Chapter 501: Bright Attitude
In addition to military trends, at this anniversary meeting, the Executive Committee also re-divided the administrative establishment of each region. For example, the Sanya Region was officially established as Sanya City, with jurisdiction over Tiandu, Tieliang and Gang, Nanshan, Yacheng and other county-level units - yes, Yacheng, which was originally the seat of Yazhou in the Ming Dynasty, was too remote on the new administrative planning map, and its population was far less than that of Sanya Port and Shengli Port The prosperous area here can only exist as a county-level unit on Haihan's administrative territory.
However, currently only the Sanya area of the Haihan-controlled area on Qiongzhou Island is listed as a municipal-level unit, while Yinggehai, Changhua and other places are all county-level. As for the areas still under the joint rule of Ming Dynasty and Haihan, such as Lingshui, Wanzhou, Lehui and other places, no clear administrative divisions have been made for the time being - these areas are not controlled by Haihan to the same extent as Yacheng. It would be inappropriate to openly implement a total takeover before preparing for war.
The situation in Annan is relatively complicated. Although Haihan has a lot of territory here, including the earliest developed Black Earth Port area, it currently exists in the name of "Haihan Concession". If it is implemented directly according to Haihan's wishes, Regarding administrative divisions, the Annan court would probably not be happy to see this situation arise. Taking into account the alliance with the Annan court, the Executive Committee could only continue to unify the "concessions" in the Annan area into the "Annan Special Administrative Region", and its administrative seat was still located in the Black Earth Port in the Beibu Gulf.
This kind of administrative division is likely to only have a lifespan of one year, because various ports in the south have already begun to implement infrastructure projects. When these ports are completed in a year, it will be too bureaucratic to subordinate administrative relations to the distant Black Earth Port—— From the several new ports heading south from Da Nang, the voyage to Sanya is much closer than to Black Tu Port. By then, Annan's administrative divisions are likely to be divided into two large administrative regions, north and south, with Zhengjiang and Hengshan as the boundary.
As for Guangdong, there haven't been many results yet. At least they have to wait until there is some progress on Hong Kong Island before making the next administrative plan. However, in order to adapt to the establishment of the Guangdong Military Region, the entire administrative structure originally belonging to the Guangdong Office in Guangdong has also been upgraded to the "Guangdong Special Administrative Region". Although the jurisdiction of this administrative region is actually only a few small ports, the territory is not large and the authority is not small. Currently, more than 60% of Haihan's foreign trade and 70% of immigrants come from Guangdong and Guangxi. , is the most important trade channel between Haihan and Ming Dynasty. The progress here will directly affect the development of the entire Haihan.
Ma Like, the head of the Guangdong Office in Guangzhou, finally made a name for himself and was naturally appointed as the chief administrative officer of Guangdong District, becoming a genuine "chief". Along with him, Xie Chun, the current chief administrative officer of Heitu Port, was awarded the same level position. This guy was born in a shipping company and had been clamoring to join the army and lead troops. In the end, he actually embarked on the road of politics, and he was quite good at it. We climbed halfway up the mountain smoothly, which surprised many people.
It is the naturalized cadres at the grassroots level who have benefited the most from this administrative restructuring, and hundreds of them have been promoted. Many naturalized citizens who were weak-legged or down-and-out scholars two or three years ago were only doing odd jobs under the travelers, but in this adjustment, they were promoted to township cadres. While these naturalized cadres are happy, few of them may realize that it will be difficult for them to turn back from now on, and it is unlikely that they will return to being obedient citizens under the Ming Dynasty.
Most people under Haihan's rule got a share of this feast, and even if they were unlucky, they got two days of paid leave. However, there are still a very small number of people who are uneasy about the various adjustments this time, because these measures will fundamentally change their original living conditions.
As soon as Tao Donglai returned to his office, the guard came in and reported: "General Luo and President Wei Qian have been waiting for you in the reception room for a long time."
