Chapter 1196 The chance to regain freedom
Han Zhengshan did not dare to express his thoughts to others. Although everyone here wanted to leave as soon as possible, there were probably only a few people who had the courage to plan a prison break. Moreover, the prisoners in this hard labor camp are all prisoners with shorter sentences. If they fail, their sentences will become indefinite. There is really no need for them to take this risk.
And according to the rules here, if you report someone else's wrongdoing, you will be rewarded with points once verified. Han Zhengshan can't believe that these people are noble enough not to betray themselves for points. A guy like Zhao Sanbiao, who is carefree and doesn't take anything seriously, but is extremely thoughtful, will probably report it to the guards as soon as he realizes that he has the intention of escaping from prison.
At night, Han Zhengshan, who had a sore back and waist, was lying on the hard wooden bed, but he was thinking that the other two people who were also captured and brought to Zhoushan were probably assigned to other hard labor camps to knock stones, and they might not be able to do it in the future. There is no chance of meeting again. Han Zhengshan actually still had some questions in his mind. For example, did Cui'e seek his help for ransom money, or for her other concubine Gu Hui? And Gu Hui had some evidence that was unfavorable to the Haihan people, and he was able to provoke Haihan to kidnap all the relevant people back to Zhoushan and imprison them. The Haihan people are obviously very afraid of the information they know, but why are they just imprisoned and not taking a more thorough solution? It's a pity that many speculations can only be buried in his heart. He knows that he will never have the chance to explore the truth again.
After staying in the hard labor camp for a few days, Han Zhengshan gradually learned about the composition of the people here. For example, the number of prisoners he was in were all pirates who had previously operated in the Zhoushan Islands area. Most people are pirates when they take up arms, and fishermen when they put down their weapons. Therefore, it has been difficult for the government to completely eliminate piracy activities in this area. The Haihan people's approach seemed simple and crude. They would first give heavy sentences to all the pirates they caught, and then let these pirates identify each other in exchange for the chance of reduced sentences. Therefore, basically no one joined the pirate organization. He was able to escape from Haihan's repeated investigations.
However, people like Zhao Sanbiao, who are originally small minions in the pirate organization, are basically given relatively light sentences, and the prison term is usually no more than three years. Only those leaders and leader-level figures will be severely sentenced or even directly executed. Moreover, according to Zhao Sanbiao and others, there are many Ming army prisoners in other camps, but their accents do not seem to be from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but from the northern region.
On the thirteenth day after Han Zhengshan entered the hard labor camp, after the work was over, everyone in the cell except him was taken away by the guards, leaving him alone in the cell. Han Zhengshan had a vague feeling that something was going to happen, but he couldn't figure out the direction at all. He couldn't figure out why the Haihan people wanted to leave him alone.
But an hour later, Zhao Sanbiao and others came back, but everyone's expressions were a little strange. Han Zhengshan took the initiative and asked: "The guards took you away, but what special arrangements are there?"
Zhao Sanbiao sighed and said: "Brother Han, we are leaving here soon, please take care of yourself from now on!"
Han Zhengshan wondered: "Why is this? Could it be that the Haihan people are so kind-hearted that they want to release you early?"
Zhao Sanbiao said: "It's true to say yes, it's no to say no, alas...it's hard to explain in one sentence!"
When Han Zhengshan heard that there was a chance to regain his freedom, his curiosity naturally increased and he quickly asked: "What is it? Can you tell me?"
Zhao Sanbiao said: "The guard called us out just now and told us that we have a chance to leave the camp early. The condition is to accept Haihan's unified arrangement and go to the south to settle down."
Han Zhengshan said: "Go to the south? Is that Fujian or Guangdong and Guangxi? As long as you don't leave the Ming Dynasty, it's not a difficult thing. Why do you all look so ugly?"
Zhao Sanbiao smiled bitterly and said: "If we really go to Lingnan, why should everyone come back crying... The place where the Haihan people want to go is much farther than the land of Lingnan!"
Han Zhengshan thought for a while and said: "Is that the Qiongzhou Island occupied by the Haihan people? I heard that the place has been renovated by the Haihan people. Sanya, the capital of the Haihan people, is known as the first port in the South China Sea. It is no longer known as the end of the world and the mountains and rivers. It’s not necessarily a bad thing there.”
