In the spring of the eighth year of Taichang, it soon came to Nanyang. [No pop-up novel network]

A gentle sea breeze blows across the sea, creating layers of ripples.

The ports of the South Seas, at this time, seem to be summer, and everywhere is hot. A large number of merchant ships lined up to enter the port to unload, and the merchant ships leaving the port pressed the waterline very low, so you can imagine how much cargo was loaded. However, the sailors on the merchant ships were very optimistic and did not worry at all that the ship would sink.

For the majority of merchant ship owners, the storm of nature is actually not the most terrible. The most terrible thing is the enemy warships and pirate attacks. But now, these two most dangerous things no longer exist. All armed merchant ships were disarmed with cannons and the like, in order to be able to carry more cargo.

After the White Army successfully expelled the Dutch, the South Seas regained calm. In the entire South Seas, except for the occasional patrol of white-clad naval warships, pirates are absolutely invisible. The warships of other countries are also not visible. In general, if it is not necessary, the warships of the White Navy, too, rarely appear.

The Spaniards, the Portuguese, and the French, all of whom had the pleasure of transferring their warships back to their home countries. The white-clothed navy is already an invincible existence in the South Seas, and their warships do not make the slightest sense to continue to stay in the South Seas. Rather than leaving the battleship and making the white-clothed army feel that there is a mustard, it is better to automatically and consciously eliminate this mustard.

Now Nanyang is a complete free trade port. All ports are open to legitimate merchant ship owners. The core of the White Army's strategy in the South Seas is free trade, and everyone has equal rights and obligations. As long as the relevant laws of the White Army are obeyed, no matter which country's merchant ships are, they can freely exercise their power.

Specifically, the legal trade behavior of any merchant ship will be protected by law. Whether it is the merchant ships of the Ming Empire or the merchant ships of other countries, when they encounter danger, they can ask for help from the white-clothed navy. The white-coated navy will treat everyone equally. Of course, on the other hand, any illegal behavior will be severely punished.

The good trade environment has effectively promoted the maritime trade in the South Seas. In the original Nanyang region, several great powers acted independently, were hostile to each other, contained each other, and seriously damaged the trade environment. There are also pirates behind the backing of various countries to make trouble, resulting in the merchant ships coming and going, trembling and extremely risky. All this has seriously restricted the development of maritime trade in the South China Seas. Now, the White Army has swept away all risks, and the maritime trade has exploded.

In just one year, the volume of maritime trade in the South Seas has doubled. A large number of merchant ships departing from various ports in the South Seas went to the Ming Empire, Taiwan, Yueben, Korea and other places, creating a lot of profits between the round-trips. Through groups of merchant fleets, the Nanyang region successfully became closely connected with the Ming Empire.

There are also some ocean-going merchant ships that follow the Kuroshio route to the American continent. According to the agreement reached between the Ming Empire and Spain, the Spanish merchant ships enjoyed the same rights as the Ming Empire's merchant ships in the South China Sea. In exchange, on the American continent, Ming Empire merchant ships were able to enjoy the same conditions as Spanish merchant ships. All this provided strong help for the merchant ships of the Ming Empire to enter the American continent. Those super-large merchant ships, traveling between the east and west shores of the Pacific, made even more profits. Of course, the risks they encounter are also high.

Fortunately, the White Coats have always been empathetic. For the risks that the merchant ships of the Ming Empire could encounter on the American continent, the white-clothed army was fully prepared. Those eliminated moon guns were sold cheaply to various merchant ship owners as a help to land on the American continent. Even, in many cases, the white-clothed army simply gave away the moon gun and supporting ammunition for nothing, so that those armed merchant ship owners could fan the flames everywhere on the American continent and gain a firm foothold.

Compared with the small basin of the South Sea, the American continent is the real concentration of wealth. Although it is said that the American continent has been preemptively divided into spheres of influence by the Western powers. However, the appearance of the White Army has changed the history of the American continent dramatically. There is no doubt that the White Coats absolutely want to seek corresponding interests on the American continent.

At that time, the Western powers mainly controlled the eastern part of the American continent. In the western area, there is no force to control it for the time being. The armed merchant ships under the control of the White Coats established strongholds in various ports in the western part of the American continent. All the strongholds are connected together, almost equivalent to the entire Pacific Ocean, and they have become the inland sea of the White Army.

Of course, it will be difficult for the White Army to fully control the American continent. With the current capabilities of the White Coats Army and Navy, it is not possible to project the entire army strength of a battalion to the American continent and ensure the long-term combat needs of this battalion. Therefore, it can only take the way of ant moving, and through the folk way, it continues to penetrate into the west coast of the American continent.

