Chapter 503 Tom Wang’s worries

In the past two years or so, Haihan's various cultural and educational initiatives have won the favor of Danzhou's cultural circles, and this good image has also been spread through the words and pens of literati, exerting a subtle influence on the people of Danzhou.

Local people and officials. Although the Haihan people's trade dumping practices once caused widespread unemployment in some industries in Danzhou, the vast majority of these people found new employment opportunities under the hands of the Haihan people and did not bring any harm to the local government.

Why bother? Some people even believe that the salt, coal and other daily necessities on the market are of higher quality and cheaper than in the past. This is the actual benefit brought by the Haihan people.

Of course, compared with the benefits that ordinary people can get, the various "gifts" Haihan privately sends to officials at all levels in Danzhou are also quite considerable. This cost alone is enough to support two companies of militia soldiers every year.

. And the reward for these efforts is the unimpeded movement of the Haihan people in Danzhou and the results of meticulous intelligence collection. Even the imperial court newspaper sent to Danzhou Prefecture every month will be sent to Danzhou Prefecture.

A copy will be copied and sent back to Sanya in the shortest possible time.

The fleet that He Xi and Wang Tom were on docked at Baimajing Village on the south side of the bay. This place was named Baimajing because it is said that when a general from the Tang Dynasty passed by, his white horse plowed sand here.

When a spring came out, the locals built a well based on the spring water and named it "Baima Well".

There were already people from Haihan’s office in Danzhou waiting on the pier. When they saw the two people getting off the boat, they took the initiative to greet them. The person in charge of the office in Danzhou was named Zhang Xin, a 28-year-old single man with a Cantonese surname.

, my occupation before time travel is said to be working in a certain cultural performance group. However, because my job was temporarily useless here, I switched to administration. I have been the person in charge of the Danzhou office for almost two years.

Already.

However, Zhang Xin is not very familiar with the two people who came here today. When he was transferred to Danzhou, He Xi had already gone to the Guangdong Office, and Wang Tom was a busy man, so there was no chance to meet. Although in the early days of time travel,

We met many times when we lived together in Shengli Port, but this was the first time we had formal contact at work.

"Director Zhang, you've been waiting for a long time!" Wang Tom took the initiative to say hello when he saw Zhang Xin. Although he was not familiar with the person, Zhang Xin's appearance made him feel quite familiar - dark complexion, thin figure,

It is simply the standard equipment for sailors.

Of course, Zhang Xin is not a sailor. His skin color is just that he was born with dark skin. In addition, he has been exposed to the sun for a long time in the south, and it has become even worse after coming to Danzhou - this place has about 2,500 hours of sunshine every year. Zhang Xin is

I can't even think about it in vain.

After the three of them exchanged pleasantries, Zhang Xin arranged for them to take the prepared carriage to Danzhou. This place is still nearly twenty miles away from the location of Danzhou City, and it is really too far to walk. During the carriage,

, Zhang Xin also gave a brief introduction to the situation in Danzhou City.

Danzhou City was built in the Tang Dynasty, but it existed simply as a military fortress until the Ming Dynasty. It was not until the sixth year of Hongwu that the city in the true sense that it exists today was built. It is now the political, military, and commercial center of Danzhou.

and cultural center.

The circumference of Danzhou City is 500 feet long. The city wall is two feet five feet high and nearly two feet thick. There are more than 800 battlements built on the city head. There are Dehua Gate, Zhenhai Gate, Rouyuan Gate and Wuding Gate on the east, west, north and south respectively.

There is a city gate with a city tower on top and a gate wall, pavilions, trenches, suspension bridges and other city defense facilities below. A protective trench up to eight feet deep was dug around the city wall. During the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, Danzhou City also built additional buildings at the four corners of the city wall.

The addition of turrets further strengthened the city's defense strength. If we look at city defense facilities alone, Danzhou City is obviously stronger than Yacheng in this aspect.

In addition, the garrison establishment in Danzhou has two thousand-household stations. However, due to the inherent shortcomings of the garrison military system, the actual number of troops is far from the 2,000-plus people it should have. Adding in all the old, weak, sick and disabled, the number is less than 1,000.

