Chapter 3597
Chapter 3597
Chapter 3597
Although Hai Han took the initiative to suspend military operations in the direction of Nanjing, the aftermath of this action has not subsided. In fact, the impact of this action within the Ming Dynasty has even exceeded Shi Chengwu's expectations.
Just five days after Hezhou changed its owner, the local magistrate Gan Kaidong of Chao County, Luzhou Prefecture, which was adjacent to Hezhou, actually took the initiative to contact Shi Chengwu, who was still in Hezhou, and said that he was willing to surrender the city and let Hai Han take over Chao County.
Shi Chengwu was also shocked when he received the news. After occupying Hezhou, he had no plans to continue attacking the surrounding areas. Even in Hanshan County, which was under the jurisdiction of Hezhou, only yesterday did an infantry company enter the county seat and complete the actual control of the area.
The Hai Han army did not show any intention of attacking Chao County, but the other side took the initiative to invite the Hai Han army to take over Chao County. This situation seemed to have never occurred in the past dealings with the Ming Dynasty.
Shi Chengwu was worried that there was a trick, but he was unwilling to refuse such a good thing that was delivered to his door. After all, after taking Chao County, large ships could sail directly from the Yangtze River to Chao Lake through the Yuxi River in Chao County.
The capital of Luzhou Prefecture is located on the northwest shore of Chaohu Lake. It will be completely within the range of the Hai Han Navy's troop deployment, and the difficulty of attacking the local area will be greatly reduced.
Of course, what is more important is that if this voluntary surrender is true, the imitation and chain effects it will cause will be difficult to estimate, and perhaps other places will follow suit in the future.
Shi Chengwu did not dare to neglect it and personally rushed to Hanshan County overnight to meet the secret envoy sent by the other party. According to the identity of the envoy, he was the legal advisor of Gan Kaidong, the magistrate of Chao County.
In addition to being a county government aide, this legal advisor named Xie Feisheng also had a special background. Fifteen years ago, he studied in a certain academy in Danzhou, Hainan for two years as a student of the Ming Dynasty.
This means that Xie Feisheng can be considered an international student who has received higher education in Hai Han.
Given the situation in Hai Han at the time, a scholar with a good reputation like Xie Feisheng could at least get an official position as long as he was willing to stay in Hai Han.
However, after completing his studies in Hai Han, he did not stay there to develop for various reasons, but returned to Ming Dynasty.
But after Xie Feisheng returned to Ming Dynasty, he slowly discovered that what he had learned in Hai Han was not applicable to the imperial examinations of Ming Dynasty. Therefore, although he took the imperial examinations many times afterwards, he ultimately failed to make any progress and could only work as a senior worker in the county government to make a living.
After listening to his account of his past experiences, Shi Chengwu had roughly guessed what had happened in Chao County.
With Xie Feisheng's understanding of Hai Han, he certainly knew that there had been a huge change in the comparison of the two countries' national strength. Places like Chao County would change hands sooner or later, so it was reasonable to make plans early.
Shi Chengwu asked: "In that case, you must have managed to persuade the county magistrate to surrender to our country?"
Xie Feisheng was not greedy for credit, and bowed and replied: "In fact, County Magistrate Gan has long admired your country, but Chao County is located in the inland and has few exchanges with your country, so he has never had the opportunity to visit Hangzhou to meet you gentlemen. General Shi's troops did not commit any crimes in Hezhou, and his reputation has long spread to Chao County. With a little persuasion from me, the county magistrate decided to follow the trend to ensure the safety of the people of Chao County."
Shi Chengwu smiled and praised Xie Feisheng and his superiors generously for their broad-mindedness. Shi Chengwu had come into contact with many officials who had surrendered recently, and had heard a lot of such polite words, so he naturally would not believe all of Xie Feisheng's words. He had not even prepared to march into Luzhou, but County Magistrate Gan had taken the initiative to surrender. What did this have to do with the safety of the people in Chao County?
He simply wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of Hai Han's expansion to exchange Chao County for some credit, and then change his allegiance and serve Hai Han in the future, and most likely continue to be a small local official.
However, Shi Chengwu would certainly not reveal this fact. As long as he was willing to surrender, Hai Han would naturally treat him with courtesy and it would not be difficult to arrange an official position for him.
But Shi Chengwu still didn't dare to believe Xie Feisheng's words about what the situation was like in Chao County. He specifically asked the other party whether the county magistrate Gan Kaidong could fully control the situation in Chao County, how many Ming troops were stationed there, and whether there were any uncontrollable variables.
Only after the other party introduced the situation one by one did Shi Chengwu calm down a little.
Luzhou Prefecture had no intention of turning Chao County into a frontline position against Hai Han, so only a battalion of garrison soldiers was symbolically stationed there, one-third of which were vacant. Naturally, there was not much combat effectiveness.
As for the county government, it was full of Magistrate Gan's trusted followers. They were all of the same mind, and no one would cause trouble at this critical juncture.
Since the matter has been settled, there is no need to rush. Shi Chengwu asked Xie Feisheng to send the message back first, and after dealing with the political affairs of Hezhou in a few days, he would lead his troops to take over Chao County.
After sending Xie Feisheng away, Shi Chengwu couldn't help but feel a little emotional. This operation hardly involved any large-scale combat, and all the places were captured without bloodshed. All the preparations he had made before the operation and the difficult situations he had imagined had not occurred. He was happy but also a little disappointed. His military achievements would be greatly reduced because of this.
Two days later, a secret telegram from the Military Intelligence Bureau came from Hangzhou. After Shi Chengwu met with Xie Feisheng, he reported the situation in Chao County to Hangzhou, and then the Military Intelligence Bureau immediately contacted Danzhou to verify Xie Feisheng's study in Danzhou that year.
This task was handled by the Military Intelligence Bureau, so the efficiency was naturally high. They quickly found the archives of the academy and even found the lecturer who had taught Xie Feisheng, basically confirming what Xie Feisheng had said.
Three days later, Chao County completed the transfer of administrative power in a very low-key manner and was thus incorporated into the territory of Hai Han.
After the county magistrate Gan Kaidong handed over his official seal to Shi Chengwu, he was immediately appointed as the head of the Chao County Management Committee, temporarily managing local government affairs. The entire county government staff was also basically retained as is.
This is not because Shi Chengwu is lazy and does not want to change people, but because Nanjing's talent pool is no longer sufficient. After successively managing several prefectures and counties, Nanjing can no longer spare suitable candidates to Chao County, so it can only temporarily use the old team to stabilize the situation in the county.
It is still unknown what Gan Kaidong's ability is, but with aides like Xie Feisheng by his side, it should not be a problem for him to govern a county. Shi Chengwu decided to keep him for a period of observation, and if he is not suitable, he will transfer someone from the East China Sea region.
However, this forced retention served as a model invisibly. After the news spread, people in nearby counties and prefectures began to imitate Chao County's practice and quietly sent people to contact Shi Chengwu to consult about voluntarily surrendering.