Chapter 2312
This courtyard was originally the private residence of a high-ranking official in North Korea. When Haihan bought this place outside Seoul, it was because the military thought that the place was large enough and the distance from the city was suitable. They thought it could be used in extraordinary times. Use this as a command center. Immediately after the capture, a certain degree of reconstruction and expansion was carried out here, and high walls were rebuilt on the periphery to meet the requirements of military purposes.
Of course, the most obvious part of the transformation is the construction of a four-story wooden tower here, which can provide a panoramic view of the situation within several miles, even the defenses on the city wall. Although North Korea knew that the purpose of the tower was not good, it was afraid of Haihan's power and did not dare to raise objections publicly.
However, during the period after its completion, the function of this tower was really limited. It was more often regarded by the locals as a symbol of Haihan, and even the people called it the "Haihan Tower". Wang Tom regretted it for a time. If he had known that the North Korean side would not dare to object, he should have added a few more floors when making the plan, simply built it higher, and included the city under surveillance.
Of course, this is most likely just a joke from Tom Wang. If we really want to add a few more floors, the amount of work will be completely different. It may not be completed by now, and the military will not be willing to spend so long waiting for this flashy project. After all, who could have imagined at that time that something would happen in Seoul a year later, and that the tower would be put to use immediately after it was completed.
However, what Mei Baiji was thinking about was not whether this place was suitable as the command center of the Haihan Army, but that since the Haihan Army would requisition this place, wouldn't that mean that he could finally evacuate Seoul?
In times of war and chaos, Mei Baiji, who has always been cautious, does not want to take risks and continue to be on the front line. It would be best if we could retreat to Ganghwa Island or the Taedong River base.
But he is also a little worried about the current situation in Seoul. The military may not be willing to send troops to attack the city. The North Korean prince who rushed back from the South China Sea may not be happy to see his capital city destroyed by war. But if he had to slowly negotiate with the people in charge in the city, then he might not be able to leave.
Mei Baiji stayed in Seoul for more than a year. In addition to dealing with the Haihan merchants who came here to do business, he naturally also had to interact with North Korean dignitaries. Most of the upper class people in North Korea know that the court borrowed money from Haihan Bank. Since the court has borrowed money from Haihan Bank, it is not taboo to borrow money from Haihan in a private name.
It is precisely because of this idea that Mei Baiji attracted many high-status high-level customers for Haihan Bank, and at the request of some secret agencies, he collected and compiled a lot of information about these people.
Where the information was sent and what it was used for, Mei Baiji neither dared nor wanted to ask. But if Haihanjun wants to negotiate with people in the city, he will definitely need someone to provide relevant information, so he will most likely be retained as an advisor.
"I hope General Wang and General Qian can be more decisive and directly send troops to quell the chaos!" Mei Baiji thought about this and could only pin his hope of escape on the military.
Although Fu Li is young, he has been working under the time traveler in the past years, and his vision and knowledge are far beyond ordinary people. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Mei. Whether we fight this battle or not, it will definitely not affect you." Dangerous.”
Mei Baiji was able to see through Fu Li's thoughts, but he did not avoid the topic. He just sighed and said, "I'm just the bank treasurer. I really can't take on other responsibilities."
Before he was transferred abroad, Fu Li would probably have looked down on Mei Baiji's idea of evading responsibilities, but now that he has stayed overseas for more than a year, he naturally understands the difficulties of being overseas. If an order is issued in Sanya, people working overseas can have their legs broken, and the risks taken during the process may not be known to the big shots in Sanya at all.
People like Mei Baiji probably wouldn't have worn multiple hats before going abroad, and even had to help with the work of the intelligence department. It is reasonable for him to feel tired of avoiding the current situation.
But now Haihan's business in North Korea has not yet been fully launched. People like them are here to serve as front liners. No one can replace him and they can only stay on the front line, even if they know there are risks.
Long before he went abroad, Fu Li had the consciousness to devote himself to his country. If he could not make contributions overseas, he would have no shame in returning to Sanya to meet the big shots who trained him. In his view, although this incident in Seoul was risky, it was also an opportunity for him to perform.
