Chapter 897 Next Target
Ma Yue, who wanted to personally supervise the battle, did not expect that his first official battle would be his last experience on the battlefield. He was also fortunate to be the first guard of the East China Sea Coast Guard to step down abnormally in recent years. Commander. But Ma Yue's disappearance did not immediately cause chaos in Jiaxing Hainingwei, or it would be more accurate to say that no one noticed it in a short period of time.
Ma Yue didn't keep it a secret when he should have, but kept it a secret when he shouldn't. Before leaving, he didn't tell his two fellow commanders and his subordinates about his whereabouts. He only said that he was not feeling well. After resting for a few days, they were specifically told not to visit home. But he told his family that he had to go to Hangzhou for business and it might take him several days to come back. Due to this strange combination of circumstances, no one immediately discovered that the commander of the dignified guard had disappeared for no reason.
The first people to discover and expose this situation were not Ma Yue's colleagues in Hainingwei, but Guanhaiwei across Hangzhou Bay. On July 3, a naval vessel under the command of Guanhaiwei discovered a Japanese pirate ship in the East China Sea. When they pursued it all the way to the vicinity of Zhoushan Island, they received the assistance of the Haihan Militia and intercepted the mysterious Japanese pirate ship. . The soldiers who boarded the ship for inspection found more than a dozen corpses on the ship, including Ma Yue, as well as a large amount of cash and some goods produced in the Ming Dynasty. After another day, Huang Tao, the commander of Guanhaiwei, personally confirmed Ma Yue's identity and sent a message to Hainingwei.
The Haining Guards were naturally shocked after receiving the news. They immediately led a team to the Haining Guards to identify the corpses. It turned out that except for Ma Yue's body, the more than ten corpses found on the Japanese pirate ship were all those of Haining. The guards and horses are all Ma Yue's confidants. Since the Japanese pirates resisted arrest by force and no one was caught alive, the cause of death of Ma Yue and his group has become an unsolved mystery. But according to Huang Tao, Ma Yue and others should have died while secretly going out to sea to capture Japanese pirates, and they should have died fighting for the country.
No one raised any objection to this statement. It cannot be said that Ma Yue went to sea to secretly meet with Japanese pirates and died in a fight due to uneven distribution of spoils or other reasons - although this seems more likely. But if a dignified court official is found to have colluded with pirates after his death, and dies in such a disgraceful manner, it will not only bring shame to Ma Yue, so he must have a proper explanation to end the matter. The possibility proposed by Huang Tao can at least save everyone's face.
Since all the Japanese pirates on the ship were dead, this matter can be regarded as a veritable case of death without evidence. Although the people of Hainingwei still had doubts about this, the property seized on the ship, the corpses of the Japanese pirates, and the officers who pursued the Japanese pirate ship and the testimony of the Haihan people. These witnesses and physical evidence are all there, making it impossible to raise any doubts.
So when Hainingwei reported the incident to the Zhejiang Dusi, he could only explain Ma Yue's inexplicable death by saying "went to sea to suppress bandits and sacrificed his life for the country." Of course, along with this report was submitted an official document from Guanhaiwei reporting his merits. After all, he also killed a boatload of Japanese pirates, which was a rare military achievement in recent years. Huang Tao, the commander of Guanhaiwei, Xu Shaohua, commander-in-chief of the Navy, and Qian and Shi, the Haihan businessmen who acted bravely, are all on the merit list. In order to confirm this matter, more than 30 Japanese pirate heads were also sent to Zhejiang Dusi.
As for Ma Teng, the owner of Qushan Island who really made the contribution in this process, not even a word was mentioned. Of course, this is also his own request. Although he is now protected by the Haihan people, he is still worried that his betrayal will attract revenge, and he is unwilling to go out in the limelight. In fact, as long as he doesn't tell it, I'm afraid the truth about this matter won't be leaked out within a few years. After all, there are not many people involved. Except for Haihan's combatants, the remaining insiders have all been packed and sent to the south. , their destination is either the coal mine in Annan Black Earth Port or the plantation on Ambuna Island in the South China Sea. In short, it is probably unlikely that they will return to Zhejiang in their lifetime.
