After the general tone of breaking the routine and interspersed encirclement was set, the theater ordered the General Staff Office to work with the Luzon Port Authority and the Construction Company to explore and evaluate the narrow strait between Leyte Island and Sanmiao Island.
The final conclusion is that the construction is indeed difficult, but it is not particularly difficult for the construction company with rich experience in port construction. The entire project can be completed in about one month.
There are still nearly two months until the end of the typhoon season, so there is still enough time.
Special attention should be paid to the issue of confidentiality, because this section of the 'Three Cats Strait' is very narrow and long, the construction section is 30 miles away from the Leyte Gulf, and it is very tortuous, so there is no need to worry about the Spaniards patrolling the bay.
The problem is that the tribes of the San Miao people living on San Miao Island and the Cebuanos and Valais on Leyte Island have basically converted to Catholicism. These people will act as spies for the Spanish.
However, after simulation, the General Staff believed that this problem could be solved.
After the final discussion, the theater command finally formulated a complete combat plan with Lin Feng's combat plan as the core and Wang Rulong's plan as the backup, with the goal of completely eliminating Spain's military presence in the Far East.
Zhao Hao named it "Operation Aquaman"!
The campaign is divided into three phases, the first phase, 'Forging Soldiers', will begin today!
There are three important tasks in this phase. First, through strategic deception, make the Spanish think that we want to recapture Brunei.
Second, complete the project of opening up the waterway while maintaining confidentiality.
Third, try to destroy the Spanish supplies on Guam and Saipan without exposing themselves, and investigate the situation of the Spanish expeditionary fleet.
The third task was in the charge of the Military Intelligence Department. The first and second tasks required the cooperation of all departments in the theater, and even Zhao Hao had to contribute.
At the end of July, he ordered people to invite Brunei King Saifu and Sulu King Yazid to the theater headquarters.
"Hahaha, Your Majesty, how are you these days?" Zhao Hao met the two men on the sea-view balcony of his residence.
"Thanks to you, life in the sanatorium is very comfortable." Ye Qide bowed and smiled.
"I just don't know how our problems will be solved," said Seif, whose face has turned from pointed to round, speaking broken Chinese, "It's inevitable that I won't be able to eat well or sleep well."
"Haha, I invited you two here just for this matter." Zhao Hao smiled and invited them to sit down, saying, "I received a letter from the cabinet the day before yesterday. The court has decided to accept the two of you're offerings, and refer to the examples of Luzon and Annan to set up the Governor-General's Office of Brunei and the Governor-General's Office of Annan respectively. You two will serve as the Governor-General and the Governor-General respectively, and the positions will be inherited by the family. All internal affairs will be decided by you."
"Really?" The two were delighted to hear that. They knew that they would not be crowned kings after donating their land, and being able to become a hereditary governor or governor-general would be great. Sultan, king, or governor, isn't it just a title?
And they all knew that since the Jiajing period, when the King of Annan, Mo Dengyong, tied himself up and offered land outside the Zhennan Pass and requested to include the population and land register in the Ming Dynasty, Annan was downgraded from the "Kingdom of Annan" to the "Annan Dutongsi" and was under the jurisdiction of the Guangxi Provincial Administration.
With the same treatment as Annan, which is known as the Little China, what else can they not be satisfied with?
Ye Qide was smart. He bowed deeply to Zhao Hao and said, "From now on, I will have to trouble you to take care of all the affairs of the Governor's Office."
"Yes, yes." Saifu nodded quickly. He had thought it through thoroughly during this period. Since he had taken refuge under the Ming Dynasty and Mr. Zhao, he had to learn from Old Ye and put himself in the right position.
"Alas, that's wrong." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Here at the Luzon Governor's Office, because Governor Xu's inheritance has been broken for eight or nine generations and lacks sufficient popularity, our group helps him manage more."
After a pause, he looked at Saifu with a smile and said, "You two are different. You are both descendants of the same family and are highly respected. The affairs of Brunei and Sulu will still be led by you, and our group will only help you."
"This..." Yezid and Seif looked at each other and intuitively felt that this was not to be taken seriously.
"Don't worry, the coast guard will guard every inch of the Ming Dynasty's sea and territory, including Brunei and Sulu." Zhao Hao said with a smile.
At this time, Secretary Ma brought three glasses of wine. Zhao Hao picked up a glass and motioned for the two to raise their glasses as well.
"Come, let us wish Daming, Nanyang, Brunei, and Sulu all a bright future!"
"And the group." Ye Qide added with a smile.
"That's right." Saiful also nodded and agreed: "Everyone's well is the real well!"
"Okay, okay!" After toasting, Zhao Hao asked the two to sit down, then lit a cigarette and said, "Besides, each of you has an important matter that I need to trouble you two with."
"Please speak, sir." The two men hurriedly pretended to listen attentively.
"Governor Sai, I will send a fleet to escort you back to Brunei in a grand manner in the next few days." Zhao Hao first said to Saiful: "At that time, we will bombard Brunei City to deter the invaders in the city. Then when you return, send someone to the city to tell them that Brunei has changed from a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty to a territory of the Ming Dynasty, so you are now invading the Ming Dynasty."
"Yeah." Seif nodded vigorously. Otherwise, why would he donate soil? "And then?"
