Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 282: Alarm in the Southeast (Part 1)
At noon on June 9, 1616, two fleets were facing each other at a distance of one thousand meters on the sea more than thirty miles outside Edo Port.
This depressing confrontation lasted for about twenty minutes, and then the Japanese side sent a small boat over: "His Highness the Duke of our country invites His Majesty the King of Siam to come to our warship for a chat!"
"Humph! A long time ago, I heard the Chinese say that in modern times, Japan raised scholars during the Meiji era, raised demons during the Showa era, and raised pigs during the Heisei era. Now it seems that this is true."
"Your Majesty? What were you talking about just now? What Meiji and Showa?"
"Ah? Hahaha, Subachai, don't worry about those details. Well, since that Duke has so many new warships but still doesn't have the courage to come over to my place, I'll just put up with it and continue to go on his warship."
"Your Majesty, the Japanese are so rude. We have come from afar twice, and both times they asked us to ride in a small boat and bump around in the sea..."
Alas, since he didn't dare to take action against Tokugawa Ieyasu in advance, I knew that this guy was a typical Heisei waste. But what can we do? With Thailand's current size, it would be a 100% chance of death to fight against the Ming Dynasty alone. And if it brings Japan in? At least it's still a 90% chance of death.
Forget it, for this narrow escape, I will just put up with it. I don't think this timid guy would dare to do anything to me.
After the boat of Rajafutu docked at the newly renovated Yamato, Tokugawa Yoshinao's ship, Tokugawa Yoshinao did not act arrogantly and went directly to the side of the ship to greet him.
"Your Majesty, I am sorry to trouble you to come all the way here again. I am sorry to have caused you trouble."
"No, no, the general has just taken office, and the domestic situation is still unstable. This time, it is still my turn to visit you."
The two sides sat down in a secret cabin and dismissed everyone just like last time. After a brief greeting, Tokugawa Yoshinao said, "I just received news that Kaiyang is dealing with the locust plague that is about to sweep across northern China, so this time, we should have plenty of time."
"Yes." Luo Zhifu nodded calmly and said, "I already know about this matter. It's not just that. Mr. Tokugawa, although Kaiyang has not reached the top, he is already the de facto ruler of the Ming Dynasty. Do you know about this?"
"Of course, as an enemy that affects our survival at this stage, I am extremely concerned about Kaiyang. Thanks to the frequent trade between the two countries in recent years, and the fact that there are not many racial differences between China and Japan , we still have some spies in Ming Country."
"Well, we have some spies in Ming. Kaiyang is amazing. He cleaned up the household registration, reformed the currency, rectified the officials, controlled public opinion... Although Ming is so huge that its pace is not fast. But it is precisely because of the huge size of Ming that once Kaiyang completes the integration of this country, we will not be able to fight at all."
"It is exactly as you said." Tokugawa Yoshinao also looked solemn: "Unless technology crushes us."
" I have always deeply admired Mr. Tokugawa's insights into science and technology . Now, what about your country's technology?"
Shaking his head slowly, Tokugawa Yoshinao sighed, "As you can see, I just ascended to the position of general more than a month ago, and have just begun to climb the technology tree in an all-round way. I was also wondering, since you have been in contact with the time traveler from Spain, could they support us with technology?"
"Spain? Last month I received a personal letter from Philip, the latest one. He said that the Spanish steam engine is almost complete. Once it succeeds, he is willing to export the steam engine technology to us."
"Good! As long as we have a mature steam engine, we will have nothing to fear when facing the Ming fleet on the sea. And once we gain control of the sea, we will be invincible!"
"Well……"
"Your Majesty the King of Thailand?"
"Mr. Tokugawa, we can't put our hopes on others. After all, the so-called close to success means that it has not yet succeeded. Although I don't know much about modern industrial technology, I also know that Watt, who was in the historical dimension, spent 20 years to successfully improve the steam engine, making it practical, even though his materials science, metallurgy, physical chemistry, etc. were more advanced than today."
"Hi! I'm ashamed, you're right! Then, Your Majesty, what do you plan to do for our alliance in the next few years?"
"Well... three years ago, my country already had 50,000 new troops, but now three years have passed, and I have only expanded it to 60,000, because this is the limit of my country's current national strength. If I don't fight back, I won't need Kaiyang to fight, my country will collapse. So, no matter what Mr. Tokugawa thinks, after I return home this time, I will start the formal expansion."
"Your Majesty, could you please explain it in more detail?"
"Okay. With the current combat power of our new army, we have a huge advantage over the countries in Southeast Asia. At present, although Zhenla, which is close to our country, is still an independent country in name, in fact, many of its subordinate city-states have been controlled by me. Even its royal family is just my puppet. This is the situation that I have spent more than ten years of hard work to achieve. To be honest, since we have come to this point, it is not important whether to completely annex Zhenla in name.
To the west of my country is Burma, a kingdom in its heyday. My plan is to start attacking that country in the second half of this year, but after inflicting heavy damage on the enemy's main force and gaining some important passes, we will immediately sign a peace agreement with them. After that, we will quickly turn our main force to capture the Mekong Delta in Annan. The above things can be done within half a year."
"With the ability of His Majesty the King of Thailand, there will definitely be no problem with this. So what about your navy?"
"Our country now has 20 1,200-ton sailing warships and 50 600-ton warships. In addition, there are ten Spanish galleons of about 1,000 tons. Their speed and gun size are not compatible with these new ships, so they will form a separate fleet, mainly to carry out missions to the south... The above warships are also the limit of our national strength. In the second half of this year, after the army begins to invade Burma, our navy will go south to Johor and close the Strait of Malacca.
At this time, Spain had completely suppressed the Dutch independence movement. I had already negotiated with Philip. After the Strait of Malacca was in our hands, he would ensure that the Dutch fleet would pay us honestly. In addition, once we went to war with the Ming Dynasty, the Spanish Manila Fleet would provide us with assistance. Of course, he also said that he was the king of the Dutch after all. Therefore, he had to ensure that the interests of the Dutch would not be damaged too much. Therefore, this tax was just a token of his intention. The main purpose was to prevent the Dutch from messing with us..."
"Hi, I roughly understand what His Majesty the King of Thailand means. To put it simply, in 1616, you will launch a feint attack on Burma to attract the main force of the Ming army in southern China to concentrate in Yunnan. Then your army will seize the Mekong Delta to gain the upper hand for future material transportation and naval base construction. At the same time, the navy will close the Strait of Malacca... and as long as my country and Spain also blockade it together, then the Ming country's maritime trade will be finished!"
