Chapter 870: Holding together for warmth
Putting aside the arrogance and domineeringness of the Haihan people, He Xiao thinks it is still very tempting just based on these conditions. But he is not an ignorant person, and the thoughts in his heart are not directly expressed on his face. After thinking for a long time without expression, he responded: "This matter involves many parties, and I cannot make decisions without permission, but Boss Qian I will take these things back to you for your decision.”
Although He Xiao's tone was still firm, in Qian Tiandun's view, this was already a sign of the other party's softening attitude. Although he had acted extremely tough just now, confronting the local officials of the Ming Dynasty was not the best solution. Even if the enemies in the Ming Dynasty official circles could be solved with money, it would not be possible in a short time. What Qian Tiandun really wants to do is to frighten the other party with a tough attitude, and then induce him with benefits in exchange for the other party's compromise. As he said, Haihan's current requirements are very low, and he does not need public support from the Ningbo government. As long as he can turn a blind eye and not stand up to cause trouble, it will be fine.
Given the current situation, Qian Tiandun estimates that he will not be able to meet and discuss with officials at the prefecture level of Ningbo in the short term, so communication between the two parties can only rely on messengers like He Xiao for the time being. How the senior Ming officials behind He Xiao judge the current situation depends to a certain extent on how he describes it after he returns. Therefore, Qian Tiandun believed that it was necessary to fight for He Xiao, but with his status, he did not need to do such a thing personally. It was more convenient for Lin Xing and others to come forward.
This meeting was the first contact between the two parties, and the main purpose was to test each other. After both parties expressed their respective attitudes, the basic purpose of the meeting was achieved. Qian Tiandun asked Lin Xing and Ma Ling to host a banquet for He Xiao. In order to ensure that the two leading parties would not say anything wrong at the banquet table, Qian Tiandun also transferred two officers from the staff to accompany them.
Lin Xing had already reported He Xiao's situation before. For someone like him who was used to collecting money from Sanlin Gang's cashier, the best way to win over him is undoubtedly to send money directly. So He Xiao was worried when he came, but when he went back, he was smiling and promised with all his heart that he would help and say more nice things to Haihan in front of Qu Yutong.
After sending away the messenger sent by the Ningbo government, the coalition command's attention returned to the north. At present, the coalition's control area has reached the line of Dengbu Island, which is less than three nautical miles from the southern end of Zhoushan Island. It is already very close from the map. Advancing north from Liuheng Island to Dengbu Island, the coalition forces defeated two more groups of armed forces during this period. However, compared to the Haisha Gang on Liuheng Island, the strength of these two groups was weaker, so It didn't take much effort to deal with them. Xu Yuzhuo led his men to eliminate one of them. The Haihan Militia only provided sea cover and did not participate in the post-landing operations at all.
After entering May, the atmosphere in the Zhoushan Islands has become increasingly tense. The Haihan people have been advancing north recently and have reached the doorstep of the Zhoushan Boat Gang, the number one armed force in the East China Sea. Judging from its posture, it is obvious that it has no intention of stopping here, and it should only be a matter of time before it continues to advance north.
The leader of the Zhoushan Boat Gang is named Wang Jialin, and it is said that he is a descendant of Wang Zhi, a great smuggler during the Jiajing period. However, it is impossible to verify whether this is true or whether he is using Wang Zhi's reputation to create trouble. But Wang Jialin's current reputation in the Zhoushan Islands is indeed comparable to that of Wang Zhi back then.
Similar to other armed forces in the East China Sea, the Zhoushan Boat Gang also has official backers, but its backing is larger than that of its counterparts. It is said that several princes are involved, and there are also people watching over them in the capital court. The Zhoushan Boat Gang's sphere of influence includes the sea area centered on Zhoushan Island, and adjacent islands such as Jintang Island, Zhujiajian Island, Putuo Island, and Xiushan Island are also under its control. There are tens of thousands of people in the area under its control, and more than 8,000 gang members work for it. It is the veritable top spot in the East China Sea. Although their strength is not as strong as that of their Fujian counterpart Shiba Zhi in their heyday, the Zhoushan Boat Gang has a much tougher background and will not worry about being suppressed by local officials.
