Chapter 2401
One day in mid-March 1639, Fushan County finally ushered in the long-lost sunny weather, which seemed to indicate that this cold and long winter was coming to an end. Many people went outdoors to enjoy the long-lost warmth of the sun shining on their bodies.
This winter has been difficult for most people, especially the many refugees who have poured into Fushan County. If they had not received the rescue and accommodation provided by Haihan here, a considerable number of them might not have survived. But this winter.
For the people living locally, although Fushan County is not a war zone, it has also suffered the impact of the war. They have to respond to the arrangements of the Zhifu Island authorities and put down their work to participate in the construction of various temporary facilities. To help the local area accept more refugees.
Fortunately, Haihan has implemented extremely strict control measures for refugees entering Fushan County, so there have not been many incidents of refugees impacting local people. Normal social order has been basically maintained in the area except for the refugee camps.
Being able to maintain a relatively stable social order in such troubled times is naturally due to Haihan's strong control over Fushan County. Haihan had stationed a large force in Fushan County a few years ago, so it gave the outside world the impression that it was a military occupation area. However, in fact, after Haihan occupied Jinzhou, the size of the garrison in Fushan County had been reduced. Many simply retained military strongholds and bases at the Fushan Copper Mine, Majiazhuang Market and Zhifu Island.
Such a garrison size was obviously insufficient to deal with this refugee flow. Therefore, when Chen Yixin came back from Liaodong to take charge of the overall situation, he notified North Korea's Datong River Base and transferred back a member of the special operations group from there. Infantry battalion to strengthen control of the situation in Fushan County.
But even so, as more and more refugees entered Dengzhou, the number of places where the Haihan Army needed to be defended also increased. The local military strength gradually became stretched, and they had to once again request the Datong River Base to send troops for reinforcements.
At noon, people enjoying the sunshine near Zhifu Bay discovered another fleet coming from the sea. Recently, there has been an endless stream of large fleets coming to transport refugees, so not many people noticed this fleet at first. Something special. It wasn't until the fleet sailed into Zhifu Bay that people discovered that it was not an ordinary civilian ship, but a fleet flying the flag of the Haihan Navy.
However, judging from the appearance of the ships, there are only two expedition-class warships with gun windows on the sides of this fleet. The other ships are heavy-duty sailing ships. Their appearance is similar to the Yugong-class sailing ship that has often appeared in Zhifu Port recently. Very similar.
Only insiders who are familiar with Haihan Navy ships can tell that these large sailing ships are actually military models of Yugong-class heavy-duty sailing ships. Compared with the civilian versions, these ships belonging to the Navy's Northern Fleet apply more advanced shipbuilding technologies, have stronger hulls, and have better seaworthiness and speed. They can also be deployed in a short time depending on mission needs. All the cargo holds on the ship are converted into manned compartments and used as troop carriers. One ship can transport the personnel and weapons and equipment of a reinforced company.
Among the fleet that arrived at Zhifu Port this time, nearly half of the heavy-loaded sailing ships were used to transport troops. The battle flags flying on their masts indicate that the troops carried on these ships are marines affiliated with the Navy.
In the establishment of the Haihan Army, the special operations group under Qian Tiandun was the first amphibious force. However, this ace force was affiliated with the army. Therefore, Navy Commander Wang Tom later formed another amphibious force affiliated with the navy. The army came to fill this vacancy. This force was the Marine Corps that arrived at Zhifu Port at this time.
Thanks to Haihan's development strategy of putting sea power first, the navy's military budget is more abundant than that of the army. Naturally, this Marine Corps, regarded by Wang Tom as the elite of the navy, is not short of money, and its equipment is all Haihan's best. The advanced mass-produced weapons are personally trained by Wang Tom, and their combat effectiveness is on par with that of the special forces. After carrying out several difficult combat missions in the north in recent years, it has been regarded as the navy's ace unit.
This time Chen Yixin requested reinforcements from the Datongjiang base. In addition to the first battalion of the special battle group that had been sent to Fushan County, the remaining troops, led by Qian Tiandun, rushed to Jinzhou to set up defenses to prevent the situation in Liaodong from changing. The Marine Corps under Wang Tom happened to have no combat missions during this period, and the transfer of power in North Korea had come to an end, so he sent this team to Shandong to assist Chen Yixin. Wang Tom himself had to stay in North Korea to monitor the changes in the domestic situation for the newly ascended king. He had no time to come to Shandong for the time being, so he also handed over the command to Chen Yixin.
