Chapter 405 New Life (1)
When Ruan Jinggui came to Sanya last year, he had seen this kind of monster spitting out white smoke and moving on the iron track from a distance. However, he did not understand the operating principle of this thing at the time. He thought it should be another magical spell mastered by the Haihan people. . When I came to the camp where I stayed in Sanya this time, I could hear the whistle of the train when it entered and exited the station every day. Now that I saw the locomotive parked next to the platform in the distance, Ruan Jinggui really realized how powerful this thing was. huge. However, it was not yet the departure time, so they could only watch this big guy lying motionless on the rails on the platform.
"It's really big!" Ruan Jinggui couldn't help but sigh softly.
Ruan Wenwen also sighed at the side: "The iron material used for this black iron knot must be tens of thousands of kilograms, and rails must be laid everywhere it passes. I don't know how much iron material is used. The Haihan people have so much iron material." It can be used in a place like this, no wonder the military is stronger than Annan.”
Although Ruan Wenwen is an officer with a noble background, he is not a playboy who doesn't understand anything. He is quite familiar with what iron material means to a political power. If iron at the level of Hai Han could be produced under the Hue court, they would have already started making iron and casting cannons. If the Hai Han militia wanted to take Hue City, they would have to face at least several times the number of defenders. With the city's artillery, the defenders would not be completely defeated in just one month of fighting.
When facing the offensive of the Haihan Army, all South Vietnamese officers had to lament that the opponent's equipment was powerful, almost all musketeers, and supplemented by a large number of artillery. This made the South Vietnamese army, which was still at the level of cold weapons for most of the army, simply No way to resist. The large amount of iron materials required to make weapons for such an installation is also beyond the reach of South Vietnam. While the South Vietnamese army was still worrying about the source of iron materials, the Haihan people had already used the iron materials luxuriously in paving roads. This huge gap in strength was simply disappointing.
"If my high-ranking officials had come here to see the strength of the Haihan people in person, how would they have chosen war to resolve the dispute?" Ruan Jinggui shook his head slightly and sighed: "The princes in the court are not reluctant to cede territory to seek peace. What the north can give We can provide the same conditions, but the princes are still unwilling to believe in the strength of the Haihan people. They wishfully believe that they only help the north to fight the war after receiving money from the north. As long as the north cannot provide money, the Haihan people will automatically withdraw. The battlefield... is so confusing! Little did they know that the purpose of the Haihan people's war was for land and population, and collecting money from the north was just a casual move. If the court had followed their wishes, there would have been room for negotiation in everything, why would they have caused such a fuss? Now the country is ruined and the family is ruined!”
"But the original condition of the peace talks proposed by the Haihan people was that the imperial court should give up the national system. How can this be achieved!" Ruan Wenwen said disapprovingly: "If the national system is given up, how can we negotiate other conditions?"
"Brother, I had the same idea as you at that time. I thought that the national system was the foundation of our Hue court and we must never give up." Ruan Jinggui sighed and said: "Later, when I think about it, what the Haihan people want is Annan unification. It’s just to let Annan have a court that obeys their will to rule.”
"Where did you start talking about this?" Ruan Wenwen heard this for the first time from his brother and couldn't help but ask.
"Do you know why the Champa Kingdom in the south suddenly raised troops to ask for territory from our court?" Ruan Jinggui changed the subject and asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
Ruan Jingren is not stupid either. He rolled his eyes and thought of the key: "Are you saying that the Haihan people intend to support Champa, not just to go against us?"
Before Hai Han launched his attack on South Vietnam, the Champa Kingdom in the south had already taken the lead in spreading propaganda to South Vietnam and defeated the South Vietnamese army in several consecutive battles. The weapons they used were matchlock guns produced by Hai Han. In Ruan Jinggui's view, it was precisely because of Haihan's intervention that Champa had the courage to jump out and fall out with South Vietnam. The purpose of the Haihan people's support of Champa was probably not just to cause trouble for the South Vietnamese court - to trouble Annan. Creating an opponent so that the rulers can continue to rely on Haihan is the most fundamental purpose.
Although it was already a hindsight, it was not easy for Ruan Jinggui to understand the interplay of interests. After Ruan Wenwen was prompted by his brother's words, he suddenly realized: "So what they want is not the reunification of the north and the south, but the obedience of the court?"
"Maybe you don't even need to obey. The Hai Han people don't like to kill everyone. As long as they are willing to cooperate with them, there is room for negotiation on many things." Ruan Xinggui sighed: "When they attacked Hoi An last year, they fought really hard with the Portuguese. After working in the gun field, the two families were sitting together to discuss business. When Brother Wei came here for peace talks last year, the Portuguese representative came to help them persuade me. The Haihan people are a group of businessmen who value profit over justice. , as long as the interests are related, there is nothing they cannot discuss.”
Ruan Wenwen was stunned for a long time and then said: "If I had known this, why would I have to fight this battle? When seeing Haihan troops approaching the city, the senior officials in the court should assess the situation and negotiate with Haihan!"
