Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 452 Dawn (Part 1)

January 18, 1641, Yuzhou (present-day San Francisco).

The winter rain, like silk threads, lingered and pattered against the glass windows of the Special District Government Office, blurring a patch of watermarks.

The weather outside was damp, cold, and biting. The charcoal brazier inside the official residence crackled, but it couldn't dispel the chill in Han Jian's heart.

He stood by the window, gazing at the pitch-black night outside. The intelligence report in his hand was crumpled into a ball, and ink stains seeped from the edges, staining his fingertips black.

"Are these reports accurate?" he asked in a deep voice, a hint of anger and resentment in his tone.

His assistant, Liang Fushui, stood in the shadows and whispered, "Sir, the news came from Commander Liu. He said that the committee and the cabinet have reached an understanding and your appointment will be announced as soon as the plenary session goes through the procedures. It is no exaggeration."

He paused, then added, "Commander Liu also sent someone to tell you... to be patient for now."

Han Jian turned around, the candlelight casting varying shades of shadow on his angular face.

He is thirty-six years old this year, in the prime of his life, but deep lines are etched between his brows, marks left by years of frontier life and political maneuvering.

“Luzon…” He sneered, throwing the crumpled paper into the charcoal brazier. The flames leaped up, reflecting the burning anger in his eyes. “Is this a plan to exile me to this miasma-ridden land, to fight to the death with rebellious natives?”

"Ha, they say they're going to open up a new chapter, but in reality, it's a mess. Spanish remnants, unruly natives, various uprising (Chinese) groups with ulterior motives, and the Dutch who are eyeing us covetously. They're sending me there to clean up the mess, just to exhaust my energy so I can never come back and cause trouble for the officials in the court!"

“My lord…” Liang Fushui hesitated, nervously twisting his cuffs. “My lord, I have heard that the central government and the cabinet have criticized you for being too radical in the Yongning colonization area, which may cause border conflicts.”

"Radical?" Han Jian sneered, turned around and walked to the wall where the map was hanging, and pulled back the curtain. "Expanding territory is a major national strategy, and opening up more living space for our Chinese people is our top priority. Hmph, with the Spanish's character, why would we need to provoke them?"

"In the Battle of Downs, the Spanish Navy suffered a complete defeat. Not only did they lack any usable naval forces in the Pacific, but they also probably couldn't spare many capable warships in the Caribbean, which they considered their exclusive territory."

"Believe it or not, even if we Xinhua set up our colony directly in San Diego Bay, the Spanish will pretend not to know and let us expand our territory. Unless we sail our warships to Acapulco or reach Panama, I estimate they will reluctantly make a move."

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his hands gripping the map so tightly his fingertips turned white: "In my opinion, we, Xinhua, should take advantage of the Spanish's current weakness and launch a thunderous attack to completely destroy the military potential of the entire Spanish American colonial authorities, so that they will no longer be an obstacle to Xinhua's expansion of territory..."

"Sir, be careful what you say!" Liang Fushui hurriedly interrupted, his gaze sweeping towards the tightly closed door.

If these words were to reach the central command, this superior official would likely face even greater suppression and demotion.

As his political assistant, he would most likely be implicated and suffer the consequences.

Han Jian took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the surging anger in his chest.

He walked back to the window, pushed open the window frame, and let the biting cold wind rush into the room.

In the distance, Yongning Bay gleamed coldly under the moonlight, like a lurking beast, ready to roar and devour everything at any moment.

"Xiao Liang, what do you think..." Han Jian suddenly spoke, his voice ethereal and broken by the wind, "What would happen if we made a move now?"

Liang Fushui was shocked: "You mean... to provoke a war with the Western barbarians? This... is absolutely unacceptable!"

This is crazy!
In our Xinhua, power resides in the central government, and affairs are limited to the cabinet. How can anyone act arbitrarily and start border conflicts?

Although the colonies were under a semi-military management model and had a certain degree of autonomy in many matters, such a decision that went against the central government's orders and launched a military provocation against Spain was tantamount to "rebellion"!

“No, we will not start a war,” Han Jian said softly. “But what if the Spanish strike first?”

"What does Your Excellency mean..." Liang Fushui breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his heart was still pounding.

"Did the 'Southward Expansion Plan,' passed last July, ever limit our southward colonization?"

"In principle, it cannot cross the 34th parallel north..."

"Where is our southernmost settlement?" "West Hill Fort (now Monterey, California)." Liang Fushui replied, "It was established last August and has 55 immigrants."

Han Jian suddenly laughed, tapping his finger heavily on the 32nd parallel north—marked "San Diego Bay," with the words "Western Fortress, no troops stationed there" written in small print next to it.

