Chapter 510 Pirate Harassment
July 23, 1630, the fourteenth day of the sixth lunar month in the third year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, was the great heat of the lunar calendar.
At the seaside dock twenty miles west of Danzhou City, a group of migrant workers under the command of several Haihan foremen were working together to carry thigh-thick timber to the seaside in preparation for building a trestle on the coastline. They had just received this job two days ago. It was said that the Haihan people were going to build a dock for their own use at Baima Well to dock those huge cargo sailing ships.
Although the Haihan people's supervision is very strict and there is almost no chance for laziness in the work process, the corresponding rewards are relatively high. One laborer working on the construction site is enough to feed four or five people. In addition, in order to save construction time, the Haihan people also took care of the food on the construction site, which attracted many nearby people to come here to apply for labor jobs.
In addition to building the wharf, the Haihan people also hired about 300 people and began to renovate the road from Baimajing Wharf in Danzhou Bay to Danzhou City. The original official road was just a loess road. It had become dilapidated due to years of disrepair and almost completely lost its traffic capacity during the rainy season. However, the Danzhou government was not interested in spending money to build this road. It couldn't bear it anymore, so it summoned local gentry to raise funds and repair the road. It would take as long as it lasted, as long as it lasted through the term.
As the traffic between Sanya and Danzhou increases day by day, the Haihan people, who control the largest share of transportation on this route, seem to be unable to sit still. This year, they finally took out the money to expand the terminal and renovate the road. The Danzhou government was naturally happy to see the results and gave the Haihan side, who was in charge of the project, the green light. Not only did they allow them to hire a large number of local people, but they also allowed the Haihan people's carriages to freely enter and exit Danzhou City during the road construction period, so as to facilitate their transportation of various goods. Plant supplies.
Of course, even if you crack their heads, you would never guess that Haihan's real purpose of paying for these infrastructure projects is actually to quickly complete the landing and attack when the army approaches Danzhou City in a few months.
"Look, that ship is coming into the harbor!" Someone suddenly shouted loudly on the pier.
A lucky boat sailed slowly and leisurely into Danzhou Bay, but something seemed wrong. There was a large burn mark on the lower edge of the sail, and there were several broken places on the right side of the ship. There were even holes on the mast and side. There were a few arrows stuck in it, and it looked like it had been attacked at sea.
Without too much guessing, the situation quickly spread among the crowd as the ship docked. This is a cargo ship belonging to the Zhan Family Shipping Company, and its route is from Sanya to Danzhou. The Zhan Family Shipping Company is no stranger to the local people. This shipping company entered Danzhou almost at the same time as the Haihan people. Several ships arrive in Danzhou Bay every month for trade. The ship that entered the port today seemed to be very unlucky, because on the sea only more than 20 miles away from Danzhou Bay, it encountered pirates who had been extinct around Qiongzhou Island for a long time.
Ever since the warships of the Haihan Militia were launched, the pirates around Qiongzhou Island have been in bad luck. Regardless of their size, they have all become targets for training by the Haihan Militia. From 1628 to the beginning of 1630, the Haihan militia was dispatched more than twenty times and destroyed more than ten pirate gangs on the coast of Qiongzhou Island and surrounding areas. Of course, these pirate gangs have basically not yet formed. At most, they are at the level of the pirates on Dangan Island. The militia did not spend much effort to clean them up. By the beginning of this year, there was basically no news about pirates in the waters near Qiongzhou Island.
However, this calmness lasted for half a year and seemed to be broken again. The pirates the cargo ship encountered at sea were actually equipped with cannons. If the captain had not ordered early to escape and throw away some of the cheap cargo in the ship's ballast, the ship might not have had the chance to escape to Danzhou Bay and dock. It was said that several crew members were injured on the ship. Fortunately, there were doctors arranged by Haihan at the dock construction site. After rushing to the ship to perform rescue operations, everyone saw several crew members who had bandaged their wounds being carried off on stretchers.
Then a tired and sweaty doctor appeared on the pier and announced the result to the people who were waiting for news: "The injuries of several injured people are not harmful, but two crew members died of their injuries before arriving at Danzhou Port. It can’t be saved.”
