Chapter 2101

"This military parade on Zhoushan Island is mainly divided into two parts: sea and land. The army will be passing in front of the stand later. There are not many people, but the Haihan people's muskets and cannons can be seen. The armed fleet will leave from the sea later.

If it is the main force, then the scene will be different. You should keep an eye on it. Usually, there is really no chance to see the Haihan Navy dispatched en masse."

Sitting next to Ma Zhengping was a talkative man who enthusiastically took the initiative to introduce the military parade to his neighbors. It seemed that this was not his first time participating in this event.

Ma Zhengping chatted: "It seems that I have met you many times, brother?"

The man nodded and replied: "I dare not say more, but there are still three or four times. The size of the navy and Han army stationed in Zhoushan is getting better and better every year. The military parade and drill are still very interesting. Brother, if it is the first

Once you see it, it’s the right time.”

After Ma Zhengping had a chat with him, he learned that this businessman named Xuan Xiangming was a native of Ningbo Prefecture. He had come to Zhoushan Island to do textile business with the Haihan people in the seventh year of Chongzhen. Now he comes here seven or eight times a year, and in

The island also has its own business store, which can be regarded as Haihan's senior trading partner.

Ma Zhengping came in a hurry this time and did not find a guide or the like in advance. He happened to have many questions about Haihan that he could not find anyone to answer. The appearance of Xuan Xiangming suddenly solved his troubles, almost.

Answering all questions gave Ma Zhengping a general understanding of the situation of the Zhoushan garrison.

Of course, Xuan Xiangming is just a businessman and not a professional espionage officer, so his understanding of the Zhoushan garrison comes mostly from his continuous observation over the past few years, as well as the information he learned after contacting some Haihan officials.

It's a military secret, so if you say it in a public place like this, you don't have to worry about being investigated and punished by the Haihan people.

Haihan's troops currently stationed on Zhoushan Island are mainly composed of the East China Sea Fleet. The strength and organization of the entire fleet are naturally military secrets, and it is difficult for the outside world to know the specific numbers. However, there is also an infantry battalion of the Haihan Army stationed on Zhoushan Island.

This is not a secret. After all, during the National Day military parade every year, the army troops appear in front of the public as infantry battalions. According to the establishment of the Haihan Army, a battalion has about 500 to 800 people, so the troops stationed on the island

The size of the Army force is semi-public information.

Of course, even if the nearby coastal state capitals knew that the Haihan Army stationed on Zhoushan Island did not have many troops, they would not have any other ideas, because civil and military officials knew very well that the Haihan Navy could blockade Hangzhou Bay at the slightest disagreement.

The powerful force is what really makes them fearful. Any armed force that wants to attack Zhoushan Island must first pass the Haihan Navy. As for the Ming Navy in the coastal states of Zhejiang, except Hangzhou,

In addition to maintaining a certain scale of military strength, other state capitals basically have only written establishments.

As long as the Haihan army did not take the initiative to attack the Ming Dynasty and send troops to invade the mainland, the coastal states would also tacitly pretend to be deaf and dumb to the existence of the Haihan army on Zhoushan Island. After all, under the profitable current situation, no one wanted to

Take the initiative to break this balance.

Although the action taken by the Zhoushan garrison against the Yangzhou salt merchants caused a lot of casualties in the local area, the people involved in the action had never identified themselves locally, and the party that suffered the loss did not dare to take the initiative to report it to the government because of the secret possession of weapons.

Therefore, Yangzhou Prefecture pretended that nothing happened. Even if it knew that Haihan people were involved, it had no intention of holding Zhoushan accountable.

Of course, Ma Zhengping is sure that the civil and military officials in Yangzhou Prefecture also understand that if they ask for an explanation from the Zhoushan authorities, they will most likely be ignored and will simply lose their face. As for sending troops to ask for trouble,

The local officials probably never considered this approach. Doing nothing was the best way to deal with it. Therefore, in the past few months, no one came to Zhoushan to trouble Haihan because of the Yangzhou incident.

Because the Haihan garrison provides comprehensive protection on Zhoushan Island, the trading environment here is naturally extremely safe. Businessmen, whether they are doing legal business or operating trend trade, are willing to come to Dinghaiport for transactions. And the annual Haihan

The National Day celebrations and related military parades also gave these businessmen enough confidence in the security environment here to trust their wealth here boldly.

