1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 371 The Tragedy of South Vietnam

October 1628, 10, Qiongzhou Island Yinggehai Wharf.

"Don't stop, line up and follow the signposts!"

The policemen in black uniforms and rattan helmets waved wooden batons in their hands to guide the immigrants who had just disembarked to move forward, so as not to be blocked on the wharf trestle and block the flatbed carts for subsequent unloading.There are pointing signs with red arrows on the side of the road at intervals, guiding the immigrants to the camps that have just been put into use.

For the unique police system under Haihan's rule, these immigrants are actually not quite used to it.Most of the places where they lived in the past were rural areas, and they rarely saw the fast-moving yamen servants in the county government. It was not like the black-clothed policemen who maintained law and order everywhere under Haihan's rule.In the past, they could do whatever they said without any scruples, but under the rule of the executive committee, they were not so free.Those who do not follow the instructions of the civil affairs cadres, or make malicious comments on the executive committee, may be punished by these black-clothed policemen, ranging from being hit with a baton a few times, to being arrested and imprisoned for three to five days.

Of course, there were also some hard-headed guys who didn't recognize the authority of the men in black at the beginning, and tried to resist in order to protect their own interests.However, the public security police quickly used rattan shields and batons to teach them how to behave, and helped these itchy guys loosen their bones.After more than a dozen troublemakers were imprisoned in the frightening labor camps, the behavior of the new immigrants became more disciplined.

Fu Li stood on the side of the road, with both hands on the leather belt around his waist, and looked at the immigration team passing by with a blank expression.He had already been assigned to the security team before the military and police department came home. After the military and police department was divided into two at the annual meeting, he was also assigned to the newly established police department as a matter of course.In view of Fu Li's special status and his good performance all the time, the higher-ups are not stingy about his promotion. He has already served as the squadron leader in the police force, and he has a team of 50 people for him to command. In terms of the nature of the police force as a violent institution, its power is not small.

After living with the Haihan people in Shengli Port for more than a year, Fu Li has long been different from the traditional Li people in appearance and clothing. Not only has he cut off his shoulder-length hair, he has removed earrings and other accessories, He behaved more like an authentic Haihan person, and even his accent began to change to the standard Haihan mandarin.If it wasn't for his dark complexion that exposed his identity, it would be hard for anyone to believe that he was an ordinary boy in the Li people's cottage a year ago.

Looking at the entire Guihuamin system, Fu Li should be regarded as the youngest cadre - he has only been sixteen years old and only a few months old.The Guihuamin who is closer to his age and has been reused by the executive committee is probably only his good friend Yu Xiaobao who is one year older than him.At present, Yu Xiaobao is still working in the Guangzhou Office, but his position has been promoted from last year's handyman to the person in charge of the external reception, who is responsible for welcoming and sending people. However, the contact area of ​​this job is large enough, and the personal connections that can be established through it can also play a big role in promoting Xiaobao's future development.

This time the executive committee decided to open up the Yinggehai colonization site, and Fu Li was also entrusted with the important task of leading a team here to maintain law and order in the station.Now, no matter which system the naturalized people are in, they are very aware of the employment habits of the Haihan chiefs, but any naturalized cadres who are named and led to foreign affairs basically means that they will be promoted soon.So after the police department's transfer order came down, colleagues also expressed their congratulations to Fu Li in advance.

However, Fu Li himself knew very well that this task was not as simple and easy as it seemed, because Ren Liang had already talked to him before, and specifically pointed out to him the difficulties that might arise in the work.

The biggest problem is the estrangement between ethnic groups. Almost all the people assigned to settle in Yinggehai this time are new immigrants from the mainland, while more than half of the policemen in charge of maintaining law and order here are from Li and Miao ethnicity. The relationship between Han Chinese and Li Miao in this era is definitely not as harmonious as in later generations, and there are some hidden dangers to some extent.One of Fu Li's tasks is to blur the differences between ethnic groups as much as possible, enforce the law impartially, and not let the local people feel too much resentment toward the law enforcement officers because of ethnic issues.

The second problem is local security defense.The executive committee has delayed implementing the Yinggehai immigration project. The main reason is not the long distance or the harsh natural environment, but the lack of key nodes for military defense. Without cover, landing can be achieved at any point along the coast.If you want to achieve a more reliable defense, you can only build a large bastion similar to Victory Fort, and the executive committee is unwilling to bear this kind of expense-in fact, the executive committee does not even plan to send militias to the Many people, but the main local defense to the police department.

The reason why the executive committee has such an arrangement is mainly because after the expansion of the territory, there are more and more strategic nodes that need to garrison troops, and the existing militia organization is becoming more and more fragmented, which is not in line with The military's conception of local garrisons.In view of the current overwhelming advantage of the Haihan Navy in the Beibu Gulf waters, the military believes that the possibility of the location of Yinggehai being harassed by the sea is very small, and the actual role of stationing troops there is limited. Where the defense pressure is not high, it is better to go north or south to control more overseas strategic nodes.

