Chapter 1118
Assistance and Conditions
Chapter 1118 Assistance and Conditions
During his service in the navy, Xie Li had dealt with Ming army generals in many places in Fuguang, and he was no stranger to such diplomatic contacts.After meeting Shen Zhixiang ashore, he calmly declared his identity and intention to come here for peace talks.
"Haihan? You are not from Ming Dynasty?" Shen Zhixiang also felt a little confused after hearing the other party's self-introduction. The name of this country was very unfamiliar to him, and he did not remember such a country with navy around the Yellow Sea.The other party speaks with a northern accent, and looks like a Han Chinese. Except for the weird costumes, he doesn't look like a visitor from a foreign country at all.
"We are a friendly country of Ming Dynasty, but we are less active in the north. If you have been to the Lingnan area, you should know that we have always cooperated happily with the local government, and we are also willing to help Ming Dynasty solve various difficult problems, such as helping refugees and resisting foreign enemies." Xie Li explained calmly: "We heard that the recent situation on Phi Island is not very good, so we came here from Dengzhou, hoping to provide some help to the Ming army and people here."
Shen Zhixiang didn't understand what he heard, but it sounded like he had good intentions, and he didn't intend to persuade Hou Jin to surrender.However, out of caution, he still asked one more question: "Then you and the gold thief... shouldn't be on the same road?"
Xie Li responded: "Your Excellency misunderstood, we are on the same side with Daming. The gold thief is Daming's enemy, and naturally it is also our Haihan's enemy."
Xie Li was actually born in the south, so he didn't have a personal experience of Hou Jin's disasters outside the pass, and he couldn't say he had much hatred.He has been in Haihan for several years, and the object of allegiance has long been converted to the Haihan Executive Committee. He has long since ceased to regard himself as a member of the Ming Dynasty, and the predicament of Daming in the north is not the object of his real concern.
However, the level of information he has access to is relatively high, and he also knows that the executive committee has great plans in Northeast Asia. Houjin is one of the targets that Haihan must strike. As the main reason for the opponent, the grievances between Da Ming and Hou Jin are just an excuse.Wang Tom decided to come to Phi Island on the way, and the main purpose was also to target the population on this island. If the attitude of the Ming army here is good enough, then it’s not a bad idea to give them a hand. Xie Li also understood this. Chest, the rhetoric when facing the Ming army has naturally undergone some purposeful modification.
After Shen Zhixiang heard this statement, his nervous mood eased a little. Since the other party is not a Houjin man, but an allied country from the south, it is possible to get in touch with them and see what kind of help they can provide to Pidao. Immediately, he took Xie Li to see Shen Shikui.
Phi Island is no different than Ming's country, it is isolated overseas, and it is difficult to get aid from Ming's country for materials and military, so Phi Island has always been willing to accept foreign forces that are willing to offer help.Although the name "Haihan Kingdom" has never been heard of before, just looking at the other side's fleet parked at sea and being able to build such a large sea-going ship, at least it is quite powerful in shipping. It would be a piece of pie that fell from the sky to be able to support Phi Island with some supplies and food from time to time through the sea channel.
As for military assistance, Shen Zhixiang hasn't thought much about it yet.Even North Korea, which is close at hand, does not dare to give Pidao much apparent military assistance, let alone foreign aid from the south.
Shen Shikui was more cautious. After listening to Shen Zhixiang's introduction, he still did not believe Xie Li's unilateral statement: "Since we are friendly countries, what evidence does the special envoy have?"
Xie Li was prepared for this. Before the fleet went north to Liaodong this time, Wang Tom specially brought various announcements issued by the state capitals in the south and the Fushan County Government of Dengzhou for Haihan, in order to report to Haihan when necessary. A third party confirmed the "friendly relationship" between Haihan and Daming.Since Shen Shikui asked about this on his own initiative, Xie Li asked Sun Bing to take out these documents and show them to him.
Although Shen Shikui has been an official for many years, he has never seen so many government notices from so many places at once, so he couldn't help being a little dumbfounded at the moment.However, he was also a member of the party anyway, and he still had basic self-cultivation. He quickly recovered from the shock and checked the notices one by one.
