1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1791 Hangzhou Bay Military Exercise

Paying money and food to keep one party safe is not new to these local gentry and celebrities. Before the Haihan people came to Zhejiang, the local government and the garrison would do similar operations every year.After a long time, everyone has a tacit understanding with each other, the protection fee is paid in place, and some things that are not so legal, such as the smuggling trade with the Haihan people, the government will turn a blind eye and close their eyes as if they don't know.

However, the practice of actively paying protection fees to Haihan is not so common in the local area.Local wealthy businessmen want to maintain their relationship with Haihan, mostly by themselves in private. There has never been such a practice where the magistrate's yamen takes the lead and everyone contributes money and food to join the team.According to Qu Yutong, the prefect, this is also to save everyone trouble, worry and money, and you don't have to worry about things not being done, or Haihan's favoring one after receiving the goods-everyone who pays for food will have a special Register, Haihan will receive the roster.

The magistrates have come forward to take the lead, who can have the courage to refuse this arrangement?So no matter whether everyone was really happy or not, at least there was an atmosphere of enthusiastic donation at the banquet.In just one meal, more than 40 invited people from the upper class pledged their money and food, which far exceeded the one that Qu Yutong had donated to Haihan in his own name.

For these local celebrities, donating money and food is not a big problem. After all, the benefits they have gained from the various cross-border trade led by Haihan are far more than the amount they donated. The main thing to consider is to do so The rewards he can get afterwards, and whether he will be held accountable by the Ming government for this.Qu Yutong's endorsement undoubtedly dispelled their worries. As for the rewards they can get, it depends on the amount of their respective donations.

Taking advantage of Shi Diwen, a high-ranking official of Haihan, who is also present, those who want to earn performance will naturally grit their teeth and donate a large amount, hoping to impress the senior officials of Haihan, and then go to Zhoushan to participate in activities such as the Merchants Fair next time , may be able to get some special care.

Qu Yutong's meal basically took down the expenses of Haihan's military exercise. This performance also made Shi Diwen appreciate it a lot. In front of many local celebrities, he praised Qu Yutong for his hard work. The government of Ningbo is a happy land. In the future, the trade between the two countries will also need to be vigorously maintained by Qu Zhifu, which will give Qu Yutong enough face.

The news that Qu Yutong came forward to organize this event spread the next day, and the originally restless people in Ningbo Mansion immediately calmed down a lot.As long as it is clear that the Haihan army will not attack Ningbo, the people will soon return to normal life.In today’s Ningbo Prefecture, it is rare to say that thousands of people make a living from the import and export trade with Haihan. The people are very concerned about whether the relationship between the two countries can maintain peace. Even if there is a little disturbance, it may affect their jobs. Yu Tong invited high-ranking Haihan officials to Ningbo to give the people a reassurance, which naturally won a lot of praise from the people.

Hangzhou City, which is three hundred miles away from Ningbo, also received the latest news from the front the next day.Regarding Qu Yutong's actions, although many officials feel disdainful, thinking that this is a deliberate flattery of the Haihan people, but such words can be thought about in their hearts, and no one dares to publicly say that there is something wrong with Qu Yutong's actions After all, if Qu Yutong is allowed to let go to avoid suspicion, then no one will dare to take the blame for what the Haihan people will do next.

Now there are quite a few officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions who secretly communicate with Haihan to seek benefits, but there are not many people who can actually sit down and negotiate with Haihan on the table. Qu Yutong is probably the No. 1 recognized by Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials. .Although many people covet Qu Yutong's seat because he has gained a lot of benefits, few people think that they can properly handle the relationship with the Haihan people after they replace him. In terms of dealing with the Haihan people, at present Indeed, no one in the official circles of Jiangsu and Zhejiang could do better than Qu Yutong.

The two yamen of the Zhejiang Metropolitan Commander and the Chief Political Officer both breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the news. The news from Ningbo can basically convince the senior officials that there will be no war in the future. As for the Haihan Army Although the military exercise in Hangzhou Bay has not been reported to the Zhejiang government for approval, no one dares to criticize it, so as not to offend the Haihan people.

