1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2445
The military's view on the situation in Northeast Asia must be different from that of the Executive Committee. For the Executive Committee, the trend of the international situation, geopolitical relations, and Haihan's interests in this region are the primary considerations, followed by Issues such as military expenditures, logistical supplies, personnel arrangements, etc.However, the views of the generals who lead troops to fight on the front line are actually much simpler. The most important thing is whether they have combat missions, because this will not only affect the career development of the generals, but also directly affect the treatment and morale of the troops under their command. .

If the war stops here and the countries enter a period of peace, then there is no need for the few elite troops currently deployed in Northeast Asia to continue to be stationed on the front line.For troops like the Special Operations Regiment, the military expenditure for daily garrison is much higher than that of ordinary troops, and it is not cost-effective to deploy them in areas with less risk of war for a long time.Moreover, generals like Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom must not be able to bear the loneliness, and they will not be willing to let the combat effectiveness of their troops slowly go to waste. Even if the Ministry of National Defense does not make any adjustments, they will take the initiative to apply for redeployment according to the changes in the situation. .

Qian Tiandun was not at all surprised when he heard the conversation between the two. One of the reasons he supported the peace talks was that he hoped that the general's elite troops could be liberated from the northern battlefield, because Liaodong was too far away from the mainland of Haihan. They are also unable to support them to flex their muscles here, and continuing to station in Liaodong will at most just maintain the current confrontation. It is a waste of the combat effectiveness of these elite troops.

However, the negotiation has not yet started, and Tao Donglai is not at all sure whether the negotiation will be successful, so he still has to express a cautious attitude towards the imagination of the two generals: "You don't have to rush to plan the next step. , do the things in front of me well first. If there is something I haven’t thought through enough, you must remember to remind me. "

Wang Tom replied: "Mr. Tao, the right time, place, and people are all in our hands. Although the four countries are negotiating, in fact, the other three countries have to act according to our faces, so I am very optimistic about this meeting. the result of."

"Don't be too happy too early, just be cautiously optimistic." Tao Donglai's attitude is still very conservative: "We don't know what the bottom line they can accept, and we can only test it slowly during the negotiation process."

The shouting and cursing at the Manchu and Qing missions outside the Nanguanling camp continued, and the crowd of onlookers had grown from a few hundred people when the Manchus and Qing missions first arrived here a few days ago to thousands of people. However, due to the strengthening of the Haihan army Guard, but no one dared to take more radical measures.But these voices of shouting and cursing from across the air inevitably spread into the camp along the air, and floated into the tents where the Manchu and Qing missions lived.

"My lord, Haihan deliberately let these troublemakers yell and scold outside, why do we have to swallow our breath? Even if we can't kill these troublemakers, we have to give them some pain!"

Inside the tent, a Qing army officer was angrily complaining about the shouting and cursing outside. Judging from his accent, he was obviously a Han.With one hand on the saber at his waist, it seemed that as long as his boss gave an order, he would go out of the tent to trouble those troublemakers.

Sitting on the chair opposite him was a robust man in his thirties, dressed in a blue brocade robe, with a long yellow complexion and a mustache.From his appearance, it was hard to tell that he was a decisive general, more like a wealthy businessman.

Shang Kexi's mood was obviously much calmer than that of this subordinate, and he responded unhurriedly: "What's the matter with letting them scold me, can you scold a hair of me? What's urgent is that those ignorant people outside are anxious , what are you in a hurry for?"

The officer was still very angry: "They are so disrespectful to the prince, but the Haihan people don't restrain them, it's really hateful!"

Shang Kexi shook his head slightly and said: "You think too simply, the Haihan people are more than just unruly, it is very likely that this play was originally arranged by them. If I behaved in a fit of rage about this, I would be on their way. Over the years, have there been fewer people scolding me openly and secretly? If no one scolds me, then there will be problems."

Shang Kexi is also a Ming Han with a red seedling root. His ancestral home is Hongdong County, Shanxi, and his grandfather's generation moved to Haizhou, Liaodong to settle down.When it was still gratifying, his mother died in the war when the Later Jin invaded Liaoshen, and then his father and son joined the Ming army one after another.His father, Shang Xueli, followed Mao Wenlong to Phi Island to serve. Later, after joining the Ming Army Navy, Shang Kexi also went to Phi Island to find his father, and was adopted by Mao Wenlong as his adopted grandson.

