1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 520
"It seems that we came too fast, and the pressure in this prefecture is not strong enough!" Tom Wang couldn't help sighing as he looked at the delicious food on the table.

Yan Chujie shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily the case. Not all the people in the government are full of wine bags and rice bags. The people in the office said that since the day of the siege, food control has been implemented in the city, and now ordinary people in the city must not be able to eat it." The food in front of us."

After the Haihan militia broke through the east gate and entered Qiongzhou Fucheng, the government temporarily requisitioned a house in the city and handed it over to the militia for use as a headquarters.Afterwards, several cooks were also sent to bring over several carts of ingredients and cook a sumptuous feast for the stationed Haihan officers.However, probably for the sake of avoiding suspicion, several high-ranking local officials did not come to visit in a hurry except for meeting the person in charge of Haihan's side when they entered the city.

The government's reaction was also expected by the military. Although Haihan had some influence in the northern area of ​​Qiongzhou Island, it was not so big that the government could take the initiative to curry favor with Yazhou.Moreover, the Haihan militia is a private armed force, and stationing in the city is a very taboo thing. If the government is too enthusiastic about it, it will appear unreasonable.

Although military control has been implemented in the city after the siege of Fucheng, it is clear that the material supply in the city has not been greatly affected because the siege was not long. Got an affirmative answer.

"We eat and drink here. I don't know what's going on with Qian Tiandun. They pushed all the way from Danzhou all the way. They were all field battles. They must be very tired these days." Tom Wang said while eating.

"Qian Tiandun is not as miserable as you think!" Yan Chujie shook his head and said, "He doesn't have to walk on his own. Even if he doesn't have a car, he can ride a horse. I heard that after they surrounded the city, they occupied a landowner in the west. The manor serves as the command center. Do you think he can still eat and sleep outside? It’s not when he just started, but he is now the commander of the war zone anyway, and he can command thousands of people under his command, so why should he suffer such hardships.”

Tom Wang was stunned at first, then laughed and said, "That's right, how we live now, Qian Tiandun should be the same."

High-level military officers like Yan Chujie, Wang Tom, and Qian Tiandun have a very good standard of living in this era. They are served by orderlies for food and clothing, and they have special carriages for them to ride when they go out. The guarantee is also quite comprehensive.Travelers have a lot of requirements for the details of their lives. To be honest, their living standards when commanding operations outside are much higher than that of generals of the same generation.

However, the good wine and food provided by the government could not buy this group of Haihan soldiers. After feasting, Yan Chujie began to direct the next action.

According to the combat plan formulated by the General Staff, when the Haihan militia entered Qiongzhou Fucheng, it announced the official start of Haihan's acceptance of the northern region.Corresponding arrangements were made in the request made by the militia army to the government before entering the city. The three city gates and all the key areas and traffic nodes in the city were all staffed by the militia army.And their mission is to completely gain military control over Qiongzhou Fucheng tonight.

At [-]:[-] p.m., according to the scheduled time, militia troops in various parts of the city began to mobilize at the same time. In the name of "eliminating pirate spies", all guards were required to disarm immediately and wait for arrangements.The members of the Guards Army stared dumbfounded at the militiamen who were sitting around eating together just now, and suddenly pointed their guns at themselves, completely unaware of what happened.Only a very small number of people realized the intention of the militia army and tried to resist, but they were immediately suppressed by the militia army on the charge of "spies".

The leading party, who had been placed in the guard army in advance, began to lead the rhythm: "The pirates came all the way from Danzhou, and Fucheng didn't even receive an early warning. There is indeed an internal response!" "What! I'm dignified!" There is a traitor in the army of the Daming Guard!" "Liu Erdan, Liu Erdan, I never thought that you, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would betray the imperial court!"

