1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1708 It's Not Simple

For these Spanish prisoners of war in the hard labor camp, the prison authorities only provide them with the most basic living conditions, and they need to be exchanged for heavy physical labor.Even Tan Juren, who advocated the implementation of the New Deal on the hard labor camps, would not be kind to the Spaniards in this matter. The effect he wanted was higher work efficiency for the hard labor camps, not humanized management.Therefore, once Spanish prisoners tried to resist the arrangement of the hard labor camp, they would be severely suppressed by force, and those who tried to escape from prison would be shot to death.But even so, there are still some Spanish prisoners secretly plotting in prison, trying to change their situation.

Qin Huacheng carefully considered the purpose of this mission. He believed that in order to obtain valuable information from the Spanish prisoners, they must first gain their trust.And if this is to be achieved in a short period of time, it may require a certain degree of cooperation from the prison.

On the way here, the guard who brought him had already briefed him on the general situation of the Spanish prisoners on the construction site.Although these prisoners are all from Manila, they are not all from the same camp, but are divided into two relatively independent groups because of their different backgrounds.One group were all sailors from the former Manila Fleet, and the other group was from the city defense force originally commanded by Francis.

No matter which country it is, the competition between the army and the navy for military expenditures and resources is an innate instinct. It is basically impossible to completely resolve this internal conflict, and the Spaniards are no exception, even if these people have become Haihan's prisoners still maintained their past habits and were automatically divided into two factions in the hard labor camp.

In fact, the resources that these two groups can compete for in the hard labor camp are not many, but as long as there is a dispute, it is necessary to distinguish between the winner and the loser.Whether it is the amount of food, the distribution of labor tasks, or who is more daring to do such deadly things against the prison, the two parties will have the desire to compete.Of course, the rivalry between the two groups was also deliberately arranged by the prison. Qin Bodu would even deliberately create some unbalanced situations to provoke the two groups to fight each other.

Regarding the situation of these Spanish prisoners, Qin Bodu had asked Qin Huacheng to do his homework. As for how to use this situation to gain their trust and collect useful information, it mainly depended on Qin Huacheng's own performance on the spot.

The leader of the sailors is called Gago, and the leader of the city defense army is named Rodriguez. Both of them were low-level officers in the army in the past, so they have certain authority and appeal in their respective groups.Of course, it is unlikely that there will be senior Spanish military officers in the hard labor camp on Xingdao, because most of those senior military officers are detained in Manila. Low-level officers and ordinary soldiers have no property at all, so they can only be exiled to other colonies to work as coolies.

Qin Huacheng also thought about why Qin Bodu didn't just get rid of the two leaders. As long as there is no leader in the group, the two groups will become a mess.But later he also wanted to understand the reason. If these two people are dealt with, perhaps the newcomers who emerge will be more troublesome than them, and after the two groups of people have no internal friction, the pressure on the prison will definitely increase exponentially. It's better to keep them as the leaders, and it's easier to control the situation if they know the basics.

In the prison environment, it is very difficult for an inmate to win the trust of others, but there are many ways to gain goodwill.Qin Huacheng believed that the first step in building a good relationship with these Spanish prisoners was to try to win their favor.As his interpreter, it is not difficult to find or even create some opportunities for performance.

Soon Qin Huacheng found an opportunity during the observation. A Spanish prisoner probably passed out after staying in the water for too long. Rush into the Straits of Johor.

This kind of accident usually happens, as long as no one is killed, the prison will not give any special treatment to the prisoners, and they have to continue to work when they wake up.If someone wants to take the opportunity to cause trouble, it can only call for severe suppression.But this time Qin Huacheng took the initiative to stand up and asked the guards to provide the fainted prisoner with medicine, dry clothes, and enough rest time.Of course, it was obviously impossible for his requests to be approved by the guards, and on the contrary, he almost got served with batons.

Qin Huacheng saw the other Spanish prisoners standing by watching the show, so he immediately informed them of his plan in Spanish, but this did not earn the appreciation of the Spanish prisoners, because they knew very well that such a request could not be answered. Even if the new Chinese interpreter looked righteous and strict, in the eyes of the prisoners, it was just because he hadn't learned enough lessons.After being beaten, this guy may understand what demands can be made and what demands cannot be made.

And what happened next happened just as Qin Huacheng had planned. The guards beat him up very "cooperatively". Soon there were a few more bruises.After the beating, Qin Huacheng still insisted on his request and refused to change, and finished the tough guy show in front of a group of Spanish prisoners.

Although some Spaniards were skeptical about this bitter trick, most of them appreciated Qin Huacheng's righteousness, and he was able to stick to his own point of view despite the guards' truncheons. Instead, they stood up for another Spanish prisoner they had never met. This was probably the most kind-hearted Han they had seen since they arrived in Xingdao.

Of course, there is another reason for this general favorability that cannot be ignored, that is, Qin Huacheng speaks fluent Spanish, which makes everyone consciously or unconsciously ignore his Han appearance and regard him as "one of our own".

Soon the Spanish prisoners on the construction site knew that the new translator had a fight with the guards on the first day of work. Although he was beaten violently, it seemed that the Chinese translator was on his side.

Qin Huacheng's background quickly became a matter of interest to the prisoners. He did not dare to report that he had served in a militia under the Manila City Defense Force, because many of these prisoners had served in the City Defense Force. Confrontation can easily reveal the truth.Therefore, Qin Huacheng claimed to be a descendant of Ming immigrants who lived in Manila for a long time. He was born and raised in Manila since he was a child. The reason why he was arrested and imprisoned was naturally because he chose to fight against the Haihan people after his family was destroyed in the war.

