Chapter 1115 Cruise in Liaodong

Seeing that Pan Yan was at a loss for words and didn't know how to answer, Wang Tom stopped talking to him. In fact, it wasn't that he didn't expect the possibility Pan Yan said, but he just deliberately wanted to continue to frustrate Pan Yan's spirit. Yesterday's captive

After the preliminary interrogation of these former Ming army soldiers, most of them were not too obsessed with the choice of returning to Shandong, because they would probably be punished for treason after returning. This is why they were willing to do it for the Jin Dynasty after arriving in Liaodong.

One of the reasons for fighting.

Wang Tom's idea is actually very simple. Since these people can fight for Houjin, of course they can also become weapons in the hands of Haihan after being trained and trained. Especially these naval soldiers who are familiar with the conditions of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, they are very important to Houjin.

The Haihan Navy from the south does have considerable utilization value. If there is a chance to recruit these people, Wang Tom would still be happy to try it.

After sailing in the bay for about an hour, the fleet arrived near Monk Island in the north of the harbor. The lookout on the flagship mast sent a message and found an unknown number of sailboats docked on the coast ahead. Judging from the hull style,

It should be the group of warships belonging to the former Dengzhou Navy that were taken to Liaodong by the rebels.

"It seems that your colleagues are very low vigilance!" Wang Tom confirmed the identities of these warships through the telescope. At the same time, he could also see many figures rushing onto the ship. They must have discovered the arrival of the uninvited guests.

A hasty reaction made only later.

Pan Yan's face turned red and he quickly defended: "General Wang, this is because the gold thieves are usually very strictly controlled. Without their permission, we cannot board the ship and go to sea, let alone conduct daily patrols. If we are in Dengzhou,

There must be patrol boats in important waterways, and they must have noticed the intrusion by outsiders."

Wang Tom said: "These barbarians don't know how to fight at sea. The Dengzhou navy was handed over to them. It's like a secret. Forget it, since they are all Han people, let's let it go this time and not fight with them."

A head-on confrontation."

When Pan Yan heard that Wang Tom was willing to take the initiative to evade, he quickly thanked him. In this case, Wang Tom did not order to take the initiative, which shows that there is still room for mediation in this matter, and his former comrades did not die in vain for Hou Jin.

The Haihan fleet changed direction about two thousand meters away from the dock where the local warships were docked, and slowly sailed towards the east coast of the harbor. Before these warships could even sail out of the dock, the distance between the two sides had already shortened.

Open to a point where it is difficult for the latter to catch up.

Pan Yan took the initiative to report to Wang Tom: "The Jinzhou Acropolis occupied by the gold thieves is about ten miles north of the pier just now. If the general wants to attack this place in the future, I am willing to lead the horse for you.

.”

Tom Wang nodded and said: "If you perform well, I will naturally give you opportunities in the future. As long as they are talented people, I will not have too many here."

When the Haihan fleet began to turn around and sail southward out of the harbor, the opponent's warships slowly emerged from the sea. However, the distance between the two sides had widened. With the speed of the Ming army's warships, it was difficult to catch up.

Wang Tom only left a single-masted reconnaissance boat with a light hull and the fastest speed behind, in order to find out the number and approximate lineup of warships stationed here. The large force met and stayed outside Jinzhou Bay.

The logistics ship here then continues to sail northeast along the coastline.

About twenty nautical miles away from Jinzhou Bay is the Changshan Islands, which consists of more than 200 islands, with a total area of ​​about 170 square kilometers. After the Ming Dynasty lost Liaodong, the Later Jin Dynasty was not good at naval warfare. , the control of these islands was once in the hands of the Ming army.

Speaking of the Changdao Islands, we have to mention Shang Kexi. Shang Kexi was born in Haizhou, Liaodong. After the Jin Dynasty invaded Liaoshen, his father and son joined the Ming army successively. In 1623, Shang Kexi joined the navy and went to sea the next year. Dao joined his father and then joined Mao Wenlong's command. Shang Kexi was highly appreciated by Mao Wenlong, who adopted him as his adopted son and named him Mao Yongxi.

Shang Kexi's father, the Dongjiang guerrilla Shang Xueli, was killed in Louzishan in a battle with the Later Jin Army soon after. Mao Wenlong transferred the troops led by his father to his command. Later, when Mao Wenlong was executed by Yuan Chonghuan in 1629, Shang Kexi is already the commander guarding the Changshan Islands. He has tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians under his command. He can be considered a moderate local official.