In fact, with the help of the Yue Yue Gun, the development of armed merchant ships from the civilian sector on the American continent was quite rapid. The local natives, using scimitar bows and arrows, were naturally no match for rifled guns. Often, a large merchant ship, equipped with 500 guns and carrying a sufficient amount of ammunition, was able to establish and control a small stronghold. Even if the local natives continued to attack, they could not clear the stronghold.

At the beginning, when Xu Xingxia founded the White Clothes Army, he promised his subordinates a five-year military service system. After the overall situation was basically stabilized, the five-year military service system was established as a law and regulation. That is, as long as you have served for five years, you have the right to apply for retirement. In the three years since Taichang, many officers and men have met this condition. Therefore, some officers and soldiers have chosen to retire. And as time went on, more and more officers and soldiers were retired.

These retired officers and soldiers in white have more or less accumulated a little wealth when they were in the army. If you are active in the war and perform well, you should accumulate a little more wealth. Basically, for three to five years after retirement, there will definitely be no problem with making a living. However, it is absolutely unrealistic to expect to use the wealth accumulated in the past and live a lifetime. Therefore, they have to find another way to make a living.

However, many officers and soldiers of the white-clothed army basically do not know other skills except for fighting and killing. What can they do after retirement? The best option, of course, is to become a mercenary. The only purpose of mercenaries is to fight and kill. The opening up of the American continent required a large number of armed merchant ships and a large number of mercenaries, who just met the needs of this market. As a result, the two hit it off, and many professional mercenary teams came into being.

Between the third year of Taichang and the eighth year of Taichang, how many retired officers and soldiers in white joined the mercenaries through various channels? It is estimated that Xu Xingxia has no way to count. According to conservative estimates, there will be no less than 50,000 people. These 50,000 mercenaries are basically active in the American continent. One can imagine what they will bring to the American continent.

…… In March of the eighth year of Taichang, a large number of warships gathered in the port of Balinbian. On the mast of each warship, the flag of the navy in white clothes is hoisted. Among them, the largest warship with a displacement of almost 2000 tons. After the battle with the Dutch, the White Navy had rarely amassed so many warships. Therefore, some people who care about the current situation are secretly speculating about what the white-clothed army and navy are going to do.

The Spaniards and the Portuguese were secretly uneasy in their hearts, thinking that the white-coated navy was about to turn against them. That's what they're most worried about. If the white-coated navy expelled them from the South Seas, they would have no choice at all. Fortunately, later, news came that the White Navy was just going to organize a mixed fleet and go to the Indian Ocean. After the news was repeatedly confirmed, the hearts of all forces gradually relaxed.

In fact, the White Navy is indeed going to organize a mixed fleet to go to the Indian Ocean. The sea surface of the South China Sea has been completely stabilized, and there is no need for the white-coated navy to stay here for a long time, and it is time to set off farther to the sea. After training in the South China Sea, the current white-coated navy has accumulated a certain amount of experience and can take on heavier tasks.

After two months of preparation, on June 6 of the eighth year of Taichang, the mixed fleet of the White Army and Navy officially set off from the port of Pakistan and headed for the Indian Ocean. This is a large mixed fleet, with a total of more than thirty warships of various types and more than thirty large merchant ships of various kinds. After half a month of continuous sailing, they finally entered the waters of the Indian Ocean.

This was after Zheng He's fleet, and the Han Chinese reappeared on the surface of the Indian Ocean.

Chen Zhan, the commander in charge of leading the mixed fleet, personally wrote a strong stroke on the navigation of the day. He was able to lead the mixed fleet to the Indian Ocean this time, but Xu Xingxia personally ordered the general. Although Xu Xingxia did not come to Pakistan to see him off in person, he sent a handwritten letter to fully encourage the mixed fleet of the Navy to go to the Indian Ocean. Therefore, for his own task, Chen Zhan did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

Chen Zhan's biggest characteristic is that he is good at summing up experience. He has a good cultural foundation and is very quick to comprehend new things. His ideological concepts are also quite flexible and never conformist. Under the leadership of Chen Zhan, the Fourth Fleet may not be the strongest in combat effectiveness, but it is the fastest in accepting new things.

The mixed fleet of the White Coats Army that went to the Indian Ocean this time was actually based on the Fourth Fleet. In addition to more than thirty warships, there are also more than thirty large merchant ships. These large merchant ships, in addition to carrying the necessary nautical supplies, also carried a large group of white-clothed marines. They're armed to the teeth.

