Riding on the fierce south wind, the carrier pigeon flew to the Houbihu Coast Guard Base in Kenting in just one day and one night.
It was late at night, and Zhao Hao was still in the brightly lit operations room, pondering over Luzon's sand table with Jin Ke.
Each red flag planted on the sand table represented an Igorot uprising force. In order to allow them to contain the Spanish forces to a greater extent and to better control these Igorot people, Zhao Hao also equipped them with a considerable number of instructors, as well as weapons and armor such as shields, leather armor, swords and guns.
The instructors adhered to the sixteen-character policy formulated by the General Staff: "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue; when the enemy stays, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack." They greatly tied down the Spanish forces and successfully aroused responses from various tribes. The effect was unexpectedly good.
Now that most of Luzon is in flames, Manila is becoming increasingly empty.
But Zhao Hao's worries were growing, because given the brutality of the Spaniards, in order to stabilize the rear, the more urgent the situation, the more likely they were to attack the overseas Chinese!
He also couldn't say that the plan drawn up by the staff was wrong, because at all times, the staff should make plans to achieve strategic goals at the lowest cost.
Anxiety made Zhao Hao start smoking one cigarette after another.
After some discussion between the two, Zhao Hao rejected the plan proposed by the combat staff to send a Marine Corps to land at the northern end of Luzon, and with the cooperation of small boats, go south along the Greater Cagayan River Valley all the way to Manila.
Although this can avoid the harm of typhoons, it is too daunting to travel 900 miles across most of Luzon, even if there are ships to transport supplies and transport the wounded.
This goes against the Coast Guard's combat principles - the Marines should operate with the support of warships and cannot stray more than 20 miles from the coast, otherwise the situation is in danger of getting out of control!
Well, there is an exception that states that "for rivers with good access to the sea, restrictions may be relaxed as appropriate", but isn't going 900 miles deep too absurd?!
Zhao Hao directly ignited the battle plan, and while lighting a cigarette he complained: "If Wu Da saw this, he would tie the staff officer who came up with this plan to a rocket and launch him out!"
"The staff officers were forced into a corner and had to come up with this ridiculous plan." Jin Ke smiled wryly and tried to calm the young master's anger.
At this time, hurried footsteps were heard outside the war room.
After the report was made, a staff officer came in quickly and took out a translated secret letter from a folder and handed it to Jin Ke.
Jin Ke took a quick look and reported to Zhao Hao, "My Lord, you are right. The red-haired devils have attacked the overseas Chinese!"
"Good! Very good, very good!" Zhao Hao gritted his teeth.
Jin Ke quickly put his legs together and said with a stern expression: "Please give the order, sir!"
"Emergency assembly, I want to give a speech!" At this time, the worry on Zhao Hao's face disappeared. He fiercely put out the cigarette butt and gave the order in a deep voice.
~~
"Da-da ...
In a moment, the call for an emergency assembly broke the tranquility of the naval port at night.
The military port was immediately filled with a tense atmosphere. The sleeping marine officers and soldiers tensed up when they heard the call, jumped up reflexively, put on their training uniforms, put on their boots, packed their backpacks, and rushed out of the barracks with all their departure gear at lightning speed.
Thanks to Director Tong’s kind teaching, the officers and soldiers can still maintain a very high assembly speed even though they have left the Coast Guard School for many years.
Except for the officers and soldiers on combat duty on the ship, everyone rushed to the large playground next to the dock as soon as possible.
Hundreds of whale oil torches lit up the rostrum as bright as day. Young Master Zhao had already been dressed neatly and was standing there with a serious expression, waiting for the officers and soldiers.
Ten minutes later, the five thousand soldiers lined up neatly. When the panting subsided, the playground fell completely silent!
After Jin Ke personally organized the team, he asked Master Zhao to give a speech.
Zhao Hao did not use a loudspeaker, but shouted to the officers and soldiers, informing them of the situation in Manila. Then he said loudly:
"I know, now is not the season to go south, our warships have not been completely repaired, and we don't know those overseas Chinese!"
After a pause, Zhao Hao's unquestionable gaze slowly swept across the field, clearly conveying his extremely firm determination to the officers and soldiers.
"But I want to tell you that this is the duty of our coast guard! We guard the sea borders, and of course we must protect our compatriots on the sea borders!"
"It has nothing to do with whether we know them or not, because we are here to defend the duties of the Coast Guard, to defend China's maritime rights! To defend the dignity of our Chinese nation!"
As he roared, veins popped up on Zhao Hao's forehead. He took off his helmet and threw it hard on the table beside him, cursing:
"Now I'm going to Luzon and shove a cannonball into the red-haired devils' asses! Then I'll spit in their faces and tell them - fuck you - no one can run wild on our turf! This is our Coast Guard's turf! Even if Jesus comes, it won't help!"
"Kill the red-haired people, save our compatriots, and protect our sea borders!"
The officers and soldiers shouted loudly, startling the cows in the distant pasture and waking up to moo.
They had gathered here since the beginning of the year, and all they did was train and wait. They had been here for half a year and were already impatient. Young Master Zhao's rude roar instantly ignited their blood!
When the whistling sound stopped, Zhao Hao continued in a loud voice: "Originally this was a voluntary mission, but all the officers and soldiers signed up without exception! So there is no need for me to waste any more words. Warriors, there is no need to mobilize. Follow me on board and set off! Head south against the wind!"
"Go south! Go south! Go south!!" There was another round of thunderous cheers, and the officers and soldiers, led by their superiors, ran to board their respective ships.
An hour later, the first warship sailed out of Kenting Bay under the guidance of the Eluanbi Lighthouse.
Then came the second, the third... and the advance fleet consisting of fifty ships of various sizes, sailing south against the wind in the night!
