1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2385
In March 1639, the bitter chill still had not dissipated from the Shandong Peninsula, and the low temperature caused no less harm to the fleeing people than hunger.Where tens of thousands of refugees pass by, it is like locusts crossing the border. Even the roots and bark of the trees are stripped clean, and the trees near the road often have bare poles left. fuel.

Naturally, the villages, towns and counties along the way cannot bear the pressure of survival brought about by this sudden population explosion.Some small villages were directly swallowed up by the surging refugee tide, and all the supplies were snapped up by the refugees, and the villagers would also be coerced into joining the refugee tide because they lost their living supplies.

The government along the way is basically the same as Zhaoyuan County. They have no ability to organize refugees to save themselves, and they are also unable to resettle refugees on the spot. There will be no chaos in the jurisdiction.

Without the arrival of the Haihan Army, the situation in Zhaoyuan County would probably not be much better than those places in the west. The rapid influx of refugees would soon turn all the places outside the county into wasteland, making the local material circulation and social life difficult. Order has completely collapsed.

Although the troops led by Sun Zhen were small in strength, they effectively promoted the outflow of refugees after they came to Zhaoyuan County, and relieved the pressure on Zhaoyuan County to a certain extent.However, it remains to be seen whether such measures will be equally effective for the large number of refugees who are coming.

The Zhaoyuan County Government provided the first batch of one thousand catties of grain as promised, and sent two carts to transport it to the Haihan Army Garrison outside the city after nightfall.But only half of it is rice, and the rest is made up of various miscellaneous grains, and the quality is quite poor. It can be seen that it is several years old grain.It's just that in the current environment, Sun Zhen can't argue with the county government about these trivial issues, so he can only accept it first.

On the contrary, Gong Shiqi was rather annoyed after inspecting the food delivered: "This guy surnamed Gu came here to send beggars with all these things! When I go to the city next time, I must have a good talk with him!"

Sun Zhen persuaded rather calmly: "In this critical period, it's not bad if you can get food. Besides, if it's cooked, it doesn't mean you can't eat it. It's better than nothing."

Seeing that Sun Zhen didn't want to care about it, Gong Shiqi didn't want to take the initiative to cause trouble at the moment, but he secretly wrote down this account, and in the future he would always find a reason to teach Na Gu County a lesson.

Gong Shiqi's subordinates have all returned to Fushan County, so he can only put the gold mine matter aside for now, and do his best to assist Sun Zhen in dealing with the refugee affairs.

Since the beginning of March, the number of refugees in Zhaoyuan County has shown a straight-line upward trend. The continuous crowds on the official road in the south of the county are all people who fled from Laizhou.

These people soon discovered that the gates of the county seat were closed, and they would not be allowed to enter the city to ask for help. They could only find a place outside the city to rest and ask the refugees who had arrived here earlier about the local situation.Of course, the situation here will not satisfy anyone. There is no food, medical care, and shelter. The government does not care about the life or death of the refugees. If they want to survive, they can only rely on themselves.But in the vicinity of the county seat, there are basically no survival resources available. Even the small river next to the county seat is fished up many times by hungry refugees every day, and now there are probably no river prawns.

Wherever food can be obtained, whether it is fishing in the river or hunting birds in the mountains, hundreds of refugees try every day, and some of them are fishermen and hunters who fled with hunting tools.But the food that can be obtained through these methods is just a drop in the bucket for the increasing number of refugees.It is becoming more and more difficult for latecomers to find food near the county seat.

Relying on the porridge given out every day by the county seat or the food obtained from nearby areas can no longer meet the survival needs of the vast majority of refugees.For them, there are basically two destinations. One is to go north to the beach, and then go to Dengzhou City along the coastline. Make another plan in Zhoucheng; the other way is to follow the instructions of the Hai'an people and continue eastward to Fushan County, where it is said that all refugees will be properly resettled, and there is no need to worry about basic survival issues such as food and housing.

But these two options are not perfect, and each has certain risks.The temperature by the sea is lower than that in Zhaoyuan surrounded by mountains. For the refugees who lack food and clothing, it will be more difficult to survive the cold night.And even if they can go to Dengzhou smoothly in the end, it may not be possible to take them there, and it may be the same as in Zhaoyuan.

