1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2381
Guzhi County is so eager to send the local refugees away, even ignoring the instructions sent by the Dengzhou government, because the current situation in Zhaoyuan County is already very urgent, and he can't allow him to drag it down any longer.

At present, there are not too many refugees living outside the county seat, only about 3000 to [-] people. The county government brings out a hundred or so catties of rice grain from the official warehouse every day, and adds some wild vegetables to cook gruel, which can be used as a means of disaster relief to deal with refugees. Ensure that they will not lose control due to food shortage.It would be fine if it stopped at this level, but the number of refugees pouring into Zhaoyuan County is increasing rapidly recently, food, medicine, shelter, public security, all aspects of disaster relief measures have begun to fail to keep up with the changes in the situation.

Referring to the recent war news from Jinan Prefecture, the number of refugees fleeing into the Denglai area is about to increase explosively. By then, the number of refugees residing in Zhaoyuan County is likely to rise from a few thousand to tens of thousands, or even more. By that time, the few official storehouses in the county will certainly not be able to meet the survival needs of so many people.And once so many refugees cannot be accommodated here, and they cannot be evacuated, chaos will inevitably arise.

Although the Terengganu Government strictly forbade the refugees to go to Fushan County, they did not offer any solution to help Zhaoyuan County get out of the predicament. They only transported more than 20 truckloads of food in a symbolic manner and ignored it.Such a small amount of assistance is just a drop in the bucket for Zhaoyuan County. If they continue to follow the orders of the Terengganu Prefecture, they will simply sit and wait for death. How could Guzhi County be willing to become a victim of the struggle between the Terengganu Prefecture and Haihan?

Now that the Haihan people took the initiative to go to Zhaoyuan to solve this difficult problem for the magistrate of Gu County, how could he refuse this life-saving straw that appeared in time.Let these refugees leave the local area. Whether they cause chaos or starve to death in the future, it is the fault of Fushan County and Haihan people, and they will not be blamed on themselves again.As long as the current hidden danger can be resolved, it doesn't matter if it violates the will of Dengzhou government.

Lou Bin thought for a while and then said: "The Haihan army in the humble position view only has two or three hundred horsemen and more than 20 carriages. It is estimated that they will not stay in this county for too long. If they withdraw, there will be a large number of them in the future." Refugees flood into the county, so what should we do?"

Gu Zhixian frowned and said, "You have to guard against the situation you mentioned...then what's your idea?"

Lou Bin said: "Since your lord thinks that you don't have to worry about the opinions of the Dengzhou government for the time being, I think you can do it more thoroughly. For example, we can secretly support the Haihan army with some food and grass, and let them stay in Zhaoyuan for a longer period of time. First, you can continue to guide the refugees to Fushan County. Second, with the Haihan army camping here, you can also deal with the censure of the Terengganu government. If the Terengganu government thinks it is inappropriate, let them send troops to drive Haihan away. The army is ready... Given the current situation in Dengzhou Prefecture, I can only stare blankly at this."

The magistrate of Gu County thought it over: "Currently the Haihan army in the county has not many troops, and it can't consume too much food. If we can solve the two problems of Dengzhou Prefecture and refugees, it will kill two birds with one stone... Lou Bin, you this time When you go out of the city to meet the other party, you can tentatively mention this matter. If the other party agrees to cooperate, then hand over the batch of food sent by Dengzhou Prefecture to them... Well, remember to deliver it in batches, don't make it public! "

At this time, Sun Zhen didn't know that there would be such a good thing, he was still summarizing the various news he got so far to judge the changes in the surrounding areas, especially the situation in the direction of Jinan Prefecture.At the same time, it is also necessary to arrange various measures to publicize and guide refugees, so as to ensure that refugees who arrive in Zhaoyuan can learn as soon as possible how to go to Fushan County for resettlement.

At present, the channels for obtaining information are mainly from the refugees who can be contacted in the surrounding area, but these people have different descriptions of the situation in Jinan Prefecture, and what they can provide is only fragmented information, which needs to be screened and analyzed by Sun Zhen himself. It is not an easy task to distinguish and extract the truly valuable content from it.

Although Haihan can use some secret historical materials to determine the general direction of the war, because the historical process has changed in many places, even the large database known as the "prophet" cannot provide completely accurate information. Battlefield intelligence, so the screening and judgment of intelligence information has become a difficult problem that tests the commander's ability.