The content of the notice is similar. It basically informs the public that there are activities of the Haihan business group in the local area, and they can trade with them or accept their employment under the supervision of the government. There are signatures and official seals of various local officials below. Its nature is obviously that the government is in Endorsement for Haihan.However, the coverage of the areas under the jurisdiction of these government offices is shocking enough. From Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and then to Zhejiang, the official seals of most of the state capitals along the coast have appeared in front of Shen Shikui. If it weren't for such a fleet at sea Shen Shikui will definitely think that the group of people in front of him are liars who forged government notices.
Of course, the most conspicuous one is the last notice from Fushan County. Although the above content is similar to other places, it is the only official document issued by the government in Shandong, and it also mentions that Haihan is assisting the government in Fushan County. The glorious deeds of defeating the bandits and arming the Wanjia army and capturing the bandit leader.And looking at the inscription above, it is only ten days ago.
For Shen Shikui, this not only means higher credibility, but more importantly, it proves that these Haihan people have settled in Shandong, and with their strong shipping capabilities, it is indeed possible to provide some assistance to Phi Island possible.The Denglai Rebellion caused Shandong to lose most of its military ships, and now the aid from Ming Dynasty is sporadic, and food is often cut off. If there is a fleet that can provide regular shipping services for Phi Island, it will really relieve Shen Shikui. It's urgent.
"Come here, show the special envoy some tea!" Shen Shikui quickly made a balance, no matter what the background of the Haihan people, as long as they can help him, they deserve to be treated with courtesy.As for whether the special envoy is a Han Chinese or a foreigner who can speak Chinese, that is a trivial matter. There is no need to get to the bottom of it at this time. The actual benefits are the most important.
"I don't know how you found Phi Island? And why did you come from the north?" After Xie Li took his seat, Shen Shikui couldn't wait to ask the question he was concerned about.Now he needs to know what the other party's motives are for coming here, is it a spontaneous act, or was entrusted by the Shandong government, and by the way, verify whether the other party's origin is still suspicious. It's better to be careful.
After the voyage from the Liaodong Peninsula to the northern part of the Yellow Sea, Xie Li had a preliminary understanding of the situation in the Liaodong region, and he could roughly understand where Shen Shikui's doubts came from, so he explained to him immediately: "Our team The fleet came from Zhejiang to the north. Originally, they hoped to build a wharf and set up a trading post in Dengzhou Prefecture. By the way, they could see if they could expand the trade route to Liaodong and North Korea. Therefore, they traveled northeast along the Liaodong coastline. We have already been to Lushun, Changshan Islands, and Zhenjiang Fort. After arriving here, we heard that there are still Ming Dynasty soldiers stationed in Phi Island, so we came here to visit. If there is anything on the island that needs our help, please Lord Shen made it clear."
Shen Shikui said: "Your side must have heard about the rebellion caused by the Kong thief in Denglai, right? After the chaos, the Shandong side was unable to take care of Dongjiang Town's supplies, and the gold thieves continued to attack and erode our Dongjiang Town area. Food and grass is indeed a big problem. The special envoy also saw that the island is full of sand and gravel, which is not suitable for growing grain. This fact is an urgent need. If you can buy grain from Daming and organize transport to Phi Island, the current predicament may be resolved .”
Xie Li thought that the other party could take the initiative to propose this plan, which would save him a lot of saliva, and he would not have to waste time and effort in persuading him. However, Haihan's help to Pi Dao would not be provided for free, and Xie Li had to figure out what the other party could do. What kind of conditions are provided for Haihan.
Immediately Xie Li asked: "Master Shen, what is the current population of this island?"
Shen Shikui did not lose his vigilance, and he also had some reservations about his answer to this question: "There are more than [-] people on the island, and there are at least one or two thousand Han Chinese who escape here from Liaodong via North Korea every month." Talking about the population of the people, but not mentioning the number of garrisons, is also deliberately keeping military secrets to avoid inadvertently exposing their strength.
Xie Li heard the reservations in Shen Shikui's words, so he didn't point it out immediately, but turned the topic back to food first: "To supply the food and grass needed by tens of thousands of mouths for a long time, I'm afraid we are beyond our capabilities!"
Shen Shikui hurriedly persuaded: "As much as you have, if there is food, fewer people will starve to death on the island."
