Chapter 1932
It is somewhat sad to say that the main reason why North Korea was hesitant and hesitant in dealing with prisoners of war was that it was afraid of the Qing Dynasty's accumulated power and was afraid of being settled by the Qi Dynasty, so it did not dare to go too far. In addition, there is another reason, which is that this country has been passively beaten most of the time in history. It rarely happens this year that a large number of prisoners of war need to be resettled and processed, and it simply does not have the relevant experience.
Compared with North Korea, Haihan has very rich experience in this field. The foreign wars launched almost every year have brought back a large number of prisoners of war to Haihan. The prisoners in the mine in front of Li Bo come from all over the world. The country's prisoners of war account for nearly half of the total. Therefore, the prisoner management rules that Qiao Zhiya, Lu Li and others told the North Koreans can be said to be true experience.
Of course, the experience Qiao Zhiya taught Li Bo also had Haihan's official intention, which was to hope that North Korea could be completely separated from the Qing Dynasty, so that there would be no possibility of recurrence in the relationship between the two countries. The Korean country has been jumping between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty for the past ten years. Although it was forced by the situation and had no choice but to protect itself, Haihan did not want to have that kind of polarity in his camp. Partners whose stance is not firm enough must find ways to make North Korea clear its attitude.
Li Ming could not have imagined that there were so many intentions behind Qiao Zhiya's actions. The level of information he was exposed to meant that he would not be able to realize the significance of such changes in the international situation, and Haihan, out of considerations of his own interests, did not You will explain to him the fishy nature of it, so that you can more easily influence him subtly.
"Will these prisoners have a chance to leave here alive?" Li Bo suddenly asked curiously.
"Although the chance is not great, it does exist. Not everyone has been sentenced to life imprisonment. If they are not allowed to see the hope of escaping from this place, then many prisoners will definitely take risks and try some dangerous methods. .”
Qiao Zhiya responded calmly: "First of all, they have to serve their sentence. Whether it is ten years, twenty years or longer, it is basically impossible for them to be released early."
"This doesn't sound much better than life imprisonment..." Li Shu sighed: "There must still be people who are unwilling to suffer here and try the dangerous methods Master Qiao said."
Qiao Zhiya said: "There will definitely be dishonest people. Anyway, you can deal with it as you should if you commit a crime... What Major Lu Li said before is not lies. In this place, there will always be a few dishonest people every month. The guy got shot!”
Li Pu thought of Lu Li's murderous appearance and thought that with such a ruthless character guarding this place, the prisoners here could only wish for themselves.
Although almost all the mining work in this mine is done by manpower, under the supervision of the supervisors, the production efficiency is actually quite good, and the mining speed is much faster than other mining sites where miners are the labor force. Of course, such high efficiency is not obtained in vain, but is the result of the blood, sweat and even lives of the prisoners. And for the first time, Li Bo truly realized that the economic strength of the country Haihan was not only achieved by doing business, but also had an extremely cruel side behind it.
After seeing the mine that was mined by the hard labor camp, Qiao Zhiya took Li Bo and his party to have a close look at the steam-powered ore processing machinery. Although these devices look very cumbersome and not even sophisticated at all, Li Bo still subconsciously believes that only the skilled craftsmen of Haihan can manufacture them. Although they look ugly, they can operate in such a harsh environment for a long time. Its internal structure must be strong and delicate.
But thinking that the Haihan people would not sell these mechanical equipment to foreign countries, Li Bo could only be silently envious. Although there is no such advanced equipment in the country, considering that there are still thousands of Qing prisoners of war, perhaps we should consider using Haihan's method and use those prisoners of war as hard labor so that they can fully play their due role in the mines.
Apart from the mines, there aren't many things to visit in Shilu. After visiting the mining area, Qiao Zhiya took Li Bo and his party to a row room, where there were samples of various ores mined in the local mining area. Of course, for a layman like Li Bo, he would not be able to understand the difference between these ores if Qiao Zhiya was not there to explain.
