"The goods have been loaded, the boss will sign!" After confirming that the goods were handed over, the dock staff asked Song San to sign on the corresponding documents.

Song San couldn't write, so he pressed his fingerprint with ink, and then beckoned the sailors to gather and count the number of people and prepare to leave. Of course, he didn't forget to send someone to inform the militia and ask them to board the ship quickly.

Li Qingyang leaned on the side of the boat and watched as this group of about 20 armed militiamen boarded the boat from the pier trestle. Obviously, it was not the first time that these soldiers had gone to sea by boat, and their faces looked very relaxed, if it weren't for the rucksacks and firecrackers behind them, it would have been difficult for Li Qingyang to treat them as a group of soldiers.

Suddenly, Li Qingyang felt that someone was staring at him, and when he turned his head to look, he saw that the Haihan officer surnamed Xiao was standing on the dock and smiling and waving goodbye to him, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. If this Haihan man surnamed Xiao also boarded the ship, then Li Qingyang's nerves would probably be really tense the whole time, he didn't want to be watched by this terrible Haihan man all the time he went to Sanya.

"Untie the cable and raise the sails, and go!" Song Sanyi gave an order, and the sailors on the deck suddenly became busy, several sailors stood on the side of the ship, slowly propped the hull of the ship to the shore with a penny, and several other people worked together to pull up the anchor chain that went down into the water, and the sailboat slowly turned around in the center of the river under the action of the wind, and sailed to the southeast of the Pearl River channel.

The militia on board did not enter the cabin to rest, but sat in two columns on the deck against the left and right sides of the ship under the command of the leading officer.

Sail into the Pearl River from the waterway near Lijiazhuang, and it is about 60 nautical miles away from Wanshan Port. This voyage is about half a day for the "Exploration-class" sailing ship, but for the Guangzhou ship that Li Qingyang has achieved, it will take more than half a day to complete. When the sky began to darken, the sailors in charge of the lookout finally saw the lighthouse on Dawanshan Island.

"Is that Wanshan Port?" asked Li Qingyang, who walked out of the cabin after hearing the news, looking at a little light on the sea level in the distance.

"That's right, it's about half an hour away. Stay overnight at Wanshan Port tonight, and then set off early tomorrow morning. Seeing that the destination was imminent, Song San also seemed very relaxed.

When he arrived at Wanshan Port, it was already dark, and although there were lights on both sides of the port to guide ships in and out of the port, he could no longer see the shore defense fortifications on the island at this time, which made Li Qingyang feel a little regretful.

When the sailboat slowly approached the dock, Li Qingyang noticed that there was a team of heavily armed Haihan militia waiting on the shore, which made his nerves tense again. However, he saw that the other people on the ship did not react in particular, and he thought that this was probably just some kind of routine method of the Haihan people, but he should not let this cause him to show his flaws.

Li Qingyang looked around, although the sky had darkened, from the lights on the shore of the harbor, it could still be roughly inferred that the scale of this port was actually not large, but the terrain was naturally concave inward, and it was a good sea haven.

After the ship docks, the first person to board the ship is the staff of the Wanshan Port Center, who must first register the personnel and cargo on board, and if there are people who need to land, they must also register separately in order to arrange accommodation.

The group of militia soldiers who were on the boat disembarked at this time, and they did not need any kind of registration, but only obeyed the orders of the local military commander.

Li Qingyang discussed with his companions on the way, and one person stayed on the boat and one person went ashore that night. Li Qingyang is now basically familiar with Captain Song San, and his own position is barely a management level, and he can still enjoy the treatment of staying in a hotel for one night. After he proposed, Song San also readily agreed-he would have to drift at sea for a few days in the future, and it would be good to stay on land for one more night.

After completing the registration, Song San, Li Qingyang and others landed and went to a small courtyard on the shore under the leadership of the staff, and arranged their food and lodging. Before leaving, the staff also specially told them not to go out of the area outside the yard at night, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

After the man left, Li Qingyang asked Song San, "The management of this place has always been so strict?"