Xie Lidao: "Master Shen also said just now that the soil on this island is not suitable for growing grain. Even if more grain is brought in from the outside world, it is only an emergency measure and cannot fundamentally solve the grain problem of Phi Island. In my opinion, This approach is not the best policy.”
Hearing this tone, Shen Shikui knew that the other party didn't stop talking, so he answered immediately: "What's the special envoy's plan, why don't you tell me."
"It's not a good strategy. It's a bit superficial, but I would like to invite adults to discuss it together." Xie Li saw that Shen Shikui was also very interested, and immediately threw out a Haihan-style solution: "It is better to block it than to block these refugees. They are kept in captivity on the island with nothing to do, so it is better to transport them to other places for resettlement, so that they can reclaim land in other places, and some of the food they produce can be fed back to Dongjiang Town. People are also saved, and the food in Dongjiang Town Supply can also solve part of the problem, wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?”
Shen Shikui sighed and said, "I don't know this truth. It's just that the Changshan Islands, which can produce grain, have been lost, and it will be difficult to find other places to resettle these refugees for a while. Originally, the Liaodong refugees could be resettled directly to Shandong. But with the massacre of the Denglai Rebellion, I'm afraid that in the next few generations, there will be no way to heal the rift."
The regional conflict Shen Shikui was referring to was the killing conflict between Shandong natives and Liaodong immigrants during the Denglai Rebellion.During the Denglei Rebellion, the number of people who died in this kind of regional conflict was at least tens of thousands.This war has completely split the sense of identity between the people of the two places. Both sides regard each other as enemies, and it is impossible to live in peace in the short term.
There are so many cumbersome refugees on Phi Island, which have been the burden of Dongjiang Town since Mao Wenlong's time. However, several governors have not been able to completely solve this problem. They can only try their best to continuously transfer refugees to islands that can produce food.However, the situation in Dongjiang Town has been unfavorable in the past year. The territory has been gradually reduced by the opponent. Most of the grain-producing islands have been lost. The situation is already quite difficult, and they are unable to resettle the refugees on the island.
In order to solve the food problem of the people on the island recently, Shen Shikui's hair has also turned gray a lot, and his sigh is not faked.Almost all the places around the Yellow Sea where refugees could be resettled were occupied by Hou Jin, and there was no way to move the people out of the island. If he hadn't taken into account the relationship between the two countries, he would have sent troops to occupy the territory of the neighboring North Korean country.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Xie Li made indirect remarks: "Master Shen, if you can nod your head, we can try to send the people on the island to the south for resettlement. From now on, their output in the south will also be collected in the form of food. Some of them were sent to Phi Island to be consumed by the Ming army.”
"South?" Shen Shikui frowned and said, "You mean south of Shandong?"
"That's right." Xie Li nodded and replied, "I, Haihan, own many islands and fertile land along the coasts of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. It’s not that big. As for the food that these people who emigrate to other places can produce in the future, we can also advance a part of it to Dongjiang Town in advance, so as to relieve the urgent need on the island.”
Shen Shikui did not respond immediately. The solution given by Xie Li was undoubtedly very attractive to him. Not only could he get rid of these "burdens" on the island in a reasonable and legal way, but also there would be continuous output in the future The return should be cost-effective in terms of benefits.Moreover, after reading so many Anmin notices just now, it seems that Haihan's influence in the south is also strong, and the credibility of the other party's ability to arrange thousands of people to settle in the south is relatively high.
"You...can you really send people to the south for resettlement?" This is the point that Shen Shikui feels most disturbed at the moment. In his opinion, Hai Han is undoubtedly asking for trouble by doing this, and sending tens of thousands of people to the south. People are sent to the south for resettlement, and part of their output is sent back to the north to supply Phi Island. This is not a good deal. These Haihan people are not Ming people. Shen Shikui doesn't understand why they would take the initiative to do this. The "sacrifice".
Xie Li had already made a record of this, and responded confidently: "We are dealing with adults for the first time, and it is normal for adults to feel uneasy about our way of operating. But this is easy to handle. As the saying goes, hearing is believing, seeing is believing. Now that we have set up a base in Zhifu Bay, Fushan County, Dengzhou, your lord only needs to send someone to visit the place to see if what we say is true or not.”
