1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2312
This courtyard was originally the private residence of a high-ranking official of the Korean state. When Haihan bought this place outside Seoul, it was because the military thought that the place was large enough and the distance between it and the city was more suitable, and that it could be used in extraordinary times. Use this as your command center.Immediately after taking it down, a certain degree of reconstruction and expansion was carried out here, and a high wall was rebuilt around the periphery to meet the requirements of military use.

Of course, the most obvious part of the transformation is the construction of a four-story wooden tower here, which can have a panoramic view of the situation within a few miles, even the defenses on the city wall.Although the North Korean side knew that the purpose of the tower was not good, they did not dare to raise objections publicly because of Haihan's power.

However, during the period after its completion, the function of this tower was really limited. More often than not, it was regarded as a symbol of Haihan by the local people, and even folks called it "Haihan Tower".Wang Tom regretted it for a while. He knew that the North Korean side would not dare to speak out against it. When making the plan, he should have added a few more floors, simply built it higher, and brought the city into the scope of surveillance.

Of course, this is most likely just Tom Wang's joke.If it is really necessary to add a few more floors, the amount of work will be completely different. It may not be completed until now, and the military will not be willing to spend so long waiting for this flashy project.After all, at that time, who would have thought that something would happen in Seoul after a year, and the tower would come in handy soon after it was completed.

However, what Mei Baiji thinks is not whether this place is suitable for the command center of the Haihan Army, but since the Haihan Army will requisition this place, doesn't that mean that he can finally evacuate from Seoul?

In the turbulent season, Mei Baiji, who has always been cautious, did not want to take risks and continue to be on the front line.It would be best if we could retreat to Ganghwa Island or the Daedong River Base.

But he was also a little worried about the current situation in Seoul. The military may not be willing to tear their face and send troops to attack the city. The North Korean prince who rushed back from the South China Sea probably would not be happy to see his capital city destroyed by war.But if you want to slowly negotiate with the person in charge in the city, then you may not be able to go.

Mei Baiji stayed in Seoul for more than a year. Apart from dealing with the Haihan businessmen who came here to do business, he also naturally interacted with North Korean dignitaries.Most of the upper class in North Korea knew that the imperial court had borrowed from Haihan Bank. Since the imperial court had borrowed money from Haihan Bank, it was not taboo to ask Haihan to borrow money in their own name.

It is precisely because of this idea that Mei Baiji has attracted many high-ranking clients of status and status for Haihan Bank, and at the request of some secret agencies, has collected and sorted out a lot of information about these people.

Where the information was sent and what it would be used for, Mei Baiji didn't dare to ask and didn't want to ask.But if the Haihan army wants to negotiate with the people in the city, someone must provide relevant information, and it is very likely that he will be retained as a consultant.

"I hope that General Wang and General Qian will be more decisive and send troops directly to quell the chaos!" Mei Baiji thought about this juncture, and could only pin his hope of escape on the military.

Although Fu Li is young, he has been working under the time traveler in the past years, and his vision and knowledge are far beyond ordinary people. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Don't worry, shopkeeper Mei. Whether you fight this battle or not, you will definitely not have any experience." Danger."

Mei Baiji was overwhelmed by Fu Li, so he didn't avoid the topic, he just sighed and said, "I'm just the bank manager, I really can't take other responsibilities."

If it was before being transferred to go abroad, Fu Li would probably look down on Mei Baiji's idea of ​​evading responsibility, but now he has been overseas for more than a year, so he naturally understands the difficulties of being overseas.When an order is issued in Sanya, people working overseas can break their legs, and the big shots in Sanya may not even know the risks they take during the period.

A person like Mei Baiji probably wouldn't hold multiple jobs before going abroad, and even had to help with the work of the intelligence department. It is reasonable for him to feel tired of avoiding the current situation.

But now Haihan's presence in North Korea has not yet been fully rolled out. People like them are here to play the front line. There is no one to replace them. They can only stand on the front line, even if they know there are risks.