Five hundred people. According to Zhang Xin's estimate based on information obtained from various channels, the number of people with real combat effectiveness is only about a thousand people, and the level of weapons and equipment is basically the same as that of the original Yacheng. Although there are many firearms, they are basically powerful.

It is an old thing that is small and in disrepair, and its actual combat effectiveness is quite limited.

"The last time I came to Danzhou, I came overland from Qiongzhou City. If I remember correctly, there is a river outside Danzhou City?" After listening to Zhang Xin's introduction, He Xi also slowly collected the information.

Check it with your own impression of Danzhou, and ask Zhang Xin for confirmation of the vague parts of your impression.

Zhang Xin nodded and said: "Because that river is facing the north gate of Danzhou City, it is called Beimen River. Originally, Beimen River led directly to Danzhou Bay, but in recent years, due to the muddy water in the river,

The sand siltation is serious, and the big ship can no longer sail to the dock outside Danzhou City, so we can only let you go ashore at Baima Well and change to a carriage."

"That's such a pity!" Wang Tom shrugged helplessly when he heard the news: "It seems that our navy can no longer play the leading role in Danzhou!"

"Is the Executive Committee really planning to attack Danzhou?" This anniversary coincided with the birthday of the governor of Danzhou, and it was held for three days, so Zhang Xin had no choice but to miss the time to return to Sanya, so he was

The arrangements of the executive committee are also vague and not particularly clear.

"Probably within the year!" He Xi thought for a moment and added: "Of course, if Danzhou can be captured peacefully, it is best not to use military means."

"Win it peacefully?" Zhang Xin frowned and said: "If it takes another one or two years to slowly reverse, it is not impossible. At least it can be gradually returned to our name like Yacheng. But this year... it is indeed a bit

Disaster."

"What is the official attitude of Danzhou towards us now? Is the position of the military and political officials firm? Is there any possibility of instigating rebellion?" He Xi asked three questions in one breath.

"The government is not too wary of us, but I think if we make our attitude clear, this place will not give up resistance as easily as Yacheng and let us take over." Zhang Xin expressed his opinion: "This place in Danzhou will not give up resistance as easily as Yacheng."

Several of the main officials here are not natives of Hainan Island, and their hometowns are in the mainland, so it may not be easy for them to change their stance."

"If the foundation is not here, it will be really difficult." He Xi nodded, but there was no look of embarrassment on his face.

Now that the Executive Committee has decided to capture Hainan Island, whether these places choose to resist or surrender will not actually make a big difference to Haihan. The military even hopes that the local officials of the Ming Dynasty can take bloody measures.

Some resistance measures can also allow the militia army to practice in actual combat for a long time, and at the same time, it can also demonstrate the importance of military power internally. If every place can be peacefully integrated, then how can the military still be in the executive committee in the future?

Mix in?

Of course, this view is just in the mind at most, and no one will actually say it. Although the entire crossing group is only a small group, it also needs to be politically correct. The purpose of seizing Hainan Island is to consolidate Haihan

The local dominance of the political power is not simply fighting for the sake of fighting. If someone cannot figure out the priorities, then the Executive Committee will probably not be happy to see such people take power in the military.

In addition to the large carriage with three people, there were also seven or eight carriages with mixed cargo and people behind it. When this convoy arrived outside the south gate of Danzhou and was still more than ten meters away from the Ming army guarding the gate in front, the driver

The coachman shouted loudly: "Here comes the reward from Director Haihan Zhang!" After saying that, he threw two ingots of broken silver towards the Ming soldiers on the roadside. The Ming soldiers remained silent and silently walked from the ground.

After picking up the money, he went back to the roadside and continued to pretend to be blind.

He Xi is used to this kind of scene. Not to mention in a remote place like Danzhou, this trick works equally well even in Guangzhou. Sometimes the Guangdong Office needs to carry some contraband in and out of Guangzhou, so it always uses this method.

The way of using silver to open the way. No one will have trouble with the free money, whether it is a soldier or an officer.

Wang Tom rarely came in and out of the Ming Dynasty. Seeing this situation, he felt a little strange and couldn't help but ask: "If I lead a group of people and plan to rob the city gate, wouldn't it be easy to get in?"

"

Zhang Xin nodded and said: "Theoretically, this is true, so when your militia really wants to come to attack Danzhou, dress up in advance, and then try to control the distance from the seaside to Danzhou City, so as not to let the defenders get warning in advance.

