1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 519 Relief
Wang Zunde stroked his beard and said: "Since you have said all about the right time and place, there must be a third reason?"

"My lord's opinion!" Liu Qian replied: "The third reason for the humble job is the harmony between people. The Haihan people took Yazhou as their foundation and spent several years and countless money to manage it. Hand over to others. In order to keep Wanshan Port at the mouth of the Pearl River, the Haihan militia did not hesitate to fight against the pirate Liu Xiang who had been entrenched nearby for many years. There are a lot of benefits from Haihan, if Haihan dispatches militia groups to fight against pirates, the local people will be happy to cooperate."

Wang Zunde snorted softly when he heard this, and Liu Qian immediately realized that he had made a slip of the tongue, and quickly said: "Of course, there must be an order from the government, and the people will cooperate. Before the official army arrives, let the sea It’s okay for the Han militia to be the overlord in the local area for a few days. After the Haihan militia repels the pirates, then send the army to take over the city, and by the way, the militia is also incorporated, which is the best of both worlds.”

"The Haihan people may not be happy to incorporate the militia." Wang Zunde is not a fool. He still knows how much energy the Haihan people have spent on running the militia to have the current combat effectiveness. Such an army piled up with money, The shrewd Haihan people will definitely not let go easily.

"The people of Haihan are all businessmen, and the conditions can be negotiated slowly, and there is no chance." Liu Qian only thought that the purpose of Haihan people to let him be a lobbyist was to seek an official status for the militia, and did not Thinking of how terrible the real purpose hidden behind this is, he still persuaded Wang Zunde according to the established policy: "Let the Haihan militia fight head-on with the pirates to wear down its strength. After the chaos in Qiongzhou is settled, the adults will reward you." In the name of the militia, assign a few free titles to the military leaders in the militia, and with a few more promises, this group of people can be recruited."

Wang Zunde didn't respond, thinking that it would be so easy. After the Haihan militia defeated the bandit army in Panyu County the year before last, they had already recruited these people.At that time, several positions were also promised in the awards issued by the government to the militia, but the other party did not accept the government's "good intentions" and returned all the appointment documents sent back intact.At that time, Wang Zunde had just taken office not long ago, and because of the ignorance of the Haihan people, he was very angry.

Wang Zunde closed his eyes slightly, thinking about the pros and cons of having the Haihan militia dispatched in his mind.Liu Qian had finished talking about several reasons he had thought up, and now he was quietly waiting for Wang Zunde to make a decision.

After a long time, Wang Zunde opened his eyes and asked, "How long will it take for Haihan to mobilize the militia to go to Qiongzhou Fucheng for rescue?"

Liu Qian had been prepared for this, and quickly responded: "The Haihan people have a unique secret technique, which can transmit information from Guangzhou City to Qiongzhou Island in an instant, and they have long claimed that they are ready to go to war. Give the order now, Haihan can dispatch troops within a day or two."

Wang Zunde stared sideways at Liu Qian and said, "For this matter, the people of Haihan gave you a lot of benefits, right?"

Liu Qian was surprised, and hurriedly bowed his head and said: "Your Excellency, I didn't get any benefits from it. It's just that the Haihan people have come to find me many times recently, showing that I don't hesitate to fight. I also feel that it is right for them to be sent here at this time." Useful, let the Haihan people send troops first on Qiongzhou Island, your lord can first mobilize troops from Guangdong and Guangxi to raise supplies, and if the Haihan militia fails to fight well, then send officers and troops to clean up the mess."

Wang Zunde snorted, but he didn't pursue the root cause of this matter any more, but ordered: "Go and draw up a document, notify the Haihan people, and let them send troops as soon as possible!"

Liu Qian was overjoyed, and bowed in response: "If the Haihan militia is going to assist the officers and soldiers near Fucheng, do you want to give them more authority?"

Wang Zunde understood Liu Qian's meaning, nodded and said: "During the battle, they are allowed to enter the city with armed forces, but after repelling the pirates, they must obey the arrangements of the local government! Also, since they have the method of communication, after they have the news of the local battle situation, The officer must be notified as soon as possible!"