In the seven years of Taichang, the Marines of the White Army have been officially formed. According to the military order signed by Xu Xingxia, the Marine Corps is a branch of the Reading Force and is directly under the command of Xu Xingxia. There is no mutual subordination between the Marine Corps and the Navy. In other words, the Marine Corps does not need to be under the command of the Navy, but only cooperates with the Navy.

This emerging unit has a total of three battalions, numbered Shark Battalion, Swordfish Battalion and Flying Fish Battalion. The standard establishment of each battalion is about 8,000 people. With the addition of auxiliary troops, the total strength is more than 10,000. In fact, due to different combat needs, the establishment of the Marine Corps will be very flexible and subject to change at any time.

However, at the beginning of the eighth year of Taichang, except for the Shark Battalion, which was basically full, the other two battalions were just empty shelves for the time being. It's not that Xu Xingxia doesn't have money, but that he doesn't have the corresponding talents. The formation of the Marine Corps is much more complicated than that of the Army. He had to wait until a group of officers and men of the Shark Battalion had accumulated experience before he could effectively expand his army.

The first destination of the mixed fleet was Ceylon, which would later be Sri Lanka.

This is the key point of the Indian Ocean's entry into the Pacific Ocean. As long as it is a normal sailing ship, if it enters the Pacific Ocean from the Indian Ocean, it will stop at the port of Ceylon. Conversely, it is also the key point for the Pacific Ocean to enter the Indian Ocean. Ships from the Pacific Ocean, after entering the Indian Ocean, also need to dock in Ceylon ports to rest sailors, replenish fresh water, and overhaul ships.

This has not changed much even after 400 years. In the era of nuclear-powered warships, if conditions permit, warships coming and going would still choose to stay in Sri Lanka for a short time. For example, some U.S. warships often dock in Sri Lanka. As for the average ship, the number of stops is even higher.

Ceylon was under Portuguese control at the time.

The representative of Portugal in Ceylon was a small man at the level of a councilor.

Obviously, the Portuguese did not attach much importance to Ceylon itself. The main reason is that Ceylon itself has no valuable resources. The most valuable "spices" of the Oriental world simply do not exist in Ceylon. In the world at that time, the purpose of sailing was to make money. For areas where there are no money-making projects, it will definitely not be valued.

Due to its own weak navy, Portugal pursued a liberal and open policy in Ceylon. The port of Ceylon itself was defenceless, with no warships, no batteries, no garrisons, and only a handful of armed men to maintain local security. For a fee, all ships, including warships, were free to dock in Ceylon Harbour. Sailors go ashore to rest, replenish fresh water and food, overhaul ships, do anything.

It was precisely because of the policy of openness and freedom that it did not attract attacks from other powers.

At that time, the concept of sea power had not yet been formally formed. Even the Western powers only realized that the sea could bring wealth. But there is no clear understanding of the control of the key points of the sea. To be precise, they do not yet have a clear idea of maritime hegemony in their minds. If it was hundreds of years later, after Mahan put forward the "Theory of Sea Power", the status of Ceylon Port would be hot, and it is estimated that the major powers would be defeated.

The white-coated navy effectively controlled the port of Ceylon just before they could react. The Western powers did not understand the theory of sea power, but Xu Xingxia himself knew it very well. The first strike is strong, and the second strike suffers! This was a crucial step for the White Navy to enter and exit the Indian Ocean, and for the Army to attack the Mughals.

To the north of the island of Ceylon is the Mughal dynasty of ancient India.

At that time, the Mughal dynasty was still relatively strong. Well, to be precise, it's stronger in South Asia. After more than a hundred years of development, the Mughal dynasty has completely ruled the South Asian continent. Its previous emperor was Akbar the Great. This man, in the history of India, is very famous. After Akbar's death, he was succeeded by Jahangir. This person's talent is not good, and he is not enterprising enough, but he can still keep it.

The basic strategy of the White Army was to control the Mughal ports first, and then most of the Mughal coastline. In the end, a certain size of army was used to deal a fatal blow to the Mughals. The task of the mixed fleet of the White Army Navy is to find a suitable breakthrough and drive a nail into it.

Of the Mughal ports, the most important was of course Khalihet. Initially, the Portuguese came to the coastal areas of India and discovered the value of Khalihut at a glance. They immediately built a port in the area, stationed soldiers, built a fortress, and turned it into a Portuguese stronghold. But later, the Spaniards arrived, and the stronghold was taken over by the Spaniards. Later, the Dutch rose up, and Kalihet was again controlled by the Dutch.

