Chapter 622 Return to Hong Kong to report on work
Regardless of whether Shibazhi will make a comeback in the near future, for the Fujian government, Nanri Island, a strategic strategic location, must do its best to defend it. This time, fortunately, thanks to the help of the Haihan Militia, Nanri Island was easily captured from Shibazhi. If it was lost easily again, Xu Xinsu would probably have no shame in continuing to serve as the Fujian General Soldier.
Of course, if you want to defend this island, the Fujian military's own strength is still a little uncertain, and Haihan will have to provide some help. Fortunately, the basic structure of Nanri Village is very solid. Although it withstood multiple rounds of shelling by the Haihan militia, only the crenels on the upper part of the wall were seriously damaged. Even Shi Diwen and Morgan had to be thankful that Shibazhi surrendered early after seeing it on the spot. Otherwise, even if the shells brought by the Haihan militia were finished, it would be difficult to blow down this solid wall. In the end, it is very likely that The only option is to take the ladder up to the wall and attack hard. If the war situation proceeds like that, it will be difficult for the Haihan Militia to avoid casualties.
Judging from the damage to the defense fortifications of Nanri Village, Shi Diwen believes that with only minor repairs and rearrangement of the firepower points on the wall, the defense strength of Nanri Village can be raised to a higher level. The Ming army defending the village can single-handedly deal with any counterattack that Shibazhi may launch in the future.
However, the minor repairs that Shi Diwen considered were only based on Haihan's engineering level as a measure. But for the Ming army, Shi Diwen's proposal for the reconstruction of Nanri Village was no small project. With the level of infrastructure of the Ming army, it would take a month or two to complete the transformation plan proposed by Haihan no matter how quickly.
Xu Xinsu naturally realized that her own lack of engineering capabilities would create a window period for the defense of Nanri Island. She immediately asked Shi Diwen: "It will take some time to complete the repair project of Nanri Village. During this period, the island The defense must be empty. How can we prevent Shibazhi's counterattack? I urge your army to stay on Nanri Island for a while. All the expenses will be borne by the Fujian government. I ask Mr. Shi to agree."
Shi Diwen did not expect that Xu Xinsu would continue to retain the militia army after the war. He originally thought that the existence of the militia army would make Xu Xinsu somewhat scrupulous. Evacuating Nanri Island early would also make Xu Xinsu feel at ease. But he did not expect that the other party would not only not Instead, they asked the Haihan Militia to stay for a while longer because they were worried about the defense of Nanri Island.
Seeing that Xu Xinsu didn't look like he was testing himself, Shi Diwen responded thoughtfully: "Well, the military advisory group we sent to Fujian will arrive soon, and their local station will also need time to build. How about they come to Nanri Island to assist in the defense for a while after they arrive, and then transfer to garrison near Zhangzhou after the fortifications on the island are repaired? Before they come, my fleet will be temporarily stationed near Nanri Island. Okay.”
Shi Diwen did not intend for his men to live in the same camp as the Ming army here. This island was deserted and it was inconvenient to obtain supplies. It would be better to live on the coast of the nearby mainland. The voyage from Dongjiao Bay to Nanri Island is less than 20 nautical miles. If something happens, it's too late to rush over for rescue after receiving the warning.
"That's very good, then I'll help your soldiers. I will order someone to set aside a place in Dongqiao Bay for your army to station." Xu Xinsu guessed that Shi Diwen did not intend to live on the island after hearing Shi Diwen's words. Upon seeing his thoughts, he immediately expressed that he would make corresponding arrangements.
On the night the battle ended, Shi Diwen sent a telegram to Ning Qi, who was still stationed in Zhangzhou, explaining the results of the battle and the current situation, and informed him that due to the needs of the situation, the militia army would probably have to station some more in Quanzhou. time.
The vigilante group couldn't leave for the time being, and Ning Qi couldn't just go back to Hainan Island alone. However, it just so happened that he had more time to deal with some matters related to non-governmental exchanges. Recently, many literati from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou came here to visit him, the "Hanfuzi". Ning Qi also needs such communication channels to promote Haihan culture and values to the cultural circles in Fujian.
