Chapter 296 Yazhou Guard Army
The social changes in the Victory Port area are not limited to the local area. With the gradual acceleration of the construction process, the influence of "Haihan" has gradually spread to surrounding areas, especially Yazhou, which is only a hundred miles away from Victory Port. The effects of this influence are increasingly beginning to change the living environment of local people.
Qiu Yuankai opened the door, stood at the door and stretched greatly. When he saw Zhang Guangzheng leading the two wealthy brothers to do radio gymnastics, he couldn't help laughing and said: "You are in good spirits, and you have not forgotten to exercise."< br>
"I have nothing to do, so I can only pass the time by exercising. Now I know why the prisoners in the American TV series are doing fitness exercises during their free time. This is just for leisure!" Zhang Guang complained, patting the two brothers. The leader said: "Go to the kitchen and bring out breakfast!"
"Where's Lao Ma?" Qiu Yuan looked around and saw Malik, so he asked casually.
Zhang Guang responded casually: "Today it's Lao Ma's turn to go on inspection, have you forgotten?"
"These days of leisure...have been so confusing." Qiu Yuan shook his head and laughed at himself.
The Cliff Office has not been busy with much recently. After He Xi, Mu Xiabai, and Feng Anan left one after another, there are only four staff left in the Cliff Office. The daily inspection of Yazhou City's defense situation, which was originally undertaken by the Military and Police Department, was taken over by Malike and Qiu Yuan, but the frequency was changed from once every two days to once a week now. It’s not that they are lazy and unwilling to run, it’s actually that this job has become increasingly meaningless - at least half of the guards stationed in Yazhou have deserted in recent months, and more than half of those who escaped have passed They quietly entered the Victory Port area through various channels and became hired laborers under the Executive Committee. Some left early and even obtained the status of naturalized citizens. Even among the current Haihan Militia, there are also deserters from the former Ming Guard system.
Zhang Guang and Zhao Xiaoruo are in charge, maintaining the daily affairs of the Cliff Office. For now, there isn't much to do. It's just to settle the immigration fees with the dental office every month. The yamen or individuals who should burn incense regularly send people to run errands and deliver gifts. Yesterday, Zhao Xiaoruo took a boat back to Victory Port to participate in the welfare housing lottery. He also met friends whom he had not seen for a long time. He was expected to stay for a day or two before coming back.
Just after breakfast, a guest came to the door, and his background was not small. It was Zhang Qianhu from Hainan Wei Yazhou Office. In terms of rank, he was two levels higher than Luo Shengdong, and he was a fifth-rank imperial official. This Zhang Qianhu can also be regarded as a native of Hainan. It is said that the last three generations have served as guards in Hainan. By his generation, he has finally become prosperous, and his career has reached the level of Qianhu. However, Zhang Qianhu's age has also reached the threshold of retirement. Unexpectedly, he will retire and return home at the same time as the current Yazhou magistrate, Tongzhi, and Shuizhai He Shenjiang within this year.
Qiu Yuan had met Zhang Qianhu several times at the wine table before, so he was no stranger to him. He welcomed him into the living room and asked Dafu to make tea, and then asked about Zhang Qianhu's purpose.
Zhang Qianhu is a rough man and has no intention of going around in circles. He directly stated his intention: "Recently, many soldiers in our Yazhou have fled the military camp. It is reported that these people are going to Victory Port. I wonder what Boss Qiu has to say? ”
Qiu Yuan said in shock: "Explanation? I don't have any explanation. What does this have to do with our Cliff Office? Mr. Zhang, we have had contact with you, but we have no contact with your soldiers, and we have no interest in bribery." Those little soldiers under your command, let them escape quietly.”
What Qiu Yuan said was indeed the truth. This was not intentional at all by the Cliff Station Office, but purely a spontaneous action by the guards. There is no other reason. These soldiers are just looking for a bite to eat. In a remote place like Yazhou, you can't expect to get any subsidies from the Ministry of War. Even Yazhou Shuizhai, a regular frontier army, is still using old-fashioned weapons from the Wanli period, let alone this half-military, half-peasant army. The guard army is here. Whether it is military rations or military pay, most of them have to be solved by themselves. As for Yazhou, a remote place where prisoners are exiled, the social economy is not very developed. Coupled with the deductions from the military leaders, the life of the lower-class soldiers has always been extremely difficult. , not even comparable to some homesteaders.