It is no wonder that the Western powers attached so much importance to Caliheit, and it was indeed the strategic position of Caliheit that was very important. It is one of the most important ports in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean. How important is it? Indispensable! Without the successful control of the port of Calihet, the difficulty and cost of merchant ships traveling to and from the Indian Ocean will be greatly increased.

In the days when scurvy was not completely prevented, all seagoing vessels had to travel as far along the land as possible so that they could dock at any time. Once the voyage is too long, the sailors will become infected with scurvy, which can only be solved by docking. In the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the sea is vast and boundless, and there are not many islands to dock to.

The northern part of the Indian Ocean is very wide, and the western part of Socotra is a large island. To the east, Kalihet is the closest port to Socotra. Whether it's the direction of the wind or the ocean currents, the two are very closely linked. Definitely the most convenient, safest and lowest cost route from Socotra to Kalihet.

To control the Indian Ocean, Kaliheit and Socotra are two indispensable strongholds.

At present, the Dutch still have a considerable garrison in Kalihet. After the Dutch lost the interests of the South Seas, they continued to stay behind with Calihut as a base camp to protect their interests in the East. Dutch warships and merchant ships that had escaped from the South Seas were assembled at Calihet. They certainly won't resign themselves to failure. They also tried to use Kaliheit as a bridgehead, amassing strength and preparing to launch a counterattack against the Whitecoats.

According to the estimates of the intelligence of the White Coats, the Dutch stationed more than five thousand troops in Kalihet. In terms of the number of armed sailors stationed in Jakarta alone, Kalihut is on par with Jakarta. However, the number of various warships is somewhat inferior. The Dutch had assembled only a dozen warships at Calihet.

In Chen Zhan's hands, there were thirty large warships. Howitzers capable of firing at the same time, more than one and a half hundred or so. Such a strong sea force is enough to attack Caliheit. However, Chen Zhan is not in a hurry. What he has is time.

Kalihut is not the ultimate goal, the Mughal dynasty is.

The White Army amassed strength in the Indian Ocean in order to attack the Mughals...... For the continent of South Asia, Xu Xingxia has coveted it for a long time. He has no interest in the indigenous people here, but is interested in the various resources here. Cotton produced in India is quite famous. If the White Army needs a large colony, India is the best choice. India's cotton production can fully meet the needs of the entire East.

Although due to the emergence of Xu Xingxia, the process of the industrial revolution has been broken. However, the demand for cotton is increasing. In the Jiangnan region of the Ming Empire, the textile industry was very developed. The largest cotton mill already has thousands of spinning machines and looms, employing more than 5,000 people. In particular, the area around Songjiang Prefecture is simply the base camp of the textile industry. However, the cotton output of the Central Plains obviously cannot meet the needs of the market.

The newly improved Jenny spinning machine has increased the efficiency of spinning by more than 80 times. No matter how much cotton there is, it is not enough for Jenny spinning machine to consume. The large-scale application of Jenny spinning machine, in addition to improving production efficiency, also greatly reduces the cost of cotton cloth, greatly increases the output of cotton cloth, and accelerates the popularization of cotton cloth. As long as there is enough cotton, people in the whole country and even the whole world can enjoy cheap cotton cloth.

For the white army, a large amount of cotton cloth dumping, of course, brings considerable profits. Originally, the Ming Empire was the trade center of the world, and goods such as glass, silk, tea, and porcelain were basically profiteering goods. If you add a cotton cloth, it's even more incredible. This is very helpful for the White Coats to control markets around the world.

…… In fact, there are many good ports near the port of Ceylon. Galle, for example, in the south, could be expanded into a huge port. Chen Zhan had every reason to believe that as long as the port of Galle was built a little, there would be enough berths for large warships and merchant ships. No matter how many merchant ships there are, they can dock smoothly at Galle Harbor.

After Chen Zhan carefully inspected the port of Galle, he wrote a detailed report and sent it directly to Chen Xinhai, deputy commander of the navy. After Chen Xinhai received the report, he quickly sent someone to send the report to Xu Xingxia, who was still in Leizhou Mansion. Xu Xingxia immediately approved.

Soon, several detachments of the White Army Navy escorted a large number of merchant ships to Galle Harbor. These merchant ships brought a large amount of cement and steel bar. Combined with locally collected sand and gravel, reinforced concrete is not a problem. Countless reinforced concrete poured down, and the appearance of Galle Port has undergone a fundamental change.

(To be continued)