The news from the Ningbo government said that in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings caused by this military exercise, Haihan will disclose the entire process of the military exercise to the officials. As long as they arrive in Ningbo before the day after tomorrow, someone will arrange registration and reception , Going to sea and other matters, even the county magistrates of the seventh rank, or even the officials from the salt department of the ninth rank, as long as there is a formally established melon garden in the government, they can go to the local area to observe this military exercise.

This news seems to be a sign of Haihan acting aboveboard, but the veterans in the officialdom still sense something else from it.

Haihan didn't care about the feelings of the Zhejiang government, and it was nothing more than a military exercise in Hangzhou Bay. He also specially invited officials from all over Zhejiang to observe the scene.But this kind of invitation cannot be completely ignored, otherwise, if the Haihan people feel that they have been treated with contempt, they may expand the scope of the military exercise from Hangzhou Bay to the Qiantang River. They must be familiar with this kind of thing, and Hangzhou City The high-ranking officials in the village don't want to let the scene of Haihan's soldiers approaching the city repeated in a few years.

Taking a ten thousand step back, the three yamen did not send anyone there, and there was no way to completely prohibit the officials of the prefectures and counties below from secretly going to watch the excitement.Especially in Ningbo, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing, which are adjacent to Hangzhou Bay, the local officials have more or less conflicts of interest with Haihan, and it is very likely that they will take a private trip to Hangzhou Bay on their own initiative.

Therefore, regardless of the considerations, the Sansi Yamen who received the news must send representatives to the local area.The chief envoy sent a counselor from the fourth rank, the procuratorate went directly to the deputy envoy of the fourth rank, and the command envoy sent a commander of the fourth rank.After some high-ranking officials from the Hangzhou government government made some calculations, Wang Yuan, the general judge who had a close relationship with Haihan, was finally allowed to go to Ningbo.As for coastal guards such as Linshanwei, Guanhaiwei, Hainingwei, and Changguowei, even if the commander didn't go out in person, at least he sent his deputy to Ningbo.

Perhaps it was because the invisible pressure exerted by Haihan was strong enough to make the official circles in Zhejiang respond quickly in the past few days. The post stations in Yuyao, Shangyu, Keqiao, Xiaoshan and so on have almost reached the level of operation during wartime, so that the news can be transmitted in time among the state capitals.

Two days later, the northbound troops had completed the scheduled supply and rest at Dinghai Port, and began to set off according to the original plan.Before this huge fleet continues to go north, it has to go to the Hangzhou Bay to complete the maritime military exercise that has been full of excitement in Zhejiang.

And several big blessing ships organized by the Ningbo government, carrying officials from various places, also set off from the wharf at the mouth of the Yongjiang River and sailed into Hangzhou Bay almost at the same time.According to the agreement with Haihan, these ships will accompany the Haihan fleet to observe this large-scale naval exercise nearby.

But in addition to the official observation group, there are quite a few civilian boats from Ningbo, Jiaxing and other places to join in the fun.Although most of the owners of these civilian ships have not received Haihan's invitation, since Haihan has declared that this military exercise will not set foot on land, and that there are no hostile measures against Ming, those who are troublesome will naturally find ways to do so. Go out to sea to catch up with the excitement.

After the Haihan Fleet set off from Zhoushan Port, it sailed westward through the channel between Jintang Island and Cezi Island and entered Hangzhou Bay.Due to the large size of the fleet, Wang Tom specially ordered the distance between the ships for safety. More than [-] sailboats formed a ten-nautical-mile-long team on the sea, so that the troublemakers who came to watch the excitement were separated by a long distance. can be identified.

The destination of today's military exercise is Yehuangpan Island in Hangzhou Bay. This small island is about [-] nautical miles away from Zhoushan. The island is uninhabited. location.This time, the navy also sent ships two days in advance to clean up the island and confirm that no fishermen lived on the island, so as to avoid accidental injury caused by fishermen breaking in during the military exercise.

