Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 604 Hinges (Part Two)

May 13, on the banks of the Mailan River (now the Muling River).

The warm spring sun shines through the newly sprouted leaves, casting dappled light on the forest clearing.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of sawdust, the damp smell of earth, and the sweat rising from the workers' bodies.

This once quiet valley is now filled with vibrant life and bustling human voices.

"Damn it, I thought I could live a good life in the New Continent after leaving Liaodong, but I never thought I would come all the way back to Liaodong!" A burly man with a full beard muttered as he chopped his sharp long-handled axe into the trunk of a thick oak tree.

With a crisp "crack," wood chips flew everywhere, the tree groaned, slowly tilted, and finally crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

His name was Zhang Laogeda. Three years ago, he was a Han slave in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, suffering all kinds of hardships. When the Xinhua Army broke through Liaoyang, he was reborn.

They first stopped at Gaizhou, where they repaired and reinforced the city walls, built camps, and did some work as laborers.

Later, as the war intensified, these laborers who had accompanied the army were evacuated to Lushun and then transferred to Tamna Island (i.e. Jeju Island).

Last year, they left Tamna Island on an immigrant ship, preparing to travel to the rumored "fertile land" of the new continent.

Unexpectedly, the Haidong Colonization Area needed some immigrants with basic military experience to strengthen the local colonization force, which caused their immigrant ships to detour en route and eventually arrive at Beiqinhai (now Lake Xingkai).

Half a month ago, when the Mailanwei was established, they were among the first pioneers to settle in the area, build fortresses, and cultivate the land to defend the border.

The government of the settlement area promised that once the village is built and the land is developed, everyone will receive 40 mu of "perpetual land" to be passed down through generations.

Although this place is close to the territory of the Qing invaders, no one is particularly afraid. In recent years, the Qing invaders have repeatedly sent troops to harass the area, but they have never succeeded and have always left behind a few or a dozen lives.

With a musket in hand, no matter how heavy your armor, you can be easily taken down.

"Whether it's the New Continent or Liaodong, as long as I can have enough to eat every day, it's the same wherever I am!" A slightly younger man named Chen Si chimed in. He put down his large axe, spread out his palms, looked at the newly blistered and thick calluses on them, and shook his head with a wry smile: "It's just that the work every day is too hard. From morning till night, there's not a moment to rest. Tsk tsk, it's even more tiring than farming back home."

"Yes, that's true." Old Zhang stretched his aching limbs, his bones cracking softly. "After finishing work each day, I go back to my room, don't think about anything, and can just fall asleep instantly. But..."

He looked around at the bustling construction site, a satisfied expression on his face. "It makes me feel at ease! I don't have to worry about being whipped by the Qing invaders, or being used as livestock someday. Here, the sweat we shed is for our own homes!"

In the clearing in the woods, there were dozens of men like them.

The sounds of axes and hatchets chopping wood rose and felled, creating a noisy and bustling atmosphere.

Some people were responsible for trimming away the excess branches of the felled trees to expose the smooth wood.

Others, chanting rough work songs, used crowbars and ropes to painstakingly move the thick logs one by one onto the makeshift tracks made of round logs about the size of a bowl.

Then, with people pulling from the front and pushing from the back, the heavy logs creaked and moved along the rails, heading towards the camp that was already taking shape hundreds of meters away.

On a high ground near the riverbank, a wooden stockade is taking shape. The foundation has been rammed with stones and rammed earth. A log wall, nearly as tall as a person, has been erected, with sharpened tops, exuding a sense of formidable solemnity.

The gate is being installed, and the heavy door panels are reinforced with iron hoops.

Inside the village, the frames of the wooden houses have been erected, and craftsmen are laying waterproof birch bark and thick thatch on the roofs.

On the open ground, building materials were piled up, along with several earthen stoves emitting wisps of smoke. Several women were busy preparing lunch, and the vegetable soup simmering in the large pots emitted an enticing aroma.

The entire camp resembled a huge, highly efficient workshop, with everyone performing their duties, full of order and vitality.

This new stronghold, named "Mailanwei," was like a nail, firmly driven into this land that was once only inhabited by Jurchen tribes hunting and gathering.

