Chapter 1013 Founding Celebration (Thirteen)
Fireworks began in the Song Dynasty and are also called fireworks or fireworks. They are mostly used for festivals. Haihan has also arranged to set off fireworks on anniversaries in the past few years. It is not a particularly new thing for the public. However, this anniversary performance arranged for 3,000 fireworks to be set off one after another, and the scale was far larger than in previous years. It was a rare life experience for the spectators who were lucky enough to witness this scene.
For safety reasons, the fireworks were set off on several flat-deck cargo ships in the harbor, one mile away from the nearest coastline. There was no need to worry about the fireworks going in the wrong direction and causing a fire. In addition, this launch location has a clear view of the entire Victory Harbor Bay, and is also convenient for the public to watch on the coast.
As each firework explodes into the sky and lights up the night sky, the crowd of onlookers on the coast will let out a burst of admiration. Large-scale fireworks like this, which can be launched to an altitude of tens of meters and can be clearly seen several miles away, are rare in this era, and only a handful of garrisons in major cities and passes have such things. In other words, In this era, they were military supplies used to send alarms. The fireworks set off by ordinary people during the New Year and festivals were not so powerful.
Naturally, there are many knowledgeable people among the foreign envoys. Seeing this scene in Haihan, they can only sigh to themselves. This fireworks display will cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and there will be no penny in return. This is not something that ordinary small countries can have. financial resources. In the past, it was only heard that Haihan was the richest country in the world. From the various details of this celebration, envoys from various countries personally confirmed such rumors.
The place where Sun Zhen watched the fireworks show was only a hundred meters away from the banquet venue. He was brought here by Chen Yixin before the banquet started and received the commendation order and medal personally issued by the Minister of Defense Yan Chujie. After the event, he was left at the naval base. It was said that there were other arrangements after the banquet, so he could only wait patiently. However, as a hero who had just received the award, Sun Zhen was also lucky enough to attend the grand dinner and enjoy the most sumptuous meal in his life. Being able to dine with many leaders and guests from various countries will definitely be something to brag about to your comrades after returning to the team.
While watching the fireworks show, Sun Zhen finished the food for three people on a plate. If Chen Yixin hadn't come to him, he probably could have destroyed another plate of food before the show ended.
"Leaving now?" Sun Zhen looked at the buffet dishes on the dining table not far away with some reluctance. He also planned to get some pickled pig's trotters to nibble on later, but unexpectedly Chen Yixin asked him to leave immediately. venue.
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "We have an urgent mission now, so you can finish your meal here. Minister Yan, who will give you the award today, will be there later. Do you want the Minister of National Defense to wait for you?"
"I don't dare because of my humble position." Sun Zhen stood up quickly and put down the tableware in his hands.
At the same time, the time travelers serving in the Haihan Army also began to leave. The end of the military parade does not mean the beginning of the military's holiday. On the contrary, the military will take advantage of this time to discuss with relevant departments to formulate a military action outline for this year and next.
Sun Zhen followed Chen Yixin to the small auditorium of the naval base and found that it had been set up as a conference venue. He saw that almost all the senior military leaders he had met in the past few days were present, and he knew that what Chen Yixin just said was not a joke. At that moment, he quickly stretched out his military uniform, straightened his chest and entered the room behind Chen Yixin.
Of course, junior officers like Sun Zhen were not qualified to sit at such a high-level meeting, so they could only stand on the outer edge of the venue and listen. Sun Zhen looked around and saw that most of the people standing and listening in the venue were second lieutenants and above, from both the army and the navy. There were very few low-level officers like him, and he felt a little more nervous for no reason. .
After all the participants arrived, the meeting began, hosted by Yan Chujie himself.
"Everyone, today is the big day of the Haihan Founding Celebration. Logically speaking, you should be allowed to go back and reunite with your family at this time. However, considering the schedule in the past few days, we can only arrange such a celebration when there are more people. At the meeting, let’s briefly talk about the Ministry of National Defense’s external military operations arrangements this year.” Yan Chujie got to the point concisely and concisely.
