With the gradual acceleration of the construction process, the influence of "Haihan" has gradually spread to the surrounding areas, especially Yazhou, which is only 100 miles away from Shengli Port, and the effect of this influence is becoming more and more obvious and beginning to change the living environment of the local people. (Baidu search update is the fastest and most stable)

Qiu Yuan opened the door, stood at the door and stretched his waist greatly, seeing Zhang Guangzheng taking the rich and noble brothers to do radio gymnastics, he couldn't help but smile and said: "You are in good spirits, and you don't forget to exercise." ”

"I have nothing to do when I'm idle, and I can only exercise to pass the time. I now know why those prisoners in the American drama are practicing fitness during their spare time, this is purely idle!" Zhang Guang complained, patted the heads of the two brothers and said, "Go to the kitchen and bring out breakfast!"

"Where's the old horse?" Qiu Yuan looked around and didn't see Mariko, so he asked casually.

Zhang Guang replied casually: "It's the turn of the old horse to go out to inspect today, have you forgotten?"

"It's a quiet day...... It's all confused. Qiu Yuan shook his head and laughed at himself.

The Cliff Office has not had much to do recently, and after He Xi, Mu Xiabai, and Feng Anan left one after another, there were only four staff members left in the Cliff Office. Originally, the task of daily inspection of Yazhou's urban defense undertaken by the Military Police Department was taken over by Ma Ke and Qiu Yuan, but the frequency was changed from once every two days in the past to once a week now. It's not that they're lazy and unwilling to run, it's that the errand has become increasingly meaningless, and at least half of the guards stationed in Yazhou have deserted in recent months, and more than half of those who have escaped have quietly entered the Shengli Port area through various means and become wage laborers under the Executive Committee. Some of them went early, and even got the status of naturalized people, and even among the current Haihan militia, there are many deserters from the former Daming guard system.

Zhang Guang and Zhao Xiaoruo are the main ones, maintaining the daily affairs of the Cliff Office. For now, in fact, there is not much to do, it is nothing more than to settle the immigration fee with the dental store every month, and the yamen or individuals who should burn incense regularly will send people to run errands and give gifts. Yesterday, Zhao Xiaoruo took a boat back to Shengli Port to participate in the welfare housing lottery, and by the way, he met his friends who had been separated for a long time, and it is estimated that he will stay for a day or two before coming back.

As soon as I finished breakfast, there were guests who came to the door, and the origin was not small, it was Zhang Qianhu of Weiya Prefecture in Hainan, who was two levels higher than Luo Shengdong in terms of grade alone, and was a court official of the fifth grade. This Zhang Qianhu is also a native of Hainan, and the last three generations are said to have been guards in Hainan, and his generation is finally developed, and his career has reached the height of a thousand households. However, Zhang Qianhu's age has also reached the retirement threshold, and it is not surprising that he will return to his hometown at the same time as the current Yazhou Zhizhou, Tongzhi, and He Shenjiang of Shuizhai within the year.

Qiu Yuan had had several contacts with this Zhang Qianhu at the wine table before, so he was no stranger, so he welcomed him into the living room and asked Dafu to make tea, and then asked Zhang Qianhu about his intention.

Zhang Qianhu is a rough person, and he doesn't mean to go around in circles, so he directly expressed his intention: "Recently, many soldiers in Yazhou have escaped from the barracks, and it is reported that these people are going to the direction of Shengli Port, I don't know what Boss Qiu can say?"

Qiu Yuan was stunned and said: "I don't have anything to say, what does this have to do with our Cliff Office?" Master Zhang, we have had contact with you, but we have no contact with those soldiers under you, and we are not interested in buying off those soldiers under your command and letting them escape quietly. ”

What Qiu Yuan said was indeed the truth, and this was not at all intentional by the Cliff Office, but purely the spontaneous action of these guards. For no other reason, these soldiers are just begging for a bite to eat. In a remote place like Yazhou, you can't expect to get any subsidies from the Ministry of War, and even Yazhou Shuizhai, which is a regular border army, is still using old-fashioned weapons from the Wanli period, not to mention the half-army and half-peasant guards. Whether it is military food or military salary, most of them have to be solved by themselves, and Yazhou, a remote place where exiled prisoners are exiled, is not very socially developed, coupled with the deduction of military leaders, the life of low-level soldiers has always been extremely difficult, and it is not even as good as some homesteaders.