(End of this chapter)
During his service in the navy, Xie Li had dealt with Ming army generals in many places in Fuguang, and he was no stranger to such diplomatic contacts.After meeting Shen Zhixiang ashore, he calmly declared his identity and intention to come here for peace talks.
"Haihan? You are not from Ming Dynasty?" Shen Zhixiang also felt a little confused after hearing the other party's self-introduction. The name of this country was very unfamiliar to him, and he did not remember such a country with navy around the Yellow Sea.The other party speaks with a northern accent, and looks like a Han Chinese. Except for the weird costumes, he doesn't look like a visitor from a foreign country at all.
"We are a friendly country of Ming Dynasty, but we are less active in the north. If you have been to the Lingnan area, you should know that we have always cooperated happily with the local government, and we are also willing to help Ming Dynasty solve various difficult problems, such as helping refugees and resisting foreign enemies." Xie Li explained calmly: "We heard that the recent situation on Phi Island is not very good, so we came here from Dengzhou, hoping to provide some help to the Ming army and people here."
Shen Zhixiang didn't understand what he heard, but it sounded like he had good intentions, and he didn't intend to persuade Hou Jin to surrender.However, out of caution, he still asked one more question: "Then you and the gold thief... shouldn't be on the same road?"
Xie Li responded: "Your Excellency misunderstood, we are on the same side with Daming. The gold thief is Daming's enemy, and naturally it is also our Haihan's enemy."
Xie Li was actually born in the south, so he didn't have a personal experience of Hou Jin's disasters outside the pass, and he couldn't say he had much hatred.He has been in Haihan for several years, and the object of allegiance has long been converted to the Haihan Executive Committee. He has long since ceased to regard himself as a member of the Ming Dynasty, and the predicament of Daming in the north is not the object of his real concern.
However, the level of information he has access to is relatively high, and he also knows that the executive committee has great plans in Northeast Asia. Houjin is one of the targets that Haihan must strike. As the main reason for the opponent, the grievances between Da Ming and Hou Jin are just an excuse.Wang Tom decided to come to Phi Island on the way, and the main purpose was also to target the population on this island. If the attitude of the Ming army here is good enough, then it’s not a bad idea to give them a hand. Xie Li also understood this. Chest, the rhetoric when facing the Ming army has naturally undergone some purposeful modification.
After Shen Zhixiang heard this statement, his nervous mood eased a little. Since the other party is not a Houjin man, but an allied country from the south, it is possible to get in touch with them and see what kind of help they can provide to Pidao. Immediately, he took Xie Li to see Shen Shikui.
Phi Island is no different than Ming's country, it is isolated overseas, and it is difficult to get aid from Ming's country for materials and military, so Phi Island has always been willing to accept foreign forces that are willing to offer help.Although the name "Haihan Kingdom" has never been heard of before, just looking at the other side's fleet parked at sea and being able to build such a large sea-going ship, at least it is quite powerful in shipping. It would be a piece of pie that fell from the sky to be able to support Phi Island with some supplies and food from time to time through the sea channel.
As for military assistance, Shen Zhixiang hasn't thought much about it yet.Even North Korea, which is close at hand, does not dare to give Pidao much apparent military assistance, let alone foreign aid from the south.
Shen Shikui was more cautious. After listening to Shen Zhixiang's introduction, he still did not believe Xie Li's unilateral statement: "Since we are friendly countries, what evidence does the special envoy have?"
Xie Li was prepared for this. Before the fleet went north to Liaodong this time, Wang Tom specially brought various announcements issued by the state capitals in the south and the Fushan County Government of Dengzhou for Haihan, in order to report to Haihan when necessary. A third party confirmed the "friendly relationship" between Haihan and Daming.Since Shen Shikui asked about this on his own initiative, Xie Li asked Sun Bing to take out these documents and show them to him.
Although Shen Shikui has been an official for many years, he has never seen so many government notices from so many places at once, so he couldn't help being a little dumbfounded at the moment.However, he was also a member of the party anyway, and he still had basic self-cultivation. He quickly recovered from the shock and checked the notices one by one.
