1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 329 Decided to send troops
Li Jifeng knew that the Haihan people had always acted cautiously, especially in dealing with the relationship with Daming. It might not be easy for the Haihan people to provide military assistance to Lijiazhuang, so he went to visit the Guangzhou Office in person.It's a pity that Schneider has been transferred back to Victory Port, and now the person in charge in Guangzhou is not enough in the executive committee. Neither He Xi nor the newcomer Maliko have the right to make decisions on such major matters, so they can only pass the information through the radio Send it back to the base camp and hand it over to the executive committee to make a decision.

"Let's talk about it, after all, people are begging us now!" Tao Donglai looked around at the executive committee members present, and said in a deep voice: "Whether we can help with this favor, and if we want to help, how can we help? Let's add up together!"

"The gang is definitely going to help. The Li family is now the spokesperson of our interests in Daming. If their wall is dug down, it will cause us a lot of losses. Besides, the shareholders of 'Qiong Lianfa' are now We have just joined the team, and they will see and remember how we respond to the Li family’s request for help.” Schneider took the lead in expressing his attitude: “As for how to help, I think it’s up to the professionals. Opinion, as a layman, I won’t talk too much.”

From a pure profit point of view, Schneider's words are indeed correct. Although the export channels of Haihan products are much more than half a year ago, "Furuifeng" is still recognized in the Daming business circle. Spokesperson of Han, as long as Haihan is allowed to sell the products, "Fu Ruifeng" is the first merchant who can get the goods, and even many rare items that are not seen in the market, only the "Fu Ruifeng" family There is a unique source of goods.In the half a year after establishing a business relationship with "Furuifeng", the gross profit earned by the Transit Group through this channel has exceeded 20 taels of silver.

In addition, "Fu Ruifeng" has played a part in the materials purchased, immigrants introduced, and bases arranged by the Traveling Group in the mainland.Without the assistance of the Great Ming Leading the Way Party, the layout of the Traveling Group in the mainland would not have been so smooth.Now, although the Ministry of Commerce has taken the lead in setting up the "Qiong Lianfa" organization to develop more leading parties, the Executive Committee's attention to the veteran "Furuifeng" has not diminished because of this. "Golden Shield Security" to help the Li family expand its business scope - of course, the main purpose of establishing this organization is to prepare for the military deployment of the Crossing Group in the mainland.

Many things that the Time Travel Group cannot do in its own name are almost all handed over to "Fu Ruifeng". Now although there is a larger shell of "Qiong Lianfa" that can be borrowed, the "Fu Ruifeng" Existence is still an indispensable support for Time Travel Group.With regard to the choice of "help or not", no one in the Executive Committee will have a negative opinion on this, because no department can completely separate from the supply of materials and manpower from the outside world - this is also the current status of Time Travel Group.

Sure enough, after Schneider finished speaking, no one jumped out to question his opinion.No matter from the standpoint of justice or self-interest, it is impossible for the Traveling Group to stand idly by the difficulties of the Li family.

Bai Kesi said: "I also agree with Mr. Shi's opinion. Help is definitely necessary, but how to help and to what extent, this really needs to be calculated. What is the situation of the civil unrest in Guangzhou? It's not very clear in the telegram. Teacher Ning, do you have any relevant information?"

Ning Qi nodded and replied: "After receiving the notice from Mr. Tao, I checked the database and found that the chaos in Guangzhou Mansion was not as simple as what was said in the telegram. rise……"

Three years after the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1623, four years before the travelers came to this world, there was a bandit disaster in Conghua County, Guangzhou Prefecture. The main force was the low-level people who made a living by burning charcoal. The leader was Lai Ding Ji, Liao Dabi, Zhang Weichong and others, numbering in the thousands, were active in the counties of Conghua, Zengcheng, Longmen, and Qingyuan in Guangzhou Prefecture, as well as in Shaozhou Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture.This bandit disaster lasted for many years in Guangdong, and historical records did not settle down until the fifth year of Chongzhen.

