April 11, 1629, Luhuitou Peninsula, Sanya, immigration isolation camp.

Four queues more than 10 feet long lined up outside the camp gates, and at the end of the queue was a food distribution point under a canopy. Everyone had to wait in a straight line with lime powder on the ground, and if anyone tried to cut the queue or deliberately disturbed the queue, the camp guards with short black sticks would soon come to maintain order, and those who did not comply would be beaten in the face. If they are not convinced, they will be dragged out of the queue and thrown into another camp a hundred feet away, a hard labor camp. If you enter that place, you will have to serve 30 days of hard labor at the earliest before you have a chance to come out.

The security guards who maintain order in the quarantine camps are different from the official Haihan police, who are simply selected from the reserve militia and serve here at different times to alleviate the shortage of police in the judiciary. Most of these people have their own jobs, just working part-time here during non-working hours to earn an extra income, although they are not very combative, but the wooden batons and copper whistles distributed are enough to deal with these unarmed immigrants.

Ruan Jinggui was holding a large porcelain bowl with a diameter of eight inches in his hand, and at this time he was also honestly standing in the queue waiting for the round. This kind of big bowl that is worth a few copper plates at most does not even have the usual decorative patterns on it, there are eight Chinese characters on the wall of the bowl, "save food, waste shame", and the bottom of the bowl also has the seal of "Shengli Port Ceramics Factory", and the chopsticks are only very ordinary bamboo chopsticks. Bowls and chopsticks were distributed according to the head when they were stationed in the immigration isolation camp, if they were placed in the past, this kind of road goods Ruan Jinggui probably wouldn't even look at it much, but everything here must be done by yourself, if there are no dishes and chopsticks, then you will not even have to eat.

Although Ruan Jinggui did not enter the officialdom when he was in Annam, he was also a nobleman, and he was served by people every day after opening his eyes, and he had never had the experience of queuing up with a bowl and waiting for food after living for decades. When he came here as an envoy to the peace talks last year, Nguyen Ching Gui also received the diplomatic treatment that an envoy deserved. The Haihan people even sent someone to take care of his affairs. However, when he came to the area under the rule of the Haihan people again this time, the situation was no longer what it used to be, and there was indeed a certain psychological gap for him.

Before leaving Annan, Ruan Jinggui had very direct exchanges with Yan Chujie, Wang Tom and other high-level Haihan personnel, and at that time, Yan Chujie also made some promises to him in terms of similar treatment, guaranteeing that he would still engage in commercial and trade activities in the future, and also choose whether to join the commercial department under the Haihan Executive Committee. Ruan Jinggui knew that this was actually a disguised recruitment. For a party like him who has lost the country and is leading the way, it is actually quite a good ending to get such a way out. So he agreed without hesitation, and came here with his family on Haihan's big boat.

However, upon arrival, the promises made by the Haihan were not fulfilled immediately, and he and his family were sent to the men's camp, the women's camp, and the children's camp. When he came last year, he learned that Haihan people had this rule for new immigrants, but he didn't expect that he would one day enjoy such treatment. According to the immigration officer's explanation, all new arrivals must go through a seven-to-fourteen-day quarantine period in the camp to ensure that they have no hidden illnesses before they are allowed to live in the city. Although Nguyen Ching Gui's group of immigrants from South Vietnam has a special status, they also have to check in according to this rule. And to be on the safe side. During their stay in the camp, except for a small change of clothes, all their luggage had to be handed over to the Immigration Administration Bureau under the Ministry of Civil Affairs for inspection and safekeeping.

Most of these South Vietnamese immigrants were from powerful families, and they also brought some belongings with them when they came, so they naturally did not feel at ease to hand them over to the Haihan people, so they also had a quarrel with the management of the camp, and they were almost dragged out and sent to the hard labor camp. In the end, Ruan Jinggui, who was more familiar with the people of Haihan, came out to settle the dispute. His reason for persuading his companions was also very simple: if the Haihan people really wanted to rob your property, they would have already robbed it in Hue, and there was no need to wait until now to do so. Besides, after the repeated squeezing of the Haihan people, there is actually not much valuable property around them, can that money be more expensive than their own life?

The accommodation conditions in the quarantine camps are not ideal, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. Background, all of them live in boat-shaped houses with uniform regulations. The men's camp is a room of ten people, and there are more people in Ruan Jinggui and their group, so they live with Ruan clansmen, and Ruan Jinggui is also appointed as a temporary dormitory chief because of his status, responsible for counting the number of people every night, organizing the dormitory staff to listen to the policy lecture in the afternoon and so on.

Although the bamboo planks in the dormitory ** are not comfortable to sleep on. But in the eyes of these immigrants from South Vietnam, it was better than living in Hue City, where artillery roared every day. From the end of February when the Hai Han militia began to attack Hue City to the end of March when the city was captured, these people hardly slept a single night. Not far from the camp is the army station of the Haihan militia, and every day you can hear the movement of the soldiers in the barracks shouting and shouting, and you can see the Haihan warships cruising on the nearby sea in the morning and evening, and under the strong force of the militia under the escort, it simply makes these new immigrants who have just left the battlefield feel a sense of security.

