1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2383
Even if Haihan sends troops to intervene now, the battle situation in Jinan Prefecture is irreversible, and it is even more impossible to restore the damage caused by the Qing army.What Haihan can do now is to try his best to deal with the chaos that will arise in Shandong, and to guide and resettle the large number of refugees who fled to Dengzhou, so as to avoid other secondary disasters.After talking about the battle situation, Gong Shiqi will talk about the refugee situation next.

Gong Shiqidao: "According to my observation, all the officials along the way regard resisting the Qing army as their top priority. No one pays attention to the people who escaped from the war zone. Most of the cities have closed gates, and refugees are not allowed to enter the city at all. Of course, this is not entirely because the government is unwilling to help. In such a chaotic situation, once the city is opened and released, the influx of refugees will quickly overcrowd these cities, and then supplies will run out, order will collapse, and the cities will be destroyed. It will be self-defeating. And no one can guarantee how many Qing army spies are mixed among so many refugees. If they sneak into the city and cooperate with each other, the consequences will be equally serious."

Sun Zhen nodded slightly and said: "The situation here in Zhaoyuan County is like this. Refugees from other places are not allowed to enter the county, and the local government has no ability to organize them to save themselves, so a large number of refugees will gather near the county, which is difficult for the government to resolve. hidden danger."

Gong Shiqi continued his words and said: "I saw a lot of situations like Zhaoyuan County on the way. Basically, no local government dared to take the risk to resettle refugees locally. Most of them just guided the refugees to continue to go away from the war zone These refugees who have not received any reasonable resettlement will engulf more people on the way to escape, causing the refugee wave to grow like a snowball.”

Sun Zhendao: "If you judge according to the battle situation you just mentioned, it is estimated that a considerable part of the people in Jinan Prefecture will be taken away by the Qing army. The number of refugees who actually escaped from Jinan Prefecture may not be particularly large. In Qingzhou and Laizhou, there will be more people joining the fleeing team due to panic or other reasons."

Gong Shiqi nodded and said: "That's right. I don't think there will be more than [-] refugees who escaped from Jinan Prefecture. A considerable number of them chose to flee south into the mountains, and only half of them fled to Dengzhou. .But the number of refugees joining along the way is likely to be more than the actual people who escaped from the war zone, so I predict that the number of refugees fleeing to Dengzhou may exceed [-]."

Sun Zhen was secretly startled when he heard the words. Before he set off on this trip, he specifically inquired about the number of refugees that Haihan picked up from Shandong during the Denglai Rebellion. The influx of refugees may be several times that of that year, and he can't help but worry about whether Fushan County can withstand such a test.

Gong Shiqi saw that Sun Zhen was uneasy, and comforted him in a deep voice: "Since General Chen sent you to Zhaoyuan to guide the refugees, it means that the above should have a plan to resettle the refugees. I guess most of them plan to ship them overseas. Resettlement, many places in the south need to introduce a large number of Han immigrants. This time, a large number of helpless refugee population can be concentrated, which is also a rare opportunity for our country. You and I don’t have to worry too much, just follow the instructions given above Order to get things done.”

Gong Shiqi has been working with Hao Wanqing in Shandong recently, so he is also very aware of the actual situation in Fushan County. He knows that it is impossible to rely on one place to absorb this refugee wave. pressure.As for the deployment of shipping capacity, neither he nor Sun Zhen can do anything about it. They can only concentrate on completing the tasks they are responsible for.

While speaking, Sun Zhen's orderly had already brought hot tea and hot food.In the current environment, it is naturally impossible to serve any big fish and meat. I just cooked a bowl of noodles, added a spoonful of oil and chili, and then put a few pieces of dried meat the size of my pinkie in the bowl, and sprinkled some pickles Grains, that's all.Gong Shiqi didn't refuse, after thanking Sun Zhen, he picked up the wind and clouds in the bowl, and it seemed that he was really hungry.

Gong Shiqi poured down the bowl of noodles in one breath, and even drank the soup, and then said to Sun Zhen, "I ran back from Zhangqiu on this journey, and I didn't eat any hot food on the way. The cold water can be dealt with by fried noodles. I finally had a hot meal, and now I feel comfortable!"