The content of the notice is similar. It basically informs the public that there are activities of the Haihan business group in the local area, and they can trade with them or accept their employment under the supervision of the government. There are signatures and official seals of various local officials below. Its nature is obviously that the government is in Endorsement for Haihan.However, the coverage of the areas under the jurisdiction of these government offices is shocking enough. From Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and then to Zhejiang, the official seals of most of the state capitals along the coast have appeared in front of Shen Shikui. If it weren't for such a fleet at sea Shen Shikui will definitely think that the group of people in front of him are liars who forged government notices.
Of course, the most conspicuous one is the last notice from Fushan County. Although the above content is similar to other places, it is the only official document issued by the government in Shandong, and it also mentions that Haihan is assisting the government in Fushan County. The glorious deeds of defeating the bandits and arming the Wanjia army and capturing the bandit leader.And looking at the inscription above, it is only ten days ago.
For Shen Shikui, this not only means higher credibility, but more importantly, it proves that these Haihan people have settled in Shandong, and with their strong shipping capabilities, it is indeed possible to provide some assistance to Phi Island possible.The Denglai Rebellion caused Shandong to lose most of its military ships, and now the aid from Ming Dynasty is sporadic, and food is often cut off. If there is a fleet that can provide regular shipping services for Phi Island, it will really relieve Shen Shikui. It's urgent.
"Come here, show the special envoy some tea!" Shen Shikui quickly made a balance, no matter what the background of the Haihan people, as long as they can help him, they deserve to be treated with courtesy.As for whether the special envoy is a Han Chinese or a foreigner who can speak Chinese, that is a trivial matter. There is no need to get to the bottom of it at this time. The actual benefits are the most important.
"I don't know how you found Phi Island? And why did you come from the north?" After Xie Li took his seat, Shen Shikui couldn't wait to ask the question he was concerned about.Now he needs to know what the other party's motives are for coming here, is it a spontaneous act, or was entrusted by the Shandong government, and by the way, verify whether the other party's origin is still suspicious. It's better to be careful.
After the voyage from the Liaodong Peninsula to the northern part of the Yellow Sea, Xie Li had a preliminary understanding of the situation in the Liaodong region, and he could roughly understand where Shen Shikui's doubts came from, so he explained to him immediately: "Our team The fleet came from Zhejiang to the north. Originally, they hoped to build a wharf and set up a trading post in Dengzhou Prefecture. By the way, they could see if they could expand the trade route to Liaodong and North Korea. Therefore, they traveled northeast along the Liaodong coastline. We have already been to Lushun, Changshan Islands, and Zhenjiang Fort. After arriving here, we heard that there are still Ming Dynasty soldiers stationed in Phi Island, so we came here to visit. If there is anything on the island that needs our help, please Lord Shen made it clear."
Shen Shikui said: "Your side must have heard about the rebellion caused by the Kong thief in Denglai, right? After the chaos, the Shandong side was unable to take care of Dongjiang Town's supplies, and the gold thieves continued to attack and erode our Dongjiang Town area. Food and grass is indeed a big problem. The special envoy also saw that the island is full of sand and gravel, which is not suitable for growing grain. This fact is an urgent need. If you can buy grain from Daming and organize transport to Phi Island, the current predicament may be resolved .”
Xie Li thought that the other party could take the initiative to propose this plan, which would save him a lot of saliva, and he would not have to waste time and effort in persuading him. However, Haihan's help to Pi Dao would not be provided for free, and Xie Li had to figure out what the other party could do. What kind of conditions are provided for Haihan.
Immediately Xie Li asked: "Master Shen, what is the current population of this island?"
Shen Shikui did not lose his vigilance, and he also had some reservations about his answer to this question: "There are more than [-] people on the island, and there are at least one or two thousand Han Chinese who escape here from Liaodong via North Korea every month." Talking about the population of the people, but not mentioning the number of garrisons, is also deliberately keeping military secrets to avoid inadvertently exposing their strength.
Xie Li heard the reservations in Shen Shikui's words, so he didn't point it out immediately, but turned the topic back to food first: "To supply the food and grass needed by tens of thousands of mouths for a long time, I'm afraid we are beyond our capabilities!"
Shen Shikui hurriedly persuaded: "As much as you have, if there is food, fewer people will starve to death on the island."