Song San shook his head and said: "That's not it, Wanshan Port has a special activity area for outsiders, as long as they don't leave this area, it's fine, but there is no restriction on not being allowed to leave the yard." I'll ask someone later, maybe something has changed. ”

Li Qingyang nodded, ate dinner absentmindedly, and returned to the small single room arranged for him. In terms of the conditions of an overseas island, the conditions of this small single room are already good, and there is a three-foot-wide wooden bed with a thin quilt and bamboo mat on it. In addition, there is a small desk and a chair, and a small wardrobe, on which is lit a glass-covered windproof oil lamp from Haihan. The floors are all wooden and varnished. The house is clean and there is no smell. There is a bathing place next door, and the thatched toilet is at the other end of the yard, which are all common facilities.

Because he only rested here for one night, Li Qingyang's personal luggage was almost all put on the boat and not brought out, Li Qingyang took the copper basin in the house and went to the next door to fetch water and wash, then returned to the house and lay on the bed, thinking about today's experience and experience.

Compared with the various pieces of information that Nanzhen Fusi had obtained before, the news obtained by Li Qingyang when he led his team south this time was undoubtedly more detailed and comprehensive. The Haihan people are by no means the rumored only three or five hundred people, just the remnants of the overseas Han people who are simply engaged in maritime trade, these people not only have the means to make money, but also show great ambitions, and are definitely a potential threat to the Ming court.

This force chose to settle at the southern tip of Qiongzhou Island, which is far away from the Tiangao Emperor, and the garrison of the entire Qiongzhou Island is only 10,000 people, and the combat power is even more worrying. Although it is not clear for the time being how large the specific scale of the Haihan militia is, it is estimated from the territory and population controlled by the Haihan people, I am afraid that the number of troops will be in the thousands, and considering the equipment level of the Haihan militia, its combat effectiveness is probably not the level that the Qiongzhou Island garrison can deal with.

If the rumors are true, then the armed level of the Haihan people's warships is also beyond that of the Daming Naval Division, and this gap in combat power may require five times and ten times the strength of the troops to pull the two sides back to the same running line, and the naval division in the Liangguang region is obviously still quite far from this goal, let alone fighting, I am afraid that it will not even be able to block the trade routes of the Haihan people.

When Li Qingyang was ordered to go south, he also thought that this should be a relatively easy errand, as long as the charges were verified, and then reported to the local government to send troops to sweep away these outsiders. But as he learned more and more about the situation, Li Qingyang also realized that he had thought things too simple at the beginning. As far as the information we have so far is concerned, it is enough to convict the Haihan people of several charges of great rebellion, but how can we deal with these people? People who have money, soldiers, and territory can't of course receive a piece of paper from the government and put on shackles and handcuffs and go to the prison to stay in prison. If you want to put down this "chaotic party", I am afraid that in the end, you will have to use force.

However, according to Li Qingyang's understanding, the military department probably did not have this part of the military budget to make a big move on Qiongzhou Island. Since the beginning of the Apocalypse, the strategic center of the country has been placed in northern Xinjiang, and the amount of salaries levied to raise military expenses has increased almost every year, and a considerable part of the imperial court's finances have been spent on the northeastern front. If the Haihan people are to be mobilized, then at least tens of thousands of combat troops must be mobilized in South China to fight in Qionghai, and the ships, grain, grass, and supplies that need to be mobilized are by no means the number that can be raised in a short period of time, but to deal with the Haihan people, the most important thing is probably the matter of time.

According to the information available now, it has only been more than two years since the Haihan people settled in Yazhou, but their strength has already faintly become the actual controller of the Qiongnan region, and they have a lot of influence in the officialdom and people in Liangguang and even Fujian.

Fighting, it may not be able to solve the problem smoothly, and it will even cause great trouble to the imperial court. But if we don't fight, sooner or later this problem will develop into a situation that cannot be cleaned up. Li Qingyang suddenly found that he had not even reached his destination, and he had already fallen into a dilemma.