"These two guys must have heard something!" Tao Donglai muttered in his heart and asked the guards to bring them in. Haihan's various new policies this time, except for the military aspect, did not particularly emphasize confidentiality. There have long been rumors among the people that Haihan will have major external actions in the near future - recruiting and expanding the army, launching new ships, and recruiting cadres. Further training, and even military leaders from other places returned to Victory Port collectively. Various signs have become the basis for supporting this theory.
After the two came in and sat down, they exchanged a few words. Wei Ping couldn't hold it back and hurriedly brought the conversation to the main topic: "Mr. Tao, I heard that the Executive Committee plans to annex Yacheng. Is this news true?"
"The word annexation doesn't sound right, but the meaning is probably correct." Tao Donglai did not deny Wei Ping's question: "Considering the need for unified planning of the Sanya area, we believe that Yacheng is no longer suitable to be independent of Sanya. outside the region, so a county-level agency must be established to manage the Yacheng area.”
Wei Ping didn't have the time to ponder the meaning of these words in Tao Donglai's words, so he quickly asked: "Mr. Tao, does Haihan's move have some profound meaning?"
"I can't say what I mean. If I must say it, I think it should be a matter of course!" Tao Donglai said slowly: "Actually, you two also know very well that Yacheng is no longer a territory of the Ming Dynasty, but we think The time is not yet ripe, so it has not been officially brought under the rule.”
In front of these two people, Tao Donglai didn't say much to cover up. Ever since Luo Shengdong's father-in-law Zhang Qing was pushed to the position of magistrate by Haihan, Haihan had already achieved de facto control over Yacheng. Later, the local garrison in Yacheng was gradually disbanded and replaced, and all the local armed forces were replaced by the Haihan Militia. The Yazhou Garrison Office gradually replaced the administrative affairs of the Yazhou Prefecture, and the Ming Dynasty government in Yazhou was emptied out. .
Ming officials in Yacheng could only watch this change silently, because they knew very well what the consequences of resistance would be. Those who dared to do this had already disappeared from the area silently. Those of them who survived All the people can do is cooperate with Haihan's arrangements as much as possible, so that at least they can get a good income every month. Young people like Luo Shengdong and Wei Ping simply moved to Sanya to settle down, and their daily jobs are almost all working for Haihan. Compared with those naturalized cadres, what they lack is probably It's just a name.
Although these people have become accustomed to working under the command of the Haihan Executive Committee, it is still difficult for them to accept this fact when things really come to require them to abandon their past identities. Haihan has also anticipated this. In fact, he has already made arrangements for the future of these people.
Tao Donglai continued: "For officials in Yacheng, we have prepared three options. First, resign from the official position and leave the local area. We will send people and ships to escort them back to Guangzhou for free. Second, after resigning from the official position, If you stay locally, whether you want to be a charterer or want to do some business, we will provide you with the greatest convenience. The third way is to switch camps and join us. From now on, we can give up all the identities of Ming Dynasty. According to the situation and ability, the corresponding Haihan official position will be given! ”
Tao Donglai's eyes went back and forth between the two people's faces: "We will set aside a month for consideration, and hope that everyone can carefully make the decision that is best for themselves!"
"Haihan...are we really going to establish a country?" Luo Shengdong, who had been silent until now, suddenly choked out something from his throat. He had anticipated this as early as two years ago, and as time went by and Haihan grew, this premonition became stronger and stronger, but he could never determine the specific time. But what Tao Donglai just said has obviously torn off the disguise of the past, revealing the ferocious side of Haihan that has been hidden all this time.
"If everything goes well, Haihan will be founded in about a year." Tao Donglai stated the time limit without hesitation. "The executive committee is really not willing to fight against Ming Dynasty for this?" Luo Shengdong stared at Tao Donglai's eyes, hoping to see a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
However, Tao Donglai's answer was extremely firm: "The Executive Committee believes that at this stage, the importance of founding the country is above all else. If a war breaks out with the Ming Dynasty because of this, we will try our best to resolve the war as quickly as possible and let the The relationship between Haihan and Ming returned to a peaceful state."
