1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2438
In recent years, with the increasing scale of Haihan's maritime trade business, it has also led to the prosperity of the southern shipping market in Daming. Most of the shipping companies that have close trade relations with Haihan choose to deploy their merchant ships in the Fuguang area of ​​Jiangsu, Zhejiang, in order to increase their shipping capacity. Full use.Compared with the benefits of shipping in the south, the shipping subsidy that can be obtained by traveling long distances to the north to transport immigrants is not as attractive as in earlier years. Coupled with the various inconveniences in transporting immigrants, many shipping companies do not Willing to take the initiative to take on this kind of errand.

Of course, considering the need to maintain a good relationship with Haihan officials, most shipping companies will still follow Haihan's request and send a certain percentage of ships to Shandong every month to assist in transporting immigrants.Only in this way, the transport capacity borne by private ships is far inferior to that of the Denglai Rebellion in previous years, and the main force has been replaced by official ships from various colonial areas.

Although these ships officially operated by Haihan are easier to manage and schedule, but after all, the capacity is limited, and it is difficult to fully meet the expected transportation scale of Fushan County.Therefore, in less than a month, the number of refugees stranded in Fushan County has risen to more than [-], which has caused an extremely heavy burden on the local area.

"At present, our refugee camps are already overloaded. The progress of building new camps cannot keep up with the influx of refugees into Fukuyama County. Groups of refugees have begun to appear around various villages and towns in the county. In order to maintain order, we have now All villages and towns have organized militia groups, and the garrison troops have also increased the frequency of patrols, but some desperate guys have begun to appear, so we have to take strong measures to deal with it." Chen Yixin did not hide the local embarrassing situation, and said to Tao Dong Come tell the truth.

Tao Donglai said: "In troubled times, heavy codes are used. Those who do not abide by the rules in the county should be arrested and killed. It is necessary to maintain the stability of the local area. If there is not enough manpower, the troops at the Datongjiang Base Pull them all over, let’s get through this period of time first. As for the transportation capacity issue, I will send a telegram back later to ask Yue Zhiyun and Sun Changmi to make a good plan and arrange more transportation capacity to come to Shandong for support.”

Chen Yixin smiled wryly and said: "A lot of people have been dealt with during this period, but the effect can only be said to be mediocre. In a troubled world, life is like a straw, and many people don't take life and death seriously at all. It is difficult to completely eradicate chaos only by means of punishment. Most of the accidents were people who recently entered Fushan County. The refugee camps can no longer be resettled, and we can only let them be refugees outside. It is difficult for us to implement comprehensive supervision on these people, but we cannot keep refugees out. It is true It doesn't work well."

Tao Donglai couldn't help but feel a little emotional, this situation has not happened to Haihan for many years.I think that when refugees were scrambled to transport refugees from the local area during the Annan Civil War, they had faced such a situation of insufficient transport capacity.At that time, there were also tens of thousands of war refugees on the coast of Annan. Haihan did not even need to make a resettlement commitment. As long as he provided food and a chance to escape, a large number of Annan refugees boarded the ship for the opportunity of escape.

But at that time, Haihan had just set out on the road, and its transport capacity was more than a hundred times worse than it is now. Tao Donglai also personally went into battle, commanding the sailboat to and fro between Hainan Island and Annan for several months.Of course, the distance between Annan and Hainan Island is much shorter, and the fast boat can arrive in two days, and there is no need to prepare a large amount of food on board in advance. The difficulty of transportation at that time was actually much lower than traveling thousands of miles from the cold Shandong Peninsula. Transit population outside the South.Moreover, at that time, Haihan did not set up a relief and resettlement agency such as a refugee camp in Annan, so there were no such problems that Chen Yixin needs to solve now.

The root cause of the difficult situation that Fukuyama County is currently facing is that the transfer of refugees is not fast enough, resulting in the accumulation of a large number of refugees in Fushan County, which has exceeded the local carrying capacity.But to solve such a difficulty, Tao Donglai could not simply issue an order. There were too many aspects to be coordinated, and it would be difficult to see the effect in a short time.

However, apart from the refugee issue, Tao Donglai also has other concerns: "How about the current situation in Shandong? The previous report said that Dengzhou wanted to take back the copper mine. Has this matter been resolved?"

