Chapter 2379
Chapter 2379
Chapter 2379
Although Ma Cai can obtain certain privileges by virtue of his special relationship with Chen Yixin, he is only a local gentry after all, and this Zhifu Island is a heavily restricted Haihan military base, and he is not an outsider in matters on the island. meddle.He is only responsible for sending people here, as for the follow-up resettlement, the Haihan Army will take over.
After Ma Cai finished the handover, he suddenly felt relaxed. He didn't want to do this kind of errand running up and down in the cold wind in the middle of the night, but it was of no benefit. He didn't want to do it again.Hurry back to Majiazhuang at this time, and still have a good sleep before dawn.
Back to the carriage, he opened the curtain, and said to the three people waiting for news inside: "Three, I can only send you here, and the Haihan officer will come to settle you later, if you need anything, just Just explain it to the other party. When the situation outside improves, I will visit the three of you again!"
The three people in the car hurriedly thanked Ma Cai. Without Ma Cai, the middleman, to bridge the gap, it would have been impossible for them to arrive at Zhifu Island so smoothly.However, they could also hear that Ma Cai's tone was no longer as respectful as before, and even a little impatient. Sure enough, the tea was already cold before people left, and the other party no longer regarded them as superior parents and officials.
After Ma Cai left, the three of them waited in the car for a long time, but there was no movement outside, and they were warned by Ma Cai, so they dared not take the initiative to look out.Before getting into the car, they also specially told their family members not to make any noise in the car until they were greeted, but now that there was no sound outside the car, they couldn't help but feel a little worried about the family members in the other carriages.
Just when they were all shivering from the cold and began to rummage through the packed warm clothes in the car, there were finally voices outside.The person who came was Chen Yixin's secretary Zeng Xiaowen. He had been coordinating various affairs on Zhifu Island for the past two days. Why are these people suddenly going to live on the island temporarily, but Ma Cai has already shown Chen Yixin's warrant, so he can only find a way to resettle these people on the island first.
It wasn't until Zeng Xiaowen appeared that the three people in the car finally breathed a sigh of relief.Of course they recognized Zeng Xiaowen who had stayed with Chen Yixin in Fushan County for a long time. With him coming forward to receive them, it seemed that the next thing would be stable.
"The three of you have been waiting for a long time, Zeng Mou has been negligent, please also the three of you Haihan!" Zeng Xiaowen said a few polite words after asking the three of them to get off the car.
The three of them are living under the fence now, and they don't dare to put on the airs of an official anymore, thanking Zeng Xiaowen repeatedly for coming out to receive their group so late.
Zeng Xiaowen said: "To be honest, everyone came here in a hurry, and there is no time to prepare a residence on the island, so I may have to wrong you for a while."
Zhang Pucheng said: "It's okay for the three of us to wait, can Master Zeng please take the women and children to a warm place inside the house first, if we stay outside all night in this weather, I'm afraid we will suffer from the freezing."
Zeng Xiaowen said: "In this way, I can only wrong you first, and follow me to the warehouse on the island to take shelter from the wind and snow, and I can arrange for you to stay after dawn."
Although the three of Zhang Pucheng were slightly dissatisfied, they did not dare to show it in front of Zeng Xiaowen, and could only obey the other party's arrangement.Although the warehouse does not sound like much, it is better than the current situation.
Zeng Xiaowen asked his subordinates to take the three-person convoy to a warehouse not far away to stop. The three found that the place was brightly lit, and at least hundreds of people were coming in and out here, constantly carrying the materials in the warehouse to the door and stopping. on the carriage.And these carriages come in a variety of styles, including tattered carts and caravans that can only be pulled by at least two pack horses. It is obvious that these are folk carriages requisitioned from the local area a few days ago.In comparison, the carriages Ma Cai arranged for them were in pretty good condition.
Zeng Xiaowen took them to the warehouse and explained as they walked: "The convoy outside will set off with the troops later, and some barracks will be vacant at that time, and we can arrange everyone to move in."
Zeng Xiaowen’s words revealed at least two pieces of information. One is that the island is already overcrowded, and there are no vacant barracks left; It was a secret, and if Zeng Xiaowen didn't take the initiative to mention it, they naturally didn't dare to inquire about it at the risk of disrespect.