The opinion of the military was approved by the executive committee, so Fu Li and his brothers had to take on additional defense tasks. If the place was really invaded by foreign enemies, then their gang of policemen had to respond immediately. Organize defense forces to resist.Of course, the executive committee would not just let them hold wooden batons to fend off the enemy, and specially distributed dozens of short-barreled shotguns newly produced by "Haihan Military Industry" to them.However, these rifles are usually only locked in the arsenal, and only at special times can the local Haihan cadres grant them the right to use weapons.

"Don't stop, follow the signs!" Fu Li saw the team suddenly slow down, and shouted loudly: "Don't dawdle, it's getting dark!"

Under the urging of the police, the first batch of thousands of immigrants finally arrived at the camp before it was completely dark.Although there is no budget and time to build a large bastion like Victory Fort, the facilities that the immigrant camp should have are very complete, such as the outer wooden fence, isolation trenches, wells, public toilets, etc. are all available.The residences of the immigrants are still the unique folk houses in Qiongzhou, but the current boat-shaped houses have been improved a lot in the hands of the Ministry of Construction, using prefabricated standard components, which are not only faster to build, but also easier to maintain daily Convenience.

After the immigrants settled in, the logistics department first provided dinner, but the police force led by Fu Li couldn't stop to rest at this time. They had to patrol outside the camp area, and then assigned night duty positions and manpower. Consider finishing today's work.

Early the next morning, the piercing wake-up call awakened the immigrants from their dreams.From today onwards, they can no longer eat idle food, and start to use their own labor to contribute to Haihan's career.

Anxi and his entourage did not live in a boat house, but in a prefab house specially prepared for Haihan cadres.Although the construction of the saltworks already has mature operating procedures, Anxi still believes that he has to take a look at it for himself before he can rest assured.This time, under Anxi's strong advocacy, the production director of Yinggehai Saltworks is no longer a time traveler, but a native born and bred local naturalized citizen Jiang San Jiang Kaishen.

Jiang Kaishen's working relationship had already been transferred from the saltworks to work in the civil affairs system.But this time when planning the Yinggehai project, Anxi came forward to ask him back and entrusted him with important tasks.And because of this appointment, Jiang Kaishen jumped from a third-level worker to a fourth-level worker, and became one of the few senior naturalized civilian cadres under the executive committee.

Jiang Kaishen himself was very grateful for such a promotion. Although he had no education, he also knew that it was an excellent opportunity for him to be able to follow a nobleman like Anxi, so he also made up his mind to perform well in his new position in the new saltworks.

"Mr. An, this is the first phase of our planned construction site." Jiang Kaishen bowed his body and stood next to Anxi to introduce the construction situation in front of him: "The first phase of the project has a sun-dried salt pond with an area of ​​20 mu, and the construction period is [-] days. , but the villain looked at the construction schedule and thought that the construction period could be shortened, and it can be completed in only fifteen days."

Anxi coughed and said, "Stand up straight and talk, and don't be a villain, it sounds uncomfortable."

"Yes, yes, villain... I remember." Jiang Kaishen responded hastily.

"It is good to be able to shorten the working period, but we must also consider the labor sentiment of the new immigrants. These people have just come from the mainland and do not understand our labor policy very well. If you ask them to work overtime, then there must be a reasonable reason. Reasons are the only thing. I don’t want these people to have resistance to the work arrangement of the saltworks because of the heavy labor burden, do you understand what I mean?” Anxi can naturally hear that Jiang Kaishen’s suggestion has some meritorious intentions. How to shorten the construction period, I don't want to know, can only make the people below work longer.

Jiang Kaishen lowered his head: "Yes, yes, I understand."

"Do you remember the two requirements I told you before?" Anxi continued to ask.

"Remember, Mr. An's teachings are naturally remembered." Jiang Kaishen said quickly: "Mr. An said that the production and construction of the saltworks must ensure quality and quantity. First, quality and then quantity. I have always taken it to heart."

All the thousand immigrants assigned here were put into the saltworks construction project.They need to build a surprisingly large sun-dried salt area in the inland salt lake beach area here, and then use the unique high-concentration brine here to produce high-quality and cheap sea salt.

The construction of the follow-up immigrant camp is also in progress. Before the end of the year, the Executive Committee will arrange for three to four thousand immigrants to settle here, expand while producing, and complete the main construction project of the Yinggehai Salt Field within the next year. .

When the construction of the Yinggehai Salt Field was in full swing, the Portuguese merchant ship from Macau sailed into the port of Sanya Port for the first time.The main mission of this two-masted sailboat coming to Sanya is to complete the first arms transaction between the two parties after signing the cooperation agreement, [-] [-]-style arquebus guns and [-] Haihan artillery pieces, as well as corresponding supporting ammunition and maintenance Accessories.In terms of the transaction amount alone, this transaction is not considered large. Every order Xu Xinsu from Fujian placed with Haihan far exceeded the transaction amount.But from a political point of view, this transaction means that the two sides have completely abandoned their previous hostile attitudes and turned to the direction of achieving win-win cooperation through trade.