"Sanya in Qiongzhou is naturally good. When the guards talk about Sanya, they describe it as a paradise. But how can such good things come to people like us?" Zhao Sanbiao shook his head and denied Han Zhengshan's speculation: "Haihan arranged to go there. The place is much farther than Qiongzhou Island. It is said to be a place called Vung Tau Port on the coast of Champa State, two thousand miles south of Sanya.”
"Vung Tau Port? I have never heard of this place name." With Han Zhengshan's knowledge, he had only heard of the existence of the Champa Kingdom. As for the more specific place, he didn't know anything about it. He could only guess and asked: "Then this place should be far away from Zhoushan, right?"
"More than five thousand miles." Zhao Sanbiao's expression was really not good-looking: "It is said that the direct flight from Zhoushan without stopping there will take more than half a month to arrive."
Han Zhengshan didn't know and couldn't imagine where he could reach by sailing all the way south for more than half a month. In short, it was far away from the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps he had only been to those places when the eunuch Sanbao went to Nanyang. The Haihan people have territory so far away, which shows that their sphere of influence is really quite large. Of course, judging by Haihan's usual methods, the local area is probably similar to Zhoushan Island. However, small Southeast Asian countries such as Champa are probably much easier to attack than the Ming Dynasty. The land occupied by Haihan may not even resist. There will be no thoughts.
Only by being arranged to go to such a far place can you get the freedom you dream of. It's no wonder that Zhao Sanbiao and others have such strange expressions. It is really a dilemma for them whether to stay on Zhoushan Island to serve out their sentence, or to leave their hometown and go to the coast of the South China Sea thousands of miles away to be a free man. After all, if you settle in such a far away place, you may not be able to return to your hometown in your lifetime.
Han Zhengshan suddenly thought of something and asked again: "Since our numbers are all assigned to the south, why are I excluded?" Zhao Sanbiao said: "I have asked this too. The superiors said that you are new here, so why are you still here?" You are not eligible for reassignment, so you are not included in the list of people scheduled to go to the south. This may not be a bad thing for you, so don’t take it too seriously.”
Han Zhengshan thought that even if he arranged for me, I might not be willing to go to such a remote place. He then asked casually: "How can you maintain your livelihood if you are arranged to go to such a far place? You can't just knock stones, right?" br>
Zhao Sanbiao shook his head and said: "That's not the case. As mentioned above, when you go to the local area, according to the labor force population, each person will be allocated thirty acres of cultivated land. In the first three years, all taxes will be exempted. Grain, tools, and residence will all be unified. There is no need to pay for the distribution. If you don’t want to farm, Haihan will arrange other things to do. In short, you will not starve to death if you have work.”
Han Zhengshan thought that these conditions were quite favorable. Thirty acres of arable land could be used to grow vegetables and grain, which was enough to support a family. There was no need for immigrants to invest in the early stage. Even if they were not prisoners, some poor people who could not survive in the local area would probably try to join them. , go to the south to fight for a way out. I had heard earlier that Haihan was recruiting immigrants in Zhejiang, and it seemed that he had some skills. But as a result, all the inmates who live with him will have to be replaced, and they will have to adapt to the environment again.
But what Zhao Sanbiao said next immediately attracted his attention again: "I heard that the prisoners in the Niujiao Bay hard labor camp will have the opportunity to shorten their sentences in the future, and they will be given priority to be resettled overseas."
This news was a mixture of good and bad news for Han Zhengshan. The good news was that he seemed to have seen the opportunity to regain his freedom in advance, but the bad news was that the place where freedom might be achieved would be far away from the Ming Dynasty, and there might be no chance of returning home in the future.
The orders from above came and were executed quickly. Early the next morning, the guards asked everyone to pack their bags and prepare to set off - except Han Zhengshan, of course. Perhaps because he was about to embark on a long sea journey, the breakfast that day was also rich. In addition to the daily brown rice porridge and kimchi, there were also white-flour steamed buns and salted fish, which was a rare treat. Although Han Zhengshan was not on the list of people leaving, he still enjoyed special treatment.
Before leaving, Zhao Sanbiao called Han Zhengshan aside and told him a few honest words: "If you want to leave here alive, don't cause trouble in the camp, especially if you try to escape from prison! ”
Han Zhengshan forced a smile and said: "I have no such intention."
