1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2196
What Ma Zhengping was worried about, in fact, Dai Chengrong had already thought about it. In the morning, he distributed all the remaining fresh water on board in advance, so that the children of salt merchants who hadn't bathed for a few days could use this water to wash their faces, wipe their bodies, and then change into clean clothes. Clothes, tied up in a bun, so as not to lose courtesy in front of Haihan officials.Although there is still a smell of sweat, at least the perception is not too bad.

"As you can see, Haihan's ships are powerful and powerful, and that's why I came here for training. But everyone, remember that we are a cooperative relationship with Haihan, and both sides get what they need, so There is no need to belittle yourself. We must remember that our words and deeds in Zhoushan represent the face of Huizhou salt merchants, and we must not mess up in front of the Haihan people!"

Although Dai Chengrong was also shocked by the many Haihan warships in the military port, he was the person in charge of the training mission after all, and he still didn't forget to remind his companions before disembarking, don't be in the boat because of this. Hai Han acted too humble in front of senior officials.

But self-confidence must come from strength after all. The strength of the children of salt merchants is mostly limited to economics. They must be regarded as the top wealthy merchant class in Ming Dynasty, but it may not be the case in Haihan.The rapid rise of this emerging country has driven a large number of people to get rich quickly at the speed of nouveau riche. Rich merchants with huge assets abound. In addition, Zhoushan is also home to maritime merchants from all over the world. The children of salt merchants do not have any obvious financial resources here. advantage.

Of course, they probably haven't had the opportunity to deeply understand this point yet. After all, they will be sent to the military camp for training after disembarking. Even their tuition fees have been paid in advance by Ma Zhengping, so there will be no chance to show their financial resources during this period. up.

Under the command of the guiding ship and the flag on the shore, the fleet from Yangzhou finally docked at the shore pier one after another.However, after the sail was lowered and the cables were lowered, the people on board were not allowed to disembark immediately. Someone on the pier shouted loudly with a tin horn, asking them to put down the gangway first, and the military personnel boarded the ship for registration and inspection.

This place is a military port, and as a military area, it is also necessary to implement these procedures, and today Shi Diwen will be there to welcome these special students, so the security work should not be careless.In addition to the Navy's own personnel, the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Ministry of Security also sent people over to assist in the security work at the scene.

The pier is full of our own people, and of course the ones to watch out for are the outsiders on the boat.The military must first conduct a preliminary inventory of the people on board, check the list of personnel, and then release the trainees ashore. As for other crew members and sailors, they are not included in this list. They can only wait on the ship for follow-up arrangements.

"Boss Ma, let's take a look on the boat together first?" Duan Tiancheng saw that the gangway had been put down on the boat, so he invited Ma Zhengping to go with him.

Ma Zhengping had this intention, and quickly agreed.He knew that the younger generation leading the team this time was Dai Chengrong from the Dai family, and he admired the maturity and stability of this younger generation, but Dai Chengrong had never dealt with Haihan people, so Ma Zhengping had to be present to ensure that this group There will be no problems with the connection between the cadets and the military.

Dai Chengrong saw that Ma Zhengping was accompanying a Haihan officer on board, and knew that this was probably a high-ranking Haihan official who had come to welcome his group of people, so he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"Lord Duan, this is Dai Chengrong, the youngest son of the head of the Dai family, Dai Yingda." Ma Zhengping hastily introduced Dai Chengrong to Duan Tiancheng.He specifically identified Dai Chengrong's identity to remind Duan Tiancheng that this young man was not a random leader, but a young figure with a certain status in the Huizhou salt merchants.

"Grassman Dai Chengrong sees Mr. Duan!"

Dai Chengrong knelt down on the ground as he spoke, and Ma Zhengping hurriedly stopped him: "Nephew, don't kneel, Haihan is not happy with this!"

Dai Chengrong was stunned for a moment, thinking, why didn't you mention this festival in the letter you sent back?However, he reacted very quickly, and immediately changed to bowing his hands.

"It's okay, Young Master Dai is new here, so it's understandable that he doesn't know the people of our Haihan country. You will get used to it after a little more time. In the future, you will be trained in the army, and you can use the military salutes of our Haihan army every day. "Duan Tiancheng has seen many immigrants who have just arrived in Zhoushan behave like this, so he won't find it strange.

