Wang Zunde stroked his beard and said: "Since you have said that the time and place are favorable, there must be a third reason?"

"Your Excellency!" Liu Qian responded: "The third reason for lowly position is precisely people. The Haihan people took Yazhou as the foundation, spent several years and countless money to operate, how could they give it to others. Thinking that in order to protect Wanshan Port at the mouth of the Pearl River, the Haihan militia did not hesitate to start a war with the pirate Liu Xiang, who had been entrenched in the vicinity for many years. The people of Qiongzhou have benefited from Haihan, and if Haihan sends a militia to fight against pirates, the local people will be willing to cooperate. ”

Wang Zunde snorted lightly when he heard this, Liu Qian immediately reacted that he was a little speechless, and hurriedly said: "This naturally has to be ordered by the government, and the people will cooperate." When the official army has not arrived, it is okay to let this Haihan militia be the overlord in the local area for a few days. When the Haihan militia repels the pirates, and then sends the official army to take over the city, by the way, it will also be incorporated into this militia group, which is also the best of both worlds. ”

"The Haihan people may not be happy to incorporate the militia group. "Wang Zunde is not a fool, how much effort did the Haihan people spend to run the militia to have today's combat effectiveness, he still has points in his heart, such an army piled up with silver, the shrewd Haihan people will definitely not let go lightly.

"The Haihan people are all businessmen, and the conditions can be negotiated slowly, and they are not without opportunities. Liu Qian only thought that the purpose of the Haihan people to make him a lobbyist was to seek an official identity for the militia group, and he didn't think how terrible the real purpose behind this was, so he still persuaded Wang Zunde in accordance with the established policy: "Let the Haihan militia fight with the pirates for a few battles to wear down their strength, and after the Qiongzhou rebellion is pacified, the adults will give the military leaders in the militia a few titles that don't need money in the name of reward, and then promise a few words, and you can recruit these people." ”

Wang Zunde didn't respond, thinking that it was so easy to do, after the Haihan militia defeated the Liukou army in Panyu County the year before last, they had already recruited these people. At that time, the government also promised several positions in the awards issued to the militia group, but the other party did not accept the "kindness" of the government, and all the appointment documents sent back were returned intact. At that time, Wang Zunde had just arrived in office, and because of the ignorance of the Haihan people, he was very angry.

Wang Zunde's eyes were slightly closed, and he was thinking about the pros and cons of letting the Haihan militia go out in his heart. Liu Qian's several reasons have been said, and at this time, he is quietly waiting for Wang Zunde to make a decision.

After a long time, Wang Zunde opened his eyes and asked, "If you want Haihan to mobilize the militia to go to the rescue of Qiongzhou Fucheng, how long will it take?"

Liu Qian had already prepared for this, and hurriedly responded: "The Haihan people have a unique secret technique that can transmit information from Guangzhou City to Qiongzhou Island in an instant, and they have long claimed that they are ready to go to war. ”

Wang Zunde stared at Liu Qian sideways and said, "The Haihan people have given you a lot of benefits for this, right?"

Liu Qian was taken aback, and hurriedly bowed his head and said: "My lord Mingjian, the lowly position has not received any benefits from it, but the Haihan people have come to the lowly position many times recently, indicating their attitude of not hesitating to fight. The humble position also felt that at this time, it was right for them to come in handy, and the Haihan people on Qiongzhou Island should send troops first, and the adults could first mobilize the troops of the two Guangxi provinces to raise materials, and if the Haihan militia was not effective, they could send officers and soldiers to clean up the mess. ”

Wang Zunde snorted, but did not pursue the root of this matter, but ordered: "You go and draw up a document, notify the Haihan people, and let them send troops as much as possible!"

Liu Qian was overjoyed in his heart, and bowed down and responded: "If the Haihan militia wants to go to the vicinity of Fucheng to assist the officials and soldiers, do you want to give them a little more authority?"

Wang Zunde understood what Liu Qian meant, nodded and said: "During the battle, they are allowed to enter the city with arms, but after repelling the pirates, they need to obey the arrangements of the local government!

