Chapter 2151
"My lord, my lord! The Haihan fleet is back!"
He Xiao was sleeping deeply when he was suddenly awakened by his men. He quickly stood up and ordered while putting on his clothes: "Hurry and prepare the car! Go to the port!"
"Sir, we are at the port at this time."
He Xiao slapped his forehead and said: "Yes, I'm already confused. Go get a basin of water and I'll wipe my face and clear my head, so as not to say the wrong thing when I see General Shi later."
He Xiao had been waiting for the return of the East China Sea Fleet in the Dinghai Port area since yesterday afternoon. However, he did not see the fleet appear until dark. He Xiao was worried that he had missed the opportunity, so he simply booked a room in a hotel in the port area to stay temporarily. One night. At the same time, he ordered his men to keep an eye on the port and wake him up as soon as the Haihan fleet appeared, so as not to miss the welcome ceremony on the dock. His room was only half a mile away from the Navy Pier in Dinghai Port. If there was any movement, it would be perfectly late to go out and rush there.
The reason why He Xiao was so nervous about this matter was of course not just to flatter Shi Diwen as soon as possible. In fact, after the East China Sea Fleet set off from Zhoushan, he rushed over from Ningbo to wait for the news.
Before the East China Sea Fleet's expedition, Shi Diwen specially met and communicated with Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, to ask him not to panic about the mobilization of the Zhoushan garrison. Although Qu Yutong believed that Shi Diwen would not raise troops against Ningbo, the Zhoushan garrison was dispatched in large numbers. As a local official, he could not ignore this. Moreover, Shi Diwen did not fully disclose the attack target of the East China Sea Fleet. Qu Yutong How can I sleep peacefully?
The only thing Qu Yutong could determine at that time was that the target of the East China Sea Fleet should be north of Ningbo. The reason is simple. Haihan's sphere of influence is all along the southern coast, and its influence becomes greater the farther south it goes. Even if the Haihan people want to do something, there seems to be no need to mobilize a large number of troops southward from the coast of Zhejiang.
If Haihan goes to war with other countries, Qu Yutong doesn't have to worry, but if he takes action on the coast of Daming again, it may cause turmoil again on the coast of Daming, which has been peaceful for a few years.
Qu Yutong felt that the most likely target was actually Yangzhou. He knew that Haihan had used force in Yangzhou in a non-public manner before and had a relatively fierce conflict with the local salt merchants. If Haihan wanted to retaliate, The pressure of soldiers on the situation is of course an effective way to force the opponent to surrender. However, if Haihan adopts such tough measures, it is likely to lead to the outbreak of war between the two countries, and the consequences will be extremely serious. Of course, judging from the current relationship between the two countries, the possibility of Haihan making such an extreme choice is only minimal.
Qu Yutong sent He Xiao to Zhoushan to wait for news because he was worried that something unexpected would happen. Of course, He Xiao also understood what the outbreak of war meant, so he was trying every means to find out the whereabouts of the East China Sea Fleet these days. But he didn't dare to be too explicit, otherwise it would easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings if the Haihan people noticed that he was tracking the whereabouts of the East China Sea Fleet.
It wasn't until a few days ago that a group of local merchant ships received a temporary call-up order, and He Xiao finally got more reliable information. Only then did he know that the East China Sea Fleet's expedition was headed for Hirado, Japan, and had almost nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. , so that I feel relieved a little bit.
Regardless of the real reason for the Haihan Army to attack Hirado, as long as they do not use force on the coast of the Ming Dynasty, He Xiao believes that it will not affect Zhoushan's trade environment, and the various trades he operates can still make money steadily.
He Xiao couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw the merchant fleet that was the first to dock put down a large number of Japanese. It seemed that the Haihan Army not only won this battle as usual, but also gave away the opponent's belongings. Copied it back.
However, before these Japanese had time to see the whole picture of Dinghai Port, they were taken to the immigration camp in the inland area north of the port area. They will rest in the new camp for a few days, re-register their personal information, and go through basic training to understand the systems and regulations they need to abide by.
