1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 754 Fengrong Village

The reason why Qian Tiandun is so cautious is not because he is worried about how strong the indigenous people are, but because his lineup for landing on Taiwan Island this time is half old and half new. The reconnaissance mission is probably enough, but if you want to perform combat missions in an unfamiliar environment, the risk is still relatively high.

The two-month recruit training can only ensure that these rookies can act in accordance with military orders, but it cannot guarantee that they can perform well in actual combat. Moreover, Qian Tiandun's original intention of planning this operation is to find out the situation in this area. By the way Let the recruits adapt to the environmental conditions of field combat, not really intending to fight the local natives.Of course, even if there is an armed conflict with the natives, it is not too far to retreat to the coastline. With the seaside camp and two warships as the backing, the troops entering the inland don't have to worry about having no way out.

At the end, Qian Tiandun still mentioned the issue of the ownership of the area: "In the past, this place was regarded as an unclaimed land, but it will no longer be the case in the future. We will set up an official agency here to manage the civil affairs here and guide you in reclamation And protect it. I hope you will cooperate and refrain from any form of hostility."

The two villagers looked at each other with a look of panic that couldn't be concealed on their faces.But before they could politely refuse, Qian Tiandun blocked their mouths with words: "I'm not discussing with you, but telling you!"

Feeling that Qian Tiandun's tone was not kind, the two of them knelt on the ground with their knees limp: "Xiaomin knows his mistakes, sir, don't blame me!"

"I'm not blaming you. After all, this place needs to be governed by the government. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a savage?" Qian Tiandun put down his serious tone and said with a pleasant face.

"Yes, yes, what your lord said is true. The local people have always cared about Daming. Now that they can return to the rule of Daming, the villagers will be very happy about it." The older villagers at that time obviously knew how to talk a lot. expressed a willingness to obey.

"Da Ming? No, no, from now on, this place will be under the jurisdiction of Haihan, not Daming." Qian Tiandun immediately corrected the deviation in his understanding.

The old man was dumbfounded and said: "But my lord...you are not..."

"Ming General?" Qian Tiandun smiled and said, "The Fujian government has granted the ownership of the entire island to Haihan, so the land and residents here will be under the jurisdiction of Haihan from now on. There is nothing directly related to identity."

What is Haihan's background?Even if the people in this place have very little communication with the outside world, they don't know who is the chief culprit who caused Shibazhi to retreat steadily and finally leave his old nest behind.If it hadn't been for Haihan to intervene in the battle in Fujian, perhaps Shibazhi would have succeeded in rebelling long ago, and Zhao'an would have been wiped out.Of course, if that happens, this place will naturally become the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and these people who immigrated to Taiwan Island from the mainland in the early days will also be brought under the rule of the Ming government again.

And Haihan supported the Fujian government to defeat Shibazhi, and the biggest prize he got was the Penghu Islands and Taiwan Island, which was still a barren land, and the influence it had generated in the Taiwan Strait and the coast of Fujian.The Fujian government has no interest in developing Taiwan Island. Since the Haihan people are willing to want this place, Fujian will be happy to be a favor. If the Haihan people are willing to make great efforts to develop Taiwan Island, it is unlikely that they will treat Fujian again. The coastal areas are interested, so that everyone can sleep more peacefully at night.To exchange an unowned overseas desert island for several years of peace in Fujian's coastal areas, this deal must be very cost-effective for the Fujian government.

As for the attitude of the people on the island... who cares?When those people left Fujian, they were no longer treated as citizens of the Ming Dynasty by the government. Many of them were once Shibazhi's supporters. It was just a relief to leave these troubles to the Haihan people.

Qian Tiandun said again: "I'll send a small team to visit your Fengrong Village later... Don't be afraid, we don't want your food, we don't want your money, and we won't confiscate your people. Folk husband, just understand the living conditions of the local people, don't worry too much."

Naturally, the two village representatives didn't dare to open their mouths to question, so they could only answer submissively, but they didn't think so. Unknown soldiers, in exchange for peace.

"Gaoqiaonan!" Qian Tiandun called out, and Gaoqiaonan immediately stepped out from the side to respond.

