Chapter 1013 Founding Celebration (13)

Fireworks began in the Song Dynasty, also known as fireworks or fireworks, and were mostly used for festivals. Haihan has also arranged to set off fireworks on anniversaries in the past few years, and it is not a particularly new thing for the public. However,

This anniversary performance arranged for three thousand fireworks to be set off one after another. The scale was far greater than in previous years. It was a rare life experience for the spectators who were lucky enough to witness this scene.

For safety reasons, the fireworks were set off on several flat-deck cargo ships in the harbor, one mile away from the nearest coastline. There was no need to worry about the fireworks going in the wrong direction and causing fires. In addition, the fireworks were set off in the entire Victory Port Bay.

You can have a panoramic view of everything inside, and it is also convenient for people to watch from the coast.

As each firework takes off and explodes, lighting up the night sky, the onlookers on the coast will let out a burst of admiration. Large fireworks like this, which can be launched to an altitude of tens of meters and can be clearly seen from miles away,

It is rare in this era, and only a few garrisons in big cities and passes have such things. In other words, in this era, they are military supplies used to send alarms. The fireworks set off by ordinary people during the New Year and festivals are not like this.

Great power.

Naturally, there are many knowledgeable people among the foreign envoys. Seeing this scene in Haihan, they can only sigh to themselves. This fireworks display will cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and there will be no penny in return. This is not something that ordinary small countries can afford.

Financial resources. In the past, it was only heard that Haihan was the richest country in the world. From the various details of this celebration, envoys from various countries personally confirmed such rumors.

The place where Sun Zhen watched the fireworks show was only a hundred meters away from the banquet venue. He was brought here by Chen Yixin before the banquet started and received the commendation order and medal personally issued by the Minister of National Defense Yan Chujie. After that, he was left behind

At the naval base, it was said that there were other arrangements after the banquet, so he could only wait patiently. However, as a hero who had just received the award, Sun Zhen was also fortunate to participate in the grand banquet and enjoyed the most sumptuous meal in his life.

A big meal. Being able to dine with many leaders and guests from various countries will definitely be something you can brag about to your comrades after you return to the team.

While watching the fireworks show, Sun Zhen finished the food for three people on a plate. If Chen Yixin hadn't come to him, he probably could have destroyed another plate of food before the show ended.

"Leaving now?" Sun Zhen looked at the buffet dishes on the dining table not far away with some reluctance. He also planned to get some pickled pig's trotters to eat later, but unexpectedly Chen Yixin asked him to leave immediately.

venue.

Chen Yixin smiled and said: "We have an urgent mission now, so you can finish your meal here. Minister Yan, who will give you the award today, will be there later. Do you want the Minister of National Defense to wait for you?"

"I don't dare because of my humble position." Sun Zhen stood up quickly and put down the tableware in his hands.

At the same time, the time-travelers who served in the Haihan Army also began to leave one after another. The end of the military parade did not mean the beginning of the military holiday. On the contrary, the military wanted to take advantage of the time when this group of people was relatively close to each other.

Relevant departments will discuss and formulate an outline of military operations for this year and next.

Sun Zhen followed Chen Yixin to the small auditorium of the naval base and found that it had been set up as a conference venue. He saw that almost all the senior military leaders he had met in the past few days were present, and he knew that what Chen Yixin just said was not a joke.

At that moment, he quickly stretched out his military uniform, straightened his chest and entered the room behind Chen Yixin.

Of course, junior officers like Sun Zhen were not qualified to sit at such a high-level meeting, so they could only stand and listen at the outermost edge of the venue. Sun Zhen looked around and saw that most of the people standing and listening in the venue were

He was a second lieutenant or above, both in the army and the navy. There were very few low-level officers like him, so he felt a little more nervous for no reason.

After all the participants arrived, the meeting began, hosted by Yan Chujie himself.

"Everyone, today is the big day of the Haihan Founding Celebration. Logically speaking, you should be allowed to go back and reunite with your family at this time. However, considering the schedule in the past few days, we can only arrange such a celebration when there are more people around.

At the meeting, let’s briefly talk about the Ministry of National Defense’s arrangements for foreign military operations this year.” Yan Chujie got to the point concisely and concisely as soon as he opened his mouth.

