Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 370: Ming Dynasty Begins to Close the Net
There is a saying that goes, "Even ants are greedy for life," and there is another saying that goes, "A trapped beast will still fight." The desire to survive is the natural instinct of every living being, even low-level life forms are like this, not to mention time travelers.
It is precisely because of this mentality that the Raja Buddha in Bangkok at this time does not show any sign of decadence at all. Instead, it flutters in an even more crazy state.
On February 15, the decisive battle in the East China Sea was decided. Although Chamra had to lead the fleet to retreat northward due to supply problems, Siam had controlled the East China Sea and the South China Sea for more than half a year, and the regular communication ship communication system was relatively complete. Therefore, at the end of February, Raja Buddha already knew the result of the battle.
As a time traveler, he certainly knew what it meant to lose control of the sea. After knowing that the war was already lost and all that was left was a desperate struggle, Luo Jifutu first arranged a large number of troops in Saigon Port. In order to eliminate the hidden dangers, he also stuffed his cousin, Songtan, the only one who could pose a threat to his throne, into the port.
In his deduction, if Kaiyang wanted to launch a war of annihilation against Siam, his main force could only come from the sea: there were Hengduan Mountains in the direction of Yunnan, and dense tropical rain forests in the direction of Indochina Peninsula. The poor transportation conditions could not support the logistics of a large army.
If they wanted to attack from the sea, they had to take Saigon: it was located at the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula and had a very wide sea area. If the Ming Dynasty did not take it, once something went wrong at sea, the army entering Siam would be completely wiped out.
Therefore, he placed 40,000 new troops in Saigon, which had only 56,000 men after the damage in the last landing battle . In order to give the commander of the Ming Dynasty the impression that this place was a great threat, he also stationed ten Spanish galleons built when he first ascended the throne in Saigon Port - If you don't blockade Saigon Port, I really have the ability to cut off your shipping line.
Afterwards, he placed 20,000 old-style troops in Phnom Penh: This is also a port. If you want to attack me, you have to attack Phnom Penh after taking Saigon.
In this way, he estimated that these two fortresses could buy him at least one to two years.
So, what do you do with this time?
Of course, it is to strengthen domestic military strength.
Before this war, Siam had a total of 60,000 new troops and 150,000 old troops. In the Chongmingsha attack and defense, the new troops suffered heavy losses, while the old troops lost only a few thousand people, and were considered complete after a little replenishment.
So the current arrangement of Luoyafutu is: 40,000 new troops and 20,000 old troops to guard Saigon. Another 20,000 old troops to guard Phnom Penh. In this way, in addition to the severely reduced navy, there are still 16,000 new troops and 110,000 old troops.
Then he left 6,000 new troops as guards, and the remaining 10,000 new troops were transferred to the 110,000 old troops as officers.
After all, he was the first time traveler to reach the top. With the help of Tokugawa Yoshinao, Philip and others, Siam had already established gun factories. In the past, due to insufficient national strength, only 60,000 new troops were equipped. Now, they need to survive, so they can't care about overdrawing national strength: in addition to the guards, a total of 120,000 land forces will all be equipped with modern equipment in the next two years.
As for the navy, he no longer wanted to build galleons or anything like that - could the country compete with the Ming Dynasty? So, the shipyards in Siam were now building countless trimarans day and night: extremely fast, loaded with a lot of gunpowder. If necessary, they could burn the Gulf of Siam!
After arranging domestic affairs, he sent several communication ships to bypass the Pacific route east of Taiwan Island and asked Tokugawa Yoshinao to launch a diversionary attack in Korea. On the other hand, he sent important officials to Manila: I will not pursue the matter of betraying teammates on the battlefield last time, but our Siam is finished, can you still keep your Spanish colony in Luzon? Even if it is not convenient to send a fleet now. What flintlock rifles, cannons, etc., please quickly transport some to me.
The situation is clear: if Siam is not destroyed, the South China Sea is not peaceful, and the Strait of Malacca is blocked, the Ming Dynasty will also be in trouble ! Kaiyang must go south first and then east! There is no need to have any illusions at this moment.
In short, in his deduction, after Kaiyang spent a year or two to take Saigon and Phnom Penh, his army would be well trained. By then, relying on the homeland, he might be able to fight. Moreover, the merchants of Ming Dynasty are not making trouble now, but what about in a year or two? If time is delayed a little longer, Spain will win the religious war in one fell swoop, and then it will naturally turn its attention to the east. Maybe the world situation will change...
