Chapter 440 Entering the city to arrest
For a long period of time, the relationship between the Ming government and the Li and Miao residents on the island was not harmonious. The Central Plains regime's rule over Qiongzhou Island was almost always accompanied by constant battles with the Li aborigines. The Miao soldiers who were introduced to Qiongzhou Island as a force to quell the Li rebellion fell into a similar situation to the Li people after settling on the island for several generations - without farmland, iron farm tools and corresponding farming technology, and all means of production. They were all controlled by the Han people. They could only survive by relying on the mountains and the mountains. In this difficult situation, they had to pay taxes to the Ming government, perform labor services, and endure various unequal treatments.
The government's deliberate suppression of the Li and Miao ethnic groups will naturally arouse their dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction often leads to major conflicts due to certain small conflicts from time to time. Almost every few years, there will be an outbreak between the government and the two ethnic groups. , as well as small-scale armed conflicts between the two groups.
Due to this deep-rooted contradiction, the public security situation in any prefecture or county close to Li and Miao settlements is not very good, and Changhua is no exception. Xiao Laosan was the general manager in Changhua County and had experienced several armed conflicts. The most recent one was five years ago, when the Li people in Shizidong cut off both ears of the tax collector sent by the county government to collect taxes. Access to the mountains was also blocked, and the Changhua government also closed all channels for supplying daily necessities to the Li people. However, the resistance of the Li people did not last long. Three months after the supply lines from outside the mountains were cut off, the Li people still chose to surrender in exchange for salt, medicinal materials and rice that they could not produce on their own.
In Xiao Laosan's view, the traditional methods of dealing with these Li and Miao people should be adopted, blocking their trade channels, and firmly controlling the necessities such as salt, iron, and rice in the hands of the government, which is enough to effectively control these targets. Mountain people without royal laws. As for building roads to give these mountain people a chance to get out of the closed environment they have lived in for generations, this approach is simply thankless and very dangerous. After these people leave the mountains, they will inevitably compete with the Han people for limited living space. and the means of production, this contradiction is not so easy to resolve.
However, the Haihan people obviously had different ideas. Not only did they want to build a road to the inland mountainous area, but they also had early contact with the local Li people and assisted them in moving out. Xiao Laosan heard that Shizidong had reached an agreement with the Haihan people, and the Haihan people would build another residential area for them in the mountains five miles north of Changhua County, and guide them to plant some mountain crops-it is said that they can sell large crops. Price of spice crops. Although the Li people in Shizidong have not yet moved, it is said that construction of a new residential area near the mountainous area has begun. It seems that the Haihan people are not joking. They really intend to move these Li people out of the interior. And will support the Li people to start a new business in the coastal area.
This is not good news worth celebrating for Changhua County. Xiao Laosan believes that not only will this not calm down the irritable Li people, but it will also make it easier to give birth to more children due to the shortened distance from the Han inhabited areas. incident. But since the Haihan people could afford the price and had already paid for one year in advance, even if Xiao Laosan had any objections, he could only turn a blind eye and silently pretend not to know. However, out of caution, Xiao Laosan still asked the soldiers guarding the city to pay more attention to the construction sites outside the city to guard against the Haihan people playing tricks.
An hour ago, there was a commotion at the road construction site outside the city. More than 20 people left the construction site and ran all the way into Changhua County. Xiao Laosan has also received a report. Although the soldiers guarding the city felt that the situation was a bit strange, these people did not carry any dangerous items, and they were all Han Chinese. It seemed that they could not find a reason to deny them entry into the city, so they were let in. Unexpectedly, the matter did not end there. People from the Haihan Militia arrived soon, and it seemed that they were heading directly towards the city gate. The soldiers on duty quickly reported to Xiao Laosan as quickly as possible.
"Haihan militia is here? There are hundreds of them fully armed?" Upon hearing the news, Xiao Laosan felt a little pain in his forehead.
Xiao Laosan had heard about the deeds of the Haihan Militia before, but his real experience was after this group of people stationed at Changhua Fishing Port. More than ten days ago, the Haihan people politely handed over an invitation, inviting Xiao Laosan and some prominent local landowners and bosses to visit a militia drill somewhere outside the city. Of course, it's not in vain. Anyone who accepts the invitation to watch can get a set of glass dishes presented by Haihan - this thing costs at least fifteen to twenty taels of silver on the market.
