1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 596 Zhangzhou City

Regarding the reason why Xu Xinsu chose to negotiate peace with Shibazhi, the executive committee and the military had made various inferences before that, including the possibility of "directing disaster to the east" as Ning Qi said.

For the Fujian side, this war that has lasted for several years can be regarded as an endless trouble. Although the battle has the upper hand, it still cannot completely solve Shibazhi, a difficult opponent, in a short period of time.If the coast of Fujian can be turned into a non-combat zone again through peace talks and a truce, then this should be regarded as an acceptable solution for Fujian officials represented by Xu Xinsu.And Shibazhi's maritime plunder will also withdraw from the sea area of ​​Fujian from now on. Either go north to the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang for activities, or else you can only choose to go south and enter Haihan's sphere of influence again-Xu Xinsu probably hopes that Shibazhi will make the next one. This choice is to go to the coast of Guangdong and continue to die until the big evil star Mao Haihan is offended.

Xu Xinsu didn't comment on Ning Qi's question, but responded lightly: "If Shibazhi has the courage to break into the Guangdong waters again, then the Haihan militia will definitely not ignore it. I think your militia was in the Pearl River I have heard many descriptions about Liu Xiang’s fleet, and I wish I could not witness the battle on the spot. If you have an action to attack Shibazhi next time, I would like to watch the battle in person.”

Although Xu Xinsu did not watch the Haihan militia fight with his own eyes, the two sides have carried out military cooperation for several years. He also sent several groups of officers to Sanya for training. There were several battles in Hong Kong, and there were even people who went to Annan to participate in the Battle of Hue.The invincible performance of the Haihan militia on the battlefield was basically passed on to Xu Xinsu through word of mouth.Naturally, these news channels were deliberately arranged by Haihan, and the purpose was more or less to deter the Fujian side. From these descriptions, Xu Xinsu could easily judge that the strength of the Haihan militia far exceeded the troops under his command. How strong it is, but there is still a lack of an intuitive opportunity to recognize it.

But it is a pity that the Haihan militia has basically no opponents in the South China Sea. Last year, a group of pirates attacked Qiongzhou Island and swept the entire Qiongbei in a month. When Xu Xinsu decided whether to watch the battle or not, the battle quickly reversed. It took even less time for the Haihan militia to drive away this group of pirates who could crush the Ming army, and regained all the lost ground on Qiongzhou Island.

Xu Xinsu doesn't care about how big Haihan has built up on Qiongzhou Island and whether he has become the local emperor. Qiongzhou Island is too far away from Fujian, so it won't affect Fujian's interests and situation.But Xu Xinsu really wanted to use Haihan's hand to get rid of Shibazhi, a thorn in his side.With the strength of the Haihan militia, it is unlikely that Shibazhi will have a chance to change the outcome of the battle.

However, Xu Xinsu also has certain worries about this. As the saying goes, it is easier to invite God than to send God away. If the Haihan Militia really entered the Fujian waters, they might not leave.This is not because Xu Xinsu is unfounded, but there are many precedents.

In the first year of Chongzhen, the Haihan militia fought in Lijiazhuang. After the battle, Lijiazhuang became Haihan's control area. Today, most of the entire Panyu County is controlled by Haihan.In the second year, the Haihan people sent troops to Annan and helped the Annan court take down Hue City controlled by the southern rebels. Haihan took this opportunity to circle a series of ports from north to south on the Annan coastline, almost covering the entire Annan coastline. All under their own hood.And after fighting the pirates in Qiongbei last year, the Haihan militia took advantage of the opportunity to station in Qiongbei. Now it is hard to say whether those places belong to Daming or Haihan.

If the Haihan militia went to Fujian to fight, and would not leave after fighting Shibazhi, then Xu Xinsu really had nothing to do, and of course he didn't want an uncontrolled force to appear in the territory he was in power—more What's more, this strength is still higher than the Ming army led by him.

A more feasible solution is to move this temporarily non-existing battlefield from Fujian to Guangdong, let Shibazhi enter the sphere of influence of Haihan, and use the hands of Haihan people to get rid of them, and it will not affect Fujian The local situation can be regarded as killing multiple birds with one stone.

Of course, this is just a plan, and it is obvious that the smart Haihan people have already thought of this possibility. Xu Xinsu must not admit it, and can only talk about him for the time being.