"Take a platoon and follow these two villagers to the village later. Remember to restrain your subordinates and don't make trouble, understand?" Qian Tiandun ordered.

"Yes! General!" Gao Qiaonan paid a military salute, then stepped back quickly to gather the troops.

Qian Tiandun didn't want the local residents to develop resistance to the Haihan militia from the very beginning, so he didn't plan to let the troops directly march into the village to station, but only asked Gao Qiaonan to bring a team into the village to see the situation.Of course, the main purpose is to declare sovereignty to the people here and let them know who this place should belong to in the future.

Gao Qiaonan quickly assembled his subordinates, and then returned to Fengrong Village with two village representatives.Although this is not considered a combat mission, Takahashi Minami still carefully asked everyone to check their equipment and weapons before setting off, and warned his subordinates to be vigilant enough—no one knew that the people in this village Is it true that Shibazhi has already drawn a clean relationship.

A group of people left the station and continued eastward along the path beside Zhuoshui Creek.After walking for about two miles, the path extended beyond the mountains and forests, and in front of them were fields criss-crossing, and the outline of the village could already be seen in the distance.This place is already seven or eight miles away from the sea, and there is a large dense forest in the middle. If you don't go deep into the inland, it is hard to imagine that there is a village inhabited by Han people hidden here.

The youngest of the two villagers was sent back first to inform the villagers, and Gao Qiaonan walked with the other old man, asking as he walked, "Do you usually travel with the village in the south by land or by water?"

The old man replied: "If you are transporting bulk goods, you will go out to the sea by water and go around, enter the stupid port and then land on the land. If you are traveling in ordinary ways, then you will take the land route, and you will be there about fifty or sixty miles south from Fengrong Village. place."

After Gao Qiaonan walked for a while, he suddenly said coldly: "Those people in the south don't get along well with you, do they?"

The old man said in astonishment: "My lord, this is... where do we start?"

Gao Qiaonan explained: "When you told General Qian earlier, I was also listening carefully. The conditions in Bengang are obviously much better than here. You moved out specially, and you have to endure the natives coming every month. The attack should be because of conflicts with those people in the south, right?"

The old man couldn't figure out Gao Qiaonan's intentions, and he didn't dare to admit it casually, so he just laughed dryly.However, in Takahashi Minami's view, this has undoubtedly confirmed his speculation.

Gao Qiaonan continued: "I also heard from you earlier that many people in Bengang are related to people from Shibazhili, and even joined Shibazhi as pirates. Shibazhi Although it has been withdrawn, there will probably still be some eyes and ears here, don’t you think so?”

The old man hurriedly replied: "My lord, Fengrong Village is full of honest and good people. The whole village has been making a living by growing grain, and no one has joined the pirates. Please learn from me, my lord!"

Gao Qiaonan said: "You don't need to rush to defend, we will not wrong good people." He has noticed that although the old man is eager to argue, he has not included the people from Stupid Hong Kong into the "honest duty" in his words. in the range.

During the conversation, we soon arrived at the entrance of the village, because another villager was sent back to report the news first, and the people in the village gathered here at this time to welcome the arrival of the "imperial army".Although everyone was surprised by this strangely dressed army, no one questioned its identity, because the muskets held by the soldiers did not look like fakes at all, and the chilling aura was even more breathtaking , it is by no means the level that they could have seen the Shibazhi people before.

"Xiaomin Mou Qing is the head of this village, welcome to General Gao!" A white-bearded old man saw the team approaching, and hurriedly took two steps to greet him and bowed to identify himself.

Gao Qiaonan didn't bother to correct the other party's wrong way of pronouncing his surname. Over the past few years, he had already gotten used to such misunderstandings, so he waved his hands and said, "You're welcome, Village Chief Mou!"

Gao Qiaonan responded and carefully looked at Mou Qing's clothes, and saw that he was only wearing a navy blue homemade gown, soap-colored cloth shoes on his feet, his face was dark, his back was slightly bent, and he was holding a bamboo stick. A pampered person.

After meeting with Gao Qiaonan, Mou Qing invited this group of armed men and horses into the village to rest.Gao Qiaonan was not too polite, so he entered the village with Mou Qing.Although the soldiers looked normal, they were secretly on guard in their hearts to prevent emergencies.

