In real combat with live ammunition, if Zheng Bai still couldn't understand what Qian Tiandun was saying, he, the general of Dingbei's rebellion, would not have to continue to be present. The joint military exercise arranged by the Haihan military should be a joint military operation more precisely, and it is already clear who the opponent is targeting.

Annan was not afraid of the opponent of the Ming Dynasty, even in the strongest period of the Ming Dynasty, Annan did not admit defeat on the frontal battlefield. Although the Ming Dynasty has sent large armies to invade the territory of Annam many times, judging from the final results, it can be said that the Ming Dynasty did not take any advantage from the war, and lost tens of thousands of troops in vain.

But this is not that time, when the two countries were at war, the Ming Dynasty played the role of an invader, and Annan can be said to have the right time and place to fight with the Ming army, which is stronger than itself. But if this role is transferred and the Annan army takes the initiative to attack the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that the result of the battle can only be the opposite. What's more, Annan only ended the civil war last year, the overall situation in the country was initially decided, and a hundred wastes were waiting to be rebuilt, to launch a foreign war at this time, the opponent was still the behemoth of Daming, and the battlefield was also in the territory of Daming, which was an extremely unwise move in Zheng Bai's opinion.

Zheng Bai was silent for a long time before he asked, "What is the purpose of your war this time?"

There is a lot of time to deal with the Haihan people, and Zheng Bai also knows that this group of people will definitely not make a loss-making business, especially in military operations, if there is not enough benefits, the Haihan people will not use their swords lightly. And it is obviously not practical for the Haihan people to start a full-scale war with the Ming Dynasty with their existing family background - it is not that the Haihan militia can't defeat the Ming army, but that there are too few Haihan people, and even if the Ming Dynasty is defeated, the places that can actually be occupied will be extremely limited. From this, Zheng Bai concluded that the Haihan war was not to overthrow the rule of the Ming Dynasty, but to have other, more specific purposes.

Qian Tiandun responded: "We have spent a lot of energy on Qiongzhou Island, but there are still some places in the north that are under the control of the Ming Dynasty, which is an obstacle that must be eliminated for the future development of Haihan...... Therefore, the result we want is to achieve complete rule of the Executive Committee as the supreme power in the area south of the Qiongzhou Strait!"

These words undoubtedly confirmed Zheng Bai's previous speculation, but Zheng Bai did not relax because of this, but became more nervous: "With the combat strength of your army, it is not difficult to solve the Ming army stationed on Qiongzhou Island, why do you want to borrow troops from our DPRK in the name of joint military exercises?"

Qian Tiandun said slowly: "If we directly start a war with Da Ming, there will be a lot of follow-up troubles, so we must think of a buffer method." General Zheng can imagine that if a third party forces attack the cities of the Ming Dynasty, and then our side will act as reinforcements to drive out the invaders at a critical moment and temporarily take over the defense of these cities in the name of assisting in defense, it should be considered a very reasonable approach, right?"

Reasonable?Zheng Bai's jaw almost fell to the ground. He never expected that Haihan would drag the Annan army into the water, but it was out of such a consideration. This black cauldron is simply too big, and Zheng Bai is unwilling to let the Annan army carry it.

However, without waiting for Zheng Bai to refuse, Qian Tiandun continued slowly and leisurely: "Of course, we have no intention of dragging your country into the water, and we will not let your army fight under the banner of Annam. If there are casualties on the battlefield, we will also pay bereavement benefits according to the standards of the Haihan militia. And the combat experience that your ** team can gain from it is probably difficult to measure in terms of money, right?"

Don't send troops in the name of Annan? Zheng Bai swallowed back the rejection that had already reached his lips. If the troops were not sent in the name of Annan, this would indeed be a good opportunity for military training. Moreover, Qian Tiandun said that the casualties of the Annan team were also paid according to the standards of the Haihan militia, so there was basically no need to worry about the Haihan people using the Annan troops as cannon fodder.