Later, Huang Long, the general of the Dongjiang River, took over Pidao and met Geng Zhongyu. Wang Yingyuan launched a mutiny and was detained on the island. After hearing the news, Shang Kexi led his troops back to Pidao to suppress the mutiny and supported Huang Long to regain his position. Therefore he was promoted to guerrilla.

In 1633, Shang Kexi was promoted to deputy general for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion in Lushun. However, in the same year, Kong Youde led the Hou Jin soldiers to capture Lushun. Huang Long was defeated and committed suicide. Shang Kexi's family members who stayed in Lushun also drowned themselves. After Huang Long's death, Shen Shikui He took over the post of Dongjiang Commander-in-Chief. Because Shang Kexi had taken away the military power from Shen Shikui when he suppressed the mutiny, Shen Shikui had always held a grudge against him and intended to retaliate against him. However, this matter was learned by Xu Erxian, Shang Kexi's subordinate. , Shen Shikui's plan to lure Shang Kexi back to Pidao for arrest failed to be implemented.

After that, Shang Kexi sent Xu Erxian, Ban Zhifu and other subordinates to Shenyang to secretly contact Hou Jin. After obtaining Huang Taiji's promise of reuse, on the first day of the first lunar month in 1634, he took all his generals, soldiers, civilians and military supplies to defect. Later Jin Dynasty. When Huang Taiji arrived in Shengjing, he went out of the city thirty miles to greet Shang Kexi. He gave Shang Kexi a very high evaluation and many awards. The deputy general stationed in the Changshan Islands of the Ming Dynasty suddenly transformed and became a leader in the army of the Later Jin Dynasty. Chief Military Officer.

After Shang Kexi invested in gold, the Ming army in Pi Island had no time to take care of this place. Later Jin thought that this place was useless and the garrison troops were of no use. It would only waste military expenses and food and grass in vain, so he simply gave up occupying the Changshan Islands. This place has become a no-man's land.

However, Pan Yan did not know about the news about Kong Youde's rebels fleeing to Liaodong. They, the Han surrendered troops, were strictly restricted in their space of movement and the level of information they had access to, and they did not have a clear understanding of the changes in the external situation. Pan Yan also didn’t know that Master Shang, who was guarding Guanglu Island at the time, had defected to Hou Jin. When he was approaching Guanglu Island, he was still explaining to Wang Tom the various heroic deeds of Shang Kexi in fighting against Hou Jin.

Wang Tom had read this historical record before and knew very well that Shang Kexi's life trajectory took a 180-degree turn after Huang Long's death. In two years' time, he would be named King Zhishun by Huang Taiji, and then replace the Qing Dynasty. He conquered the world and relied on his military exploits to fight through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and was finally named King of Pingnan by Shunzhi. Although Shang Kexi was partly forced to protect himself when he rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, which was understandable, he later killed Han people in the south. He was ruthless and could be called a genuine butcher. In 1650, Shang Kexi led troops to attack Guangzhou. After the city was broken, he massacred one-fifth of the population of Guangzhou, which had a population of about 400,000 at that time. His methods were also very Spicy.

Wang Tom didn't have a good impression of Shang Kexi, so he coldly interrupted Pan Yan's explanation: "The Lord Shang you are talking about brought the people on these islands to Houjin at the beginning of this year, and now he lives in Haihai.

Zhou, serve the Empress Jinhuang Taiji."

Hearing this, Pan Yan felt unbelievable: "This... how is this possible? When Kong Youde's rebels first arrived in Liaodong last year, Master Shang led troops to pursue them and vowed to kill Kong Youde before they gave up. How could he surrender after a few months?

Gold thief?"

Tom Wang didn't bother to explain the inside story to him, and just said calmly: "We will arrive at Guanglu Island soon. Whether what I said is the truth, you will know later when you follow me to the island to see."

Guanglu Island is located in the west of Changshan Islands, less than ten nautical miles from the mainland, with a land area of ​​more than 30 square kilometers. It is the largest island in Changshan Islands. The island has fertile soil and the most abundant freshwater resources in Changshan Islands.

, it can be regarded as a livable place in the sea. At the beginning, most of the food consumed by the troops stationed in Changshan Islands in Dongjiang Town was produced locally, and the situation was much better than that of Pi Island, which has more people and less land.

There is a natural harbor with an area of ​​about one square kilometer on the southeastern coast of Guanglu Island. One of the main bases of the Ming Navy’s naval forces stationed in the Changshan Islands in the past was located here. When the Haihan Fleet slowly sailed in here

, you can also see the well-preserved trestles and dock facilities on the coast. But as Wang Tom said, all the residents of this place have moved to the interior of Liaodong. Today, except for groups of seabirds rising and falling freely on the beach, there is basically nothing

No one could be seen.