"When doing business here, you really don't have to worry about being targeted by bad guys with ulterior motives?" Ma Zhengping asked a question that he was very concerned about. He knew that officials like Yang Yun would definitely not get a real answer to this question, but maybe it would

Xuan Xiangming, who was very familiar with Zhoushan Island, was able to tell him the truth.

"Brother, look around. There are Haihan soldiers watching everywhere here! Don't forget, this is Zhoushan Island!"

Too long! The Haihan people have their own set of strict laws and will not punish prisoners according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Once they are convicted of a serious crime, they will have to be forcibly sent to overseas as hard labor. Maybe even the bones will not be able to return home after death. How many people

Do you dare to take such a risk? Besides, there are many legitimate opportunities to make money here. It is not difficult to find ways to make money as long as you use your brain, so why take desperate risks!"

Although places like Zhoushan were known as free ports before Haihan occupied them, various armed forces were entrenched on the island, and dragons and snakes were mixed together. In fact, trading risks were extremely high. After Haihan occupied this place, he re-formulated the trading rules and mobilized the army.

To maintain social order on the island, this place became one of the most important trading ports on the eastern coast of the Ming Dynasty in just a few years.

Haihan officials know very well what kind of trade environment can attract more merchants, and safety is an essential factor. The good and stable public security environment of Dinghaiport, as well as the comprehensive security system, are indeed good for merchants.

It is very attractive. Their goods and money will be effectively protected by the officials on the island, and anyone who tries to challenge the public order will be severely punished by the officials. Therefore, in the eyes of the outside world, the troops stationed on Zhoushan Island seem to symbolize the sea.

The Han Dynasty exerted military pressure, but for these merchants, the Haihan Army was the guarantee of order and security, and a powerful force that could provide them with shelter.

As for hostility towards Haihan, some people may have it, but in the face of huge interests, the vast majority of people who come to the island will choose to compromise, and then slowly be smoothed away by the powerful strength displayed by Haihan.

Most of the few people who were unhappy and had to do something to feel comfortable were just like what Xuan Xiangming said. After being caught and convicted by Haihan, they were directly sent to other places overseas to serve their sentences, and there was no news about their whereabouts.

.

Ma Zhengping is a smart man. After listening to Xuan Xiangming's explanation, he roughly understood the reason. The other party had such a positive evaluation of Zhoushan, which further confirmed Ma Zhengping's idea of ​​buying a property here.

He was about to ask the other party for more information on the regulations for purchasing property on the island. Xuan Xiangming had already raised his hand and pointed into the distance and said: "Look, look, the Haihan Army team is coming out!"

When the real leader appeared, Ma Zhengping quickly gathered his thoughts and returned his attention to the military parade at hand. He had never seen the formation of the Haihan Army before coming to Zhoushan, and he only saw some scattered ones after arriving on the island.

Soldiers, only now have they witnessed the Haihan Army traveling in formation.

A red and blue flag fluttered at the front of the team, followed by a marching formation with Haihan characteristics. The muskets in the hands of all the soldiers were inserted with shining bayonets, which made the entire phalanx stand out from a distance.

They look more like traditional spearmen than firearms troops.

The people on the side of the road kept cheering, but they still couldn't cover up the unified footsteps of the army's phalanxes. If the road hadn't been sprinkled with water in advance, I believe the road would have been dusty by now.

Ma Zhengping also saw the Ming army's drills when he was in Yangzhou. He had to admit that in terms of marching alone, the Haihan army's phalanx marched neatly and was indeed better than the Ming army. But if he had been a little bit

If you know a little bit about military affairs, you will know that this gap is not surprising. The Haihan Army has musketeers as the main force. Maintaining a neat formation during march is a compulsory course. The requirements for this are much higher than those of the Ming Army, so there are

Outperforming the Ming army is just a matter of cleaning up. Of course, this kind of neat formation that has been practiced for a long time is very visually impactful, and it is perfect to put it in this kind of military parade that shows force.

At this time, Shi Diwen and his officials had already stood up first, and other spectators in the stands also stood up after seeing this. Although Ma Zhengping didn't know why, he saw that everyone around him was standing up, so he also stood up.

Standing up, he immediately saw the army phalanx changing their marching rhythm as they passed through the stands, shouting some kind of slogan at the same time, and Shi Diwen also raised his hand to salute the phalanx under the stage, which seemed to be unique to the Haihan Army.

review process.