"In the past year, our troops went north and south, expanding our control areas to Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Xingdao in the Strait of Malacca. We defeated the Spaniards on Taiwan Island and eliminated the remaining forces of Shibazhi,

It eliminated the main pirate forces along the coast of Zhejiang and promoted the establishment of the South China Sea Trade Alliance."

"But these military achievements can only represent the past achievements of the Haihan Army. We still have to look forward. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the main tasks of our Ministry of National Defense remain unchanged. In addition to defending our homeland, we must also continue to expand our territory.

, control a larger area." At this point, Yan Chujie stopped and ordered: "Hang up the map!"

There were no ordinary soldiers in the venue today, so even the task of hanging the map was done by two second lieutenants. The map drawn on the white cloth was very large, with a height of one foot and a width of one foot and a half. Even standing on

From a distance of more than ten meters, you can clearly see the rough outline on the map.

Sun Zhen also learned basic map identification skills after joining the army, but he could only barely identify the location of the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty from this large map. When he reached Hainan Island and went further south, he couldn't understand it. But the map

There are many areas marked in red on the map, and they are all concentrated near the coastline. Sun Zhen believes that these specially marked areas are Haihan's current control areas, which extend from Hangzhou Bay in Zhejiang to the south to places he does not recognize.

in the area.

"The foundation of our country in Haihan is sea control. Controlling the throat channels and seaports with superior conditions are crucial to the security of our maritime trade. As we all know, our country's most important trade partner is the Ming Dynasty, with Fuzhou and Guangzhou provinces as the two provinces.

Lord, after we enter Zhoushan, we can probably add Zhejiang. But our goals will not be limited to the existing areas, and we will also have new goals this year."

After speaking, Yan Chujie stood up, took the instruction stick from the entourage next to him, pointed to the upper right corner of the map, and said in a deep voice: "The Denglai area is our springboard to enter North China and Northeast China, and it is also the control point for the Yellow Sea area and North Korea across the sea.

It is a strategic location on the peninsula. Our goal this year is to establish a stronghold in the Denglai area and open up a route from Dinghai Port in Zhoushan to the north."

When Sun Zhen heard these words, he couldn't help but tremble slightly. He suddenly understood why Chen Yixin brought him to such a high-level meeting. If the Haihan Army wanted to settle in the Denglai area, it would have to have a reason.

Someone who is familiar with the local situation will lead the way. A soldier like me who was born in Denglai and joined Haihan is the most suitable candidate.

Although Sun Zhen thought about returning to his hometown many times in the future when conditions permitted, to see if his family's homeland was okay, he never expected that this moment would come soon. Unexpectedly, less than two years after he went south to join the army, this

The opportunity he had dreamed of had arrived before him. He was so excited that he didn't hear most of what Yan Chujie said next.

Haihan's plan to invade the Jiaodong Peninsula is actually not a recent thing. Even before the Denglai Rebellion broke out in 1632, Haihan's senior officials had already discussed the possibility of sending troops to Shandong to intervene in the war. But at that time, Haihan's army could not even reach Penghu.

It has not yet been captured, and there is not even a stable foothold on the southeastern coast. If the troops are sent to Denglai rashly, the risk is too great, and the supply line is too long, even if the Haihan Army has the advantage of force, it will be difficult to sustain.

The Denglai Rebellion broke out in January 1632, and Haihan only defeated Shibazhi in May of the same year and captured Penghu. After deliberation, Haihan finally did not want to intervene in Shandong affairs thousands of miles away, but focused on

Focus on consolidating control of the Fujian Strait, and then seek to gradually expand the control area northward.

In April 1633, when the coalition forces composed of Haihan and Fujian Navy went north to attack the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang Province, the rebel generals Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others in the Denglai Rebellion had already defected to the northeast and joined Hou Jin. The Denglai Rebellion was thus declared.

End. Haihan did not directly intervene in this process. He only hired maritime merchants to transport many refugees back from the Jianghuai area on the border with Shandong, and Sun Zhen was one of them.

It was not until the Haihan Army captured Zhoushan outside Hangzhou Bay and began to establish a military base that the military put the plan to march north to the Jiaodong Peninsula on the agenda. Although the civil strife in Shandong at this time had ended, the local area was not completely settled.