So almost all the people who received the invitation went, and they witnessed with their own eyes the legendary Haihan militia that conquered the Annan Kingdom with muskets and cannons, and experienced what a powerful army was. From Xiao Laosan's "professional perspective", the elite level of the Haihan militia has probably surpassed all the armies he has ever seen, including the so-called regular army stationed in Qiongzhou Fucheng. If the Haihan army really numbers in the thousands as rumored, it would probably be enough to cover the entire Qiongzhou Island.
Although Xiao Laosan is just a small boss and has not seen much of the world, he is not stupid. After watching the so-called military exercises of the militia, he also understands that this is a deliberate demonstration by the Haihan people, and it is nothing more than to provide relief to the local people. These leading figures are reminded not to try to go against them. From this, Xiao Laosan also understood why the Yacheng government in the south turned a blind eye to what the Haihan people were doing, and even deliberately protected them. In addition to collecting enough money, they were probably always under the threat of force from the Haihan people. An important reason.
Changhua County is much closer to the Haihan camp than the distance between Yacheng and Sanya. When the weather is good, you can even directly see the sentry tower of the Haihan camp from the county wall. It is also said that the Haihan militia is in the local area. The number of garrison troops will increase simultaneously with the increase in labor input, which basically means that Changhua County is completely placed under the peripheral supervision of the Haihan Militia. Xiao Laosan had no means of resistance to this situation and could only sit quietly in the city as if nothing had happened.
The laborers of the Haihan people fled into the city. Xiao Laosan did not take this as a big deal, but the Haihan militia came after them, so he could no longer continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb. After all, the two sides also had a verbal agreement. People from the militia cannot carry weapons into the city in an organized manner.
Xiao Laosan didn't even bother to put on his helmet and armor, so he rushed to the city gate wearing common clothes. At this time, the militia army led by Qiao Zhiya had arrived at the city, and the soldiers guarding the city also closed the city gate in advance to prevent accidents.
Xiao Laosan lay on the crenellations of the city wall, stuck his head out and shouted to the people below: "Hai Han militia under the city, listen to the order, leave here quickly, don't do anything unwise!"
Qiao Zhiya had dealt with Xiao Laosan twice, so he shouted in response: "Boss Xiao, please come down first and open the city gate. If you have something to say face to face, it's too laborious to shout like this!"
Xiao Laosan said: "After opening the door, your soldiers must be restrained and not allowed to enter the city!"
"Okay, okay, I won't let them enter the city without your permission, okay?" Qiao Zhiya waved his hand and said: "Hurry up and open the door."
Of course, Xiao Laosan didn't expect to shout a few words on the city wall to make the Haihan militiamen retreat. The purpose of doing so was more to show a gesture, at least to make onlookers think that the situation was still under his control. As for being shut out by the Haihan people, Xiao Laosan didn't intend to do anything so cruel. If the Haihan people were angry and sent troops to attack the city, who would clean up the mess?
In short, if you can talk, let's talk. If you can't, then put it off. If you can't even put it off... then you can probably just pretend to be dead. With this intention in mind, Xiao Laosan ordered the soldiers to open the city gate.
Qiao Zhiya asked the militia soldiers to stay where they were and stepped forward alone. Xiao Laosan followed suit, and the two had a private meeting outside the city gate.
Xiao Laosan said: "Major Qiao, we agreed at the beginning that the militia would not enter Changhua County!"
Qiao Zhiya shook his head and said: "The situation is different now. We have more than 20 hard laborers who have escaped into the city. If you can catch them and return them to us right now, then we don't have to go into the city. Mr. Xiao, these people are terrible They were all the bandits who rebelled and caused trouble in Guangdong. If they were allowed to escape into the city, it would be easy for them to get into trouble. "How about I wait for the rest of the night to arrest these people and return them to you," Mr. Xiao. San didn't completely believe Qiao Zhiya's statement, but he didn't want to say it too harshly, so he held off for now.
Qiao Zhiya did not accept this trick at all, and continued to shake his head and said: "Hand over the man now, immediately, or please let us go into the city and catch him ourselves."