Unfortunately, as a time traveler who was born in a small country, his vision is still narrow after all - this is the national temperament formed by the national structure and cannot be reversed by the overall quality of the individual.
As a citizen of a great country, even though Zhu Youdong was a loser before traveling through time, when he made the layout, the scene was much grander than that of Luoyafutu.
On June 3, 1618, Luo Jifu received a letter from the Saigon Fortress deliberately sent by Xiong Tingbi asking for help.
After seeing this letter asking for help, Luo Jifutu showed a relieved look, "The enemy is indeed doing what I expected", but he was also shocked by the powerful firepower displayed by the Ming army.
It seems that Saigon will be lucky if it can hold out for half a year. The reorganization of the domestic army and the production of fireboats at sea must be accelerated!
Then he said some encouraging words to the messenger with a pleasant face, gave him many rewards, and finally asked the grateful messenger to risk his life again and go back: Tell my brother and general, I will organize reinforcements to come as soon as possible.
Of course, reinforcements would definitely not be sent: although small communication ships could still barely ensure that Siam could communicate with the outside world, a large transport fleet would be dead if it went out now! How could he be so stupid?
Well, just hold on for me with the belief that reinforcements will arrive.
Overall, up to this point, he felt pretty good: Kaiyang didn't seem to be anything special, and all the steps were within my calculations.
But on June 13, his mood suddenly collapsed.
"Your Majesty, the Burmese and Ming allied forces, totaling 120,000 people, launched a full-scale attack on us seven days ago in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Mae Hong Son. General Suchat requests Your Majesty to send reinforcements as soon as possible!"
"What? Is that guy Ahua Nalong really stupid? At this time, he still organized an army of more than 100,000 to help the Ming people fight us?"
The so-called 120,000 were real , not just a claim. Among them, the Ming army only had 20,000, and only the soldiers from Sichuan Town and Shizhu Qianhu Suo were relatively combat-capable. As for the 100,000 Burmese, there were even fewer soldiers who could fight.
However, Siam was currently preparing its army in all aspects. At this time, there were only more than 10,000 people stationed at the northwest border of Siam. If the enemy attacked with more than 100,000 people at the same time, it would be impossible to resist.
No, before the main force of the Ming Dynasty arrives, Burma must be pacified. We don't ask to occupy all of Burma, but at least we must kill that stupid Ahua Nalong: Why are you still serving the Ming Dynasty as a dog at this time? If I'm finished, will you be able to get away with it?
Luo Zhifu paced back and forth in the palace hall in annoyance: "Subachai, my Prime Minister. Are She Chongming and An Bangyan of the Ming Dynasty still unwilling to start an army?"
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am incompetent and cannot persuade those two cowardly fellows to rise up in arms."
"Well, forget it. It's not your fault. The prestige of the new emperor of Ming is indeed enough to intimidate these two villains who are indecisive."
"Your Majesty, those two villains are too far away from us. We don't need to devote too much energy to them. How about the Chiang Mai route?"
"It's okay, Subachai. This time I let Pai Tun lead 20,000 reinforcements, all of whom have changed their uniforms. Humph, the Burmese, after we defeated their main force two years ago, the remaining soldiers, ha, each of them went to the battlefield with only a parang, can they be considered soldiers? Subachai, just wait and see, good news will come soon ."
pity……
On June 14, urgent military intelligence once again reached Bangkok: the Nanchang people launched an invasion on the northeastern border of Siam!
"Why? Why? Shan, Lao, Dai, and Thai, everyone speaks the same language and writes the same characters. Why are they trying to make things difficult for me now? Nan Zhang is a poor country with weak people. I could have destroyed him anytime I wanted. Wasn't it because his Lao and my Thai tribes are actually the same tribe that I let them go? Why are they repaying kindness with hatred?"
After complaining, he still had to deal with it. Luo Zhifutu finally asked one of his generals to lead 10,000 people to the northeast: the mission of this army is not to defend, but to counterattack into Nanzhang and completely destroy this country! After all, the Lao clan has only more than 500,000 people in the country at this time, and sending 10,000 troops is already the limit. A quick attack can completely destroy the country.
However, before the army had time to set out, even more urgent news arrived.
On June 15, a new messenger rushed into the palace: "Your Majesty, the Mon people have also risen up! According to reports, their military strength is no less than 50,000! Now, many villages in Kanchanaburi Province in the southwest of our country have been lost!"
The overlord of East Asia, the Ming Dynasty, is now starting to close the net!