The emergence of Victory Port gave these people new hope. From various channels, they learned about the various preferential treatment given to ordinary workers by the Haihan people - of course, the information they learned was all propaganda deliberately arranged by the relevant departments. Just a means. Some brave people gave up their status as guardsmen and moved to Victory Port resolutely. And when the various benefits in the rumors were gradually confirmed, more and more guardsmen chose to quietly leave Yazhou and live in Victory Port. Some people even moved their families, including their wives, children, and children.
At first, this situation did not attract the attention of the military leaders. After all, making a fortune in the guard system depends on eating empty wages and drinking soldiers' blood. Having more empty wages is not necessarily a bad thing. But the situation soon intensified, and the number of people disappearing every month began to rise rapidly from five or six to double digits. In January 1628, the number of people fleeing was even close to a hundred. This was a serious shortage for the army, with a total strength of less than a thousand. This is no small matter for the Yazhou Guard Army. If things continue to develop at this rate, I am afraid that before the end of the year, there will be only a few polished commanders left in the entire Guard Army.
At this point, the military leaders of the Guard Army would naturally no longer sit idly by, and the whereabouts of the deserters was no secret. Soon General Qian of the Guard Army went to the Cliff Office to "raise troops to investigate."
Mr. Zhang Qian sighed and said: "Boss Qiu, now it's not a question of who allowed them to escape, and I don't mean to blame you Haihan people, but the matter has come to this, there must be a solution, right?"
Qiu Yuan blinked and said, "What solution does Mr. Zhang want to solve?"
"Of course these deserters need to be recovered one by one and severely punished!" Zhang Qianhu said through gritted teeth.
"Then you can go directly to Shengli Port to arrest people. There is no need to come to our place to waste time." Qiu Yuan would not accept his argument and immediately pushed back firmly.
"This...that's not what you said..." Zhang Qianhu probably didn't expect Qiu Yuan's attitude to be so tough, and he didn't know how to explain it.
The reason why the guardsmen did not go directly to Victory Port to catch the deserters was because they knew they could not afford to offend the Haihan people. The Haihan militia has sharp guns and powerful combat power. This is no secret in the Yazhou area. The military leaders have no intention of taking the initiative to deliver food. Besides, people like Zhang Qianhu usually get various benefits from the cliff management, so it seems a bit unreasonable to break up with him directly.
Qiu Yuan sighed and said: "Master Zhang, you also know that our stall in Victory Port is very large. There are not one thousand but eight hundred immigrants arriving in Victory Port every month. It is impossible to check their identities one by one. How do we know if there are any deserters from Yazhou sneaking in? Do you think this is the case? ”
"Yes, yes..." Zhang Qianhu responded repeatedly.
"If you have sufficient evidence to prove that someone is a deserter from the Ming Dynasty, you can go to Victory Port to arrest him at any time, and we will not stop him. Is my attitude cooperative enough?" Qiu Yuan continued to ask.
"Yes, yes...but it seems to be inconvenient for us to catch him..." Zhang Qianhu said while controlling Qiu Yuan's expression.
"The problem is that we don't know who the deserter is, so we can't catch him, right?" Qiu Yuan continued to shirk responsibility.
"But this..." Mr. Zhang Qian was still about to argue a few words, when he heard a voice coming from the yard: "Mr. Zhang, you are here so early. Do you have any good news to share with us?" "It's Boss Ma. Are you back? Just in time, I have a problem and I need your help! "Mr. Zhang Qian has also dealt with Maliko and knows that this is the head of the Yazhou Office. It's all boss Ma who has the final say. Seeing Maliko striding in, Mr. Zhang Qian suddenly felt like a savior had arrived.
After Malico entered the room and sat down, he listened to Mr. Zhang Qian tell the story again. He then closed his eyes and meditated for a moment before speaking: "Mr. Zhang, what is your real purpose? You want to capture the people who have escaped. ? Or want to stop others from escaping? ”
Mr. Zhang Qian was not confused and immediately responded: "Of course it is best to have both!"
