Chapter 1809 Population Transport
Liu Shang, who has received special training in Haihan and has practical work experience in Sanya, Shandong and Liaodong, obviously has more say than the Portuguese on how to manage a refugee camp. Liu Shang has personally dealt with dozens of troubles like refugee fights, ranging in size from large to small. The incident that happened to him today can only be regarded as an ordinary incident, since it happened over the issue of food distribution. Conflict, then after these new refugees have been hungry for two days, they will know the importance of obeying the rules.
As for whether some people would be dissatisfied with the government, Liu Shang was actually not worried. He himself had spent some time in a refugee camp when he first arrived in Sanya, and he knew very well the uneasiness of arriving in a strange environment. For these refugees, there was an obvious fact that the new rulers were not The Ming and Qing dynasties have stronger power. I believe these refugees should know very well whether they can go against the government with such power.
The focus of Liu Shang's work is to use various propaganda methods to continuously brainwash these refugees, instill in them Haihan-style ideology, and let them understand what kind of environment they are in and what they should do. How to integrate into this new society - or to put it more bluntly, how to contribute to the new rulers in exchange for better living conditions.
Of course, the power in Liu Shang's hands is no longer limited to propaganda. He also has the right to handle security, diplomacy, trade and other matters involved in civil affairs management. This makes him more comfortable at work and can do what he wants more often, without having to spend time asking for instructions and coordination with other departments.
The refugee camp on Guanglu Island is a temporary facility, and the supporting management personnel are basically from the military. It is not as fully equipped as the one in Lushun. The limited manpower of the civil affairs department basically has to take on multiple jobs. After Liu Shang came, the island Only then can we have a senior official who can direct various tasks across borders.
Liu Shang dealt with the chaos in the refugee camp at once, and wanted to invite Simang back to continue drinking and chatting, but Simang waved his hand and declined Liu Shang's invitation: "We will continue to go to sea tomorrow, so we must hurry up tonight." Have a good sleep while on shore, and we’ll chat next time you come over.”
Ximang wanted to take advantage of this period of time when the Haihan people were too busy to lead his own fleet to carry out more operations on the Liaodong Peninsula. Otherwise, there would be no store after this village. He planned to complete the supplies tonight and then leave Guanglu Island early tomorrow morning to continue his previous looting activities.
Liu Shang saw that the other party was not in the mood to talk anymore, so he didn't force it at the moment, so he asked someone to arrange for Xi Mang to rest. The conditions on the island were limited, and most of the Portuguese crew could only spend the night in tents after landing ashore. However, for senior officers like Simang, Liu Shang specially arranged a house for him to stay, which was considered a special courtesy to his allies.
As soon as it got dark the next day, the Portuguese crew assembled at the dock and boarded the ship. As the highest-ranking official on the island, Liu Shang arrived at the port on time to symbolically see off the Portuguese fleet. If the Portuguese's actions go well, then they will probably send the next batch of refugees captured from near the coast to the mouth of the Yalu River in four or five days, transfer them to the Haihan Navy, and then carry out the next supply there. The next time the Portuguese fleet comes to Guanglu Island will be about ten days later.
Two hours after the Portuguese fleet set off, more than 300 refugees were gathered at the dock and began to board the ship. They had completed identification and registration yesterday, and Liu Shang arranged for these refugees to be transported back to Jinzhou for resettlement as soon as possible. The faster the refugees are transported, the higher the operating efficiency of the refugee camp on the island. This is also an intuitive criterion for measuring Liu Shang's political performance, and he is naturally very concerned about it.
Based on the current frequency and effectiveness of the Portuguese operations, at least three to four thousand Han refugees can be brought back from the Qing-controlled areas in a month. This number greatly exceeds the normal recruitment level of immigrants in the two colonies of Shandong and Liaodong. It is very important for Haihan refugees. To be able to get these people without spending a penny can be said to be a very cost-effective deal.
However, this method of population transportation is not a long-term solution. The Qing Dynasty will definitely not sit back and watch the Portuguese continue to harass near the coast. As for whether to send more troops to resist, or to strengthen the walls and clear the country and move the people near the coast collectively to the deep inland , no matter which method of treatment will be used, it will increase the difficulty for the Portuguese to plunder people from the Liaodong coast. Therefore, in the long run, if we only rely on the Portuguese's actions of one hammer and one stick, the number of refugees that can be obtained will definitely show a gradual downward trend, and it will be difficult to maintain the current level in the long term.
