Chapter 1973
Li Ming was not unaware that Yan Mingjun included private goods in his explanation, but he didn't have much objection to it. Starting from Zhoushan along the way south, the Haihan people would always have similar arrangements like this during various visits and inspections. He I have long been accustomed to this. Moreover, Li Bo really wanted to study how Haihan officials incorporated propaganda into the process of receiving him. This routine must be learned by officials from his own country when he returns home, so that he can be like Haihan in the future. This promotes national prestige to the outside world.
However, he had to admit that the officials selected by Haihan to accompany him were indeed very capable. Not only were they eloquent, but they also had a rich reserve of knowledge in the professional field. For example, Mr. Yan, who is said to have served as the local magistrate, is not only familiar with the local customs and customs of Danzhou, but also has profound cultural attainments. There are many famous scholars in Dongpo Academy who have cherished the legacy left by Su Dongpo for hundreds of years. Yan Mingjun was able to tell the author and creative background of each work, which gave Li Bo a lot of knowledge.
“Danzhou’s local academy organizes freshmen to visit here every fall when they enroll, so that students can understand that the opportunity they have to study here today is all due to Mr. Dongpo’s kindness hundreds of years ago. And the country’s strong support for cultural and educational undertakings.”
Yan Mingjun still spared no effort to promote the official measures to promote schools to Li Bo. He knew very well that his task was to let Li Bo form an understanding of Danzhou, that is, the prosperity of local culture and education came from the official development plan. When Haihan prospers, Danzhou's cultural and educational industry will prosper accordingly.
After touting the achievements of the executive committee, Yan Mingjun changed the subject and introduced to Li Shu the "Picture of Immortal Lid and Clogs" painted by Qian Xuan, a painter of the Southern Song Dynasty. In this painting, Su Dongpo wears a bamboo hat on his head, wooden clogs on his feet, and his trousers are rolled up high. He is walking on a country road in the rain. He looks very lifelike. While talking and laughing, Yan Mingjun turned the topic to the comparison of painting styles between the Song Dynasty and contemporary times. He said that he would introduce several local calligraphy and painting masters to Li Bo in the next few days, as if he was treating him as a junior who came here to study. .
Li Bo didn't think there was anything wrong with this and agreed to it. He knew that if these celebrities were not introduced by insiders, he, a foreigner, would probably not be able to get in. Being able to have in-depth exchanges with celebrities in Danzhou's cultural circles was one of the purposes of his coming here.
Li Bo came here in good spirits and came back with great pleasure. He was very satisfied with the visit to Dongpo Academy. He had recently been to many places under the rule of Haihan, and it turned out that Danzhou, which has a strong cultural atmosphere, was the most suitable for him. . Li Ming even thought that maybe when making the itinerary, he should come to Danzhou first and then visit the industrial areas with relatively boring environments. The itinerary might be more relaxed and enjoyable.
Having said that, if Li Bo had really set his first stop in Danzhou, he might have left Xue Zheng and his group far behind. After they eliminated all the stops along the way and slowly reached Danzhou, Li Bo estimated that It’s time to end our trip in Danzhou and go to the next place. Maybe after Xue Zheng missed Li Bo, there would be no chance to launch an attack during the inspection.
However, the Ministry of Security will not consider this theoretical possibility. As the investigation proceeds, various clues are pieced together bit by bit, but the case does not quickly become clear. , there is still a layer of fog shrouding the eyes of the investigators, making it difficult for them to sort out the context of the case.
Zhang Qianzhi has discovered that Xue Zheng and his group are more difficult to deal with than he previously thought. The credibility of the information confessed by these people has been greatly reduced due to repeated confessions, and the meaning of using torture to extract confessions is also lost. No big deal, even if death is used as a threat, the Ministry of Security cannot confirm whether these people's confessions are true or false for the time being.
The autopsy reports on the nine people who died in Yangyue Village have come out. The results surprised Zhang Qianzhi. Except for four of them who died from the rifles of the Haihan Army, the fatal injuries of the other five people were not caused by sea soldiers. Most of the injuries caused by the weapons of the Han army were cold weapons. One of the fatal injuries was even a lead bullet driven into the heart from the back. However, no matching fire blunderbuss was found at the scene. Obviously, this The weapons were also disposed of by Xue Zheng and others before surrendering.