"Abiding by the order, I will draw up a document and notify the Haihan people!" Liu Qian hurriedly agreed, and then hurriedly withdrew.Two days ago, when He Xi finished talking with him, before leaving, Haihan would give 1000 taels of silver as a thank you as long as this matter is completed.For Liu Qian, the money was not for nothing, so he quickly wrote the paperwork and went to the Haihan people to get the money.

On October 10, the official document sent from the Governor's Mansion of Guangdong and Guangxi in Zhaoqing was rushed to the Guangzhou Office outside Guangzhou.After Maliko and He Xi read the official document, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

He Xi signed and wrote the receipt, rewarded him with two taels of silver, and sent the messenger away.Maliko transcribed the main content of the official document, called Zhang Qianzhi, and asked him to send it to the confidential room and send the news back to the base camp by telegram.

"With Shang Fang's sword in hand, Sanya can finally start to act." Maliko couldn't help but sigh.This plan has been in preparation for half a year. Because there are too many variables in it, no one dares to guarantee the probability of its success before it reaches the implementation stage.But at this stage, it can be said that the plan has been [-]% successful, and the remaining work is to finish it well and complete this peerless deception.

He Xi also responded with a smile, "It's time to pick peaches after spending so much money paving the way."

When Maliko and He Xi were chatting and laughing in the Guangzhou Office, the city of Qiongzhou, thousands of miles away, was full of turmoil.The pirate army outside the city has been besieging Fucheng for several days. Although they have not launched a large-scale attack on the city, they drag out their cannons and bombard the city wall for several rounds almost every day. The army was in a state of restlessness most of the time during the day, and no one knew when a shell would suddenly fly out and hit the city.

The prefect also sent several teams to try to break out of the encirclement for help, but soon found that such attempts were futile.These pirates not only blocked several city gates, but also equipped cavalry. Although it seems that there are not many horses, it is more than enough to deal with a small amount of infantry running on two legs.Those who were sent out to ask for help had no way of escaping too far.

The nearby river has also been blocked by pirate ships, and now even fishing boats cannot enter the Nandu River.The people in the city can only hope that some of the boats sent to Guangzhou for help a few days ago will slip through the net, so that Guangzhou can quickly send reinforcements to help out.

Of course, there are some clear-headed people who know that even if Guangzhou wants to send troops, it will have to wait for half a month at the earliest, and it is hard to say whether Fucheng can hold on for half a month.

At this time, many well-connected people went to the Haihan office in the city to ask for information from the all-knowing Haihan people.And the news from Haihan's side is also relatively pessimistic - if we only rely on the existing defense forces, it may be difficult to survive until the day when reinforcements from the mainland arrive.If you want to retreat from the enemy, you can only look forward to other variables.

It's not that no one thought of the powerful Haihan militia under the Haihan people, but the person in charge of the office just said that he didn't get the transfer order from the governor's office, and that the militia should not be transferred at will to avoid suspicion.

With conscious promotion, the people in the city soon reached a consensus that the current situation in Qiongzhou Island can only be resolved by the Haihan militia. Even if they lose Qiongzhou Island because of this, they will not hesitate to do so.

Most people are definitely dissatisfied with this attitude of the government, not to mention that the Haihan people have always abided by the law and are willing to do good things. Even if it is to save their lives, it is time to decisively let the Haihan militia attack.Leaving the thousands of usable soldiers on Qiongzhou Island alone, but expecting Guangzhou, thousands of miles away, to send reinforcements as soon as possible, this approach is obviously a very careless performance.

But the government is actually suffering and can't tell. Everyone knows that the Haihan militia can fight, but because of this, no one dares to open the door first and mobilize the Haihan militia to participate in the battle.It is easy to ask the gods to send the gods away. After the battle, how to arrange the militia, and what kind of attitude the local government should maintain towards the tyrannical Haihan in the future, these are all things that are very difficult to grasp.As for whether to ask Haihan for help, after hesitating for a few days, Qiongzhou Fucheng has no other way out and has become a surrounded dead city.

On October 10, the Haihan militia began to assemble in the Sanya area, preparing to go to the "battlefield" to perform one of their easiest combat missions in recent years.

The relatively difficult battles have been completed by the Annan Militia Army, and the task of the regular army is to go to the local area to act as an envoy of justice and receive territory, population, and governance.Some resistance may still erupt in the process, but certainly not to the extent of war.