Liu Shang believed that this method of obtaining population could actually blossom more, allowing the Haihan Army stationed in Jinzhou and even Zhifu Port in Shandong to participate. The coast from Jinzhou to the mouth of the Yalu River is nearly 500 miles long. If the Qing army wanted to fully fortify itself, they would have to give up invading North Korea and deploy the main force to this coastal area for passive defense. This would be a way to solve the North Korean crisis. Method.
Before coming to Guanglu Island, Liu Shang went to meet Chen Yixin and boldly mentioned his idea. However, although Chen Yixin expressed approval of his idea at the time, he had no intention of adopting it and was mysterious. He said to him, "North Korea's problem is not that simple." At the time, he didn't quite understand what Chen Yixin meant, but after talking to Xi Mang last night, Liu Shang realized that Haihan's sending heavy troops into North Korea to help it resist the Qing army might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface. .
If they were ordinary Haihan officials, they would generally not spend too much time thinking about matters that were not within their field of duties and would just wait for the military to announce the news. But Liu Shang himself is an intelligence officer. It is almost his subconscious reaction to analyze various information to infer the situation. Since he has the opportunity to learn about the changes in the situation in the region, he will naturally use this as a basis to calculate the situation in Liaodong. The development direction of the international situation.
According to Simang, about half of the population acquired by the Portuguese fleet from the Liaodong coast will be sent to Haihan's newly designated seaside port in Korea to be resettled and used as a construction force there. This arrangement was obviously a long-term plan to turn the selected location into a colony and military stronghold like Zhifu Port and Port Arthur.
Haihan has operated construction projects like this many times in other areas and has relatively mature operational experience. Liu Shang has no doubt that in a year or two there will be an additional port town managed by Haihan in the local area. , what he cares about is that Haihan established the local port based on the current special situation-the Qing army is pressing down on the border, and North Korea, in order to protect itself, has come up with various conditions to ask Haihan to send troops to rescue, and this is located south of the Yalu River Estuary. A large piece of land was also handed over to Haihan for operation in the name of a naval base. Then the question arises, if the Qing army did not cross the Yalu River in the end, or even did not start a war at all under the military pressure exerted by Haihan, would North Korea still fulfill the conditions that it gritted its teeth and agreed to in order to ask Haihan to send troops for assistance? , for example, allocate a piece of land on their own territory to build a permanent military base for Haihan.
Although North Korea and Haihan secretly concluded a military alliance last year, Liu Shang believes that there is still the possibility of North Korea going back on its word. After all, if there is no longer a war, North Korea may not be willing to accept Haihan stationing troops on its own land. Thinking back to when Haihan was stationed in Annan, he was treated with real swords and real guns. If North Korea did not fight a dozen, the North Koreans might not be truly grateful to Haihan.
Of course, Liu Shang didn't know how sensitive the senior officials of Haihan were about "aiding North Korea". For some special reasons, this group of people from another time and space did not believe that North Korea would be grateful for the military assistance they provided. They must Only by taking control of the situation on the peninsula can you feel at ease. Therefore, regarding the attitude of garrisoning troops and dealing with the Qing army, the Haihan military has been adjusting its deployment and plans, intending to make North Korea suffer for a while before taking action to turn the tide to ensure that all the conditions promised by North Korea can be fulfilled.
Although Liu Shang did not know the plans of senior generals such as Wang Tom, he deduced based on the limited information at hand and the attitudes of all parties that Haihan might not be prepared to use some relatively easy-to-implement methods to force the Qing army from the Yalu River. Instead of withdrawing troops, we should use this opportunity to obtain more benefits from North Korea. Judging from the conclusion alone, his speculation is actually infinitely close to the objective facts. If Wang Tom and others knew about it, they would probably have the idea of recruiting him into the staff instead of letting him waste so much time in the refugee camp. Excellent mind.
