1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 548 Good Appetite

Haihan's maritime armed forces became famous overnight after the battle with the Liuxiang pirate gang at the Pearl River Estuary in 1628, at the end of the first year of Chongzhen.In the next year or two, news came back from overseas one after another, saying that Haihan sent troops across the sea to help the Annan court quell the civil strife, and even the group of Westerners who lived in Haojingao were subdued by the Haihan militia. Its combat power at sea has far surpassed that of the Guangdong Navy.

But although Haihan has such great strength, the coastal people don't feel any sense of crisis, because the image of Haihan people in front of the public has always been relatively positive.Although the local government felt that it was inappropriate for the Haihan people to act like this, but they were following Yazhou, so it was up to the government of Yazhou to coordinate with the Haihan people.Therefore, the government in Guangdong is happy to pretend to be deaf and dumb. After all, the Haihan people have money and people, and they have the mysterious ability to predict curses. Even the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi was killed inexplicably.

The Haihan people have always had armed warships stationed at the mouth of the Pearl River. This is known not only to the people, but also to the government, but no one intends to make any fuss about it.Of course, ordinary people can't do much. Although the Haihan people are very rich, they are not fat sheep that are easy to squeeze. If you want to get benefits from them, you should either be a hired worker or a partner. It won't work if you use your brain of.Moreover, these warships have indeed brought peace and stability to the waters of the Pearl River Estuary. Since the Haihan people settled here, even the sporadic water bandits and pirates have been wiped out.

Although Haihan's warships often perform escort missions, they have never served the official. money.As for the government directly issuing administrative orders, I'm sorry, the Haihan militia has never listened to the instructions or announcements, and only when they want to take action themselves will they greet the government in advance.What Mariko meant by saying this was to tell the alternate officials present that if Liu Qian hadn't come to ask for this favor, Hai Han probably wouldn't have bothered to participate in this effort.

Although the officials present felt that Maiko's words were a bit arrogant, they were indeed the case, and they had just received the benefits from Maiko, so it was not good to lose face immediately and get angry.

Maliko continued: "At present, the security situation on Qiongzhou Island has not been completely stabilized, and there are still remnants of pirates operating sporadically on the island. In order to ensure the personal safety of all adults, I suggest that you cooperate with us in the local execution after arriving in Qiongzhou. Various safety protection measures to avoid accidents.”

Someone responded: "Can there be any accidents, haven't all the pirates been chased away by your militia?"

Maliko smiled and said: "Since it was an accident, it is unpredictable. In short, safety is the first priority. You adults don't want anything to happen during your term of office, do you?"

Maliko's words became even more blatant, and Liu Qian quickly stood up and said: "Director Ma's reminder is also for the safety of the adults, and I thank you on behalf of Lord Wang and all the adults present!"

Liu Qian brought out Wang Zunde's signboard, and it would be difficult for the people present to argue with Maliko, otherwise, wouldn't it be against the governor?
Maliko didn't stick to his own opinion and continue to play, but accepted it as soon as he saw it, and followed Liu Qian's words: "Now the governor has temporarily handed over several counties and counties of Qiongzhou Prefecture to our management, so I would like to express my respect to all of you. We, Haihan, also have to bear certain responsibilities for safety issues. As long as the adults can cooperate, everyone's life will be smoother. Well, I won't talk nonsense, adults, let's get on the ship and get ready to go! Our armed ships will join the fleet in Panyu County and escort them all the way to Qiongzhou."

The sailboats used by officials are basically rented from the market. Of course, some of them are arranged by related households. The boats are all traditional Canton boats. There are large ships with four hundred materials, and it is presumably related to the official ranks and financial resources of these officials.There are also people who are acquainted with each other, and two or three families charter a boat together for travel.

The officials' luggage and family servants were already on board, so boarding did not take too long.About half an hour later, the row of nine sailing boats left the dock one after another. Maliko and Liu Qian stood on the dock, smiling and waving off the people on board slowly.

"Master Liu, you should have received a lot of benefits from the selection of alternate officials this time?" Maliko continued to wave his arms at the people on the deck, but he was talking about completely irrelevant topics.