The Marine Corps currently only has one battalion, and Wang Tom sent them all directly. Chen Yixin only needs to take over the battalion headquarters and issue orders. However, this unit had not been stationed in Shandong for a long time, so it was not familiar with the environment in Dengzhou. Chen Yixin asked this unit to stay in Fushan County to replace the 1st Battalion of the Special Operations Group, and let the Special Operations Group be responsible for the outskirts of Fushan County. Area alert defense.
The 1st Battalion of the Special Forces Regiment is currently deployed in the Dengzhou area. Its four companies are deployed in Zhaoyuan and Laixi counties, as well as in Guxian Town, a pass that must be passed from Dengzhou to Fushan County, and on the east side of Fushan County. Qianshan House. Guard these key points to enter Fushan County. There are arrangements in the three land directions of southeast and west. So whether Dengzhou Prefecture wants to take advantage of the chaos to make some small moves, or there are other armed forces trying to sneak into Fushan County, Haihan can be there in time. react.
However, the local people are not aware of these mobilizations of Haihan Army. They have only seen at least two groups of Haihan Army arriving in Fushan County by boat recently. Many people are secretly guessing whether Haihan intends to take advantage of the chaos in Shandong. Opportunity to start occupying areas outside Fushan County.
Naturally, such rumors cannot be hidden from the well-informed Ma family. However, although the Ma family has Chen Yixin as their son-in-law, the actions of the Haihan Army are military secrets. Even Ma Yuling does not dare to ask her husband about these matters at will, so even Ma Dongqiang has no definite information.
Ma Dongqiang didn't really believe the rumors outside at first, but gradually these rumors became more and more serious, and he couldn't help but start to murmur a little.
After Chen Yixin returned to Fushan County from Liaodong, he had transferred troops from other places twice. After arriving in Fushan County, these troops did not stay stationed in the county all the time. They all left quickly. The task of maintaining security in the refugee camps in the county is still jointly undertaken by the local garrison and the Majia Vigilante Group. The troops transferred from other places do not seem to be very involved.
There are rumors from the outside that these troops transferred from other places are likely to be sent to attack Dengzhou City, because a group of Ming troops who were escorted back to Fushan County and imprisoned a few days ago are said to be troops affiliated with Dengzhou.
Ma Dongqiang knew that the second half of the news was indeed true, because some of these prisoners lived in Fushan County. Their family tried to find him through connections and asked him to fish them out on their behalf. However, he also knew that these Ming troops were captured by the Haihan Army in Zhaoyuan County, and it was not the Haihan Army that took action against Dengzhou City.
But within a few days, people sent by Dengzhou City to inquire about information came to Ma Dongqiang to find out whether the Haihan Army had any intention of attacking Dengzhou City. Obviously many people in Dengzhou have noticed the movements of the Haihan Army and are very uneasy about it.
Although the people who came to Ma Dongqiang to inquire about the news were not from the government, he also knew that if he said something, it would probably be spread to the government soon, so he insisted that he did not know, so as not to say something wrong that would affect Chen Yixin. deploy.
Recently, the Haihan Army once again increased its troops to Fushan County. The transferred troops are said to be equally famous and are direct descendants of Haihan Navy Commander Wang Tom. Of course Ma Dongqiang knew what kind of person Wang Tom was. In the Ming Dynasty, he was the general who commanded the entire navy, and his direct troops were naturally top-notch elites. Moreover, after arriving in the local area, this unit only spent more than a day for a short rest before being sent to perform tasks outside the county. This seemed to Ma Dongqiang to be a sign of war.
However, Ma Dongqiang is certain of one thing. Haihan will not start a war against Dengzhou while accepting refugees. Doing so will definitely hinder Haihan's plan to absorb and transfer refugees. Even if we really want to attack Dengzhou City, it should be arranged when the refugee transfer is completed. But Ma Dongqiang doesn't want to wait until then to confirm these speculations. The Ma family has many properties inside and outside Dengzhou City. If arrangements are not made as soon as possible, once a war breaks out, not only money will be lost, but the Ma family may also be involved. . Since he has the most reliable source of information, Chen Yixin, he still hopes to implement the situation as soon as possible, so as not to be too late to deal with it.
Ma Dongqiang knew that Chen Yixin usually did not talk about official matters when he returned home. If he asked him about these military news at his dinner table, he would inevitably make his son-in-law unhappy. Therefore, he also consciously visited Chen Yixin's office to inquire about relevant information in a business-to-business manner.