"Then you can give them an ultimatum, requiring them to immediately withdraw from Brunei and leave Borneo before the end of the rainy season. Otherwise, the imperial court will send heavenly soldiers and generals on huge warships to crush them into dust after the cool season arrives!"
The combined fleet on the sea was conducting shooting training. The rumbling sound of artillery fire was incessant, like thunder rumbling in the sky.
"Okay, I'll remember that!" Saifu nodded vigorously, looking at Zhao Hao eagerly and asked, "Will the heavenly soldiers really come by then?"
"That's what you're saying." Zhao Hao looked at him strangely and said, "If a man doesn't have integrity, he can't even stand, let alone the Celestial Empire."
But the cool season is still long, and Mr. Zhao can't guarantee a specific time of visit.
"I am sorry for my words..." Saif's eyes were red with excitement. He stared at the rows of huge ships on the sea and wished he could grow wings and fly back to Brunei.
"Okay, you go first. I have something to discuss with Old Ye alone." Zhao Hao smiled and patted Saifu's shoulder.
"Yes." Seif bowed and left.
~~
After Seif left, Yezid asked nervously, "What do you want, sir?"
"Relax, the governor is still higher than me in terms of official rank." Zhao Hao smiled and pressed the cigarette box, flicked a cigarette to him and said, "We are now in the same palace, and we are planning together."
"Sir, please don't say that." Ye Qide was much more correct than Bi Yifu. He took the cigarette with both hands and said, "Sulu is just a small country. I am really terrified to be loved by you."
"Hey, you still have Sanbaoyan, I will help you get it back soon." Zhao Hao smiled and lit a cigarette for him.
"Compared to Luzon and Brunei, it is still pitifully small." Ye Qide said humbly, "Sir, please don't think of me as a big shot. I will be satisfied if I can serve you like a dog and a horse."
"Haha, good, good." Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh and said, "I like honest people like you, Old Ye. Only when people like you become successful, will everyone be willing to be honest and behave themselves!"
He gestured in the air and said, "As long as you have the ability, the entire Mindanao Island will be under the jurisdiction of your governor-general in the future. What do you think?"
Ye Qide couldn't help but shudder. Mindanao is only a little smaller than Luzon, and it has fertile fields and abundant resources!
He swallowed hard, knelt down and swore, "I swear to be loyal to you till death, and I will never betray you for generations to come!"
"Okay, let's not let each other down. Get up quickly." Zhao Hao nodded with satisfaction and said to Ye Qide who stood up again: "But I have another thing for you to do now."
"Please give me your instructions, sir." Ye Qide nodded quickly and was about to make a long speech when Zhao Hao waved his hand to stop him.
Mr. Zhao asked him, "Are most of those South Sea pirates from the Sulu Archipelago?"
"This..." Ye Qide couldn't help but blush, and nodded with difficulty, "I'm ashamed. In fact, Sulu has fertile soil and rich fisheries. The people originally lived and worked in peace and contentment. It can be said that there were some people who went to sea to become pirates, but they were really not many."
He said angrily, "After the red-haired devils came, they often took their huge ships to various islands to rob us, using the excuse that we refused to convert to their religion. Life became unbearable, and more and more people went to sea to become pirates in order to make a living."
He did not forget to distance himself from the matter, saying, "When I was the king, I could still restrain them. But now that the country has been destroyed, what right do I have to stop them from having a meal?"
"Can they listen to you now?" Zhao Hao said, flicking the ash off his cigarette.
"Of course, our Dong Wang lineage has ruled Sulu for nearly two hundred years. The people have listened to us for generations." Ye Qide suddenly realized, "Sir, you want me to restrain them and stop being pirates?"
"That's a story for later." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "I'm asking you to gather as many subordinates as possible to form a super large pirate gang, and then set up camp here!"
As he said this, he took the map and pointed to the northern end of the Three Cats Strait, which was a natural shelter.
"The reason is very good. Your country was destroyed by the Spanish. It makes sense to find a place to start over, right?"
"It makes sense, it makes sense, it makes sense." Yezid nodded, hesitated and said, "The people living here are the Walais who converted to Catholicism. They are definitely not able to defeat our brave Sulus, but..."
He swallowed and didn't dare to say anything else.
"Just beating them, are you afraid of attracting the red-haired devils?" Zhao Hao knew what he meant.
"Yes." Ye Qide smiled awkwardly and said, "The red-haired devil is too good at fighting..."
"Don't worry, they won't come." Zhao Hao said calmly: "The red-haired devils are busy welcoming the expeditionary force, and will desperately ask for help in Borneo. How can they care about the Wallais?"
"You don't have to kill them all. Tell them that the Sulu people just want a place to settle down. Let them leave the northeast corner of Leyte Island, and we can keep our distance." After a pause, he instructed, "The same goes for the Sanmiao people. Just don't let them get close to the southwest corner of Sanmiao Island."
These two parts form a complete plain, but are separated by a strait in the middle.
"Yes." Ye Qide didn't know what Mr. Zhao was going to do, but he nodded and said, "I will go back and contact my clan members tomorrow."
"Well, we must clear all outsiders out of this strait for at least ten kilometers." Zhao Hao reminded again: "But be careful not to do it too obviously. We might as well take ruthless action on Leyte Island first. When the people on Sanmiao Island see this, they should retreat."
ps. No more tonight.