Chapter 503 Tom Wang’s Worry
In the past two years or so, Haihan's various cultural and educational initiatives have won the favor of Danzhou's cultural circles, and this good image has also been spread through the words and pens of literati, exerting a subtle influence on local folk and official circles. Although the trade dumping practices of the Haihan people once caused widespread unemployment in some industries in Danzhou, the vast majority of these people found new employment opportunities under the hands of the Haihan people and did not cause any trouble to the local government. Some people even believe that daily necessities such as salt and coal on the market are of higher quality and cheaper than in the past. This is the actual benefit brought by the Haihan people.
Of course, compared with the benefits that ordinary people can get, the various "gifts" privately sent by Haihan to officials at all levels in Danzhou are also quite considerable. This expense alone is enough to support two companies of militia soldiers every year. . The reward for these efforts is the unhindered movement of the Haihan people in Danzhou and the results of meticulous intelligence collection. Even the imperial newspaper sent to Danzhou Prefecture every month would be copied and sent back to Sanya in the shortest possible time.
The fleet that He Xi and Wang Tom were on docked at Baimajing Village on the south side of the bay. The reason why this place got its name is Baima Well. It is said that when a general from the Tang Dynasty passed by here, his white horse dug out a spring here, so the locals built a well based on the spring water and named it "Baima Well". well".
There were already people from the Haihan office in Danzhou waiting on the pier. When they saw the two people getting off the boat, they took the initiative to greet them. The person in charge of the Resident Office is named Zhang Xin, a 28-year-old single man with a Cantonese surname. His occupation before time travel was said to be working in a cultural performance group. However, when I got here, because my job was temporarily useless, I switched to administration. It has been almost two years since I was the person in charge of the Danzhou office.
However, Zhang Xin was not very familiar with the two people who came here today. When he was transferred to Danzhou, He Xi had already gone to the Guangdong Office, and Wang Tom was a busy man, so there was no chance to meet him. Although we met many times when we lived together in Victory Port in the early days of time travel, this was the first time we had formal contact at work.
"Director Zhang, you've been waiting for a long time!" When Wang Tom saw Zhang Xin, he took the initiative to say hello. Although he was not a familiar person, Zhang Xin's appearance made him quite familiar - his dark complexion and thin figure were the standard features of a sailor.
Of course, Zhang Xin is not a sailor. His skin color is just that he was born with dark skin. In addition, he has been exposed to the sun for a long time in the south, and it has become even worse after coming to Danzhou - this place has about 2,500 hours of sunshine every year. Zhang Xin is I can't even think about it in vain.
After the three of them exchanged pleasantries, Zhang Xin arranged for them to take the prepared carriage to Danzhou. This place is nearly twenty miles away from the location of Danzhou City. It is really too far to walk. While the car was traveling, Zhang Xin also gave a brief introduction to the situation in Danzhou City.
Danzhou City was built in the Tang Dynasty, but it existed simply as a military fortress until the Ming Dynasty. It was not until the sixth year of Hongwu that the real city that exists today was built. It is now the political, military, and commercial center of Danzhou. and cultural center.
The circumference of Danzhou City is 500 feet long. The city wall is two feet five feet high and nearly two feet thick. There are more than 800 battlements built on the city head. There are Dehua Gate, Zhenhai Gate, Rouyuan Gate and Wuding Gate on the east, west, north and south respectively. There is a city gate with a city tower on top and city defense facilities such as gate walls, pavilions, trenches, and suspension bridges below. A protective trench up to eight feet deep was dug around the city wall. During the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, Danzhou City also built turrets at the four corners of the city wall to further strengthen the city's defense. If we look at city defense facilities alone, Danzhou City is obviously stronger than Yacheng in this aspect.
In addition, the garrison establishment in Danzhou has two thousand-household stations, but this is due to the inherent shortcomings of the garrison military system. The actual strength of the troops was far less than the 2,000 it should have had, and when all the old, weak, sick and disabled were added, the number was less than 1,500. According to Zhang Xin's estimation based on information obtained from various channels, there are only about a thousand people with real combat effectiveness, and the level of weapons and equipment is basically the same as that of Yacheng at the time. Although there are many firearms, they are basically less powerful and younger. An old guy that has been in disrepair for a long time, its actual combat effectiveness is quite limited.