The appearance of Shengli Port has given these people new hope, and they have learned from various channels that the Haihan people give all kinds of preferential treatment to ordinary laborers, and of course, all the information they have learned is just a propaganda method consciously arranged by the relevant departments. Some of the brave men gave up their status as guards and resolutely moved to Victory Harbor. And when the rumored treatment was gradually confirmed, more and more guards chose to quietly leave Yazhou and go to live in Shengli Port. Some people even moved their families, and their wives and children all moved away.

At first, this situation did not attract the attention of the military leaders, after all, if you want to make a fortune in the guard system, you rely on empty salaries and soldiers' blood, and a little more empty is not necessarily a bad thing. But soon this situation intensified, and the number of people who disappeared every month began to rise rapidly from five or six to double digits, and the number of people who fled in January 1628 was even close to 100, which was not a trivial matter for the Yazhou Guards' Army, which was already empty and had a total strength of less than 1,000 people.

At this point, the leaders of the Weisuo Army will naturally no longer sit idly by, and the whereabouts of the deserters are not a secret.

Mr. Zhang Qian sighed and said: "Boss Qiu, it's not a question of who let them escape now, and I don't mean to blame you Haihan people, but the matter has come to this, there has to be a solution, right?"

Qiu Yuan blinked his eyes and said, "What kind of solution does Lord Zhang want?"

"Naturally, we need to recover these deserters one by one and punish them severely!" Zhang Qianhu said through gritted teeth.

"Then you can go directly to Victory Harbor to arrest people, so you don't have to come to us to delay time. Qiu Yuan didn't want to eat his words, and immediately pushed back hard.

"This ...... That's not what he said...... "Zhang Qianhu probably didn't expect Qiu Yuan's attitude to be so tough, and he didn't know how to talk for a while.

The reason why the people of the Weisuo Army did not go directly to Shengli Port to arrest the deserters is also very simple, they also know that they can't afford to provoke the Haihan people. It is no secret that the Haihan militia has sharp guns and powerful combat power in the Yazhou area, and the military leaders have no intention of taking the initiative to deliver food. Besides, people like Zhang Qianhu and others usually get all kinds of benefits from the Cliff Office, and it seems a bit unreasonable to tear their faces directly.

Qiu Yuan sighed and said: "Lord Zhang, you also know that our stall in Shengli Port is very large, and there are not 1,000 but 800 immigrants who arrive in Shengli Port every month, and it is impossible to check their identities one by one, how do we know if there are any deserters from Yazhou mixed in, you say that's the truth, right?"

"Yes, yes......" Zhang Qianhu replied repeatedly.

"If you have sufficient evidence to prove that someone is a Ming deserter, then you can go to Shengli Harbor at any time to arrest someone, and we will not stop you. My attitude is enough to cooperate, isn't it?" Qiu Yuan continued.

"Yes, yes...... But it seems to be inconvenient for us to catch it......" Zhang Qianhu said while controlling Qiu Yuan's face.

"The problem is that we don't know who the deserters are, so we can't catch them, right?" Qiu Yuan continued to shirk his responsibility.

"But this ......" Zhang Qian was still about to say a few words, when he heard a voice from the courtyard: "Lord Zhang, come to the door so early, is there any good news to share with us?"

"Is Boss Ma back? It just so happens that I have a problem to ask you for help!" Mr. Zhang Qian has also dealt with Ma Li Ke, and knows that this is the main owner of the Yazhou Office, and the Haihan people have the final say in Yazhou's affairs. Seeing Marik striding in, Mr. Zhang Qian suddenly had a feeling of a savior coming in his heart.

After Marik entered the room and sat down, he listened to Mr. Zhang Qian explain the matter again, and then closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before he spoke: "Lord Zhang, what is your real purpose? Do you want to arrest the people who have already escaped, or do you want to prevent others from continuing to escape?"