Long before leaving the country, Fu Li had the consciousness of dedicating himself to the country. If he could not make contributions overseas, he would have no face to return to Sanya to meet those big shots who raised him.In his opinion, the accident in Seoul this time was risky, but it was also an opportunity for him to express himself.

But he knew that he couldn't ask everyone around him to do the same. An ordinary person like Mei Baiji couldn't expect him to be as brave as a specially trained soldier.

"Treasurer Mei, the situation is not as bad as you think." Fu Li comforted: "The two generals stationed on Jianghua Island are sure that the chaos in Seoul will not last forever, otherwise troops will be sent to suppress it. If it ends up It is a great thing for us and for the North Korean people to be able to resolve the issue through negotiations."

It's not that Mei Baiji doesn't understand this truth, it's just that he was so focused on thinking about the way out for himself just now that he didn't think in this direction.Anyway, Fu Li is now the person in charge of all affairs in Seoul, he can be regarded as his direct superior, and Mei Baiji will definitely not offend the other party by slipping his words.

"Master Fu is right. Although I have little talent and learning, I will do my best to do more for the country." Mei Baiji was humble, but secretly complained in his heart.

Speaking of this, if I still backed down in front of my boss, I would be too ignorant.But in this way, it might be even more difficult for him to find a reason to evacuate from this dangerous zone.

The high income and high benefits of practicing overseas are the main reason why many people, including Mei Baiji, choose this path, but these benefits are not so easy to get.The risks and responsibilities that need to be borne are far more than those of domestic counterparts.

Fu Li knew that Mei Baiji was a smart person, and it was enough to say so much. He smiled immediately, stood up and walked to the railing, took the binoculars from his subordinates, and continued to observe the situation near Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul in the distance .

Sungnye Gate is currently only open for a short time in the morning and evening to allow supplies to come in and out. Most of the supplies brought in are grain and other living supplies. After all, there are tens of thousands of people in the city who need to survive, and the supplies needed every day are not small.As for the things that were transported out, Fu Li didn't quite understand them at first, and then he sent someone out to follow them quietly for a while, only to realize that most of the people pulled in the large carriages out of the city every day were dead people, and they were dragged to the mass graves at the foot of Nanshan Mountain in the south of the city for disposal. Lose.

However, the number of horse-drawn carriages leaving the city has decreased significantly in recent days, so Fu Li speculates that this should be a sign that the situation in the city has basically stabilized.

Of course, this is not something that can be 100% sure. After all, Seoul has four city gates in the southeast, northwest, and Fuli can only monitor the Sungrye Gate in the south. Suddenly change the place to dispose of the corpse.

But what Fu Li wanted to observe the most, there was no movement at Sungli Gate.

With such a big commotion in Seoul this time, the perpetrators will definitely send troops into Seoul from other places to control the situation. If they can observe the banners of these troops entering the city, they may be able to deduce from them which high-ranking officials participated in the coup. .

But Sungnye Gate was closed most of the time these days, not to mention large groups of troops coming in and out, even the scattered cavalry passing military orders have not seen a few.The defenders on the city wall changed their defenses every day, but most of the military uniforms and equipment of the North Korean army were almost tattered, so it was impossible to tell which troops they belonged to.

This is of course not a coincidence, Fu Li can think that this is the other party deliberately avoiding the tower outside the Chongli Gate.They knew that Haihan would monitor the movement of Seoul here, but they didn't dare to do anything to this place, so if they wanted to keep the secret, they had to abandon Sungnyemun Gate.

You have Zhang Liangji, and I have wall ladders. When Haihan planned to build this tower, he probably did not expect the special situation of today. The effect of monitoring is actually greatly reduced.

But it was also because of this that Fu Li was sure that the rebels in the city would not dare to attack his stronghold, otherwise they wouldn't have to be so careful.Regardless of the use of force or negotiations in the future, there should not be too much danger here, so he has the confidence to persuade Mei Baiji not to worry too much about safety here.

After nightfall, Mei Baiji had already left the tower that would make his heart beat faster, but Fuli was still guarding here.He now eats, drinks, and sleeps in the tower. Even though he knows that there is nothing to see at night, he still insists on doing so.

