention, we are across the sea in the east, so only Lancang in the west can make a move." Wang Tom explained: "In fact, I think they may have been waiting for Lancang in the past few years.

The country needs to take action first so as to have enough reasons to launch a foreign war."

For these two neighboring countries, they are the only opponents suitable for war at this stage. Under such a delicate situation, war seems to be inevitable. But Haihan, the only one who has the ability to prevent this war, found

There is no reason to do this. On the contrary, in addition to selling weapons to the countries participating in the war, there are other reasons for Haihan to stand aside and even secretly add fuel to the flames.

"Once the war breaks out, the price in the immigration market will fall." Schneider, who had been listening silently, finally spoke: "Labor can create value for us in the long term, which is more cost-effective than the one-time arms trade. Until now, we have not

We are still reaping the demographic dividend brought about by the Annan Civil War."

Hundreds of thousands of war refugees were displaced during the Annan Civil War, and Haihan seized this opportunity to accommodate a large number of Annan refugees. Among the population currently ruled by Haihan, the number of naturalized Annan people still accounts for a considerable amount.

The proportion of these naturalized citizens has been working for Haihan for several years in various industries such as factories, mines, military, shipping, plantations, etc., and the value of wealth created far exceeds the original cost of introducing them. Haihan is exactly

Having tasted the benefits, I still have a special interest in areas where war breaks out. Even if it is as far away as the Shandong Peninsula, I will find ways to transport local refugees back to my own territory for resettlement.

If war breaks out again on the Indochina Peninsula, it is unthinkable that there will definitely be a large number of refugees in the warring areas, and neither Lancang nor Annan will probably have the energy and thought to resettle these refugees. At this time

It would be perfect for Haihan to act as a benevolent person to rescue those in distress. Haihan has accumulated rich experience in dealing with and resettling refugees. At that time, he only needs to send a team to the war zone with enough food supplies, organize the refugees and take them there.

Just cross the sea to Hainan Island by boat.

As Schneider said, the long-term benefits Haihan will gain from this population migration will definitely far exceed the one-time arms trade. Although this may sound inhumane, in such troubled times,

It is already thankful to God that the refugees have hope of survival, not to mention that after they arrive under the rule of Haihan, their living standards may be much better than before, and leaving their hometown is not necessarily a bad thing.

The chapter name is wrong and should be Chapter 968
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