Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2060 Spring Banquet ([-])

"Woo..." The sharp siren sounded, and a 72-ton steamer slowly approached the port of Vladivostok.

Lu Xiaofeng, the leader of the Manchurian pioneering team and Manchurian Security Commander, who had just returned from his inspection on Dongan Island (later Russo Island), got into a carriage, and under the guard of more than ten cavalrymen, he headed towards the headquarters in the center of the city. go.

The area of ​​the East Coast Island is not small, covering hundreds of square kilometers. Several coastal defense forts have been built on it, and many artillery pieces have been installed, aiming at the east and north respectively, to prevent the enemy from raiding the Golden Horn. safety of all types of vessels within.

By the way, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk Squadron of the Third Fleet of the East Coast Navy has been officially renamed the Northeast Asia Squadron, and has received some old ships eliminated from the mainland, including a grandpa-class "August [-]th" class battleship.The defense zones of the new fleet have also been re-divided, including the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Sea of ​​Whales (Sea of ​​Japan), and the Yellow Sea (like the Qingshui Ocean, both refer to the Yellow Sea, which is related to the depth of the sea water), with Vladivostok, Jeju Island, Jiaozhou, Dashui There are several major military ports such as Bo and Heixiazi Port, and the home port is temporarily located in Jiaozhou.

In addition, the local Navy Department is also preparing to build the Southeast Asia Squadron of the Third Fleet, and will send some old ships from the local area that are about to be eliminated, supplemented by a few "Star" class light cruisers, to set up a shelf.The defense area of ​​the Southeast Asia Squadron is the East China Sea, the South China Sea and part of the East Indies waters. It has major military ports such as Dili, Brunei, Chongming Island, Dinghai, Macau, and the newly established Fangcheng Port in the Lianwu area. At present, the home port is located in Dinghai, Ningbo. The possibility of transferring to Fangchenggang in the future.

At the same time, a large-scale military camp was also built on the east coast island, or it is more accurate to say that it is a recruit training camp.The recruits recruited by each tribe must be trained here, learning the East Coast language and various rules, so as to better supplement the several security regiments.Next to the barracks is a building with an equally large area. It is still under civil construction. After the overall completion in the future, it will be put into use as the school building of the Vladivostok Army Academy.

Today Lu Xiaofeng came to the island to check the construction progress of the Vladivostok Army Academy.This is a key project supervised by the Ministry of the Army. Local direct investment is a key part of the construction of the military system in the Far East.It is said that the instructors of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering, transportation and intelligence departments supported by the local Dingyuan Army Academy are already on the ship heading here, and they may arrive in Vladivostok someday. It's not finished yet, so that would be a joke.

There is also a large-scale Taoist temple on the island, which was built by real Loumeng Xionglou, in order to preach and brainwash the warriors who came to the island for training.These people can be selected to the people of the east bank, either because they are not low-born, or because they are brave, and they will be included in the ruling system of the east bank in the future.If they can all believe in Taoism, then relying on their influence in the original tribe, it will definitely be much more convenient for Taoist priests to preach in the past, so Taoism will always allocate funds to build Taoist temples here and carry out missionary activities without hesitation. Anyway, they There is plenty of money, and there are countless dignitaries in the country who donate regularly, which is enough to support their expansion in various places.

After patrolling the East Coast Island, Lu Xiaofeng returned to the headquarters, intending to listen to the staff's report on the recent battle situation in the north, and attend a banquet at night.The banquet was held by the Manchukuo Pioneering Team, and the objects of the banquet were the envoys of King Sujong of Joseon, the envoys of the Japanese Matsumae Domain, the envoys of the Sendai Domain, and senior officials from the East Coast Korea Company, the East Coast Japan Company, and the Bank of Taiwan. .

These people all arrived after the freeze period in the port of Vladivostok ended.It can be seen from the composition of the personnel that this is a high-level business meeting, and most of the discussions are business deals.Originally, it didn't involve the Manchurian pioneering team, but who let them produce a large amount of livestock and furs, and at the same time be interested in North Korean grain, Japanese precious metals, and Nanyang specialties in the hands of the Dutch?