Zeng Xiaowen found an empty space in the warehouse, and asked his men to go down and get a few braziers, so that Zhang Pucheng and others could warm up around the fire to keep out the cold.He went out for a walk, brought back some hot water and food, and finally got rid of the uncomfortable chill.
Zeng Xiaowen said: "Everyone, please feel wronged here first, don't move around, so as not to cause misunderstandings. When the barracks are vacated, I will arrange everyone to move in as soon as possible."
After Zeng Xiaowen left, Huang Qu looked around and saw that there was no one watching them nearby, so he said, "Master Zhang, are we really going the right way? I think it's better to stay here than to starve and freeze here." It’s better to stay comfortably in the county town.”
Although Zhang Pucheng also felt that the current treatment was a bit bad, he would not regret his decision to leave the county seat and come to Zhifu Island. Hearing the words, he replied: "We left the county seat because we can still go now. If Shandong is really chaotic after a while Now, a large number of refugees are pouring into Fushan County, and even if you want to leave by then, you may not be able to leave. If Mr. Huang thinks that our previous decision was inappropriate, you can ask the Haihan people to send you back to the county after dawn."
Huang Qu just wanted to complain, but he didn't get dizzy, so he responded immediately: "Master Zhang is serious, I just want to vent my displeasure, how could I not be able to tell the priority?"
The three of them made such a decision, in fact, they were already prepared in their hearts that they could not go back.Even if Ma would cooperate with them to cover up their whereabouts, but the three of them were not the only ones working in the Fushan county government, and it would be natural for someone to find something wrong after a few more days.However, if Dengzhou was also affected by the war and a large number of refugees flooded into Fushan County, then probably not many people would care about their sudden disappearance.
When Han Qin saw that the two were arguing, he quickly changed the subject: "The Haihan people stationed so many soldiers on Zhifu Island without saying a word, do they really plan to take advantage of this time to make trouble?"
Zhang Pucheng shook his head and said: "If Haihan wants to make trouble, why should he take us in? Do you know what the peasant army in the Central Plains will do when they make trouble? The first thing is to capture the county government, drag officials like you and me out, and chop them up in public. To strengthen the morale of the army and boost the morale of the army. Although the Haihan people are not that barbaric, they will never waste resources to take care of us local officials who have little use value before the incident."
Among the three, Zhang Pucheng was the one who saw the situation most clearly. He couldn't help regretting that maybe he shouldn't have called Huang Qu and Han Qin, two simple-minded guys, to run away together.The ability of these two people to judge the situation is far from his, and maybe they will become a drag on his foothold in Haihan in the future.
Although the environment in the warehouse is still very difficult, but at least he can get rid of the cold, so he can make do with it.Everyone waited like this until it was dark, and finally heard the sound of bugles from outside.They didn't know that this was the wake-up call of the Haihan Barracks, but since the sound of the call sounded, Zeng Xiaowen must have appeared soon.
Sure enough, Zeng Xiaowen came soon after, saying that their luggage had been sent to their residence first, and now they can leave the warehouse.
When they walked out of the warehouse, they found that Haihan's army had already assembled not far away, and the lineup was almost all cavalry, at least hundreds of cavalry, and it seemed that they were preparing to set off from this base.Reminiscent of the large number of carriages seen last night, which were probably used to cooperate with the actions of these cavalry, everyone's faces were not very good-looking.Even Zhang Pucheng, who was sure that Haihan would not take advantage of the chaos, felt a little guilty when he saw such a scene.
Zeng Xiaowen saw that their faces were not right, so he took the initiative to explain: "These people are going to go outside the county to guide the refugees who entered Dengzhou to Fushan County, so as to ensure that there will be no troubles in this area."
Of course, this is only Zeng Xiaowen's one-sided remarks. What kind of measures the Haihan Army will take to "guide the refugees" has a lot of room for manipulation.The Ming army in Shandong had a very difficult time even coping with the Qing army's offensive. If there was another Haihan army that was stronger than the Qing army, no one would be able to stop them.Moreover, Zeng Xiaowen said that these troops are going to places outside Fushan County. If the Ming army who is not open-eyed joins them, the consequences will be unimaginable.
While talking, I saw a tall and strong Haihan officer walking over quickly, saluted Zeng Xiaowen and said, "The first battalion of the Special Operations Regiment is ready, please go!"