"Obey the order, and then go to draw up the documents and inform the Haihan people!" Liu Qian hurriedly responded, and then hurriedly retreated. Two days ago, He Xi added a sentence when he finished talking to him and was leaving, as long as this thing is done, Haihan will also offer a thousand taels of silver as a thank you. For Liu Qian, this money should not be in vain, hurry up and write the paperwork and then find the Haihan people to get the money.

On October 15, an official document sent from the Zhaoqing Liangguang Governor's Office was sent to the Guangzhou Office outside Guangzhou by expedited horse. After Marik and He Xi opened the official letter, they couldn't help but look at each other and smile.

He Xi signed the receipt, rewarded two taels of silver, and sent the messenger away. Marik transcribed the main content of the official document, called Zhang Qianzhi, asked him to send it to the confidential room, and sent the news back to the base camp by telegram.

"With this Shang Fang sword in hand, Sanya can finally start acting. Marico couldn't help but sigh a little. This plan has been in preparation for half a year, and because there are too many variables in it, no one dares to pack a ticket for its chances of success before it reaches the implementation stage. But at this point, it can be said that the plan has been 70% successful, and the rest of the work is to finish well and complete this grand scam.

He Xi also responded with a smile: "After spending so much money to pave the road, now it's time to pick peaches." ”

When Marik and He Xi were chatting and laughing easily in the Guangzhou Office, there was a lot of noise in the city of Qiongzhou, thousands of miles away. The siege of the city had been going on for several days by the pirate armies outside the city, and although they had not launched a large-scale attack on the city, they would drag out their cannons and bombard the walls several times a day, which made the defenders at the city head in a state of unease for most of the day, and no one knew when the cannonballs would suddenly fly out and hit the city.

The prefect also sent several teams to try to break through and ask for help, but it soon became clear that such attempts were futile. Not only did these pirates block several city gates, but they also had cavalry, which, although they did not seem to have many horses, were more than enough to deal with the small number of infantry running on two legs. Those sent out to ask for help simply can't escape too far.

The nearby river has also been blocked by pirate ships, and now even fishing boats cannot sail into the Nandu River. The people in the city could only hope that some of the ships sent to Guangzhou for help a few days ago would slip through the net, so that Guangzhou could send reinforcements to help sooner.

Of course, there are also some clear-headed people who know that even if Guangzhou wants to send troops over, it will have to wait until half a month at the earliest, and it is difficult to say whether Fucheng can hold on for half a month.

At this time, many people with access went to the Haihan office in the city to inquire about the news from the all-knowing Haihan people. And the news announced by Haihan is also rather pessimistic - if you only rely on the existing garrison troops, I am afraid it will be difficult to hold out until the day when reinforcements from the mainland arrive. If you want to retreat from the enemy, you can only expect other variables.

It's not that no one thought of the powerful Haihan militia under the Haihan people, but the person in charge of the office just deduced that he had not received an order from the governor Yamen, and the militia should not be transferred at will in order to avoid suspicion.

Under the conscious promotion, the people in the city soon reached a consensus that the current situation on Qiongzhou Island can only be solved by the Haihan militia, and the reason why the Haihan militia did not come forward was because the local government did not want the militia army to come out, even if it did not hesitate to lose Qiongzhou Island for this reason.

Most people must be dissatisfied with this attitude of the government, not to mention that the Haihan people have always abided by the law and are willing to give, even if it is to save their lives, at this time, they should decisively let the Haihan militia attack. Leaving aside the thousands of soldiers on Qiongzhou Island who can be used, but instead counting on Guangzhou, which is thousands of miles away, to send reinforcements as much as possible, this approach is obviously a very heartless expression.

But the government actually can't say what it is, everyone knows that the Haihan militia can fight, but because of this, no one dares to open this opening first and mobilize the Haihan militia to participate in the battle. After the war, how to settle this militia group, and what kind of attitude the local government should maintain towards the strong and powerful Haihan in the future are all things that are very difficult to grasp. As for whether to ask Haihan for help, after only a few days of hesitation, the capital city of Qiongzhou had no other way out and became a surrounded dead city.

On 16 October, the Haihan militia began to assemble in the Sanya area, preparing to go to the "battlefield" to carry out one of their easiest combat missions in recent years.