"The last time I came to Danzhou, I came overland from Qiongzhou City. If I remember correctly, there is a river outside Danzhou City?" After listening to Zhang Xin's introduction, He Xi also slowly collected the information. Check it with your own impression of Danzhou, and ask Zhang Xin for confirmation of the vague parts of your impression.
Zhang Xin nodded and said: "Because that river is facing the north gate of Danzhou City, it is called Beimen River. Originally, Beimen River led directly to Danzhou Bay, but in recent years, due to the muddy water in the river, The sand siltation is serious, and the big ship can no longer sail to the dock outside Danzhou City, so we can only let you go ashore at Baima Well and transfer to the carriage. "
"That's such a pity!" Wang Tom shrugged helplessly when he heard the news: "It seems that our navy can no longer play the leading role in Danzhou!"
"Is the Executive Committee really planning to attack Danzhou?" This anniversary coincided with the birthday of the governor of Danzhou, and it was held for three days, so Zhang Xin had no choice but to miss the time to return to Sanya, so he was The arrangements of the executive committee are also vague and not particularly clear.
"Probably within the year!" He Xi thought for a moment and added: "Of course, if Danzhou can be captured peacefully, it is best not to use military means."
"Win it peacefully?" Zhang Xin frowned and said: "If it takes another one or two years to slowly reverse, it is not impossible. At least it can be gradually returned to our name like Yacheng. But this year... it is indeed a bit Difficult.”
"What is the official attitude of Danzhou towards us now? Is the position of the military and political officials firm? Is there any possibility of instigating rebellion?" He Xi asked three questions in one breath.
"The government is not too wary of us, but I think if we make our attitude clear, this place will not give up resistance as easily as Yacheng and let us take over." Zhang Xin expressed his opinion: "This place in Danzhou will not give up resistance as easily as Yacheng." Several of the main officials are not natives of Hainan Island. Their hometowns are in the mainland, so it may not be easy for them to change their stance.”
"If the foundation is not here, it will be really difficult." He Xi nodded, but there was no look of embarrassment on his face.
Now that the Executive Committee has decided to capture Hainan Island, whether these places choose to resist or surrender will not actually make a big difference to Haihan. The military even hoped that the local government of Ming Dynasty could take some bloody resistance measures, so that the militia army could practice their troops in actual combat for a long time, and at the same time, it could also demonstrate the importance of military power internally. If every place can be peacefully integrated, how can the military continue to hang out in the executive committee in the future?
Of course, this kind of view can only be thought in the mind at most, and no one will actually say it out loud. Although the entire time-traveling group is only a small group, it also needs to be politically correct. The purpose of seizing Hainan Island is to consolidate the dominance of the Haihan regime in the local area, rather than to fight purely for the sake of war. If someone can't figure out the priorities, then the Executive Committee will probably not be happy to see such people. Take power in the military. In addition to the large carriage with three people, there were also seven or eight carriages with mixed cargo and people behind it. When this convoy arrived outside the south gate of Danzhou, when it was still more than ten meters away from the Ming army guarding the gate in front, the driver The coachman shouted loudly: "Here comes the reward from Director Haihan Zhang!" After saying that, he threw two ingots of broken silver towards the Ming soldiers on the roadside. The Ming soldiers remained silent and silently walked from the ground. After picking up the money, he returned to the roadside and continued to pretend to be blind.
He Xi was used to this kind of scene, not to mention in a remote place like Danzhou, even in Guangzhou, this trick was equally effective. Sometimes the Guangdong Office needs to carry some contraband in and out of Guangzhou, and they always use this method of silver to clear the way. No one can live with free money, whether they are soldiers or officers.
Wang Tom seldom came in and out of Daming City, so he felt a little strange when he saw this situation, and couldn't help but ask: "If I lead a group of people and plan to rob the city gate, wouldn't it be easy to get in? ”
Zhang Xin nodded and said: "Theoretically it is true, so when your militia really wants to come to attack Danzhou, dress up in advance, and then try to control the distance from the seaside to Danzhou City, so as not to let the defenders get warning in advance. . As long as we don’t attract the attention of the defenders before entering the city, we are almost certain to capture the city gate.”