Although the migrants have not been assigned work for the time being, their daily hours are still very full. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the ** number will be heard, and everyone must meet outside the dormitory for roll call, and those who do not show up for no reason will be subjected to different corporal punishments.

Breakfast is served at eight o'clock and ends at nine o'clock, and if you want to get some sleep, you will have to stay hungry until the afternoon. Because the immigrants were not given physical labor, the camp only served two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening, consisting of rice porridge and seasonal vegetables, and once every other day with a dish, the local salted fish. This kind of food is enough for the poor people who come here to survive, but it is a little difficult for nobles like Ruan Jinggui to swallow. Especially when he recalled the various Haihan delicacies he had tasted when he was here last year, he felt that the contrast in treatment was too great.

After breakfast, the administrators will ask the immigrants from each dormitory to gather and go to the square at the entrance of the camp to give a big lesson on learning Haihan Mandarin. Immigrants from different regions with different accents practiced everyday phrases over and over again following the sound coming out of the loudspeakers.

"Hello Chief!" "Report to the Chief!" "Serve the Executive Committee!" "Please wait in line!"

Although they may not fully understand the meaning of these words, the vast majority of people will honestly learn and memorize these everyday phrases. In the future, they will have to make a living under the rule of the Haihan Executive Committee, which is one of the survival skills that must be mastered. Immigrants from the Ming and North Vietnamese regions had a better foundation in this area and learned more quickly, but the accent in the South Vietnamese region was more Malay. It will be more difficult to change language habits. Fortunately, people from aristocratic backgrounds like Ruan Jinggui have generally studied Chinese culture systematically, and many people can speak Mandarin with a Liangguang accent, and it is not particularly difficult to learn Haihan Mandarin now.

This language class lasts until noon, followed by a two-hour break. At two o'clock in the afternoon, everyone had to gather again to listen to the civil affairs cadres explain the local immigration policy. The course is also very important for immigrants who intend to settle here for a long time, because the civil affairs cadres have already made it clear at the beginning of the course. The laws and regulations here are different from those in Daming, Annan or other places, and they are law-abiding. It is a place to live happily, but if you do not understand or follow the rules set by the Executive Committee, those who violate the rules will be sentenced to a long prison sentence in a hard labor camp.

Of course, this course is not only about the immigration policy, but also about all aspects of the future life of immigrants here. In particular, immigrants are very concerned about personal property, land system, housing, education, etc., so they can get a deeper understanding from this course. There are many things that Ruan Jinggui didn't know when he came last time, but he heard very detailed explanations and explanations here.

Immediately after the end of the quarantine period, immigrants are assigned a place of work and residence, and only after a one-month internship can they apply to the civil affairs department for better treatment of naturalization. However, the domicile of a naturalized citizen cannot be obtained after application. In the same way, there is a certain degree of competitiveness, and only those who are good at work, or who have special skills, are more likely to obtain the pass guò as soon as possible.

Of course, special personnel like Ruan Jinggui don't need to worry about this, because the Haihan people have already explained that as long as he chooses to work in the commercial department under the Executive Committee, then he will immediately obtain the nationality of the naturalized people. And as long as it is a person who has been assigned to work in advance. As long as they obey the assignment after the quarantine period is over, they can get such treatment, for example, his younger brother Nguyen Van Van was assigned to the police department under the Ministry of Justice, which is said to be related to the post of Hue City Defense Commander and Staff General that Nguyen Van Van once held.

Only after obtaining naturalized citizenship can one receive some corresponding treatment in the areas under the administration of the Executive Committee. For example, free schooling for children, the purchase of affordable housing, medical insurance, etc., these are all opportunities that non-naturalized people have to spend a lot of money to enjoy. Of course, the most important thing is. If you want to get a promotion in the social system of Haihan, the first condition is to have the origin of the naturalized people, otherwise no matter how big your ability is, no matter how rich you are, it will be in vain. Those who wanted to eat their old books as a public chose to go to Guangzhou, and these Ruan clansmen who settled in the areas under the rule of Haihan naturally had the intention of mixing up their personal appearance, so obtaining naturalized citizenship was also a necessary step for them.

However, the provisions related to Haihan's civil affairs policy are too complicated, and Ruan Jinggui has been listening to the lecture for three days in a row. But it is said that even half of it has not been talked about, and those who have a poor memory may have forgotten what they said in the previous days.