There was darkness on the city wall and inside the city, only occasionally a few torches could be seen moving in the streets and alleys in the distance, and Fu Li knew that they should be soldiers on night watch.Since the incident, a curfew has been enforced in the city. In the first few days, the fires that ignited in various places in the city could be used to observe, but now that the fires have been extinguished, it is almost impossible to see the situation in the city after nightfall.

"These guys in the city... what are they doing secretly?"

Fu Li doesn't quite understand the actions of the rebellious party in the city. Now that the situation in Seoul has been settled, a new king should be launched as soon as possible, and at the same time, he should actively contact Haihan to start negotiations. As long as the new king can get Haihan's approval, then the coup will basically be nothing It's done.But now that the city has settled down, but there is no further action, what are they waiting for?
The information that Fu Li possessed was really limited, even if he noticed something unusual, it was still difficult to deduce the truth of the matter.All he can do now is to keep staring at Seoul and wait for the situation to change—even if the rebels in the city keep silent, Haihan will not wait forever, and will take action sooner or later.

Not long after waking up the next day, Fu Li got the news from Jianghua Island that the two generals decided to march to Seoul!

This is actually a development that Fu Li expected, but he was unable to determine the specific time before.But for the people stationed in this stronghold, this is definitely an exciting and good news.As soon as the army arrives, they really don't have to worry about their personal safety anymore.

However, Fu Li did not immediately announce the news to everyone, because there are thousands of North Korean people seeking asylum outside the compound, if the news spreads, it would be easy to leak, and he is not sure how many spies are among the people Inquire about news.

Most of these people were homeless because of the rebellion, and the safest place near Seoul was probably the Haihan stronghold outside the city.Fu Li also ordered people to take out two hundred catties of grain every day, and cook porridge to give to these refugees.

On the one hand, this is to earn a good reputation for charity for Haihan, and on the other hand, it is also to appease the emotions of the people. After all, there are really not many places nearby that store a lot of food. Once these refugees lose their minds due to hunger, they will become a A group of terrifying refugees poses a huge threat to this stronghold.

However, after repelling the harassment of several groups of rebels, the level of force of this stronghold has been fully demonstrated. Even if there are some criminals among these refugees, they dare not easily challenge the armed guards of the stronghold.

Fu Li also had a little selfishness. He hoped that after the Haihan army took control of the outskirts of Seoul, they could pick up these refugees in batches and resettle them to other places—such as the Liaodong and Shandong colonial areas under Haihan's control.The introduction of immigrants in large numbers is a real feat.The only problem is to try to hide this matter from the North Korean government, otherwise it will definitely lead to disputes between the two countries.

What Fu Li didn't know was that Li Yi had already relaxed the restrictions on immigration on behalf of North Korea. In the future, North Korean people would be allowed to choose to settle in other countries. Even if the refugees outside the stronghold were taken away now, it would not cause diplomatic problems. .

Although Fu Li intends to keep military secrets, in fact, the shelf life of this secret is not too long. A fleet from Ganghwa Island arrived in Seoul that afternoon.

The soldiers and horses did not move, and the grain and grass went first. The first to be sent by the fleet outside Seoul was not a large army with live ammunition, but tens of thousands of catties of grain.

Although many people were envious of the grain from the beginning of unloading by the river, no one dared to provoke the Haihan people's grain transport team.There was an idler who came closer without permission and wanted to fish in troubled waters. He was knocked to the ground by the gun butt of the Haihan soldier, and he was kicked so hard that he couldn't get up for a long time.

With such a negative textbook in front of them, some people who were planning to try it secretly gave up their thoughts.Anyway, the Haihan people will continue to give out porridge and relief. Although they don't have enough to eat, they don't have to risk their lives just to grab some food.

All these grains were transported into the stronghold, and several warehouses that were originally empty were filled within half a day.During this period, Mei Baiji was transferred to work as a temporary warehouse manager, responsible for organizing personnel to receive and count the military rations that had just arrived here.

However, Mei Baiji's mood was much more relaxed at this time. Now that the military rations have arrived, can the large army be far behind?

(End of this chapter)