Zeng Xiaowen returned the military salute, and said: "Battle Commander Sun, be more careful, keep in touch, and wait for your good news!"
This officer was exactly Sun Zhen who was sent to Fushan County for reinforcements this time. After several days of preparation, his troops were finally about to embark on a mission to go out.And Zeng Xiaowen was on behalf of Chen Yixin to supervise the preparations for the battle on Zhifu Island. Before Sun Zhen set off, he had to greet him first.
Sun Zhen mounted his horse and gave the order to set off.The three of Zhang Pucheng unintentionally also witnessed the expedition of the Haihan army.
As soon as Sun Zhen set off with his troops, many barracks were naturally vacated, and finally Zhang Pucheng and others had a temporary residence.But at this time, what can affect the situation in Shandong is of course not the three people who gave up their official positions and hid in Zhifu Island to seek asylum, but the troops who have just set off from Zhifu Island.
According to the action plan formulated by the combat command, two reinforcement companies belonging to the special operations group will be sent to Zhaoyuan and Laixi respectively to set up outposts to guide refugees.Its main task is to guide refugees entering Dengzhou to Fushan County by the fastest route, and to remove obstacles that may arise during this period—for example, the Dengzhou government that prevents refugees from going to Fushan County.
After leaving Zhifu Island, the people heading for Laixi continued to head south along the Jiahe River, while the team led by Sun Zhen turned west and headed for Zhaoyuan, which is nearly two hundred miles away.
The road to Zhaoyuan is much more difficult than the marching route of the other team, and it needs to cross a large area of hills on the way. For this team carrying a lot of luggage, the speed of travel will inevitably be greatly affected. influences.Although the straight-line distance from Fushan County to Zhaoyuan is only about 160 miles from the map, considering the environment on the way, the actual distance must be at least doubled, and it will take at least three to four days to reach the destination.
The only good news is that almost all the garrisons in Dengzhou have been transferred to the direction of Jinan Prefecture. There should not be many Ming troops left in Dengzhou, and most of the few armed personnel are only stationed in various cities. Then divide the troops and move to places that are too far away from the city.Therefore, on their way to Zhaoyuan County, the possibility of bumping into the Ming army should be very small.
However, the speed at which refugees flocked to Fushan County seemed to be faster than the headquarters expected.On the afternoon of the day when Sun Zhen led his troops to set off, the troops were still in Fushan County, and they encountered a fleeing team of about four to fifty people.
Sun Zhen intercepted this group of refugees and asked them carefully about their background and itinerary.It turned out that these people came from Zichuan County, Jinan Prefecture, which is the Zibo area in later generations.Although the local area is still more than a hundred miles away from Jinan City, it was also attacked by the Qing army. Those who ran fast first fled into the mountains and forests to the south of Zichuan, and then fled all the way west.Those who run slowly will inevitably be taken away by the Qing army, and they will probably be taken outside the pass as slaves.
The food that these refugees brought from their homes has long been exhausted, and they can only beg for food along the way, but in such troubled times, with tens of thousands of refugees escaping from Jinan Prefecture, how many people can still provide food for relief? Therefore, many people fell on the way to escape because of hunger and disease.These people who can make it to Fushan County are either of excellent physical fitness, able to endure hunger and fatigue, or they are from relatively well-to-do families. When they fled their homes, they also brought a lot of property besides food. Buy some food at a high price to linger.
But even so, the people Sun Zhen saw were all sallow, emaciated, and disheveled, and they probably wouldn't last long.
"Then you continue to walk eastward along the official road in front of you. When you reach the place where there is a village in front of you, ask for the direction of Ming Ma's Village. When you get there, someone will naturally settle you down, and you will be able to take care of food and lodging. Remember not to make trouble on the road. Otherwise, you will be treated as a bandit, and you will be beheaded!"
After Sun Zhen inquired about the news, he pointed out the direction for these refugees to go to the refugee camp.He looked at these refugees kneeling on the ground to thank him, as if he saw himself on the way to escape a few years ago.At the moment, he couldn't help but secretly sighed. After all these years, Shandong was still prone to chaos, and Haihan was the one who could save the situation. It seemed that nothing had changed. Fortunately, he already had a certain ability. We can save more people who were affected by the flames of war.
