Chapter 1090 Conflict of Interest
The reason why Pu Xueguang is so concerned about the appearance of the Haihan people is not because he has heard of Haihan before. It is just because he is sensitive to the current situation, which allows him to realize that the threat posed by this group of people is by no means unusual. .
First of all, this group of people appears in the form of a horse team, and they can pull out hundreds of good horses and a large number of skilled riders at one time. Looking at the current Jiaodong Peninsula, this is probably only possible for the garrisons of a few large cities such as Dengzhou. Such strength. The Wanjia Army does have some horses, but most of them are pack horses used by civilians for work. There are also very few real military horses, which are definitely not the same as the tall horses ridden by the Han people in the reports.
Secondly, this group of people claimed to be from the south, but among them were many men with Shandong accents. Their true origins were very suspicious. Pu Xueguang does not believe that good people from the south will travel all the way to Shandong to rescue refugees. On this point, he agrees with Zhang Pucheng, Han Qin and others in Fushan County. He feels that the identity and purpose of this group of people are inconsistent. Very problematic.
The last and most important point is that this group of uninvited guests actually want to incite the people in Fushan County to leave here and follow their arrangements to move south to other places. This is jeopardizing Wanjiajun's job. The Wanjia Army is stationed in a mountainous area, and the cultivated land area and grain cultivation scale are extremely limited. Daily supplies have to rely heavily on the people in the Jiahe River Basin. If the population in this area is greatly lost, then the Wanjia Army's income will be It will also suffer indirect damage, and in the long run, it will even affect its living conditions.
As the military advisor of the Wanjia Army, Pu Xueguang naturally cannot turn a blind eye to such an obvious threat. The top priority is to find out the origin and purpose of this group of people, and then consider how to respond. Pu Xueguang hurriedly hurried all the way, and finally arrived outside Fushan County before dawn. The men in charge of the reception led him directly to the camp where Haihan had set up by the Jiahe River. At dawn, Wang Jinmin and others found two riders monitoring their camp in the distance. In fact, what they saw was Pu Xueguang and his men.
Pu Xueguang once worked for the rebels in Dengzhou, and he was relatively familiar with military affairs. From a distance, he could tell that this group was no ordinary caravan, because civilian caravans would not keep their campsites so orderly when camping in the wild. , the size, format and orientation of the tents are all the same, and there are no roadblocks or warning posts set up on the periphery.
Pu Xueguang had seen the cavalry under Kong Youde camping in the wild before, and it was very similar to the camp of the Haihan Cavalry. This was probably not a coincidence. He thought that if this group of people were not from the military, they had at least received relevant training. military training. He also tried to copy the training of the Ming Army cavalry in the Wanjia Army, but Wanmeng's people were too poorly qualified, and Pu Xueguang himself was also a dabbler. He couldn't understand the essence of the regular army even after being taught many times, so he had no choice but to do so. give up. And this group of Haihan people are obviously better than Wan Jiajun in this regard. At least in his opinion, there is nothing wrong with this camp.
"The origins of this group of people are not simple. They are definitely not a caravan!" After leaving the outskirts of the Haihan camp, Pu Xueguang told his subordinates with a sullen face: "They want to instigate people to leave this place, and their motives are definitely not pure. ...You guys keep an eye on them here and report any changes immediately!”
Pu Xueguang did not leave Fushan County. Instead, he quietly sneaked into the slums outside the county in the early morning, when the vigilance of all parties was at its lowest. Although most of the people living outside the city are refugees who have lost their homes and live in leaky shacks, this is not always the case. The Wanjiajun's stronghold outside Fushan County is a fine green brick courtyard.
"Who else heard the Haihan Horse Team's propaganda yesterday? Come to see me one by one." After Pu Xueguang sat down, he immediately began to investigate the content of the Haihan Horse Team's propaganda in Fushan County. Although he had seen the promotional notices and flyers printed by the Haihan people last night, the content written on them was very limited and naturally not as detailed as the Haihan people's oral propaganda.
Yesterday, there were six or seven members of the Wanjia Army who mingled with the people and listened to Haihan's lecture. They immediately told Pu Xueguang what they heard. In fact, Haihan's immigration policy is very simple. As long as you are healthy and willing to follow the arrangements to immigrate to the south, you can obtain basic living conditions and a stable living environment.