After all the visiting projects were over, it was almost time for the train to leave the mountain in the afternoon. So everyone returned to the station from the mining area and still took the morning train into the mountain. However, at this time, the goods loaded on the car were all gone. It has been replaced by ore.
According to Qiao Zhiya's arrangement, everyone first took the train back to the train station outside the county town, and then transferred to a carriage to Qiao Zhiya's private estate. Since Li Pu mentioned that the restaurant environment was a little noisy yesterday, Qiao Zhiya no longer arranged dinner outside. Instead, he transferred the chef of his brother-in-law's restaurant to his manor for a day's temporary business trip to prevent the Koreans from having any objections to the dining environment.
However, this made it difficult for Captain Xue and his gang to wait and see. Captain Xue divided his people into two groups today. One group was monitoring Qiao Zhiya's private estate near Daling, and the other group was waiting in the county town to see if they could wait until the Koreans came back to the restaurant where they dined last night. . But throughout the day, not even a shadow of a North Korean was seen, and there was no news of Qiao Zhiya's outings.
Captain Xue actually vaguely guessed that the North Koreans may not be in the manor today, but because the whereabouts of the North Koreans are unknown, and the manpower he can command is extremely limited, it is impossible to cast a net locally to find traces of the North Koreans' activities, so he can only make do with the simple things at hand. A way to stay waiting. Obviously, the effect of this day was not ideal. He almost completely lost control of the movements of the North Koreans, and was simply unable to make targeted action arrangements in advance.
Of course, Captain Xue has not completely given up hope. He is still trying his best to find out all kinds of relevant local information. Based on the information he had, he deduced that there were two places that North Koreans would definitely visit when visiting the local area. One was the smelting field near the county seat, which is said to be the steel smelting center of the entire Haihan Kingdom, and its importance cannot be overstated. And Yu, North Koreans will definitely visit.
The other place is the Shilu Mine located dozens of miles away. There is a railway from Changhua to the area. However, almost all the miners who take the train into the mountain are Shilu miners. Captain Xue does not dare to take the risk of pretending to be a miner. When exploring the mine, if you encounter an interrogation after arriving at Shilu, all your efforts will be in vain. But he thinks North Koreans will definitely visit the mine and take a ride on the train.
But the problem is that due to the special nature of these two places, they are actually under military control. There is a relatively high risk for outsiders to sneak in. And once their group is noticed by the authorities, or one or two of them are captured, they will no longer be able to continue the mission. Therefore, Captain Xue did not dare to order his men to explore and conduct reconnaissance in these two places, and could only operate in unobtrusive areas near the county seat.
However, although Captain Xue noticed these two places, he did not realize the train frequency problem because of his lack of understanding of the local conditions. It wasn't until dinner time that Captain Xue accidentally learned that the trains between Changhua and Shilu actually ran once in the morning and evening every day. If you took the train into the mountains in the morning, you would have to wait until the afternoon to take the evening train back to Changhua. Captain Xue, of course, immediately thought of the North Koreans who had not appeared all day. His intuition told him that maybe this was where the North Koreans were going today. He immediately gathered people and prepared to rush to the train station to try his luck.
But when the group hurriedly arrived outside Changhua Railway Station, they found that the military had implemented martial law here, and no one was allowed to enter but to leave. Captain Xue vaguely felt that this move should be related to the Koreans, so he asked someone to inquire about the time, and it turned out that the train from Shilu was about to arrive.
"Let's spread out later. If we can identify the target, we will wait for action. No need to wait for my order! If you do, no matter whether you succeed or not, return to the harbor and leave this place as soon as possible!" Captain Xue made a prompt decision and told the few people he led. The order was given.
He knows that this may be one of the few opportunities to take action. Even if the chance of success is low, the current situation does not allow him to slowly make plans again. He requires his subordinates to act decisively whenever an opportunity arises. Success or failure depends on this. Once upon a time.
Everyone accepted the order, silently dispersed to the nearby crowd of onlookers, and slowly moved towards the station exit. Outside the train station is the main road, leading to the county seat in the west. If the target person leaves the station on foot, they may indeed have a chance to get close to the target.