During the short break, Qin Huacheng used his emotional description to convince the Spanish prisoners of the character design he conceived at noon today, a Manila citizen who was persecuted by Haihan and lost everything.After seeing these Spaniards moved by his description, Qin Huacheng was convinced that he really had the talent for acting.

The two prison leaders, Gago and Rodriguez, did not take the initiative to make friends with Qin Huacheng, but they both conveyed their condolences to him through their subordinates.In Qin Huacheng's view, this kind of cautiousness is justifiable. After all, he is a newcomer who has just entered this circle. It is unlikely that these prison leaders will accept him so quickly. Being able to express his position is already a great progress.

When Qin Huacheng returned to the number one in Dongying District at night, Lin Xingsui was also taken aback when he saw the injuries on his face, and asked him where he went after he disappeared all day today.Qin Huacheng smiled bitterly and said that he was arrested by the warden and sent to Xiying District to do hard work, but he was injured on the first day of work.

"Congratulations, brother! You got connected with the warden so soon, it must have something to do with the high-ranking official Haihan you met yesterday." Lin Xingsui said enviously.As for where Qin Huacheng's face came from, Lin Xingsui didn't ask any further. Since it was an errand assigned by the warden, if someone dared to beat him like this, then don't guess, the one who did it must be the guard.

Qin Huacheng said: "Master Lin is joking, you can tell from my face that this job is not easy to do!"

Lin Xingsui said sternly: "Since it is an errand entrusted to you by the warden, I will not ask about the content, but the greater the risk, the greater the reward. You were beaten on the first day of work, and you must be beaten after the job is done. The rewards you can get are also great. Your three-year sentence may be able to shorten some time."

Lin Xingsui's conjecture coincided with the situation Qin Huacheng encountered. The warden Qin Bodu had indeed agreed to Qin Huacheng, and his performance would be used to offset the sentence in proportion to his sentence. That's why he was willing to take the risk. this errand.Of course, as for what Qin Bodu asked him to do, he would never disclose it to Lin Xingsui.As the saying goes, you know what you know, but you don’t know your heart. Qin Huacheng has already suffered a big loss in Manila, and he will never make the same mistake a second time.

Lin Xingsui chatted with Qin Huacheng, and saw that the other party was tight-lipped and refused to divulge any information. He was not a stunned young man who couldn't tell the seriousness. He took out a small porcelain bottle, said it was a private collection of Dieda wine, and asked Qin Hucheng to wipe the injured area.After Qin Huacheng thanked him, he rubbed the wound with medicinal wine, and it seemed that he felt better.

Qin Huacheng didn't sleep well that night. On the one hand, the injury on his face was aching, and on the other hand, he was always thinking about how to get the information he wanted from these Spanish prisoners.Qin Huacheng didn't think that he would be able to make the Spaniards trust him after performing the bitter trick today, at most he would gain some goodwill, and this kind of bitter trick must not be used repeatedly, otherwise it would be easy to be seen through.Of course, he really didn't want to taste the feeling of being beaten again.

Qin Huacheng did not dare to choose a radical and risky route, and Qin Bodu did not set a specific time limit for him, so he decided to proceed step by step and gradually build mutual trust with the Spanish prisoners.And this meant that he could no longer be a quiet spectator in many things, but had to enter the work and life of Spanish prisoners, which invisibly made this task a lot more difficult.

But in order to get out of the hard labor camp as soon as possible, even if Qin Huacheng knew the risks and disadvantages of his job, he could only bite the bullet and continue working.And even if he repents and wants to quit halfway, presumably the warden will not let him go easily.

After a week of this, the two prison chiefs finally came forward to have a meeting with him in person.But Gago and Rodriguez's purpose is very clear, that is, they want to recruit Qin Huacheng to join their camp, and then use Qin Huacheng's special status to gradually link up the entire Second Battalion of Hispanics. prisoner.

"If we can organize an armed riot of 500 to [-] people, we can occupy the camp in a short period of time, seize weapons, take everyone here as hostages, and ask the Haihan people to regain their freedom. You follow us Come on, when we leave this ghost place, we will take you with us!"

"As long as we have enough intelligence information, we can organize a quick operation. I have more than 100 professional soldiers under me. Their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of the Haihan people. What they lack is only weapons. If you can help us get Weapons, we only need one night to turn this place upside down, and then leave here!"

The two prison leaders expressed their plans to Qin Huacheng respectively, and sure enough they both planned to launch an armed riot, but they got stuck in the implementation process due to limited conditions.The warden Qin Bodu did not expect anything bad, but he did not expect that there was still a long way to go before the idea of ​​these Spaniards could be put into practice.As far as Qin Huacheng was concerned, if these Spaniards' plans were merely conceived, the seriousness of the crime would obviously be limited. Even if the two chiefs were sentenced to an extended sentence, I'm afraid it wouldn't be too long, and it would be calculated proportionally. , the benefits Qin Huacheng can get are even more limited.

But if he really wanted to provide more information to these Spanish prisoners and help them link up with Hispanic prisoners in the hard labor camp, Qin Huacheng didn't have the courage. This kind of thing was too risky, and the car would overturn if he was not careful.Moreover, the request given to him by the warden Qin Bodu was to investigate the incidents of the Hispanic prisoners, rather than to actively create incidents. If he applied to Qin Bodu for permission to act, he would definitely be rejected.

Qin Huacheng thought about it, and the only feasible way was to drag more people into the water, so as to increase the reward he could get afterwards.Since the Hispanic prisoners wanted to organize a riot in the hard labor camp, this kind of action obviously couldn't be accomplished by just two prison leaders. As long as Qin Huacheng could get a list of participants, it would be able to get twice the result with half the effort.

(End of this chapter)