Many of these preachers fled during the Denglai Rebellion and worked under the Haihan people. Now that they have returned to their hometowns, they will naturally use their personal experiences as propaganda materials. The areas under the Haihan rule described are like peace. prosperous times. Even when Pu Xueguang heard what his subordinates said, he found it very instigative. People who lost their homes in the war longed for nothing more than a stable living environment, and the conditions given by Haihan were aimed at such needs. No wonder that after yesterday's lecture, some people had already left the shacks outside Fushan County and followed the Haihan caravan.
"How many people have left the county now?" After listening to his subordinates' stories, Pu Xueguang felt the need to assess the direct impact of the Haihan Caravan, and immediately asked the leader of the Wanjia Army stationed in Fushan County.
The subordinate responded: "Yesterday, only two to three hundred people followed the caravan to the river, but early this morning, hundreds of people left one after another. If this continues, I am afraid that within ten days, the refugees inside and outside Fushan County will be gone. They will all follow the crowd and follow the caravan’s instructions to go to Zhifu Island in the north.”
After hearing this, Pu Xueguang also frowned secretly. These refugees in Fushan County had little output and their direct impact on Wanjiajun was not great. However, these people began to leave Fushan County in large numbers, which will inevitably lead to other people in this area who are seeking a stable life. People chose to defect to Haihan. As a result, Wanjiajun's material supply base will definitely be affected, which is not a good development trend.
At present, there are not many manpower for Pu Xueguang to dispatch near Fushan County, and he is also a little wary of this caravan, which is suspected to have a professional military background. If he wants to use his own personal bravery to fight against the cavalry, Pu Xueguang feels that it is better to avoid this as much as possible. This risk is more appropriate. But he couldn't just watch the situation worsen, so he immediately selected a few people and asked them to mix with the people near the Haihan Caravan. If the other party wanted to take them to Zhifu Island, they should follow them first to see what the situation was like there.
At noon, Pu Xueguang was having lunch, and his subordinates came into the room to report: "The boss is here!"
Pu Xueguang quickly got up and left the house, and saw Wan Meng and more than 20 horsemen and horses had arrived outside the yard. After Wanmeng dismounted and handed over the reins, he asked loudly: "Military advisor, why are you recruiting me here so urgently?"
Pu Xueguang said: "Master, how many people have you brought here?"
Wan Meng responded: "I am leading these twenty-odd riders, and there are one or two hundred people behind me who will arrive in a moment. Could it be that the group of people you mentioned in your letter are dishonest and you want to take action to deal with them?"
Pu Xueguang said: "If it can be solved by taking action, then it is easy. I am afraid that it will not be solved by taking action, or that it will cause greater trouble!"
Wan Meng said: "What is going on? Military advisor, please tell me carefully!"
At that moment, Pu Xueguang decided to tell Wanmeng the information he had so far. Some of the key points were specially explained to him to prevent Wanmeng from not realizing the stakes of this matter. Wanmeng came from a rough background and had limited vision and knowledge. After hearing this, he actually still had little understanding of the current situation. He only knew that a group of outsiders had come, intending to lure the local people to move to the south and settle in the name of relief. Although he didn't understand the purpose of these outsiders, he also knew that without the local people, Wanjiajun's food source would definitely become a big problem.
Wan Meng immediately said: "Since these people are trying to compete with Wan's army for jobs, there's nothing to say. When I gather all the people, I'll go have a meeting with the caravan!"
Pu Xueguang advised: "Master, don't be impulsive. I see that the caravan is well-trained and has backup at the beach. With the current manpower, we may not be able to gain the upper hand if we fight against it!"
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Wanmeng's eyes turned and he said: "Then the military advisor means to wait for an opportunity to take action?"
Pu Xueguang nodded and said: "That's right. This caravan wants to coerce the local people to leave, but we can't obey their wishes. When they leave, we will go out to harass them. These refugees know that the county is safe, so they will naturally go there. Flee. There are only a few dozen people in the caravan. We don't need to confront hundreds of refugees. As long as we prevent them from inciting people to leave Fushan County, we will achieve our goal."
Wanmeng thought for a while and then said: "This can only be a temporary relief. If they send more people over, we will suffer a loss. We still need to send more people over to prepare for any eventuality."
Pu Xueguang also thought it was reasonable, and immediately sent people back to the mountains to mobilize troops. It's just that after this, the reinforcements will arrive at dark time at the earliest. If the Haihan Cavalry Gang takes action today, they certainly can't count on reinforcements to help.