"If you do this, the artillery will basically have nothing to do." Wang Tom sighed with gloating.
I think back when we first attacked Hue City, a considerable part of the frontal assault tasks were undertaken by the artillery units, and the artillery commanders indeed learned and summarized a set of tactics and techniques for attacking fortified cities during the Battle of Hue. . After the Battle of Hue, the artillery unit almost never participated in large-scale military operations. A few days ago, when Yan Chujie announced that he would attack Danzhou, a group of people in the army were as happy as if they were celebrating a festival, which made Wang Tom very happy. It's jealousy.
However, there is only one fortified city in Danzhou, but the city defense is very sparse. With this defensive awareness, Wang Tom feels that there is no pressure even if he directs the siege battle across disciplines. As long as a city gate can be successfully captured so that the subsequent militia army can have a way to enter the city, even a blind man can easily win.
He Xi smiled and said: "You don't have to rush to gloat. No matter how we fight, as long as we take action, the credit for this siege battle will truly belong to the army."
After hearing this, Tom Wang's smile that originally hung at the corner of his mouth faded.
Just like the army and navy of any country, there has been a natural competitive factor between the army and navy of the militia since the day they were separated. The two arms compete for military talents, military budgets, and qualifications to fight. Almost all limited available resources are competed by the two arms. The biggest basis for both sides to compete for these limited resources is undoubtedly their actual combat record.
Although the militia navy has indeed performed extremely well in actual combat since its establishment, there are not many opportunities to actually participate in combat. The most recent actual battle dates back to a year ago, the battle against the Liu Xiang Pirate Group at the Pearl River Estuary. Although it also participated in the battle to attack Hue, the navy was almost the whole process, only undertaking the tasks of maritime protection and transportation. Even in the final battle that wiped out the South Vietnamese navy, it was actually the army artillery unit. Completed.
The navy's military budget is already astonishingly high. If such a high-cost unit does not have the opportunity to fight for a long time, it will definitely cause a lot of gossip. It was originally planned to build three steam battleships, but it was hurriedly stopped after two were launched. The third one was temporarily canceled before the keel was laid. The reason was that the cost of building such a high-end battleship was too high and the maintenance was too high. In addition to the trouble, another reason is that the navy has no foreseeable high-intensity maritime battles to fight in the short term. The existing fleet size is enough to maintain Haihan's dominance over Hainan Island.
Originally, Tom Wang was holding back his energy and wanted to take advantage of the decision made by the executive committee to allow the navy to perform well. But after coming to Danzhou and seeing it, his heart was half dead - the bay here is It's not small, but the inland direction is mostly mud and sandy beaches. The navy's warships will definitely not be able to dock, and there will be no chance to even get close to the battlefield. Such hydrological conditions also destined that there would be no Daming Navy stationed in Danzhou, so there would be no militia navy rivals.
But the army is different. Whether they are coming for letters or for military purposes, the task of occupying Danzhou must be completed by them. Once the Danzhou government and defenders took action to resist, it goes without saying that the army would describe this battle as a victorious battle with a fierce process but a successful outcome. The military merit of capturing Danzhou will naturally be credited to the army. The navy will only serve as a troop transport. At most, it can post a sentry outside Danzhou Bay to block entry and exit from Danzhou. It's just a sea passage in the bay.
Although the plan to seize Danzhou is still on paper, Wang Tom seems to have seen the proud faces of the Army group at the post-war award ceremony. The Navy plans to restart the construction plan of the "Majesty-class" steam-powered warship in the second half of the year. I am afraid that some people will accuse it of "advanced consumption" by then. Maybe it will not be able to capture the Army's share of the military budget next year.
"Half of the battle has already been lost!" The more Tom Wang thought about it, the more frustrated he became. For such a great opportunity, the Navy could only play a supporting role, and almost all the scenes were taken away by the Army.
"I think we should further study the possibility of peacefully liberating Danzhou!" Wang Tom raised his head and suggested to the two of them with a solemn expression.
(End of chapter)