Chen Yixin was a little surprised when Zeng Xiaowen reported that his father-in-law was visiting, but he still arranged for Zeng Xiaowen to bring him in immediately.
"Is there something urgent for my father-in-law to see me for?" After Chen Yixin withdrew his men, he took the initiative to make a cup of hot tea for Ma Dongqiang and then asked him about his purpose.
Ma Dongqiang took the tea cup and slowly put it on the table, and responded in a deep voice: "Xian son-in-law, I have something to ask you, but I don't know whether to ask it or not."
When Chen Yixin saw Ma Dongqiang acting like this, he already guessed: "Is the thing that my father-in-law wants to inquire about related to the Haihan Army?"
If it was a family matter or a business matter, there was no need for Ma Dongqiang to come here to talk about it. If it was something related to refugees, Ma Dongqiang also knew to go to Liu Shang to resolve it. Since Ma Dongqiang is a little hesitant and has to come here to talk about things, then there is probably only news related to the Haihan Army.
Ma Dongqiang nodded and said: "Exactly."
Chen Yixin said seriously: "Father-in-law, many things about the Haihan Army are military secrets and cannot be inquired about casually. I have said this many times before. You have not forgotten it, right?"
Ma Dongqiang sighed: "I have no intention of inquiring into the secrets of the Haihan Army, but now there are rumors outside that the Haihan Army will attack Dengzhou City next, and then annex the entire Dengzhou. If the wise son-in-law really had such a plan, it would have been earlier Please inform me so that the Ma family’s property and people will not be involved in the war and cause additional losses.”
Chen Yixin was a little bit dumbfounded when he heard this. He had too many things that needed to be dealt with personally these days. He was so busy that he had no time to pay attention to the rumors from the outside world. He had no idea that there would be such rumors from the outside world. However, Ma Dongqiang did not need to explain why this rumor originated. He thought about it and figured out the reason.
"Father-in-law, I dispatched troops from overseas to Fushan County not to take action against Dengzhou City. I just hope to ensure local stability while accepting refugees." Chen Yixin patiently explained: "If Dengzhou City is there, If they want to be detrimental to Fushan County, then I will take decisive action to stop them. But to attack Dengzhou City, I can tell you frankly that there is no such battle plan at the moment."
"Really? That's good, that's good." Ma Dongqiang actually felt that there was no need for Haihan to go to war with Dengzhou City. As long as he could get reassurance from Chen Yixin, he didn't have to worry.
Chen Yixin didn't expect Ma Dongqiang's attitude to change so quickly. He believed him after just a few words, and immediately asked: "Is it possible that someone in Dengzhou City is also looking for you to inquire about information?"
Ma Dongqiang unabashedly admitted Chen Yixin's guess: "Many people have asked me these days, but I haven't said anything. They all say I don't know. I know what can and cannot be said. . I came here today just to hear your answer, and I won’t mention it to outsiders.”
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "My father-in-law is mature and prudent, and my son-in-law admires him very much."
Ma Dongqiang waved his hand and said: "There is no need to say flattery, just get busy first!"
Ma Dongqiang was about to stand up and say goodbye, but Chen Yixin took the initiative to change the subject and said: "A few days ago, I called together those businessmen and dignitaries who came to Fushan County to take refuge to establish the Shanhaihui. I plan to let my father-in-law serve as the president and manage the operations of the Shanhaihui. Do you know what your father-in-law thinks?”
Ma Dongqiang hesitated and said: "You plan the Shanhai Club. President, would it be better for you to do it yourself?"
Chen Yixin shook his head and said: "Father-in-law, there is no need to refuse. When I planned the Shanhaihui, I was preparing for you to come forward to manage this chamber of commerce. After all, you are an Mingren, and it is easier to gain the recognition and trust of these members. If I were to be the president instead, , then it is estimated that many people will have a gap in their hearts, which will not be conducive to future operations.”
Ma Dongqiang thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. If this chamber of commerce were headed by a Haihan person, it might be suppressed by the government in the future. And if it were done by oneself, it would at least be the Chamber of Commerce of the Ming Dynasty in name only, and it would definitely be much more convenient to engage in trade activities.
Then Chen Yixin continued: "Instead of using military means to occupy Dengzhou, it is better to slowly control all the lifeblood of Dengzhou through trade activities. What we did in Fushan County, we can use the Shanhaihui as a cover in the future to carry out activities The scope is expanded to the entire Dengzhou ”
(End of chapter)