Chapter 477 Similar situation
Before Li Qingyang witnessed the actual situation in Victory Port with his own eyes, he was puzzled as to why the Haihan people were able to replace the government in this area. In his opinion, no matter how rich the Haihan people were, they could bribe local officials to provide them with Asylum, but after all, people are still people, how could they let the government take orders from outsiders like them. But after seeing the Haihan people's fleet and forts with his own eyes, Li Qingyang had a clearer understanding of this group of armed merchants - the power they controlled had long surpassed the local government, and they had no choice to divide the territory here and become independent. Government, local officials are already clapping their hands and rejoicing. These warships, forts, and the Haihan militia army that has not yet been seen are all the basis for the Executive Committee to achieve rule here, and the traces of the Ming Dynasty that still exist here are probably the Inspection Department and Water Resources that have become ineffective. The teacher's office is here.
The people obviously don't care that much whether this place belongs to the Ming Dynasty or the Haihan Executive Committee. Who can give them a better life, who can protect their personal and property safety, and whoever can get the majority of people here. Recognition and following. The Ming court's current actions in this regard have obviously not won enough public support.
Even if Li Qingyang was still unwilling to admit defeat, he had to admit that working with a boss like Haihan would indeed give him a lot of confidence. Rich and powerful, and good at governing the local area, this executive committee is much more powerful than the royal vassals that Li Qingyang knew were entrusted to local areas. The most important thing is that these people are not businessmen who only care about making money. They invest a lot of money in strengthening their own strength and consolidating their dominance. This kind of development idea is not something that ordinary businessmen should have.
What Li Qingyang can confirm now is that with the Haihan people's combat fleet and the coastal defense fort at the port, they can firmly defend the Victory Port area. Even if the Ming Dynasty sends troops to conquer, it will be difficult for the Haihan people to conquer this area. A place that is run like a metal bucket gets a good deal.
Even he, an expert, holds this view, let alone ordinary people. Li Qingyang can now fully understand why the local people have an unusual trust and admiration for the Executive Committee. The reason indeed comes from the psychological protection provided by Haihan's strong military strength to the people and the outside world.
Li Qingyang responded thoughtfully: "I guess the Haihan Militia under the Executive Committee has always been invincible?"
"That's right!" Lin Nan nodded and replied: "Since our Haihan Militia was formed, we have been invincible and have never been defeated. Let's talk about a relatively recent one. In March this year, we crossed the sea to participate in the battle to quell the rebellion in Annan. It only took one month to capture Hue, Annan's strongest city, and destroy the Hue court. Annan's more than 300,000 rebels were dispersed, and the decades-long division of the north and the south ended! ”
"The rumors about your participation in the Annan Civil War are actually true!" Li Qingyang was surprised. He also heard some rumors about this when he was in Guangzhou, but because of the Haihan Militia's cross-sea battle, not many outsiders knew about it. , so the information about this matter almost all comes from folk rumors, and the degree of credibility is not high. At that time, Li Qingyang thought that this kind of thing was probably some kind of propaganda strategy of the Haihan people, and he did not take it completely seriously - the Ming Dynasty's official army had defeated tens of thousands of elite troops in Annan, but they still failed to conquer this small southeastern country that seemed primitive but was actually tough. How could the Han people dare to claim that they conquered Annan?
Li Qingyang only regarded this matter as a joke at first, but the situation he came into contact with after his release made him increasingly face the terrifying strength of the Haihan people in the military field. Just based on the level of Haihan's armed forces that he saw with his own eyes, it is not impossible to achieve cross-sea operations. However, the cross-sea operation also broke through the capital of the southern regime in a short period of time. This record was very scary. Although the Jinyiwei was a secret service agency, it was still part of the army. Li Qingyang also understood how difficult this kind of away battle was. Lin Nan actually said the matter so easily, Li Qingyang really couldn't suppress his surprise.