Naturally, Ning Qi also saw the subtlety of Xu Xinsu's attitude, smiled and said: "Master Xu wants to watch our army fight, it's not difficult, as long as you say a word, our army can enter Fujian within a month, cross the sea and wipe out Shiba Zhi, it’s only a matter of time.”

This kick kicked the ball back to Xu Xinsu, which stumped him.Xu Xinsu could only respond with a forced smile: "I'm afraid our army is not strong enough to cooperate with the Haihan militia in fighting. Besides, these eighteen Zhi are just a group of hard-to-reach pirates. Why do we need the Haihan militia to go on an expedition?"

"My lord Xu, it is true that Shiba Zhi cannot achieve success, but there is also a premise." Ning Qi Surong said: "Then we will continue to provide military support and assistance to your side."

Xu Xinsu just wanted to say a few words of flattery, but Ning Qi continued: "But everything we provide also has a premise, that is, your direction of action is consistent with ours. If one day, we feel If there is a difference of opinion on the Internet, then we also reserve the right to terminate the cooperation."

Ning Qi's words were relatively straightforward, and Xu Xinsu's face became a little stiff after hearing this: "I have never had any disagreements with you in the past few years of cooperation with you. Mr. Ning is too worried."

"I hope so." Ning Qi didn't want to push the other party too hard at the beginning of the negotiation, so he didn't go any further, and changed the topic: "This is the first time I've visited Zhangzhou, but I need to trouble Mr. Xu to help me." Introducing the local situation."

Xu Xinsu felt relieved, and quickly began to explain the history of Zhangzhou.Since Ning Qi was going to visit Zhangzhou, he naturally did his homework first, but there must still be some discrepancies between what he read in the book and what the locals introduced.In addition, he himself is a historical mystery, so he listened with relish, and didn't feel how difficult the several-hour voyage was.

The voyage from the port in the southwest of Xiamen Island to Zhangzhou City is only more than 20 nautical miles. Although it is upstream, the water flow at the mouth of the Zhangjiang River is slow, and it takes only half a day.

Zhangzhou can also be regarded as an ancient city with a long history in Fujian. It was established as early as the Tang Dynasty thousands of years ago, and it got its name because it is adjacent to the Zhangjiang River.And because of its early development, it has also become an important product exporter and sea trade port city in Fujian.

As early as the Song Dynasty, the Zhangzhou area was known as the "Sugar King of Eight States" because of its developed sugar industry. White granulated sugar, rock sugar, and horn sugar are all specialties here.The textile industry also started very early. When Chen Hongjin ruled Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he produced more than [-] pieces of Gebu every year. Sold overseas.In addition, Zhangzhou's shipbuilding industry, porcelain, tea, papermaking, etc. were also very prosperous industries at this time.

Where the economy is prosperous, the general cultural and educational undertakings will not be too backward. Zhangzhou is such a typical city.In the Tang Dynasty, Songzhou Academy existed here, and in the Song Dynasty, the establishment of academies became a social trend here.During the reign of Emperor Guangzong of Song Dynasty, Dali scholar Zhu Xi once served as the magistrate of Zhangzhou. According to historical records, Zhu Xi "on the second day of every ten days, he must lead his subordinate officials to the state to study and inspect the students, and to teach "Primary School" for his justice; Learning is the same.” With the precepts and deeds of local officials like Zhu Xi, the local cultural and educational undertakings can be said to be very prosperous, and cultural celebrities have emerged in large numbers.In the original time and space, Zhangzhou produced its first Jinshi, Zhou Kuangwu, in the 11th year of Tang Yuanhe. By the Qing Dynasty, there were a total of 977 Jinshi, including three champions.

After the fleet docked at the pier outside Zhangzhou City, Xu Xinsu's men had already arranged a welcome guard of honor.And the local officials of Zhangzhou Prefecture, big and small, have also arrived at the pier and waited.Seeing this on the deck, Ning Qi asked, "Would it be a bad idea with such a big fanfare?"

Xu Xinsu replied: "It's nothing bad, the old man's honored guest is the honored guest of Zhangzhou Mansion, Mr. Ning is here, just enjoy it!"

After the two got off the boat, they first greeted the local officials waiting on the pier one by one.Ning Qi also felt that the situation here is a bit different from other places. In other places, civil servants are in charge and military officials serve as a foil, but in Zhangzhou, Xu Xinsu is obviously the protagonist, and the local officials are obedient to him and obedient to him. See It does look like a local emperor.