A whistle blew in the distance, and you knew without looking that it was a signal that the train was about to enter the station. Captain Xue stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips. He suddenly regretted that he had eaten a heavy meal just now, otherwise he would not have felt dry at the moment. He slowly reached into his arms and grasped the handle of the short gun at his waist. Although this thing had the power to kill in one hit at close range, he also knew that he only had one chance to shoot. Once he pulled the trigger, This short blunderbuss becomes useless as soon as it fires the bullet. If you fail to succeed with this killing move, you will have no choice but to use the knife.
After the train pulled into the station, every second seemed longer. Captain Xue stared at the exit of the station, hoping that the target person would appear soon, otherwise he would not be sure how long his concentration could last if it went on like this.
Then what happened next made him deflated almost instantly, and several carriages drove out of the train station. Although these carriages were extremely luxuriously equipped with transparent glass windows, the curtains were drawn from the inside, and the passengers inside could not be seen at all. Moreover, on both sides of the convoy, there were more than twenty armed riders accompanying them to protect the flanks, which completely stopped him from thinking about taking action.
Captain Xue turned his head slightly and felt a few familiar glances from the crowd. He shook his head slightly, signaling to his accomplices that it was not appropriate to take action forcefully at this time.
The horse-drawn carriage convoy that drove out of the train station quickly left this place, escorted by armed riders, and headed towards the Great Ridge. Captain Xue sent two people to confirm the destination of the convoy. He was unwilling to wait outside the train station for a long time. When he saw some civilians coming out one after another, he determined that all the important people should be in the convoy just now. , and it is very likely that they are Li Bo and his party.
So he can probably confirm two things now. One is that the Koreans should have gone to the Shilu Mine today, and the other is that the place where they settled is Daling Manor. Another point worth noting is that Haihan officials are very meticulous in their security arrangements, even paying attention to details such as the carriage curtains. This will undoubtedly bring greater difficulties to Captain Xue's task.
While Qiao Zhiya entertained Li Bo and his party in his manor, Captain Xue and his party had a dispute about the mission in a dense forest near Daling.
Some people think that there should have been an opportunity to take action today. Captain Xue was simply too slow to predict the North Koreans' movements in advance. Otherwise, if he had found a way to sneak into the station earlier, he might have been able to find a way to take action when the North Koreans got off the train. opportunity.
Others, led by Captain Xue, believe that the time is not yet ripe. Even if they can sneak into the station today, since the Haihan Army has blocked the inside and outside of the station in advance, it is conceivable that the station must be cleared. He would also be caught by the Haihan Army for hiding a sharp blade, which would drag down the entire mission.
Speaking of the excitement, an old man with a short beard scolded: "Xue Zheng, even if you try to shirk it now, you can't wash away the responsibility for your improper planning and poor command! In my opinion, you should hand over the command talisman quickly, Change someone to direct the action, don’t let your incompetence ruin the big thing!”
Xue Zheng was not angry but smiled and said: "Lu Weng has been staring at the seat under Xue's buttocks all the way. He has always opened his mouth to find faults. When he asked your Excellency to come up with ideas, he became mute. If Xue gives up this seat, is it possible?" Are you qualified to come and sit? You and I have read the instructions we received before departure. I am in charge of the order and can mobilize relevant personnel to cooperate along the way. All personnel are under my command. Also, my identity cannot be revealed during the operation. Are you planning to disobey the order by calling me by my name in front of everyone?”
Along the way, everyone referred to each other as "Boss" or "Captain Xue". In fact, everyone did not know the true identity of this leader, and they did not dare to inquire due to the rules. Until this time, Lu Weng shouted out, Only then did everyone realize that this person's surname was Xue Mingzheng.
Lu Weng responded: "Xue Zheng, let me tell you frankly in front of everyone. You definitely can't handle this job. Why don't you hand it over to me as soon as possible. When the matter is completed, I will discuss it with the superiors. I’ll give you some credit!”
(End of chapter)