Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 434 "The Southward Expansion Plan" (Part Two)
In the north of Shixing City, on a gentle slope near the sea, dozens of exquisitely decorated mansions are built along the coast. The beige granite walls gleam warmly under the bright moonlight, and the red terracotta tiles on the roofs complement the distant Chixia Bay. They possess both the elegance of traditional Chinese architecture and incorporate modern geometric lines brought by time travelers—such as the sharply angled terrace railings and the octagonal windows inlaid with stained glass.

A main road paved with bluestone slabs runs through the entire area, flanked by evergreen pines and cypresses. Amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, the wrought-iron courtyard gates appear and disappear.

Each mansion is surrounded by a meticulously maintained garden, some with elegant fountains and ponds with floating water lilies. Along the courtyard paths, there are clusters of flowers and lawns vying for attention, and the air is filled with a rich fragrance mixed with the scent of sea salt.

As night falls, the whale oil lamps hanging above the doors of each house light up one after another, casting a warm, hazy orange glow over these mansions.

In the reception room of the residence of Liu Guoqiang, Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Navy Colonel, smoke filled the air as several military and political officials sat together, chatting leisurely about major domestic and international events.

Shu Wendong, deputy commander of the Naval Operations Department and commander of the First Fleet, stood in front of a huge map of the New Continent. He held a Suzhou-made gilded silver pipe in his left hand and pointed heavily with his right index finger at the Baja California Peninsula: "A few months ago, I led two newly built cruiser warships on sea trials and entered the waters of the peninsula. There was not a single Spanish colony along the way for thousands of miles, and there was almost no defense."

"It can be said that the Spanish have no military presence at all from San Diego to Acapulco. If our Xinhua Navy were to sail south, it would be unimpeded all the way."

“But we only have a population of over 200,000. How can we possibly control such a large territory?” Li Liang, a standing member of the decision-making committee and director of the economic development planning department, frowned. “The entire California region is right there. We can take it whenever we want. So, I don’t think it’s necessary to rush south to occupy the region and provoke the Spanish.”

"Heh, Lao Li, why do you speak like Chairman Luo?" Shu Wendong said with a smile. "Expanding territory, isn't that exactly what we all longed for back then?"

“What you’re doing here isn’t territorial expansion, it’s just reckless advancement,” Li Liang said, shaking his head. “Do we lack territory now? With our population, we can’t even fill Xinhua Bay, let alone California, thousands of miles away. Besides, there are seven or eight settlements there, so we’ve already laid the groundwork.”

“Population is not a problem!” Shu Wendong said firmly. “Now we have two shipyards that can launch more than ten transport ships every year, adding more than three or four thousand immigrants to our capacity. In three to five years, tens of thousands of people will be able to fill the California area.”

"And then we'd be locked in a protracted struggle with Spain, severely depleting our headquarters' strength?" Li Liang countered.

"How could we possibly be entangled with Spain?" Shu Wendong said dismissively. "With the Spanish military strength, how could they possibly reach California? We only need to send five or six warships to block Spain at our doorstep, preventing them from even getting a single plank of wood into the sea!"

"Yes, we can deploy specialized warships to keep Spain trapped at home. But the question is, how many resources would such a military operation cost Xinhua? Have you considered that?"

“California has the fertile Central Valley. Relocating tens of thousands of immigrants can provide for the needs of the war effort locally. How could it consume too many of the headquarters’ resources?” Shu Wendong retorted.

"These were Han Jian's words, weren't they?" Li Liang smiled slightly. "But the problem is, any newly established settlement cannot achieve food self-sufficiency without two or three years of development, let alone have the surplus to support the needs of war."

“If local settlements in California cannot meet the needs of the war, then we will use war to sustain the war,” Shu Wendong said. “Mexico and Peru have been developed by the Spanish for nearly a century; surely they could plunder enough resources for the war effort?”

"War cannot be satisfied by food alone."

"..." Shu Wendong stared at him intently. "Old Li, no matter what I say, you don't agree with the 'Southward Expansion Plan,' right?"

“No, I agree with your ‘Southward Expansion Plan’ in principle, but I don’t think it should be now.” Li Liang said seriously, “We should wait at least ten or eight years, until our strength is greater, our industrial and agricultural base is more solid, and our population is larger. Then, taking California will be a natural outcome.”

"Now is really not the best time. We should have enough strategic resolve and the necessary patience. We all know that the Spanish will not rise again even after the Thirty Years' War, and their strength will only get weaker. When we gradually become stronger, not only California, but the whole of America will be like a piece of fat on a chopping board. We can cut off whichever piece we want at any time."

"If we act too hastily and put too much pressure on the Spanish, it will inevitably arouse their high vigilance, and they will then shift their attention and some resources to the Americas."

The transmigrators present exchanged glances, unable to refute Li Liang's words for a moment, and the reception room fell into silence.

"Old Li, time waits for no one!" Liu Guoqiang stood up from the sofa, staring intently at Li Liang. "In another ten or eight years, who can guarantee that the world situation won't undergo other major changes?"

"Even if we choose to lie low and focus on development now, what if the situation in the Ming Dynasty suddenly becomes dangerous and we need to mobilize a lot of manpower and resources to deal with it? If the Spanish suddenly jump out and cause trouble, wouldn't we immediately face a situation where we can neither advance nor retreat?"

Li Liang glanced at him and smiled: "The Thirty Years' War in Europe seems to be going to last for another ten years or so. The Spanish probably don't have the energy to cause trouble in the Americas."

“What if?” Liu Guoqiang raised an eyebrow. “Since we arrived here, a butterfly effect has been created, and the world situation may not develop according to the existing historical timeline. Moreover, the Kingdom of Spain is not a normal country. It might do something irrational in a moment of madness.”