"In the past year, our troops went north and south, expanding our country's control areas to Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and Xingdao in the Strait of Malacca. We defeated the Spaniards on Taiwan Island and eliminated the remaining forces of Shibazhi, It eliminated the main pirate forces along the coast of Zhejiang and promoted the establishment of the South China Sea Trade Alliance. ”
"But these military achievements can only represent the past achievements of the Haihan Army. We still have to look forward. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the main tasks of our Ministry of National Defense remain unchanged. In addition to defending our country, we must also continue to expand our territory. , control a larger area." At this point, Yan Chujie stopped and ordered: "Hang up the map!"
There were no ordinary soldiers in the venue today, so even the task of hanging the map was handled by two second lieutenants. This map drawn on white cloth is very large, with a height of one foot and a width of one foot and a half. Even if you stand about ten meters away, you can clearly see the rough outline of the map.
Sun Zhen also learned basic map identification skills after joining the army, but he could only barely identify the location of the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty from this large map. When he reached Hainan Island and went further south, he couldn't understand it. However, there are many areas marked in red on the map, and they are all concentrated near the coastline. Sun Zhen believes that these specially marked areas are Haihan's current control area, which extends from Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang Province to the south. in an unknown area.
"The foundation of our country in Haihan is sea control. Controlling choke channels and seaports with superior conditions are crucial to the security of our maritime trade. As we all know, our country's most important trade partner is the Ming Dynasty, with Fuzhou and Guangzhou provinces as the two provinces. Lord, after we enter Zhoushan, we can probably add Zhejiang, but our goals will not be limited to the existing areas, and we will also have new goals this year." Yan Chujie stood up and followed him from the side. He took the instruction stick in his hand, pointed to the upper right corner of the map, and said in a deep voice: "The Denglai area is our springboard into North China and Northeast China, and it is also a strategic location for controlling the Yellow Sea area and the Korean Peninsula across the sea. Our goal this year is, It is to establish a stronghold in the Denglai area and open up a route from Zhoushan Dinghai Port to the north. ”
When Sun Zhen heard these words, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly. He suddenly understood why Chen Yixin specially brought him to such a high-level meeting. If the Haihan Army wanted to settle in the Denglai area, it would have to be led by someone familiar with the local situation. A soldier like himself who was born in Denglai and joined Haihan was the most suitable candidate.
Although Sun Zhen had thought about returning to his hometown many times in the future when conditions permitted to see if his family's homeland was okay, he never expected that this moment would come soon. Unexpectedly, less than two years after going south to join the army, this dream opportunity would already be in front of me. He was so excited that he didn't hear most of what Yan Chujie said next.
Haihan's plan to enter the Jiaodong Peninsula is actually not a recent thing. Even before the Denglai Rebellion broke out in 1632, Haihan's senior officials had already discussed the possibility of sending troops to Shandong to intervene in this war. But at that time, the Haihan Army had not even captured Penghu, and it did not even have a stable foothold on the southeastern coast. If the troops were rashly sent to Denglai, the risk was too great, and the supply line was too long. Even if the Haihan Army occupied Penghu by force, Excellence is unsustainable.
The Denglai Rebellion broke out in January 1632, and Haihan only defeated Shibazhi and captured Penghu in May of the same year. After deliberation, Haihan ultimately did not want to intervene in Shandong affairs thousands of miles away. Instead, he focused on consolidating control of the Fujian Strait, and then sought to gradually expand the control area northward.
In April 1633, when the allied forces composed of Haihan and Fujian Navy went north to attack the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang, the rebel generals Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others in the Denglai Rebellion had already defected to the northeast and joined Hou Jin. The Denglai Rebellion was thus declared. Finish. Haihan did not directly intervene in this process. He only hired maritime merchants to transport many refugees back from the Jianghuai area on the border with Shandong, and Sun Zhen was one of them.
It was not until the Haihan Army captured Zhoushan outside Hangzhou Bay and began to establish a military base that the military put the plan to march north to the Jiaodong Peninsula on the agenda. Although the civil strife in Shandong at this time has ended, the local area has not completely settled down. Although the instigators have fled across the sea to the Northeast, there are still many civilian bandit armed organizations that emerged during the two years of war in Shandong. . Despite the ineffectiveness of the official suppression of bandits, Shandong, especially the Jiaodong Peninsula where official institutions were severely destroyed by the war, still presents a mess that is difficult to deal with.