Xie Lidao: "Master Shen also said just now that the soil on this island is not suitable for growing grain. Even if more grain is brought in from the outside world, it is only an emergency measure and cannot fundamentally solve the grain problem of Phi Island. In my opinion, This approach is not the best policy.”
Hearing this tone, Shen Shikui knew that the other party didn't stop talking, so he answered immediately: "What's the special envoy's plan, why don't you tell me."
"It's not a good strategy. It's a bit superficial, but I would like to invite adults to discuss it together." Xie Li saw that Shen Shikui was also very interested, and immediately threw out a Haihan-style solution: "It is better to block it than to block these refugees. They are kept in captivity on the island with nothing to do, so it is better to transport them to other places for resettlement, so that they can reclaim land in other places, and some of the food they produce can be fed back to Dongjiang Town. People are also saved, and the food in Dongjiang Town Supply can also solve part of the problem, wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?”
Shen Shikui sighed and said, "I don't know this truth. It's just that the Changshan Islands, which can produce grain, have been lost, and it will be difficult to find other places to resettle these refugees for a while. Originally, the Liaodong refugees could be resettled directly to Shandong. But with the massacre of the Denglai Rebellion, I'm afraid that in the next few generations, there will be no way to heal the rift."
The regional conflict Shen Shikui was referring to was the killing conflict between Shandong natives and Liaodong immigrants during the Denglai Rebellion.During the Denglei Rebellion, the number of people who died in this kind of regional conflict was at least tens of thousands.This war has completely split the sense of identity between the people of the two places. Both sides regard each other as enemies, and it is impossible to live in peace in the short term.
There are so many cumbersome refugees on Phi Island, which have been the burden of Dongjiang Town since Mao Wenlong's time. However, several governors have not been able to completely solve this problem. They can only try their best to continuously transfer refugees to islands that can produce food.However, the situation in Dongjiang Town has been unfavorable in the past year. The territory has been gradually reduced by the opponent. Most of the grain-producing islands have been lost. The situation is already quite difficult, and they are unable to resettle the refugees on the island.
In order to solve the food problem of the people on the island recently, Shen Shikui's hair has also turned gray a lot, and his sigh is not faked.Almost all the places around the Yellow Sea where refugees could be resettled were occupied by Hou Jin, and there was no way to move the people out of the island. If he hadn't taken into account the relationship between the two countries, he would have sent troops to occupy the territory of the neighboring North Korean country.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Xie Li made indirect remarks: "Master Shen, if you can nod your head, we can try to send the people on the island to the south for resettlement. From now on, their output in the south will also be collected in the form of food. Some of them were sent to Phi Island to be consumed by the Ming army.”
"South?" Shen Shikui frowned and said, "You mean south of Shandong?"
"That's right." Xie Li nodded and replied, "I, Haihan, own many islands and fertile land along the coasts of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. It’s not that big. As for the food that these people who emigrate to other places can produce in the future, we can also advance a part of it to Dongjiang Town in advance, so as to relieve the urgent need on the island.”
Shen Shikui did not respond immediately. The solution given by Xie Li was undoubtedly very attractive to him. Not only could he get rid of these "burdens" on the island in a reasonable and legal way, but also there would be continuous output in the future The return should be cost-effective in terms of benefits.Moreover, after reading so many Anmin notices just now, it seems that Haihan's influence in the south is also strong, and the credibility of the other party's ability to arrange thousands of people to settle in the south is relatively high.
"You...can you really send people to the south for resettlement?" This is the point that Shen Shikui feels most disturbed at the moment. In his opinion, Hai Han is undoubtedly asking for trouble by doing this, and sending tens of thousands of people to the south. People are sent to the south for resettlement, and part of their output is sent back to the north to supply Phi Island. This is not a good deal. These Haihan people are not Ming people. Shen Shikui doesn't understand why they would take the initiative to do this. The "sacrifice".
Xie Li had already made a record of this, and responded confidently: "We are dealing with adults for the first time, and it is normal for adults to feel uneasy about our way of operating. But this is easy to handle. As the saying goes, hearing is believing, seeing is believing. Now that we have set up a base in Zhifu Bay, Fushan County, Dengzhou, your lord only needs to send someone to visit the place to see if what we say is true or not.”
(End of this chapter)