Chapter 4017
Chapter 4017
Chapter 4017
When the Portuguese representative left the academy, his face was ashen. He didn't even say goodbye to Qian Tiandun and other high-ranking officials of Haihan before leaving on his own.
After boarding the carriage, the attendant cautiously said, "Sir, the teaching approach of this Haihan school seems quite unfriendly! At this rate, they're going to train more than just a bunch of ordinary boy scouts!"
The Portuguese representative sneered, "That's not all. This must all be at Qian Tiandun's behest. The situation in the Persian Gulf will only get worse. Let's hurry back to Hormuz Island and hope Lord Rui has a good plan!"
Over the past year, Ruyi, the governor of Hormuz Island, has secretly plotted to incite and unite the Arab tribes around Fubo Port to cause trouble for the Haihan people. Forcing them to abandon Fubo Port and leave the Strait of Hormuz would be ideal, but at the very least, it would slow down the Haihan people's expansion in the region.
However, Rui's tricks were almost all thwarted by the special forces division. The small actions of those Arab tribes became the excuse for the special forces division to send troops, allowing the small Shihu Kingdom to benefit and expand its territory several times over.
Rui was somewhat uneasy as a result. After a series of defeats, he didn't know how much information the Haihan people had gathered, or whether they already considered him a worthy adversary. Therefore, after receiving the invitation, Rui did not attend the event in Fubo Port in person, but instead sent a representative to sound out the situation.
However, this trip yielded no good news for the Portuguese; on the contrary, it deepened their worries.
Besides the newly opened Fubo Academy, the coastal defense fortifications under construction in the port also impressed them greatly. It is said that the coastal defense cannons to be equipped on the fortifications will be transported from Haihan State, and they are the same type of giant cannons used in the Sanya Port coastal defense fortifications.
To the Portuguese's dismay, they also heard another piece of bad news at Fubo Port: the special forces division seemed to be planning a large-scale joint naval exercise with the Persians, and it was said that troops would be drawn from places like Phuket and Hambantota to participate.
The Arabs in the vicinity don't even have a decent armed fleet, so attacking Fubo Port is just wishful thinking; while the Ottomans have limited interest in the Persian Gulf, and in recent years their focus has been on Eastern Europe, so the possibility of a conflict with the Ottomans in the Persian Gulf is also unlikely.
So it seems quite obvious who Haihan considers a potential adversary for this military exercise, both inside and outside the Persian Gulf.
Although Haihan is unlikely to declare war on Portugal, it wouldn't be a big deal for the special operations division to use this opportunity to put pressure on the Hormuz authorities.
Qian Tiandun soon learned that the Portuguese had hurriedly left Fubo Port, and his assessment was quite blunt: "It seems the Portuguese were truly intimidated by us, and they must be rushing back to report the death!"
Qian Shaobao laughed and said, "I hope the Portuguese will be more self-aware and pack up and leave as soon as possible, instead of getting in the way in the strait."
Takahashi Minami said, "They definitely won't leave, but for the Portuguese on the island, life will definitely get harder and harder from now on."
The Portuguese established a base on Hormuz Island primarily to trade with various countries and tribes in the Persian Gulf. However, the arrival of the Haihan people significantly squeezed market space, causing Portugal's trade share to decline year by year. Sooner or later, Hormuz Island would become unprofitable. However, for the special operations division, the Portuguese were no longer a primary concern. As long as Fubo Port existed, the Portuguese would be unable to cause significant disruption in the Persian Gulf.
After completing the major event of establishing the academy, the special operations division will next focus on continuing to survey the Red Sea environment in preparation for advancing into Suez.
Takahashi Minami had already applied for the position of commander for this mission, leaving Qian Tiandun in Fubo Port to negotiate diplomatic affairs with the Ottomans and Persians. Once the fleet transferred from Hamban Port arrived to relieve them of their defense duties, Takahashi Minami would lead his team to depart.
In February 1661, the garrison finally arrived at Fubo Port, bringing with it weapons for the coastal defense fortifications—six heavy coastal guns.
These heavy cannons have a caliber of seven inches and are all breech-loading rifled cannons. Their range far exceeds that of traditional heavy cannons, and theoretically they can hit targets twenty miles away from the sea.
Of course, the shortcomings of this heavy artillery were also obvious, namely its enormous weight. Each cannon, including its rotating base, weighed a total of thirty tons. Even though it had been disassembled into parts before being shipped from China, both unloading and installation were still extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. Two sets of steam-powered lifting equipment were specially transported with the ship to assist in the completion of the fortification project.
In addition to the hundreds of laborers at the port, the garrison also dispatched more than 400 men to assist in unloading the heavy cannons from the ships. Almost all the livestock and flatbed wagons available in Fubo Port were also mobilized to provide support.
The short stretch of less than two miles from the port to the fort was almost entirely filled with carts of all sizes. The carts loaded with heavy cannons could only move slowly, pulled by dozens of packhorses. Several people on both sides of the carts held wooden sticks and continuously added them to the road to prevent the wheels from sinking into the soft sand.
Almost everyone in the neighborhood who had nothing else to do rushed to the port to witness this rare sight of massive cargo transport. Even Fubo Academy suspended classes for half a day, with Dean Su Zhixing personally leading the students to the port to watch the arrival of these powerful weapons.
The Arab onlookers were dumbfounded. They had seen cannons near the Haihan army's camp before, but they had never imagined that anyone could build such a large cannon. If they were hit by one of these things, wouldn't it scatter them all over the place?
In fact, given the current strength of the garrison at Fubo Port, whether or not this coastal defense fort is built will not affect local security, because almost no one would dare to invite trouble and launch an attack on Fubo Port.
Even if they manage to land, the garrison's firepower would be enough to drive them back into the sea.
However, Qian Tiandun finally made up his mind to build coastal defense fortifications at any cost, and specifically requested that they be equipped with heavy artillery that would leave a deep impression on anyone who saw them.
As for the reasons, strengthening the defense of Fubo Port is only one of them. Another purpose is to demonstrate the strength of Haihan's military to all parties in the surrounding area and dispel the restless thoughts in the hearts of some people.
Qian Tiandun had already planned that once the Persian side finalized the schedule for the military exercises, the coastal defense guns would be almost fully installed and tested. At that time, a live-fire exercise could be arranged, and a boat could be used as a target ship in the nearby sea to demonstrate the power of these coastal defense guns.