Sun Zhen rose to the position of battalion commander step by step from a young soldier. Of course, he also received professional training in intelligence collection and analysis during this period, but the current situation in Shandong is still too complicated for him, and it is difficult to confirm the accuracy of the information at hand. True and effective.

Such a situation is unavoidable in times of war. Many ordinary people have never left their hometown for hundreds of miles in their entire lives, and their knowledge is extremely limited. It is difficult for them to clearly describe what they have seen and heard, and even flee from their hometown. I can’t even explain the itinerary to Zhaoyuan, let alone the movement of the Qing army that Sun Zhen cares about.

Under such circumstances, Sun Zhen could only use Chen Yixin's prediction of the battle situation in Shandong as a benchmark to arrange subsequent actions.

According to Chen Yixin's prediction, there is a high probability that Jinan City will fall. At that time, Jinan City and the people within a few miles will become prisoners of the Qing army, and the surrounding areas will fall into panic because of the fall of Jinan City. Even if the Qing army did not The area entered is also very likely to cause large-scale fleeing due to the panic of the people.

And refugees tend to follow the crowd when they flee, and they don't have a clear destination. Most people go where there are many people.The government along the way basically does not have the ability to accommodate a large number of refugees, and it is estimated that only Fushan County has prepared for this in advance.

However, regarding the size of the refugee wave, Haihan only had a rough prediction, and it was necessary to rely on outposts like Sun Zhen to obtain more accurate information on the actual situation.For this mission, Sun Zhen dispatched a communication soldier to operate the radio station, so the news he obtained from Zhaoyuan can be sent back to the headquarters in the first time, which can probably buy Fushan County four to five days of response time.Although such a short period of time is not enough to transfer supplies from overseas, at least some buffer measures can be taken to avoid the chaos that would be caused by a sudden mass influx of refugees into Fukuyama Prefecture.

The next day, Master Lou went out of the city again to the temporary station of the Haihan Army, conveyed to Sun Zhen the meaning of Guzhi County, and asked if Sun Zhen would be stationed near the county seat for a long time.

Sun Zhen misunderstood what he meant, and explained patiently: "Our army has no malicious intentions towards Zhaoyuan County, and will not take the initiative to approach the county seat. Please Guzhi County, don't worry about the safety of the county seat."

Seeing that Sun Zhen didn't understand what he meant, Lou Bin had no choice but to speak more bluntly: "It seems that your Ministry does not have much supplies, and I think it will not be stationed locally for a long time, but if there are a lot of supplies in a few days Refugees have come to the local area, and your ministry has already evacuated, so how do you guide them to Fushan County to receive assistance? Perhaps staying in Zhaoyuan for a few more days can help more people.”

Sun Zhen heard that he didn't seem to be hostile, so he nodded and said: "This matter is indeed difficult. Our department will try to stay in Zhaoyuan for a few more days, or try to arrange some food and grass from nearby areas. It's just that there are turmoil everywhere now. Even if you want to It’s also hard to spend money to buy some food.”

Seeing that he had gotten to the point, Lou Bin gave a dry cough and said in a low voice, "If Master Sun has such a wish, the county can provide your ministry with a small amount of food and grass for the garrison."

Sun Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard the words, this Lou Bin is the teacher of the county magistrate, and such words from his mouth should represent the attitude of the county government.

"Is this what Guzhi County means?" Sun Zhen asked tentatively.

Lou Bin replied noncommittally: "In view of the situation in this county, the food we can provide is also very limited, about two to three thousand catties, and it will take some time to raise funds, so we can only deliver it to your ministry in batches. How does Master Sun feel?"

Naturally, Sun Zhen would not dislike this sudden support, but he still wanted to understand the reason why the Zhaoyuan government did this: "Master Lou, if our department stays in Zhaoyuan for a longer period of time, it means that there will be More refugees are going to Fushan County, isn’t this contrary to the order issued by the Terengganu Prefecture to Zhaoyuan County?”

Lou Bin sighed and said: "Guzhi County is unparalleled in kindness and righteousness. How can we just sit back and watch the people suffer from hunger in the local area? As long as we can help more refugees, even if we go against the wishes of the Dengzhou government, we can only disobey orders. Not much, even if all the food is given out, it will not save many people, but it will make them greedy for this place and refuse to leave, which will eventually lead to the collapse of local order. It is better to donate these grains to your ministry, and then your ministry will guide the refugees to Fushan counties, so that more people can receive assistance.”