Lin Nan smiled and said: "Brother Li probably only thought about the difficulties of the Executive Committee sending troops to fight in Annan, but he couldn't imagine how big a strength gap there is between Annan's peasants and soldiers and our militia army."< br>
Li Qingyang was silent for a while, then shook his head and said: "I am stupid, it is really difficult to imagine how the Haihan militia defeated an opponent with a huge gap in military strength. But the northern court in Annan actually acquiesced in Haihan's cross-sea battle?"< br>
"It's not acquiescence, they paid us to help." Lin Nan explained unabashedly: "For this reason, the Annan court paid us a large amount of wealth, land and population as a reward for our help."
Li Qingyang frowned slightly. The behavior of the Haihan Vigilante Group was undoubtedly far beyond the normal behavior of a private armed force. However, considering Haihan's usual behavior, it seemed that it should not be purely for the sake of peace. Money is the only way to fight, so Li Qingyang raised his questions to Lin Nan.
Lin Nan explained: "We have many interests in Annan. Maintaining stability in Annan is also protecting our own interests. Besides, Annan is willing to provide us with several natural harbor areas on the coastline for this purpose. This is what we Everyone just takes what they want.”
"Military alliance?" Li Qingyang asked.
"It's not just a military alliance." Lin Nan continued: "We also have comprehensive cooperation in terms of economy, culture and immigration. Among the people in Sanya, nearly 30% are immigrants from Annan. This proportion was last year It once exceeded 40%. For example, on our current ship, there are crew members from Annan.”
"Huh? Can you introduce me to me?" Li Qingyang became interested as soon as he heard it. Lin Nan was bragging so wildly just now. In fact, as long as he could find an Annan person to ask, he would know whether he was bragging or not.
"First Officer Wu, please come here." Lin Nan stood up and greeted, and soon a stocky man with dark skin came to Li Qingyang. Li Qingyang was already convinced just by looking at his appearance. This wide nose and thick lips was indeed a typical Annan face.
"This Deputy Wu Senwu previously served as a staff general in the Annan Army. If Brother Li has any questions, you can ask him." Lin Nanyan introduced him briefly and comprehensively.
This Annan man who served as the first mate on the "Lightning" was naturally the South Vietnamese naval general Wu Sen who was captured by the militia in the Battle of Hue. Wu Sen was quickly assigned to the Shipping Department after being persuaded to surrender by Ruan Jinggui. Because his identity was relatively sensitive, he was temporarily unable to enter the Navy, but the military did not want to waste his abilities, so they temporarily placed him on the "Lightning" as a trainee crew member.
Of course, Wu Sen did not disappoint his superiors. With his many years of sailing experience, he quickly mastered the basic skills of controlling this new type of sailing ship, and was promoted to first mate by Wang Tom's personal order. As for his mentality at this time, there has been a huge change from when he was just brought to Sanya. Lin Nan asked him to accept Li Qingyang's questions, and also deliberately mentioned his previous identity, but Wu Sen did not show much concern.
Li Qingyang clasped his fists and said: "Brother Wu is Annan's officer, why did he come to Sanya to join the crew?" Wu Sen laughed at himself: "It's true that he is Annan's officer, but he is the loser. Why come here? , it was not voluntary at first, and the prisoners had no right to choose.”
"I made a mistake!" Li Qingyang quickly apologized. He was only thinking about the cooperation agreement between Haihan and the Annan court. The other party's sending of officers to stay there seemed to be a matter of cleanup, but he forgot that Haihan had also fought a war with the small southern court of Annan. As for what it would be like to be captured here as a prisoner of war, he didn't even need to ask Wu Sen about this question, he already knew the answer.
"It's okay." Wu Sen waved his hand and said: "I felt a lot of dissatisfaction when I was first captured. However, after staying here for a while and learning a lot from the chief, I realized that I was really a frog in the well in the past. Thanks to the chief. They don’t dislike me for being clumsy and have given me a chance to start a new life. I am only grateful to the Executive Committee now.”
Listening to his tone, Li Qingyang was exactly the same as Luo Shengdong and Wei Ping who had met before. He immediately changed the subject and asked: "Brother Lin said before that there was a war between Haihan and Annan this year. I wonder if Brother Wu was the one who witnessed it?"< br>
Wu Sen nodded and said: "I have indeed experienced the Battle of Hue and witnessed the crushing attack that the leaders mentioned. However, the Battle of Hue is not the only battle that Haihan participated in. Before that, It has participated in several wars. If it were not for the intervention of the Haihan militia, the northern court would have been wiped out long ago. It is a pity that the southern court had an army of 300,000, but it was completely unable to defend against the few thousand Haihan militia. The regiment failed again and again on the battlefield, and eventually even the capital was lost."