But he knew that he couldn't ask everyone around him to do it to the same level. Ordinary people like Mei Baiji couldn't ask him to be as brave as specially trained soldiers.
"Shop Manager Mei, the situation is not as bad as you think." Fu Li comforted: "The two generals stationed on Ganghwa Island are determined that the chaos in Seoul will not continue forever, otherwise they would have sent troops to suppress it. If it ends up being Being able to solve the problem through negotiation is a great thing for us and the North Korean people.”
It's not that Mei Baiji doesn't understand this truth, it's just that he was just thinking about his own retreat and didn't think in this direction. In any case, Fu Li is now the person in charge of all affairs in Seoul and can be regarded as his direct boss. Mei Baiji will definitely not offend the other party by making a mistake.
"Master Fu is right. Although I have little talent and little knowledge, I will do my best to do more for the country." Mei Baiji's attitude was humble, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.
Having said that, it would be very unwise for me to back down in front of my boss. But in this case, it would probably be more difficult for him to find a reason to evacuate this dangerous area.
The high income and benefits of practicing overseas are the main reasons why many people, including Mei Baiji, choose this path, but these benefits are not so easy to obtain. The risks and responsibilities required are far greater than those of domestic counterparts.
Fu Li knew that Mei Baiji was a smart person, and it was enough to say this. He immediately smiled, stood up and walked to the railing, took the telescope from his subordinate, and continued to observe the situation near Sungnye Gate in Seoul in the distance. .
Sungnyemen is currently only open for a few moments in the morning and evening every day to allow supplies to come in and out. Most of the goods brought in are grain, grass and other living supplies. After all, there are tens of thousands of people in the city who need to survive, and the supplies needed every day are not small. As for the things being transported out, Fu Li couldn't quite understand them at first. Later, he sent someone out to follow them quietly for a while, and then he realized that most of the large carriages pulling out of the city every day were dead people, and they were dragged to the mass graves at the foot of Nanshan Mountain in the south of the city for disposal. Lose.
However, there have been significantly fewer carriages leaving the city in recent days, so Fu Li speculated that this should be a sign that the situation in the city has been basically stable.
Of course, this is not something that can be 100% certain. After all, Seoul has four city gates, southeast, northwest and northwest. Fu Li can only monitor the Sungnye Gate in the south. God knows whether the people in the city will do it for some unknown reason. And suddenly change the place to dispose of the body. But what Fu Li wanted to observe most was that there had been no movement at Sunglimen.
With such a big commotion in Seoul this time, the perpetrators will definitely mobilize troops from other places to enter Seoul to control the situation. If we can observe the flags of these troops entering the city, we may be able to deduce from them which high-ranking officials participated in this coup. .
But Sungnyemen has been closed most of the time these days. Not to mention large groups of troops coming and going, even a few scattered cavalry delivering military orders have not been seen. The defenders on the city wall changed their defenses every day, but most of the Korean army's military uniforms and equipment were in similar tatters, so it was difficult to tell which troops they belonged to.
This was certainly not a coincidence. Fu Li could think that the other party was deliberately avoiding the tower outside Chongli Gate. They knew that Haihan would monitor the movements of Seoul here, but they did not dare to take action against this place. If they wanted to keep the secret, they had to abandon Sungnyemen.
You have Zhang Liangji, I have a wall ladder. When Haihan originally planned to build this tower, he probably could not have imagined the special situation today, and the effectiveness of surveillance was actually greatly reduced.
But precisely because of this, Fu Li was sure that the rebels in the city did not dare to attack the stronghold where he was located, otherwise they would not have to deal with it so carefully. Regardless of the use of force or negotiation, there should not be too much danger here, so he had the confidence to comfort Mei Baiji and not worry too much about the safety here.
After nightfall, Mei Baiji had already left this tower that made his heart beat faster, but Fu Li was still here to guard him. He now eats, drinks, and sleeps in the tower. Even though he knows there is nothing to see at night, he still insists on doing so.