"You don't have to pretend. There were several nights when I woke up in the middle of the night and saw you standing in front of the window and groping around in front of the door. I knew without asking that you were looking at how to remove the window lattice and door lock, right?" Zhao Sanbiao also smiled and said: "If someone had reported you, you would have been dragged out to soak in the sea until you were swollen. Don't be impatient. Maybe after a while, you will leave here like us. The risk is not worth it. I don't It doesn’t matter if others see it.”
Han Zhengshan was secretly surprised, but he didn't expect that Zhao Sanbiao had noticed the actions he thought were hidden. The other party did not report him quietly, which was considered very kind. At that moment, he cupped his fists and said, "I'll write down the debt I owe to Brother Biao. We meet each other in the mountains and rivers. If we meet again outside in the future, we will definitely be rewarded!"
After having breakfast, Zhao Sanbiao and others packed up their luggage and set off. The number of people knocking stones on the construction site today has obviously decreased a lot, and is less than half of the usual number. It seems that this group of prisoners sent to the south is really quite a lot. As Han Zhengshan knocked on the stones, he suddenly felt a sense of loneliness. He was not a sentimental person to begin with, but what he had experienced these past few days had constantly weakened his willpower. As he stayed in jail for a long time, his will inevitably began to become fragile.
While Han Zhengshan was knocking stones in the hard labor camp, Wang Tom and Shi Diwen were studying the official documents and telegrams sent from Sanya. In the past year, Haihan's main external focus has been on the development work in the north. Since the National Day in April last year, nearly half of the mobile forces of Haihan's army and navy have been concentrated in Zhejiang and Shandong. Two places, and the resulting resource inclination will inevitably stall the development and construction process in the South China Sea region. Now that winter has entered in the north, and Haihan's military operations in Shandong and Zhejiang have come to an end, the Executive Committee hopes to return its focus to the south and continue to consolidate and strengthen Haihan's control in the South China Sea.
At present, Haihan's presence in the South China Sea is mainly based on several ports on the east coast of the Indochina Peninsula, plus the Ambuna Islands at the junction of the Indochina Peninsula, the Malay Peninsula, and the Borneo waters, Star Island at the eastern entrance of the Strait of Malacca, and Sumatra Island. Bangka-Belitung Island between Borneo, this series of strongholds and colonies is a directly controlled area connected in series.
Ports located in the Indochina Peninsula rely on the mainland and are slightly less difficult to develop and construct. However, the island strongholds in the South China Sea are far away from the Sanya base camp, making the transportation of materials and personnel extremely inconvenient, and the development process is relatively slow. In addition, Haihan concentrated most of its maritime shipping capacity in the north last year to promote the implementation of the northward plan, and the resources available to the South China Sea are relatively less. Now the Executive Committee has decided to adjust the allocation of resources. The first task is to transport more Han people to various strongholds in the South China Sea to strengthen the control of the Han nationality over the local area. At the same time, the increased labor force will also effectively speed up local ports, roads, residential areas, and planting. construction speed of large-scale infrastructure projects such as parks.
At present, the number of immigrants in the surrounding areas of Hainan Island is gradually stabilizing. There will not be a large wave of low-cost immigrants pouring into Hainan like in previous years. Instead, there will be a purposeful introduction of some skilled immigrants with special skills, such as Craftsmen from various industries, open-minded literati, businessmen who have in-depth cooperation with Haihan, etc.
The sources of cheap labor gradually shifted to the north and south. In the south were slaves trafficked from South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and even North Africa. These people were mainly placed to work in plantations across the South China Sea; in the north were slaves from the Central Plains. Mainly war refugees from the , North China, and Liaodong regions. These people are basically Han Chinese. They are not very different from Haihan in terms of language, culture, and living habits. They can re-adapt to the environment much faster than those foreign slaves. It is also one of the immigration targets that the Executive Committee is most willing to accept.
However, with the arrival of winter, the northern route temporarily came to a standstill, and the source of immigrants from Haihan was also greatly affected. Therefore, the Executive Committee requested that the colonies in southern Ming Dynasty, including Zhejiang, increase their efforts to collect immigrants as much as possible. Fill the labor gap existing in the development of South China Sea colonies. Of course, this task is not that easy to complete. After all, Haihan's labor gap in the South China Sea is not a small number, and a few thousand people in any one stronghold will not be too much. Under such circumstances, the hard labor camps used to hold prisoners of war and prisoners in various places have naturally become the focus of relevant departments.
(End of chapter)