Judging from the information currently available, the Ming Dynasty still lacks effective means of regulating the chaos in the Jiaodong Peninsula. A large number of people were displaced during the war, resulting in the desolation of fields in many areas after the war and the lack of local grain income. It is simply impossible to complete the reconstruction work with only the limited relief materials and funds provided by the imperial court. In order to survive, the people who did not receive timely assistance had to succumb to bandits or flee to other places, which intensified local revenue and production cuts, creating another vicious cycle.
This situation is a disaster for the local people, but for Haihan, it is a good opportunity to take advantage of it. Given the poor organization of the local government, it was much easier for Haihan to settle down. If done properly, the Jiaodong Peninsula can truly become another major source of population for Haihan. The scale and speed of the immigration actions organized by Haihan officials will definitely far exceed the spontaneous actions of private businessmen.
By the time Sun Zhen came to his senses, Yan Chujie had already finished his speech and was replaced by another high-ranking Haihan official. Sun Zhen seemed to have a vague impression of the Ministry of Security, but he had never heard of the chief named Hao Wanqing before.
Hao Wanqing will appear here, on the one hand because of his status as the leader of the intelligence department, and on the other hand because of his Shandong background. The Executive Committee planned to let He Xi return to Sanya temporarily and transfer Hao Wanqing to the north to take charge of local intelligence work, most likely because of his background.
But in fact, this arrangement is somewhat superficial. Apart from the fact that the accents and some eating habits are similar, Hao Wanqing's understanding of Shandong is actually very different from the situation of this era. In addition, he is not a professional in geography. Currently, there is not much reference information that can be provided to the military, which is far less useful than the information the military retrieves from large databases. However, both the parties involved and He Xi, another director of the security department, agreed to this arrangement, so they could only proceed as such.
“After receiving this task, our Ministry of Security has obtained the information of immigrants introduced from the north over the past two years, especially those who were originally from Denglai, Shandong. More than 700 of them joined the army and police after passing the review. The army and other government agencies. Considering that this operation is led by the military, we mainly focused on the military, and worked with the Ministry of National Defense to select more than a hundred more reliable soldiers. There are both ordinary soldiers and officers who have won military exploits..." Hao Wanqing looked down at the information and then asked: "Sergeant Sun Zhen from the special operations battalion is already here, right?"
"Old Sun Zhen, please give me instructions from the chief!" As soon as Sun Zhen heard his name, he quickly stood up at attention, raised his head and chest out and responded loudly. His response immediately attracted the attention of the officers in the venue, and everyone took a closer look at the soldier named by the head of the security department. Although Sun Zhen was nervous, his expression remained tense.
Hao Wanqing nodded to Sun Zhen, and then continued to introduce: "Sergeant Sun Zhen joined the army in Penghu in 1632, participated in two important battles in Taipei and Zhoushan in 1633, and captured the bandit leader Wang Jialin in Zhoushan in April 1633. It is recorded that Second-class personal merit and promotion to the rank of sergeant. If I remember correctly, the commendation order and medal were awarded by Minister Yan personally just two hours ago."
Hao Wanqing put down the information in his hand, and then said: "Before the army sets out, we need to send a team of people to the local area to establish a front line. This requires familiarity with the local conditions and being able to better integrate into the local society. This team The team will be composed of personnel jointly drawn from the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of National Defense. Among the candidates recommended by the military, Sergeant Sun Zhen is the only one present now, so I would like to ask Sergeant Sun Zhen to come to the front and give us the local situation you know. Let’s talk about it roughly.”
There was a buzzing sound in Sun Zhen's mind, and it immediately went blank. He originally thought he was just here to observe a meeting of high-level military officials, but he didn't expect to be called up to the stage to give a report to these military bosses who were several levels above him. For a moment, he didn't even know where to put his hands and feet.
(End of chapter)