"In addition, if your country is willing to cooperate with our military operation, then we can appropriately relax the range of choices in next year's arms procurement plan. Qian Tiandun paused and said: "For example, the Type 29 Army Gun and Type 28 flintlock pistol, which General Zheng has always been very interested in, can double the number of sales for Annando next year." In addition, the 'Exploration-class' warships can also be sold to the Annam Naval Division for four to six. ”

"Is this true?" Zheng Bai's eyes immediately widened, these kinds of armaments are basically things that the Annan military wants to buy but can't buy, and the Haihan people limit the amount of purchases for various reasons every time, and the speed of the new army in Annan is extremely slow, and it is often a few months after the army is formed, and the new weapons provided by the Haihan are only distributed. Not to mention the warships, not to mention the high cost, there is only a quota of two ships per year, so that it is difficult for the Annam naval division to form a real naval combat force that can come in handy in the short term.

"Everything I have just said is true. Qian Tiandun responded: "And these conditions are not given to you by me personally, but explained to you on behalf of the Haihan Executive Committee." ”

Zheng Bai thought for a while and said: "The Annan officers who go to the Sanya Military Academy for further study every year must add some more on the current basis. ”

"I can reply to you right now, and I can add eighty more places every year. "Qian Tiandun is not bragging, he has indeed communicated with the Military Commission before coming to the Tushan Peninsula, and he has also obtained some bargaining authority. As for accepting a little more Annan commissioned officers every year, this is actually not a big problem, because the main purpose of controlling the number of cadets was to select the best of the best and give priority to supporting those Annan officers with good development prospects as much as possible.

"You need to send a sailor training consultant to train and guide our sailor troops. ”

"No problem. ”

"The duration of this operation must not exceed three months, otherwise China's domestic defense arrangements will need to be greatly adjusted, and General Qian also knows that China's domestic transportation is inconvenient, and the mobilization of troops is very troublesome. ”

"I can also promise you this, at most sixty or seventy days will allow your troops to return home. ”

After agreeing to a series of conditions from Zheng Bai, the talks between the two finally entered the substantive stage. Zheng Bai asked, "Then how many troops do you need our country to send?"

"Three thousand people are enough. Qian Tiandun thought for a while and added: "I'm talking about combat troops, and it's best to focus on the new army." ”

Zheng Baiying said: "The new army is stationed in various places, and it will take some time to mobilize. ”

"I'll give you a month. Qian Tiandun said: "A month later, the troops will be concentrated here in Tushan, and then the two armies will conduct joint training. ”

At present, Annan already has a new-style army of more than 5,000 people, and almost all of these troops are from the Tushan training camp, and the weapons, tactics, establishment, and command system are all from the Haihan, and the difficulty of coordination in coordinated operations will be relatively small. At the same time, it is also necessary to establish the dominant position of the Haihan militia army in the course of the operation before the war, so as to avoid a situation of poor command on the battlefield.

"In what capacity will our army fight at that time?" Zheng Bai found that Qian Tiandun had not answered this very critical question head-on from beginning to end, so he asked him again.

Qian Tiandun said: "There are two identity options, one is a pirate, and the other is a traitor in the northern mountains. ”

Zheng Bai hesitated: "I'm afraid that these two identities are inappropriate......

"What do you say?" asked Qian Tiandun.

"We have joined forces, all of them are regular troops, which are completely different from the rabble of pirates, even if they change into military uniforms, as long as they are not blind, they can see at a glance. Zheng Bai continued: "Besides, the rebel party in the northern mountainous area is even more impossible, their activity area is deep in the mountains and old forests, how can they get so many big ships to cross the sea to Qiongzhou Island? Isn't this extremely unreasonable?"

Qian Tiandun shook his head and said, "What General Zheng said is right, but I have to say that you really think too much." The true identity of the armed forces that invaded Qiongzhou Island is just an excuse that our Haihan militia needs to send troops. General Zheng, do you really understand the reason why we borrowed troops from your country?"

Zheng Bai suddenly realized: "Is it because the language, living habits, and appearance of our soldiers are all different from the Han people on Qiongzhou Island, which is enough for ordinary people to distinguish us from your militia group?"

