Chapter 549 Possibility and Impossibility
Starting with the naval forces under Luo Shengdong, the Haihan Executive Committee launched a plan to replace local garrisons with militia groups. Externally, these troops still operate in the name of the Ming Dynasty official army. Internally, they are organized according to the squads, platoons, companies and battalions of the militia, and only accept command orders from the Executive Committee and the Military Commission. In the Qiongnan area actually controlled by Haihan, these so-called officers and soldiers actually only have a shell left and belong to the Ming Dynasty. From generals to ordinary soldiers, from weapons to uniforms, from treatment to combat methods, everything in the army is It has been replaced by the Haihan Militia model.
Except for some talented people with special skills, most of the original local garrison were demobilized and assigned to work in collective farms or various workshops under Haihan's rule. Most of the guardsmen are already semi-agricultural soldiers. When they are not practicing, they work in the fields. However, the salary and living conditions that their new jobs can bring are much better than their past situations, and they will not Furthermore, the soldiers in the army were in arrears with their military pay, so few people were dissatisfied with this.
However, there are not many officers as smart as Luo Shengdong, and there are only a few who can seize the opportunity to make money after the system changes. Therefore, most of the officers of the Guard Army are directly ignored, and then replaced by Haihan. The government provides a so-called "office fund" to allow these people to withdraw from the front line. Naturally, some of them expressed dissatisfaction, but they had lost their military power and could not cause any big trouble.
As for the Qiongbei area that had been cleansed by the pirate army, such replacement work would be even simpler and easier. Except for Fucheng, which was not conquered by the pirate army, almost all the local Ming army's established units were disorganized in the battle some time ago. Among the senior officers in Qiongbei, only Fucheng and one general are left. . After the Haihan militia stationed in Qiongbei, it logically replaced the functions of the local garrison. Although it adopted the Ming army's organization and banner, this completely reborn army no longer took orders from the Ming Dynasty, but was commanded by the Haihan army in Sanya. committee.
In view of the successful operation experience of the militia on Hainan Island, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission believed that this was a military expansion strategy that was very suitable to be gradually promoted within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Recently, the Military Commission proposed that we should take advantage of the momentum of seizing Qiongzhou Island to seize control of Hong Kong Island in a relatively peaceful way, and the alternative measures mentioned by Malik are undoubtedly the most suitable method.
Of course, what seemed to be a very suitable method in Maliko's eyes was completely different in Liu Qian's eyes. He also knew that this group of Haihan people were not as peaceful as they seemed on the surface, and would do some things that exceeded the rules from time to time. But in the past, these small actions were mostly done on the distant Qiongzhou Island, and Liu Qian turned a blind eye after receiving the money. He pretended to be invisible, and would help Haihan cover it up when necessary. But Hong Kong Island is under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Prefecture. It can be said that it is completely under the nose of Ming Dynasty. It is completely different from Qiongzhou Island. Haihan is doing things here, not to mention Liu Qian, even his immediate boss Wang Zunde , and may not be able to shoulder this responsibility.
Liu Qian shook his head repeatedly and said: "Director Ma, we can discuss the land matter slowly. At the worst, we can find some suitable land for you in Xin'an County. But you must think twice about the water village. If this is the case, The matter was brought to the court..."
"What if someone stabs the court?" The expression on Maliko's face seemed to be a smile but not a smile: "The court's attention is now on the north. The offensive of wild boar skin outside the pass is getting stronger year by year. The emperor in the capital has Do you care about a small island on the Lingnan coast thousands of miles away? Can you send troops to attack us? "
"You..." Liu Qian was choked by Maliko's words and didn't know how to answer. Call him arrogant, but these words are indeed true. There are more and more contents about the war in Northern Xinjiang in the imperial court's newspapers. Although they are all news about victory, people in the official circles naturally have other opinions about this. Interpretation - There are so many and frequent messages, obviously because the war in the north is getting more intense.
As for winning wars, everyone knows it. If so many battles were won, would the amount of Liao salaries collected by the local government to support the military in the north increase year by year? The good news in the imperial newspaper may not all be false, but it may only report good news but not bad news. News of defeat will not appear in this kind of court media.