In Fujian, in recent years, through Xu Xinsu's distribution channels, a large number of Haihan products have poured into the local market, which naturally includes one of Haihan's signature products, a rich variety and variety of glass cultural products. Similar to the market feedback in Guangdong, the literati in Fujian have no resistance to these high-quality things. With prices nearly 20% higher than those in the Guangdong market, the quantity of Haihan glass stationery exported to Fujian is still increasing year by year. Of course, many of them are sold to Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places through local transshipment. sell. Moreover, according to the information obtained by Ning Qi during his visit to Zhangzhou, a small amount of Haihan glass products have even been sold by sea to Ryukyu, Japan, North Korea and other places in the north.
Through specially formulated publicity strategies, Haihan's image of "valuing culture and education" created for himself has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of Fujian cultural circles. In the minds of Fujian literati, although these overseas Han descendants were engaged in "vulgar" business, they even paid more attention to cultural undertakings than the officials in many places in the Ming Dynasty. For example, Haihan is the largest sponsor of the two largest cultural events each year in Zhangzhou, the Zhangzhou Poetry Society and the Southern Fujian Literary Society, and often distributes a large amount of valuable Haihan stationery to these events. Souvenirs or prizes for the attendees made literati in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places generally have a certain favorable impression of Haihan.
Through official publicity, the Zhangzhou cultural circle quickly noticed that the leader of the Haihan mission, Ning Qi, was the director of cultural and educational affairs in Haihan, so various invitations and greetings arrived like snowflakes at the mission's hotel. place. However, due to the assassination incident that occurred just after the mission arrived in Zhangzhou, and Xu Xinsu had to go out to sea with the fleet to fight, she had no time to take into account the safety of the mission, so the mission personnel were temporarily prohibited from visiting civilians on their own. Not willing to waste the opportunity, Ning Qi quickly came up with a compromise.
Since there are certain risks in going out, we might as well invite all the guests back. After Ning Qi asked the Gong family and his son who were stationed in Zhangzhou, he decided to hold an impromptu cultural meeting at his station. When Shi Diwen, Xu Xinsu and others led the coalition forces to fight on Nanri Island, Ning Qi invited many Fujian literati in Zhangzhou and held a seven-day literary meeting in his residence.
Reciting poems, composing poems, and appreciating calligraphy and paintings are naturally the main themes of this cultural gathering. When literati gather together, they inevitably talk about the past, the present, and major world events. Ning Qi originally studied history, and with his hundreds of years of experience and long-term practice of talking skills, he widely promoted Haihan's cultural values during the cultural conference, and achieved good results. Many curious scholars even expressed their willingness to take the Haihan Mission's ship back to Sanya, Qiongzhou, to see what this legendary little paradise in the South China Sea is like.
When Shi Diwen sent back the telegram, Ning Qi's cultural meeting was just halfway through, so instead of having any objection to the military's decision to stay temporarily, he was relieved. Otherwise, if the military chooses to return directly to the base camp after the war, then he will have to consider whether he needs to ask the military people to give him a few more days to complete the unfinished work at hand. The military not only won a beautiful victory during this trip and successfully promoted Haihan's military power, but also made a considerable amount of extra money on Nanri Island, and their sense of presence has been fully enhanced. If Ning Qi didn't make some achievements before leaving Fujian, it would be a shame to report to the executive committee after returning.
While the civil and military officials of the Haihan Mission were busy dealing with matters at hand, Qian Tiandun also returned to Victory Port with his guard platoon after handing over Annan's defense. The special operations battalion of the Annan militia that will be transferred to Fujian will depart later. A ship arranged by the Ministry of Shipping will go to the Annan station to take them directly to Fujian, with only a brief stop at Hong Kong Island on the way. The reason why they were not allowed to return to Qiongzhou Island to rest and recuperate was because the Executive Committee was worried that the identity of this unit would be discovered by interested parties. After all, during the "Operation Prairie Fire" last year, all members of this unit dressed up as pirates and swept across the entire Qiongbei. It is difficult to say whether any local people still remember their appearance. Regarding Qian Tiandun's return to the base camp, the executive committee and the top military officials attached great importance to it. Except for Yan Chujie who was stationed in Qiongbei and could not rush back, almost all the other senior staff arrived at the Shengli Port Pier in advance to welcome Qian Tiandun's return.