"It was already too late by then!" Ruan Jinggui shook his head and said: "If Haihan had not yet sent troops, there might still be room for negotiation. But they mobilized thousands of people to come across the sea. How much would it cost? Haihan people When the regiment reaches the city of Hue, it is no longer possible to achieve an alliance under the city. How can they be willing to withdraw their troops without breaking Hue? "
The two brothers sighed long and short on the platform. They also knew that this was an irreversible reality. No matter whether the South Vietnamese court chose to resist or obey, they would inevitably end up being manipulated by Hai Han in the end. In the end, fighting this battle would only serve to strengthen both sides. Just consumption. The South Vietnamese court chose a more heroic way to withdraw from the stage of history, but for the losers, their actions will ultimately be regarded as wrong lessons by future generations.
"Back up, back up!" A policeman in black came over and waved his baton to signal the people waiting for the bus on the platform to retreat to a certain safe distance.
The steam locomotive on the platform has completed coaling and preheating, and steam is continuously discharged from the exhaust pipe, forming a fog barrier near the platform. The train driver wearing blue cloth overalls walked quickly with his head held high and climbed into the cab of the locomotive under the gaze of everyone.
In the early days of the opening of the train line, the work of driving trains was still done by a few traversers from the Ministry of Transportation. However, driving this kind of steam engine was very simple. After half a year of training, the first batch of ten naturalized drivers took up the job. Got through this job. Nowadays, all front-line personnel in the operation and maintenance of the entire railway system have been replaced by naturalized citizens.
The Civil Affairs Bureau cadre who led this group of new immigrants showed the ticket to the station staff, and then called the Ruan brothers and others to get on the bus. This train only has one passenger carriage, and the other three carriages are used to unload various production raw materials from the port to be transported to Tiandu Industrial Zone. Probably because of lessons learned from earlier operations, the passenger carriages are now hung at the last section of the train to prevent passengers from being smeared with soot and steam throughout the journey.
Everyone entered the carriage full of novelty, but the furnishings inside were indeed a bit disappointing. There was nothing in the empty carriage except long benches, and there was also a thick layer of soot on the floor. It's even far less clean than the dormitories in the immigration isolation camp.
Ruan Jinggui brushed the dust on the bench with his sleeves with a little disgust, and then reluctantly sat down. If he hadn't known that Fort Victory, where he was going now, was ten miles away, Ruan Jinggui would really have been reluctant to take such a dirty means of transportation.
Ruan Wenwen was not as particular as his brother. He looked left and right and couldn't stop at all. There are no special windows in this carriage. It is just a bamboo-wood structure roof propped up on the original open-top truck body. You can stick your head out and look out in all directions, which is very suitable for a curious person like Ruan Wenwen.
Except for them, the new immigrants, the other passengers in this carriage were almost all naturalized citizens wearing blue shorts and overalls. These people were obviously used to the newcomers coming out of the immigration isolation camp getting on the bus here, so they didn't pay much attention to their existence and just chatted about their own business.
After waiting for a while, there was still no sign of the train starting. A dark-faced man sitting next to Ruan Chenggui became agitated. He stuck his head out of the carriage and asked the staff on the platform: "Why hasn't the train started yet? This is causing people to be late. But wages will be deducted!”
The staff member waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, there is a leader who wants to ride in the car, and we are adjusting the train."
After hearing this, the black-faced man didn't ask any more questions. He shrank back angrily and sat back in his seat. Ruan Jinggui asked: "Brother, why does the chief need to transfer another train? There are obviously many empty seats here!" The man smiled and said: "A new immigrant, right?"
Ruan Jinggui didn't know why, but he nodded without denying it.
"The carriages the chiefs ride in are much better than the ones we ride in. It's dirty here. How can the chiefs sit in it?" The black-faced man explained the reason to him.
Ruan Jinggui asked again: "If this delays your time to work, what compensation can you get?"
"I haven't been busy at work for a while. No matter how busy I am, how can the leaders be busy?" The black-faced man didn't have any complaints about this.
After waiting for a while, there was indeed a very short carriage hanging behind this carriage. Ruan Jinggui visually estimated that it was only about two feet long. However, this short carriage is obviously different from the civilian version of the truck that I am riding in. The carriage and the roof are obviously an integral structure, and the windows of the carriage are made of glass, so you can completely Keep out soot and moisture.
Then Ruan Jinggui saw several Haihan people entering the car at the back, and following them were several gray-clad militiamen carrying short guns. Ruan Jinggui knew without asking that these militiamen must be soldiers protecting the Haihan people in the carriage.
After these people got on the train, the train finally sounded the exit signal whistle. Unprepared, several immigrants were so frightened that they sat down on the floor, causing a burst of laughter from the naturalized laborers. Howls of laughter.
After the train leaves the station, the first place it passes is the shipyard area between Luhuitou Peninsula and Yulin Peninsula. It can be clearly seen from the train that there are several slipways standing on the coast, and on each slipway there is a sea-going ship with different manufacturing progress under construction. Based on Ruan Jinggui's many years of experience in maritime trade, the smallest ship he has seen has exceeded the level of four hundred materials. The construction of so many large ships here day and night seems to explain from the side why the Haihan people were able to dominate the sea area between Annan and Qiongzhou Island of the Ming Dynasty.