After six or seven years of relentless development and expansion, the Haidong Colonization Zone has stubbornly extended its influence from the coast to the inland like vines, reaching as far north as both banks of the Ussuri River and as far northwest as the vicinity of Qinhai (Lake Xingkai), thus constructing an arc-shaped encirclement chain against the Qing invaders in the south.

From the earliest established Yongming City (present-day Vladivostok), to Changning Fort (present-day Shuangchengzi) which guarded the transportation route, to Jinghai Town (present-day Nakhodka Port), Songyang Fort (present-day Gorkhamen City), and Suian Port (present-day Zarubino City) which supported maritime trade, and Haixi Village (present-day Kammen-Rypolov Town on the west bank of Lake Khanka) which extended deep into the western shore of the North Qin Sea, more than a dozen forts and villages of various sizes with populations exceeding five hundred are scattered like stars across this vast land.

By the end of last year (1643), the total number of Han Chinese immigrants in the colony area had exceeded 70,000. They came from Shandong, southern Liaoning, and even further south. Attracted by the policy of "having enough to eat, warm clothes, and land to share," they boarded Xinhua immigrant ships, crossed the Sea of ​​Japan, and came to this new land full of hope and hardship.

They cut down forests, cleared wasteland, built roads, established villages, and spread the seeds of Han civilization to this place.

At the same time, through relatively fair trade, exchanging salt, cloth, ironware, and grain for furs, ginseng, and pearls, as well as establishing political and military alliances, the colonized areas successfully absorbed more and more surrounding tribes such as the Solon, Daur, Hezhe, and Hurha into their subordinate forces or at least friendly partners.

As a result of this ebb and flow, the Qing government's influence in the Heilongjiang and Ussuri River basins shrank dramatically.

Just as the construction of Mailanwei Fortress was in full swing, around noon, a commotion suddenly came from the edge of the woods southeast of the fortress wall.

Several sentries responsible for perimeter security, along with two ragged men who looked as frightened as startled rabbits, quickly entered the village and found the village head, Liu Yongye.

"Squad leader, we've caught... oh, no, we've encountered two Qing soldiers from the south. They said they escaped from Ningguta," the sentry reported, his tone tinged with uncertainty.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yongye sized up the two uninvited guests. They were wearing tattered prison gowns, their original colors almost unrecognizable, their hair disheveled, and their faces and hands covered in bloodstains from tree branches. Their shoes were so worn that their toes were exposed, and one of them had his calf hastily bandaged with rags, from which blood seeped.

When they saw Chen Yongye, their eyes were filled with fear, wariness, and a hint of unbelievable longing.

"Give them some food," Chen Yongye ordered calmly, gesturing to the militiamen beside him to bring two bowls of water and a few pieces of flatbread.

The two deserters took the water bowls, gulped them down in one go, and then hurriedly stuffed the flatbreads into their mouths, wolfing them down.

In a short while, they finished their food, still licking their fingers with reluctance, and licking up any crumbs that had fallen.

"Did you two escape from Ningguta?" Chen Yongye asked.

The older one knelt down with a thud, kowtowed several times, and said in a tearful voice, "Your Honor... I am Zhao Si, and this is Sun Gou'er. We... we are Uzhen Hachao (Han Banner) who ran away from Ningguta... We have come to seek refuge... to seek refuge with you, the new Chinese!"

"Oh?" Chen Yongye raised his eyelids slightly, a strange expression on his face. "Coming to join us? What makes you say that?... What's the situation in Ningguta?"

Zhao Si wiped his mouth and tears with his dirty sleeve and began to recount the story in fits and starts: "My lord, Ningguta... is so bitter! There is not enough food in the city. The little food we have is all reserved for the Manchu Eight Banners officials and those wild Jurchens (Solon soldiers) who have been won over."

“We Uzhenhachao, who were transferred from Shengjing, are like stepchildren! We do the hardest and dirtiest work, building city walls, digging trenches, and going out to scout and die, but we can’t even get a full meal. We only get one thin porridge a day, so thin you can see your reflection in it! And we’re constantly being cheated out of our food…”

Sun Gou'er chimed in, his face full of indignation: "Those Manchu lords, and the Jiala Zhangjing and Niru Zhangjing, they beat and scold us all the time, taking their anger out on us!"