Pirates reappeared in Danzhou waters and robbed ships and killed people. The news reached Danzhou city on the same day. The steward of Zhan's shipping company went to the state government office to report the case and asked the Danzhou government to dispatch officers and soldiers to kill these lawless people. pirate.
The Danzhou government didn't have any good solutions for this kind of thing. It sent troops to fight. Danzhou didn't have an independent navy garrison, so it had to ask for help from Fucheng. However, reinforcements are not so easy to recruit. They must pay the departure fee first, and then they will start to gather troops. Moreover, the expenses during the period of coming to fight pirates have to be borne by Danzhou local government. Who will pay for this money? Even if this amount of money could be raised, where would the Navy go to suppress pirates who come and go without a trace on the sea? If there is no whereabouts for ten days and a half, should we continue searching at sea or return home? If it dies without any results, wouldn't the money spent on reinforcements be in vain?
So the only thing the Danzhou government could do was to appease the victims and stated that they would trace the whereabouts of the pirates and destroy them. As for what to do next, it can only be postponed for one day. Unless the pirates come ashore, the Danzhou government really has nothing to do.
However, as a business partner of the Zhan family shipyard, Haihan took the initiative to step forward at this juncture, claiming that he could assist the government in eradicating pirates. But there is a prerequisite, that is, Haihan's warships are allowed to enter Danzhou Bay.
The people in the Danzhou government are not fools, and they will naturally not agree to such unreasonable demands. Whatever happens to you Haihan people in the south, it will be the people of Yazhou who take the blame. We can’t control it and don’t want to, but Don't even think about copying that style of play here in Danzhou.
Although the Resident Office encountered a problem, it did not express any dissatisfaction. It just claimed that everything would comply with the opinions of the government. However, if the government thought it was necessary to ask the Haihan Militia to assist, Haihan could send troops at any time, and There is no need to spend a tael of silver from the government, and all consumption is borne by oneself. In addition, the Liaison Office also generously stated that it would not ask for any form of compensation from the Zhan Family Shipping Company for the goods that were lost due to the piracy incident. Instead, it paid two hundred taels of silver to compensate for the injuries and deaths in the incident. Pensions were given to the crew members. This public statement has also won unanimous praise from all walks of life in Danzhou. They believe that the Haihan Executive Committee really understands the overall situation and takes into account the overall situation, and is worthy of being a role model for local gentry.
Of course, there will be no pirates in the waters off Danzhou. Just 40 nautical miles away from Danzhou Bay, Changhua Port has two "Exploration-class" warships stationed, specifically responsible for security affairs in the waters north and south of Changhua. If there were pirates on the coastline nearby, they would have been used by the militia to gain experience, so there would be no chance of going out to sea to rob. The so-called pirate looting is naturally a good show directed by the relevant departments. As one of Haihan's major trading partners, the Zhan Family Shipping Company was a piece of cake for the Executive Committee to borrow a cargo vessel from it. As for the various signs of battle on the ship and the dead and injured crew members, they are all just disguised and staged. But almost no one would doubt the authenticity of this kind of trick - being robbed by pirates is not a good thing, so what are the benefits of making up this kind of scam?
But unknowingly, the government and people of Danzhou unconsciously received an important message, that is, there were pirates carrying out semi-public activities near Danzhou, and they had even approached Danzhou Bay. And many people have noticed that the Danzhou government did not pay enough attention to this matter, or that they did not even pay as much attention to this matter as Haihan, an unrelated outsider.
The governor of Danzhou probably thought that just delaying it would be enough. Maybe these pirates would move away in a few days? After all, Danzhou is not a place rich in oil and water. In the past two years, even the two pillar industries of salt and coal have been suspended. If the arrival of the Haihan people had not re-stimulated local business activities, then this place's Decline is almost just a matter of time.
However, the pirate looting incident off the coast of Danzhou was no accident. A few days later, two cargo ships sailing from Guangzhou also encountered pirates at sea near Lingao and Chengmai, east of Danzhou. This time the cargo ship was not lucky enough to escape. The valuable cargo on the ship was looted. When it arrived in Danzhou, only some less valuable ore used as ballast was left. Fortunately, no one took strong resistance measures when the two ships were looted, so only a few crew members were slightly injured and no one was killed.