Although this matter started in a hurry, the final resolution was quite satisfactory. At least Haihan cleaned himself up very clearly and further consolidated the positive image of "assisting the government in suppressing bandits".
Of course, this method cannot fool everyone. For example, the Zhejiang Dusi Qianshi Yu Pingfeng who planned this matter knew very well that this matter was definitely not what Guanhaiwei and Hainingwei reported. The Haihan people were very involved in this process. The role played by Ma Yue cannot be a good citizen who assisted the government in suppressing bandits. Ma Yue's mysterious disappearance and death are probably related to him. However, Ma Yue did not report his action plan to Yu Pingfeng beforehand, so Yu Pingfeng really couldn't figure out why Ma Yue, a third-grade official, quietly ran to the sea, and how he ended up in the Haihan people. On hand.
How could Yu Pingfeng have expected this? Ma Yue was self-willed and lacked actual combat experience. The Haihan people had thoroughly figured out his plan before taking action. In the meantime, a variable like Ma Teng appeared that no one had expected. As a result, the calculation was made. Ma Yue thought he was a hunter, but he didn't know that the prey in his eyes was the real hunter, and he became the prey who stepped into the trap without knowing it. When the Haihan people made this action plan, they had already taken into account the subsequent handling methods and strived to maximize the benefits of this matter. If you are not a witness to the whole thing, it would be difficult to imagine that there are so many twists and turns in it.
Although Yu Pingfeng suspected that this was most likely caused by the Haihan people, he didn't even have the slightest evidence. On the contrary, Ningbo Guanhaiwei, who had not expressed his attitude before, apparently took the same stand as the Haihan people this time. This was even more disappointing to Yu Pingfeng than Ma Yue's death, because it meant that the Ningbo Prefectural Guard Army closest to Zhoushan Island had given up its attitude of being an enemy of Haihan. There was a month between Chang Guowei and Guan Haiwei, and the bandit-suppression report documents submitted one after another mentioned the assistance of the Haihan people. This made Yu Pingfeng, who wanted to take revenge on Haihan, really hate it.
If Yu Pingfeng's reason for opposing Haihan at the beginning was just because he felt sorry for the destruction of the industry he had handed over to the Haisha Gang to run on Liuheng Island, then later on it became more complicated to compete with the Haihan people. The obsession with winning or losing is in it. If the winner is not completely determined, Yu Pingfeng probably won't let it go.
The Haihan people on Zhoushan Island had no time to care about Pingfeng's mood. After solving the hidden dangers on Hainingwei and Qushan Island, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen returned their attention to their own affairs. The task they face now is to develop routes in Northeast Asia starting from Zhoushan.
After Haihan established a foothold in Zhoushan, the routes to be opened not only extended northward along the mainland coastline. In addition to the Ming Dynasty, Ryukyu, Japan and North Korea also became the next targets for opening trade routes.
However, Japan and North Korea both need to sail thousands of miles across the sea from Zhoushan. There are almost no supply locations in between, and maritime safety is not guaranteed. Currently, the Executive Committee is also considering whether to establish a direct shipping route or to first establish a strategic fulcrum in the East China Sea near Japan and North Korea as a colonial trading port to ensure that Haihan's ships heading to Northeast Asia can receive basic supplies and supplies. Safety and security.
As for the location, it is not difficult to choose. There are only two places in total. One is Jeju Island at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, across the sea from the mainland, and the other is the Goto Islands near Hirado, the trading port in western Japan. Both places have their pros and cons, to name a few. Jeju Island is a volcanic island with an area of more than 1,800 square kilometers. It is about 50 nautical miles away from the Korean Peninsula. It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korean Strait, and to the west from the Ming Dynasty across the Yellow Sea. It is about 300 nautical miles from Zhoushan Island.
Although Jeju Island belongs to the territory of Koryo at this time, the Yuan Dynasty before that was clearly a territory of China. It was not until decades after the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty that the local Tamna Governor's Office surrendered to Koryo. , so far Jeju Island has changed hands.
If you want to build this place as a stronghold or colony, the area is large enough, but the resources and manpower required for the corresponding development will also increase accordingly. After occupying most of Taiwan Island, Haihan has introduced tens of thousands of immigrants to the local area, but it can only expand the living area a little near three ports. Although Jeju Island is not as big as Taiwan Island, occupying the entire island is not as simple as it sounds.