There is no doubt that compared with the life-and-death fight between the Ming army in the north and the barbarians outside the pass, these small disputes in the south were simply not noticed by the court adults, and the emperor probably did not care that a certain local militia was invaded. The establishment of the Guard Army, a certain island being occupied by a group of overseas businessmen as a port, and other trivial matters. As long as the Haihan people did not raise a flag to rebel, just as Malik said, even if someone from the Guangdong government wrote to the court, it would be difficult to have any big reaction.
As for sending troops to conquer, if anyone really thought so, then even Liu Qian would probably think it was too much. It is impossible to fight a war without money and food. The last time the pirate army swept across the entire Qiongbei, the Guangdong government spent more than half a month unable to complete the pre-war preparations. In the end, due to the deterioration of the situation, they had to The task of dispatching troops was handed over to the Haihan Militia.
After the Haihan Militia quelled the Qiongbei Rebellion, the Guangdong government immediately disbanded the previously organized troops - these tens of thousands of troops were fighting, not to mention fighting. Just gathering together would take a day. The cost of a thousand taels of silver, if you want to go to Qiongzhou Island, the daily cost will have to be increased by at least half. For the government, which is never financially wealthy, it is natural to save this money whenever possible.
Liu Qian also knew that his boss was not willing to go to war and mobilize the Ming army to quell the chaos in Qiongzhou, so he turned a blind eye to some illegal practices of the Haihan people. But if the Haihan people directly extended their hands to Guangzhou, Come on, it's still a bit arrogant.
Liu Qian calmed his thoughts and then continued: "Director Ma, there are things you can do and things you can't do. You can make a lot of money and you can do a lot. Why do you choose to do these things you can't do?"
Maliko smiled and said: "Master Liu, what is doable and what is not doable? Our understanding is probably different from yours. The so-called doable is what we Haihan want to achieve, and the so-called undoable is to stop us. The act of accomplishing a goal. We have money, people, and guns, so what can’t we do? Besides, we are not rebelling now!”
Liu Qian said with a bitter face: "Director Ma, you can't copy all the tricks you played on Qiongzhou Island to Guangzhou!"
"You can rest assured that we know how to adapt. If copying it doesn't work, we naturally know how to improve it." When Malico said this, the smile on his face also disappeared: "But this is something we must do What we have to do, if someone stops us, is to tell them what is acceptable and what is not acceptable!”
Seeing Maliko's decisive tone, Liu Qian knew that when the other party mentioned this matter today, it was not as simple as asking for his opinion, but informing him that such a thing would happen. Liu Qian sighed and said: "It seems that I can't convince you anymore. I just hope that you can do things in a more measured way and not go too far. I am just a master under the governor. If the matter is really big, I can't give you anything." Thank you for your help." "Master Liu, it's not as serious as you think, and we will never harm you. Where can we find a partner as good as you? ?" Maliko reached out and snapped his fingers, and soon someone presented a wooden box that Liu Qian was very familiar with.
"You never need to worry about rewards when you work for us. What we can give you will be more than what you want." Maliko handed the wooden box over, and Liu Qian reached out to catch it, but found that the other party did not let go immediately. . He looked at Malik in confusion, and listened to the other person say word by word: "But please remember, you can only take what we give you, and you can't ask for what we don't give you!"
Liu Qian felt a chill running down his back and quickly responded: "Yes, yes, please keep it in mind!"
Maliko then let go of his hand, patted Liu Qian's shoulder with a smile and said, "If Master Liu has no other arrangements, why not come to our place for a casual meal?"
"I still have a few official documents that need to be sent to the Guangzhou government office. I won't bother you this time." Liu Qian was not in the mood to go to the Guangdong Office for a big meal at this time. He just wanted to leave this place quickly and return to his residence. Go collect your thoughts and see how you can cooperate with the Haihan people's bold actions next.