After meeting the local officials, Haihan's personnel stationed in Zhangzhou also came to greet him.These people are all naturalized citizens who were naturalized earlier. They are mainly engaged in business and trade affairs here. By the way, they also collect some local current situation information and send them back to Sanya base camp regularly.

"The old man has ordered someone to prepare a reception banquet, please don't refuse." After meeting the people who should be interviewed, Xu Xinsu could not help but invite the people of the mission to enter the city by car.Ning Qi knew that he could not refuse on this occasion, so he was not too polite, and got into the carriage according to Xu Xinsu's arrangement.

To the members of the mission, this carriage was no stranger, and several of the carriages were Haihan style carriages bought from Shengli Harbor last year.This kind of western-style carriage is light and flexible, and the carriage is sheltered from wind and rain. It also has high-end configurations such as glass windows and windproof lights, which is very suitable for rich and noble families.Of course, only a sea trade tycoon like Xu Xinsu has the financial resources and energy to buy it from Sanya and transport it back to Fujian by himself on a big ship.

Ning Qi, Morgan and Xu Xinsu were in the same carriage, and after getting on the carriage, Morgan couldn't help sighing, "This carriage makes me feel like I'm back in Sanya."

"Not only the carriages, but also the residences that the old man arranged for everyone, and they are all arranged according to the shape of Haihan as much as possible." Xu Xinsu replied quite complacently.

To build a Haihan-style residence in the mainland, the cost required is not a small amount. All kinds of bathroom equipment, glass doors and windows, water supply and drainage facilities, and messy things add up to a considerable price.Coupled with the long journey from Hainan Island to transport here, the shipping fee is not a small amount.But in Zhangzhou city, Xu Xinsu has several courtyards decorated according to the Haihan model, and his financial resources are indeed far better than ordinary rich people.

Of course, if he has the opportunity to go to Sanya to stay in a local expensive hotel in the future, he will probably not be so proud of the Haihan-style residence he spent a lot of money on. After all, there are many good things that are not easy to make, and Haihan has no publicly available.

When Ning Qi and old Morgan arrived in Zhangzhou smoothly, Xu Yuzhuo was taking Shi Diwen to visit various facilities on Xiamen Island at the request of Shi Diwen.As far as Xu Yuzhuo is concerned, he thinks that there is indeed nothing to hide from Haihan's instructor. After all, when he bought back the Haihan artillery in large quantities, it was the militia officers sent by Haihan who designed and arranged the various places in Zhongzuo City. Forts and fortifications.

After Shi Diwen looked around on the top of the city, he thought that the fortifications here were well-arranged, and there was not much room for improvement.However, because the weapons Haihan sells to Fujian are basically foreign trade versions that have been castrated, so if the enemy that these fortifications face is the Haihan militia, the effect they can play will be relatively limited.No matter in terms of range or shooting accuracy, the monkey version of the artillery installed on these forts can hardly compete with the siege artillery equipped by the Haihan militia.

Shi Diwen also bent down to check the numbers on several cannons, and confirmed that these cannons were indeed produced in Haihan and sold to Fujian in 1628.Shi Diwen patted the cannon lightly and asked, "How many times have these cannons been fired on average?"

"Most of them are more than [-] rounds, and some of them probably have more than [-] rounds." Xu Yuzhuo said while pointing to the direction of Linhai, which is also the place where Shibazhi attacked and attacked Zhongzuo City every time.

"It seems that your artillery usually rarely drills!" Shi Diwen couldn't help but shook his head.These cannons have been equipped for three or four years, and most of them only fired about a hundred rounds, averaging twenty to thirty rounds a year. This shows that the local war is not as fierce as Hai Han thought.

Xu Yuzhuo blushed and said: "It's not that he is reluctant to spend that little money, but the ammunition stock is limited and he dare not use it lightly. Usually, the artillerymen are only allowed to practice their movements, and indeed they rarely conduct live ammunition training."

Shi Diwen nodded suddenly. In the final analysis, this matter is actually Haihan's responsibility. Although the Executive Committee has released most of the foreign military sales of weapons, it has always controlled the sale of ammunition very strictly, especially Haihan's secret system. There is a quota for each purchase of gunpowder, and it is impossible to buy more than one catty.

(End of this chapter)