Sun Zhen said: "Then you must have not had a good rest on the way. I'll ask someone to set up a few tents for you and your brothers. You should go and rest for a few hours first."

Gong Shiqi waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about sleeping in the evening. While it's still early in the morning, I have to go out and do some things. I'll meet you back before dark."

Gong Shiqi didn't take the initiative to explain, and Sun Zhen tactfully didn't ask further. He knew that people like Gong Shiqi had too many unspeakable confidential missions, and he didn't have the authority to ask about the other party's actions.

Gong Shiqi finished the remaining half cup of hot tea, then got up to say goodbye to Sun Zhen, went out of the tent to gather his troops, and left like a gust of wind.

Although Gong Shiqi didn't say where he was going, since he mentioned that he would come back to meet up after dark, it must not be too far away.Sun Zhen even wondered if Gong Shiqi was going to go to the city quietly to meet the magistrate of Nagu.

Every two hours or so, Sun Zhen would pick up the binoculars to look at the refugee temporary settlement about two miles away from the camp.One is to observe whether there is any special situation over there, and the other is to look at the expansion speed of the refugee area to judge the growth rate of local refugees.

Although his people have begun to carry out publicity and guidance to the refugees staying in the local area, encouraging the refugees to go to Fushan County to seek resettlement, there are still many refugees who do not plan to leave here immediately due to various reasons.

Some people are worried about food supplies on the road. After all, there is still a bowl of gruel every day in Zhaoyuan, but if you leave here and go on the road, you can only solve the food you need on the way.At least they had to figure out a way to solve the problem of food and accommodation on the way before leaving Zhaoyuan.

Others are planning to return home as soon as the fighting subsides, so they don't want to take refuge in a further place, they just want to stay in Zhaoyuan and slowly endure this hard time, so that when they can return, they The journey back home will be easier.

Of course, there are still some people who have more than enough energy but are unable to move even if they want to leave Zhaoyuan County because they are injured or sick, or are dragged down by their family members.

But no matter what the reason is for staying here, their living conditions will definitely become worse due to the influx of more refugees.Sun Zhen called the propaganda officer and asked him to adjust the propaganda strategy, inform the refugees in the county of the news that Jinan Prefecture had been breached by the Qing army, and at the same time tell them that more refugees will flood into Zhaoyuan County in the future, and they want to live well People have to leave for Fushan County as soon as possible.

The release of such news will undoubtedly cause a certain amount of panic among the refugee community, but this is exactly what Sun Zhen wants to achieve.The manpower and materials he can use now are very limited, and he can only try to let the refugees go to Fushan County to seek life. Maybe some of them will die on the way to Fushan County due to hunger and cold, but this pair of refugees It is already the best chance of survival.If they can pass this level and reach the refugee camp in Fukuyama County alive, then their chances of surviving this catastrophe will be very high.

Of course, those refugees from other state capitals may not believe these propagandas, because they may not know the origin of the Haihan Army at all, and just regard them as civilian armed forces from Fushan County.So even though Haihan's propaganda will make some refugees choose to leave Zhaoyuan County as soon as possible, there will still be many people who will continue to stay and wait and see the situation.

According to observations over the past two days, the number of refugees who have recently arrived near the county seat is indeed far greater than the number of refugees who have left here, but those who live among them often do not realize the risks inherent in this situation.Although Sun Zhen was very anxious about this, he couldn't come up with a better solution for a while.

In the evening, Gong Shiqi came back with his team.However, there were a lot of small bamboo baskets on the horse's back, and there was a layer of cloth inside, and I don't know what treasures they contained.But looking at the walking posture of these horses, it is obvious that the weight of these things is not light.

Sun Zhen noticed that most of Gong Shiqi and others had mud marks on their feet, and the horses were also like this. It seemed that they must have walked around the county town, so he asked jokingly, "Brother Gong, which valley did you run to?" Did you go digging for treasure?"

He was joking, but Gong Shiqi's expression froze for a moment, and then he returned to normal.

Gong Shiqi said: "I got some wild game from the mountains, let's cook it and eat it now!"

Sun Zhenxin thinks that I got the correct answer just by casually ignoring it. Sure enough, Gong Shiqi and others have entered the mountain.But Gong Shiqi left in such a hurry today that he didn't care about rest at all. Could it be that he just went into the mountains to hunt?