Ma Zhengping hastily continued: "Nephew, Lord Duan will be in charge of your training for the next few months, and you must cooperate with Lord Duan's command."

Upon hearing this, Dai Chengrong immediately turned his head to signal his subordinates, and quickly posted a booklet: "This is the roster of the trainees who went to Zhoushan this time, please read it, Mr. Duan!"

Duan Tiancheng took over the hand and flipped through the two pages casually, then handed it to his subordinates, and said: "There is no rush, after disembarkation, we will gather for roll call. Let me talk about your disembarkation arrangements first."

Duan Tiancheng explained the process to Dai Chengrong succinctly. When the trainees disembarked, they could not carry personal belongings, and they had to undergo a basic body search to ensure that no one concealed weapons privately.After landing, gather and check against the roster to confirm that there are no mistakes or omissions in the landing personnel.After completing these preparations, Shi Diwen, the supreme official of Zhoushan, will show up in person to welcome Dai Chengrong and other students.

After all, Dai Chengrong still didn't know enough about Haihan's social situation, he couldn't really appreciate the social status of a high-ranking official like Shi Diwen in Haihan, and he couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be to get Shi Diwen's interview.After he heard the news, he just subconsciously felt that it would be a face for the Yangzhou salt merchants to be interviewed by high-ranking officials from Haihan, but he didn't take this treatment as particularly important.

Duan Tiancheng felt that this young man was quite calm, so he immediately asked Dai Chengrong to organize the students on each ship to disembark and gather, and also to see how his commanding ability was.

Dai Chengrong also knew that this was an opportunity for himself to show off, so he immediately organized the people on the ship he was on to be inspected by the Haihan soldiers, and then disembarked and assembled. At the same time, he sent personnel to notify the other ships to follow the rules.

Although they were not satisfied with the fact that a body search was required before landing, no one insisted on being a hero in this link when they saw the Haihan soldiers with live ammunition on the pier.They didn't have any illicit purpose in the first place. Since the Haihan people must make sure that no one hides weapons privately, it doesn't hurt to cooperate.

Although the entire process of landing and disembarking was relatively slow due to the body search, it was basically smooth, and there was no conflict that Dai Chengrong was worried about.In fact, it was also because the children of the salt merchants had seen the East China Sea Fleet moored in Dinghai Port, realized Haihan's strong military strength, and knew that they were powerless to resist the arrangement of the Haihan Army, so they accepted it calmly.

If someone in Yangzhou City wanted to search them, even if they were members of the government, army, yamen, and public servants, it would probably be difficult for them to cooperate so obediently, maybe they would do it on the spot.After all, these children of salt merchants are not timid people, the worst thing is to take the money, but this method obviously does not work in Haihan Kingdom, so it is better to be honest when you are new.

Of course, many people are taking this opportunity to observe Haihan soldiers, to see if the person they are going to learn next is not that powerful.

In fact, the first impression of Haihan soldiers is not majestic. They are all wearing plain cotton military uniforms. At first glance, there is no one wearing armor. Just better uniforms.In the eyes of the members of the Salt Gang, this looks a little poor, not like the army of a rich and powerful country.You must know that even the most remote guardhouse in Yangzhou Prefecture can at least make dozens of decent armors during military training.

But to say that the Haihan army is poor, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Apart from the many warships moored in the port, each of the Haihan soldiers on the pier has a standard musket in their hands, which is obviously a standard individual weapon. .And Dai Chengrong even noticed that Duan Tiancheng had a leather case around his waist, which contained a small firecracker, which was obviously a weapon that only senior military officers could equip.

Although there is a firearms battalion in the Ming Dynasty's army, the actual scale is very limited. After all, the purchase and use of firearms are much more expensive than cold weapons.With the financial resources of Yangzhou salt merchants, it would be difficult to quietly form a private armed force using muskets. However, infantry using muskets in the Haihan Army seems to be a standard unit, which is obviously not bad for money.

And after getting to a relatively short distance, everyone can see that these Haihan soldiers are all full of energy, rosy complexion, bright eyes, strong and strong, which is completely different from the usual guard soldiers, or their faces are gray and defeated. Either thin and weak, the difference between physical condition and mental head is simply worlds apart.