The Goto Islands, another island near Kyushu, Japan, consists of five large islands, Fukue, Kuga, Naru, Wakamatsu, and Nakadori, and more than a hundred small islands. The total land area of the entire archipelago is only about one-third that of Jeju Island. Excluding small uninhabited islands with no water sources and some relatively special terrains, the land area available for development is very limited. The long-term development prospects are It’s not as good as Jeju Island. However, it is close to the Japanese trading port of Nagasaki. The voyage from the southernmost Fukue Island to Nagasaki Port is only about 60 nautical miles, and there are many small and medium-sized natural harbors between the islands. The construction and development cost of a trade transfer station will be higher than that of Jeju. The island is much lower. In addition, although this area is said to be the territory of Hirado, it is actually a lawless land. Compared with Jeju Island, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Koryo Kingdom, the risk of encountering resistance when occupying this area by force is correspondingly smaller.
According to the past practice of the Executive Committee, the stronghold must be built first, and navigation can be opened while occupying land, without any delay. Even if the route is to be opened first, in order to facilitate trade, supply, and for the sake of security and subsequent expansion, armed strongholds and colonies will still be established locally. It is just a change of order.
Of course, building a colony first means investing a lot of money in development and construction first, and opening routes first will dilute subsequent construction costs accordingly. But which one to carry out first or both approaches ultimately depends on local conditions and Haihan's local development goals. After all, what Haihan lacks now is not the cost of implementing the construction project, but the people who do it. Whether it is the most basic pure labor or the grassroots cadres and technicians who direct these labors, Haihan currently still has a huge demand gap. The relevant vocational training system has never been able to keep up with the expansion speed of Haihan. This can be regarded as a long-standing problem since time travel.
In addition, the executive committee will have an unavoidable flaw when making such decisions, that is, the big shots in Sanya have no way of understanding the actual local conditions of this era, and what they can rely on are basically the knowledge that is hundreds of years ahead of their time. Some fragmentary records on maps and historical materials. And plans made based on such information often have huge deviations. It is precisely because of this that the Executive Committee gave the frontline command great autonomy in the operation north to Zhejiang, and did not set an obvious timetable for the operation.
In the past few years of practice after time travel, everyone has realized that many things cannot be done with black technology or foresight. Controlled areas still need to be stationed with troops to occupy, and infrastructure projects need sufficient manpower to proceed smoothly. Regarding Haihan's expansion plan in Northeast Asia, the executive committee is currently only giving guidance, but specific decisions will be based on the opinions of front-line personnel as the main reference.
Where Haihan will decide next, the executive committee will only give out a few candidate locations, what criteria will be used to make the selection, and what are the specific reasons. This is the responsibility of the frontline personnel. But what the Executive Committee did not expect was that as commanders of two different arms, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen also had obvious differences in the selection of target areas.
"Jeju Island is a large area and can be used as a horse breeding land and a comprehensive military base in the future. Although the initial development cost is high, it will be self-sufficient in the later stages. It will definitely not be a problem to feed tens of thousands of people with local products. In the future, we must When expanding to the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea further north, Jeju Island can also be used as a rear base." Qian Tiandun pointed to the map to explain his opinion.
Shi Diwen shook his head while listening. As soon as Qian Tiandun finished speaking, he raised an objection: "North Koreans are so poor that they can only live by eating radish and pickles. How much trade can we have with them? It is better to do it with the Japanese. When it comes to business, it’s easy to fool around with money. We can get started by occupying a harbor on the Goto Islands. The investment is not much and the construction period is short. I think Japan is better.”
"But there is not much room for development in the Goto Islands. The southernmost Fujiang Island is still a bit flat. If the population increases, it is estimated that food will have to be transported to the local area from outside." Qian Tiandun retorted.
"This is just a stronghold used for excessive use." Shi Diwen said: "Will Japan still be left to rebel after hundreds of years? The top priority is to implement racial transformation in the local area starting from the next generation. Hundreds of years You and I are both national heroes!”
Qian Tiandun couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this. He could only give a thumbs up and said: "Yes, yes, you are amazing!"
(End of chapter)