"That's right, that's why. Qian Tiandun nodded in agreement with his guess: "As long as the ordinary people realize that it is not the Haihan militia that attacked Qiongzhou Island, this will achieve the goal." ”

"When the time comes, your troops will be the saviors, driving out the invaders and taking over the cities in the north. If you take these places, you can still get the appreciation and gratitude of the people, this plan of yours is really a double win!" Zheng Bai, who had fully understood Haihan's intentions, couldn't help but sigh.

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say!" Qian Tiandun couldn't help but have a little smug on his face.

At the beginning of the month, Yuan Ruoxiu proposed the concept of this plan, and then a group of people from the military and relevant departments took the time to demonstrate the feasibility and formulate a preliminary action plan. In light of the actual situation of the Annan garrison, Qian Tiandun made some adjustments to the action plan, and only after obtaining the consent of the Executive Committee did he start this secret meeting with Zheng Bai.

In the original plan, in fact, the Annan garrison played the role of the invader, but Qian Tiandun believed that although the local militia troops with a strength of only about 2,000 people had no problem winning local small battles, it was not enough to launch a comprehensive sweep of the northern coastline of Qiongzhou Island, and to complete this task, the safest way was to replenish more than double the troops, so that when attacking the capital city of Qiongzhou, it could at least form a certain encirclement posture against it. Otherwise, just like 2,000 people, when they arrive outside the capital city of Qiongzhou, it will only be enough to block a door, and the deterrent power will not be enough, and it will not set off the tall image of the militia army that appeared in the later stage.

Therefore, under Qian Tiandun's construction, the executive committee agreed that he should come forward and borrow troops from the Annan military to go on the expedition. More than seventy percent of Qian Tiandun's troops are now from Annan locals, and there is no sense of disobedience when mixed with the army of Annan, and it will be even more difficult to expose flaws when they play the role of invaders together.

As for playing the role of a pirate or a rebel, it really doesn't make much difference for the big picture. Under the conscious guidance of public opinion, ordinary people will only know that the last person to rescue them is the Haihan militia, and where these previous invaders came from, there will not be too many people to investigate the root cause after the war. If someone insists on doing this, then the relevant authorities will not mind sending these good people to Annan to find out, and by the way, add a little free labor to the mines in Heitu Port.

And if the official people of the Ming Dynasty can see how tired they are, it really doesn't matter, anyway, Haihan's future rule on Qiongzhou Island will not be able to use these wine bags and rice bags. A very small number of people with real talents and real learning may be tried to recruit by the Executive Committee, and the vast majority of those who are vegetarians will probably be placed under house arrest for a long time after the war.

Although the two sides have reached a basic agreement on the terms of exchange, there are too many specific details of the action that need to be discussed in detail. And with such a big military move, Zheng Bai didn't dare to make decisions at will, so he repaired a book that night and sent someone to return to Shenglong Mansion overnight to send a letter to Zheng Jie for instructions.

Zheng Bai and Qian Tiandun held a secret meeting on the Tushan Peninsula for four days, and from the next day, other senior military officers from both sides participated in discussing the details of the operation. Four days later, when the talks between the two sides came to an end, a reply from Thang Long was delivered. In the letter, Zheng did not talk about the content of this joint military operation, but only gave Zheng Bai the authority to mobilize combat troops and direct the operation on behalf of Annan. This is actually Zheng Jie's disguised statement and agreed to the intervention of the Annan army.

Beginning in July, the troops of the Annam New Army began to assemble from various garrison sites towards the Tu Son Peninsula, and the ships of Hai Han traveled between the Tu Son Peninsula and Cat Ba Island every day, transporting the Annam New Army that had arrived here one after another to the training base on Cat Ba Island. At the same time, a steady stream of supplies from Sanya was arriving on Cat Ba Island to supply the island's growing number of combat troops.

These thousands of people began to assemble and train several months in advance, and after the start of the war at that time, the war is likely to continue until the end of the year, and the military expenditure for nearly half a year has even exceeded the annual budget. The Executive Committee had to add an additional 500,000 yuan to the emergency budget for the war for this purpose, which made a group of people in the Ministry of Finance cry out for pain. The only thing that can be counted on now is that the various post-war fines and confiscations will be able to fill this big hole, otherwise there will inevitably be a rather staggering deficit in the fiscal settlement at the end of this year.