, although the initiator has fled across the sea to the Northeast, there are still many civilian armed bandit organizations that emerged during the two years of war in Shandong. With the official suppression of bandits weak, Shandong, especially the official institutions, has been

The Jiaodong Peninsula, which was severely damaged by the war, still presents a mess that is difficult to deal with.

Judging from the information currently available, the Ming Dynasty still lacks effective means of regulating the chaos in the Jiaodong Peninsula. A large number of people were displaced during the war, resulting in the desolation of fields in many areas after the war and the lack of local grain income.

It is impossible to complete the reconstruction work with only the limited relief materials and funds provided by the court. In order to survive, the people who did not receive timely assistance had to succumb to bandits or flee to other places, which further aggravated the loss of local income.

Cutting production creates vicious cycles one after another.

This situation is a disaster for the local people, but for Haihan, it is a good opportunity to take advantage of it. With the local government's poor organization, it will be much easier for Haihan to settle down.

.If done properly, the Jiaodong Peninsula can truly become another major source of population for Haihan. The scale and speed of the official immigration operations organized by Haihan will definitely far exceed the spontaneous actions of private businessmen.

By the time Sun Zhen came to his senses, Yan Chujie had already finished his speech and was replaced by another senior official from Haihan. Sun Zhen seemed to have a vague impression of the Department of Security, but the chief named Hao Wanqing, he

Never heard of it before.

Hao Wanqing will appear here, on the one hand because of his status as the leader of the intelligence department, and on the other hand because of his Shandong background. The executive committee is planning to let He Xi temporarily return to Sanya to take charge, while Hao Wanqing will be transferred to the north to take charge.

For intelligence work, most of them focus on his background.

But in fact, this arrangement is somewhat superficial. In addition to having the same accent and some eating habits, Hao Wanqing's understanding of Shandong is actually very different from the situation of this era. In addition, he is not a geographical expert.

Professionals, there is actually not much reference information that can be provided to the military at present, and it is far less useful than the information the military retrieves from large databases. However, the person involved and He Xi, another director of the Ministry of Security, agreed to this.

Arrangement, then we can only proceed as follows.

"After receiving this task, our Ministry of Security has obtained the information of immigrants introduced from the north over the past two years, especially those who were originally from Denglai, Shandong. More than 700 of them joined the army after passing the review. The police

The military and other government agencies. Considering that this operation is led by the military, we mainly focused on the military, and worked with the Ministry of National Defense to select more than 100 more reliable military personnel. Among them

There are both ordinary soldiers and officers who have won military exploits..." Hao Wanqing lowered his head and looked at the information, and then asked: "Sergeant Sun Zhen from the special operations battalion, is he already here?"

"Sun Zhen, the humble post, please give instructions from the chief!" As soon as Sun Zhen heard his name, he quickly stood up, raised his head and chest and responded loudly. His response immediately attracted the attention of the officers in the venue, and everyone looked at it carefully.

This soldier was named by the head of the security department. Although Sun Zhen was nervous, his expression remained tense.

Hao Wanqing nodded to Sun Zhen, and then continued to introduce: "Sergeant Sun Zhen joined the army in Penghu in 1632, participated in two important battles in Taipei and Zhoushan in 1633, and captured the bandit leader Wang Jialin in Zhoushan in April 1633. It is recorded that

With one second-class personal merit, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. If I remember correctly, the commendation order and medal were awarded by Minister Yan personally just two hours ago."

Hao Wanqing put down the information in his hand, and then said: "Before the army sets out, we need to send a team of people to the local area to establish a front line. This requires familiarity with the local conditions and being able to integrate into the local society. This team

The team will be composed of personnel jointly drawn from the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of National Defense. Among the candidates currently recommended by the military, Sergeant Sun Zhen is the only one present. So I would like to ask Sergeant Sun Zhen to come to the front and give us the local situation you know.

Let’s talk about it in general.”

There was a buzzing sound in Sun Zhen's mind, and it immediately went blank. He originally thought that he was just here to observe a meeting of high-level military officials, but he didn't expect that he would be called up to the stage to give a speech to these military leaders who were several levels higher than him.

The guys were making reports, and for a while they didn’t even know where to put their hands and feet.
Chapter completed!