Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 296 Coastal Defense Line

Recently
Due to the hostility between Chu State and Britain and France, the rails originally planned to be exported to the British Indian Governor-General's Office had nowhere to go and were piled up in large quantities in steel rolling mills.

The Department of Ports and Transportation therefore changed its plan and put the Manila-Batangas railway, which was originally planned to be built several years later, on the agenda first and began construction at full speed.

When King Zheng Guohui of Chu inspected Cambi, the railway had already been laid from Batangas to Cambi and was being extended towards Manila. Thousands of workers worked together, laying more than 20 kilometers of railway every day.

At this speed
It will take about a week to reach Manila, and then construction of the railway extending north from Manila will begin. This is the most obvious example of changes in construction plans due to war.

Some projects were built ahead of schedule, while others were postponed or suspended due to the war.

In the Chu state

Due to the risk of war, 11 port construction and expansion projects were suspended and turned into the construction of dock bunkers and fortresses. This was also to implement the government's decision to prepare for war among the entire nation.

After inspecting the underworld in Krabi for a few days, King Zheng Guohui of Chu set out south and arrived at Fode Island.

Across from Verde Island is Mindoro Island, and the strait between the two is the Mindoro Strait. The Batangas heavy industrial zone and urban area are surrounded by inland bays, so there is no worry about foreign invasion for the time being.

To defend Batangas, we must first defend Batangas Bay.

To defend Batangas Bay, we must first defend the Mindoro Strait. The key to defending the Mindoro Strait is to defend Verde Island.

Therefore, the Fort of Verde Island is the first line of defense against the invasion of the British and French Allied Fleet, and its importance is unquestionable.

On the Fort of Isla Verde

Surrounded by the crowd, King Zheng Guohui of Chu took advantage of the opportunity to climb to the top of the island. From there, he looked around at Fode Island in the Mindoro Strait and nodded repeatedly at its dangerous location.

Verde Island is located at the narrowest part of the Mindoro Strait. The strait is about 14 kilometers wide, and Verde Island occupies nearly half of the width. The range of the artillery built on the island completely blocks the nearby sea on both sides.

During the Spanish colonial period, Ilha Verde was an undeveloped deserted island with no forts and no human habitation.

This island is not small, with an area of ​​about 372 square kilometers. The Chu government immigrated more than 1.3 people to the island, established two towns and 31 villages, and reclaimed a large amount of fertile land.

There are daily scheduled flights between the island and Badayan. Many people on the island go to the Badayan factory area to work during the slack season to earn extra wages to supplement their livelihoods.

The fort on Ford Island was built later. Recently, 11 new bunkers were built and some British coastal artillery captured from Singapore were allocated to strengthen the blockade of the strait.

We don't ask for being able to stop the advance of the British fleet, but at least we want to take a bite out of it.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu led the crowd to inspect the fortress. The fortress here was far from being as solid, powerful, and intimidating as the one defending Manila Bay.

Many artillery forts don’t even have roofs. They are basically naked despite being located high on the hills.

This is because the invading British naval guns had a limited upward firing angle and it was difficult for them to hit us.

The distance is too far and the range is not enough.

The distance is too close and the shot is not high enough.

This is also one of the biggest disadvantages in combat between sailing fleets and fortress artillery. Everyone knows it, but it cannot be changed.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu stood on this main gun platform, patted the bronze-cast British Armstrong 68-pound revolving coastal gun with his hand, and said with a smile;

“British cannons attacking the British sailing fleet is like turning the original soup into the original food…it is better to return these shells to the English.

The cannons seized from Singapore solved the urgent shortage of coastal artillery, which can be said to be beneficial to the present and to the country!

The King wants to see
What would Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips's expression be when he learned this?"

Lieutenant General Qian Jiang, the Minister of Military Affairs who accompanied the inspection, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, perhaps we've been crying wolf for a long time, but in the end the Anglo-French coalition has failed. If they can't overcome the Singapore Fortress, the Anglo-French coalition will pose little threat."

"Wrong, the British fleet will not only come, but will also come very soon." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said very confidently.

Seeing the doubts in everyone's eyes, he decided to help them understand the situation. He instructed Lieutenant General Huo Haisheng of the Navy, "Explain this issue."

"I will obey the Holy Orders."

Lieutenant General Huo Haisheng of the Navy raised his hand and saluted, then turned to the crowd and said;

"Gentlemen, you cannot use the concepts of traditional land forces to understand modern naval warfare.

A slight error can lead to a huge mistake.

The Royal Navy of England dominates the world because of its outstanding ocean-going combat capability, which surpasses all other countries in the world.

Moreover, as an industrial country, it has the ability to equip large cargo ships to fight with the ocean-going fleet.

Large cargo ships have a carrying capacity of thousands of tons, which is enough to support long-term operations at sea. There is no need to worry about grain, oil, and vegetables. The only shortcoming is that manpower is limited.

Although our army is occupying the fortress of Singapore, we can blockade the Strait of Malacca by force.