Pan Yan looked at the deserted harbor stupidly, unable to believe that this was true. Since the establishment of Dongjiang Town, Guanglu Island has been one of the forward bases for the Ming army to launch counterattacks on the Liaodong Peninsula. Many times, both land and water

The army all assembled here before marching to the land. Although Hou Jin had a headache with this thorn in his side, he could not cross the sea to attack because he was not good at naval warfare. When Pan Yan came here before, the island was very

The lively scene formed a huge contrast with the desolation in front of me.

After the fleet docked at the port, Wang Tom sent out reconnaissance cavalry to investigate the nearby area. At the same time, he ordered people to find nearby water sources to replenish the fleet's fresh water consumption as soon as possible. Especially this flagship equipped with a steam engine, every time the machine is used

The consumption of fresh water during power generation is not a small amount.

Because the gratifying people were only evacuated from the island at the beginning of the year, the houses and various facilities here are still relatively well preserved. The sailors soon found two wells on the pier that were specially used to replenish fresh water for the ships.

A simple rocker pumping device is installed at the wellhead, which can quickly pump up the water from the well and transfer it directly to the ship through a long wooden water tank.

Wang Tom casually walked into a nearby house and saw that it was empty. Thick spider webs had formed on the beams and corners of the house, and there was not even a single piece of furniture in the room. Apparently, the owner had left the house as a piece of furniture.

All the remaining land was moved away. From the traces of firework left on the stove, it was not difficult for Wang Tom to imagine that this place was once full of life.

Wang Tom walked out of the house. Several teams of men who searched nearby houses had returned and found nothing of value. It seemed that the men and horses that were quite gratified walked calmly when evacuating here, taking away everything they could.

, leaving only an empty island. On the nearby slopes, you can still see a series of long terraces cultivated by the islanders in accordance with the terrain. It seems that the legend that this island is rich in food should be true. The terraces are densely covered with the entire land.

Part of the hillside has just been abandoned for such a long time, and the fields are already covered with grass and shrubs. From a distance, they are divided by field ridges, and they look like flowers and trees planted deliberately.

On such a large island, as long as agricultural construction can keep up, not to mention tens of thousands of people, many times more can be successfully fed. Haihan originally started by occupying the island, and he is an expert in the planning and utilization of the island. Wang Tom

By looking at the situation on the island and combining it with the knowledge you have, you can roughly judge the development value of this island. However, what Haihan lacks at the moment is not the technology and funds to develop the island, but the most basic factor -

-labor force.

To carry out secondary development of such an island, the initial labor force required is probably in units of thousands. Although Haihan's immigration recruitment activities in the area near Zhifu Island are currently going smoothly, the recruitment progress is difficult to meet the needs of continuing to open colonies overseas.

needs. If Haihan plans to develop Guanglu Island, then the source of the population may have to be in the direction of Liaodong. However, Haihan is not familiar with the customs and customs of Liaodong. If he can get assistance from Pi Island, then

The process might be a little faster.

"General Wang, this Guanglu Island is connected to the Jinzhou Guard at the bottom and the Dingliao Right Guard at the top. If you advance, you can attack the inland, and if you retreat, you can go to Pi Island or Shandong. There is no need for a villain to explain the benefits of occupying it. The general also

You can definitely think of it." Pan Yan followed Tom Wang, and seeing his thoughtful look on his face, he quickly spoke to persuade him to take the opportunity to occupy this place.

Wang Tom came back from his thoughts and responded with a smile: "It's easy to occupy, but you need to have enough labor force to cultivate food on the island to be stationed for a long time. Shang Kexi took all the people here away,

Where am I going to find people to settle here now?”

Pan Yan responded: "This matter is not difficult. There are at least hundreds of thousands of Han people in Liaodong, and most of them are working as slaves for gold thieves. As long as we try to provide a way out for these people, they will definitely rush to join us."

.However, General Wang is an outsider and probably doesn’t know much about the situation in Liaodong. If we can get the Dongjiang Army to help, we will get twice the result with half the effort.”

"You have thought of working together with me." Seeing that Pan Yan's suggestion was to discuss cooperation with the Dongjiang Army first, Wang Tom's idea became even firmer. There is no difference in occupying this uninhabited island a few days earlier, but if it can be done as soon as possible,

If you convince the Dongjiang Army to cooperate with you, then Haihan may officially enter this area much earlier.
Chapter completed!