Tao Donglai's tone was full of natural confidence. Ironically, after the two Ming military attaches who were originally hostile to this statement looked at each other, they acquiesced to Tao Donglai's statement and did not refute it. In their view, it is indeed difficult for the Ming Dynasty's military force to confront the Haihan militia equipped with powerful firearms, especially the gap in combat power at sea. If the Ming Dynasty's navy wants to expedition to Sanya, the end will be simply impossible. Imagine.
"Can I wait until I go back to discuss this matter with my family before replying?" Luo Shengdong asked tentatively.
"No problem at all." Tao Donglai nodded and reminded him: "But I hope you have an idea of what you can say to your family and what you can't say. There are some things that too many people know about, so it's hard for you It’s not necessarily a good thing to say.”
"I understand." Of course Luo Shengdong understood what Tao Donglai meant. If the content of what we just talked about is exposed and reported to the court by someone who is interested, the first people to be unlucky will not be the Haihan people, but their group of Ming officers who have been attached to Haihan for more than two years, and even include Including other people in Yacheng official circles. The lightest charge is dereliction of duty. If it is a serious charge, it is likely to be a serious crime such as colluding with the rebellious party and conspiring to rebel. Even if the entire family is not executed, then the entire family will be confiscated and exiled.
After sending away the restless duo, Tao Donglai soon welcomed a new guest, and the first and second leaders of the security department came to visit.
He Xi and Maliko returned to Victory Port on the same boat three days ago, and they just got stuck before the celebration started. However, he has not rested in the past few days. He has held multiple meetings in the Security Department to listen to the work reports of various departments and discuss some work arrangements and action plans for the next year.
Due to the special nature of the Ministry of Security, they learned of the decisions announced by the Executive Committee during the celebration earlier than the outside world, and made arrangements for the direction of intelligence work in advance. Today, two supervisors came to visit Tao Donglai to give him an informal preparation report.
"This is an action plan drafted by the Ministry of Security. The content is mainly about the arrangements for intelligence work in the Ming-ruled areas of Danzhou, Qiongzhou Fucheng and Wenchang this year." He Xi said as he handed the document to Tao Donglai. On the desk: "Director Hao is taking care of the specific affairs, so if you have any questions, don't embarrass me. Director Hao will be responsible for answering questions."
Tao Donglai nodded, picked up the document and looked through it quickly.
As early as the second half of 1627, the security department had begun to dispatch personnel to various cities in the north of Hainan Island. However, at that time, the organization of the security department had not yet been formed, and there were no professional intelligence personnel. Therefore, the people sent out Rather than being a spy, it is better to say that he is a front line for the commercial department. It was not until the Ministry of Security was formally established last year that the intelligence system stationed in various northern states and counties began to officially operate. If we want to make a horizontal comparison, the operation status of the Security Department in several northern cities is actually not as good as He Xi's operation results in Guangdong.
Of course, He Xi's environment and the authority he holds are also different. He can make the decisions by himself, recruiting people, formulating plans, and implementing actions that require layer upon layer of approval at the base camp, and the funding is almost To the extent that there are no restrictions, it can be said that the freedom of movement is much greater than here at the base camp.
The action plan currently prepared by the Security Department is actually new wine in old bottles, and is operated according to previous routines. In the past, Haihan gradually penetrated into prefectures and counties like Yacheng, used various means to bribe Ming officials, and monitored local defense. Now he continues to follow the same example. However, due to time constraints, Haihan probably did not have much time to carry out the peaceful evolution of Ming cities one by one as before, so the intensity of collecting intelligence, especially military intelligence, has increased, and the frequency of intelligence delivery will also increase. Increased from once every half month to once every ten days.
"In several cities in the north, I plan to go there in person in a few days after things are sorted out, to see the actual situation there, and then make modifications based on this action plan." He Xi took the initiative to inform them of his next plan.
"It just so happens that the Military Commission has a similar plan. You can ask Wang Tom to make a summary in advance and ask the military to cooperate with the Ministry of Security's actions." Tao Donglai responded.
"Is Tom Wang planning to go there to inspect the battlefield?" He Xi smiled and said, "I've been there a few times, so I can serve as a free tour guide for him."
(End of chapter)