Sun Zhen was dubious about this, he didn’t think that Guzhi County is a good official who loves the people like his son, if he really wanted to help the refugees, he would just open the gate of the city every day and release a meal of gruel, regardless of the living conditions of the refugees outside the city.There are no measures to at least organize refugees to save themselves, and there is no such thing as a qualified local government.

Before he knew it, Sun Zhen still used Haihan's standard to measure the local government of Ming Dynasty, but he didn't know that the reason for this gap was not only the professionalism and sense of responsibility of the officials themselves, but also the gap in national strength.Haihan can complete cross-regional material and personnel deployment in a short period of time, and can quickly approve urgent funding needs, and these are precisely the shortcomings of the local government of Ming Dynasty.

Even if Zhaoyuan County is willing to accept refugees, the local area does not have enough supplies, and it can easily become an anticlimactic situation that cannot be closed.Guzhi County knew that it could not win this merit, and did not want to take the blame for it, so it hardly took any other relief measures except giving porridge, hoping that these refugees could not stand the harsh conditions in Zhaoyuan County and leave sooner.

As for how Haihan plans to accept these refugees after they go to Fushan County, and what will happen to them in the future, that is not something Guzhi County needs to worry about.

But no matter what, if they can get the supplies provided by Zhaoyuan County, the reinforced company led by Sun Zhen can extend the mission of stationing here, thus gaining precious time to guide more refugees to Fushan County.For Haihan, this must be a good thing that is beneficial and harmless.

After Sun Zhen thanked Lou Bin, he asked Lou Bin if he had any other requests. He thought that the other party would not offer funding for no reason, and there must be an exchange waiting for him.

Lou Bin said: "Regarding the matter of the county's food supply, please keep it a secret from the outside world, Mr. Sun, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble if it gets out."

Sun Zhen nodded and said: "Naturally, please rest assured, I will strictly prohibit this matter from being published."

Lou Bin continued: "If there are too many refugees pouring into this county in a few days, which endangers the safety of the county, please ask Mr. Sun to help in time to help maintain local order."

In a small county like Zhaoyuan, the few garrisons have already been transferred away, and now the city defense is maintained by government servants and some court guards from the wealthy gentry's family, and the city gates can only be closed to ensure safety.But if the refugees rioted on a large scale, the city defense would be no different from paper, and it would definitely not be able to stop a decent offensive.And if such an extreme situation occurs, the Haihan Army with strict military discipline is more reliable.

Sun Zhen was taken aback for a moment, and then asked back: "Isn't Master Lou worried that our department will take the opportunity to seize the county seat?"

Lou Bin smiled bitterly: "There is no money or food in this county, so what's the use of your ministry taking it? Besides, the purpose of your ministry's coming to Zhaoyuan County is for these refugees. They are much more valuable than this county, aren't they? "

Sun Zhen couldn't help laughing and said: "Master Lou really understands people. In this city and a pool of land, how can it be important to have a population!"

Lou Bin actually didn't really understand why Haihan had such a big obsession with the population demand, but Sun Zhen's statement did reassure him a little bit. Haihan people have little interest in Zhaoyuan County, which means The situation that Zhuogu County was most worried about should not happen.

After sending Lou Bin away, Sun Zhen recruited communications soldiers and drafted a telegram for him to send back to the headquarters.The main content is to inform the rear about the progress he has made in Zhaoyuan and the application for extending the stationing time.

The reinforcement company brought by Sun Zhen has a limited number of people, and the daily food consumption is actually not too much. If the county can supply food as promised, then they can at least extend the stationing time for another half a month or so.By gaining this period of time, not only can more refugees be guided to Fushan County, but also a land passage from Fushan County to Zhaoyuan County can be gradually established, more materials and personnel can be sent to Zhaoyuan, and a An outpost that can be maintained for a long time.

Sun Zhen did not mention such things as withdrawing from Zhaoyuan after the situation eased, and Lou Bin and his superiors did not seem to be aware of this hidden danger. They only wanted to solve the current problem, but Sun Zhen In fact, there are other plans.

Occupying Zhaoyuan County does not mean much to Haihan, just as Haihan managed such a situation in Fushan County, he also did not take action against the county.The control of the county seat is just a symbol, keeping him is to keep Daming's face, so that both parties can continue to maintain the relationship on the surface.This is the case in Fushan County, and Zhaoyuan County can naturally follow suit.

(End of this chapter)