However, Liu Shang did not use these brains to find a way out for himself in the military direction. It was more due to personal talent and interest. How Haihan wants to fight the Qing army and how to deal with North Korea actually has no direct impact on him, nor can he get much benefit from it. But if he can get through the fog and find the truth, it will be a big deal for him. It's a great sense of accomplishment.
Liu Shang believes that if his speculation is followed, Haihan will choose to "let the war break out" rather than "prevent the war from breaking out" in handling the North Korean crisis. How beneficial this choice will be to Haihan is actually difficult to see clearly from Liu Shang's position. There are only two points he can think of at the moment. One is to use the war to extract more benefits from North Korea, including but not It is limited to providing military supplies and personnel, allowing Haihan to establish a military base and garrison troops in North Korea, gain command of the North Korean army to a certain extent, and take this opportunity to support a group of spokespersons in North Korea, allowing North Korea to fully open its trade rights, etc.; the second is Let North Korea consume the Qing army and hold back the main force of the Qing army, thereby weakening the Qing's strength, seeking better external conditions for Haihan's future expansion in this region, and by the way, it can also gain a breathing space for the Ming Dynasty.
However, it is difficult to confirm the reliability of Liu Shang's speculations with the available information. He can only wait for news released by the military to confirm whether the top management will continue to focus on Jinzhou or tilt it towards North Korea. Of course, based on his current position, it is natural to hope that Haihan can continue to focus on Jinzhou, but considering the current trends of the army, this possibility does not seem too high.
Three days later, the Portuguese fleet cruising at sea chose to land on the coast about 120 miles away from Guanglu Island. Simang personally led more than 400 soldiers to Dazheng Town, which was more than 10 miles away from the coastline, to prepare for this attack. Start with a town with a permanent population of more than 2,000 people.
However, Ximang's luck was not very good this time. Due to the lack of prior reconnaissance, the Portuguese ran into a group of Qing troops south of Dazheng Town who had just arrived here to set up defenses. This Qing army consisted of five Niulu and was led by Jia La E Zhen. It had more than 1,500 troops, about one-fifth of which were cavalry. After discovering traces of the Portuguese, the Qing army quickly gathered about two Niulu militiamen from the town, with a total strength of more than 2,000 people.
Simang quickly realized that the situation was not good and immediately organized a retreat. However, this time the Qing army did not seem to intend to just drive away the Portuguese. The commander of the army, Jia La'e, really believed that his own forces had an absolute advantage, so he thought Try to keep the Portuguese on shore.
So the two sides started a battle on the plain south of Dazheng Town. The Qing army, which had the advantage of mobility, put all the cavalry on the battlefield from the beginning, and went around to the south to block the Portuguese's retreat to the seaside, while the infantry It was a frontal advance, trying to defeat the Portuguese musket array.
However, the Qing army soon discovered that they had thought of things too simply. Although the Portuguese were trapped in the blockade, they did not lose their position. They still formed a neat musket array and defeated the attempted attackers with clear-paced volley fire. to their first warriors.
After confirming that the opponent was the Portuguese army that had been causing trouble recently, the commander of the Qing army immediately adjusted his combat strategy. He no longer used infantrymen armed with swords and guns to launch meaningless charges against the opponent's musket array. Under the cover of dozens of large shields and door panels temporarily recruited from the town, the musketeers and archers slowly advanced towards the enemy and fired.
Although the Portuguese, who had almost no cover, had certain advantages in terms of weapon performance, they were not enough to completely suppress the Qing offensive and keep the combat distance at a relatively safe position. The Qing army wrapped quilts on shields and door panels, which greatly reduced the lethality of Portuguese muskets. Ximang saw that the situation was not good. If the fighting continued, the fighting distance between the two sides would get closer and closer, entering the opponent's shooting range. He did not dare to fight anymore and quickly ordered to continue retreating south.
The Qing cavalry responsible for cutting off the Portuguese's retreat was not idle at this time. They charged back and forth and launched feint attacks to disrupt the Portuguese's combat rhythm. At the same time, they continuously fired bows and arrows from horseback to harass. Although the hit rate of this kind of projectile was basically random, under the repeated charge of hundreds of cavalry, the Portuguese inevitably began to suffer battle losses.
(End of chapter)