Chen Yixin said: "The Qing army began to withdraw from Shandong last month, but according to what we know, the damage caused by the Qing army to Shandong was extremely serious. It is impossible to resume production and life in the country. Many of the refugees who have poured into Fushan County recently returned home and found that they could not survive, so they chose to flee again. We have deployed troops in Zhaoyuan and Laixi Counties to guide refugees into Fushan County , so far the effect is not bad. As for the situation in Dengzhou, it is mostly nothing."

"How to say?" Tao Donglai asked puzzledly.

"Dengzhou also sent the main force of the garrison to resist the Qing army this time. It is said that there were several small-scale conflicts with the Qing army, and some troops were lost. It is estimated that we will have to rest for a while. And we have recently increased our troops in Fushan County. They also sent troops to Zhaoyuan, and those people in Dengzhou City probably haven't been able to sleep well recently."

When it comes to Dengzhou, Chen Yixin's expression is obviously a little more relaxed: "A few days ago, I asked the middleman to bring a message to Chen Zhongsheng, the prefect of Dengzhou, and asked him to restrain himself and not provoke us in this extraordinary period, so as not to be unacceptable after causing trouble. On the field, I lost the black hat on my head for nothing!"

Tao Donglai smiled and said, "You are not polite at all!"

Chen Yixin said: "I have been dealing with this Chen Zhongsheng for several years. If you are too polite to him, these people will think it is wrong. Since they are worried that we will send troops to attack Dengzhou City, then I will just let the words out. Let them restrain themselves!"

Since Haihan occupied Fushan County, officials in Dengzhou have been living in fear, lest the Haihan army suddenly launch an offensive against Dengzhou City one day.In the past few years, there have been several large and small armed conflicts, and the Dengzhou Ming army has never been able to take advantage of it, so they also know that it is unlikely to use force to drive the Haihan people out of Dengzhou.But seeing that Haihan has brought Fushan County under his rule and is still mining copper mines in the nearby mountains, these officials are of course unwilling to be plundered by Haihan for resources, and they have to warn Haihan as if they are masters.

But such measures are obviously not very effective. Chen Yixin's attitude has always been extremely tough, and he has no mercy in his reply to Dengzhou.Anyway, the size of the troops stationed in Fushan County has increased a lot recently. If the Dengzhou Ming army dares to come to Fushan County to make trouble, then Chen Yixin will not mind teaching the other party another lesson.

Tao Donglai nodded, turned to Hao Wanqing and said, "Old Hao, how is your side?"

Hao Wanqing said: "Let me talk about things one by one. The secret letter to the Ming court has been sent to Beijing, but I haven't received a reply yet. The North Korean side agreed very happily, and Li Yan also agreed to it." He attaches great importance to it and plans to send Jin Shangxian to Liaodong."

Tao Donglai said: "North Korea's reaction is quite normal. If they don't participate, they will be very passive in the future. But when it comes to formal talks, they probably won't have much say."

"Participation is the most important thing!" Hao Wanqing replied with a smile, "It would be good if they can send people to participate in this kind of negotiation."

Tao Donglai continued to ask, "What did the Qing Dynasty say?"

Hao Wanqing replied: "The Manchus have already agreed, and Shang Kexi should be asked to come forward, but I don't know if they will send another royal family member out. After all, Shang Kexi is a surrendered general, and this amount is not enough. And he It doesn’t matter what you say.”

Shang Kexi was in charge of the meeting before the Qing Dynasty to seek an armistice, but Haihan did not agree to his request, but proposed to expand the participants of the talks to the four countries, otherwise there would be no need to waste time on peace talks.Although the Manchus were not very happy to allow Ming and North Korea to participate, Haihan emphasized that this was a necessary condition for the peace talks, and the Manchus finally agreed to such an arrangement.Of course, everyone knew that the Qing Dynasty would not stop its offensive against Ming Dynasty, and the so-called peace negotiations might not go so smoothly.

Shang Kexi, although he has the title of prince canonized by Huang Taiji, but he is a surrendered general after all, and it is unlikely that he will make decisions for Huang Taiji in such an important negotiation.Although there is no definite information yet, Hao Wanqing believes that he should not be the only candidate to participate in the negotiations on behalf of the Qing Dynasty.

Tao Donglai said: "These two are easy to talk about, but if Daming also participates, it will probably make it difficult for Chongzhen."