Mr. Zhang Qian was not confused, and immediately responded: "Naturally, it is the best of both!"

"I'm afraid it's going to be difficult!" Mariko shook his head and said: "I also know a little bit about the situation of the guards, these soldiers usually don't even have enough to eat, and now they know that there are other places where they can live a good life, how can they not run away? If Lord Zhang wants to stop the others from continuing to escape, I think the most direct and effective way is to improve their treatment, so that they can be fed and clothed, and their military pay is sufficient, so naturally they will not have other thoughts." As for arresting people, I agree with Qiu Yuan's opinion, Zhang Daren can lead his troops to Shengli Port to try it out. ”

Mariko still had a smile on the corner of his mouth when he said this, and his intention was also very obvious, if he wanted to arrest someone, you could catch it, but whether he could catch it or not was another matter.

Mr. Zhang Qian secretly scolded Mariko in his heart that he was not kind, if Lao Tzu could go directly to Shengli Port to arrest people, he would come to the Cliff Office to talk about a fart. If you take these soldiers from Yazhou to Shengli Port to make trouble, most of the results will be only one, that is, they will all be imprisoned in the prison of the Haihan people. It is said that Wei Ping, the brother-in-law of the same Zhijia, was imprisoned by the Haihan people in the first few months when he went to Yazhou as an inspector, and the first thing he was released was to go back to Yazhou to persuade his brother-in-law to support Luo Shengdong's father-in-law in Shuizhai to serve as the next Zhizhou, and Luo Shengdong was already a well-known "Haihan Party" in Yazhou.

Mr. Zhang Qian thought about it, so he had to change his angle and continue to complain: "Boss Ma, Boss Qiu, this year is also the time for this official to step down and hand over the seal, as soon as there are too many deserters, the vacancy in the army will not be able to make up for it, how can he hand over with the next President Qian? If the matter is big at that time, let the commander of the guard know, and in the end this trouble will not be chased to you? You don't want to cause extraneous branches because of these small things, right?"

Marik thought for a while and said: "Lord Zhang, can I think so, the question now is not how many deserters have appeared in the Yazhou Guards, nor whether these deserters can be caught, and whether the rest will continue to escape, but that there are too many vacancies in the Yazhou Guards, so that you will not be able to pay when the time comes?"

Mr. Zhang Qian coughed dryly and said: "Although Boss Ma's opinion is biased, it is not fundamental, and this official does have this concern." ”

Mariko smiled and said, "If that's all there is to it, then the problem is actually easy to solve." ”

"Boss Ma, please speak!" When Mr. Zhang Qian heard this, he immediately came to his senses.

"When the time comes, how much is lacking on your side, I will make up for it in the Haihan militia. There are really no soldiers, and it can be topped by our Haihan militia group, and the 1,120 people in Yazhou are right, right? Well, it shouldn't be a big problem!"

Mr. Zhang Qian's eyes widened like bull's eyes: "Boss Ma, what are you talking about? Use the Haihan militia to replace the guards?

"Master Zhang, don't be in a hurry to oppose it first, listen to me slowly give you an analysis. Marik replied unhurriedly: "In terms of military discipline and combat effectiveness, our Haihan militia should be above the Weisuo army, you shouldn't deny this, right?"

Zhang Qian nodded helplessly, this is not a matter of up and down, but a huge difference in strength. During the trial voyage, the "Exploration" went to the vicinity of Yazhou for training, but Mr. Zhang Qian had personally seen the scene of the Haihan militia rehearsing the landing on the bank of the Ningyuan River.

At that time, the all-musketeer configuration and orderly operational command of the Haihan militia left a deep impression on Mr. Zhang Qian, and the number of artillery pieces in his army was enough to make Mr. Zhang Qian, an old army leader, staggering. There are only a few old and rusty Franc cannons in the entire Yazhou City, but the Haihan people are all black and shiny home-produced cannons, and even the ship has a few cannons in frenzy. Since then, Mr. Zhang Qian has understood very well why the water village headed by Luo Shengdong will fall to the side of the Haihan people.

