1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3172
In the early morning of March 1657, [-] in the Haihan calendar, east of Hangzhou, at the mouth of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

As the starting point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, it is one of the busiest shipping locations in Hangzhou.Sea trade commodities imported from Zhoushan and Ningbo via the Qiantang River, as well as various inland goods transported from the north to Hangzhou via the canal, need to be delivered and transshipped here before they can go to the next destination.

However, this large inland river port, which operates around the clock all year round, is rarely at a standstill today.The banks along the river for several miles were completely cleared yesterday, and apart from a few patrol boats of the East China Sea Fleet, not even a civilian ship could be seen.

Needless to say, such a large formation is naturally to welcome the upcoming executive committee.

According to the instructions issued by the local government, the closure of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal estuary will last at least until noon, and the closure will not be lifted until the executive committee lands and enters the city.All civilian ships must stay outside the designated area until the government lifts the blockade.

This is not purely out of safety considerations. Nearly half of the East China Sea Fleet escorted the Executive Committee's fleet, and there is no other armed force in the Qiantang River Basin that could threaten its safety.

However, if the berthing area on the river bank is not cleared in advance, such a large fleet will be mixed with a large number of civilian ships entering and leaving the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, and the scene will definitely be extremely chaotic.

Fortunately, when Beks came to Hangzhou for inspection last year, the government had already done this once. Afterwards, the omissions were checked and filled up, and the plan was further improved. This time, when they cleared the venue, the process was much smoother than last year.

Various ceremonial guards prepared to welcome the Executive Committee, as well as local civil and military officials in Hangzhou, celebrities and gentry, all rushed here before dawn, waiting for the arrival of the Executive Committee.There are nearly a thousand coachmen, bearers and attendants alone.

However, this is not the main venue for the welcome event, but a place specially provided for local dignitaries to show their faces.It is respectful and sincere to greet him ten miles out of the city in the early morning.

There are also some people who are not afraid of trouble to come to watch the excitement, but they cannot enter the area where martial law has been enforced, and they can only stand far away from the pier to watch.

According to Shi Diwen's arrangement, the Executive Committee will enter the city through the Qingchun Gate in the east of the city, where the official welcome ceremony will be held.

A large number of people will line the streets inside and outside the Qingchun Gate to welcome the arrival of these senior officials. The government estimates that the number of people may reach 10, which is almost half the population of Hangzhou City.

Both the City Defense Army and the [-]th Army Division troops stationed outside the city have been mobilized, and it is expected that more than [-] soldiers will participate in the work of maintaining order.

Almost all the local people have heard the news that one of the purposes of the executive committee's visit to Hangzhou this time is to announce the relocation of the capital to Hangzhou on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

For Hangzhou people, this is undoubtedly a more important event than the National Day celebration.The last time Hangzhou became the capital of the country, it must be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty more than 500 years ago.And Haihan, a new empire that originated in the South China Sea, is obviously much stronger than the original Southern Song Dynasty.

Anyone with a little knowledge would think that this decision of the executive committee may not only change the future of the city, but may also change its own future and destiny.

Among the many people who have this idea, Zhu Zhongyun is one of the very few who can put the idea into practice.It's just that his ideas are contrary to those of others. It is his goal to prevent Haihan from establishing his capital in Hangzhou.

Zhu Zhongyun couldn't close his eyes at all because of the strong excitement, and finally he lay down next to the scheduled shooting position in the attic, finally felt relieved, closed his eyes and fell asleep for a while.

But before the second watch, he couldn't fall asleep.

He got up and walked to the window, looking at the street not far away.The Haihan Army to maintain order has begun to enter the field, setting up roadblocks at the intersections of various branch roads to ensure smooth traffic on the main road.

Many people chose to go out of the city early, and went to the open area outside the Qingchun Gate to occupy a spot of onlookers.

The space on both sides of the main road in the city has long been divided up by the shops and private houses facing the street. Each family has set up partitions by themselves to reserve the limited space in front of the street for their relatives and friends.

Of course, there are also quite a few savvy people who, after the government announced the arrival of the Executive Committee yesterday, put their homes on the street at a price for sale.There are countless people who want to watch from a close distance. Hangzhou is a rich place, so naturally many people are willing to pay for a good location.

Even though the house where Zhu Zhongyun and others are hiding is not facing the street, but because there is a three-story attic with a relatively wide view, several groups of people have come to the door last night, asking if they can pay a fee to watch the execution in the attic. The committee entered the city.

Verbal refusal could not make these people give up, Zhu Zhongyun could only ask the head of the household to show them the seal that the government had put up before, and then sent these uninvited guests away.

Zhu Zhongyun took out the rifles he had obtained and inspected them one by one.

This is at least the tenth time he has done this in a day. He repeatedly reviewed the plan he made. If there is any unsteady link, it may be that these rifles have not been calibrated by himself. Confirm that it is as accurate as the seller claims.

But judging from the quality of these rifles, Zhu Zhongyun also felt that his worries were a little unnecessary.The manufacturing level of the Haihan rifles was already far above that of Ming Dynasty, and these guns were still used by the Haihan army, so there shouldn't be any mistakes.

Zhu Zhongyun recalled that a few years ago, he went to the craftsmen of the Weapons Department and asked about the difficulty of imitating Haihan guns, but the craftsmen said that only the material alone meant that Daming could not mass-produce weapons of the same quality.

The fine steel used by Haihan to make guns and weapons was not produced in large quantities by Ming Dynasty, and the processing technology was even more different.

Without mass production, it is doomed that the combat effectiveness of the Ming army will not be greatly improved, and the gap in the performance of weapons and equipment makes it impossible for Ming to engage in large-scale battles with the Haihan army on the frontal battlefield.

This is exactly why Zhu Zhongyun could only choose to assassinate high-ranking officials of Haihan, and even had to use weapons made by Haihan in order to ensure the probability of success.

"No matter how good the weapons are, what can we do? We still have to die under such weapons!"

While wiping the rifle, Zhu Zhongyun had a strange thought.Of course he also knew that this was just a self-comforting thought, but as long as a few more hours passed, when he succeeded with one blow, these details would not be important.

"Haihan traitor, when you enter the city, let you die at my gunpoint!"

Zhu Zhongyun raised his gun and aimed out the window, as if there was a target waving to the onlookers in front of him.

(End of this chapter)