"I'm afraid it will be difficult!" Maliko shook his head and said, "I also know a little bit about the conditions of the guardsmen. These soldiers usually don't even have enough to eat, but now they know that there are other places where they can live a good life. , how can you not run away? If Mr. Zhang wants to prevent others from escaping, I think the most direct and effective way is to improve their treatment, let them have enough food and clothing, and enough military pay, so they will naturally have no other thoughts. As for arresting people, I agree with Qiu Yuan. Mr. Zhang can lead his own troops to Victory Port and give it a try.”
There was a smile on Malico's lips when he said this, and his intention was very obvious - you can arrest someone if you want to, but whether you can or not is another matter.
Mr. Zhang Qian secretly scolded Maliko for being unkind. If I could go directly to Shengli Port to arrest people, why not come to the Cliff Office to talk about it? If we take these soldiers from Yazhou to make trouble in Victory Port, there will probably be only one outcome, that is, they will all be imprisoned in the Haihan prison. It is said that Wei Ping, the brother-in-law of the Tongzhi family, was imprisoned by the Haihan people in the first few months when he went to Yazhou to work as an inspector. The first thing he did when he was released was to go back to Yazhou to persuade his brother-in-law to support Luo Shengdong's husband in Shuizhai. As the next magistrate of the state, Luo Shengdong is already well-known in Yazhou as the "Haihan Party". Wei Ping's behavior clearly means that he has been surrendered by the methods of the Haihan people. Zhang Qianzong is not prepared to let himself be the same. Go and experience the methods of the Haihan people for yourself.
Mr. Zhang Qian thought for a while, and had to change his perspective and continue complaining: "Boss Ma, Boss Qiu, it's time for me to step down and hand over my post this year. If there are too many deserters, the vacancies in the army will not be filled. How can we hand over the matter to the next President Qian? If Commander Wei knows about it, won't the trouble eventually come to your side? You don't want to cause trouble because of these small things, right?" br>
Maliko thought for a while and said: "Mr. Zhang, do I think so? The problem now is not how many deserters have appeared in the Yazhou Guard Army, nor whether these deserters can be captured. The remaining people will You won’t continue to run away, but there are too many vacancies in the Yazhou Guard Army, so that you will not be able to deliver your duties at that time.”
Mr. Zhang Qian coughed dryly and said: "Although Boss Ma's views are biased, they are still fundamental. I do have this concern."
Maliko smiled and said: "If that's all, then the problem is actually easy to solve."
"Boss Ma, please speak!" Mr. Zhang Qian immediately became energetic after hearing this.
"When the time comes, our Haihan Militia will make up for whatever shortage you have here. If there are really no soldiers, we can put them on top of our Haihan Militia. Yazhou's establishment of 1,120 people is correct, right? Well, it should be Not a big problem!”
Mr. Zhang Qian's eyes were as wide as bull's eyes: "Boss Ma, what are you talking about? Replacing the guardsmen with the Haihan militia? You can't do it. Isn't this nonsense!"
"Mr. Zhang, please don't object in a hurry. Let me analyze it slowly for you." Maliko responded calmly: "In terms of military capacity, discipline and combat effectiveness, our Haihan Militia should be above the Guard Army. What about you?" You shouldn’t deny it, right?”
Mr. Zhang Qian nodded helplessly. This was not a matter of superiority, but of great disparity in strength. The "Discovery" went to practice near Yazhou during its trial. Mr. Zhang Qian saw with his own eyes the scene of the Haihan militia rehearsing river landings on the Ningyuan River - of course, this kind of military exercise must be in the name of Yazhou Water Village. It was carried out under the banner of coordinated drills.
At that time, the Haihan Militia's full musketeer configuration and orderly combat command left a very deep impression on President Zhang Qian. Moreover, the number of artillery equipped in the army was enough to impress an old military leader like Zhang Qian. Stunning. There are only a few old and rusty Folan cannons in the entire Yazhou City, but the Haihan people have all dark and shiny self-produced cannons, and even several cannons are arranged frantically on the ships. From that time on, Mr. Zhang Qian understood very well why the Shuizhai led by Luo Shengdong fell to the side of the Haihan people.
