1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 291
How to avoid tearing the face and gradually control Yazhou, and even the wider area under the Ming Dynasty, in a relatively peaceful way has always been an important issue in the executive committee's governance process.As far as the executive committee is concerned, it will definitely hope to have a stable surrounding environment during the development period. In the eyes of the executive committee, it is not worthwhile to expand the way to expand the control area by fighting against the local government of the Ming Dynasty, because it is very difficult. It may have a great impact on both the product sales market and the source of population of the Time Travel Group, and it is obviously a practice that does more harm than good.Moreover, in areas occupied by force alone, there will be many security risks in the future.

In order to achieve the actual control effect, but also to retain the normal existence of the local government and other institutions as much as possible, in order to maintain the "normal" relationship between the Crossing Group and Daming, the safest way is to gradually remove the local government through various means. The organization is empty.The sky is high, the emperor is far away, and Yazhou, whose ruling foundation is not particularly solid, is undoubtedly an excellent test field, which can be used to verify whether the measures of the Executive Committee are feasible.Initially, the executive committee targeted the state government office in Yazhou, but later found that it seemed easier to start with the military, which had a closer relationship, and the results would be faster.

The establishment of the Yazhou Water Village is only 500 people, and the scale is not even comparable to the planned goal in the "1628 Naval Construction Plan" of the Military and Police Department-in other words, the naval establishment established by the Military and Police Department is enough to complete the shell of the Yazhou Water Village. replace it.If the Military and Police Department can lift the Yazhou Water Village, then it can be replaced by a full staff when necessary in the future. The navy under it can completely use the name of the Yazhou Water Village to carry out various activities in the South China Sea, whether it is in the Victory Port on a daily basis. Defensive cruising nearby, or foreign armed intervention operations, with this layer of shell as cover, it is bound to be much more convenient.

However, in the specific operation, there are still many details that may cause problems, such as the issue of organization that Luo Shengdong is particularly concerned about.It is not uncommon for civilian armed forces to serve the government. In Ming Dynasty, the Miao people living in Hainan Island are the descendants of the Miao soldiers who were conscripted from the mainland to quell the Li people's rebellion in the early years.And the current Lidong has also accepted the canonization of the Ming Dynasty. Dong capitals like Fu Nuo will have hereditary military officers in their positions, and they will also send troops to assist the Ming army in case of war.The civilian armed nature of the Haihan militia will not be an obstacle to this backdoor plan, but the premise is to obtain the approval and authorization of the Ministry of War.

But from the perspective of the executive committee and the military and police department, they are not willing to accept this form of canonization.Even if it is a temporary expedient measure, it will be easily regarded by the public as a call for security. If they want to turn against Daming in the future, wouldn't they become a real rebel?This kind of negative image will have a great negative effect on subduing people's hearts in the future, and no one is willing to serve in their own navy with the title of "President Hundred" or "President Thousand"-this will happen after a few years. It will definitely become a dark history properly, and maybe even future generations will be affected by it.

So in the end, the Military and Police Department decided to take a middle-of-the-road strategy as much as possible, blurring the nature of this behavior, neither accepting canonization, nor tearing faces, just making a fortune without talking about it.Of course, this middle route requires the full cooperation of the Ming military officers headed by Luo Shengdong, otherwise it will be difficult to complete the "legal procedures" and become an officially recognized allied army.

Seeing that Luo Shengdong's face was as dark as the bottom of the pot, Yan Chujie changed the subject and said, "Mr. Luo, don't be depressed. This arrangement is actually the best choice for you and us. It doesn't matter if you can't figure it out now." , go back and think about it, if you feel that there is a problem with our cooperation, you can terminate it at any time."

Hearing Yan Chujie say "termination", Luo Shengdong recovered from his depression, and quickly responded: "Mr. Yan, don't worry, I will go back to Yazhou tomorrow and persuade He Shen to send a letter to the Haihan militia. It will take a few days to complete the formalities.”