In the fourth year of the Apocalypse, most areas of Guangzhou Prefecture suffered from famine. Unscrupulous rice merchants took the opportunity to raise the price of rice. As a result, after the rise in rice prices, civil uprisings were aroused in Boluo County, Huizhou Prefecture, and Guangzhou Prefecture respectively. Although the government promptly suppressed Although these two uprisings were eliminated, there are still a large number of bankrupt and hungry people who chose to join the gangs in Guangdong in order to survive.After that, it was during the period from the sixth year of Tianqi mentioned in the call from Guangzhou to this year that the bandits caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters intensified.

According to historical records, in the next few years, Guangdong will continue to suffer from droughts, floods, earthquakes, plagues, and pirate attacks. The frequent occurrence of various disasters will further intensify civil unrest.If we infer based on historical data combined with Guangzhou telegrams, then the recent riots near the Guangzhou mansion and the bandit forces that have threatened Lijiazhuang should be mainly the "Charcoal Burning Party" that emerged two years ago.

In fact, the government has no good way to deal with these bandit forces, otherwise they would not be allowed to do evil in Guangdong for many years.The Li family was obviously aware of this, so instead of pinning their hopes on the authorities, they quietly approached the Guangzhou Office for help.

"Four years ago? Then these bandits are considered veterans? If thousands of people go to attack Lijiazhuang, it is estimated that it will be difficult to defend it with just the number of people in their militia." After listening to the historical background introduced by Ning Qi, Bai Kesi said to Li I also have a better understanding of my current situation.

"Are you sure that the bandits will attack the Li family village?" Yan Chujie finally expressed his opinion: "If this is certain, then we can no longer delay discussing how to rescue the Li family, but take immediate action! "

"Shengli Port is so far away from Guangzhou. It will take some time to mobilize manpower and purchase materials, right? Besides, the local situation is unknown, and it is not easy to jump to conclusions about how many manpower we need to send. Shouldn't we be more cautious at this time?" Kai has always disagreed with the military's attitude of fighting and killing at every turn, and immediately questioned Yan Chujie's statement.

"Wait for our side to slowly mobilize manpower, prepare supplies, and then take a boat across the sea to Guangzhou. Let alone seven or eight days, do you think it will take seven or eight days for thousands of bandits to besiege a village? We are here It’s okay to hold meetings and study slowly, but can the Li family afford to wait? Will those bandits sit down and wait for us to discuss the results before doing anything? The Li family is looking for us in the hope that we can help in times of crisis, not for the people in the Li family village Collect the corpse!" Yan Chujie ruthlessly refuted Gu Kai's statement, and almost threw out the words "talking on paper".

Gu Kai was a little embarrassed to be robbed by Yan Chujie, but he was not good at arguing with Yan Chujie in this aspect, so he moved his lips a few times and finally chose to shut up.

"Okay, old Yan, don't worry about getting angry, aren't we just discussing a solution now?" Tao Donglai hurriedly stood up to smooth things over, and gave Gu Kai a wink, signaling him not to argue with Yan Chujie again.Every time the executive committee is about to take military action, there will always be voices of opposition. It used to be Meng He from the Ministry of Information Industry. After this reelection, Meng He was squeezed out of the new executive committee. The candidate for this pacifist tone became Gu Kai who had been transferred from Heitu Port.

Although there is no partisanship in the executive committee, whenever this kind of time comes, there will still be faintly divided into two factions of "main war" and "main peace".However, since the victory of the Annan Battle, the voice of the "main battle" has obviously become much louder at this time. In addition to the fact that Mr. Yuan has clearly stood in line, Ning Qi, who used to question the military's approach, is now often sitting on the fence. attitude, only Gu Kai still insisted on using non-violent means to solve the problem in a somewhat "ignorant of current affairs".

