Chapter 1632 Manila Alert
In the process of developing the colony, Haihan did not just use some softer methods. For the aboriginal people who did not have access to oil and salt and were unwilling to cooperate, Haihan's methods were no better than other colonists of this era. How kind. During the development of Taiwan Island, there were many tribes who tried to drive out these foreign invaders. However, Haihan decisively used force in the face of such a situation, treating all resisters as enemies and attacking them.
The weapons used by these nearly primitive aboriginal tribes on the island of Taiwan are still in the cold weapon era, and are far less sophisticated than the weapons equipped by mainland countries like the Ming Dynasty. They have no chance of winning against the Han army in Shanghai. Except for occasional sneak attacks that can hurt people, they basically have no chance in a frontal battlefield duel. As long as the Haihan army is determined to kill a certain tribe, it can almost be solved by chopping melons and vegetables along the way. Some tribes who heard the news felt that they were outmatched, so they moved to the mountains far away from the west coast. The Haihan Army would not pursue them anymore.
However, the situation in Kaohsiung Port is pretty good. Most of the tribal people in the surrounding areas are relatively mild in nature and are willing to maintain peaceful contact with outsiders. In particular, Haihan could provide them with living supplies, medical care, education, and even military asylum. These tribes soon accepted the existence of Haihan settlements and plantations here. At present, the biggest dispute between Haihan and nearby tribes is that the people of these tribes are unwilling to accept the constraints of Haihan's laws, but still regard some traditions handed down from the tribe as local rules.
Of course, this ideological conflict is not without solutions, but it will take a long time to culturally assimilate these indigenous people. Even though Haihan has rich operational experience in cultural and educational propaganda, it is not completely suitable for dealing with aboriginal people whose languages are not in common with each other. Li Dou did not want to resolve this disagreement through suppression or killing, but the only method he could take was to start with children and young people, and gradually influence those who can make the decision in the tribe.
"It will take at least two to three generations to completely assimilate these aboriginal people. This is a task that requires a lot of patience." Li Dou explained.
"A lot of resources also need to be invested." Qian Tiandun took over and said: "These aboriginal people only know slash-and-burn farming and the most basic fishing and hunting. The value they can create is very limited. To assimilate them culturally, we can only take money. To provide them with better education and living conditions, is that correct? ”
Li Dou nodded and replied: "That's true, but objectively speaking, it is not too difficult to turn these aborigines into a labor force that can be used by us. You see, at least half of the laborers who carry bags at the port They are all from local tribes. As long as they are willing to come to our place to do these hard work, they can be rewarded with food and wine. This is much safer for them than relying on the sky as long as our port is still operating. They will not go hungry. We will select those who are capable, promote them to be foremen, and give them better treatment as an example for others to follow.”
This method of operation is actually a continuation of Haihan's past practice of subduing the Han people in the occupied areas, using force and inducement, so that the people will gradually get used to living under Haihan's rule and arrangements. However, because the aborigines on Taiwan Island have different languages and cultures, and are much less civilized than the Han people on the mainland, the assimilation process is unlikely to be as rapid as on Hainan Island.
Li Dou is a civil servant with a moderate ruling style, and his attitude towards the local aborigines is also aimed at enlightenment. Even though this attitude may affect the progress of local development and construction, Li Dou still insists on not adopting some measures as much as possible. violent means. Of course, he did not object to the garrison taking forceful measures against some disobedient tribes. After all, his own safety was the first priority. He did not want to live in a place where the bamboos worth only a bottle of wine could be used by indigenous hunters at any time. In a bow and arrow assassination environment.
However, recently, a large number of Haihan troops have arrived in Hong Kong and begun to gather here, which has also caused some uneasiness among the local people. Even though Li Dou had issued a civil peace announcement before, saying that troops from the north and the south would be temporarily staying in Kaohsiung Port for a few days and would not conduct local military operations, when the East China Sea Fleet carried the Army's special operations battalion and cavalry battalion, and the Marine Corps, a total of more than 2,000 troops arrived at Kaohsiung Port, and the atmosphere here immediately fell into high tension.
Some tribes natives saw Haihan soldiers gathered in large numbers in the local area. Even if they had nothing to do, they would worry that Haihan soldiers would cause trouble near the tribe while they were free, so they took the initiative to quit their odd jobs and go home. As a result, labor wages at Kaohsiung Port increased immediately, about 20% higher than usual. Even so, there were not enough laborers to transport the equipment and materials of these troops, so the goods were put into storage. There was chaos, and Li Dou had to apologize to the military generals.
Of course, the reason for this mistake can be clearly explained, and the responsibility does not entirely lie with Li Dou. Regarding the current labor shortage at the port, there is no good solution other than increasing remuneration. Li Dou cannot order the garrison to go The nearby tribes are trying to capture young men, which will only make the efforts of the past two years to come to naught. Although the military was a little helpless, they also expressed their understanding. They were just gathering at Kaohsiung Port and were not planning to disrupt the social order here. Therefore, they were still willing to let Li Dou arrange the transportation of personnel. Stay responsible and just don't make similar mistakes again.
Troops at all levels heading south from the north have received orders not to leave the camp without permission during the break in Kaohsiung Port, let alone go to the local tribes privately - this is also Li Dou's only request to the troops who are about to head south to fight.
However, in order to solve some practical needs of these soldiers who had been fighting hard in the north for several months, Li Dou still tried every means to make arrangements. Since the local population of Kaohsiung Port is limited and there are not many entertainment venues, it is impossible to meet the demand. Li Dou contacted Fujian in advance and packed more than 200 women from brothels in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to relieve the needs of the army soldiers. "Urgent urgency". If not, these soldiers would be so suffocated and unable to leave the barracks that trouble would arise sooner or later.