"This is the best." Yan Chujie nodded and said, "You applied for a five-acre piece of land in the port area last month, and the Executive Committee has already approved it. You can go to Ren Liang to go through the formalities later, and if you want to use If you come to open a shop to do business, you have to report to him first."

"Yes, yes, thank you everyone." Luo Shengdong responded repeatedly.Luo Shengdong had already submitted the application for land in the Shengli Port Business District to the Haihan Executive Committee for a month, but during this time the Haihan militia had been fighting outside, so naturally Luo Shengdong didn't dare to urge the matter.And Yan Chujie chose to release the news at this time, obviously with a certain purpose - if Luo Shengdong's attitude is not so cooperative, then the land matter will naturally be postponed indefinitely.

"Mr. Yan, then our inspection department..." Wei Ping hurriedly took the time to find out what Yan Chujie was saying.It seems that there will be no other turning point for the matter of the water village, and Luo Shengdong has no other choice but to accept the arrangement.As for terminating the cooperation, everyone knew that the right to choose was not actually in Luo Shengdong's hands.However, the Haihan people have now decided to attack the water village, and Wei Ping is also a little worried about his own situation, apart from the death of the rabbit and the fox.

Compared with Yazhou water village, the weight of the inspection department is much worse.Luo Shengdong is now the chief executive of rank six thousand, while Wei Ping is only a rank nine sesame official at the bottom. The difference in the number of subordinates between the two is dozens of times, so it can be said that they are not at the same level of strength.Wei Ping knew that the reason why he could still sit here instead of working as a coolie in a labor camp was purely because the Haihan people still needed the inspection department to maintain their external image, which meant that this place was still under the rule of Ming Dynasty.If you want to continue to dawdle, it's best to follow the wishes of the Haihan people - if Yan Chujie wants to use the reputation of the inspection department, Wei Ping will definitely agree without hesitation.

"The inspection department...maintain the status quo for the time being!" Yan Chujie replied without paying much attention.

Wei Ping felt relieved a little, but at the same time he also felt a little sense of loss.Obviously, there is a huge gap in the importance that Haihan people place on the two, and the inspection department is so light that the military and police departments have no plans to take over.

"By the way, if you have a candidate who is good at detection and interrogation, you can recommend it to us." Yan Chujie seemed to have thought of something, and added casually: "We need personnel in this field now, and once hired, the treatment will be favorable! "

Wei Ping thought that this was a good plan. The Haihan people didn't plan to take over the inspection department, but originally wanted to recruit people from the inspection department to do things for them.

Wei Ping has already heard that the Haihan people are preparing their own independent security management organization.In Wei Ping's view, this is a move by the Haihan people to straighten out the security team that has not been clearly defined.These security guards in black and black trousers have so much authority in Shengli Port that even Wei Ping is a little envious.

In addition to arresting thieves and maintaining law and order, the Haihan Security Team is also responsible for checking foreign ships at the port and managing labor camps.Among the local people, except for the Haihan militia in military uniform, all other fields are under the jurisdiction of the security team.To be honest, in fact, the functions of the inspection department have been emptied by the security team from the very beginning, which is one of the reasons why Wei Ping was able to calm down and accept the reality.

It is true that some members of the military and police department had police experience before crossing, but the professional experience of later generations is not completely effective in the current objective environment.And although the practitioners of this era are relatively backward in terms of equipment and technology, it is not without merit. If it comes to mastering the psychology of the people and familiarity with the surrounding environment, these people who passed through uniforms in another time and space are really It may not be comparable to the local aboriginal headhunters.

In addition, there are some dirty jobs that are inconvenient to be known to the outside world, and they also need someone to do them.For example, the method of extorting a confession by torture, it is easier to get twice the result with half the effort if someone who knows how to use torture techniques is used to implement it, and this is one of the skills that all the police officers lack.It is undoubtedly one of the quickest ways to poach people directly from Yamen in Yazhou. The Traveling Group may lack other resources, but the most important thing is money.As long as the treatment is announced, there will definitely be people who cannot refuse this temptation.

Just as Wei Ping was thinking about who among the old police officers he knew would be more suitable, Yan Chujie's orderly came in and leaned over to report a few words in a low voice.Yan Chujie nodded, stood up and said, "I have other things to deal with right now, please go about it yourself! If there is anything you don't understand, you are welcome to consult me ​​at any time."

After Yan Chujie left the military and police department, he went straight to the executive committee's office area.Just now he hastily ended the conversation with Luo Wei and the two because Tao Donglai sent someone to inform him to go to the executive committee to attend a meeting immediately.

For Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie, the two military leaders, to pay so much attention to it, the weight of the comers is naturally not light.After Yan Chujie entered the meeting room, he saw Tao Donglai and Ning Qi were there, and there was also a middle-aged man dressed in Ming Dynasty, with dark and dry skin, he looked like someone who had been active in the sea for a long time.

"Let me introduce, this Mr. Dong is from Fujian. Mr. Dong, this is Mr. Yan Chujie, who is in charge of our military." Ning Qi briefly introduced the two parties.

The middle-aged man got up and cupped his fists and said, "Dong Yanyun, I met Mr. Yan!"

"Be polite!" Yan Chujie also cupped his fists in return.

"Mr. Dong came from Fujian this time, and he said he wanted to discuss some business with us." Tao Donglai asked Dong Yanyun to take his seat again, while explaining the situation to Yan Chujie.

In fact, this Dong Yanyun is not just a simple businessman, he is one of the important aides around Xu Xinsu, a Fujian sea merchant, and controls some of the cargo routes leading to Southeast Asia under Xu Xinsu's name.This time I made a special trip to Victory Port, and of course the transactions to be discussed are not just ordinary commodity transactions.

Before this meeting, the two sides had already had several contacts in Guangzhou in advance.Dong Yanyun went to the Guangdong Office twice to meet with Schneider and others to discuss the content of the transaction.However, in the previous talks, both sides had reservations. Of course, Dong Yanyun wanted to know as much as possible about Haihan's real strength, but Schneider didn't intend to fully explain to the other party, and only talked about it. In terms of business cooperation, as for military and political cooperation, no one in the Guangzhou Office, including He Xi, can make decisions without authorization, so in the end Dong Yanyun had to go to Shengli Port in person and wait with Tao Donglai for the actual situation. Those in power meet.

Before Dong Yanyun set off from Guangzhou, the relevant meeting materials had already been sent to the executive committee's desk by telegram, so Tao Donglai also personally took care of this work.The Crossing Group attaches as much importance to the trend of the war situation along the coast of Fujian and the Taiwan Strait as it does to the civil war in Annan. However, due to its limited maritime strength, the Crossing Group does not have enough ability to directly intervene in this battle for interests. In the middle, the trend of the battle in Fujian can only be affected by a more roundabout way.

As early as half a year ago, the Crossing Group sold a small amount of arms to Fujian through the channel of "Furuifeng" and sold them to the Xu Xinsu Group to help it resist the attack of "Eighteen Zhi".In the following six months, weapons, ammunition and supplies worth more than 10 yuan in circulation coupons were successively sold to him several times.It can be said that if Xu Xinsu hadn’t been provided with these arms aids from the Crossing Group, Xu Xinsu would have only half his life left, but now he is still alive and well, with Zhangzhou as the base, occupying Yuegang, the largest foreign trade port along the coast of Fujian. , and Zhong Zuo Suo, the sea gateway located to the east of Moon Harbor.

The arms transaction of the Crossing Group not only brought huge economic benefits, but also some more intuitive benefits. For example, last year, it exchanged a batch of sea ships with artillery and other arms to Fujian.In addition, some commodities originating in Fujian have also reduced a lot of procurement costs because of the underground cooperation relationship between the two parties.It can be said that so far, the cooperation between the two parties has been smooth, and there has been no unhappiness in any form.

"Mr. Dong, can you introduce the current situation along the coast of Fujian first?" Yan Chujie was most concerned about the changes in the military situation. He immediately asked a question after sitting down. In order not to waste time, he added: "I said The situation refers to the current battle between Xu Daguan and the 'Eighteen Zhi'."