And the most interesting time of the day is the literary and artistic promotion session after the course. In this link, there are some local operas with Guangxi characteristics arranged by the propaganda department, and the content is, of course, to publicize the local civil affairs and people's feelings, and to shape the lofty image of the Executive Committee and the happy life of the people under its rule. For the general public, the performances of these forms of music are naturally more interesting than the dull courses. After babbling and singing for a while, there will be early veterans who will come to the stage to give speeches, and these specially selected naturalized people are all articulate, and after being trained by the propaganda department, they have also mastered certain oratorical skills, coupled with their personal experience and choreographed speeches, the effect on the sentiment of new immigrants is quite good.

After a whole period of isolation and brainwashing, the vast majority of immigrants are at least full of hope and motivation for their new living environment and jobs, and know exactly what kind of treatment and rewards they can get after their hard work.

Of course, special personnel like Ruan Jinggui are still different, and those who have been designated in advance basically mean that they have entered the bureaucratic system of Haihan, and the various rules and treatments in this system will not explain to new immigrants who have not yet obtained naturalized citizenship on such occasions. After the end of the quarantine period. There is also a seven-day on-the-job training and internship adaptation period, which is when he really gets in touch with the direction of his future life.

After the literary lecture was over, the sky began to gradually darken, and it was time for dinner. Everyone returned to the dormitory to get dishes and chopsticks, and after gathering, they went to the distribution point at the entrance of the camp to line up for food.

After staying in the camp for a few days, Nguyen Ching Gui discovered that the Haihan people attached great importance to cultivating the organization and obedience of the people. Like the ten-person dormitory in this camp, the daily activities of these ten people must be carried out together. Whether it is a lecture or a meal, you must act in groups of 10 people. Moreover, it will be subject to random inspections by civil affairs cadres at any time, and the strictness of management is comparable to that of military camps. Another feature is that all kinds of occasions must be queued in order, whether it is eating, showering, receiving daily necessities, or even going to the toilet, people who do not want to queue up often remember this rule after being beaten a few times.

Nguyen Ching Quy's dormitory was very high in the row, and it didn't take long to get to the turn, which was also because Nguyen Van Van Van lived in this dormitory, a former South Vietnamese officer, and the speed of each assembly was a little faster than the other dormitories that they lived in at the same time. But there's really nothing to look forward to today's dinner. It's still the same rice porridge with stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and today's special side dish - a three-inch-long salted fish per person.

Due to the abundance of salt in the Haihan region and the growing shipbuilding industry in the region, the value of salted fish in the local area is not even comparable to that of the same weight of rice, so this kind of additional dish is not very good in any way, but it can only allow the immigrants to get a little meat at the right time. The queue next to it is the place where the camp staff receive food, looking at people's food and shrimp, crabs, and pickles. Even the salted fish was half longer than the one in his bowl, and Ruan Jinggui couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva silently.

"Look at it! Keep an eye on the food in your own bowl!" As if feeling the gaze from the side, a security guard who was cooking turned his face and scolded: "Don't pick and choose if you eat food that doesn't cost money!"

"I have silver, and I want to eat it well!" As if stimulated by these words, one of the fellows behind immediately shouted: "How much silver is a portion of this meal?

"New here, right? You can't use the money in this place, you have to use the negotiable bills!" An immigrant who was already familiar with the local rules immediately pointed out, "You have the silver." You have to wait until you get out of here and take it to the Victory Harbor Redemption Center to exchange it for a circulation ticket to buy food in the cafeteria. Take the silver and brass plates and go out and use them, and there will be no place to collect them. ”

When Nguyen Ching Gui came to Victory Port last year, he had already seen the special currency in circulation. He has been in business for many years, so he naturally understands very well what it means for the Haihan people to control the circulation of silver money in the area under his rule. In his opinion, this trick of the Haihan people is quite clever, and all the precious metals of the people are concentrated in the hands of the executive committee in a compulsory way. The ease of use and credit protection of negotiable vouchers make the local people not too reluctant to enforce the financial system. With so much wealth in its hands that could be flexibly mobilized, the Haihan Executive Committee undoubtedly had much more money than ordinary local powers, whether it was to develop or expand the army.

Nguyen Ching Gui thought back to his country, if the Hue regime had a financial system and means of doing things like Hai Han, how could it not be able to support a long-term and large-scale war because of its lack of financial resources. According to his estimates, the folk wealth that the Haihan people transported away after the destruction of Hue City was at least one million taels of silver, and if so much money could be gathered together and used for the construction of the army, I am afraid that Thang Long Province would have been leveled long ago.

Of course, this kind of thing can only be thought about, if the people are to take out all the real money at home and hand it over to the government, the first to jump up is definitely not ordinary people, but precisely their clansmen surnamed Ruan. As the most powerful and at the same time the wealthiest group of people in South Vietnam, the Nguyen clan people have almost regarded the areas and people under the rule of this regime as their own private property, but if they are to spit out their private property and turn it into the public property of the entire regime, it will never be possible. If the ruling Nguyen Phuc Nguyen dared to put forward such an idea, then the Nguyen clan in Hue City would have killed him first before the North Vietnamese army came. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )