1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 549 Can and Can't
Starting with Luo Shengdong's naval forces, the Haihan Executive Committee launched a plan to replace local garrisons with militia groups.Externally, these troops still operate in the name of the Ming Dynasty's official army. Internally, they are organized according to the ranks, platoons and battalions of the militia, and only accept commands from the Executive Committee and the Military Commission.In the Qiongnan area actually controlled by Haihan, these so-called officers and soldiers actually only have a shell left and belong to Daming. In the army, from generals to ordinary soldiers, from weapons to uniforms, from treatment to combat methods, everything is different. It has been changed to the model of Haihan militia.

Most of the original local garrisons, except for some talented and special skills, were dismissed and arranged to work in collective farms or various workshops under Haihan's rule.Most of the guards are already semi-farmers and soldiers. When they are not practicing, they just farm and farm. The salary and living conditions that the new job can bring to them are far better than their past situation, and they will not And being owed the military salary by the soldiers in the army, so few people are dissatisfied with it.

However, there are not many military officers who are as clever as Luo Shengdong, and only a few of them can seize the opportunity to make money after the system changes. Therefore, most of the officers of the Guards Army were directly evacuated, and then Haihan On the one hand, they provide a so-called "office fund" to let these people withdraw from the front line.Naturally, some of them expressed dissatisfaction, but they had already lost their military power, and they couldn't cause any major incidents.

As for the Qiongbei area that had been cleaned by the pirate army, it would be easier to carry out such a replacement.Except for Fucheng, which was not breached by the pirate army, almost all the established Ming army units in the local area were dismantled in the previous battle. Now only Fucheng and a general are left among the senior officers in Qiongbei. .After the Haihan militia stationed in Qiongbei, it logically replaced the functions of the local garrison. Although the organization and banner of the Ming army were applied, this reborn army no longer obeyed the orders of the Ming Dynasty, but the Haihan garrison in Sanya. Committee.

In view of the successful operation experience of the militia on Hainan Island, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission believe that this is a military expansion strategy that is very suitable for gradual promotion within the territory of the Ming Dynasty.Recently, the Military Commission proposed that we should take advantage of the windfall of taking Qiongzhou Island to seize control of Hong Kong Island in a relatively peaceful way, and the alternative measures Mariko mentioned are undoubtedly the most suitable method.

Of course, in the eyes of Maiko, it is a very suitable method, but in Liu Qian's eyes, it has a different perception.He also knows that these Haihan people are not as peaceful as they seem on the surface, and they will do some actions that exceed the rules from time to time, but in the past, these small actions were basically done on the remote Qiongzhou Island. He treats it as if he can't see it, and will help Hai Han cover it up if necessary.But Hong Kong Island is under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Mansion. It can be said that it is completely under the nose of Daming. It is not the same thing as Qiongzhou Island. Haihan is doing things here, let alone Liu Qian, even his immediate boss Wang Zunde , may not be able to bear this responsibility.

Liu Qian shook his head again and again and said: "Director Ma, we can discuss the matter of the land slowly. At most, we will find some suitable land for you in Xin'an County. But you must think twice about the matter of the water village. If this The matter was stabbed to the court..."

"So what if you get stabbed at the court?" Maliko's face was half a smile, "The court's attention is now on the north. Do you care about the affairs of a small island on the coast of Lingnan thousands of miles away? Could it be possible to send troops to attack us?"

"You..." Liu Qian was so choked by Maliko's words that he didn't know how to answer.If you want to say that he is arrogant, what he said is indeed the truth. There are more and more contents about the war in northern Xinjiang in the palace newspaper of the imperial court. Interpretation - There are so many and frequent news, obviously because the fighting in the north is getting more intense.

As for winning battles, everyone knows it well. If so many victories were won, would the Liao pay collected by the local government to support the military expenditure in the north be more and more year after year?The good news in the mansion newspaper may not be all false, but it is very likely that it is just good news and not bad news, and the news of defeat will not appear in this kind of court media.

Undoubtedly, compared to the life-and-death struggle between the Ming army in the north and the barbarians outside the pass, these small entanglements in the south could not be seen by the court adults at all, and the emperor probably didn't care that a certain local militia was filled. The establishment of the guard army, a small island was taken over by a group of overseas businessmen as a port and other trivial matters.As long as the Haihan people did not raise their flags to rebel, just as Maliko said, even if someone from the Guangdong government wrote a letter to the court, it would be difficult to have any major reactions.

As for sending troops to crusade and so on, if someone really thinks so, then even Liu Qian will probably think it's overthinking.Fighting is impossible without money or food. The last time the pirate army swept across Qiongbei, the Guangdong government spent more than half a month to complete the pre-war preparations. Finally, due to the deteriorating situation, they had to The task of dispatching troops was handed over to the Haihan militia.

And after the Haihan Militia quelled the Qiongbei Rebellion, the Guangdong government immediately disbanded the previously organized troops—this army of tens of thousands of people eats horses, not to mention fighting, just gathering together, they can go to war in a day The cost of a thousand taels of silver, if you want to go to Qiongzhou Island, the daily cost must be increased by at least half.For the government, which will never be well-off in finances, this money is naturally saved if it can.

Liu Qian also knew that his boss was not very willing to mobilize the Ming army to Qiongzhou to quell the chaos, so he turned a blind eye to some illegal practices of the Haihan people, but if the Haihan people stretched their hands directly to Guangzhou Come on, it's still a bit ostentatious.

Liu Qian calmed down his thoughts, and then continued: "Director Ma, there are things you can do and things you can't do. If you make money, you can do a lot. Why do you choose to do these things you can't do?"

Mariko smiled and said, "Master Liu, what can be done and what can't be done? Our understanding is probably different from yours. What can be done is what we Haihan want to achieve, and what can't be done is to stop us The behavior of accomplishing the goal. We have money and people, guns and cannons, what can we do? Besides, we are not rebelling now!"

Liu Qian said with a bitter face: "Director Ma, you can't copy all the games you played in Qiongzhou Island to Guangzhou!"

"You can rest assured that we know how to be flexible. If copying doesn't work, we will naturally know how to improve it." Maiko said here, and the smile on his face also stopped: "But this is something we have to do. What we have to do, if someone stops us, then probably we have to tell him what is acceptable and what is not acceptable!"

Seeing Maliko's resolute tone, Liu Qian knew that the other party's mention of this matter today was not as simple as asking for his opinion, but informing him that there would be such a matter.Liu Qian sighed and said: "It seems that there is probably no way to convince you. I just hope that you can do things with a sense of proportion and don't go too far. I am just the master of the governor. If things really get big, there is no way to give You have been of great help."

"Master Liu, it won't be as serious as you think, and we will never harm you. If we do, where can we find another good partner like you?" Maliko stretched out his hand and hit He snapped his fingers, and soon someone brought up a wooden box that Liu Qian was very familiar with.

"Do things for us, you never need to worry about rewards. What we can give you will be more than what you want." Maliko handed over the wooden box, and Liu Qian reached out to catch it, but found that the other party did not let go immediately .He looked at Maliko puzzledly, and heard the other party say word by word: "But please remember, you can only accept what we give you, and you can't ask for what we don't give you!"

Liu Qian's back felt cold, and he quickly responded: "Yes, yes, I will keep it in mind!"

Maliko let go of his hand, patted Liu Qian on the shoulder with a smile and said, "If Mr. Liu has no other arrangements, why don't you go to our place for a light meal?"

"I still have a few official documents that need to be sent to the Guangzhou government office, so I won't bother you this time." Liu Qian didn't have the mood to go to the Guangzhou office to have a big meal at this time, he just wanted to leave this place quickly and return to his residence Go and clear your mind, and see how to cooperate with Haihan people in such a bold and reckless move.

Mariko didn't make any specific demands on him, but Liu Qian knew that it didn't mean that he didn't have to do anything, and the bank notes were all given away, and the money was not for nothing.Moreover, Maliko's last words contained an obvious warning. Liu Qian didn't want to disappear from this world because of offending the Haihan people when he was sitting on ten thousand taels of silver. What should he do to satisfy the Haihan people? Really have to think about it.

Maliko didn't try to force him to stay, he waved his hand and said, "Come here, take Mr. Liu back to the city in a carriage first. Mr. Liu, you don't have to be humble. This place is only one mile away from the Guangzhou Office. I will walk back slowly." .”

After Liu Qian thanked him, he got into the carriage. After walking for a while, he couldn't help but open the wooden box given to him by Maliko out of curiosity, wanting to see how much the Haihan people paid this time.Inside the wooden box were standard bank notes printed by Haihan Bank, each with a denomination of 1000 taels, five in total.When Liu Qian took the banknote out of the box and counted it, he found that there was a letter under the banknote, so he quickly opened it to read.It's okay if you don't look at it, but when you look at it, Liu Qian's heartbeat that had just calmed down quickened again.

The letter is very short, neither titled nor signed, but the content is very explosive. The general idea is that the current governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Wang Zunde will step down within this year. As for the reason, the letter did not mention it. "Four words.

Liu Qian immediately thought of the legendary Haihan prophecy technique. It is said that Li, the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, stepped down after being predicted by the Haihan people.Of course, the rumors circulating outside are all gossip and unfounded gossip, but Liu Qian has first-hand information.He has been with Wang Zunde for a long time. During Wang Zunde's vacancy, he was still by his side. Before the former governor left office, Li Jifeng, a wealthy man from Guangzhou, came to his door and took the initiative to promote Wang Zunde's comeback.It was only later that Liu Qian found out that Li Jifeng was said to have been instructed by the Haihan people to know that Wang Zunde would be the next governor of Guangzhou, so he came here in advance to cook the cold stove.

This kind of statement is of course very mysterious, but Liu Qian knows much more information than passers-by, and even knows the grievances and hatreds between the former governor and Li Jifeng clearly. Explain that Li Jifeng intentionally offended the incumbent governor, and came to hug Wang Zunde, an unemployed official, on his thigh.

Liu Qian glanced at the letter again. If the content is true, why did Maliko give himself this warning message?Could it be that he wants to save his boss Wang Zunde?This didn't seem to make any sense, and if it was necessary, Maliko could tell him what to do in person without having to type this kind of crossword puzzle.

There is only one other possibility left, that is, Maiko hopes to know the news in advance, so that he can make full use of the time to find another way out.Of course, the premise is to leave his boss alone.

If Haihan's prophecy comes true, then the next governor will definitely bring his own staff when he takes office. However, based on Liu Qian's experience in assisting Wang Zunde in governing Guangdong in the past few years, he wants to get a top staff position in the new leadership team. It doesn't seem impossible.And with the great god Haihan behind him, many things will be much easier than doing it alone. At least there is no need to worry about money. Haihan's money is enough to bury the entire governor's mansion alive.

But if Wang Zunde is left alone, it seems a bit treacherous. After all, the two have been together in a master-servant relationship for many years, and they still have some feelings. Besides, Wang Zunde has always trusted him, especially when it comes to public affairs. Follow Liu Qian's advice - this is also the main reason why Liu Qian was able to help Haihan accomplish some persuasion tasks many times.

Liu Qian thought about it, but still couldn't make up his mind. After returning to his residence, he took the secret letter to the kitchen, stuffed it into the stove and burned it.Looking at the flickering fire in the stove, the expression on Liu Qian's face was also uncertain.If you want to keep Wang Zunde, you are afraid that you will be unable to change the situation predicted by the Haihan people. When Wang Zunde resigns and returns home, he, Liu Qian, is just an ordinary literacy scholar. At most, he can go to a certain county in the name of Wang Zunde's subordinates. Be a clerk.It is impossible to order arrogantly in front of a bunch of court officials like today.

As for money, benefits, etc., then there is no need to think about it. Without the status of the governor's chief aide, who will look at you?
(End of this chapter)