After reading the autopsy report, Zhang Qianzhi confirmed one thing. Before Xue Zheng and others surrendered, a fire broke out among them. The few people who survived naturally denied this, but whether they admitted it or not was no longer important. Zhang Qianzhi believed that at this juncture, there would be internal conflicts, which just confirmed his previous inference that this group of people was probably not From the same camp. At the critical moment of life and death, they have different opinions and cannot communicate well, which is why such a strange situation occurs.
But it is still quite troublesome to discover the true identities of these people. Zhang Qianzhi has ordered that the appearance and physical appearance of this group of people be recorded and sent back to Sanya, where they can verify whether these people have settled in Sanya before.
Zhang Qianzhi had a vague intuition in his heart. He believed that these people could follow the Joseon Crown Prince at almost the same time as he set off from Sanya. It was obvious that they were waiting in Sanya in advance. And if they all arrived in Sanya temporarily from other places, their actions probably would not be so calm. It is very likely that some of them are permanently stationed in Sanya - or it would be more appropriate to say that they are lurking.
During the investigation of previous cases, Zhang Qianzhi's intuition had already played an important role. It was precisely because he insisted that after the failure of Changhua, the group would rush to Danzhou to plan a new attack, and then they would carry out subsequent attacks in Danzhou. A large-scale plan was launched to lure the snake out of its cave, and led Xue Zheng and his gang to the countryside outside the city for arrest. At this time, his intuition came out again. He just wanted to find a few missing persons who were most likely to be foreign temporary residents in Sanya, a city with a large population flow. This task was no more difficult than what he had assigned earlier. How much easier is the capture plan.
Of course, Zhang Qianzhi is not just guessing. The so-called intuition is also a judgment based on the various information currently available. However, even if the intuition is wrong this time, there will be no serious consequences. The investigation work in Sanya was just a waste of time. But if Zhang Qianzhi's conclusion can be confirmed through investigation, then perhaps we can follow the clues to find out where these people came from.
At this time, some strange things also happened in Jinzhou, Liaodong, thousands of miles away from Danzhou.
The confrontation between the Haihan Army and the Qing Army on the northern line of the Jinzhou Isthmus has lasted for about a year and a half. During this period, because the Qing Army knew that it was at a great disadvantage in terms of weapons and shifted the focus of the war to North Korea, it did not continue. Take the initiative to launch an offensive. Since the Haihan Army launched the Battle of Manila at the beginning of the year, almost all the main ace troops were transferred back to the South China Sea, so they did not launch an offensive against the Qing Army.
Due to different reasons, the two sides tacitly chose a truce on the Golden State Peninsula, resulting in no large-scale war breaking out on this front in the near future. Of course, petty armed conflicts have never stopped during this period, but both sides are actively controlling such conflicts of a military training nature to prevent them from turning into a war between the two armies.
Seeing that after a few heavy snowfalls, the Jinzhou front was about to enter a long winter break again, Sha Xi felt a lot more relaxed. After several main troops were transferred from Jinzhou last year, he has never felt at ease. Fortunately, this year, in order to relieve North Korea, several ace troops that had just finished fighting in the South China Sea were hurriedly transferred to the north. Although he was stationed in North Korea, it was not too far from Jinzhou. If there was a real situation, he would definitely be able to launch support in time, which made Sha Xi feel a little more at ease. Sha Xi's area of expertise is civil administration, which is the main reason why the Executive Committee transferred him to Jinzhou to take charge. He is not an expert in military matters, so after a group of senior generals in the army left Jinzhou, he still A special report was made to ask Chen Yixin to be temporarily transferred from Shandong to Liaodong, so as to avoid the lack of senior generals in Liaodong.
However, as soon as they enter the winter break, the Qing troops north of the defense line will usually choose to stop fighting and retreat to the fortress defense line they have built. They will not be dispatched again until spring to continue competing with Haihan's rangers. This period of time is also a relatively relaxed day for Sha Xi. He no longer has to worry about the enemies in the north causing trouble during this period.
Sha Xi has already made a plan. Taking advantage of this relatively quiet period, he will seize the time to organize the people to complete some long-delayed infrastructure projects. For example, the segmented connection project of the official road from Lushunkou to the Jinzhou Isthmus Defense Line, the second phase of the military dock project in Dalian Bay, the water supply and drainage project of the Nanguanling Military Camp, etc.