What if the commander was changed at the last minute? What if the first battle was not going well? What if the weather was not good? None of these could shake Zhao Hao and his coast guards' determination to go south!
No matter how much they sacrifice, it cannot stop their belief in making China the center of the world's oceans forever!
Anyone who kills my compatriots must pay with blood a hundredfold!
~~
In addition to the advance fleet of the Houbihu base, the fleet heading south this time also includes the naval combat fleet of the Fengshan base.
The fleet consisted of two full-size oak battleships, four three-quarter-size cruisers, eight destroyers and sixteen frigates, a total of thirty warships.
Although the number is small, they are currently the trump cards of most strategic fleets.
Another part of the strategic fleet's warships, led by Chief of General Staff Haierge, are stationed on the Chinese-controlled Wansheng Shitang Island.
The location of this island is similar to that of Tamra in China, Japan and Korea. It is located right in the middle of Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, and its location is very important. It also has excellent ports and sufficient supplies. It was the first post station built by Zheng He when he sailed to the West. Later, it was seized by the Dutch and renamed the Natuna Islands, which became an important trading base of the East India Company.
After the imperial court stopped sailing, many officers, soldiers and boatmen stayed here and used the port barracks built that year to build a paradise. More than a hundred years later, this place became an important shipbuilding center in Southeast Asia, with a large number of carpenters, bamboo workers, as well as carving workers, painters and lacquer workers, who made and repaired ships for the countries in Southeast Asia. It was also an important trading port in Southeast Asia.
The Portuguese have always coveted this place, but because they had the better Malacca and there were no spices on the Wansheng Rock Island, they did not disperse their pitiful manpower to occupy this place.
Even so, in recent years, Portuguese galleons would occasionally come to the island to show off their power, forcing overseas Chinese to pay tribute and forcing the island's boatmen to serve in the many colonies on Java and the Spice Islands, resulting in countless casualties every year...
Therefore, as soon as the Coast Guard Fleet extended an olive branch, the 'An Buna Association' that governed Wansheng Shitang Island readily accepted it. Mr. Zhao proposed to establish an 'An Buna Company' in a joint venture with the South China Sea Group, reorganize the 'An Buna Association' into a part of the group, and Wansheng Shitang Island was also renamed An Buna Island.
The coast guard fleet is stationed here to intimidate the Portuguese and warn them not to get involved in the upcoming Mingxi War!
~~
When the naval fleet was about to depart from Fengshan Port, Ma Yinglong, the acting commander of the fleet and the commissioner of police, suddenly saw a white carriage of the Coast Guard official horse-drawn carriage on the flagship with the large white hull number '01', speeding from the direction of the camp gate as if it was in an empty space.
The base has layers of guard posts, but on the carriage of the four-wheeled carriage, there is a small blue flag with two gold stars embroidered on it on the left, and a strategic fleet commander flag on the right. Who would be so blind as to dare to stop it?
"Good boy, we finally caught up." Xiang Xuehai, captain of ship 01 and deputy commander of the fleet, couldn't help but grin with a slightly complicated smile.
"Hahaha, glad we caught up!" Ma Yinglong also laughed, ordered the gangway to be lowered again, and went off the ship in person to greet the real fleet commander.
As soon as the carriage stopped, the orderly jumped down, opened the door, and wanted to help Wang Rulong get out.
"Get out of the way!" Lao Wang spat in annoyance and drove away the short-sighted recruit.
He stepped out with a foot wearing a shiny black leather boot, then poked out his big, shaved head wearing gold-rimmed sunglasses and a Victory cigar in his mouth.
This look is just missing a big gold chain from the Northeastern man...
The coast guard officers and soldiers on the warship cheered enthusiastically when they saw his figure, and the whistles echoed throughout Fengshan Harbor.
Although they have a strict command system and an experienced captain in charge, the officers and soldiers of the strategic fleet are still accustomed to having Wang Rulong as a leader.
We all always feel as if as long as he is around, we are the only ones who can bully others, and no one else can bully us!
When Lao Wang appeared, the morale of the officers and soldiers was greatly boosted. Several old brothers winked at Xiang Xuehai, meaning that it was too early for him to take over Lao Wang's job...
Xiang Xuehai glared at them fiercely. "You guys take the nonsense I said when I was drunk seriously? Do you want to kill me?"
After everyone hugged Wang Rulong one by one, Ma Yinglong asked with a smile: "Old Wang, you didn't sneak out of the hospital, did you?"
"How could that be possible? I could have been discharged from the hospital last month, but Master insisted that I recuperate for another month." Wang Rulong said carelessly, "If you don't believe me, just look!"
He pulled out a crumpled discharge certificate from his sleeve, flashed it in front of Ma Yinglong's eyes and said, "Director Li issued it personally!"
After saying that, he put the certificate back into his sleeve, hooked his arm around Ma Yinglong's shoulder, and went up the gangway, saying, "I have to go. Why did we encounter a typhoon last time? Wasn't it because I, the Dragon King of the Sea, was not there? This time, when I go, I guarantee that everything will be calm!"
Ma Yinglong felt something was strange, but the fleet had time to set out, and Wang Rulong didn't let him think too much and dragged him onto the ship.
As the fleet slowly sailed out of Fengshan Port, a horse-drawn carriage from the Coast Guard General Hospital followed closely behind.
A young and handsome doctor looked through the car window and saw that the warship had already left the port. He stamped his feet in anger and said:
"This Wang Rulong is really reckless! He drank a lot of alcohol after the operation and caused the wound to become infected! It's only been a few days since the inflammation was cured, how can he go out to sea? He even forged a discharge certificate!"
ps. Write one more chapter...