Chapter 2380
Why did Shandong fall into war again and again? Why was the Ming Dynasty, whose territory, population, and national power far surpassed its opponents, driven straight into the hinterland by the Qing army and unable to fight back? Sun Zhen actually never figured it out. The reason for this can only be attributed simply to the incompetence of the Ming court.
Of course he also wants to do something to change this situation, not for the Ming Dynasty, but for the hometown where he has lived for twenty years. He does not want to see everything here destroyed by barbarians from outside the customs through burning, killing and looting. Lose. However, although the Haihan army was powerful in combat, it was always limited by its strength, combat methods, and the complex relationship between the two countries. Therefore, it was difficult for him to freely fight the Qing army in the Ming Dynasty as he hoped.
This time, Sun Zhen was ordered to be transferred to Shandong to garrison. Sun Zhen understood that the reason why his superiors chose him was that he was from Denglai and was familiar with the environment in this area, which would help him carry out his mission. However, the task he received was not to fight the Qing army, but to deal with refugees. This somewhat disappointed Sun Zhen, who came with a strong fighting spirit.
But military orders are like mountains, and Sun Zhen naturally knows that not only cannot he disobey such orders, but he must also try his best to complete the mission objectives. When he went to see Chen Yixin before setting off, he heard something he believed deeply: "If you want to save Shandong, you must first save the refugees."
If the situation is allowed to worsen, even if the Qing army evacuates on its own and returns to the outside world, tens of thousands of refugees who have left their homes and fled everywhere will continue to cause trouble in a wider area, causing trouble to areas like Fushan County that have not been directly affected by the war. The region is also in chaos. This war was more serious than the Denglai Rebellion that Sun Zhen had personally experienced, and the area affected was larger. He did not believe that the Shandong government had the ability to resettle such a large group of refugees.
After leaving Fushan County to the west, there is a large hilly area. There is no so-called official road here. The troops led by Sun Zhen can only slow down their march and try to find a smooth route to advance. Fortunately, preparations were made before departure. Chen Yixin asked the Ma family to find someone familiar with the environment as a guide, which also saved the troops the trouble of exploring the route on their own.
But even though there were no official channels here, they still encountered more and more refugees from other places along the way. However, when these refugees saw the Haihan Army with all its cavalry, most of them avoided it early for fear of causing trouble.
Sun Zhen also understands the cautious behavior of refugees. He had the same mentality when he was fleeing from his hometown. When he saw an army appearing nearby, he would stay away. In times of war and chaos, the most unbelievable thing for the people is the armed forces. They will steal the few money and food from the people at any time, and even chop off the heads of innocent people to annihilate the bandits and bandits. In the name of asking for credit from the imperial court. Before setting off, Sun Zhen specifically reminded his men not to plunder property or kill good people for credit, because he did not want those evil deeds to occur in the Haihan army.
Of course, at the same time, Sun Zhen's troops also have to be wary of these unidentified refugees. In troubled times, there will always be rogues who take advantage of the troubled waters. Although not many people dare to attack the army, they brought a lot of supplies and Food as a guarantee is something that people are envious of in Shandong right now. It’s hard to say whether someone would be bold enough to take a liking to the dozens of carts of supplies that were traveling with them.
Considering that this unit may need to be active outside for a period of time, and the food and grass required during this period may be difficult to raise outside or transport from Fushan County, he must first ensure his own consumption needs, so Sun Zhen did not intend to use these precious materials It was used to provide relief to refugees encountered on the way, and an order was issued to strictly prohibit the distribution of supplies to the people. Although this approach is somewhat cruel, the situation forces us to follow it.
Due to the slow marching speed, the troops led by Sun Zhen arrived at Zhaoyuan a full day later than expected. The situation in Zhaoyuan was more severe than Sun Zhen expected.
On the way, he learned that groups of refugees had gathered in Zhaoyuan. When he arrived, he saw that there were at least a thousand refugees outside the county. These people had no place to live, so they set up various simple tents and shacks on the spot. . In order to prevent a large number of refugees from flooding into the city, several city gates in the county have been closed. It is said that they are only opened at noon every day, and the government transports pots of gruel to help the refugees.