The relatively difficult battles have been completed by the Annan militia army, and the task of the regular army is to go to the local area to act as a messenger of justice, receiving territory, population, and dominance. There may still be some resistance in the process, but it is certainly not enough to meet the needs of war.

From Sanya to the capital city of Qiongzhou in the north, the voyage is more than 200 nautical miles, and with the average speed of the navy, it takes about one and a half to two days to complete this voyage. This was also the largest dispatch of the Haihan militia since the end of the civil war in Annam, but until this time, most of the people in Sanya still did not know the real purpose of this military operation, and thought that the northern region had really been sacked by pirates, so the executive committee sent the militia army to the local area to strike. Only a very small number of high-ranking cadres knew that Haihan's move was purely to take the northern areas that were still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, so as to realize Haihan's rule over the entire Qiongzhou Island.

On October 18, the fleet of the Haihan militia appeared outside the mouth of the Nandu River and engaged in a "series of battles" with the pirate ships stationed there. Although the defenders and people in the city had no way to directly see the battle situation on both sides, the dense cannon sound could be heard clearly. And you don't need to ask to know that the one who has so many guns on the warship must not be the Daming Navy Division who rushed to the rescue, but the Haihan Navy entrenched in the Sanya area.

At this time, the direction of public opinion in the city changed again, and the Haihan militia descended from the sky to say that the city was about to solve the predicament of the city in danger. Some people have already begun to jointly submit a letter to the prefect, saying that after the troops of the Haihan militia group have reached the city, they will immediately open the city gate to welcome them to enter the city and station.

Fucheng was still a little undecided about this, until the early morning of the 19th, a group of Haihan soldiers shot the order issued by Wang Zunde, the governor of Liangguang, hundreds of meters away, with a powerful crossbow, onto the city tower. After the official document sent from Zhaoqing Prefecture arrived in Guangzhou on the 15th, it immediately boarded the ship from the Pearl River Wharf without stopping, and then handed it over to the "Lightning" sent here in advance to wait here at Wanshan Port, and then the "Lightning" went south at full speed to the mouth of the Nandu River in the north of Qiongzhou Prefecture, and handed it over to the Haihan militia who had just arrived here for only one day.

In addition to transferring the Haihan militia to rescue the trapped city in northern Qiongzhou, the content of the official document also gave them the right to be armed in the city in wartime, and in order to ensure that their combat effectiveness was not compromised, they were also authorized to maintain an independent command system and not need to accept the direct command of the Ming official army. Of course, this treatment was limited to the fight against pirates, but what the Governor did not expect was that after the pirate fight, the rules of the island would also need to be reformulated.

On the afternoon of October 19, the Haihan militia and the pirate army engaged in a brief battle east of Fucheng. However, due to the distance from the city, the soldiers in charge of watching the city could only see and hear the fireworks and roar of the artillery firing, and there was no way to confirm the real-time battle situation.

After spending the afternoon in the vast majority of the people in Fucheng with a state of anxiety, the exciting news finally came in the evening - the pirate army in the east of the city chose to retreat, and the Haihan militia forced a road to the Fucheng, and the people in the city saw the dawn of relief from the siege.

On the afternoon of October 19, the Haihan militia and the pirate army engaged in a brief battle east of Fucheng. However, due to the distance from the city, the soldiers in charge of watching the city could only see and hear the fireworks and roar of the artillery firing, and there was no way to confirm the real-time battle situation.

After spending the afternoon in the vast majority of the people in Fucheng with a state of anxiety, the exciting news finally came in the evening - the pirate army in the east of the city chose to retreat, and the Haihan militia forced a road to the Fucheng, and the people in the city saw the dawn of relief from the siege.

On the afternoon of October 19, the Haihan militia and the pirate army engaged in a brief battle east of Fucheng. However, due to the distance from the city, the soldiers in charge of watching the city could only see and hear the fireworks and roar of the artillery firing, and there was no way to confirm the real-time battle situation.

After spending the afternoon in the vast majority of the people in Fucheng with a state of anxiety, the exciting news finally came in the evening - the pirate army in the east of the city chose to retreat, and the Haihan militia forced a road to the Fucheng, and the people in the city saw the dawn of relief from the siege.