Shang Kexi's father also died in the war with Hou Jin. It can be said that he and Hou Jin actually had a deep hatred, but because of the failure in the power struggle within Dongjiang, Shang Kexi defected to the enemy. But in order to survive, he put all the hatred of the country and family behind him. Such behavior naturally attracted a lot of infamy.

But having said that, if Daming hadn't scolded him, the whole country would have drowned this traitor with saliva, how could Huang Taiji believe that a Daming general whose parents died at the hands of the Manchus would sincerely surrender to him, let alone It is said that Shang Kexi was awarded the title of King Zhishun later, and Haizhou, his birthplace, was given to him as a fief.

Shang Kexi is actually very clear about his own value. He is now a corporal of Huang Taiji, and he is still waiting for the embodiment of Han Chen. As for whether he has the ability to lead troops to fight, that is the second.If Huang Taiji wants to attract Han people to work for him, he must have Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming, Kong Youde and others as role models.The higher the courtesy these Ming rebels received in the Manchu Dynasty, the less resistance the Manchu Qing would encounter when they conquered Ming Dynasty in the future.

But since these people can betray Daming, it is of course difficult to say whether they can remain loyal to the Manchu Qing. In addition to giving generous salaries to high-ranking officials, they will definitely monitor their relationship with Daming in case something goes wrong one day. These guys Jumped back to Daming again.

The more the officials and the people of Ming Dynasty hated him and the more hostile their attitudes, the more reassuring Huang Taiji was towards these people. After all, they had no other way out, so they could only work for the Manchu Qing.It only took Shang Kexi more than ten years to climb from an unknown person to the position of a prince. Naturally, his mind is not bad, and the reason for this has already been figured out.So after coming to Jinzhou, even though there were people outside the camp calling and scolding by name every day, Shang Kexi didn't feel any pressure.He knew that someone would report these situations to Huang Taiji, and the more he was scolded and angered in Jinzhou, the more Huang Taiji would feel at ease about himself.If he was treated with great hospitality when he came here, and no one treated him as a traitor, then he would really be in trouble.

The complicated truth in the middle, not to mention his officers, even an opponent like Qian Tiandun may not be able to figure it out immediately.So even though Qian Tiandun deliberately didn't stop the yelling outside the camp, the impact of this kind of behavior on Shang Kexi was very limited, and even the more he scolded, the more at ease he felt.

What really disturbed Shang Kexi was the prospect of this negotiation.Last winter, the Qing army went south and entered the pass. On the one hand, it was to deal a heavy blow to Ming Dynasty, which had been reluctant to negotiate peace, and to further exert military pressure on it. On the other hand, it also wanted to see the extent of the so-called military alliance between Haihan and Ming Dynasty. Will the Haihan army directly enter Ming Dynasty to fight, just like what they did in North Korea before.

Although the Qing army's southward invasion operation can be said to be as smooth as cutting melons and vegetables, and no trace of the Haihan army was found in the Ming Dynasty, the Haihan army still launched a new round of looting on the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula this winter. , It's as if you hit yours and I hit mine, neither intending to cease war with the Manchus, nor do they want to fight on the frontal battlefield.Huang Taiji and his ministers believed that Haihan had long been able to send troops to Ming Dynasty to participate in the war, but in the end he did not send troops, but only made some small moves in the Liaodong Peninsula. This only shows that the relationship between Haihan and Ming Dynasty is not foreign. As intimate as it claims to be.

And this became the opportunity for Huang Taiji to decide to negotiate a peace with Haihan. He believed that since Haihan had no intention to save Daming, he could exchange Haihan with his favorite trade or other feasible conditions. Stop all military operations on the Liaodong Peninsula.

In view of the fact that the generals of the Haihan Army are all Han Chinese, Huang Taiji also carefully selected Shang Kexi as the person in charge of the armistice talks.From Huang Taiji's point of view, Shang Kexi is very smart, has experience in Dongjiang Town, has a good understanding of Liaodong history, humanities, and geography, and has no language and cultural barriers in communicating with Haihan generals. He should be more suitable for completing this task. .As for the other two kings among the Sanshun kings who are also Han Chinese, they lost the election because they had already led troops to fight against the Haihan army on the Daheishan defense line before, but they hardly took advantage of it. Haihan will have a psychological disadvantage in negotiating, so in the end Shang Kexi was selected to take charge of the matter.