"If our exploration team 'unexpectedly' crosses the 34th parallel north and establishes a 'temporary' camp in San Diego Bay, claiming it's just to take shelter from a storm or repair ships, what do you think the Spanish would do?"

"An exploration team?" Liang Fushui was stunned upon hearing this.

What kind of exploration team would go to "explore" right under the noses of the Spanish?
Isn't this obviously... a deliberate provocation!
“That’s right, an exploration team to survey the geography and indigenous customs.” Han Jian’s lips curled into a cold smile, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle. “I remember that the regulations for geographical exploration in the ‘Southward Expansion Plan’ were written like this: the colonization area can form a ‘geographical exploration team’, carrying self-defense weapons, to establish a temporary base in ‘unknown areas’ to explore the mineral resources and details of the indigenous tribes in the area. As long as it does not exceed three months, there is no need to report to the central government.”

"When we send out armed exploration personnel, all we need to do in the report is state 'encountering a storm at sea and needing to temporarily dock for rest.' Who can say anything about that? These kinds of accidents are unpredictable. What do you think?"

"My lord, anyone with discerning eyes can see the trickery in this matter after a little thought..." Liang Fushui reminded him.

"So what? Have we disobeyed any central government orders?"

“My lord, why do you do this?” Liang Fushui gently advised, “This action will ultimately offend the central government and the cabinet. For you, it is truly… truly…”

"It's a thankless task!" Han Jian chuckled.

"..." Looking at the resolute expression on his superior's face, Liang Fushui knew that his mind was made up and that it was impossible for a mere political assistant like himself to persuade him.

"Time waits for no one!" Han Jian sighed, walked to the charcoal brazier and added a piece of pine wood. The flames crackled, casting flickering light on his profile. "Although it's still unclear how long the Ming Dynasty can last, I know that time is running out for it. ... Some things need to be arranged as soon as possible."

As a time traveler, although he did not know the exact time when the Ming Dynasty died, Han Jian still knew a little about some of its "clinical signs" before its demise.

The most important historical event was the Battle of Songjin. After this battle, the Ming Dynasty's elite troops outside the Great Wall were almost completely wiped out, and the situation in Liaodong was completely irreversible. The Ming Dynasty also began its countdown.

Of course, for those who have not studied the history of the Ming Dynasty, it is also unclear when the Battle of Songjin broke out and when it ended.

But in this battle, there was one name that resonated throughout the world.

Hong Chengchou!
His appearance on the Liaodong battlefield signified that this great battle was about to begin.

In the first month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign (1639), Emperor Chongzhen appointed Hong Chengchou as Minister of War, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Governor-General of the Jiliao Military Affairs.

The immigrant fleet that returned to its homeland last year (1640) also brought back news of the Liaodong battlefield. The Qing army had built a city and settled farmland in Yizhou (now Yizhou Town, Yixian County) three months ago, and had been sending troops to harass Jinzhou.

Hong Chengchou then left Shanhaiguan in May and engaged in a military standoff with the Qing army besieging Jinzhou. Both sides had their share of offense and defense, with the outcome being roughly equal.

The curtain has slowly risen on the Battle of Songjin. Without the intervention of a powerful external force, given the bizarre actions of the Ming emperor and his ministers, the outcome of this battle will inevitably be a devastating defeat.

To prepare for this crisis, Xinhua should take precautions and make contingency plans.

Firstly, it was to mobilize all of Xinhua's forces in the Liaodong region as much as possible, either to hinder the Qing forces or to provide assistance to the Ming army's Liaodong legion, thereby changing the balance of military strength between the two sides.

Secondly, if there is no way to prevent the Ming army from suffering a major defeat, then it is necessary to formulate various contingency plans for the Qing army after entering the pass and to be psychologically prepared for long-term interference in the situation of the Ming Dynasty.

Under these circumstances, Xinhua must do its utmost to stabilize local security and eliminate any possible military threats, in order to prevent its homeland from being attacked and its rear route from being breached when it has deployed a large number of troops and resources to local battlefields of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Han Jiancai firmly advocated a preemptive strike, launching a short but powerful war to severely damage the Spanish army in their American colonies, and weaken the Spanish military strength as much as possible, given that the Spanish colonial authorities could not obtain support from their homeland.

The ideal outcome would be to disarm the Spanish in one fell swoop, rendering them no longer a military threat to Xinhua.

Even if this war cannot completely annihilate the Spanish army, it should still deal them a heavy blow, destroy their fighting spirit, and make them psychologically fear Xinhua in the future.

Han Jian watched the flames flickering in the charcoal brazier and said softly, "They want me to exhaust my fighting spirit in Luzon, but they forget that the fighting spirit of colonists is never honed in the court, but forged in the storms of war."
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(End of this chapter)