Ma Zhengping's attention has been attracted by the team behind the phalanx, which is composed of several army field artillery pieces pulled by pack horses. Although the army establishment on the island is only one battalion, there are indeed not many artillery pieces.

They are equipped with everything from the smallest 85mm caliber light artillery to the 155mm large caliber cannon. In the end, the team even used four horses to pull a 235mm caliber siege cannon as a backing up. Of course, a siege cannon like this is basically just a scare.

If the Zhoushan garrison were not assigned the task of attacking the fortified city, they probably would not have the opportunity to use heavy weapons of this level.

Although they are just being pulled by horses and swaggering through the market, this does not prevent the audience who see these artillery from beginning to imagine the scene of these weapons showing off their power on the battlefield. Most people who often come to Zhoushan Island have heard of the Haihan Army through various channels.

It was a battle that severely damaged the Qing army on the battlefield of Liaodong. As a result, the large number of artillery installed in the Haihan Army was attached with a mysterious color. Various exaggerated rumors emerged one after another, but all of them made the artillery of the Haihan Army look like they could be used.

A great weapon of destruction.

Although Ma Zhengping lives in Yangzhou, he has heard more or less such rumors. However, he personally does not believe in the authenticity of these rumors. He thinks that although the Haihan Army is powerful, it should not be as strong as the rumors.

Otherwise, using these powerful weapons to invade the Qing capital and destroy the country would not be possible once and for all, so there would be no need to fight the Qing army in Liaodong for many years.

But when he actually saw these dark steel weapons slowly passing in front of the stands, Ma Zhengping still had goosebumps on his back. Although he had never actually seen the scene of artillery combat, he subconsciously felt this

The power of weapons is indeed beyond human power.

After the artillery team passed the stands, all the troops affiliated with the army had already appeared. Followed by the militia troops on Zhoushan Island, there was only a square formation of less than 200 people. This formation was larger than the previous one.

There is a lot of difference between professional soldiers, but in Ma Zhengping's opinion, it should be equivalent to the level of the Ming army's drills.

However, the people on the roadside opposite the stands did not lose their enthusiasm at all because these people were militiamen. Instead, they cheered even louder. Ma Zhengping didn't understand the mystery, so he asked Xuan Xiangming next to him for advice.

Xuan Xiangming said: "The Haihan troops stationed on the island are all transferred from other places, and these militiamen are mostly selected from the local islanders. Many of the people watching opposite are their relatives and friends, so naturally the noise will be louder.

Bigger.”

Ma Zhengping suddenly realized this, and then asked: "Will these militiamen be transformed into a formal Haihan Army in the future?"

Xuan Xiangming nodded and said: "Brother, I can see clearly that some of the best among them will indeed be selected by the army, and this is one of the main reasons why they become militiamen."

Ma Zhengping asked in surprise: "Why is this? Could it be that the military pay of the Haihan Army is extremely high?"

Xuan Xiangming said: "As long as you join the Haihan Army, you will automatically obtain Haihan nationality immediately, and you will have property and buildings by then. As for the military salary, it will be calculated separately. Do you think this condition is very attractive?"

Ma Zhengping was quite surprised after hearing this. He also knew that Haihan had been recruiting immigrants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, but he did not expect that Haihan would give soldiers such high treatment that these people would give up their nationality to work for those people in order to get those benefits.

Haihan served as a soldier. The Ming Dynasty would definitely not be able to provide such high military benefits. Probably only the wealthy Haihan Kingdom could operate in this way.

However, Ma Zhengping did not know that the land distributed by Haihan to these military immigrants would not be cashed out until their service terms expired, unless their families were willing to obey the allocation and immediately move to the south to settle down. Moreover, these lands were not located within the Ming Dynasty, but in the Ming Dynasty.

Immigration villages far away in various parts of the South China Sea are mostly allocated not cultivated land, but wasteland that needs to be cultivated and cultivated by themselves. The actual value of the land cannot be judged by the farmland in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Of course, even if there are many restrictions, this is still very attractive to those who have no family property and are eager to own their own land and real estate. Therefore, among the immigrants recruited from Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas every year, a considerable number of young people choose to enlist in the army.

In order to obtain such treatment, some of them will stay on Zhoushan Island as militiamen, but in fact these people are basically the people who were intercepted after being selected by Shi Diwen, and most of them will directly supplement the establishment of the East China Sea Fleet in the future.
Chapter completed!