Qian Tiandun stood on the bow deck and looked at the prosperous Shengli Port pier, feeling quite emotional. He took the colonization fleet to Annan Black Earth Port in the summer of 1627, and has been stationed in Annan for nearly four years. Although there were arrangements to return to Victory Port almost every year during this period to report on his work, he spent most of his time in Annan after traveling. It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel any nostalgia when he left. After all, all Haihan's colonial areas in Annan and the military power to maintain local stability were built bit by bit by him and his colleagues.
According to his own plan, there are still many unfinished things in Annan. For example, training a full field regiment for the military, building a military port in the south that can support Haihan's southward expansion plan, and assisting the Annan court to build a large army to fight against the Siamese dynasty to the west of Annam, etc. These tasks can probably only be left to Mu Xiabai and Feng Annan who took over. Qian Tiandun himself knew very well that what he did in Annan for the past four years was actually still for Haihan's mainland. Make preliminary preparations for the strategy.
After four years of development, Haihan's strength has been greatly improved. Four years ago, they could only choose a place like Annan, which was in the middle of a civil war and had no time to look outside, and they had to find a sparsely populated place like Heitu Port to settle down. But now, four years later, the Haihan Militia has the strength to organize a fleet to go north to Fujian. , and entered into a head-to-head contest with the local Shibazhi. Although the executive committee's transfer order did not make it particularly clear, Qian Tiandun could sense that the executive committee had already made plans for the next step for the mainland and Northeast Asian waters, no matter what means were used to achieve expansion. , military guarantees are necessary measures, and the Executive Committee must also rely on generals like him who have experience in leading troops in combat to be responsible for opening up Haihan's situation on the coast of the mainland.
"How do you feel when you see Victory Port now?" Qian Tiandun suddenly asked.
Behind Qian Tiandun, there was only a tall but stocky man standing, his personal aide Gao Qiaonan. This time Qian Tiandun's position was transferred, he also asked Gao Qiaonan if he wanted to set up his own business. If Gao Qiaonan had this plan, then he could recommend and guarantee to the Military Commission that Gao Qiaonan be a military officer in Annan. The head is not a big problem. However, Takahashi Nan rejected this suggestion and stated that he would continue to follow Qian Tiandun and stay with him as an attendant.
Takahashi Minami responded: "For me, the memories here are very painful, even better than when I was wandering at sea. If I had a choice, I would not want to stay in this place permanently."
Takahashi Nan was kidnapped as a pirate, and when he attacked Victory Port, he was captured alive by the travelers who had just landed at the time, and was put into service in a hard labor camp. He did suffer a lot during that time. However, he was not bad in nature and not stupid in mind. He was quickly appreciated by Ren Liang, who was in charge of the hard labor camp at the time. Later, he was recruited by Qian Tiandun to join the military, and he was finally out of trouble. For him personally, Qian Tiandun was indeed like a reborn parent, so he chose to repay his kindness by staying with Qian Tiandun.
Qian Tiandun said: "We won't live here for long, and we will leave for Fujian. But I hope you don't hold resentment for the suffering you suffered at that time. If you show such emotions in front of others, maybe you will It will be somewhat detrimental to your future military career.”
Gao Qiaonan understood what Qian Tiandun meant, and immediately nodded in response: "I understand, I understand!"
Qian Tiandun continued: "Don't forget, you are not a Japanese ronin or a prisoner, but a member of Haihan. You are an upright Haihan officer. The prosperity of Victory Port and the glory of Haihan also belong to you. A share for Haihan! The military achievements you have made will be recorded in history, and your family and descendants will be proud of them in the future. As for the wrong things you have done before and the suffering you have suffered, these things will not be recorded. Go to the military history of Haihan ”
Takahashi Minami perked up and raised his voice in response: "I am willing to fight to the death for the Executive Committee!"
"There will be opportunities for you to fight on the battlefield." Qian Tiandun came back to his senses, patted Gao Qiaonan on the shoulder and said: "In the days to come, we will have more opportunities to fight!"
Although Takahashi Minami didn't know where the next battlefield would be, the news that there would be a battle to fight had already stimulated his nerves and made his eyes start to shine.
(End of chapter)