Malico didn't make any very specific requirements for him, but Liu Qian knew that this didn't mean that he didn't have to do anything. He had already given away the banknotes, so the money was not free. Moreover, Maliko's last words contained an obvious warning. Liu Qian did not want to disappear from this world because he offended the Haihan people when he was sitting on a fortune of ten thousand taels. What should he do to satisfy the Haihan people? You really need to think about it carefully.
Maliko did not force him to stay. He waved his hand and said: "Come here, take Master Liu back to the city in a carriage first. Master Liu, please don't give in. This place is only one mile away from the Guangdong Office. I will walk back slowly." .”
After Liu Qian thanked him, he got on the carriage. After walking for a while, he couldn't help but opened the wooden box Malik gave him out of curiosity to see how much reward the Haihan people gave him this time. As expected, there were standard silver notes printed by Haihan Bank in the wooden box, each with a denomination of one thousand taels, five in total. When Liu Qian took the banknotes out of the box and counted them, he found a letter under the banknotes and quickly opened it to read. It's okay not to look at it, but when he looked at it, Liu Qian's heartbeat, which had just calmed down, accelerated again.
The letter was very short, with neither header nor signature, but the content was very exciting. The main idea was that the current Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde, would step down within the year. As for the reason, the letter did not mention it. At the end, it was marked "Burn after reading." "Four words.
Liu Qian immediately thought of the legendary Haihan prophecy. The former Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Mr. Li, was said to have stepped down after being prophesied by the Haihan people. Of course, what is circulating outside are all rumors and gossip without any basis, but Liu Qian has first-hand information. He has been following Wang Zunde for a long time, and he was still with Wang Zunde when he was out of work. Before the former governor left office, Li Jifeng, a wealthy man from Guangzhou, came to him and took the initiative to build momentum for Wang Zunde's comeback. Later, Liu Qian found out that Li Jifeng was said to have received advice from the Haihan people and knew that Wang Zunde would be the next governor of Guangzhou, so he came to burn the cold stove in advance.
This statement is of course very mysterious, but Liu Qian knows much more information than outsiders. He even knows the grudges and grudges between the former governor and Li Jifeng clearly. If someone hadn't pointed it out, there would be no way to do it. Explain that Li Jifeng deliberately offended the current governor and came to hug the unemployed official Wang Zunde.
Liu Qian took another look at the letter. If the content was true, then why did Malik give himself this warning message? Could it be that he was asked to save his boss Wang Zunde? This seems unexplainable. If necessary, Malico could tell him what he should do in person without having to do this kind of charade.
There is only one other possibility left, that is, Malico hopes that he will know the news in advance and make full use of the time to find another way out. Of course, the premise is to leave his boss alone.
If Haihan's prediction comes true, then the next governor will definitely bring his own staff when he takes office. However, with Liu Qian's experience in assisting Wang Zunde in governing Guangdong in the past few years, he will have to secure a top staff position in the new leadership team. It doesn't seem impossible. Moreover, with the great god Haihan behind him, many things will be much easier to do than going alone. At least there is no need to worry about money. Haihan has enough money to bury the entire people of the Governor's Mansion alive.
But if Wang Zunde is left alone, it seems a bit treacherous. After all, the two have been together in a master-servant relationship for many years, and they still have some feelings. Moreover, Wang Zunde has always trusted him, especially his opinions on official matters. Follow Liu Qian's advice - this is also the main reason why Liu Qian has been able to help Haihan complete some persuasive tasks many times.
Liu Qian thought about it, but still couldn't make up his mind. After returning to his residence, he took the secret letter to the kitchen, stuffed it into the stove and burned it. Looking at the flickering fire in the stove, the expression on Liu Qian's face was also uncertain. To keep Wang Zunde, he is afraid that he will not be able to change the situation predicted by the Haihan people. When Wang Zunde leaves office and returns home, Liu Qian will be just an ordinary literate scholar. At most, he can go to a certain county in the name of Wang Zunde's subordinate. Be a clerk. It would be impossible to boss around in front of a bunch of court officials like today.
As for money, benefits, etc., there is no need to have any delusions. Without your status as the governor's chief staff, who will look at you seriously?
(End of chapter)