Compared with the simple camp in Seogwipo, which is only surrounded by bamboo fences and wooden fences to demarcate the boundaries, the conditions of the immigrant camp on Zhoushan Island are much better. Not only are there uniform dormitories for immigrants to live in, but there are also living facilities such as canteens and bathhouses, providing relatively stable guarantees for food and accommodation. The immigration camp here was previously used to receive refugees transported back from Shandong, Jiangsu, Liaodong and other places, with a maximum capacity of more than 2,000 people, so it is more than enough to accept the Japanese refugees transported back to Zhoushan Island this time.
The civil affairs agency on the island has been prepared in advance to receive them, and has a complete set of operating procedures. The only difference is that this time the targets are not Han people, but neighboring countries from the east sea. Fortunately, some of the refugees sent back this time have taken the initiative to join the authorities and can help civil affairs agencies complete the subsequent resettlement work.
Monk Xiunian is one of these people. His temporary civil affairs officer position has been renewed on the way to Zhoushan, and he can continue to enjoy the treatment of the privileged class. However, when he was in Seogwipo, it was because the local area was under military control and there were no full-time civil affairs officials responsible for managing Japanese refugees, so he was able to get relatively greater authority. But after arriving in Zhoushan, there was a department dedicated to managing immigration affairs. took over, and his temporary position also changed slightly, from temporary civil affairs officer to temporary assistant.
As for the content of the job, he was to act as a translator for Haihan's civil affairs officials and direct the Japanese refugees to obey the arrangements. This work is actually not much different from what Xiunian did in Seogwipo, except that the military's management of the immigration camp is relatively extensive, as long as large-scale chaos does not occur in the camp. After arriving in Zhoushan, the refugees were taken over by professional civil affairs departments, and many things had to be followed according to the rules. For example, assistants like Xiunian can only carry out the orders issued by officials step by step, and no longer have the power to make their own decisions.
However, Xiunian didn't have any resistance to this. He understood his situation very clearly. Now he was living a life of dependence on others, so how could he be qualified to fight for power as big as mung beans and sesame seeds? Now at least food and housing are stable, and there are direct channels of communication with Haihan officials. This treatment can be said to have exceeded that of most Japanese who were sent to Zhoushan for resettlement this time.
Before Xiunian left, she glanced at Yin Changxing, who was happily helping Yu Chengli carry his luggage to the shore, and finally resisted going over to say hello. Although when they were in Seogwipo, the two discussed taking care of each other after arriving in Zhoushan, Xiunian was recruited by Haihan officials, and Yin Changxing still followed Yu Chengli temporarily. The paths they would take next have diverged. . Mountains are high and rivers are long. If we are destined in the future, we will naturally have the opportunity to meet.
Xiunian left the port so early after landing that he missed the rest of the welcoming ceremony. Yin Changxing was lucky enough to stay at the dock and heard Shi Diwen's public speech at the port after landing.
The content of Shi Diwen's speech mainly had two points. One was to explain to the public the reasons for the large-scale dispatch of the East China Sea Fleet and its achievements, and the other was the impact that the Haihan Army's action would have on international trade. The official statement given by Shi Diwen on behalf of Haihan was that because the Japanese Hirado Domain had long sent armed sailing ships to rob merchant ships at sea and caused great losses to Haihan, the Haihan Kingdom decided to send troops to attack the Hirado Domain. Sanctuary for armed pirate gangs.
Because Fujian also secretly sent troops to participate in this operation, which was very sensitive information, Shi Diwen did not elaborate on the scale of the troops and the situation of the participating troops in his speech. He only announced that the fleet would attack the five islands under the Hirado domain. The archipelago launched a military attack on Hirado Island, captured Hirado Port, the seat of the Hirado Domain, and successfully wiped out the land and sea armies of the Hirado Domain, including the famous Hirado Navy in Japan.
The Japanese brought back to Zhoushan were part of the "trophies" of this operation. However, considering that these Japanese refugees would have to be resettled in the areas under their control in the future, Shi Diwen declared that they were all innocent people, and the Haihan Army Rescue them from the rule of the evil Hirado domain lord and give them the right to start a new life of freedom. In the future, these Japanese refugees will also have the right to apply for the citizenship of Kaihan country.
However, when Shi Diwen talked about this paragraph, all the Japanese refugees had been taken to the immigration camp, and they could not hear this important promise of his, otherwise there would have been more people cheering for him on the scene.