In addition, this year's winter recruitment in the Jinzhou area has been licensed by Fort Victory. It can recruit young people of appropriate age from the people of Dongjiang Town who have moved to areas under Haihan rule. Personnel who have served in the Ming army can also sign up on their own. And this is just a public statement. In fact, this measure was introduced to reasonably and legally swallow up the military power of Dongjiang Town and turn the former Ming army soldiers into soldiers serving Haihan.
Of course, based on Haihan's standards, they will definitely not take over all of them. The soldiers in Dongjiang Town still have to take the initiative to sign up first, and only after being screened will they get the opportunity to change their identities. As for whether these former Ming army officers will choose to change camps, Sha Xi is very optimistic, because the pay of the Haihan army is much higher than that of the Ming army, and the military merits are generous. There are already many Ming soldiers from Dongjiang Town. I'm thinking of ways to switch to the Haihan Army.
These Ming troops had been fighting against Hou Jin in Liaodong for many years, and were very familiar with the geographical environment and the enemy's situation. They were exactly the men and horses that Haihan could use. According to military estimates, at least 1,000 to 1,500 suitable personnel can be selected from Dongjiang Town. At that time, these people will be retrained. After learning Haihan's military technology, they will continue to work with Liaodong area. The Qing army fought.
The purpose of this kind of conscription is not only to strengthen Haihan's local military strength, but also to reassure the soldiers and civilians of the former Dongjiang Town, so that they can truly integrate into Haihan's rule.
In fact, the Dongjiang Town Ming Army has been cooperating with the Haihan Army for a long time. In the Liaodong War in the past two years, the Dongjiang Town Ming Army basically participated in large and small battles. Until now, a considerable part of the cavalry responsible for patrolling the area north of the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line are from the Ming army from the original Dongjiang Town. Of course, since they are actually working for Haihan, most of their weapons and equipment have been replaced, and many of them use rifles and sabers made by Haihan. After they officially change their identities, they can also change their military uniforms.
Sha Xi had already made plans to go to the Nanguanling military camp to work for the army in a few days, and to send a batch of pigs, cattle and sheep purchased from Shandong a few days ago to beat the troops as a sacrifice. But at this time, news came back from the front that made Sha Xi a little unhappy.
A group of soldiers patrolling the north of the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line was attacked by the Qing army. Only five of the fifteen cavalrymen survived, and those who failed to escape from the battlefield were basically in danger.
In fact, such a confrontation is not a big deal. When the two armies are facing each other, even if the Haihan Army has a certain advantage in weapons and equipment, over time, the opponent will inevitably seize some opportunities to launch attacks. There are also patrols in the past. An example of a cavalry squad being attacked by enemy troops.
But this time the situation was a little different. According to the soldiers who escaped, the Qing army that launched the attack did not use the usual weapons such as bows and crossbows, but muskets. There were more than two or three, or three or five, and they were most likely an established musketeer team. The patrol team that was attacked only heard a burst of short gunshots, and was knocked down by intensive gunfire from the nearby forest. Eight people. The remaining people did not dare to stay at all and quickly urged their horses to leave the dangerous area.
In fact, the Qing army has always had muskets in its formations. During the Denglai Rebellion, the rebels who fled to Liaodong and took refuge with Hou Jin took the craftsmen who could make guns hostage, so the corresponding manufacturing technology had already flowed into the Qing Dynasty. However, the firearms that the Qing Dynasty could manufacture were quite primitive, and there were no large-scale formations of organized troops. The threat they could pose in actual combat was extremely limited. The Haihan Army had never been afraid of the Qing army's methods.
However, according to the intelligence returned from the front line, the weapon used by the Qing army in this battle should not be the traditional matchlock gun, but some kind of standard flintlock gun. The soldiers who escaped brought back the bodies of two comrades. Military doctors had removed the bullets from the bodies and confirmed this.
This is not a small matter for Haihan, because it most likely means that the Qing Dynasty has mastered the production technology of a certain type of flintlock gun, achieved mass production quietly, and also trained an unknown number of soldiers. The Musketeers were thrown into the battlefield when Haihan was unprepared.
Chen Yixin originally planned to go back to Majiazhuang, Shandong Province to live for a while after winter, but as soon as this incident came out, of course he couldn't leave and rushed from Lushun to the front line overnight. He had to verify the news as soon as possible. If it was true, he had to report it as soon as possible.
(End of chapter)