Chapter 3579
Chapter 3579
Chapter 3579
Tao Hongfang and Shi Chengwu, one a civil official and the other a military official, held the military and political power of Yingtian Prefecture. Since this task was personally supervised by the two of them, Qin Jian naturally did not dare to neglect it. After receiving the order, he put down the work at hand and took a carriage out of the city to Yanziji Wharf in the north of the city.
Tao Hongfang had indeed chosen the right person to hand this task to Qin Jian. Qin Jian had been working at Yanziji Wharf for half his life and was very familiar with the local environment. Moreover, since he had been promoted by Hai Han last year, he had gradually replaced all the key positions at Yanziji Wharf with his disciples, relatives and friends.
It is no exaggeration to say that the effect of Qin Jian giving orders at Yanziji Wharf might even be better than if Tao Hongfang had gone there in person.
After Qin Jian arrived at the place, he immediately summoned the dock manager, foreman, and representatives sent by several large shipping companies, and began to deploy the work of adjusting the dock berths.
Although Tao Hongfang's instructions were simple, the specific implementation process was actually quite cumbersome and required coordination of various aspects. Not only did they have to move some of the ships currently moored at the wharf to free up berths, but they also had to arrange the subsequent berthing order so that the passenger and freight business of Yanziji Wharf could operate normally.
Fortunately, after Hai Han took over Yanziji Wharf last year, it has become a dual-use military and civilian wharf, and has formulated multiple plans for adjusting berths in wartime. Such temporary adjustments now have a basis to rely on, and no major chaos will occur.
In accordance with Tao Hongfang's request, Qin Jian cleared eight berths, four large and four small, at Yanziji Wharf as the berthing area for the East China Sea Fleet.
Tao Hongfang's order did not specify how many warships would arrive, so Qin Jian could only reserve eight berths according to the navy's combat fleet organization. If the side-by-side parallel berthing method was adopted, these eight berths would actually be enough to park more than a dozen ships.
As for the corresponding barracks arrangements, this is actually simpler than freeing up berths.
A large number of new warehouses have been built at Yanziji Wharf in the past year. In addition to the basic cargo storage function, some of the warehouses can also be converted into facilities such as barracks or field hospitals in wartime. The currently vacant warehouses can be converted into barracks for 2,000 people, and can be handed over to the military for use after only some cleaning work.
In addition, some supporting facilities also need to be prepared immediately, such as public bathrooms, canteens, office areas, etc.
Although these facilities already existed at Yanziji Wharf, if there were two thousand more permanent residents here, it would be very likely that the public facilities would exceed their usage limit, so it would be necessary to make arrangements in advance.
"Everyone, this mission was entrusted to me personally by Lords Tao and Shi. There can be no mistakes. If it is done well, everyone will be credited. If it is not done well, everyone will be in trouble. Everyone should pay more attention and cooperate with each other. Don't mess up this mission!"
"Also, this matter involves military deployment, so don't try to find out what you shouldn't know. I don't need to explain what the crime of leaking military intelligence is, right? Everyone, keep your mouth shut, don't discuss it with outsiders, and don't let your subordinates know too much."
After Qin Jian finished speaking, everyone present agreed and did not dare to raise any objections.
Although this kind of job does not make much money, it is not an ordinary business and you must be 100% focused on it. If there is any problem in any link, you may be punished.
In the following days, after a lot of chaos at Yanziji Wharf, they finally completed the arrangements required by Shi Chengwu before the arrival of the East China Sea Fleet. Shi Chengwu returned from Hangzhou and arrived in Nanjing half a day later than the East China Sea Fleet. When he saw the fleet already docked at the wharf, he realized that the scale of the troops his father had mobilized this time was far beyond his expectations.
The fleet that arrived in Nanjing consisted of fourteen large and small warships, including two Majestic-class battleships, as well as ten logistical vessels such as troop transports and supply ships, carrying more than 2,400 naval personnel.
If the inland armed fleet stationed in Nanjing is added, the surface armed forces currently gathered here should be enough to wipe out all existing Ming navy forces in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
If, as Shi Diwen said, this is only used to perform patrol missions on the Yangtze River, it would indeed be a bit of an overkill.
However, Nanjing has such an extra force out of thin air. Even if it is not dispatched to carry out missions, the required logistical support will incur considerable expenses, which will also be a considerable burden for the Nanjing Management Committee, which is not in a good financial situation.
Before launching the next round of offensive against the Ming Dynasty, such an armed fleet would certainly not be able to be stationed in Nanjing for a long time, so Shi Chengwu must also seize the time and use this fleet to deter the Ming Dynasty, and it would be best if he could take this opportunity to gain some military merits.
Although the local departments had kept their reception preparations relatively secret, the arrival of such a large fleet could not be hidden in any way, and starting in the morning, people who had heard the news rushed to the north of the city to watch.
The area where the East China Sea Fleet was docked had been designated as a military restricted area in advance. Since the onlookers could not get close, they wanted to go to a high place with a wide view nearby. Those who had money and free time simply hired a boat to sail to the nearby river to watch the excitement.
By the time Shi Chengwu and his party arrived at Yanziji, the nearby hills were already densely packed with onlookers, probably numbering several thousand people.
When everyone saw this fleet appear in Yanziji, their first reaction was to think of war.
The scene of the Hai Han army besieging Nanjing last year once again surfaced in many people's minds. However, most people also understood that Nanjing was already Hai Han's territory at this time, and the target of this fleet would definitely not be them.
As for who would be the unlucky person targeted by this fleet, basically everyone tacitly chose the same answer. I just wonder if the people on the other side of the Yangtze River were jumping with anxiety when they saw this fleet appear at Yanziji Wharf.
The first person to feel the change in the other side's attitude was probably Tao Hongfang.
The fleet arrived at Yanziji in the morning, and someone came to visit Tao Hongfang at noon. The visitor was a big businessman from Chuzhou on the other side of the Yangtze River. He often traveled back and forth between the two sides of the Yangtze River under the pretext of doing business. He had dealt with Tao Hongfang many times and had a personal relationship with him.
His purpose in visiting Tao Hongfang was very clear, which was to find out whether Hai Han's sudden increase in troops and assembly of the fleet at Yanziji Wharf was a sign of its intention to tear up the armistice agreement again.