After passing the shipyard, we entered the port area of Yulin Port. Looking into the harbor, we saw that the shore was densely packed with various warehouses, business warehouses and goods stacked like hills, while large ships were docked on the pier. Sea ships of all sizes. Last year, the number of ships entering and exiting Yulin Port every day was only five or six, but now this number has doubled. The number of foreign merchant ships arriving at the port every month has exceeded 100, and it has unknowingly won the first place in Qiongzhou Island. The location of the commercial port. Compared with the prosperity here, Nguyen Thanh Kui had to admit that Hoi An City, which the Hue court was proud of in the past, was just a rural dock.
After passing through the five-mile port area, the train began to slow down and enter the station. This stop is Fort Victory Station, which is also the final stop for new immigrants such as Ruan Ching Gui. The civil affairs cadres asked everyone to get off the bus and assembled the team on the platform. Ruan Jinggui noticed that there were more naturalized laborers getting on the train here, filling the originally empty carriage. Some people who could not squeeze in at the back had to climb onto the truck. These workers will take a train here to go to the Tiandu Industrial Zone located inland. The remaining distance of this line is still twenty miles. Taking the train is also the fastest way for them to commute to get off work every day. .
Except for Ruan Jinggui, this group of new immigrants came to Victory Fort, the political center of Sanya, for the first time. After seeing the majestic appearance of Victory Fort, almost everyone felt the visual impact. Although the height of the walls of Fort Victory is not as high as that of Hue City, the dense gaps in the forts and the weird-looking bunker-style towers on the walls were enough to shock these people.
"Now you follow me to the Immigration Affairs Bureau to go through the registration procedures." The civil affairs cadre led the way and took them to a masonry building next to the Victory Fort.
In fact, when they arrived at Victory Port and checked into the isolation camp, they had already registered their identities. Now they just checked their identities again and allowed them to collect their luggage and other personal belongings.
The Ruan brothers did not have too much luggage, and before they entered the isolation camp, Ruan Jinggui took the initiative and handed over all the gold and silver to the civil affairs cadres to exchange for circulation coupons. But when they signed and received a stack of banknote circulation certificates, they still felt a little uneasy. Ruan Wenwen couldn't help but murmured in a low voice: "Real money and silver have been exchanged for so many pieces of paper. Can this really be used?"
Ruan Jinggui comforted him: "Don't worry, the areas under the rule of the Haihan people use this kind of circulation coupon. You can even buy a house. There is nothing to worry about. Besides, this piece of paper is easy to carry and is not as easy to lose as gold and silver." .”
Having said that, he carefully wrapped the stack of circulation coupons with a piece of cloth and put it in his arms, leaving only two yuan in change outside for emergencies.
"Ruan Jinggui, Ruan Jingwen, have you finished counting your personal belongings? Is there anything missing?" the civil affairs cadre asked.
"No, no, the numbers are correct." Ruan Jinggui responded quickly.
"If there is nothing missing, just sign here." The civil affairs cadre pushed the pen and paper over, and Ruan Jinggui picked it up and wrote the names of his two brothers on the "Signature".
"This is your temporary identity certificate. You need to carry it with you when you go out. If you don't bring it with you and you happen to be found by the police, you will be squatting in a dark room. Do you understand?" the civil affairs cadre said while putting on the hemp rope. Two signs were handed to them.
Although Ruan Jinggui doesn't quite understand what a small dark room is, hearing this tone is definitely not a good place. Immediately, he quickly took the small sign and found it was cold and hard. It was made of fine steel and had a row of runes on it, but Ruan Jinggui didn't recognize any of them.
This temporary ID tag is designed to imitate a dog tag. The runes on it are actually a row of Arabic numerals. Each number corresponds to a new immigrant who has not yet obtained naturalized citizenship. The first three codes represent the place of residence, and the last three codes represent the place of residence. Each representative represents the work unit to which he/she belongs. The police officer checking the identity card can know the immigrant's residential area, work unit and other information by simply checking his/her number. When the immigrant passes the inspection period and obtains naturalized citizenship, this temporary identity plate will be recycled and issued to the next batch of new immigrants, and the naturalized citizen will obtain a more sophisticated permanent identity plate.
The role of this ID card system in maintaining social order is self-evident. Foreigners without ID cards will be subject to entry and exit restrictions in many places. Some units that implement military control but have naturalized civilian employees can also use it. This kind of identity card is used to identify permissions. This kind of ID tag is made entirely of steel, and the number is punched out with a hydraulic punch. It is difficult for outsiders to copy it.
"Have you all received your ID badges? Hang them around your necks. You can only take them off when you sleep. Put them on as soon as you wake up. Remember?" After the civil affairs cadre finished the instructions, he asked everyone to carry their luggage. Go to a nearby office and wait in line.
What is handled here is the allocation of work units and accommodation places for new immigrants. These people are assigned to different units, and their residences are not limited to the Sanya area. The furthest ones are even assigned to Panyu County in Guangdong. This is a doctor who is said to be very good at treating various febrile diseases. , so he was selected in advance by the medical department and will be sent to work at the Lijiazhuang Immigration Base in Panyu.
(End of chapter)