"After settling down in Sanya, you need to do your best to repair the book and report it, and this headache should be left to the bosses to decide!" Li Qingyang tossed and turned until the second half of the night, and finally came up with a way that was not a solution, and fell asleep in a daze.

As soon as the sky was dark, Li Qingyang was woken up by a high-pitched horn. He got dressed and went outside, and saw that the occupants of the other rooms had already come out.

Li Qingyang saw the sleepy-eyed Song San stretching his waist and walking out, so he leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Third Brother Song, what is the reason for this trumpet?"

Song San yawned loudly and said, "This is the militia army on the island that is going to have a morning exercise! This place is different from other places, it is an area under the direct jurisdiction of the militia army, so everything has to follow the rules of the militia army." They have morning exercises, and no one else wants to sleep lazy. ”

Li Qingyang was stunned and said, "Is it all ****?"

"**** is like this. Song San nodded with a natural expression and said, "The Haihan militia is very good at fighting, and that is a real skill." It's like the army of the imperial court, hey...... Forget it. ”

Li Qingyang was speechless about this, even if it was the elite troops of the imperial court, it was impossible to conduct drills every day, and it was very common for local garrisons to drill once every half a month or even once a month. Although he is not a soldier, he also knows that if the army neglects training, it will be difficult to ensure that they can have an outstanding performance on the battlefield, especially in the face of a well-equipped, trained and diligent opponent like the Haihan militia, and in the end, I am afraid that they will have to rely on the superiority of troops to close the gap in combat effectiveness. But this would return to the starting point of a vicious circle - the imperial court probably would not have the extra military money to provide for large-scale military operations in the south.

Li Qingyang was feeling a little depressed when he heard a neat running sound from outside the courtyard, and in his experience, this was at least the sound that only a troop of more than 100 people would make when they were assembled. Li Qingyang really wanted to go out to see what kind of exercise the Haihan militia group was, but he was worried that his deeds were too ostentatious and would be noticed by the Haihan people. When he was undecided, he heard the footsteps and stopped outside the courtyard.

After a moment of silence, a number of heads suddenly appeared on the rooftops around them, and then a row of gun barrels stretched out, pointing condescendingly at the stunned crowd in the courtyard.

"Calm down, everyone in the No. 1 Courtyard, this is a normal military exercise, obey the command, don't move, no one will be harmed!" someone held an iron horn and shouted at the people in the courtyard while lying on the wall.

Li Qingyang's first reaction was that something was wrong, and he subconsciously began to observe the gaps left and right for escape. However, this courtyard is a square structure, with flat-roofed houses on all sides, and only one gate to enter and exit to the port, and the windows of each house are facing the courtyard, and even the latrines and bathrooms have no exit to the outside, except for the gate, you can only climb up the roof to escape this courtyard. But under the aim of more than a dozen guns, Li Qingyang was not sure if he would have a chance to climb the roof of about eight feet high unscathed.

It was already dark when he checked in last night, and Li Qingyang didn't notice the strange layout of this courtyard, and at this time he found out that it was wrong, and it was already too late. The courtyard is designed to be a small prison, and the people who live in it have no chance of resisting or escaping the control of the outside world - which is a true portrayal of his situation at this moment.

When Li Qingyang was at a loss, Song San comforted him beside him: "Don't be afraid, the militia army doesn't arrest people casually, since it's just a drill, you just stand well, and it'll be fine." ”

Li Qingyang said in his heart that this was not a drill arranged by the Haihan people, but came at him, but he didn't know where he showed his feet, and he would be noticed by them. Captain Song San has been with him all the time, and he didn't find anything wrong, so how did the Haihan people grab their handles?

The gate creaked open, and a group of militia soldiers with loaded guns and ammunition rushed in, followed by a Haihan officer with a very young face, who could even be described as childish. However, Li Qingyang could feel a similar momentum from this young man's body to that officer surnamed Xiao in Lijiazhuang, this kind of murderous deterrence was not commensurate with his youthful appearance, and it was not difficult to deduce that this young Haihan officer had already experienced the tempering of war.