(End of this chapter)
Although Ma Cai can obtain certain privileges by virtue of his special relationship with Chen Yixin, he is only a local gentry after all, and this Zhifu Island is a heavily restricted Haihan military base, and he is not an outsider in matters on the island. meddle.He is only responsible for sending people here, as for the follow-up resettlement, the Haihan Army will take over.
After Ma Cai finished the handover, he suddenly felt relaxed. He didn't want to do this kind of errand running up and down in the cold wind in the middle of the night, but it was of no benefit. He didn't want to do it again.Hurry back to Majiazhuang at this time, and still have a good sleep before dawn.
Back to the carriage, he opened the curtain, and said to the three people waiting for news inside: "Three, I can only send you here, and the Haihan officer will come to settle you later, if you need anything, just Just explain it to the other party. When the situation outside improves, I will visit the three of you again!"
The three people in the car hurriedly thanked Ma Cai. Without Ma Cai, the middleman, to bridge the gap, it would have been impossible for them to arrive at Zhifu Island so smoothly.However, they could also hear that Ma Cai's tone was no longer as respectful as before, and even a little impatient. Sure enough, the tea was already cold before people left, and the other party no longer regarded them as superior parents and officials.
After Ma Cai left, the three of them waited in the car for a long time, but there was no movement outside, and they were warned by Ma Cai, so they dared not take the initiative to look out.Before getting into the car, they also specially told their family members not to make any noise in the car until they were greeted, but now that there was no sound outside the car, they couldn't help but feel a little worried about the family members in the other carriages.
Just when they were all shivering from the cold and began to rummage through the packed warm clothes in the car, there were finally voices outside.The person who came was Chen Yixin's secretary Zeng Xiaowen. He had been coordinating various affairs on Zhifu Island for the past two days. Why are these people suddenly going to live on the island temporarily, but Ma Cai has already shown Chen Yixin's warrant, so he can only find a way to resettle these people on the island first.
It wasn't until Zeng Xiaowen appeared that the three people in the car finally breathed a sigh of relief.Of course they recognized Zeng Xiaowen who had stayed with Chen Yixin in Fushan County for a long time. With him coming forward to receive them, it seemed that the next thing would be stable.
"The three of you have been waiting for a long time, Zeng Mou has been negligent, please also the three of you Haihan!" Zeng Xiaowen said a few polite words after asking the three of them to get off the car.
The three of them are living under the fence now, and they don't dare to put on the airs of an official anymore, thanking Zeng Xiaowen repeatedly for coming out to receive their group so late.
Zeng Xiaowen said: "To be honest, everyone came here in a hurry, and there is no time to prepare a residence on the island, so I may have to wrong you for a while."
Zhang Pucheng said: "It's okay for the three of us to wait, can Master Zeng please take the women and children to a warm place inside the house first, if we stay outside all night in this weather, I'm afraid we will suffer from the freezing."
Zeng Xiaowen said: "In this way, I can only wrong you first, and follow me to the warehouse on the island to take shelter from the wind and snow, and I can arrange for you to stay after dawn."
Although the three of Zhang Pucheng were slightly dissatisfied, they did not dare to show it in front of Zeng Xiaowen, and could only obey the other party's arrangement.Although the warehouse does not sound like much, it is better than the current situation.
Zeng Xiaowen asked his subordinates to take the three-person convoy to a warehouse not far away to stop. The three found that the place was brightly lit, and at least hundreds of people were coming in and out here, constantly carrying the materials in the warehouse to the door and stopping. on the carriage.And these carriages come in a variety of styles, including tattered carts and caravans that can only be pulled by at least two pack horses. It is obvious that these are folk carriages requisitioned from the local area a few days ago.In comparison, the carriages Ma Cai arranged for them were in pretty good condition.
Zeng Xiaowen took them to the warehouse and explained as they walked: "The convoy outside will set off with the troops later, and some barracks will be vacant at that time, and we can arrange everyone to move in."
Zeng Xiaowen’s words revealed at least two pieces of information. One is that the island is already overcrowded, and there are no vacant barracks left; It was a secret, and if Zeng Xiaowen didn't take the initiative to mention it, they naturally didn't dare to inquire about it at the risk of disrespect.
