1627 Rise of the South China Sea

After listening to the information reported by all parties, Shi Diwen had a rough judgment on the situation of the Ming army.

Obviously, the Ming army in Changzhou Prefecture has already begun to prepare for battle, but it has not yet fully entered the combat state.These small groups of Ming troops are still going out to carry out looting, which is enough to show that the opponent's command system has not really functioned, and each branch is still at the stage of doing its own thing.

This made Shi Diwen heave a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Ming army deployed in Yixing was not an elite army. The next battle should not cause too much difficulty for the Haihan army.

Shi Diwen looked at the shopkeeper and the waiter who were anxiously bowing their heads and waiting for orders, and asked casually: "You have a two-color flag hanging outside this inn, so you probably haven't escaped being robbed?"

Shopkeeper Ding quickly replied: "My lord, the Ming army is indeed planning to evacuate the Caomin's inn, but before they can move out, the Haihan army arrived in the town, and they were so scared that they dropped their things and ran away."

Shi Diwen nodded: "Then your luck is not bad. I heard that there is a big family named Qi in the town. Because of the two-color flag, he was beaten by the Ming army and killed."

Shopkeeper Ding said in astonishment: "Master Qi used to be the master of the county government, these people are really ruthless!"

Shi Diwen said indifferently: "In times of war, human lives are like ants. Not to mention the masters of the county government, even if they are relatives of the emperor, it will be the same in wartime."

Shi Diwen was about to let the two civilians retreat, but the guy asked: "My lord, I really don't understand. Isn't it the duty of the Ming army to protect us civilians? The Haihan army is very polite to us." , how could it be our own people who robbed us?"

Shi Diwen replied: "The reason is actually very simple. They know that they will not be able to hold this place in the future. Everything here, including your inn, will become the property of our country. So robbing you is tantamount to robbing you in advance." Haihan. If we can rob this place, it will be regarded as fortifying the wall and clearing the country, and maybe it will cause problems with our army's supplies."

"For us, sooner or later this place will become the territory of our country, and you will also become the citizens of Haihan, so robbing you is tantamount to robbing yourself? You think you and the Ming army are our own people, but in fact you and us are the same people. It’s one of our own. Think about it, isn’t that the reason.”

Shopkeeper Ding and his fellows had never heard of such a theory before.At first hearing it, I thought it was absurd, but after careful consideration, it seemed that it was really what Shi Diwen said.

But doesn't this mean that before the war started, the Ming army had already decided to abandon Fudong Town and the people here?No wonder the Ming army robbed the people in the town without the slightest hesitation, but they ran away when they saw the Haihan army.

On weekdays, the government publicizes how powerful the Ming army is, and also claims that when the time is right, it will send troops to retake the coastal state capitals and drive the Haihan people out of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Such a big gap.

Shopkeeper Ding and the waiter glanced at each other, and they both found that the other's face was extremely ugly at this time.

Although they were robbed by the Ming army before this, they still regarded themselves as citizens of Ming Dynasty deep in their hearts. Even if they prepared the two-color flag in advance, they only regarded it as an expedient measure to deal with the Haihan army.

But what Shi Diwen said just now made them realize that the government didn't seem to care about their lives, nor did they treat them as "our own people".But it is the original "enemy country" who is really willing to treat them kindly.

"No wonder so many people have fled to the south..." Shopkeeper Ding murmured.

A few days ago, he saw a large number of refugees going south through Fudong Town, and he still felt that these people were throwing themselves into a trap, but it was only now that he realized that these refugees were likely to have fallen into insecurity before the war started. In such a difficult situation, if you choose to escape to Haihan, the chance of surviving will be even greater.

After the Haihan army took over the inn, shopkeeper Ding and his buddies were not restricted from moving, but they were not allowed to go to the area related to making food in the inn.When it's time to eat, someone will distribute food to them, which saves a lot of worry.

The two of them had nothing to do. After eating, they lay on the railing on the second floor of the lobby, watching these Haihan officers gathered around the map to discuss the military situation.

"Shopkeeper, is this a war? It doesn't seem so scary, you can handle it by hanging a flag at the door."

"You know what a fart! It's our luck that the two sides didn't fight in Fudong Town, otherwise how can we keep the inn with just one flag!"

"The Haihan army doesn't shy away from discussing the military situation, isn't it afraid that we will inform us?"

"Where are you going to inform? The county seat is forty miles away from here. By the time you drive there overnight, you may have already finished fighting over there. Besides, even if you go to inform, can the Ming army trust you? If you say anything wrong, they will kill you." Drag it out and chop it up as a spy!"

"Shopkeeper, the Haihan army posted a notice outside our inn just now. I asked about it. They want to recruit civilians who accompany the army and transport supplies. They will give one tael of silver every three days. I should be able to do this job, right?"

Shopkeeper Ding's face changed slightly, and he said, "As a soldier and a civilian, you're going to the battlefield. Don't you think life is too long, kid? Be careful if you live to make money but not to spend it!"

The guy said: "I just really want to see what the real battlefield looks like."

Shopkeeper Ding waved his hand and said, "You'd better not go, at worst, I will give you two taels...three taels of silver for this month's salary!"

The guy didn't say a word, obviously how much he could get paid was not his priority.The drive of curiosity seems to be far greater than the temptation of money.

Shopkeeper Ding saw that he was silent, so he changed his face and said: "If you run away, I will find someone else to do the job in the inn. Then don't come back and beg me!"

The guy smiled and said, "Then I'll think about it."

No matter what the guy thinks, a job as a civilian husband who can earn ten taels of silver a month is very attractive to most ordinary people.

Early the next morning, there was a long line of applicants outside the inn, as many as a hundred people.The military officer in charge of logistics borrowed tables and chairs from the inn, set up a stall at the door, and registered the conscripts on the spot.

Immediately after completing the formalities, the identity cards and three-day wages were issued, and they were incorporated into the civilian husband team and taken to the Taihu Lake to carry the supplies from the cargo ship.

Several large boxes of white silver are placed next to the registration office, but it is difficult for anyone passing by here not to be attracted by them.As for the risks hidden in it, not many people should care.