Chapter 422 Step by Step
The Ming court set aside territory on Qiongzhou Island and gave local forces the power of autonomy. This is actually nothing new. The government almost always exercises indirect jurisdiction over the Li and Miao villages scattered throughout the island by granting officials and fiefdoms, and the Li Dong Miao villages are almost all small and independent in their respective areas. Although the kingdom must still obey the rule of the Ming Dynasty externally, its internal rule cannot be interfered with by the outside world.
As for the Haihan people's local governance, Huangque could feel that the methods they used were different from those of the Li and Miao peoples. They implemented their own set of rules and systems, but they also cooperated well with the Ming government. They were not as tense as the Han-Li and Han-Miao people. To be precise, the dominant position in this cooperative relationship was It's not Ming Dynasty, but Haihan who seems to be relatively weak. Huang Que simply couldn't imagine what it would be like if Shi Zidong took the initiative when dealing with Daming.
Huang Que didn't know much about Haihan's strength at this time, so for him, it was beyond his knowledge that Haihan, a local powerful man, could create such a strange symbiotic relationship with the Ming government. . But even though he had not been in Victory Port for a long time, everything he saw in front of him kept reminding him that Haihan was by no means a simple organization like the Han chambers of commerce he had seen in Changhua and Danzhou before. , the areas ruled by the Haihan people had social systems and customs that were significantly different from those of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty's acquiescence to the existence of the Haihan people was accelerating the external expansion of this local force at all times.
Fu Li did not rush to take Huang Que to visit the military camp in the next time to let him feel the power of Haihan's force. Instead, he followed Ning Qi's suggestion and took Huang Que to visit a school not far from Victory Fort. Different from the early student composition, the current student population of Shengli Port Primary School includes not only a small number of children of travelers, but also many school-age children from Han, Li, Miao and even Annan. Of course, in addition to the descendants of the time travellers, most of these students' family backgrounds are naturalized citizens, and there are also a very small number of children of foreign merchants. However, this part of the foreign population enrolls in the schools sponsored by Haihan. The cost is not low.
Huang Que seemed to feel her childhood again here, remembering the time when she attended a Han private school in Changhua County. At that time, in addition to Han children, there were also mountain people from the Li and Miao ethnic groups who were studying and literate together. Of course, those Li and Miao children who are able to leave the mountains to study in the county are at least members of the privileged class such as the descendants of the cave owners. For example, Huangque, a candidate for the next generation of successors who is favored by the cave owner, is often sent to the Han people's territory to learn some cultural knowledge during school age. Otherwise, if he inherits the position of leader of the village in the future, he will not be able to compete with the Ming Dynasty. You may suffer losses when dealing with the government.
However, the school of the Haihan people is obviously very different from the private school Huang Que attended when he was a child. First of all, the content taught here is not a subset of classics and history such as the Four Books and Five Classics, but literacy textbooks compiled by the Haihan people themselves. And the curriculum is not just about literacy. There are corresponding courses in arithmetic, common sense, and even military-related subjects in this school.
"If you are interested in the courses here, you can sign up to study here after you move out." Fu Li saw Huang Que looking at the children in class in the classroom without saying a word for a long time, so he introduced him: " The courses we offer are not just for children, but also have corresponding teaching contents for adults. ”
Huangque turned around and asked: "Sir? Are you also learning to read?"
"In addition to literacy, there are many things that can be learned!" Fu Li continued: "For example, how to grow more food in the soil, how to build ships, how to smelt iron, and how to do what people in other places do Business... Haihan leaders have opened many courses to enable people to live a better life. ”
"Then why do the leaders of Haihan teach these skills to ordinary people? If it is in their own hands, wouldn't it be easier for everyone to obey?" Huang Que asked in confusion.
"What the leaders want is not everyone's obedience, but the continued strength of Haihan as a collective!" Fu Li patiently explained to him: "If every household in a Lidong has enough food and sharp weapons, With well-trained warriors, what do you think the future of this cave will be?”
"That will definitely become a big cave within a few hundred miles!" Huangque blurted out, and then realized the real meaning of Fu Li's analogy: "So the leaders of Haihan passed on the knowledge they have to the people. Is it to enable the Haihan Executive Committee to become the ruler of this area one day? ”
"The people who rule this area are not only Chief Haihan, but also ordinary people like you and me." Fu Li undoubtedly learned a lot from his political classes back then, and he has an excellent grasp of the scale of this kind of propaganda: "The Haihan Executive Committee only makes decisions on behalf of the people. The decisions made by the Executive Committee are beneficial to all people. If you are smart enough and as talented as the leaders of Haihan, then you will There is also the possibility of joining the executive committee!”
Although Huangque didn't quite understand what the concept of Haihan's ruling system was, Fu Li's analogy helped him initially understand the role of the Haihan Executive Committee - even though it sounded mysterious, the Executive Committee It turned out that he was exercising his right to rule on behalf of ordinary people. However, as what Fu Li said was verified by facts bit by bit, Huang Que slowly began to choose to believe in these phenomena and concepts that were temporarily incomprehensible. Instead of constantly questioning.
While Fu Li was traveling around with Huang Que and brainwashing him, the plan to develop Shi Lu had also entered the formal preparation stage. According to the plan formulated by the Ministry of Construction, a land passage from Changhua Fishing Village to the inland Shizidong mining area must be completed first, so that various materials, building materials and production tools can be transported to the mining area and the preliminary construction of the mining area can be completed.
Although most of the areas along the way are no-man's land and do not involve troublesome matters such as land acquisition and demolition, and the plain terrain along the way greatly reduces the difficulty of road construction, but only based on the length of the passage on this road In general, it is the longest road construction project undertaken by the Ministry of Construction since crossing. The straight-line distance from Changhua Fishing Port to the mining operation area is nearly 40 kilometers long. The amount of this project is almost four times that of the original Victory Port-Tiandu land passage, and it must also cross a The narrowest point is about 50 meters in the Changhua River tributary water veins, which means that the construction department probably has to build a strong bridge on the way.