The shipowners and crew members who were robbed this time provided more detailed information about the pirates. It is said that these pirates are not Han Chinese, but come from the area where Ming Dynasty and Annan meet. There is also news that this group of pirates has its home base on Weizhou Island in the bay north of Danzhou and west of Leizhou. It has thousands of people, most of whom are deserters and refugees during the Annan Civil War, and owns hundreds of large and small ships. And there are quite a lot of standard weapons, which can be regarded as a new pirate force in the Beibu Gulf.
This news has undoubtedly had a big impact on maritime merchants who often operate in this sea area. In order to avoid being robbed by pirates at sea, maritime merchants have joined the regular armed escort fleet organized by Haihan.
After entering August, there was more and more news about this mysterious pirate group, and its activities became more frequent. In early August alone, at least five pirate robberies occurred near the coastline of Danzhou. Although it did not cause major casualties, it has made people in Danzhou anxious. The fishermen in Lingao County did not even dare to go out to sea. Although there was nothing valuable on their small fishing boats, the fishermen were even more worried. He was kidnapped at sea and forced to become a pirate.
In mid-August, the scope of activities of this group of pirates finally expanded from Danzhou to the vicinity of Qiongzhou Fucheng. Two merchant ships sailing from Guangzhou to Qiongzhou Fucheng encountered a pirate ship less than 20 nautical miles from the entrance of the Nandu River. Although they tried their best to escape, , but one of the ships was intercepted and captured by a pirate ship. The remaining boat fled into the Nandu River in panic, and the people on the boat got the chance to spread the news.
It is impossible for Qiongzhou Fucheng to sit on the Diaoyutai like Danzhou. After receiving the report from the victim, Fucheng Shuizhai still sent a warship to cruise in the Qiongzhou Strait. However, no pirate ships and pirates were found. Traces of captured civilian ships.
Of course, the matter did not end there. During the rest of August, pirate ships frequently appeared near the northern coastline of Qiongzhou Island. Many immigrants witnessed pirate ships flying black flags sailing from the nearby sea at dawn. There are also more and more civilian ships encountering pirates at sea. Almost every two or three days, someone will report to the government office, claiming that they were robbed by pirates at sea. However, Fucheng could not come up with an effective solution. It could only allow the navy's ships to maintain patrol density in the Qiongzhou Strait as much as possible in order to curb the rampant activities of this group of pirates.
At this time, there was gradually a voice among the people, that is, the government was unable to destroy this group of pirates, and the Haihan militia, the only one with this ability, was deliberately suppressed by the government and was not allowed to fight. Most people who promote this kind of statement will use the example of the Haihan militia's early defeat of bandits in Panyu and Liu Xiang's pirate gang in Wanshan Port to prove that the combat effectiveness of the Haihan militia is fully sufficient to wipe out the group currently appearing around Qiongzhou Island. pirate. The officials in the government office suppressed Haihan just because they did not want to appear too incompetent and were worried that the Haihan militia would steal the limelight.
This kind of voice undoubtedly has a considerable market among the people. There are many rumors among the people about the achievements of the Haihan Militia near the Pearl River Estuary in the past two years. The credibility is quite high. It is also said that it relies on the naval protection of the Haihan Militia. Near Sanya There are no pirates at all, and it is much peaceful than places in the north.
However, people living near large cities such as Danzhou and Fucheng would not be particularly alarmed by the appearance of pirates, because no matter how hard these pirates go, aren't they still operating at sea and not coming ashore? Even if they get ashore, can they still attack the fortified city?
However, the situation deteriorated faster than expected. At the end of August, there were reports of pirate gangs landing in Chengmai County and looting fishing villages. It is said that there were hundreds of pirates who landed, and their actions were orderly and not just a mob. Fortunately, these pirates seemed to only go ashore in search of supplies, and did not kill anyone in the fishing village. They just looted the villagers' food and left in a hurry.
But after the first landing event, subsequent events followed quickly. On September 5th, a village thirty miles west of Fucheng in Qiongzhou was plundered by a pirate gang in the early morning. The village owner Huang and his two sons were executed on the spot, and their heads were placed on the road outside Zhuangzi with javelins stuck in them. It can be said to be very arrogant. It's a pity that when the government received the news, the pirates had already completed their robbery and retreated to the sea.
(End of chapter)