For two parties with a completely unbalanced amount of information, the weaker party can easily be biased by the information that the other party consciously spreads.This is the case with the guards who lack understanding of pirates. As long as a few people lead the way, many people who follow the trend will immediately join in.The forced disarmament of the Haihan militia did not cause any major conflicts. After those who took the lead in resisting were suppressed, the rest basically chose to obey.

Qian Tiandun and Yan Chujie sat in the south and north of the city respectively, directing the actions that night.The armed suppression of the city gates and traffic arteries went relatively smoothly. The guards did not show large-scale resistance, and the militia did not even fire a shot. They were able to take down the three city gates and the north-south, east-west Two avenues run through the city.

But when cleaning up the various yamen in the north of the city, the militia army finally encountered some small troubles, and had to use force to defeat a group of Ming troops who tried to resist.When the officials who heard the gunshots tried to find out what happened, they found that they had been placed under house arrest by the militia without a sound, and they couldn't even leave their own yard.

The militia army did not stop all night, and the people in the city heard the footsteps of the militia army coming and going on the street all night, and there were occasional shots of gunfire. Sleepless at night, afraid that the next moment the rioters from outside would rush into his home.

The suppression operation lasted until the sky was getting dark, and the red-eyed Wang Tom and Yan Chujie met in a restaurant in the middle of the city. They had breakfast and reported the results of last night's operation.

"You're lucky, you got drawn in the south of the city, and the grandchildren in the north of the city have been tossing all night!" Yan Chujie stretched his waist slowly, and said angrily: "I arrested more than 200 people in one night, and the grandchildren in the north of the city There was no room for the cells, so we had to temporarily requisition a yard and lock people up first.”

Wang Tom smiled and said: "Don't be troublesome, your army's troubles are still to come! Last night I took the time to read the report sent by Qian Tiandun. It's just a hundred miles around Fucheng, big and small. The landlord has two or three hundred households, and when you go back and check the land, you will have the time to complain!"

"Who says it's not!" Yan Chujie, who has always been known for his determination and courage, also showed a troubled look on his face: "When the time comes, the land acquisition will definitely cause a lot of disputes. If something happens, we will have to come forward to suppress it. This job is not easy... Let’s not talk about this, now that Fucheng is basically under control, I think we can contact Qian Tiandun today and start gradually handing over the control area.”

Tom Wang nodded and said, "Then I'll contact him later. What about arresting those local officials?"

Yan Chujie said: "According to the arrangement of the executive committee, all the staff at the grassroots level will be temporarily retained. As for the high officials with palm prints... we will arrange to escort them to the riverside and hand them over to your people."

According to the plan in advance, after controlling Qiongzhou Fucheng, the militia army will first gather all the senior officials here, and secretly send them to Sanya for imprisonment, so as to prevent them from organizing some resistance measures on the spot here. .As for how long these people will be imprisoned, it depends on the progress of their ideological reform and the general situation between Haihan and Daming.

The navy's combat missions have come to an end by this time. Although they will continue to block the Qiongzhou Strait, the military believes that Guangdong has no possibility of sending a large number of warships to Qiongzhou Island in a short period of time.However, Wang Tom intends to take advantage of this difficult opportunity to hold military exercises in the Qiongzhou Strait to exercise the fleet's coordinated combat capabilities.

From October 10th to 20rd, a total of nearly 23 militia troops stationed inside and outside the city of Qiongzhou Prefecture, and carried out many activities of "cleaning up the whole city to suppress pirates and spies". Killed during the suppression—of course, there were no members of the Haihan militia, but basically members of the Ming army who were trying to resist.

When the people in the city didn't quite understand what was going on, dozens of local high-ranking officials had been secretly escorted out of the city, put on sailboats parked on the Nandu River, and sent all the way to Sanya.And the control of Qiongzhou Fucheng has completely changed hands, from Daming to Haihan.After the city was closed for three consecutive days, the people in the city were finally free to take to the streets and take a look at the Anmin notices posted by the Haihan militia.