The propaganda to persuade refugees to go to Fushan County is indeed more attractive, as if all problems can be solved there.But how can a small Fushan County boast such a seaport? Many people are still dubious about it, and always feel that there will be some unknown conspiracy in it.As for the armed men who called themselves the Haihan Army who appeared near the county seat, a considerable number of people still kept a respectful distance. God knows if their accomplices were waiting to rob and kill helpless refugees on the way to Fushan County .

After two days of continuous observation of several refugee-inhabited areas near the county seat, Sun Zhen and Gong Shiqi came to the conclusion that although many refugees leave here every day, the rate of influx of refugees into the local area is still much higher than that in Xiangyang speed of evacuation.It has only been a few days since Sun Zhen arrived here, and the number of refugees near the county seat has rapidly increased from 3000 to [-] to [-], and it is still growing at a four-digit rate every day.

"If things go on like this, I'm afraid this place is going to be in trouble." Gong Shiqi said worriedly: "The scale of the battles that have occurred in the past two days has become larger and larger. If someone wants to take the opportunity to make trouble, it is almost time now." Mature."

Sun Zhendao: "If someone really takes the lead in rebelling, then we can only be forced to do it. General Chen specifically told him that he doesn't want the refugees from Shandong to become a peasant army. If someone rebels, then maybe we have to take care of it for Daming gone."

For Haihan, the chaos in Shandong must have done more harm than good, and it will definitely affect Haihan's various trade activities in the north of Daming. He tried his best to receive and resettle refugees in Fushan County. On the one hand, it also uses the means of converting refugees into immigrants to recover part of the economic losses.But if someone coerces the refugees to rebel, it will not only damage Daming, but also go against Hai Han's interests.Whether in public or private, it is impossible for Sun Zhen to just sit back and watch this happen.

But come here for whatever you are afraid of. At noon the next day, a large-scale fighting suddenly broke out in the refugee settlement about a mile away from the Haihan Army camp.

Sun Zhen looked through the binoculars, and could only see refugees fleeing from the scene of the incident in terror amidst the flying dust. He could faintly hear the roar of people and the sound of gold and iron wafting in the wind. It seemed that it was used. metal instruments.

Gong Shiqi also came to watch the battle quickly, but when he found that the field of vision from the camp was limited and he couldn't see clearly at all, he suggested that Sun Zhen go to a closer place to watch together.

After thinking about it, Sun Zhen thought it was reasonable, so he ordered a platoon of men and horses, armed with weapons and equipment, and rode to the accident site to find out what happened.

But when they got closer, the fight seemed to have come to an end, and one side had clearly gained the upper hand, and was sweeping the battlefield without rushing to wipe out the opponent.The weapons in these people's hands are nothing more than wooden sticks, kitchen knives, hoes, hunting forks and other equipment, but they don't see any serious weapons.

"It's miscellaneous but not chaotic, the division of labor is clear, and this group of people is somewhat organized." Sun Zhen only had to look at it for a moment before making a preliminary judgment: "Most of the people who command them have been in the army."

Gong Shiqi also nodded in agreement: "There are thugs who are in charge of fighting with weapons, and there are assistants who follow behind to collect trophies. There are also a few people who look good at supporting them. These people really have some skills!"

There is a division of labor and cooperation, which shows that this group of people is not a mob put together improvised, but a group of organized personnel.Judging from its number, there are at least seventy or eighty people. In this scattered refugee group, it is easy for such a team to emerge.

Those who were knocked down seemed not to be the same group. Some were trying to fight to the end, while others had already seen the situation was not good and fled. Some knelt on the ground and begged their opponents to let them go.

The victor makes the food the first target, grabbing all the food from the loser, and although the portion may not be much, it is enough to make the hungry people rejoice.As for dealing with those who are still trying to resist, the victor obviously has no intention of showing mercy, and they always attack to the death, waving the thing in their hand and waving at the opponent's head.