After the construction of this transportation artery is completed, it is just the beginning. As the mining area development project proceeds, a railway will inevitably be needed to improve the transportation efficiency between Shilu and the coast. In addition, after the Shilu mining area is put into operation, at least thousands of miners will have to work permanently there, and the construction of corresponding living facilities must also be started in advance. In addition, in order to more efficiently utilize the clean coal transported from the nearby Heitu Port, building a large steel base near Changhua has become one of the logical development steps. Such a huge project plan cannot be completed in one and a half years based on current construction conditions. According to the estimates of the Executive Committee, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Construction and other departments, if the road construction can be completed within one year and fully put into operation within two years, it can be regarded as a miracle of extraordinary performance. During the entire construction period, the executive committee needs to deploy a labor force of at least three to four thousand people here. To settle so many people in an indirect control area for a long time and carry out corresponding construction project tasks, for the executive committee The organizational and coordination capabilities of the meeting and related departments are also a great test.
The executive committee attaches great importance to this project and invests resources far beyond the initial development period of Black Earth Port. After all, the mining site of Heitu Port is very close to the coastline. In addition to the difficulty of crossing the sea for development, the construction difficulty in the local area is actually not as high as the project in Shilu. As the head of the Ministry of Construction, Tao Donglai is personally in charge of this project construction task. However, his main responsibility is still to coordinate the cooperation between various departments, and the on-site project commander will still be the second-in-command Liu Shanxialai.
Time soon came to the end of May, and the Executive Committee finally dispatched the first fleet to Changhua. The engineering personnel carried by this fleet are not going to build roads, but to expand the wharf at Changhua Fishing Port and build preliminary facilities such as warehouses, trestles, and collective residences to lay a good foundation for subsequent projects.
This engineering team will spend a month at Changhua Fishing Port to build these facilities, and then the base camp will send a large force to the place to start building roads to the inland areas.
On June 2, a fleet of twelve large ships arrived in Changhua. Under the slightly surprised gaze of the fishermen, not only did they get off the ship a few familiar faces they had seen before, but also a large number of loaded guns and live ammunition. Haihan soldiers in gray clothes. After landing, these Haihan soldiers quickly formed a team and spread out in three directions: north, east, and south, and set up a peripheral warning circle within three miles nearby.
Liu Shanxia, the on-site commander of the project, then read out a notice from the Haihan Executive Committee to the stunned fishermen, saying that the place had been temporarily requisitioned by the executive committee, and all residents needed to cooperate with the project arrangements and move to other areas. If there are those who are unwilling to cooperate, the Haihan Militia will take corresponding measures to ensure the smooth progress of local projects.
When the fishermen were anxious and didn't know whether to resist or obey, Liu Shanxia announced another piece of good news to cheer them up - all local residents who are willing to cooperate will be eligible to settle in Sanya. And be able to obtain the application qualifications for Haihan naturalized citizens in a short period of time.
The fishermen living in Changhua Fishing Port have actually known about Haihan's development in Sanya through various channels. It would be a lie to say that these people have no intention of moving, but they live here. If you can always get the benefits of the Haihan people, your life can still go on. Unless it is absolutely necessary, no one will be willing to leave their hometown to seek life in a strange area. The arrival of the Haihan people this time immediately announced forced demolition, which in turn gave the few residents here an opportunity to choose their way of life again.
Of course, if there are people who are unwilling to go to Sanya, the executive committee will also give them the opportunity to choose their own destination, but they are not allowed to enter within a few miles of the fishing port. Before the construction of the entire Shilu Coal and Iron Composite Industrial Belt is completed, the Changhua Port area will become a strict military control area. Not to mention these fishermen, even ordinary naturalized citizens, without obtaining the executive committee You can no longer enter or exit this place without permission.
This may seem a bit unreasonable, but in order to allow the project to proceed smoothly and prevent problems in the logistics support channel, the Executive Committee believes that this small means must still be used. To this end, the Military Commission dispatched two companies of militiamen to participate in the first batch of construction teams to Changhua Port. They will be responsible for the peripheral martial law tasks in the port area. At the same time, if there are some disharmonious factors in Changhua County, then the militiamen of these two companies may take more drastic measures, such as taking down the troops in Changhua County. actual control.
The Ministry of Construction also mobilized its elite soldiers and generals for this big project. Fortunately, there are no large-scale engineering projects underway in Sanya recently. The development and construction of the new urban area is progressing slowly, and the Ministry of Construction has also been able to dedicate a part of the construction team to participate in Changhua Port. Coming under construction.
But even so, the executive committee did not forget to take time out to develop other areas, namely several ports on the southeastern coast of Indochina. These places had been spotted by the Executive Committee early on, and before sending troops to Hue, they proposed to the North Vietnamese court that these places should be used as post-war compensation. Although the agreement was reached in the name of the concession, both the Executive Committee and the North Vietnamese court knew that the ownership of these areas would probably change to "Hai Han" from now on. However, out of the interests of strategic alliances, Both sides had a tacit understanding and did not bring relevant topics to the table for discussion - North Vietnam silently sent it, and Haihan accepted it without saying a word.
After taking these places, Haihan will be able to successfully control the vast sea area from the east coast of Indochina Peninsula to Malacca, Java, and Borneo in the south, almost covering the main waterway for Western merchant ships to China through the coast of Indochina Peninsula. This will pave the way for the next step to control several chokepoints in the South China Sea. However, there are still considerable practical difficulties in developing these ports that are already nominally owned by Haihan.
(End of chapter)