Liu Qian also responded without changing his face: "Director Ma's words are wronged. The criteria for selecting officials this time are all based on your requirements. When it comes to benefits, I can get them from it." How can there be more benefits than yours?"

Maliko said: "We asked for the screening of alternate officials out of good intentions. If these people go to the local area and don't want to cooperate with us to govern the area, it will affect the business."

Liu Qian glanced at Maliko with a half-smile and said: "Director Ma, there is no need to go around when talking between you and me. What kind of plans do you have in Qiongzhou Island? I have no official position, and I have no interest in meddling in this business."

"I just like Master Liu's calm temper." Maliko also laughed: "I just want to tell you something. The land at Zhennan Port has been used up, and we plan to start from Hong Kong Island again." What does Master Liu think of requisitioning some land?"

Liu Qian raised his eyebrows, thinking that these Haihan people really can't rest all day long, and the affairs of Qiongzhou Island haven't been finished yet, so they are focusing on Hong Kong Island again.When the Haihan people asked for the land in Zhennangang, Liu Qian was the one who helped manage it. However, he heard Maliko's tone of voice, obviously not because he wanted to ask for an extra one or two hundred acres of land, so he also He didn't express his opinion in a hurry, but stared at Maiko with inquiring eyes, waiting for him to continue talking.

Upon seeing this, Mariko went on to say: "There is no flat land in the south of Hong Kong Island. Once a few commercial warehouses are repaired, the vacant land is basically taken up. The meaning of the executive committee is that they hope to get some more land from the north of the island. Land, build several piers, specially used to dock ships in the direction of Fujian."

"Then how much land do you want? Where is it?" Liu Qian could only ask the situation first. After all, he can handle this kind of matter on his behalf, but he is not the one who makes the final decision.

"Shau Kei Wan, the terrain there is barely adequate, and the boats entering and leaving the port have a shelter from the wind." Mariko said with a relaxed expression.

Liu Qian suddenly took a deep breath, Haihan and his gang really know how to pick places, and specifically point to the place where the accident is going to happen.That Shau Kei Wan is now the location of the water village of the Daming Navy. If Haihan gets this place, what will happen to the navy stationed there?
move?Wouldn't it be a big joke for the dignified court officials to make room for the local militia.Do not move?With the hundreds of old, weak, sick and disabled stationed on Hong Kong Island, and a dozen boats that can only be used for fishing, how can they stop Haihan's big boats equipped with artillery.

Liu Qian thought of two results in an instant, but no matter which one seemed to be unacceptable.He also knew that as Maiko, he definitely did not say this kind of thing as a joke. Since he brought it up in front of him, it must be that the Haihan Executive Committee has made a relevant decision. It just depends on the final method. Just implement it.

"Shau Kei Wan...is this place a little more sensitive?" Liu Qian thought about it, but still didn't dare to agree to Maliko's request.It is a trivial matter for the Haihan people to occupy land. They can occupy as many places as they want like Wanshan Island, but the Shau Kei Wan area is an important military site guarding the gateway between Hong Kong Island and the mainland. Haihan occupied it. Whether it is the military or the local government, it is difficult to explain to the above.

Maliko probably expected Liu Qian's attitude long ago, and said with a smile: "Master Liu just said that we don't need to go around in circles when talking between you and me, why did I forget it so quickly?"

Liu Qian replied awkwardly: "Director Ma, I know that you have the best hands and eyes, and if you want to get that piece of land, you can get it no matter what. But I must remind you that Shau Kei Wan is the place where my army is stationed. But it’s very different from the usual Borderlands!”

"If it was No Man's Land, I wouldn't come here specifically to ask for your opinion." Maiko nodded and said, "I understand what you are worried about. In fact, this problem is easy to solve. Just look at the local Ming army water. Master is willing to cooperate with us."

Liu Qian replied: "I would like to hear the details."