The content of the military exercise is basically planned and arranged by Wang Tom and personally directed.Of course, he didn't intend to spend any more time on finding new gadgets. He just copied the routines from the previous military exercises in Sanya, eliminating the need for such things as formation changes at sea that laymen can't understand, and highlighting the fleet's firepower advantage. , using Yehuangpan Island as a bombardment target to demonstrate the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Fleet.For those local civil servants who don't know much about military affairs, this should have the most intuitive deterrent effect.

And the actual situation is just as Wang Tom planned. After seeing this huge fleet revealing its true colors, it is difficult for anyone to maintain a stable mind.Under special arrangements, several ships carrying officials were allowed to approach the two majestic-class battleships during the journey, allowing the passengers on board to see the densely packed gun ports on the side of the ship at close range.

After going hand in hand for about an incense stick, the two Majestic-class warships sounded their whistles one after another, and then they saw waves rising from the stern, and quickly speeded up to throw off the sailboats on which the officials were on.On the deck, personnel arranged by the Haihan military explained to the officials, telling them that this is the unique "steam propulsion system" of the Haihan warship, which can reach more than double the speed of ordinary sailing warships.

Although the officials couldn't quite understand what this "steam propulsion system" was, its practical effect was obvious. This superhuman speed alone was enough to make the enemies fighting against it despair.Many people recalled the days when the Haihan Fleet blocked the Qiantang River a few years ago, and they thought that luckily they didn’t summon all the navy in Zhejiang to fight head-on with the Haihan people. Can't touch it a few times.

The fleet arrived in the waters near Yehuangpan Island, and a red flare was fired from the flagship, indicating that the military exercise had entered the next stage, that is, to demonstrate the fleet's ability to launch attacks from sea to land.The fleet opened up and circled from the west side of Yehuangpan Island, and the warships passing by the island bombarded the shore of the island with port side guns.

The scene of dozens of warships bombarding such a small island for the first time is undoubtedly very exciting to these spectators. Whether it is a civil servant who has never set foot on the battlefield or a military officer who has been out of battle for a long time, amidst the sound of the rumbling guns, besides the excitement, In addition, I can't help but feel a little frightened.Such a powerful military force, in their cognition, there is no second one. As for the weight of their own navy, most of them know it well, and they know that they are absolutely inferior to the Haihan Navy.

Some officials couldn't help sighing immediately: "The Haihan army is so powerful, it's no wonder they can dominate the South China Sea!"

Other officials next to him answered sourly: "I'm afraid that the little South China Sea can't hold Haihan anymore. Is there anyone who can stop them in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea to the north?"

Although this kind of view is suspected of provoking relations between the two countries, it is indeed true of the current situation.Haihan's control over the sea is difficult for other countries in East Asia to catch up with, and Haihan itself will not limit the area of ​​control to the South China Sea. The entire western Pacific region is actually Haihan's next goal.If it weren't for the limited military strength, the place where Wang Tom wants to station troops is not just North Korea. From the Korean peninsula all the way north to the Bering Strait, Wang Tom has set the conquest goals for the navy.

Of course, this kind of long-term goal will take time to be realized. Controlling the Daming Haihan Line is the current more realistic goal of the Haihan Navy.For example, the throats of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions like Hangzhou Bay must be under the control of Haihan. If this kind of ambition has not been fully put on the table before, then after today's military exercise, the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang official circles should be under the control of Haihan. can realize this quickly.Highly savvy officials can already sense Haihan's purpose right now.

Several other participants in the joint fleet also dispatched armed ships to join the team bombarding Wild Huangpan Island.It is worth mentioning that many of the Annan and Fujian warships are exploration-class warships provided by Haihan. They are almost identical in appearance to the same-level warships of the Haihan fleet, except that the flags hanging on the masts indicate that their respective belongings.The Portuguese western-style sailing ships are very eye-catching in the queue, and even civilian officials who are not familiar with military affairs can see the difference between these ships and the Haihan warships.

After hundreds of shells were fired on the island, the military exercise came to an end.Originally, this exercise plan included amphibious landings, but Wang Tom didn't plan to spend any more time here, so after shelling the uninhabited island, he decisively ended the military exercise, and then the fleet left Hangzhou Bay and went directly north.

(End of this chapter)