However, the reason for this difference is no stranger to the children of salt merchants. The dead warriors raised by their own family to guard the house are probably in the same state as Hai Hanbing.As long as you eat and drink well every day, have no worries about food and clothing and exercise frequently, you will naturally be able to maintain a relatively good state.The living conditions of the Haihan army are obviously quite good, so that they can look like they have seen.

But the cost of raising a few guards is obviously incomparable to raising tens of thousands of soldiers, so Dai Chengrong quickly realized that the lack of armor for Haihan soldiers should not be due to economic reasons, but intentional.Then there is only one possibility. The Haihan army does not intend to fight the opponent in close quarters at all, so it completely abandons the strong protective but very heavy armor.

Dai Chengrong's inference was close to the truth, but he didn't know that the Haihan Army actually had simple armor to protect the vital parts of the torso, but it was generally only worn in special combat situations, and would not be used as a tool to show off its wealth to outsiders. exhibit.

Duan Tiancheng didn't know that this young man had so many thoughts in his mind, so he stood not far away, watching Dai Chengrong run and gather together with Ma Zhengping.

Ma Zhengping was still a little worried that Dai Chengrong's performance would not meet Duan Tiancheng's requirements, so he said good things for Dai Chengrong while watching his words, hoping that Dai Chengrong could pass the first test smoothly.

Duan Tiancheng was actually quite satisfied with his performance, this young man was able to bring this fleet from Yangzhou hundreds of miles away to Zhoushan, and there was no delay in the journey.After arriving in Zhoushan, I didn't rush into the port, but stayed on a nearby island for one night, and then docked the ship after packing up.No matter who made the itinerary plan, but being able to execute it smoothly all the way shows that the commander has relatively strong ability.

Having had a brief conversation with Dai Chengrong earlier, Duan Tiancheng even saw in him the shadow of himself when he first joined the army, cautious, curious, and responsible...

At least from the first impression, Duan Tiancheng thought that the quality of the leader selected by the Huizhou salt merchants was not bad, and if he honed it slowly over time, he might really be able to cultivate him into an excellent commander.

Of course, regarding these comments, Duan Tiancheng would not say them immediately.As the instructor of this special team, he knows that it is too early to evaluate these students. At least ten or eight days of training will be required before he can gradually see the true side of these students.

As for the candidate for the commander of this team, although Dai Chengrong was recommended by the salt merchant, he may not be the only candidate. Duan Tiancheng will still decide whether to replace the candidate based on his performance during the training.

After everyone went ashore, Dai Chengrong took some time to complete the whole team, and then reported to Duan Tiancheng.

"Then start the roll call!" Duan Tiancheng stretched out his hand, and someone had already handed the roster to him.

Ma Zhengping was at the side, but he was a little anxious. They were starting to count the rosters. Why didn't Shi Diwen show up yet? Could it be that he didn't come because of something?

In fact, when Dai Chengrong started to organize disembarkation, Duan Tiancheng signaled his men to go to the headquarters to report the progress here to Shi Diwen.If Shi Diwen had other arrangements, there would be time to make adjustments.After the messenger came back from the headquarters, he did not bring back other instructions, so it was obvious that the original plan was carried out.So Duan Tiancheng didn't panic at all, only Ma Zhengping, who didn't understand the mystery, was still guessing whether Shi Diwen would appear or not.

Halfway through the roll call, a group of cavalry came in the distance, guarding a four-wheeled black carriage.Of course, the disciples of the Salt Gang, who were being called, also noticed this conspicuous team, and all turned their attention to the huge carriage.

Seeing this car, Ma Zhengping's heart was finally relieved.He had met Shi Diwen several times, so he naturally recognized that this carriage was Shi Diwen's exclusive car.The appearance of the highest official in Zhoushan symbolized the importance Haihan officials attached to these children of salt merchants, and this was also one of the key points that Ma Zhengping cared about the most.

The training price and the selling price of the weapons quoted by the Zhoushan authorities were simply sky-high. How could Ma Zhengping know that this was a deliberate extortion by the Haihan people? In fact, there is another purpose of using private armed forces to protect themselves, which is to seek Haihan's asylum.

After paying the exorbitant protection fee, Ma Zhengping also had to confirm that his money was not wasted, so this matter could get enough attention from Haihan officials, and Shi Diwen's attitude was an extremely important symbol.

(End of this chapter)