"As far as we know, the navy has only a few hundred troops and less than [-] warships. Moreover, the personal conditions of the soldiers and the morale of the entire army are very poor, and there is no combat effectiveness to speak of. A few years ago, Liu Xiang When showing off its power at the Pearl River Estuary, this naval force has been shrunk in its shell and never got out of the way." Maliko paused here, looked at Liu Qian and said sincerely: "We also know that the imperial court and Guangdong The government does not have the ability to change this situation, but this is exactly what we can do."

"How can this be done?" Liu Qian shook his head again and again.Although he has never been to the local area to see it, he can also learn a little bit about the situation of the navy in Shau Kei Wan from the daily correspondence of the Governor's Mansion. Want to buy new ships and weapons and equipment, and clean up the pirate gangs along the coast of Guangdong.However, more than half of the imperial court's military investment was thrown into the bottomless pit in northern Xinjiang, and there was no extra money to maintain maritime security in the south.After all, compared with the distant south of the Five Ridges, the barbarians outside the pass who came to knock on the pass almost every year were much more terrifying. No matter how hard the pirates in the south were tossing around, could they still kill them all the way to the capital?

However, in the report sent by the General Soldier of Guangdong, the request for an increase in military expenditure alone was as high as tens of thousands of taels of silver, so the application was shot dead without any suspense.The navy in Guangdong continued to use outdated equipment, and the navy stationed in Shau Kei Wan had similar combat effectiveness to the Yazhou navy that the traversers encountered when they first arrived in Sanya.It's okay for such troops to frighten thieves, but for big pirates like Liu Xiang who have become popular, they can only choose to pretend to be turtles to avoid their edge.Of course, after Liu Xiang left, it was the Haihan people who were on top of them. After the initial temptation received Haihan's forceful response, the Navy and the gang repeated their tricks and retreated to Shau Kei Wan. .

Liu Qian knew that the Haihan people had a way of training troops, but if they wanted to change the appearance of this navy, it was not just about training troops, they had to change ships and weapons, and it was obviously impossible for the Haihan people to do this at their own expense. That's why he felt that Maiko's proposal lacked feasibility at all.

Maliko smiled and said: "As long as we want to do, there is nothing impossible. I know you think that those navy people are hopeless, no matter how much you practice, you can't do it. In fact, my point of view is different from yours. It is consistent. So in order to change this situation, we can only solve it from the root cause—replace all inappropriate people and equipment, and replace them with the same ones as the sailors of our Haihan militia.”

"Be the same as you..." Liu Qian frowned and repeated Maliko's words, always feeling that something was wrong: "...just like you!"

Liu Qian suddenly raised his head and said, "You are... planning to send someone to replace them directly!"

"What an ugly replacement!" Maliko laughed: "This is our money and effort to help the navy replenish its soldiers and combat effectiveness. The court saves time and worry, what's wrong?"

Liu Qian opened his mouth and was speechless for a while.He didn't expect the Haihan people to be so bold. It wasn't their idea to drive away the navy, but to swallow the navy and even the signboard.

"You guys are so bold!" Liu Qian held back for a long time before uttering a sentence. He really didn't know how to better describe the rampant behavior of the Haihan people.

Maliko shook his head and said: "Master Liu, the matter is not as serious as you think, and the Daming Navy who has changed is still the Daming Navy, why should we continue to do it, and will not confront the court, what are you so nervous about?" ?”

"Although that is the case, how can you deceive others by doing so..." Liu Qian obviously did not agree with Maliko's statement.

"It's possible." Maliko interrupted Liu Qian: "It's not difficult to do this, it's nothing more than two words—silver. If you take care of all the links that need to be done, this matter can be done." .”

Liu Qian can be regarded as a quick-witted person, and immediately understood what he meant: "You... have already done this in Qiongzhou!"

Maliko looked at him with a smile.This kind of thing is not only done in Qiongzhou, but also far more than one or two places.At the earliest time, it was Yacheng. From the navy to the guards, they were gradually replaced by the Haihan militia. Then this practice was promoted in Qiongnan, and now it has gradually been implemented in the newly occupied areas in Qiongbei.

(End of this chapter)