Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 252 Natuna Islands Development

July 1878, , Moon Bay, the northern port of the Natuna Islands.

Natuna Islands Garrison Commander Chen Xinggui accompanied Nanyang Governor Mei Dongxing and Nanyang Corps Commander Wang Dashan to inspect the defense of the Natuna Islands.

"Lord Mei, General Wang, please come this way."

Chen Xinggui led the two to a high ground and introduced the fortress on the other side, "The local natives called this place Lanai. After our army occupied the Natuna Islands, we renamed it Linshan Town and built Linshan Fort as the core fortress of the Natuna Islands."

"I heard that the Chinese armed forces who occupied the Natuna Islands in the late Ming Dynasty and the Dutch who later built a fortress here. I wonder if this is true or not?"

Mei Dongxing asked as he observed the situation in Linshan Fort through the binoculars in his hand.

"It is true. Chinese pirates and the Dutch have built forts on the island. However, the scale of the forts they built was far inferior to that of Linshan Fort."

Chen Xinggui took a few steps forward, pointed his right hand forward and said, "The ruins of the fortress built by the Dutch are located to the west of Linshan Fort. The circumference of the fortress is less than 100 meters and the height is about 5 meters. When our army built Linshan Fort, it was completely demolished because it affected the sight of the main fort. The demolished materials were used as building materials to build Linshan Fort. Now there is no trace of the Dutch fortress left."

"The circumference is 800 meters, the width is 300 meters, the height of the city wall is 15 meters, and the width of the walkway on the city wall is five meters..."

Wang Dashan recalled the data of Linshan Castle and exclaimed, "A castle of this size should be able to accommodate 10,000 people, right?"

"General Wang's prediction is correct. The planned area of ​​Linshan Fort is 24 square meters, with a standard population of 1.2. If it encounters an enemy attack, the castle can accommodate up to 2 people. In addition, a small fortress will be built on the protruding mountainous areas on both wings of Linshan Fort. Each of the two small fortresses is equipped with a 155mm heavy artillery, which will form a pincer attack with the four heavy artillery of the main fort of Linshan Fort. It can control the sea area of ​​nearly ten kilometers outside the port to a limited extent, and have a huge suppressive effect on the enemy coming from the sea."

Chen Xinggui continued, "The Natuna Islands are an important transit point to ensure the safety of the immigration route. I believe that we should continue to strengthen the defense construction of the archipelago and build the Natuna Islands into a supporting base for the Han Kingdom in Southeast Asia. On the one hand, it can provide supplies and logistical support for the immigration fleet. On the other hand, we can rely on the military power of the Natuna Islands to fight against pirates near the South China Sea and ensure the smooth flow of immigration routes. At the same time, it can deter the Dutch from their ambitions for the Natuna Islands and ensure our army's long-term occupation of the Natuna Islands."

"It is necessary to strengthen the defense construction of the Natuna Islands. To be honest, Brother Chen, General Wang and I came to the Natuna Islands not only to protect Miss Wu's safety, but also to convey His Majesty's will to Brother Chen."

"Master Mei, please speak."

Chen Xingui said respectfully.

"The mainland is expected to launch a war to unify Argentina in the second half of 1879 or early 1880. By then, Southeast Asia and Africa will not receive effective support from the mainland. Therefore, Your Majesty orders that from now on, the defense forces in the two northern provinces of Annan, the Natuna Islands, and Songkhla should prepare for war in advance to deal with possible attacks from Western countries."

Mei Dongxing paused and continued, "Director Huang in Africa has received orders from home and has begun preparations for war. In Nanyang, only four people know about the orders from home: me, General Wang, Lord Liang of the Taiping Society, and Brother Chen. So if Brother Chen has any good suggestions and requirements for the defense of the Natuna Islands, you can put them forward."

Chen Xinggui took a breath, and after digesting the news, he said, "The permanent population of the Natuna Islands is 1.7, plus the number of people stranded every year, a total of more than people.

The Linshan Fort and the two small forts on the two wings can accommodate a maximum of 2.5 people, so I think it is necessary to build at least three new forts to protect the safety of the people on the island when the enemy attacks. "

"Where does Brother Chen plan to build the fortress?" "Padang, Lagong Island."

Chen Xinggui took out the map he had prepared in advance, spread it on the ground, and explained, "Badong is located 29.8 kilometers southwest of Linshanbao. It has an open terrain and a moderately deep harbor, making it vulnerable to threats from ships at sea. Lagong Island has a prominent geographical location and is close to islands controlled by the Dutch, making it most likely to be attacked by the Dutch.

Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the defense strength of the two places, build two medium-sized forts in Padang and a small fort in Lagong. "

"Brother Chen plans to abandon the Anambas Islands?"

Mei Dongxing noticed that Chen Xingui did not mention the defense plan for the Anambas Islands and asked.

"The Anambas Islands are small and more than 500 miles away from the Natuna Islands. If a war breaks out, it will be difficult for the Anambas Islands, which are isolated from the main island, to hold on. Building a fortress on the island will not be very useful, and it will also disperse the precious manpower of the National Defense Force. Therefore, I do not recommend building fortifications on the Anambas Islands."

The Anambas Islands consist of Jemaja, Siontan, Matak and many other small islands. It covers an area of ​​637 square kilometers. It is hilly and covered with dense forests, rich in high-quality timber.

After the Defense Forces occupied the Natuna Islands, they immediately launched an operation to eliminate pirates on the surrounding islands and occupied the Anambas Islands.

The Anambas Islands are under the jurisdiction of the Natuna Islands. The people on the island are all Chinese who have scattered from Annan, Natuna Islands and other places, and there are about a thousand of them.

Although the Anambas Islands only cover an area of ​​637 square kilometers, the relatively suitable natural environment on the island provides a good living guarantee for the Chinese refugees who have moved there.

On the largest island, Changma Island (formerly known as Jemaja Island), Chinese immigrants cut down the dense forests to make materials for building houses. At the same time, they planted rice, sweet potatoes and other crops on the land left after felling the trees. The harvested grains, vegetables, picked coconuts and other foods not only met the living needs of the local Chinese, but could also be transported to the Natuna Islands and the immigrant fleet.

According to the carrying capacity of the Anambas Islands and the hard-working nature of the Chinese refugees, there would be no problem for six or seven thousand people to live on the island. However, considering the danger of war breaking out, Chen Xinggui has been carefully controlling the population of the Anambas Islands to prevent the problem of over-population on the island and difficulty in evacuation.

After listening to Chen Xingui's explanation, Mei Dongxing understood his difficulties.
He said, "The National Defense Army has limited manpower in the Nanyang region. The Nanyang Corps has to deal with the threats from the French and the Qing Dynasty's Guangxi Army. It cannot withdraw troops to support the Natuna Islands. The defense of the Natuna Islands still depends on you."

"I understand Master Mei's difficulties. The Natuna Islands already have 1,000 regular troops and 1,000 militia troops. They do not need the support of the Nanyang Army. However, I can only give up some areas that cannot be taken care of at the same time."

"There is nothing that can be done about Anambas. We still have more than a year left, so we can start evacuating the people of Anambas Islands now, so that we don't have to wait until it's too late later."

"After the fleet escorting Miss Wu left, I arranged for someone to do it."

……

(End of this chapter)