But Shang Kexi believes that there is actually another reason why Huang Taiji chose him, that is, he had worked in Dongjiang Town for many years before he joined the Qing Dynasty.Now Dongjiang Town has actually collectively treasoned the country and chose to join the Haihan people, so Shang Kexi will not be under pressure when he arrives in Jinzhou.After all, the commander-in-chief Shen Shikui and the deputy Jin Riguan who were in charge of Phi Island in the past are also working under the hands of the Haihan people. Seriously speaking, they are no more noble than Shang Kexi.

But what makes Shang Kexi feel a little regretful is that after entering Golden State this time, he has not met his former colleagues.Especially Shen Shikui, who wanted to put him to death back then. I heard that he has voluntarily given up his military power and turned to business. If he can meet with him, Shang Kexi will definitely make fun of him—they all betrayed Daming. In other countries, Lao Tzu has already become a prince in the Qing Dynasty, but you, Shen Shikui, are living more and more, and now you have no military power. People go to high places, and water flows to low places. It is clear at a glance whether the choice was high or low.

It's a pity that Haihan didn't arrange such an opportunity for him. After the mission arrived in Jinzhou, they were led to live in the Nanguanling camp. The outsiders couldn't get in, and they naturally couldn't get out.This Golden State is originally a war zone, and it is only natural to restrict their actions.And the local general Haihan didn't seem to have the intention of meeting them immediately, but just let them live in peace and wait for all parties to arrive before starting formal talks.

Fortunately, there was no discount in terms of food, lodging, and treatment. They provided delicious food and drink every day, especially the various fine wines produced by Haihan, which immediately became the favorite of the Manchu mission.Since they can only move around inside and outside the tent where they live all day, when they are bored, the members of the mission can only drink and chat to pass the time.

However, these wines are not in unlimited supply, there is only a small amount every day, and after drinking, you can only buy them out of your own pocket.The Haihan people also had a good reason. These wines were transported thousands of miles away from the south, and the shipping cost alone was very high. Of course, it is impossible to supply all of them for free.In desperation, they can only buy some more by themselves, but the price of these wines is very expensive, even if the officials of the mission have some money, they will still feel pain.

Shang Kexi enlisted in the army when he was young, and spent half of his life in the army. Naturally, he also likes to drink, but most of the wine that he can drink on weekdays is poorly brewed, and the taste is far from the level of Haihan wine, let alone Haihan wine. There are also a variety of flavors of Hanjiu to choose from, which made him so addicted that he even felt that he had drank the wine for more than 20 years in vain.In just a few days, he spent hundreds of taels of silver on wine. When he was slightly drunk, he couldn't help feeling that this Haihan man was indeed as rumored, good at business and business, and he didn't forget to seize the opportunity to make money even during the armistice and peace talks. silver.

But it may not be said that the Haihan people are greedy for money. The missionaries took advantage of the opportunity to buy wine to get close to the Haihan soldiers and tried to buy these people with money, but they were all strictly rejected.

Shang Kexi thinks that this can only explain one thing, the sale of wine to the mission is a deliberate arrangement from Haihan's senior management, and it is the normal state of the military camp to strictly guard the mission and stop asking for information.From another point of view, if someone really leaked information to them, it is very likely that it is the means of the Haihan people, and when the fake is true, it is also false. They have no way of distinguishing the authenticity of the information in this closed environment. The credibility of the news will also be questioned.

Why did the Haihan people make such an arrangement? Shang Kexi believes that it is not out of good intentions.But it seems unreasonable to say that the officials of the mission are deliberately drunk. If you really want to do that, you don't have to limit the supply, and you have to make them pay extra for it.After thinking about it, Shang Kexi can only think that the Haihan people are preparing for future trade. After all, these wines are really good things. If they can be transported to the territory of the Qing Dynasty, even if the price is high, they will have a good market. All the princes and nobles are willing to spend money to buy these fine wines.And these mission officials are probably the best candidates for voluntary publicity for these fine wines.

(End of this chapter)