Maliko continued slowly: "Since the formation of the Haihan Militia, we have never asked for a single copper from the Yazhou government. From weapons to military pay, from building the garrison to daily consumption, we all paid for it ourselves." We, the Haihan Militia, come to replace the Guard Army. We don’t need you, Mr. Zhang, to pay from your pocket. We will bear all the expenses ourselves. Isn’t this sincere enough?”
"Having said that, the command of the Haihan Militia is not in the hands of our guards. How can I easily hand over this important task of city defense to outsiders?" Zhang Qianhu obviously still could not accept Maliko's suggestion. It's a small matter to pretend to be someone else, but if something goes wrong in the city's defense and security, the lives of his whole family will be in danger.
The Haihan people with strong troops and horses would raise a rebel flag to attack Yazhou and establish their own country. This kind of rumor did not appear in Yazhou before. Similar rumors had already appeared when the Yazhou Resident Office began to organize immigrants from Yazhou. As Haihan's power gradually consolidated in Victory Port, the frequency of such rumors gradually increased. Not long ago, the Haihan Militia set off from Victory Port for an expedition to Vietnam. After the news reached Yazhou, the Haihan Militia sent troops to attack Yazhou, causing a small-scale chaos in Yazhou City for a while. Fortunately, the preparatory work of the Cliff Station Office was relatively complete, and all government offices were informed of the situation early. Officials like Zhang Qianhu had been notified in advance by the Cliff Station Office, so it did not lead to a big chaos.
As for whether the Haihan people will rebel and attack Yazhou, seven out of ten local officials in Yazhou do not believe it. The reason is very simple. The Haihan people are not short of money, and can even be said to be richer than the Ming people in Yazhou. Much richer. Historically, rebellions have mostly occurred because people were forced to raise the flag because of life pressure, or because the generals in the army already had military power. However, the Haihan people were all rich men who were good at maritime trade. Where could the motivation for rebellion come from? Moreover, it is said that the immigrants who arrived on the territory of the Haihan people can have food and shelter. The Haihan people occupied Xia Yazhou and had to support the Ming Dynasty with a population of ten thousand or twenty thousand. The officials did not believe that the shrewd Haihan people would do such a thankless task. matter.
Zhang Qianhu naturally does not believe such rumors, otherwise he would not maintain contact with the Cliff Office. But believing it or not is one thing, but military power is another matter. If the Haihan Militia is really allowed to enter Yazhou City, who will have the final say in this place? Zhang Qianhu would not expect that the Haihan people would still listen to his command. If the Haihan people were to take the wrong direction, Yazhou would no longer be the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
"I think so. Mr. Zhang doesn't have to rush to a conclusion. Why don't you go back and think about my suggestion first." Maliko noticed Zhang Qianhu's mood and guessed about his thoughts, so he didn't rush to make it happen. This matter: "I reiterate that we have no wrong thoughts about Yazhou City. We Haihan people are happy to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty and the Yazhou government to maintain the prosperity and stability of the Yazhou area. No matter it is Whenever we are needed for business or military cooperation, Mr. Zhang, just say hello.”
After seeing off the uneasy Zhang Qianhu, Qiu Yuan couldn't help but smile: "You old horse, when you spoke just now, you looked like a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!"
Malico said seriously: "I'm not joking with him. When I returned to Victory Port to participate in the welfare housing lottery two days ago, I also discussed the recent changes in the situation with the executive committee. We will try our best to adopt a peaceful evolution in the Yazhou area. , and gradually bypass the government to control it. The Executive Committee has negotiated with Luo Shengdong about the whereabouts of Yazhou Water Village. In the future, our navy will gradually replace Yazhou Water Village and take over the maritime defense of the entire south coast of Hainan Island. If it is feasible, I would like to try to see if the Weisuo Army in Yazhou can be eliminated in a similar way.”
"The Haihan militia under the banner of Ming Dynasty sounds very inspiring." Qiu Yuan also admired Malike's idea very much: "But I just don't know if Zhang Qianhu can change his mind and accept your opinion."
"Even if we do nothing, the escape situation of the Yazhou Guard Army will become more and more serious. If it is delayed, it is not that we are asking him to provide convenience, but that he is coming to ask for our help!" Maliko said very Said confidently.
(End of chapter)