The food that a small county like Zhaoyuan can provide is naturally difficult to cope with the increasing number of refugees. In the current season, whether it is fishing in the river, hunting birds in the mountains, or digging for wild vegetables and fruits, it is extremely difficult to operate. The amount of relief food released by the official warehouse was getting less and less day by day, so some refugees decisively left Zhaoyuan and continued eastward. It was not necessarily because they knew that Fushan County had an agency specifically to take in refugees, but they made their judgment based on a very simple idea - since the battlefield is in the west, the further east you go, the safer it will be and the fewer refugees there will be. The chance of being rescued and finding a livelihood is also greater.
Such an idea is indeed effective in increasing the chances of survival in troubled times. When Sun Zhen fled from Denglai, he had the idea of staying away from the war-torn areas and fled all the way south to Haizhou, hundreds of miles away, where he met local rescuers. The immigrant traffickers who were refugees were then sent to Penghu, where they joined the army and received military rations. If he had not fled at that time, he might have died in the war.
Zhaoyuan also has a lot of trade relations with Fushan. After a little inquiry, it is not difficult to know that Fushan County is the richest area in Denglai. This is a life-saving straw for the refugees who are in urgent need of survival. Therefore, recently, refugees have been leaving Zhaoyuan for Fushan County, hoping to get real help there.
The sudden appearance of the Haihan army made the people outside the county feel nervous. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Chen Yixin, after roughly taking a look at the situation outside the county, ordered to station at a small river about two or three miles away from the county.
The appearance of the Haihan Army obviously attracted the attention of the officials in the city. Not long after they set up camp, the city sent a man who looked like a master to visit them and wanted to know their purpose.
"I am Sun Zhen, commander of the first battalion of the Haihan Army Special Forces Regiment. What is your name?" Out of caution, Sun Zhen personally approached the middle-aged scribe who claimed to represent the county government.
The scribe cupped his hands and responded: "I am Lou Bin, the master of this county's Guzhi County. I hope Master Sun will come to you without invitation."
Sun Zhen nodded and said: "Master Lou, you are too polite. You are my guest. I should be the one who comes uninvited."
Lou Bin laughed twice, knowing that the underlying meaning of his words had been heard by Sun Zhen. He stopped trying to hide it and asked, "I wonder what your army is doing in Zhaoyuan County? Is there anyone who needs help from this county?" Where? ”
Sun Zhen understood the worries behind the other party's question, and responded calmly: "To be honest, our army has no other purpose in coming to Zhaoyuan this time. It is just to rescue the increasing number of war refugees in the local area. The county government's Don't be too nervous, we don't plan to enter the county. "Oh? I wonder how Mr. Sun plans to help the people?" Lou Bin looked a little more relaxed after hearing this answer.
Sun Zhendao: "Fushan County has raised a large amount of food and built temporary shelters for refugees to accommodate the large number of refugees who will flood into Dengzhou in the near future. I led the team to Zhaoyuan to prepare to guide the refugees here. Go to Fushan County to escape the war. If the local government can help, it will be more effective. ”
Zhaoyuan County is not too far away from Fushan County, so even if you have never been there, you will have heard about the situation in Fushan County. Lou Bin also roughly knows that the Haihan people have a continuous need for population, such as this kind of rescue of refugees Measures, of course, are not just for doing good things. However, Zhaoyuan County has no better way to deal with the continuous influx of refugees. It is only a matter of time before the official warehouse's food reaches the bottom. The more refugees gather in Zhaoyuan County, the higher the probability of chaos. If these refugees can choose to leave Zhaoyuan County voluntarily, it will save a heavy burden on the county government.
Lou Bin was naturally happy when he heard Sun Zhen's explanation, but he still tried to control his expression and said to Sun Zhen: "These refugees are all people of the Ming Dynasty, how can we get your country to come forward to rescue them? Master Sun's move Is there something wrong?”
Sun Zhenzhen said seductively: "Human life is at stake. If no one takes care of these refugees, many people may not survive the spring! Besides, if these refugees cause trouble here for survival, the adults in your county will bear the responsibility." Will there be such consequences? ”
Sun Zhen also knew a little about how worried local officials were about the refugee flow. The fact that several adults in the Fushan County government gave up their official titles and took their families to Zhifu Island to take refuge overnight was already telling. Problem. Zhaoyuan County is one of the main routes from the war-torn areas in the west to Fushan County. It will only welcome more refugees than Fushan County. As long as the local officials here are not stupid, they should be able to think of local social order because The situation collapsed due to the inability to resettle the refugees.
