Chapter 870: Hug together for warmth

Putting aside the arrogance and domineeringness of the Haihan people, He Xiao thinks it is still very tempting just to look at these conditions. But he is not a person with no authority, and the thoughts in his heart are not directly expressed on his face.

, after thinking expressionlessly for a long time, he responded: "This matter involves many parties, and I can't make a decision without permission. However, what Boss Qian said, I will take it back and ask your Majesty to make a decision."

Although He Xiao's tone was still firm, in Qian Tiandun's view, this was already a sign of the other party's softening attitude. Although he had acted extremely tough just now, confronting the local government of Ming Dynasty was not the best solution. Even if

It is unlikely that the enemies in Ming Dynasty's officialdom can be solved with money in a short period of time. What Qian Tiandun really wants to do is to frighten the other party with a tough attitude, and then induce him with benefits in exchange for the other party's compromise. As he said

As he said, Haihan's current requirements are very low, and he does not need public support from the Ningbo government. As long as he can turn a blind eye and not stand up to cause trouble, it will be fine.

With the current situation, Qian Tiandun estimates that he will not be able to meet and discuss with officials at the level of Ningbo prefect in the short term, so communication between the two parties can only rely on messengers like He Xiao for the time being. What will happen to the senior Ming officials behind He Xiao?

To judge the current situation, to a certain extent, it depends on how he describes it after he returns. Therefore, Qian Tiandun believes that it is necessary to fight for He Xiao, but with his status, there is no need to personally do such a thing.

It would be more convenient for Lin Xing and others to come forward.

This meeting was the first contact between the two parties. The purpose was mainly to test each other. After both parties expressed their attitudes, the basic purpose of the meeting was achieved. Qian Tiandun asked Lin Xing and Ma Ling to hold a banquet for He Xiao.

To ensure that the two leading parties would not say anything wrong at the wine table, Qian Tiandun also transferred two officers from the staff to accompany them.

Lin Xing had already reported He Xiao's situation before. For someone like him who had the habit of collecting cash from Sanlin Gang before, the best way to win over him was undoubtedly to give money directly. So He Xiao was worried when he came and went back

But he was already smiling broadly and promised with all his heart that he would definitely help and say more nice things to Haihan in front of Qu Yutong.

After dismissing the envoys sent by the Ningbo government, the coalition command's attention returned to the north. Currently, the coalition's control range has reached the line of Dengbu Island, which is less than three nautical miles from the southern end of Zhoushan Island. According to the map, it is already

It was very close. Pushing north from Liuheng Island to Dengbu Island, the coalition forces defeated two more groups of armed forces during this period. However, compared to the Haisha Gang on Liuheng Island, the strength of these two groups was still lower.

They were weaker, so it didn't take much effort to deal with them. Xu Yuzhuo led his men to eliminate one of them. The Haihan Militia only provided sea cover and did not participate in the post-landing operations at all.

After entering May, the atmosphere in the Zhoushan Islands has become increasingly tense. The Haihan people have been advancing north recently and have reached the doorstep of the Zhoushan Boat Gang, the first armed force in the East China Sea. Looking at their posture, it is obvious that they have no intention of stopping here.

It should only be a matter of time before we come down and continue to push north.

The leader of the Zhoushan Boat Gang is named Wang Jialin. It is said that he is a descendant of Wang Zhi, a great smuggler during the Jiajing period. However, it is impossible to verify whether this is true or whether he is relying on Wang Zhi's reputation to start trouble. However, Wang Jialin's current reputation in the Zhoushan Islands is

It can indeed compete with Wang Zhi back then.

Similar to other armed forces in the East China Sea, the Zhoushan Boat Gang also has official backers, but its backing is larger than that of its counterparts. It is said that several princes are involved, and there are also people watching over the court in the capital. The sphere of influence of the Zhoushan Boat Gang

Including the sea area centered on Zhoushan Island, Jintang Island, Zhujiajian Island, Putuo Island, Xiushan Island and other adjacent islands are also under its control. There are tens of thousands of people in its control area, and there are many gangs working for it.