What Yan Chujie said was not a dispute between emotions. Even if the executive committee immediately approves the proposal of military assistance, organizes troops, prepares supplies, and fleets, it will take at least two days to set off from Shengli Port. Even if the journey goes smoothly , Arriving at the destination is almost a week later.If the local bandits really wanted to attack Lijiazhuang, they might have done so long ago.

"Then what does the military mean?" Tao Donglai seemed to be knowingly asking to help Yan Chujie set the rhythm.

"Prepare with both hands." Yan Chujie made a gesture of scissors hands: "First, the base camp immediately mobilizes militia troops to form an expeditionary force, and set off as soon as possible. Second, organize a resistance force nearby in Guangzhou, and go to Panyu to assist Lijiazhuang in defending against bandits. "

"The armed forces near Guangzhou are only..." Ning Qi understood what Yan Chujie meant when he heard this.

The crossing group's armed forces near Guangzhou originally consisted of a small number of militiamen stationed in Guangzhou, but it has only recently expanded to a platoon.The second is the Li Jiamin regiment trained in Guangzhou, which currently has about two companies.In addition, there are more than [-] people from the Fourth Company of the Shengli Port Independent Battalion who were only recently sent to the Pearl River Estuary to establish a stronghold on Dawanshan Island—this is probably what Yan Chujie called the resistance force.

In terms of combat capability alone, the militiamen of the Fourth Company must be stronger than the Li Family Militia. The Lijiamin Regiment equipped with flintlock guns exceeds by a large margin. More importantly, all members of the Fourth Company have participated in the Annan Campaign, and they are armed forces with real combat experience. The combat experience is similar to that of the Li Jiamin Regiment. The amateur militias are still very different.If it was a battle on the battlefield, there should be no pressure on the establishment of the two companies of the four companies singled out by the Li Family Militia.

If the fourth company is transferred to Lijiazhuang to participate in the defense, then the chances of repelling the bandits will be greater.After all, on the Annan battlefield, Silian also had a record of repelling enemies several times its own. The combat effectiveness of this bandit could never be stronger than that of the South Vietnamese army.The most important thing is that the arrival of these Haihan regular troops can completely act as a branch, organize a more hierarchical and disciplined defense force in the local area, and command the Li family's militia to cooperate in the battle.

"Silian went to the Pearl River Estuary this time to carry out the garrison mission. The weapons and ammunition are very sufficient, which can fully support them in completing several small-scale operations in the local area. The voyage from Dawanshan Island to Panyu by the Pearl River is more than 60 In the sea, it can be reached on the same day by boat, and the distance is very short, so there is no time in time." Yan Chujie continued to give other reasons that can prove the feasibility of this plan.

"The Discovery is still docking on Dawanshan Island. If you need to mobilize the fourth company, the capacity is not a problem." Yue Zhiyun from the Shipping Department also added.Although the navy has now formed a separate army, due to the poor capacity of the navy, overseas operations often require the cooperation of the Ministry of Shipping, so the Ministry of Shipping is also clear about the status of the only warship listed.

"What about the defense on Dawanshan Island? We still have hundreds of migrant workers left on the island. Even if the base camp mobilizes reinforcements, there will still be a few days' time difference." Ning Qi said somewhat. asked worriedly.

"This brings us to the benefits of establishing a grassroots militia organization!" Yan Chujie immediately took up the conversation: "Among the personnel selected to participate in the construction of Dawanshan Island this time, half of them have received more than three visits in Shengli Port. Militia training. The purpose of our military was originally to allow these personnel stationed on the island to serve as an auxiliary force for the troops stationed on the island when necessary, but now it seems that they can be used in advance. After the fourth company leaves, the defense can be temporarily Leave it to these militiamen, anyway, there will only be a few days in the middle, and once the reinforcements from the base camp arrive, everything will be fine."

"Then what about the weapons they used?" Ning Qi continued to ask.

"The weapons have already been shipped together. This is not something that your Ministry of Civil Affairs handles. Why do you still ask me?" Yan Chujie took the opportunity to laugh at Ning Qi.