Marik slowly continued: "Since the formation of the Haihan People's League, we have never asked the Yazhou government for a copper plate, from weapons to military salaries, from the construction of the garrison to daily consumption, all of which we paid for ourselves. Let our Haihan militia replace the Weisuo Army, you don't need to pay from your pocket, Lord Zhang, all the expenses will be borne by ourselves, so it's sincere enough, right?"

"Having said that, the command of this Haihan militia is not in the hands of our guards, and this important task of city defense, how can this official be lightly handed over to outsiders?" Zhang Qianhu obviously still couldn't accept Mariko's construction. Impersonation is a small matter, but if something goes wrong in the security of the city because of this, the lives of his whole family will be in danger.

The strong Haihan people will raise the anti-flag to attack Yazhou to establish their own door, this kind of rumor has not appeared in Yazhou, as early as the Yazhou Office began to organize immigrants from Yazhou similar rumors. And with the gradual consolidation of Haihan's power in Shengli Port, the frequency of such rumors is gradually increasing. A while ago, the Haihan militia set out from Shengli Port to expedition to Vietnam, and after the news reached Yazhou, it became that the Haihan militia sent troops to attack Yazhou, which also caused a small-scale chaos in Yazhou City for a while. Fortunately, the preparations of the Cliff Office were relatively sufficient, and the various yamen were ventilated early, and officials like Zhang Qianhu had already been informed in advance by the Cliff Office, so that no major chaos was caused.

As for whether the Haihan people will rebel and attack Yazhou, seven or eight out of ten local officials in Yazhou do not believe it, the reason is very simple, the Haihan people are not bad for money, and it can even be said that they are much richer than the Ming people in Yazhou. In the past, most of the rebellions were forced to raise the flag because of life, or the generals in the army originally had military power, but the Haihan people were all rich men who were proficient in maritime trade, where did the motive for rebellion come from? Moreover, it is said that the immigrants who arrived at the territory of the Haihan people could have food and shelter, and the Haihan people occupied Yazhou, and they had to feed the 20,000 people for the Ming Dynasty, and the officials did not believe that the shrewd Haihan people would do such a thankless thing.

Zhang Qianhu naturally didn't believe in such rumors, otherwise he wouldn't have kept in touch with the Cliff Office. But believe it or not is one thing, this military power is another, if the Haihan militia is really allowed to enter Yazhou City, who will have the final say in this place at that time? Zhang Qianhu would not expect the Haihan people to still listen to his own command at that time, if the Haihan people put their hearts on the sidelines, this Yazhou will immediately no longer be the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"I think so, Master Zhang doesn't need to rush to make a conclusion, it's better to go back and think about my plan first. Mariko noticed Zhang Qianhu's feelings, and guessed seven or eight points about his thoughts, so he was not in a hurry to promote this matter: "I repeat again, we don't have any thoughts about Yazhou City, and we Haihan people are very happy to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty and the Yazhou government to maintain the prosperity and stability of the Yazhou region." Whether it is business or military cooperation, as long as we need to help, Mr. Zhang can just say hello. ”

After sending away the uncertain Zhang Qianhu, Qiu Yuan couldn't help but smile and said: "Okay, you old horse, you spoke a little bit like a foreign ministry spokesman just now!"

"I'm not joking with him, when I went back to Shengli Harbor to participate in the welfare housing lottery two days ago, I also talked to the executive committee about the recent changes. The Executive Committee has already negotiated with Luo Shengdong on the issue of the whereabouts of the Yazhou Water Village, and in the future, our navy will gradually replace the Yazhou Water Village and take over the maritime defense of the entire southern coast of Hainan Island. If it works, I'd love to see if I can get rid of the Weisho Army in Yazhou in a similar way. ”

"The Haihan militia under the banner of Daming sounds very emotional. Qiu Yuan also praised Mariko's idea: "But I just don't know if this Zhang Qianhu can change his mind and accept your opinion." ”

"Even if we don't do anything, the escape of the Yazhou Guards will become more and more serious, and it is not that we are begging him for convenience, but that he is coming to ask us for help!" said Mariko with confidence