Thousands of people listened to Shi Diwen's speech at the scene. Most of them were local officials, businessmen and soldiers in Zhoushan. A small number were from other countries including the Ming Dynasty. Their composition was mainly businessmen. .
For most people in the audience, this was the first time they heard Senior General Haihan make such a public explanation of the war that had just ended, and they found it both fresh and exciting.
The war that took place more than two thousand miles away was more like a wonderful story to them, but the obvious traces of battle damage on these warships parked in the port proved from the side that what Shi Diwen said was true. The warships stationed on Zhoushan Island This armed fleet quietly went to Japan and eradicated the Hirado clan, which was famous for its Japanese pirates and transnational trade. After returning, it announced its achievements in an understatement. Such behavior can only be accomplished by the Haihan Army. .
As for whether the Hirado clan, which was attacked by the Kaihan Army, deserved it, and whether there were any unknown inside stories, no one present had the intention to study it at this time. Perhaps in a while, newspapers published by Haihan Kingdom will have detailed reports about this war, and then there will probably be storytellers who will use this as a blueprint to create and write a more fascinating story.
Of course, it doesn't matter who is the righteous party in this war. Victory belongs to Haihan, and bystanders only need to stand on the side of the winner. The audience present expressed their support for Haihan with applause and cheers, but a considerable number of them should be more concerned about the subsequent impact of this war.
Can trade with Japan continue? The answer given by Shi Diwen was affirmative. According to him, the Haihan Army's move was not to interrupt the trade of various countries with Japan, but to eliminate dangerous factors on the waterway in one fell swoop and provide merchants engaged in trade with Japan. The establishment of a safer trade channel will help expand the scale of trade with Japan in the long run.
Of course, Shi Diwen said nothing about how to calculate the huge losses suffered by merchants currently engaged in trade with Japan in this war and who will bear the corresponding responsibilities.
Merchants who know the benefits and are willing to cooperate with Haihan, such as Yu Chengli and Gonzalez, will be able to operate industries in Zhoushan with more preferential treatment. If everything goes well, they may be able to recover their business in Hirado in a year and a half. losses, it will not be a big problem to restart trade with Japan in the future.
But if any businessman wants to blame Haihan for the loss and has the idea of seeking justice from Haihan, he can only ask for trouble.
"Trade between merchants from various countries and Japan can continue, but I must remind everyone that trade with Japan cannot harm the interests of our country, otherwise we will inevitably be punished accordingly."
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Shi Diwen's ugly words are ahead, and they are also laying the groundwork for Haihan to adopt some unconventional means to control trade with Japan in the future. This reason is very broad, and Haihan can use it when he wants to attack anyone in the future.
As for what should be done to suit the interests of the Haihan Kingdom, the ones who know this best are of course the businessmen from the Haihan Kingdom. Export Haihan goods and culture, recruit local skilled talents, bribe local officials, and cooperate with relevant official agencies to collect political and economic intelligence on trade destinations... There are many types of tasks to choose from. In short, stand from the perspective of Haihan country. Engaging in cross-border trade can be considered to be in the interests of Haihan State.
"Finally, I would like to say a few words for the warriors who died in this battle. They used their lives to gain this important victory for Haihan Kingdom. Each of them is an amazing warrior. Next, we will Someone will be sent to escort their coffins back to Sanya, and they will be buried in the National Martyrs' Shrine and become our country's heroes from generation to generation! Please remember that the peaceful environment you enjoy on Zhoushan Island is exactly what these warriors have done with their own lives. Earned by sacrifice!”
Shi Diwen summed it up in a sensational way, which again won long-lasting applause. The social status of soldiers in Haihan Kingdom is extremely high, which is also inseparable from the military's ubiquitous propaganda offensive. Senior generals like Shi Diwen not only know how to lead troops in battles, but after serving as an official for more than ten years, their speech skills have also been honed long ago. They can seize this special occasion to give an impromptu speech without even preparing a manuscript.
After the speech, Shi Diwen boarded his own carriage and slowly left the dock under the escort of armed guards. The audience at the scene was still unfinished and continued to discuss what Shi Diwen had just said in twos and threes.
(End of chapter)