Sun Zhen patted his horse forward, pulled out his rifle and fired a shot at the sky. The group of people immediately stopped their work and stared at Sun Zhen, but they didn't seem to see much fear in their eyes.

Sun Zhen said loudly: "Who is your leader, please come out and meet!"

After a while, a man with a big bald head and beard slowly came out from not far away, and clasped his fists at Sun Zhen who was on the horseback, and said, "I'm at Hulusha, what advice do you have?"

Sun Zhen raised his horsewhip and pointed to the field and asked, "Are these people your subordinates?"

Nahulusha replied, "Exactly."

"Are you the disbanded Ming army, or are you a civilian regiment?" Seeing the other party's frank admission, Sun Zhen also opened the window to speak frankly.

Hu Lusha replied: "We are just sailors running boats on the Yellow River. When the Tartars crossed the Yellow River, all the boats hundreds of miles up and down the river were requisitioned by them. If we didn't run fast enough, we would probably be confiscated too." Let’s requisition together! This journey from Jinan Mansion to Dengzhou Mansion, we can only take care of each other as brothers, just happened to meet these unscrupulous guys who want to rob us of food, so we can only protect ourselves!"

Sun Zhen was dubious about what he said. Whether it was his identity or the reason for his actions, there is still a lack of more evidence to prove the authenticity of what he said, but this is not the focus of Sun Zhen's attention. He must ensure these People will not take advantage of this time to make things big and take the opportunity to rebel.

"Where are you going next?" Sun Zhen continued to ask.

Hu Lusha responded alertly: "What does this have to do with Your Excellency?"

Sun Zhen said slowly: "You have someone who has food, if you cause trouble outside, the government must have nothing to do with you."

Hu Lusha said: "I don't intend to cause chaos, I just want to protect my family and my brothers in troubled times!"

Sun Zhen ignored his justification, and continued to speak slowly: "I think you guys are very skilled at cleaning the battlefield, and it shouldn't be the first time you have done this kind of thing. You should have fought like this on the way from Jinan Mansion. Are you missing the game?"

Seeing the group of horsemen getting closer and closer, Hu Lusha also felt that it was a little dangerous at the moment, and while motioning the people on his side to retreat, he said: "If Your Excellency wants these trophies, then take them. Hu has no intention of fighting with Your Excellency Right!"

Gong Shiqi, who had been watching without making a sound, suddenly asked, "Where are your family members? Call them out and let us meet."

Hu Lusha's expression changed: "Aren't you trying to hold me and my family members hostage to force us to submit?"

Gong Shiqi said coldly: "Since you claim to fight to protect your family, let us see where your family is, and let us leave this place after we have seen it."

Sun Zhen smiled and said: "It seems that Brother Gong thinks of me together!"

Gong Shiqi responded, "I hope we didn't miss it!"

They watched this group of people fighting just now, and they felt that their actions clearly showed traces of the army, but this Hu Lusha claimed to be a boatman on the Yellow River, which already made Sun Zhen and Gong Shiqi suspicious.And these people are not as afraid as ordinary people in front of the Haihan army with live ammunition, which is also inconsistent with the identity of the boatmen.

In the current situation, it is naturally difficult to verify whether their identities are true, but Sun Zhen thought of an extremely simple method, which is to confirm whether these people have family members with them.It would be unreasonable if so many of them escaped without their family members, and their identities were obviously not as simple as escaped boatmen.

Hu Lusha's face was already very ugly, and he probably didn't expect that the current situation of being checked for no reason would appear. It is definitely not an option to continue the stalemate, because the group of Haihan cavalry in front of him has no intention of leaving.

"What's the matter? Can't find your family?" Sun Zhen asked in a slightly mocking tone.

Hu Lusha responded with a strong smile: "No, you misunderstood. In fact, the situation is like this. My family members have been escorted to Fushan County by other brothers, and I will join them later."

"Oh?" Sun Zhen couldn't believe it even more when he heard this: "Then what is the situation in Fushan County? Instead of going to find out, you sent your family members there to explore the way? Do you not care about your family members, or do you Do you even know where these families are?"

(End of this chapter)