Hao Wanqing said: "The secret letter did not directly mention the peace talks, but they should be able to understand the purpose of this meeting, I hope they will not be too tough!"

During the Ming Dynasty’s more than 300 years of rule, it was claimed that there was no peace, no compensation, no peace negotiation, no land cession, and no tribute. In the end, the country was destroyed and did not surrender, but this does not mean that there were no peacemakers in the Ming court.Haihan proposed to allow Daming to join the talks, not to allow Daming to reach a reconciliation with the Manchus, but to use this meeting to obtain more special treatment for himself.

Of course, if Da Ming's attitude can be turned towards peace talks in the end, it will be a good thing for Hai Han.If the war could be ceased and Daming was allowed to recuperate for a few years, Haihan could also save the military expenses of stationing heavy troops in Liaodong and North Korea, and transfer the elite troops to other places that were easier to conquer.

Tao Donglai said: "If Daming can send Yang Sichang, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, as we hope, then there will be room for manipulation."

According to historical records, Yang Sichang, Minister of the Ministry of War, was regarded as the main peace faction, and Chongzhen currently favored this person very much. If he came forward to participate in this meeting, it might be possible to reach an armistice agreement.And Tao Donglai can also speak for Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, and make Yang Sichang give up his plan to control Ningbo.

However, Haihan's contacts in the capital are limited, and he can't influence the court's decision at all, so whether Daming will send people to participate is still uncertain, and he can only wait patiently for an answer.

Hao Wanqing then reported another matter: "Our prospecting work in Zhaoyuan County is going well, and we have confirmed the location of two high-quality ore veins. But now the pressure on public security in Fushan County is too high, and it is difficult for us to find out for the time being. Sufficient manpower is stationed locally to protect the mine, and it is estimated that the preparations for mining will not start until the situation stabilizes."

The ore vein Hao Wanqing mentioned was the gold mine that Haihan discovered in Zhaoyuan County a few days ago.There are many gold mine veins in the area, and it is not too difficult for Haihan to find unexploited mine veins as long as he follows the map.However, it is far away from Fushan County. If you really want to mine gold mines, you must send armed forces to protect it.

Tao Donglai said: "There is no rush to open the mine, anyway, those things are buried underground and can't escape. When mining, try to give priority to safety."

Regarding the situation of the Zhaoyuan Gold Mine, Tao Donglai also carefully studied relevant information when he was in Sanya.From his standpoint, he is actually not in favor of organizing mining work in this chaotic period.In addition to safety issues, Daming's reaction to this must also be taken into account.Although the military and intelligence agencies have tried to bribe the local county magistrate and prepared some cover-up methods, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. These methods are definitely impossible to achieve long-term concealment effects, and sooner or later Da Ming will be aware of it.Tao Donglai didn't think that Daming would swallow his anger, after all, this gold is much more valuable than copper, so how could he allow Haihan to mine it at will.

Of course, Tao Donglai also understands why the military has such a radical attitude. If gold can be mined in Zhaoyuan, then the military must be responsible for this matter, and some of the gold mined locally will definitely be intercepted and used as "Mining Fee".This is definitely an income that cannot be ignored for the northern garrison.

After hearing Tao Donglai's words, Chen Yixin didn't say yes or no, he had his own plans for this.Whether this gold mine can be mined, how to mine it, and how to deal with conflicts with Daming because of this, there are many issues that need to be considered in every link.If he discusses this with Tao Donglai, he may not have the confidence to persuade the other party, let alone start a dispute with the other party.Anyway, Tao Donglai's visit to the north this time is mainly to deal with multi-party talks. How to proceed with the gold mine project can be made after he returns to the south.Anyway, the Emperor Shangao was far away, and he held the military and political power in Shandong, so he didn't have to do everything with the approval of the executive committee.

When the time comes when the raw rice is cooked and the gold is in hand, the executive committee will naturally forget about these trivial matters, and instead think it is a great achievement.When mining the Fushan Copper Mine, it was also full of difficulties, and Sanya was not optimistic about the project's prospects. Now that the Fushan Copper Mine has become the copper mine with the largest production capacity under Haihan's rule, the executive committee still wants to say "really fragrant" .

Of course, Chen Yixin also agrees that right now is indeed not a suitable time. He believes that at least the situation in Fushan County improves and the resettlement and transport of refugees can enter a stable rhythm. enclosure.

(End of this chapter)