From Sanya to Qiongzhou Fucheng in the north, the voyage is more than [-] nautical miles. At the average speed of the navy, it will take about one and a half to two days to complete this voyage.This is also the largest dispatch of troops by the Haihan militia since the end of the Annan Civil War. But until this time, most people in Sanya still don’t know the real purpose of this military operation. They thought that the northern area was really ransacked by pirates. Only then did the militia army go to the local area to attack.Only a very small number of senior cadres know that Haihan's move is purely to take over the northern area still under Ming's rule, so as to realize Haihan's rule over the entire Qiongzhou Island.

On October 10, the fleet of the Haihan Militia appeared outside the mouth of the Nandu River and engaged in "repeated battles" with the pirate ships stationed here.Although the defenders and people in the Fucheng had no way to directly see the battle situation between the two sides, they could hear the dense artillery sounds clearly.And without asking, it was definitely not the Daming Navy who came to rescue the warship with so many cannons, but the Haihan Navy entrenched in Sanya.

At this time, the direction of public opinion in the city changed again, and the rumor that the Haihan militia descended from heaven and was about to solve the predicament of Fucheng was rampant.Some people have already begun to jointly sign a letter to the prefect, and when the troops of the Haihan militia hit the city, they will immediately open the city gate to welcome them to enter the city and station them.

Fucheng was still a little uncertain about this, until the early morning of the 19th, a group of Haihan soldiers used a powerful crossbow hundreds of meters away to shoot the order issued by Wang Zunde, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, onto the tower.After the official documents sent from Zhaoqing Prefecture arrived in Guangzhou on the 15th, they boarded the ship non-stop from the Zhujiang Wharf, and transferred them to the "Lightning" dispatched here in advance at Wanshan Port, and then the "Lightning" headed south at full speed , sent to the Nandu River estuary in the north of Qiongzhou Fucheng, and handed over to the Haihan militia who had just arrived here for a day.

In the official document, apart from mobilizing the Haihan militia to rescue the trapped city in northern Qiongzhou, it also gave them the right to garrison the city with armed forces during wartime. In order to ensure that their combat effectiveness was not compromised, the Haihan militia was also licensed to maintain an independent command system. , does not need to accept the direct command of the Ming Dynasty official army.Of course, this kind of treatment is only limited to this fight against pirates, but what the governor did not expect was that after the fight against pirates, the rules of the island would also need to be re-enacted.

On the afternoon of October 10th, the Haihan militia and the pirate army had a brief battle east of Fucheng.But because it was too far away from the city, the soldiers in charge of watching from the top of the city could only see and hear the fireworks and roar when the artillery was fired, and there was no way to confirm the real-time battle situation.

After most people in Fucheng spent the afternoon in a state of anxiety, exciting news finally came in the evening-the pirate army in the east of the city chose to retreat, and was forced to retreat by the Haihan militia. A road leading to Fucheng was opened, and the people in the city saw the dawn of understanding the siege and escape.

In the evening of that day, the vanguard of the Haihan militia arrived at the base of the city, and the defenders in the city cooperated with each other to open the city gate and let the leading Haihan officers and their personal troops enter the city.

After entering the city, the Haihan officer made several demands immediately after seeing the prefect of Qiongzhou.First, the city of Qiongzhou Prefecture must immediately raise food and supplies to provide food and drink for the thousands of Haihan soldiers who came to the rescue.Second, the garrison in Fucheng is limited in combat power. In order to prevent the counterattack of the pirate army, the Haihan militia will be stationed in three city gates and various key areas in the city, and cooperate with the Ming army to defend together.Third, the Haihan militia will conduct military control over the city for several days to prevent pirates and spies who sneak in from causing trouble.

These few demands sounded very reasonable, and the Haihan militia broke the siege of Fucheng after only two days of showing their faces, and they did show trustworthy combat effectiveness.After summing up several high-ranking officials, they could only agree to Haihan’s request—it’s okay not to agree. The attitude of the Haihan militia is very tough. If the government is unwilling to cooperate according to the conditions, then the militia army will immediately withdraw from the vicinity of Fucheng and return to the south To stick to Sanya.

Now the only one who can fight the pirate army is the Haihan militia. Naturally, the government can't just let this great savior go. Although these conditions are a bit against the rules, after all, it is wartime now, and we can only act according to the power.

(End of this chapter)