The Royal Navy of England travels freely, making it difficult to impose strong restrictions on it. In addition, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Batavia, Shanghai, and Nagasaki are nearby to provide logistics for the British army. The Singapore fortress has far less constraints on it than you think.

In just a few days, they could have fought across thousands of miles. The English, being so proud, would never allow themselves to be led by the nose. They would certainly use their strengths to break the deadlock and fight on home soil without slacking for a moment.

Considering the cunning nature of the British and French expeditionary forces, their ultimate goal was to capture Manila, but they did not rule out the possibility of turning to second best options and attacking Batangas, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga in order to save face.

Therefore, domestic war preparedness is particularly important, and all considerations come from this."

His words caused everyone to think deeply and nod in agreement.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang spoke out and said;

"Cavite Governor He Zhizhang is truly a black sheep and should be dealt with severely and swiftly. In my opinion, he should be killed as a warning to others.

The government has now organized inspectors to visit various prefectures and counties to inspect the war preparedness situation. Anyone who is slack will be severely punished.

National war preparedness is a major national priority, how can it be treated as a joke?

"My Lord, this is the advice of an old minister for the sake of state. It should be done this way so that government policies can be implemented smoothly."

"I second the suggestion. A thunderbolt approach is necessary to demonstrate the compassion of a bodhisattva."

"I second the motion that they should be severely punished."

At this critical moment, no one dared to say a good word for He Zhizhang, and they all agreed to severely punish him. It was obvious that this man's life could not be saved.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu said nothing more, but nodded slightly and said, "The cabinet should come up with a suitable proposal and deal with it as soon as possible."

"We will obey your Majesty's command." Everyone bowed and replied.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu looked around the lush green island. The white spots around the island were fortress batteries, dotted along the coast.

Thinking that this place will soon be involved in war, I feel sad.

But he quickly put this depressed mood behind him. The Chu State, which rose in Southeast Asia, needed to go through the trials of blood and fire before it could become united as one and truly confident and powerful.

Chinese immigrants who migrated from the mainland generally have a fear of foreigners. This is a bad habit they contracted in the northern mainland and must be eradicated.

If you don’t have confidence in yourself when facing foreigners, how can you become self-reliant?

The State of Chu was now on the right track. The victory brought by the occupation of Singapore and the bloody massacre in Saigon greatly boosted the confidence of the people of Chu and triggered a surge of patriotic enthusiasm.

This is not enough, we need to add more fuel...

After inspecting Ford Island, King Zheng Guohui of Chu and a group of ministers boarded a small steamer and sailed quickly towards Manila.

Nowadays, taking a steamer is the fastest and most convenient way to travel between islands.

The Jinsha Shipyard produced three small steamers per month. Together with the small steamers produced by other shipyards, the Chu State's monthly production of small steamers for various purposes reached 11.

The annual output is about 130 ships, which has solved the problem of domestic production of steam engines. This number is still growing rapidly.

The steamer that King Zheng Guohui of Chu and a group of ministers rode on was a special passenger steamer.

This type of passenger steamer has a long cabin. The large ones can carry more than a hundred people at a time, with 6 people in each row and an aisle in the middle, for a total of 18 rows.

The speed on calm sea can reach 15 knots, which is or kilometers per hour. It travels smoothly and quickly without mobilizing a large number of troops.

There were at least a hundred officers and soldiers of the Royal Guard accompanying the King of Chu, and they could not fit in the cabin of the small steamer. Only a few senior officers were serving inside.

The other officers and soldiers stood on both sides of the ship, holding the crossbar of the small steamer with one hand, and felt cool in the sea breeze.

more than two hours later
As the steamer approached the Corregidor Fortress dock, it slowly slowed down and moved closer. Soldiers at the dock took the cable and put it around the bollard.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu and a group of accompanying ministers came down one after another. The fortress commander was waiting at the dock early and respectfully led them up.

Less than a month after returning from Saigon, this was the third time that King Zheng Guohui of Chu visited the fortress. This shows how much importance he attached to this fortress, which was undoubtedly the top priority.

Fort Corregidor is the first and most important gate to defend Manila Bay.

As long as we hold this place, no matter how powerful the Anglo-French fleet is, it will not be able to attack and can only wander around the periphery, wasting time in vain.

This is not as simple as peeling off a layer of skin. Fort Corregidor must not be lost. Once it is breached, Manila will be in danger!

Aren’t there still Cavite Fort, Fubo Fort and the dock defense bunkers in Manila Bay?

That's not the case. If the British and French forces really broke through the Corregidor Fortress, the fortresses in the bay could be completely captured by sacrificing more lives and artillery fire.

Therefore, the core of the Battle of Manila was the Battle of Fort Corregidor.

As long as we hold this place, everything will be fine.

If we can't hold it, then every inch of land will be fought with blood, and we will fight an unprecedentedly brutal battle for the city with the British and French forces.

(End of this chapter)