But some people are happy while others are worried. When the executive committee members toasted with the Portuguese, South Vietnam has fallen into the most difficult situation at this time.

Since the fall of Hoi An City in August, the troubles faced by the Ruan Dynasty court in South Vietnam have not stopped.The destruction of Hoi An City caused the interruption of import and export trade, which has greatly affected the economic situation in South Vietnam, and caused turmoil in the ruling area. The dignitaries and senior officials were worried that the Hai Han army would raid Hue from the sea.

After hurriedly repatriating part of the army from the northern front, the North Vietnamese army suddenly launched a large-scale cross-river operation before they could calm down.This time, the garrison troops deployed on the Zhengjiang Hengshan defense line failed to stop the North Vietnamese attack.

The southward shift of the front line this time was no worse than the unfavorable situation in the first two years. At least at that time, South Vietnam still had the strength to organize a strong counterattack and successfully drove the North Vietnamese army back to the area north of the Zhengjiang River.But this time, it is a bit more difficult to restore the unfavorable situation again.This is not only because South Vietnam lost a large number of elite troops in successive battles, or the destruction of Hoi An in the south caused a major economic recession, but more importantly, the Portuguese, who had always been relied on by the South Vietnamese court, It even unilaterally announced the termination of all military cooperation.

All the Portuguese instructors stationed in the South Vietnamese Army withdrew, and all the Portuguese craftsmen who repaired guns and artillery for the new South Vietnamese Army withdrew. Even the Portuguese envoy stationed in Hue left Hue after announcing the decision from the Macau Portuguese Council. Huacheng.As for the Portuguese businessmen who were originally doing business in various places in South Vietnam, they also began to sell their assets and left South Vietnam by boat.

Even if you want to hide this kind of news, you will definitely not be able to hide it. The withdrawal of the Portuguese caused great panic to the South Vietnamese government and people, and various rumors began to appear.Some people say that the Portuguese chose to avoid it because they were afraid of being beaten by the Haihan people, and gave up the land of South Vietnam.It is also said that the Portuguese and the Haihan people have colluded together, and the next step is to jointly send troops to attack South Vietnam.

With only Haihan making a move, Nanyue is already unable to hold back. If Portugal is added, then there is no need to think about the outcome.As a result, the territory of South Vietnam quickly fell into chaos. Some nobles had already started planning to flee, and some even sent envoys to sneak into North Vietnam secretly through the mountains to discuss matters of surrender.Ordinary people don't have so many outlets to think about, so they can only choose to go south to Champa or go north to surrender to the Thang Long Mansion regime.

Under such a chaotic situation, the Champa Kingdom in the south suddenly came out as if deliberately joining in the fun.The envoy of Champa announced to the South Vietnamese court that Champa would not recognize the current status as a slave state, and would take back all the land occupied by South Vietnam in the past hundred years by force.

Champa's announcement was not a joke. Champa declared war before the ministers of South Vietnam had discussed a unified response.The ministers of South Vietnam were very surprised to find that the weapons used by the Champa army were exactly the same as those of the North Vietnamese army!
Apart from the obvious fact that the level of combat is very amateurish and far inferior to the well-trained North Vietnamese new army, this is just another replica of another North Vietnamese new army.The army sent to deal with Champa was defeated in the first battle, and less than 5000 of the 300 troops retreated alive to Qui Nhon in the south.As for why such a situation occurred, the officials of the South Vietnamese court were not fools, and quickly figured out the key point - the hateful Haihan people must have intervened again!
The South Vietnamese court was surprised to find that without knowing it, the Haihan people on the island far across the sea supported two armed forces at the same time on the north and south sides of South Vietnam, and successfully drove away their only ally. Let Hue Prefecture fall into a situation of isolation and helplessness.

Although the South Vietnamese imperial court still has [-] to [-] troops available for command, it is really hard to say how much fighting will the army still has in the current situation.If these troops were to be forced to go to the battlefield to fight against the North Vietnamese, Champa, and the Haihan people who would appear at any time, it might really be a collapsed situation.

It is definitely unbeatable to fight. This point is almost a consensus without debate.But if they directly surrendered to the North Vietnamese court, the ruling Nguyen family would also feel unwilling. Besides, they also knew very well that direct surrender would not bring forgiveness from the Zheng family. If the result of waiting for them was not beheading, at least the whole family would be exiled.And for them, how could such a result be any different from death?
Under this desperate situation, the last way out that the South Vietnamese court can think of is to seek peace—but the object of this summation is not the North Vietnamese court, but Haihan, who has great influence on North Vietnam .

Naturally, there was no direct connection between South Vietnam and Haihan, and after the Battle of Hoi An, almost all the Chinese businessmen in South Vietnam withdrew, and no Chinese businessmen were willing to take risks to stay here.Finally, after begging my grandpa to sue my grandma, I finally found a Portuguese firm that was planning to leave South Vietnam and go north to Macau, and asked them to take their special envoy to Sanya, the hometown of the Haihan people, to see if they could get a chance to breathe.

(End of this chapter)