"Although Zheng Zhilong was in great power at the time, most of his subordinates were pirates, rebellious and unruly. It was not so easy to go to land to fight against the government army. In the past few months, they have not been told to 'ten What advantage did Bazhi take? On the contrary, they were killed by firearms during the attack on the Zhongzuo. My master had already planned to fight his life and death at sea, but the construction of warships was too slow, so it was not enough for the time being. You can't compete with thieves at sea." Dong Yanyun briefly introduced.

The three people in the room didn't take it seriously, "Eighteen Zhi" is a pirate, how can Xu Xinsu be any better?Another identity of Li Dan, the great sea merchant who controlled the sea routes in East Asia, was a pirate, and Xu Xinsu, who inherited a considerable part of his business, naturally had a clean foundation.Of course, Xu Xinsu had already successfully laundered his name through political donations, and now he became a general under Yu Zigao, the general of the Fujian Army, and even Xu Xinsu's pirate leaders, Yang Lu and Yang Ce, also transformed into officers of the Daming Navy.

The combat effectiveness of such a motley army can be imagined.In the original historical track, Xu Xinsu was killed by Zheng Zhilong on Xiamen Island this year.Dong Yanyun was all about whitewashing his master, but he didn't know that the knowledge of the battle in Fujian in front of him had far exceeded his imagination.To put it bluntly, what Yan Chujie wants to know is not how the two parties are performing, but just to make sure that the Xu Xinsu Group will not show a tendency to fail in a short period of time—before the navy of the Crossing Group rises and can deal with the "Eighteen Zhi" independently, It is still necessary for Xu Xinsu to continue to exist as the target and opponent of "Eighteen Zhi" on the southeast coast.

The difference between the Fujian coastal war and the Annan civil war is that now the executive committee is more inclined to help North Vietnam eliminate the South Vietnamese regime within a few years in exchange for the right to establish a base in the South Vietnamese controlled area. Winning the battle has no practical benefits for the Crossing Group, because the ultimate goal of the Crossing Group is to control the waterways of the Taiwan Strait, and no matter which side is obviously unwilling to give up such core interests.Therefore, the effect that the executive committee wants to achieve is to maintain the strategic balance between the two sides, so that the Xu Xinsu Group will not collapse in a short period of time, but it must not allow it to have too obvious advantages-this can be achieved through the export of weapons and ammunition. To regulate.

Of course, as one of the belligerents, Xu Xinsu would not be kind to "Eighteen Zhi". When he realized that a weapon from a remote location in Qiongzhou Island could help him defeat his opponent and win, he couldn't help but have further thoughts ——As long as more Haihan weapons are equipped, it is not impossible to completely wipe out the "Eighteen Zhi".

But it is not something that Xu Xinsu can unilaterally decide to increase the amount of arms imports.The only agent of Haihan Weapons in the mainland is "Furuifeng", and the weapons sold to "Furuifeng" are also subject to strict control, and even stipulated sales targets.In other words, even if Xu Xinsu came to the door with money, there was no way to buy more weapons and ammunition from "Fu Ruifeng".For this reason, Xu Xinsu specially sent Dong Yanyun to Guangdong to find the source of goods. After a lot of work, Dong Yanyun finally got on the line of the Guangzhou Office, and then secretly came to Shengli Port.

"I'm bringing 30 taels of silver with the ship this time. I hope you can let go of the restrictions and sell more guns and cannons. As for the specific price, everyone can discuss it." Dong Yanyun didn't go around too much, and made it clear in a few words Purpose of coming——I am rich and self-willed, you are in charge of asking the price, and I am in charge of buying, buying, and buying.

The main task of Dong Yanyun is very simple, that is to purchase as many Haihan weapons as possible.As for the price, this is not something he needs to worry about. The big boss has already said that the Haihan people sell as much as they want, and the more weapons of all kinds, the better.

(End of this chapter)