It was dark and quiet on the city walls and inside the city. Only occasionally a few torches could be seen moving in the streets and alleys in the distance. Fu Li knew that they should be soldiers patrolling at night. Since the incident, a curfew has been implemented in the city. In the first few days, we could still observe through the fires that were ignited for various reasons in various places in the city. But now that the fires have been extinguished, the situation in the city can hardly be seen after nightfall.
"What on earth are these guys in the city doing secretly?"
Fu Li didn't quite understand the actions of the rebels in the city. Now that the situation in Seoul has been decided, he should launch a new king as soon as possible, and at the same time take the initiative to contact Haihan to start negotiations. As long as the new king can get Haihan's approval, then this coup will basically be considered. It’s done. Now that the city has clearly settled down, but no further action has been taken, what are they waiting for?
The information Fu Li had was really limited. Even if he noticed something unusual, it was still difficult to deduce the truth of the matter. All he can do now is continue to stare at Seoul and wait for the situation to change - even if the rebels in the city remain silent, Haihan will not wait forever and will take action sooner or later.
Not long after waking up the next day, Fu Li received news from Ganghwa Island. The two generals decided to march to Seoul!
This was actually an expected development for Fu Li, but he had not been able to determine the specific time before. But for the people stationed at this stronghold, this is definitely exciting news. As soon as the army arrives, they really don't have to worry about their personal safety anymore.
However, Fu Li did not announce the news to everyone immediately, because there were thousands of North Korean people seeking asylum outside the compound. If the news spread, it would easily leak out, and he was not sure how many spies were among the people. Inquire for information.
Most of these people were homeless because of this rebellion, and the safest place near Seoul was probably the Haihan stronghold outside the city. Fu Li also ordered people to take out two hundred kilograms of grain every day and cook porridge to give to the refugees.
On the one hand, this is to earn Haihan a good reputation for charity, and on the other hand, it is to appease the public. After all, there are not many places nearby with large amounts of food storage. Once these refugees lose their minds due to hunger, it will become a mess. A group of terrifying refugees posed a huge threat to this stronghold.
However, after repelling the harassment of several groups of rebels, the level of force in this stronghold has been fully demonstrated. Even if some of these refugees have evil intentions, they will not dare to easily challenge the armed guards of the stronghold.
Fu Li still had some selfish motives. He hoped that after the Haihan Army took control of the outskirts of Seoul, they could pick up these refugees in batches and resettle them to other places - such as the Liaodong and Shandong colonial areas under Haihan's control. Introducing immigrants in large numbers is a real achievement. The only problem is to try to hide this matter from the North Korean officials, otherwise it will definitely cause disputes between the two countries.
What Fu Li didn't know was that Li Zhen had already relaxed restrictions on immigration on behalf of North Korea. In the future, North Korean people will be allowed to choose to settle in other countries on their own. Even if refugees outside the stronghold are taken away now, it will not cause diplomatic problems. .
Although Fu Li was determined to keep military secrets, in fact the shelf life of this secret was not too long. A fleet from Ganghwa Island arrived in Seoul that afternoon.
The soldiers and horses were not moved, but the food and grass went first. The first thing sent by the fleet to the outside of Seoul was not the large troops with guns and live ammunition, but tens of thousands of kilograms of food.
Although many people were jealous of the grains from the time they were unloaded from the riverside, few dared to provoke the Haihan people's grain transport team. An idle man came close without permission and tried to fish in troubled waters. He was knocked to the ground by the Haihan soldier with a rifle butt, and was kicked and beaten so hard that he couldn't get up for a long time.
With such negative teaching material in front of them, some people who were originally prepared to try it secretly gave up their thoughts. Anyway, the Haihan people will continue to give out porridge. Although they don't have enough to eat, they don't have to risk their lives just to grab some food.
All the food was transported into the stronghold, and several warehouses that were originally empty were filled within half a day. During this period, Mei Baiji was transferred as a temporary warehouse manager, responsible for organizing personnel to receive and count the military rations that had just arrived here.
However, Mei Baiji felt much more relaxed at this time. Now that the military rations have arrived, can the large army be far behind?
(End of chapter)