The prey that Gong Shiqi and others brought back were not many, mostly birds.After all, there are very few large animals active outside this season, and even if you want to hunt, it is difficult to find decent prey.But the small bamboo baskets they brought back with their pack horses were placed in a unified place, and Sun Zhen even sent two people to watch over them. Obviously, the things in these bamboo baskets were not simple.

Seeing this, Sun Zhen quietly asked Gong Shiqi to move the luggage and belongings of their team into several tents prepared for them. Moved into the tent.

After Gong Shiqi and others settled down, Sun Zhen finally couldn't hold back his curiosity, and asked him, "Brother Gong, what kind of treasure did you bring back?"

Gong Shishi was obviously a little surprised when he heard his question: "Didn't Brother Sun already know?"

"What do I know?" Sun Zhen was also confused.

"You just said that I went to the mountains to dig treasures... are you just talking casually?" Gong Shiqi finally figured out what the problem was.

Sun Zhen nodded and said, "I was just joking with Brother Gong...Brother Gong really went digging treasures!"

Gong Shiqi made a silent gesture, pulled Sun Zhen aside, and said in a low voice: "This is a secret mission, and it cannot be discussed in public. Brother Sun, let me enter the account."

Sun Zhenxin was curious, but he didn't rush to ask any more questions, and followed Gong Shiqi into the tent where the small bamboo baskets were placed.Gong Shiqi lifted the cloth wrapped in the bamboo basket and motioned Sun Zhen to take a closer look.

Sun Zhen leaned over to take a look through the light outside the tent, but was a little dumbfounded at the moment.Of course, he had also guessed what treasures were contained in these bamboo baskets in a short period of time. He would not be surprised if they were full of gold coins, silver ingots, gems, and pearls. The soil and rocks, with some mud and dead wood on them, were obviously just dug out of the ground.

Sun Zhen glanced at the other small bamboo baskets, and Gong Shiqi nodded, motioning him to go and see for himself.Sun Zhen bowed and lifted the covers on the small bamboo baskets, and the contents inside were exactly the same, they were just earth and rocks.

"That's it?" Sun Zhen didn't know what to say for a while. This obviously didn't look like a treasure. Could it be some kind of deception scheme by the Ministry of Security?
Gong Shishi said: "I'm going out today to go into the mountains to get these things. In the early morning of tomorrow, I will set off to transport these things back to Fushan County."

The more Sun Zhen listened, the more confused he became: "Brother Gong, what kind of treasure are you?"

Gong Shiqi patted Sun Zhen on the shoulder and said, "It's a mine! It's a very valuable mine!"

Sun Zhen asked subconsciously: "As valuable as the copper mine in Fushan County?"

"It's more valuable than that!" When Gong Shiqi said this, his eyes seemed to be shining: "If we can confirm the mineral deposits through these earth and rocks, then we will be prosperous!"

Sun Zhenben was born in Dengzhou, so after going back and forth, he slowly remembered something, his eyes widened and he said: "It's a gold mine! A gold mine!"

"Hush!" Gong Shiqi once again made a silent gesture: "This matter is very involved, so don't leak it!"

Sun Zhen came back to his senses, nodded again and again, but remained silent.

Gong Shiqidao: "Just now I thought Brother Sun already knew about this mission, so I misunderstood it. But since Brother Sun leads a team to station in Zhaoyuan, he will know about it sooner or later, so I just told Brother Sun."

Sun Zhendao: "However, the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine has been mined by the imperial court since the Northern Song Dynasty. How can we allow our country to get involved?"

Gong Shiqi said with a smile: "The imperial court mined mines owned by the imperial court, and these ores I didn't dig out from the imperial court's gold mines, do you understand?"

When Sun Zhen heard this, he suddenly realized.In the beginning, when the copper mine was mined in Fushan County, it was also Haihan's own prospecting organization, but now it is obvious that this practice is to be applied to the gold mine in Zhaoyuan County.Although the imperial court also mined gold mines here, Gong Shiqi and his party probably found another undiscovered ore vein.And the ores they transported back secretly should be brought back for further inspection to confirm whether the local ore veins are worth mining.

(End of this chapter)