Lu Xiaofeng planned to have a good talk with these people at night.Especially the principal and deputy envoys from the Kingdom of Korea, the construction of Vladivostok in recent years has been thanks to the labor they provided.These people bring their own food, are hard-working, and work very quickly. Vladivostok was almost built with their hands and feet.This time the two North Korean envoys came here to discuss with the people on the east bank when to stop the corvee labor of sending laborers over to work. How could this be possible?There are many plans behind Lu Xiaofeng, including building roads, military depots, and new settlements. Which one does not require labor?The big deal is to send these people back to North Korea after finishing their work. Anyway, they are now coming to work in batches in turn, and each county and county take turns.

And when it comes to North Korean laborers, Lu Xiaofeng thought of the matter that he sent people to North Korea to borrow soldiers a while ago, thinking that he would have to ask the North Korean envoy to see what was going on.It's just asking them to send [-] soldiers and horses to go north from Xianjing Road, but they still want to shirk, what a shame!Could it be that these North Koreans still want to ask for some land as a reward as before?How can this be!The small country of North Korea, taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains, has been going northward to encroach on the northern part of the peninsula since the Song Dynasty, and finally completely defeated the Jurchen tribes south of the Yalu River in the Ming Dynasty, pushing the border here. He pinches his nose and admits it.

It can be said that this small country is also very greedy for land.Several times before, the people on the east bank asked North Korea to send troops to deal with the Qing army. They once proposed to merge part of the land of Liaodong that had been conquered into the Kingdom of Korea, but they were resolutely rejected at that time.This time the people on the east bank asked them to send troops to attack the Qing army in Manchuria, and they probably wanted to come up with the idea of ​​rewarding meritorious service with land.Lu Xiaofeng knew that they had been trying to push the border along Hamgyong Road to the south bank of the Tumen River in the past few years, and eat up that part of the remnant corner of Gaima Plateau.Lu Xiaofeng had nothing to do at first, because that place was originally a three-way zone, and it didn't matter if it was given to the North Koreans, but now they sent troops procrastinatingly, which made him very upset, and he made up his mind to give it to the North Koreans. Embarrassed.

In addition, he is now a little wary of these North Koreans.Don't look at how they have been submissive all these years, letting people out and giving them food, but there are actually a lot of small tricks in private.For example, they secretly bypassed the monopoly privileges of North Korean companies on the east coast, and traded privately with the vassal clans in the northeast and southeast of Japan.For another example, they have been trying to get in touch with the English and the Dutch for many years, and want to trade with them directly.Especially after Dongxing made Zhao Chuyan return home and the book "Dongxinglu" caused a sensation in North Korea, they were even more eager to conduct direct trade with other countries.What's more, this group of people is not small in courage. Over the years, they have been begging the people on the east coast to return Jeju Island. A very bad impression.

To be a dog, don't you have to look like a dog?It's not that the people on the east coast didn't benefit from it. After so many years of trade, a large amount of silver poured into North Korea, which greatly eased the country's currency shortage and made its business flourish.Even though some traditional scholar-bureaucrats could not see this situation and accused them of "corrupting people's hearts", under the escort of the people on the east coast, the Korean Kingdom did not turn back the history. The number of merchants in the treaty ports increased at a speed visible to the naked eye. In Hwanghae-do, Jeolla-do, Gyeongsang-do, Gyeonggi-do and other places, various commodities such as rice, pepper, pig iron, honey, paraffin, and wood were exported overseas one after another, which greatly enhanced their financial strength.You know, once upon a time it was difficult for the North Koreans to come up with 20 taels of silver as compensation, but now it is not difficult for them to raise 60 to [-] taels of silver, which shows how prosperous the market has been these years.

Lu Xiaofeng couldn't figure it out, the people on the east bank had given them so many economic benefits, why the North Korean rulers and ministers were still talking nonsense?Still not greedy enough, want to expand on the territory?From this, he also thought that the previous captains of the pioneering team had always restricted North Koreans from entering the Northeast and even Manchuria, preferring to transport them to the east coast for assimilation. This policy is really wise!The Kingdom of Korea is too close to this area, and the country has a large population of 800 million. Once it spreads to the whole of Manchuria, it will inevitably cause great troubles in management in the future.After all, these people have a country of the same clan on their side. Although they may not be facing the Korean Kingdom, it is always a hidden danger. Therefore, it is not advisable to allow Koreans to enter Manchuria and the outer Northeast. The previous policy should continue to be implemented .

After having lunch in the dining room of the headquarters, Lu Xiaofeng went to visit some wounded and sick in the army hospital next door, and then returned to the office at three o'clock in the afternoon, and summoned several senior staff officers of the headquarters to listen to their opinions on Debriefing on the ongoing sweep operation.