Wanmeng led more than 20 horsemen and horses into the slums outside the city. Naturally, this movement could not be concealed from the attention of the Ming army on the top of the city. After receiving the report, Huang Qu and the magistrate Zhang Pucheng hurried to the city tower to confirm the identity of the visitor. and intention.
"They should be from the Wanjia Army." Huang Qu basically confirmed the identity of the horse team after seeing the location of the horses. The defenders in the city did not know anything about the Wanjia Army's stronghold outside the city, but they just lived in peace and didn't disturb each other.
Zhang Pucheng snorted and said, "This thief is here to join in the fun!"
Huang Qu said: "The Haihan people want to make a fuss in Fushan County, and Wanmeng may be more anxious than us. Their daily needs, and even population replenishment, have to fall in Fushan County. If all the local people are taken away by the Haihan people, they can There will be no good days.”
Zhang Pucheng said: "Don't forget, we are still the ones who are having a hard time!"
Huang Qu didn't care if he hit a soft nail. For him, ensuring his own safety at the moment was the most important thing. Nowadays, there are vacancies everywhere in the garrison in Shandong. As long as an officer does not make a big mistake, it is almost impossible to lose his position and be punished. It doesn't matter whether he suppresses the bandits or not. As long as he can hold on to the county seat, he will have merit and demerit. As for the possible population loss in Fushan County due to the arrival of the Haihan people, this is not his responsibility as the general manager. If it is a headache, it should be left to the county magistrate Zhang Pucheng.
Although the two of them have their own plans, they must be alert and pay attention to the Wanjiajun activities outside the county. Although Wanmeng had an unwritten agreement with the government before, no one can guarantee that the ambitions of this bandit army will not expand after they become stronger, and they still need to be careful to guard against it.
It's just that the top of the city is at least two miles away from the Haihan horse team's camp by the river. It's difficult to see clearly the movements of the Haihan people from here. And there are people from the Wanjia Army moving around outside the city, so they don't dare to start any more at this time. The city sent people out to investigate. Among the three parties involved, the government, which should take the initiative, is in the most passive position.
However, Haihan Camp cannot be seen from the top of the city, but Haihan Camp can see the city head. When Liu Xian was arranging the camp yesterday, he specially found a place with a big tree on the river bank. He used the four-foot-tall tree as a watchtower and arranged for people to take turns climbing to the high branches of the tree to keep watch. When Wan Meng arrived outside Fushan County with the cavalry team, the sentry also discovered traces of this team through binoculars.
"I don't know if it's the Ming army or the Wanjia army that's coming!" It was difficult for Liu Xian to make an accurate judgment on this information. As for the news about Wanjiajun, someone among the people who came out with the cavalry yesterday took the initiative to inform them. From this, they learned that there was a bandit force in Fushan County that was almost as powerful as the government. Based on the information they obtained, Liu Xian and Sun Zhen judged that this armed organization might conflict with their own interests, so they took precautions and stepped up surveillance in the direction of the county.
"Let's collect the immigrants first! When the ship arrives, arrange to board the ship as soon as possible to avoid any complications." Sun Zhen had seen how to transport immigrants through waterways during his mission in Miaoli, Taiwan. Although the local area was arranged for colonization, it was different from Shandong. The procedure is exactly the opposite, but the steps for transporting people are the same. He knew that if he waited for the ship to arrive before arranging the immigration gathering, it would inevitably waste a lot of time. Only by making preparations earlier could transportation efficiency be improved.
This was Liu Xian's first mission outside Hainan Island. His experience in this area was obviously not as good as that of Sun Zhen. He immediately followed Sun Zhen's instructions and asked the soldiers to organize the people near the camp and queue up at the river bank. .
From yesterday evening to this time, about six to seven hundred people had gathered outside the camp of Haihan Horse Team. The cavalry team came out with only five or six days of food rations, which was definitely not able to support the consumption of so many people. However, the disaster relief cowhide had already been blown out, and now they could only bite the bullet and support the field. Yesterday, we gathered together the rations for dozens of people, took most of the fried rice and noodles, cooked porridge, and distributed them to the people outside. As of today, the little food left is not enough to feed so many people. We can only wait for the arrival of the fleet before distributing food.
(End of chapter)