Usually in areas where refugees are pouring in, if adequate living conditions are not provided, a small group of refugees will soon turn into a mob, looting food to meet their survival needs. When these mobs find that the government cannot stop their atrocities, they will quickly escalate into rogue bandits, growing in strength in a snowballing manner, and may even organize to attack the county town to obtain more resources and wealth. Many of the peasant armies that have been wreaking havoc in the Central Plains for many years are people who have lost their livelihoods after natural disasters.
In a small place like Zhaoyuan County, the county's defense power is very limited and there is no way to deal with thousands of mobs. And once a peasant army organization similar to that in the Central Plains appears in Zhaoyuan, the consequences that local officials here will face will not be as simple as being unable to keep their officialdom.
Lou Bin looked troubled and lowered his voice: "Master Sun, you don't know something. The Dengzhou Prefecture has long issued an official document, instructing counties to try their best to resettle the refugees locally, and not to allow refugees to go to Fushan County in large numbers."
Sun Zhen was naturally very unhappy when he heard this. This was almost consistent with what Chen Yixin expected. The Dengzhou Prefecture, which had always been difficult to deal with Haihan, really did not want Haihan to profit from this mess, even if it knew the risk of a large number of refugees gathering. , and are still trying to prevent refugees from entering areas controlled by Haihan.
However, since Mr. Lou made it clear, Sun Zhen thinks this means that Zhaoyuan County does not want to take the blame for this matter. After all, this place is still a hundred miles away from Dengzhou City. If there is really chaos, it will be in Zhaoyuan. Chaos first, Master Lou’s master probably won’t be willing to bear such consequences.
Sun Zhen thought for a moment before responding: "If Gu Magistrate finds it inconvenient, he doesn't have to come forward. He just needs to pretend not to know about the matter. Other matters will be left to our army. If I don't enter the city, you won't leave the city." , we didn’t have any negotiations, we just did our own thing.”
Under the current situation, this may be the most beneficial approach for the local government. As long as they sit on the sidelines and let the Haihan Army lead away the refugees who enter the county, the county government cannot stop so many refugees from going anywhere. Besides, although Dengzhou Prefecture issued an order to stop the refugees, it did not say that it would stop the Haihan Army. Zhaoyuan County had no troops to fight, so what could be used to drive away the Haihan Army in the county? As long as the county government wants to shirk responsibility, it can easily find many reasons.
Lou Bin figured out the causes and consequences in a very short period of time. He believed that the method proposed by Sun Zhen was indeed relatively feasible. As long as the refugees don't cause trouble and the Haihan army doesn't attack the city, everything else can be discussed. However, he couldn't make the final decision. He had to go back to the city to explain the situation and let the magistrate make his decision.
Lou Bin said goodbye and left, and Sun Zhen took the time to issue a few orders. First, he asked the propaganda officer to immediately carry out guidance and propaganda to the refugees outside the county to let the refugees know that they still had the best option of going to Fushan County; Several large signboards were erected along the official road outside the county seat, with a rough map of the route to Fushan County drawn on them, in order to deal with the large number of refugees that would flood into Zhaoyuan County in the future; third, several cavalry squads were dispatched to step up the attack on the surrounding areas of Zhaoyuan County. Investigate, familiarize yourself with the local environment, and also see if you can spend money to purchase food and other supplies in the nearby area to extend the time for the troops to be active outside.
When Lou Bin returned to the city and told the news he had found out about the Haihan Army, Guzhi County almost didn't hesitate at all and immediately agreed to the plan proposed by Sun Zhen. At the same time, he also instructed Lou Bin to mention the arrangements for going to Fushan County to the refugees when he went out of the city to give porridge from the next day.
"Sir, if the Dengzhou government finds out about this, will there be any trouble?" Lou Bin was still a little worried about his boss's decision.
County Magistrate Gu said impatiently: "Dengzhou Prefecture is in charge of heaven and earth, but it has nothing to do with the Haihan people. If anyone pursues the case afterwards, just assume that it was caused by the Haihan people's persecution. If you want to settle the score, go to Fushan County to find Haihan people." The Han people count!”
Lou Binxin knew that the county magistrate was so stubborn. If he had known that he would have agreed directly to Officer Haihan earlier, he would have saved himself the trouble of running around to spread the word.
(End of chapter)