Zeng Xiaowen found an empty space in the warehouse, and asked his men to go down and get a few braziers, so that Zhang Pucheng and others could warm up around the fire to keep out the cold.He went out for a walk, brought back some hot water and food, and finally got rid of the uncomfortable chill.
Zeng Xiaowen said: "Everyone, please feel wronged here first, don't move around, so as not to cause misunderstandings. When the barracks are vacated, I will arrange everyone to move in as soon as possible."
After Zeng Xiaowen left, Huang Qu looked around and saw that there was no one watching them nearby, so he said, "Master Zhang, are we really going the right way? I think it's better to stay here than to starve and freeze here." It’s better to stay comfortably in the county town.”
Although Zhang Pucheng also felt that the current treatment was a bit bad, he would not regret his decision to leave the county seat and come to Zhifu Island. Hearing the words, he replied: "We left the county seat because we can still go now. If Shandong is really chaotic after a while Now, a large number of refugees are pouring into Fushan County, and even if you want to leave by then, you may not be able to leave. If Mr. Huang thinks that our previous decision was inappropriate, you can ask the Haihan people to send you back to the county after dawn."
Huang Qu just wanted to complain, but he didn't get dizzy, so he responded immediately: "Master Zhang is serious, I just want to vent my displeasure, how could I not be able to tell the priority?"
The three of them made such a decision, in fact, they were already prepared in their hearts that they could not go back.Even if Ma would cooperate with them to cover up their whereabouts, but the three of them were not the only ones working in the Fushan county government, and it would be natural for someone to find something wrong after a few more days.However, if Dengzhou was also affected by the war and a large number of refugees flooded into Fushan County, then probably not many people would care about their sudden disappearance.
When Han Qin saw that the two were arguing, he quickly changed the subject: "The Haihan people stationed so many soldiers on Zhifu Island without saying a word, do they really plan to take advantage of this time to make trouble?"
Zhang Pucheng shook his head and said: "If Haihan wants to make trouble, why should he take us in? Do you know what the peasant army in the Central Plains will do when they make trouble? The first thing is to capture the county government, drag officials like you and me out, and chop them up in public. To strengthen the morale of the army and boost the morale of the army. Although the Haihan people are not that barbaric, they will never waste resources to take care of us local officials who have little use value before the incident."
Among the three, Zhang Pucheng was the one who saw the situation most clearly. He couldn't help regretting that maybe he shouldn't have called Huang Qu and Han Qin, two simple-minded guys, to run away together.The ability of these two people to judge the situation is far from his, and maybe they will become a drag on his foothold in Haihan in the future.
Although the environment in the warehouse is still very difficult, but at least he can get rid of the cold, so he can make do with it.Everyone waited like this until it was dark, and finally heard the sound of bugles from outside.They didn't know that this was the wake-up call of the Haihan Barracks, but since the sound of the call sounded, Zeng Xiaowen must have appeared soon.
Sure enough, Zeng Xiaowen came soon after, saying that their luggage had been sent to their residence first, and now they can leave the warehouse.
When they walked out of the warehouse, they found that Haihan's army had already assembled not far away, and the lineup was almost all cavalry, at least hundreds of cavalry, and it seemed that they were preparing to set off from this base.Reminiscent of the large number of carriages seen last night, which were probably used to cooperate with the actions of these cavalry, everyone's faces were not very good-looking.Even Zhang Pucheng, who was sure that Haihan would not take advantage of the chaos, felt a little guilty when he saw such a scene.
Zeng Xiaowen saw that their faces were not right, so he took the initiative to explain: "These people are going to go outside the county to guide the refugees who entered Dengzhou to Fushan County, so as to ensure that there will be no troubles in this area."
Of course, this is only Zeng Xiaowen's one-sided remarks. What kind of measures the Haihan Army will take to "guide the refugees" has a lot of room for manipulation.The Ming army in Shandong had a very difficult time even coping with the Qing army's offensive. If there was another Haihan army that was stronger than the Qing army, no one would be able to stop them.Moreover, Zeng Xiaowen said that these troops are going to places outside Fushan County. If the Ming army who is not open-eyed joins them, the consequences will be unimaginable.
While talking, I saw a tall and strong Haihan officer walking over quickly, saluted Zeng Xiaowen and said, "The first battalion of the Special Operations Regiment is ready, please go!"
