While the northern battlefield was starting, the southern battlefield in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions also began to erupt in flames of war.
The Haihan Army in the East China Sea Region was divided into two groups: land and water. After gathering in Hangzhou and Huzhou, they went north along the west coast of Taihu Lake and entered Changzhou Prefecture, approaching Yingtian Prefecture where Nanjing City is located.
The waterway starts from Zhoushan Port and goes up the Yangtze River, with the same destination as Nanjing.
At present, the Ming Dynasty's control area in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is centered on Nanjing City, but most of its adjacent state capitals, as long as they are located in the coastal areas, have fallen under Haihan's control.
Once Nanjing is lost again, Ming's influence in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will suffer a very serious blow, and it is very likely that it will completely lose control of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
After the Hangzhou assassination incident was exposed, Ming Dynasty also knew that once Haihan declared war, Nanjing would definitely become one of the targets of Haihan's attack. He had already issued an order to mobilize troops from Fengyang, Chuzhou, Luzhou and other places to assist Nanjing, hoping to use its military superiority. Deter the Haihan army.
Whether such measures can stop the Haihan Army is irrelevant for the time being, but the departure of troops from various places cannot be concealed, which has inevitably caused great panic among the people.
Various rumors about the war between the two countries quickly spread in the areas controlled by the Ming Dynasty. Although there are different views on this war, there is almost a consensus among all classes and camps, that is, Yingtian Mansion, where Nanjing City is located, will definitely become the main battlefield between the two countries.
The direct impact of this was that people in Yingtianfu began to flee in advance. After a wave of refugees began to appear in Yingtianfu, it quickly triggered a chain reaction in surrounding state capitals.
As a result, mass panic broke out in the entire southern Jiangsu region in just a few days. Tens of thousands of people dragged their families and left their homes, trying to escape in advance from the area that was about to become a battlefield.
It is worth mentioning that the direction of refugees' escape was not just the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. A considerable number of people chose to flee to the Donghai region under Haihan's control.
The Haihan army heading north and the wave of refugees heading south met each other on the official road at the same time. The two sides passed by each other very peacefully and continued to move towards their destinations. It was truly an extremely rare scene.
Simang was greatly puzzled by what he saw before him. In his opinion, it is inevitable for the two countries to be at war and the people in the war zone to flee, but it is a bit unreasonable for thousands of refugees to flee directly to the enemy country.
He asked his question to Shi Diwen, but Shi Diwen asked him to ask these fleeing people and find the answer to the question by himself.
With Simang's Chinese proficiency, this suggestion was not difficult for him. After stopping to ask many refugees, he finally had a deeper understanding of the scene in front of him.
For ordinary people, the top problem that needs to be solved to escape the war is to go to a relatively safe place that will not be easily affected by the war.
The safest plan seems to be to escape into the deserted mountains and wilderness. Such places have no occupation value, are extremely unlikely to become battlefields, and are least likely to be affected by war. But as time goes by, food and accommodation will become a huge problem. Unless absolutely necessary, most people would not choose this option.
Another option is to flee to the hinterland or a large city with strong defenses. But this time Haihan launched an army to attack the Ming Dynasty. Everyone knew that Nanjing City was likely to become a battlefield. If he wanted to be safe, he had to at least escape to the north bank of the Yangtze River.
But even if that is done, the war may continue to spread to the north, and the area north of the Yangtze River is not an absolute safe zone.
According to the past experience of fighting against Haihan, the Ming army did not have any outstanding achievements, otherwise it would not have been swallowed up so much territory by Haihan. Therefore, many people are not optimistic about the prospects of the Ming army in this battle. Once a defeat occurs, the rear is likely to become the front line overnight. Instead of waiting until something bad happens and then continuing to flee, it is better to choose to go to a safe place from the beginning.
The place where Jiangsu and Zhejiang can maintain peace and not be affected by the war is naturally the Donghai region under Haihan's rule.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the Ming army, which is on the defensive, may not be able to defend its three-acre territory, and is simply unable to attack the area controlled by Haihan. Haihan has always been very tolerant in accepting the people of the Ming Dynasty, and has very complete containment measures, so there is no need to worry about them starving to death on the streets.
Simang believes that this concept of refugees is likely to be influenced by certain propaganda methods. These rumors were widely spread among the people of the Ming Dynasty. It is difficult to say whether Haihan's propaganda agency was operating among them.
But no matter what, it is obvious that thousands of people have chosen to believe this statement and use the Haihan-controlled area as a destination to escape the war.
After these refugees go to the Donghai Region, a considerable number of them will definitely get a livelihood there, settle down, and then gradually evolve into citizens of Haihan. It can be said that Haihan has already gained a large number of people before this battle even started.
Ximang couldn't help but think that if Haihan won this war, which was of course a situation that would occur with a high probability, more people from the Ming Dynasty would take the initiative to move to the Haihan controlled area to settle.
After all, people have a natural tendency to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Compared with the powerful national power displayed by Haihan, how many people will remain loyal to an aging empire?
Ximang looked at the troops and refugees moving north and south at the same time on the official road. Isn't this the best reflection of the ebb and flow of the national strength of the two countries?
Being able to witness the gradual end of an empire as an audience may be considered a special kind of luck.
"Lord Simang, it's time for us to leave."
After hearing the adjutant's reminder, Simang came back from his thoughts.
This time the Haihan Army went on an expedition, it also brought a group of foreign military observers with it as usual, and Xi Mang was one of them.
Xi Mang was already familiar with this work. During the march, he would chat with Shi Diwen at every opportunity to learn more about Haihan's battle plan.
Having just stopped to chat with these refugees for a long time, Shi Diwen was already several miles away, and Xi Meng had to catch up as soon as possible.
He is not Shi Diwen's follower, but he does not want to miss every military order issued from Shi Diwen.
Simang has always believed in a point of view. If you want to understand an army, you must first understand the commander. In recent years, Xi Mang rarely went on expeditions with the Haihan Army, and it was rare to have the opportunity to meet senior generals like Shi Diwen commanding operations. This would help him understand the current situation of the Haihan Army.
Simang knew that if Portugal had to face the powerful Haihan army on the battlefield in the future, these experiences he had experienced might become an important reference for the war situation.