However, the appearance of Haihan, an uninvited guest, broke the originally peaceful situation in the East China Sea. Organizations such as the Sanlin Gang and the Haisha Gang either took refuge or were destroyed. In just half a month, about one-third of the Zhoushan Islands had The scope fell into the control of Haihan, and its expansion momentum has not stopped here. It is basically only a matter of time before Haihan and the Zhoushan Boat Gang start a war.
When the Haihan people were taking action in the south, the Zhoushan Boat Gang was not idle. On the same day that He Xiao visited Liuheng Island, Wang Jialin, the leader of the Zhoushan Boat Gang, also summoned representatives of more than a dozen forces in the East China Sea to gather in Zhoushan to discuss how to proceed. Deal with the menacing Haihan people. Although these forces usually fight each other, with the current enemy, the situation forces them to stick together for warmth and strive for a chance of survival.
However, there are still many objective obstacles to the realization of this kind of unity. Just on the joint dispatch of troops, everyone has been debating all morning but failed to come up with a charter. The reason is also very simple. No one wants to waste his own troops fighting for another country.
Although the Haisha Gang has been destroyed, there are still a small number of fish that escaped the net and escaped from Liuheng Island at the beginning of the war. According to the descriptions of these people, the Haisha Gang basically did not even have a chance to fight back in front of the Haihan Fleet. The gap in strength between the two sides has become desperate. Although not everyone will believe what they say, there is no doubt that most people are still affected and are unwilling to fight head-on with opponents who are much stronger than themselves.
But others may choose to sit on the sidelines or even defect to the other party, but Wang Jialin has no such retreat. He has always regarded himself as the overlord of the East China Sea. In his eyes, the Sanlin Gang and the Haisha Gang are just puppets supported by the local government. The Zhoushan Islands gather the maritime trade of several countries in one place, earning millions of taels of revenue every year. , how can you give it to others so easily. Even if Wang Jialin can let go, the big shots behind him will never let go. These people, Wang Jialin, cannot afford to offend, and he is far more afraid of them than Haihan.
Seeing everyone in the hall arguing and arguing, and the argument was not about how to deal with the Haihan people, but about redistributing the trading shares in this area first, Wang Jialin became more and more angry. Representatives of several companies said that if they could not get more shares in major trade items such as silk, porcelain, and tea, they would not send food and troops to participate in the fight against Haihan. These people seemed completely unaware of their dangerous situation. , and he is still fussing over petty gains at this juncture. This stupid and short-sighted behavior really makes Wang Jialin angry.
"Stop arguing!" Wang Jialin suddenly shouted loudly: "I have invited you here to discuss how to unite to fight against the Haihan people. I am not asking you to fight for power and gain here and discuss how to die as a unit!"
"What does Mr. Wang mean by this? If you want to fight the Haihan people desperately, there must be some benefits, right?" Someone responded unconvinced.
"Benefit? The biggest benefit is that you can survive!" Wang Jialin pointed at the man and cursed: "The heads of Li Luotou and Motegi Shinobu have been sent to Hangzhou Prefecture. You think the Haihan people are easy to deal with. ? If they want to take over Zhoushan with peace of mind, how can they spare the lives of you and me? If they lose this battle, I'm afraid everyone here will have their heads chopped off and reported as achievements in suppressing bandits!" br>
Another person said: "Wang Gong, you have big people as your backers, why don't you just ask them to come forward and say something? Why should we go into battle and fight desperately?" "You know nothing!" Wang Jialin scolded: "You think Hai If the Han people are so strict about rules, they will obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty officials. They have money and soldiers, and they are like earth emperors in the south. They are ten times more powerful than we are in Zhoushan. Why should we follow the rules of the Ming Dynasty? The Haihan people are working hard not for the backers behind us, but for ourselves! Think about it, what advantages do you have compared to the Haihan people? Everyone here has backers, big and small, but where can these backers come in handy? ? Only in the Ming Dynasty! If we fall, will your backers let the court send troops to avenge us? No, they will only choose to continue to cooperate with the people who replace us, because no matter who takes control of Zhoushan, they will open up to the Ming Dynasty. For trade, the big shots should receive no less than one tael of silver. It's just a matter of changing someone to pay. Now that the Haihan people have arrived at Dengbu Island, their knives are on their necks, and you are still fighting for these unnecessary things. When the time comes, I don’t know how I died!”