Qian Tiandun and others praised Li Dou's arrangement. Of course, they did not need to queue up to solve the problem like ordinary soldiers. Li Dou had already arranged for high-quality goods, and a group of senior officials patiently After watching the performance of playing, playing and singing, I then put my arms around the little girl and drank wine, and then they went away to rest. Nearly a thousand kilometers south of Kaohsiung Port, Manila Bay has lost its former prosperity. Most of the ships entering and leaving the harbor every day are local fishing boats, while merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty are becoming increasingly rare. It often takes a few days for one to arrive. When we arrived at the port, not many ships had left yet. Except for occasional bad weather, this is probably the most depressed period in Manila Bay in the past decade.
Anyone who is not blind can detect this unusual change, and Governor Aragones will naturally not ignore this abnormal phenomenon. In fact, he has much more information than ordinary citizens. Although Haihan has issued seal orders at various ports, bits of information will still be leaked through the Ming merchant ships arriving at the port during this period. Aragones knows This depressed situation was intentional by Haihan, and it was probably an act of retaliation for the Spanish fleet's surprise attack on Sanya last year.
As the main planner of last year's failed operation, Aragones received severe rebuke from the country afterwards. King Philip IV issued a final warning that if Spain made any further mistakes in its colonies in the Far East, Aragones would Not only will Sri Lanka lose his position as Governor-General of the Philippines, but all his domestic assets will also be transferred to the national treasury.
During Aragones' tenure, Spain lost its two strongholds of Tamsui and Chicken Coop in the northern part of Taiwan Island in 1633, and thus lost its main supply point for trade routes to Northeast Asia. This reduced the Manila authorities' annual income significantly. Less, and this also affects the income turned over to the country. But three years later, the Manila authorities not only failed to wrest the stronghold on Taiwan Island from the Haihan people, but in last year's raid, they almost lost the galleon fleet on the battlefield - which was the property of the royal family. In part, Philip IV was justified in being furious about this.
In order to appease the king's anger, Aragones sold part of his family property in the country and managed to open up the joints. He asked Philip IV's wife Elizabeth, the eldest sister of French King Louis XIII, to say some good words for him, and then he barely managed to save his life. Governorship. Of course, in order to satisfy the appetite of the French princess, Aragones also suffered a lot of bleeding, which can be said to have damaged his vitality. So for him, Manila's business conditions have become more important than before. After all, it is almost his only source of income. If something goes wrong again, he will probably have to go back to his country and work as an apartment owner. Finished the rest of my life.
After the failure of last year's operation, Aragones has been in a state of anxiety for a long time. On the one hand, he is worried about domestic punishment, and on the other hand, he is afraid that the Haihan people will launch military retaliation, or even attack The city of Manila goes on the offensive. Therefore, during that time, he paid very close attention to the city defense affairs, and even invested the few working capital on hand into the fortification reinforcement project. He also ordered the craftsmen to step up the casting of cannons to supplement the local coastal defense firepower, so as to prevent the Haihan army from When an attack comes from the sea, local resistance means are insufficient.
However, a few months passed without seeing any movement in Sanya. Instead, he heard that the Haihan people were fighting with another country in the north. Only then did Aragones feel relieved and reinvest his energy in trading. Although many of the goods shipped by Ming merchants who came to Manila for trade were actually produced in Haihan, Aragones pretended not to know about this. Anyway, as long as he could make a profit from it, he didn't mind using this method. Make long-distance trades with your enemies.
Of course, Aragones did not give up monitoring and intelligence collection on Haihan. Although the Spanish intelligence network deployed in Sanya was uprooted once by the Haihan Security Department in 1634, some people were sent there one after another to try to rebuild the intelligence network. However, after suffering a loss, the Spanish spies became much more cautious and lurked separately. Even if someone's identity was exposed and arrested, they would not lead out too many people at once.
But because of this, the level of information these spies have access to is very limited. Of course, they all smell something, but there are only a few valuable information that can be unearthed from it. The reports Aragones received in Manila were almost all warnings, believing that the Haihan army might launch military operations against Manila in the near future, but there was no more specific content - such as whether the Haihan army had begun to gather. , the size of the mobilization of the army, and the preparation status of combat materials are all unknown.
In Aragones' view, the value of this kind of intelligence is close to zero. Looking at the increasingly rare merchant ships in Manila Bay every day, he can judge the intentions of the Haihan people without going to Sanya. But you don’t know when the opponent will take action. How to arrange defensive measures? If the city of Manila is ordered to enter a state of war readiness now, it will only cause panic and chaos locally over time. Of course, creating a tense atmosphere through pretentiousness may also be one of the strategies of the Haihan people.
There are thousands of Han people in and outside Manila, and Aragones knows that among them there must be spies planted by Haihan. He is very worried that these people will take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, so he must now maintain normal social order in Manila. Leave an opportunity for these people to take advantage of. Maybe the Haihan people were waiting for chaos to break out in Manila before they actually launched an attack with force.
But if Manila's current depressed situation continues, it will have little impact on the Haihan people, and Aragones will be a little unable to hold on. There is a lower limit for the taxes he has to pay to the country every year. If the current situation continues for several months, then he may have to pay out of his own pocket to subsidize the taxes. Of course, he can also choose to raise taxes on the private sector, but once this method is used, he is afraid that it will force more businessmen to leave Manila at a faster speed, so he does not dare to use this double-edged sword at will.
If the Haihan people sent troops to attack, Aragones was not sure that he would be able to defend Manila, but if the opponent did not fight, he would be dragged to death sooner or later. So as the Governor of the Philippines, Aragones's mood was really complicated.
(End of chapter)