Li Qingyang didn't quite believe the 300,000 troops claimed by Lin Nan and Wu Sen. With Annan's size and population, the southern imperial court's ability to support more than 100,000 troops was probably the limit. If they really have an army of 300,000, let alone fighting, the logistics alone will be enough to eat up their treasury. However, even if the number of 300,000 is serious, it is definitely much larger than the Haihan Militia. The fact that Wu Sen personally admitted the defeat basically confirmed Lin Nan's previous statement.
Wu Sen continued: "The defeated generals will only face post-war liquidation. People like me will be imprisoned for life even if they don't die. Now that I have the opportunity to continue to make a living at sea, I am already thankful to God."
Li Qingyang couldn't help but ask: "The Haihan Militia, are they really so scary?"
Wu Sen smiled bitterly and said: "It's not scary, it's disappointing. You can see your opponent on the battlefield, but you never have the chance to hurt the opponent. Haihan's artillery and firecrackers start harvesting from a hundred feet away. The lives of the soldiers were never met face to face. We originally thought that we could fill this gap with our strength, but one thousand people, two thousand people, three thousand people...we filled it in endlessly. After thousands of lives have been lost, Haihan’s artillery shells and bullets are still being fired endlessly. What do you think it will be like?”
Li Qingyang asked: "I heard that Hue is the most fortified city in Annan, and it cannot be defeated by the Haihan militia in the frontal battlefield. So you can always defend the city, right?"
"It's of no use." Wu Sen shook his head and said: "The so-called strong city was only useful for the past fighting methods, but as soon as the militia army came, they directly destroyed the city wall. The city walls collapsed, and this city How to defend? No matter how many people there are, they can't stop Haihan's cannonballs, and if they continue to defend, they will die in vain. Therefore, after the city was broken, many of the troops defending the city surrendered directly, not because they were not loyal enough to the court. There is absolutely no hope of winning.”
"Excuse!" Li Qingyang was not convinced by Wu Sen's argument. Since ancient times, many soldiers had died on the battlefield. Wouldn't they just stop fighting if they couldn't see the hope of victory? If so, who would fight to kill the enemy on the battlefield? In Li Qingyang's view, the Annan army's approach was more about fear of life and death. Of course, the overwhelming advantage shown by the Haihan militia during the battle must also be one of the reasons. It is indeed terrifying to think about it. The gap in force between the two sides cannot even be filled with human lives, and this kind of unilateral massacre will undoubtedly have a huge impact on morale.
Wu Sen smiled bitterly and said: "I know what you will think now. In fact, I, Wu Sen, am not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. When I sailed a boat to launch a desperate charge against the Hai Han militia outside Hue City, hundreds of people under my command were We were determined to die. But the disparity in strength was huge. We didn't even have a chance to get close to the Haihan militia, so we were all bombarded into the river by artillery. It was easy to die, but it was difficult to survive. It was not because of me that I chose to survive. I am afraid of death, but I don’t want those comrades who lost their lives on the battlefield to die in vain! Their families and their children must have someone to take care of them!”
Li Qingyang said solemnly: "I'm thinking something wrong, brother Wu, don't blame me!"
Wu Sen's words made Li Qingyang think of his current situation. It is true that if he must choose to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, no one will stop him from ending it on his own, but Li Qingyang also has things that he can't let go of, and these things are not related to whether he is afraid of death. There is no direct relationship.
Wu Sen shook his head and said: "There's nothing strange. Since Captain Lin brought you to chat with me, we must be in similar situations. I guess I won't be the first person to chat with you, and I probably won't be the last one." One, whether you believe it or not, I still have to say to you, Haihan is indeed a wise master!”
Li Qingyang is not sure whether he is the Ming Lord or not, but judging from the outsiders he has come into contact with who have taken refuge in Haihan, at least his life after taking refuge in Haihan is quite good.
(End of chapter)