Zeng Xiaowen returned the military salute, and said: "Battle Commander Sun, be more careful, keep in touch, and wait for your good news!"
This officer was exactly Sun Zhen who was sent to Fushan County for reinforcements this time. After several days of preparation, his troops were finally about to embark on a mission to go out.And Zeng Xiaowen was on behalf of Chen Yixin to supervise the preparations for the battle on Zhifu Island. Before Sun Zhen set off, he had to greet him first.
Sun Zhen mounted his horse and gave the order to set off.The three of Zhang Pucheng unintentionally also witnessed the expedition of the Haihan army.
As soon as Sun Zhen set off with his troops, many barracks were naturally vacated, and finally Zhang Pucheng and others had a temporary residence.But at this time, what can affect the situation in Shandong is of course not the three people who gave up their official positions and hid in Zhifu Island to seek asylum, but the troops who have just set off from Zhifu Island.
According to the action plan formulated by the combat command, two reinforcement companies belonging to the special operations group will be sent to Zhaoyuan and Laixi respectively to set up outposts to guide refugees.Its main task is to guide refugees entering Dengzhou to Fushan County by the fastest route, and to remove obstacles that may arise during this period—for example, the Dengzhou government that prevents refugees from going to Fushan County.
After leaving Zhifu Island, the people heading for Laixi continued to head south along the Jiahe River, while the team led by Sun Zhen turned west and headed for Zhaoyuan, which is nearly two hundred miles away.
The road to Zhaoyuan is much more difficult than the marching route of the other team, and it needs to cross a large area of hills on the way. For this team carrying a lot of luggage, the speed of travel will inevitably be greatly affected. influences.Although the straight-line distance from Fushan County to Zhaoyuan is only about 160 miles from the map, considering the environment on the way, the actual distance must be at least doubled, and it will take at least three to four days to reach the destination.
The only good news is that almost all the garrisons in Dengzhou have been transferred to the direction of Jinan Prefecture. There should not be many Ming troops left in Dengzhou, and most of the few armed personnel are only stationed in various cities. Then divide the troops and move to places that are too far away from the city.Therefore, on their way to Zhaoyuan County, the possibility of bumping into the Ming army should be very small.
However, the speed at which refugees flocked to Fushan County seemed to be faster than the headquarters expected.On the afternoon of the day when Sun Zhen led his troops to set off, the troops were still in Fushan County, and they encountered a fleeing team of about four to fifty people.
Sun Zhen intercepted this group of refugees and asked them carefully about their background and itinerary.It turned out that these people came from Zichuan County, Jinan Prefecture, which is the Zibo area in later generations.Although the local area is still more than a hundred miles away from Jinan City, it was also attacked by the Qing army. Those who ran fast first fled into the mountains and forests to the south of Zichuan, and then fled all the way west.Those who run slowly will inevitably be taken away by the Qing army, and they will probably be taken outside the pass as slaves.
The food that these refugees brought from their homes has long been exhausted, and they can only beg for food along the way, but in such troubled times, with tens of thousands of refugees escaping from Jinan Prefecture, how many people can still provide food for relief? Therefore, many people fell on the way to escape because of hunger and disease.These people who can make it to Fushan County are either of excellent physical fitness, able to endure hunger and fatigue, or they are from relatively well-to-do families. When they fled their homes, they also brought a lot of property besides food. Buy some food at a high price to linger.
But even so, the people Sun Zhen saw were all sallow, emaciated, and disheveled, and they probably wouldn't last long.
"Then you continue to walk eastward along the official road in front of you. When you reach the place where there is a village in front of you, ask for the direction of Ming Ma's Village. When you get there, someone will naturally settle you down, and you will be able to take care of food and lodging. Remember not to make trouble on the road. Otherwise, you will be treated as a bandit, and you will be beheaded!"
After Sun Zhen inquired about the news, he pointed out the direction for these refugees to go to the refugee camp.He looked at these refugees kneeling on the ground to thank him, as if he saw himself on the way to escape a few years ago.At the moment, he couldn't help but secretly sighed. After all these years, Shandong was still prone to chaos, and Haihan was the one who could save the situation. It seemed that nothing had changed. Fortunately, he already had a certain ability. We can save more people who were affected by the flames of war.
(End of this chapter)