.As long as you don’t attract the attention of the defenders before entering the city, capturing the city gate is basically a sure thing.”

"If you do this, the artillery will basically have nothing to do." Wang Tom sighed with gloating.

I think back when we first attacked Hue City, a considerable part of the frontal assault missions were undertaken by artillery units, and the artillery commanders indeed learned and summarized a set of tactics and techniques for attacking fortified cities during the Battle of Hue.

.It’s just that after the Battle of Hue, the artillery unit has almost never participated in large-scale military operations. A few days ago, when Yan Chujie announced that he would attack Danzhou, a group of people in the army were as happy as if they were celebrating a festival, which made Wang Tom see.

Very jealous.

However, there is only one fortified city in Danzhou, but the city defense is very sparse. With this defensive awareness, Wang Tom feels that there is no pressure even if he directs the siege battle across disciplines. As long as he can successfully capture a city gate,

If the subsequent militia army has a way to enter the city, then even a blind man can easily defeat them.

He Xi smiled and said: "You don't have to rush to gloat. No matter how we fight, as long as we take action, the credit for this siege battle will truly belong to the army."

After hearing this, Tom Wang's smile that originally hung at the corner of his mouth faded away.

Just like the army and navy of any country, the army and navy of the militia have had natural competition factors since the day they were separated. They compete for military talents, military budgets, and war qualifications. Almost all limited available resources are in

The two arms are competing for each other. The biggest basis for both sides to compete for these limited resources is undoubtedly their actual combat record.

Although the Militia Navy has indeed performed extremely well in actual combat since its establishment, there are not many opportunities to actually participate in combat. The most recent actual combat can be traced back to a year ago, the battle against the Liu Xiang Pirate Group at the Pearl River Estuary.

Although it also participated in the battle to attack Hue, the navy was almost the whole process, only undertaking the tasks of maritime protection and transportation. Even in the final battle that wiped out the South Vietnamese navy, it was actually the army artillery unit.

Completed.

The navy's military budget is already incredibly high. If such a high-cost force does not have the opportunity to fight for a long time, it will definitely cause a lot of gossip. It was originally planned to build three steam warships, but two were launched.

After that, it was hurriedly called to a halt, and the third ship was temporarily canceled before the keel was laid. In addition to the high cost of building such a high-end warship and the trouble of maintenance, there is also another reason that the navy does not have enough resources in the short term.

It is foreseeable that high-intensity maritime battles will be fought, and the existing fleet size is sufficient to maintain Haihan's dominance over Hainan Island.

Originally, Tom Wang was holding back his energy and wanted to take advantage of the decision made by the executive committee to let the navy perform well. But after he came to Danzhou and saw it, his heart was half dead - the bay here is

It's not small, but the inland direction is mostly filled with mud and sandy beaches. The navy's warships will definitely not be able to dock, and there will be no chance to even get close to the battlefield. And such hydrological conditions doomed that there would be no station in Danzhou at all.

Since the Ming Dynasty had a navy, there was no militia navy to rival it.

But the army is different. Regardless of whether they are coming from a letter or a military force, the task of occupying Danzhou must be completed by them. And once the Danzhou government and defenders take action to resist, then needless to say,

The army will definitely describe this battle as a fierce but successful victory. The military achievement of capturing Danzhou will naturally be credited to the army. The navy will also serve as a troop transport.

, at most, we can place a sentry outside Danzhou Bay to block the sea passage in and out of Danzhou Bay.

Although the plan to seize Danzhou is still on paper, Wang Tom seems to have seen the proud faces of the Army people at the post-war award ceremony. The Navy plans to restart the "Dignity-class" steam-powered warship in the second half of the year.

I'm afraid that the construction plan will be criticized by some people as "advanced consumption", and maybe it won't be able to capture the army's share of the military budget next year.

"Half of the battle has already been lost!" The more Tom Wang thought about it, the more frustrated he became. For such a great opportunity, the Navy could only play a supporting role, and almost all of the role was taken away by the Army.

"I think we should further study the possibility of peacefully liberating Danzhou!" Wang Tom raised his head and suggested to the two of them with a solemn expression.
Chapter completed!