At the gate of the government office, a group of people were watching the Announcement of Anmin posted on the wall. A scholar stood at the front, shaking his head and reading: "...in order to quell the bandit chaos, the jurisdiction over the security of the city of Qiongzhou is temporarily taken over by the Haihan militia. , all civil affairs are undertaken by the Fucheng Temporary Management Committee..."

Someone in the crowd asked aloud: "What kind of yamen is this temporary management committee? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

Someone explained in a low voice: "This management committee is a yamen created by the Haihan people. Their ports and wharves are all managed by this yamen. It has a lot of power!"

Another person asked: "So this prefecture is now in charge of Daming, or Haihan?"

When the question was asked, no one answered.Although the notice stated that the new yamen of the Haihan people would temporarily take charge of local government affairs, the big seal on the bottom was still the prefect of Qiongzhou. Few people, who knows how many of them are real spies, and how many of them are because of wrong words.

However, the person who asked the question obviously didn’t intend to stop there. Seeing that there was no one answering, he said to himself: “Everyone in the Haihan people has enough food and clothing, and there is no need to worry about pirates coming. It will be much better! If this place is taken over by Hai Han, it would not be a bad thing!"

People like this who lead the rhythm among the onlookers can be found in almost every notice posting point.The Executive Committee attached great importance to the post-occupation propaganda work, and held several preparatory meetings for this purpose, and dispatched capable personnel from various departments to coordinate actions.The request of the executive committee is to make the public's view of Haihan tend to be more positive within a short period of time after the occupation of the northern region.Especially regarding the matter of Haihan replacing Daming and implementing management authority in the northern region, the Executive Committee hopes to let the people accept the reality in the calmest possible way.

It is naturally not easy to carry out this matter, so Haihan must install a large number of mouthpieces among the people, and use these people pretending to be ordinary people to speak out and influence the surrounding people.No one in the executive committee dares to guarantee how effective this primitive water army can be, but it is undoubtedly one of the best means of influencing public opinion, and the cost is extremely low, and there is no technical barrier to operation.

Within three to five days, the local people may not realize that the disappearance of the Daming government means this, but after a long time, they will definitely gradually become aware of the changes in the environment. There is a clear difference.If the people can be made aware of the irreversible fact that the right to control has changed as soon as possible, then they may be able to face the next social changes more easily.

On the evening of the 23rd, Yan Chujie hosted a banquet for some gentry in the city on behalf of the Haihan Executive Committee.Although this was not a grand banquet, Yan Chujie did arrange this occasion with the intention of sounding the alarm for these people.

After drinking for three rounds, Yan Chujie stood up and tapped the side of the bowl lightly with his chopsticks, and the dinner immediately fell silent.

"Everyone, this time the pirates invaded Qiongzhou Island and went down to several cities such as Danzhou, Lingao, Chengmai, Dingbei, and Wenchang. In the entire northern part of Qiongzhou Island, there is only one place, Qiongzhou Fucheng, which is still intact. There are some words I shouldn't be the one to say it, but I have no choice but to stand up and say a few words!" Yan Chujie looked around at the crowd and said in a deep voice: "Thousands of pirates attacked Qiongzhou Island, and it has already happened a few months before the incident. With the news, what did the local government do? Apart from sending food to Qiongzhou Fucheng, a naval fleet with no combat effectiveness, what other meaningful things have they done? All the county towns surrendered without a fight, so what is the government doing? What are the Ming Dynasty’s officers and soldiers doing? If they can’t protect the people under their rule, then what’s the point of having you and me spend money to support such a government and army?”

Yan Chujie's words were so emphatic that none of the people at the tables dared to speak up.He has money and soldiers in his hands, so no one can do anything to him even if he talks a few words about government affairs.But these people here are all ordinary people. If the wrong words are spread, they will definitely be held accountable.

Yan Chujie continued: "If I, Haihan, hadn't volunteered to fight, then the city of Qiongzhou would have been lost long ago!"

(End of this chapter)