After Wang Jialin's rebuke, some people began to realize the seriousness of the current situation. The Haihan people are different from ordinary pirates. They are not the type to just rob and leave. Instead, they take up space and take root in a place and dominate the place. Their actions in the East China Sea were obviously not intended to stop after seizing the Liuheng Island.
"Haihan people arrived in Ningbo for half a month, and they occupied six or seven large islands and wiped out several forces. Now the Ningbo government and local garrison are turning a blind eye to them. Are you still counting on your backers to come forward?" Wang Jialin said in a deep voice: "Don't deceive yourself! The only one who can turn the situation around now is ourselves!"
"It's better to try negotiation. I heard that the Sanlin Gang was spared only after Boss Lin personally talked to the Haihan people." Some people still hope that the current crisis can be solved peacefully.
Wang Jialin sneered and said: "The Lin brothers have been colluding with the Haihan people for who knows how long. They are just putting on a show when things get tough. Do you believe it? If just talking casually can make the Haihan people stop, then we might as well surrender together. In the name of Zhoushan Now that Haihan is actually in our hands, wouldn't it save trouble? You don't think about it, if the Haihan people really want to talk, why would they push it to the door step by step without saying a word? There is no resistance at all. If it were you, would you still plan to talk to these opponents who have no power to fight back? ”
"The Haihan people are so tyrannical in force. The Haisha Gang was defeated in one day and destroyed in two days. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to defeat them. At that time, it will give the Haihan people an excuse to fight in the East China Sea." Some people are still very afraid of the power of the Haihan fleet and think that it may not be effective.
"Whether we do it or not, the Haihan people don't intend to stop. Do they have any reasonable reason for attacking the Haisha Gang? The Haisha Gang attacked Shipu Guards Station. This kind of excuse can't fool even a three-year-old child! Come on! If you can find an excuse to attack at any time, what's the problem with them?" Wang Jialin retorted: "Although the Haihan people are powerful, they are not invulnerable."
"It seems that Mr. Wang has a good idea. Let's discuss it together!" At the moment, some people who supported Wang Jialin also echoed.
Wang Jialin continued: "I can't say there is a good solution, but after thinking hard these days, I have come up with a few solutions. You can think about it."
"First, the Haihan people's territory is thousands of miles away in Fujian. If they want to fight in Zhoushan, supply will definitely be a big problem. If we can detect their supply route, intercept their fleet and cut off their supplies, Or they can be forced to retreat without a fight.”
"Secondly, although the Haihan Militia is powerful, its strength is limited. It is said that the fleet going north this time, including sailors and civilians, only has about 3,000 people. If 3,000 people want to occupy the Zhoushan Islands, wouldn't it be an island? Can they only put a hundred or so people in? The bigger the area they want to occupy, the more dispersed their forces will be. Although we don't have enough combat power, if we concentrate on attacking their weak points, we can eat them up bit by bit. their people.”
"Third, although the government and the garrison have not expressed their attitude, it does not mean that they are on Haihan's side. They are probably just observing the direction of the situation and choosing sides when the situation becomes clear. Although we cannot let the government Send troops to attack the Haihan people, but at least they cannot let them sit back and watch the Haihan people do whatever they want in Ningbo.”
"Fourth, if all the families here can work together to organize an elite force, when the Haihan people attack Zhoushan Island, they can circle back to Liuheng Island and capture its supply port. With luck, they can capture a few Haihan leaders. There is still room for negotiation.”
Wang Jialin mentioned several methods in one breath, and they all sounded reasonable. However, if you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find that their purpose is to force Haihan to retreat, rather than to win. This shows that even Wang Jialin himself has no idea about defeating Haihan. Han didn't have much confidence, and there was no plan to fight to the death in the plan he was considering.
However, for everyone who is currently like a headless chicken, the plan proposed by Wang Jialin is worth trying. After all, no one can come up with a better way for the time being. Seeing that there were no more objections, Wang Jialin immediately began to discuss the details. This plan is easy to talk about, but there is still a lot of preparation to be done to implement it. But now that Haihan has arrived at the city, there is not much time for them to prepare slowly.
(End of chapter)