"...According to the latest information, our department is making rapid progress in the north. After more than ten battles, the Wusuli River and Xingkai Lake have all surrendered. At present, the troops are resting in the west of Licheng Township. We will move westward and join forces with the Wei troops coming from the direction of Harbin Fort to attack the remnants of the Qing army in Ninggu Tower."

"...The defeat of the Qing army in the Ningguta area has been decided. In the previous battle of Songshuwozi, Major Wei's vanguard had already defeated the Qing army, killing and wounding more than [-] people. This battle has already defeated the Manchurians. The courage of the Eight Banners, they have already retreated to Ninggu Tower, and intend to rely on the existing local defense system to resist. There is no doubt that there is no chance of winning. Major Wei is currently clearing out the surrounding tribes while waiting for the road to be destroyed due to the muddy road. And the artillery unit that came. I believe that as soon as the artillery is in place, these Qing troops will be killed."

"...The pressure on the troops from Model Fort was not great, and they hardly encountered any fierce resistance. They are currently planning to cross the Ussuri River, enter the coastal area, and conquer the Haixi Jurchen tribe living there. It should not be a big problem. .”

"...the Qing army in South Manchuria did not respond. They only sent some cavalry to the Songliao area, but because of the containment of the counties in eastern Liaodong, they did not dare to send too many people, let alone go north to support Ningguta The Qing army in Naowen City also did not dare to go eastward to harass Model Fort and Harbin, but they seem to be gathering Mongolian tribes, and they seem to be gathering troops, but the target is unknown."

Listening to the battle situation narrated by the staff officers, Lu Xiaofeng immediately felt refreshed.It seems that the work in the North Manchuria area these years has not been done in vain. The infiltration is so strong that the various tribes east of the Songhua River surrendered without daring to make too much resistance, so that Ningguta became an isolated city, a dead place , which is really great.It seems that taking Ninggu Pagoda is not a problem now, and then strike while the iron is hot, gather troops to take down the vast coastal area, and wipe out the Haixi Jurchen tribe who refuses to surrender, then it can be considered that this battle has won a complete victory.

Once the Haixi Jurchen has accepted, then they can set up prefectures and counties in the local area, imitating the old Northeast practice, and formally rule.In the Ningguta area, naturally, we can also find a way to get some immigrants from Denglai and Ningbo, and slowly start reclamation, accumulate strength, and strive to achieve something within ten years.

As for the Jurchen and Mongolian tribes west of the Songhua River, it seems that there is no big problem at present.After solving the worries of Ninggu Pagoda, the people on the east bank can do their best to conquer here in the west.Moreover, they can march from the north and the east, first cut off the wings of Naowen City (that is, the various tribes), and then mobilize elite soldiers and generals to complete their achievements in one battle, completely driving the forces of the Qing army out of this area, Incorporated into the rule of the Great East Bank.

Moreover, it seems that this direction can also be supported by the advance detachment that entered Hulunbeier in the form of leapfrog. The Qing army was attacked on three sides, and the situation was not generally dangerous.Lu Xiaofeng felt that if Naowen City could turn things around under such adversity, then he could just find a piece of tofu and kill him, he really couldn't afford to lose that person!

"Galdan is about to move on the grassland, and Khalkha Mongolia has already asked the Qing court for help. Although this information was passed to our side after going through several hands, it should be true after analysis. Mongolia is the Qing court. Their lifeblood is their seven inches, and they will not sit idly by no matter what, so it is basically certain to gather troops to go north to the Mongolian desert and fight against the people of Galdan. Then, they can still draw How much energy can I use to deal with the endgame in North Manchuria and Liaodong?" Sitting on his grand teacher's chair, Lu Xiaofeng thought to himself: "This is a very good opportunity. After passing this village, I don't know if there is still this shop. Karma Erdan should not be able to deal with Kangxi's troops, but in the short term, Kangxi should not be able to do anything to him. After all, the Mongolian desert is different from the south. It is normal to see no one for a while. As long as Erdan is not stupid, he will not be caught by Kangxi. Besides, Khalkha Mongolia has always been open-minded, and its interior is not monolithic, so the situation is very complicated."

"These are all favorable factors." After taking a breath, Lu Xiaofeng thought.

(End of this chapter)