Xiao Laosan frowned and said: "Then you don't intend to abide by the agreement you made?"
"The agreement does not allow you to harbor fugitives." Qiao Zhiya said: "Well, I'll give you two options. One is to give way, we go in to arrest people, and then leave Changhua City peacefully. The other way is for you to continue. Block here, I will kill you, and then go to the city to arrest people.”
"Bold! How dare you murder an official of the imperial court..." Xiao Laosan was angry and scared. He knew that the Haihan people had many tricks and would really do some daring things. It is said that the former general of Yazhou Shuizhai died in a pirate attack less than three months after taking office. In fact, it was the Haihan people who did it. He dared to deal with even the generals, but he, the boss, didn't seem to have any more sense of security.
"It is precisely because you are an official of the imperial court that I am standing here to talk to you slowly." Qiao Zhiya interrupted Xiao Laosan's weak argument without politeness: "Do you know what we did in Annan Kingdom? If they don’t surrender, we will use artillery to blast the city wall to pieces, and then enter the city to wipe out the remnants.”
Qiao Zhiya pointed to the city gate behind Xiao Laosan: "For a city wall like Changhua County, I think about ten cannons are enough. What do you think, Mr. Xiao?"
"I, Xiao Laosan, also have hundreds of brothers under my command, how could it be... how could it be..." Xiao Laosan wanted to say a few words to make a strong statement, but he really didn't have enough confidence to brag. He himself knew best the situation of the troops under his command. If the Haihan people really planned to attack Changhua County with force, these guys probably wouldn't have the courage to fight to the death with their opponents.
"Boss Xiao, why let an avoidable conflict break out? We don't want to offend you, nor do we intend to disturb the lives of the residents in the city. We just want to capture these prisoners and take them to where they should be. "Qiao Zhiya handed Xiao Laosan the steps at the right time: "Mr. Xiao just wants to make it convenient for us to enter the city, and we can solve the problem in an hour. After that, our people will leave the county and never stay. "< br>
"Is this...appropriate?" Xiao Laosan finally began to loosen his tone.
"There is nothing inappropriate. Our entry into the city is not a hostile act against Ming Dynasty, but to cooperate with General Xiao to arrest the bandits." Qiao Zhiya winked at Xiao Laosan and said: "Actually, we are accepting your command and dispatch. Go to the city to assist the government, the situation is that simple.”
"My commander's assignment?" Xiao Laosan was stunned for a moment, but he soon came to his senses - wasn't this the opportunity he had been looking forward to to be on the list? If you help the Haihan people this time, you will surely be rewarded in the future.
"That's right, Xiao Ba is always the highest-ranking officer in Changhua. Of course all the armed personnel here should obey your orders." Qiao Zhiya began to put a high hat on Xiao Laosan without hesitation.
"In that case, I'll give you one hour and don't break your promise!" Xiao Laosan hesitated for a moment and decided to take the risk. Because he knew that there was really no need for the Haihan people to occupy Changhua County. The area of the camp built by the Haihan people on the seaside almost exceeded that of Changhua County. Since they had the ability to build a new city on their own, Changhua County was very important to them. In fact, it doesn't have much use value.
Qiao Zhiya nodded, then turned around and waved back. After receiving the order, the militia troops immediately ran into the city in two columns. Also accompanying the team into the city were a number of naturalized citizens who had just been temporarily recruited from the construction site. Their main task was to identify the targets of arrest to prevent any fish from slipping through the net.
Qiao Zhiya turned around and saw that Xiao Laosan's forehead had begun to soak with sweat. He smiled and comforted him: "Don't be nervous, Mr. Xiao. What I just said was not to deceive you. We just went to the city to arrest people, and we have no other purpose."
Xiao Laosan responded with a strong smile: "This is the best."
Of course, the actual situation was not as peaceful as Qiao Zhiya promised. After entering the city, these militiamen were immediately divided into several action groups in squads. Starting from the north gate, they sorted out the streets and houses in the city from north to south. Changhua County was shaped into a square shape when viewed from the air. The area inside the city was small, and there were even fewer places to hide. Soon militiamen discovered traces of the fugitives.
(End of chapter)