When Ning Qi thought about it, he seemed to be a little impressed. Among the military supplies that were loaded at the beginning, it seemed that there was indeed an item of "militia weapons". The weapons were all loaded on the "Explorer", and the goods marked as "militia weapons" shipped on the cargo ship should be what Yan Chujie said.

Of course, these grassroots militiamen did not have any high-end weapons, not even arquebuses on a large scale. The standard weapons were iron-tipped spears with a length of one foot and two, with a small amount of sword shields.However, the militiamen who have undergone military training and this kind of armed force are definitely enough to deal with the mob who lack long-range weapons and heavy weapons.In fact, as long as it is not a naval battle, the military thinks it may be enough for them to deal with the pirates that haunt the nearby waters.

"The other materials needed by the fourth company to fight in Panyu..."

"It's only forty miles from Guangzhou City to Panyu. If you need anything, the Li family will buy it and send it there. We don't need to worry about this." Before Ning Qi could finish asking, Yan Chujie rushed to answer answered his question.

Ning Qi made a helpless expression and said, "Okay, I don't have any other questions for now."

"With all due respect, I think everyone has overlooked one thing." Gu Kai, who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but speak again: "We sent troops to fight in Panyu, do we need to consider the feelings of the local government of Ming Dynasty? First of all, The feeling I’m talking about has nothing to do with respect, the key is that if Daming knows that we have openly sent armed forces into the area around Guangzhou to fight, will they regard our existence as a threat?”

"The possibility you mentioned does exist, but we don't really need to make this action public." Tao Donglai took the initiative to answer Gu Kai's question: "The existence of folk training is semi-legal in Ming Dynasty. , even if the weapons and equipment are a little bit beyond the standard, as long as they don't take the initiative to make trouble, the local government will generally turn a blind eye and close their eyes. When we enter Panyu to fight, in fact, we don't want to use the banner of the Haihan Militia. Our people will not be stationed locally Besides, the local government knows that there is a bandit disaster in that place, and there is no time to hide, so how can they send people to the local area at this juncture to check whether the equipment of the militia exceeds the standard. "

"Let's vote, after all, time is tight." Seeing that the others had no intention of continuing to ask questions, Yan Chujie immediately urged.

The result of the vote was also expected. The Executive Committee successfully passed the proposal of armed support to Lijiazhuang, and authorized the Military Commission to direct the military operation. Other relevant departments must also fully cooperate.

After Yan Chujie got the Shangfang Sword, he immediately asked for leave and left the venue. He didn't even participate in the subsequent meeting. He hurried back to the Military Commission Office and called an emergency meeting.First of all, the first thing to do is to send telegrams to inform the Guangdong Office and Dawanshan Island respectively about the resolution of the Executive Committee and the general action plan, and ask the two places to start preparations immediately and complete the corresponding work in the shortest possible time. transfer.

Secondly, the base camp can't just be idle like this. Just in case, it is necessary to prepare the second wave of reinforcements from the north immediately.After the Battle of Annan, the base camp has undergone an expansion of the army, recruiting students from three companies in each of the army and navy. At present, the army students have actually completed the three-month training period, but they have not yet been included in the formal establishment.The military said it was the Shengli Port Independent Battalion, but in fact the strength of the local troops is far less than an independent battalion. Even after sending out four companies, the army stationed in the Sanya area still maintains the size of six companies.After discussion, the high-level military decided to send two companies, one old and one new, to the north to ensure the safety of this military assistance operation.

"I feel like we are going to become mercenaries!" Gu Wei sighed, "Helping the Vietnamese finish fighting the rebels will help Ming fight bandits. Fighting for outsiders!"

"It doesn't matter who you fight for, what matters is the actual income after the fight. Just wait and see, after this battle is over, the Li family will definitely help us pay for our military expenses!" Yan Chujie smiled , completely lost the sense of anxiety in the executive committee just now.

(End of this chapter)