Gao Qiaonan has been to many places in the past few years since he joined the Haihan Militia. After entering the village, he can see the real situation of the village.The houses in this village are almost all made of adobe walls and thatched roofs, and a bamboo fence outside is considered a wall. There is not even a house with a bluestone base, which shows that the people here are indeed relatively poor.In areas that were developed relatively early on Hainan Island, such as several saltworks, Tiandu Industrial Zone, etc., ordinary people have already lived in masonry houses. Such adobe houses must be considered the lowest in the Haihan area. living conditions.

The village chief's house is no better than others. The same adobe thatched house, if there is any difference, the yard surrounded by bamboo fences is only a little bigger than other houses.After Gao Qiaonan's team went in, they immediately filled the courtyard to [-] to [-] percent.

However, the village head invited the Haihan militia group into the village to rest, and that was also prepared. Soon someone brought a table and benches in and settled them in the yard.Then, someone continued to serve food, wine and dishes—of course, the content was indeed rather shabby.

Gao Qiaonan knew that the few dishes served earlier were wild vegetables, because there were similar varieties of wild vegetables on Penghu Island.However, obviously there will not be as many seasonings and spices to choose from in the kitchen of the Haihan Militia. Gao Qiaonan guessed that the cooking method of these dishes is probably only boiled with boiling water, and sprinkled with a few sprinkles of salt at most.

According to the village chief, the several earthen jars of wine that came out later were fruit wine made by the nearby natives, but the poured out was cloudy like pot water. Obviously, the natives didn’t care much about the necessity of filtering when brewing wine. link.Although it smells good when you pick it up, it doesn't look as good when it's in an earthenware bowl.I took a sip from the bowl at the south end of Gaoqiao, and felt the sour taste was rather strong. Not to mention compared with "Sanya Special Brew", even the fruit wine brewed by Li Miao Village is much better than this, even if it doesn't move He put down the wine bowl sensibly.As for the soldiers on the other tables, no one dared to pour wine by themselves without Gao Qiaonan saying a word.

Finally, a few meat dishes were put on the table. Most of them were aquatic products, including fish, shrimp, crab and snails. They should be produced in the nearby Zhuoshui River.But even these inexpensive meat dishes are not available on every table.Gao Qiaonan took a look, except for the main table where he sat, the other tables were probably in the state of this table with fish and the other table with shrimps. It seemed that the portions were indeed not enough to entertain his team.And the local chicken soup served at the end was simply only one for the main table. Takahashi Nan counted the time, from the time when someone went back to the village to report to him sitting here, the chicken was probably served just after it was stewed enough.

"This village doesn't produce much and the hospitality is not good. Don't blame me!" Namu Qing saw that Gao Qiaonan didn't move his chopsticks very much. He thought that this little thing alone might not be able to dispatch the soldiers, so he was ordered to take it again. A tray came out with two ingots of silver on it, about 20 taels in size.Mou Qing slowly pushed the tray in front of Gao Qiaonan and said, "Your Excellency has worked hard leading the troops, and please accept this bit of filial piety."

Gao Qiaonan has now been promoted to the battalion commander, and his monthly military salary is more than this amount, and knowing the military discipline, he will naturally not accept this little money from him, so he gently pushed the tray back and said: "Village chief, don't be so polite, As we said before, we just came to the village to have a look, and we didn’t intend to search for local money. Seeing that the conditions here are indeed not good, you should keep the money and use it in the village! But when we take over here in the future, life will be different It won't be so painful."

Mou Qing still had to give way, Gao Qiaonan had already pressed the tray: "Okay, don't push it around, put it away! In terms of money, we have plenty, and you don't have to worry about following Haihan in the future." If you can’t afford meat dishes, you ask someone to bring you some food, and my people have to work after eating.”

Seeing that Gao Qiaonan didn't seem to be joking, Mou Qing hurriedly asked someone to withdraw the money, and then asked someone to serve the freshly steamed rice.Takahashi took a few bites from the bowl at the south end, chewed it, and slowly put the bowl back on the table.

(End of this chapter)