"Especially recently... especially recently, they've heard that the new barbarians... no, I mean you new Chinese are building a city here, and they've become even more irritable, finding fault with everything we do! They say we Nikan (Han Chinese) are unreliable and a burden..."

“A few days ago, just because our team was a fraction of a second slower in moving the logs, the leader, Bashiku (chief whipper), broke three of his horsewhips and beat two people to death. ...We can’t go on living like this!”

Zhao Si continued, “Sir, we really can’t take it anymore! Over there, we Han people are treated worse than dogs! Our group of thirteen brothers and I discussed it privately and decided that since we were going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble and escape to join you. At least… at least we heard that you don’t mistreat Han people here and can give us a way to live.”

Just over ten days ago, they took advantage of the opportunity to guard a remote section of the city wall and used ropes they had prepared beforehand to fall from the top of the wall.

Then, without looking back, he fled northeast towards the place where, according to legend, the Chinese had built a stronghold.

“But… but we had only run less than twenty miles when cavalry came chasing us!” Sun Gou’er said, his voice trembling with lingering fear. “We could only hide in the woods and ravines. The sound of horses’ hooves was right behind us, and arrows were flying overhead… Li Laonian, Wang Sibalai, and the others were a little slow and got caught… they’re definitely dead.”

Zhao Si's voice also lowered: "After dodging the cavalry, we still have to be wary of the wild Jurchens in the forest. Some tribes have connections with Ningguta, and when they saw us dressed like this, they started shouting for our lives. We lost a few more brothers..."

"The two of us crawled through an extremely difficult mountain ravine and spent half the night in a small river tributary before we managed to shake off our pursuers and hunters... We ate tree bark and grass roots along the way, and finally... finally we made it here."

After he finished speaking, he and Sun Gou'er kowtowed again, pleading, "Please, Lord Xinhua, take us in and save our lives!"

Chen Yongye listened silently, his face expressionless, but his heart was in turmoil.

Over the years, despite the constant confrontations and clashes with the Qing forces, this is the first time that an entire Qing army unit—even the lowest-ranking Han Bannermen—has voluntarily deserted and surrendered!

The political implications behind this are extremely important.

This not only signifies the intensification of internal conflicts, shortages of supplies, and low morale within the Qing army in Ningguta, but also represents a highly symbolic event.

That is, the Han people, especially the Han soldiers who were subordinate to the Qing dynasty, began to vote with their feet under the harsh rule of the Qing.

"You did the right thing!" Chen Yongye smiled warmly and helped the two men up one by one, saying gently, "You have abandoned darkness for light, which is a great virtue! Now that you are here, you have nothing to fear."

"Well, go with this brother to change into clean clothes and let the physician examine your injuries. Get some rest; I have some questions for you later."

He summoned a militiaman and whispered, "Take them to the logistics department, settle them properly, and keep a close watch on them. Then, immediately go and fetch Captain Zhao; I have important matters to discuss with him."

The militiamen accepted the order and left with Zhao Si and Sun Gou'er, who were extremely grateful.

"Squad leader, this..." a guard captain beside him whispered, "Could these two Qing deserters be spies?"

Chen Yongye looked at the retreating figures of the two Qing soldiers and shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it. Look at them, they've truly reached a dead end. Moreover, this is the first time in so many years that a large group of Han soldiers under the Jurchen banner have fled to join us. This is of great significance!"

The arrival of these two deserters was like an unexpected piece being placed on a chessboard.
This indicates that the Han troops within the Eight Banners system upon which the Qing dynasty relied for its rule began to waver and flee.

For Xinhua, which was making every effort to squeeze the strategic space of the Qing Dynasty, its political and propaganda value may far outweigh its military value.

"Immediately send a messenger to report the details of this matter to the Colonization District Office!" Chen Yongye ordered in a deep voice. "In addition, once they have recovered, escort them all to Yongming City."

The guard squad leader accepted the order and hurried off.

Chen Yongye turned his gaze to the southwest again, towards Ningguta, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

The predicament of the Qing invaders was more serious than he had anticipated.
-
(End of this chapter)