"You must understand that the very existence of Xinhua itself poses a serious threat to the Spanish American colonies. Once they learn that we are diverting a large amount of resources to interfere in the situation in the Ming Dynasty, how could they not take the opportunity to attack us?"

Liu Guoqiang's words made Li Liang frown slightly. He pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Old Liu, your concerns are not without merit, but it is precisely because of the 'butterfly effect' that we should act more cautiously."

"The Spanish might change their original strategy because of us, but similarly, our rash southward advance could trigger a chain reaction. For example, would it force the Spanish to make peace with the Netherlands ahead of schedule, or would it yield to France, end the war in Europe, and then turn their attention to the Americas to protect their silver supply sources?"

“What if our war with the Spanish attracts the attention of other European countries and draws them to the Americas as well?” “Heh,” Shu Wendong laughed, “Given the Spanish’s nature, how could they possibly bow down to the Dutch before they’ve lost all their chips? As for whether they will submit to the French and cede European hegemony, that’s even more impossible! For the Spanish, Europe is where their main interests lie; the Americas are merely a money bag that provides gold and silver.”

"Yes, if we try to take their money, will the Spanish just let it go? What if we push them too far and they mobilize all the manpower and resources of their American colonies to fight a war of attrition that lasts for years? How will we handle that?"

"Spain can't afford to drag this out!" General Mo Tianhai, the Minister of War, suddenly said. "Given the Spanish people's organizational and mobilization capabilities, they certainly cannot sustain a war that lasts for several years in the Americas."

"How do you know the Spanish can't afford to wait?" Li Liang sighed. "You're about to reach into their pockets and cut off their gold and silver inflows. How could the Spanish not fight you to the death?"

"The Spanish have poor organization and mobilization capabilities in the Americas, but that doesn't mean they can't mobilize a large number of manpower and resources to fight a colonial defense war against us. Do you think we can defeat the Spanish with our current strength?"

“We have no intention of waging a war of attrition with the Spanish that will last for years.” Liu Guoqiang took a deep breath and said, “You must understand that the Spanish’s fundamental interests are in Europe. They will not risk losing their homeland and waging a large-scale war with us for the sake of a few colonies.”

"As long as we demonstrate our due strength and let Spain know that a protracted armed conflict with us would inevitably deplete its national power and harm its core interests in Europe, it will naturally not fight to the death with Xinhua over a colonial territory that it has no real control over."

"Old Liu, isn't your idea a bit too wishful thinking?"

“This is not just my wild guess, but there are precedents to follow.” Liu Guoqiang smiled slightly. “Six years ago (1634), the British occupied Providence Island (now San Andrés Island in Colombia), which is only a little over 100 kilometers away from the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Nicaragua Province. However, the Spanish pretended not to see it in order to avoid a direct conflict with them.”

"In the same year, the Dutch West India Company captured several islands close to the Venezuelan coast, including Curaçao. Although the Spanish realized that the Dutch might use this to threaten their treasure fleet, they did not take it back firmly, allowing the Dutch to occupy the islands."

"Old Li, think about it. These two strategically important islands were occupied by Britain and the Netherlands, and the Spanish didn't make a big fuss about them. What about California, which is uninhabited and has no real control over it?"

"Therefore, in the face of Xinhua's southward expansion strategy, I think the Spanish will at most express some anger and condemnation, but will not launch a war over it."

“You’re still speculating about the Spanish response from your own perspective.” After a long silence, Li Liang said softly, “You should know that the reason the Spanish didn’t take countermeasures against the invasions of Britain and the Netherlands is because those two countries have strong military capabilities, which makes the Spanish unwilling to fight on multiple fronts.”

“But our Xinhua is different. Although we defeated the Spanish Mexican colonial authorities seven years ago, they still do not take us seriously. They believe that this defeat was just an accident, that their commander was careless and underestimated the enemy, not that their military strength was not strong enough.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Guoqiang's face immediately turned ugly.

We're all former cadets, so why are you the one showing such a conservative and stubborn attitude?

Minister Zhou Bochao of the Immigration and Colonization Department looked at the two of them and suddenly laughed: "Alright, after all this arguing, the core issue is actually just one thing: do we have the ability to win a war without affecting the development of our homeland?"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly in agreement.

“A few days ago, I asked Old Deng from the Ministry of Finance, and he gave me a heads-up.” Zhou Bochao coughed lightly, “If the ‘Southward Expansion Plan’ triggers a war with the Spanish, we will need to mobilize at least 3,000 soldiers, six warships, and more than ten logistics supply ships, and maintain our operational needs for two years.”

"Given the current financial situation and industrial and agricultural output, we can barely sustain it. However, it will slightly squeeze industrial investment and immigration funds. If the war lasts for more than two years, it will definitely affect the entire national economy and cause significant livelihood problems."

"Therefore, the best outcome is to carry out the 'Southward Expansion Plan' and expand the California region on a large scale while trying to avoid war with the Spanish. Even if an armed conflict breaks out, it should be resolved quickly and the war should be kept within two years."

"Don't you agree?"

“This should be the most ideal result we want to achieve,” Liu Guoqiang nodded in agreement.

"As long as we don't initiate war and disrupt the current pace of development, I have no objection." Li Liang pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

“Okay, it’s settled then.” Liu Guoqiang made the decision. “At next week’s expanded meeting of the decision-making committee, I will formally propose the ‘Southward Expansion Plan’ based on this principle.”

The party ended, and everyone left one by one.

Liu Guoqiang stood by the window, gazing at the dark, distant sea, and muttered to himself, "I hope we don't miss this opportunity, otherwise..."

As Li Liang walked out of the mansion, he looked up at the starry sky and thought to himself, "I hope that time is truly on our side."

(End of this chapter)