With more than 8,000 people, it is the veritable top spot in the East China Sea. Although its strength is not as strong as that of its Fujian counterpart Shiba Zhi in its heyday, the Zhoushan Boat Gang has a much tougher background and will not worry about being suppressed by local officials.

But the appearance of Haihan, an uninvited guest, broke the originally peaceful situation in the East China Sea. Organizations such as the Sanlin Gang and the Haisha Gang either took refuge or were destroyed. In just half a month, about one-third of the Zhoushan Islands had

The area falls under the control of Haihan, and its expansion momentum has not stopped yet. It is basically only a matter of time before Haihan and the Zhoushan Boat Gang start a war.

When the Haihan people were taking action in the south, the Zhoushan Boat Gang was not idle either. On the same day that He Xiao visited Liuheng Island, Wang Jialin, the leader of the Zhoushan Boat Gang, also summoned representatives of more than ten forces in the East China Sea, large and small, to gather in Zhoushan to discuss what to do.

To deal with the menacing Haihan people. Although these forces usually fight with each other, with the current enemy, the situation forces them to stick together for warmth and strive for a chance of survival.

However, there are still many objective obstacles to realize this kind of unity. Just on the issue of jointly sending troops, everyone debated all morning and failed to come up with a charter. The reason is also very simple. No one is willing to waste his own troops to fight for others.

.

Although the Haisha Gang has been destroyed, there are still a small number of fish that escaped the net and escaped from Liuheng Island at the beginning of the war. According to these people's descriptions, the Haisha Gang basically did not even have a chance to fight back in front of the Haihan Fleet.

The gap in strength between the two sides has reached a desperate level. Although not everyone will believe what they say, there is no doubt that most people are still affected and are unwilling to fight head-on with an opponent who is much stronger than themselves.

But others may choose to sit on the sidelines or even defect to the other party, but Wang Jialin has no such retreat. He has always regarded himself as the overlord of the East China Sea. In his eyes, the Sanlin Gang and the Haisha Gang are only supported by the local government.

They are just puppets. The Zhoushan Islands concentrate the maritime trade of several countries in one place and earn millions of taels of revenue every year. How can they be easily given up to others? Even if Wang Jialin can let it go, the big shots behind him will never let it go. And these

He, Wang Jialin, could never afford to offend anyone, and he was far more afraid of them than Hai Han.

Seeing everyone arguing in the hall, the debate was not about how to deal with the Haihan people, but about redistributing the trading shares in this area first. Wang Jialin became more and more angry. Representatives of several companies said that if they could not do it in Silk Road,

If they get more shares in major trade items such as porcelain and tea, they will not send food and troops to participate in the fight against Haihan. These people seem to be completely unaware of their dangerous situation, and they are still staking out petty profits at this juncture.

, this stupid and short-sighted performance really made Wang Jialin angry.

"Stop arguing!" Wang Jialin suddenly shouted loudly: "I invite you here to discuss how to unite to fight against the Haihan people. I am not asking you to fight for power and gain here and discuss how to die as a unit!"

"What does Mr. Wang mean by this? If you want to fight the Haihan people, there must be some benefits, right?" Someone replied unconvinced.

"Benefit? The biggest benefit is that you can survive!" Wang Jialin pointed at the man and cursed: "The heads of Li Luotou and Motegi Shinobu have been sent to Hangzhou. You think the Haihan people are easy to deal with.

?If they want to occupy Zhoushan with peace of mind, how can they spare the lives of people like you and me? If they lose this battle, I am afraid that all of you here will have their heads chopped off and reported as achievements in suppressing bandits!"

Another person said: "Wang Gong, you have big people as your backers, why don't you just ask them to come forward and say something? Why do we go into battle and fight desperately?"

"You know nothing!" Wang Jialin scolded: "Do you think the Haihan people are so strict with rules that they will obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty officials? They have money and soldiers, and they are like earth emperors in the south, even more so than we are in Zhoushan.

The prestige is ten times a hundred times, why should we abide by the rules of the Ming Dynasty? We are looking for the Haihan people not for the backing behind us, but for ourselves! Think about it carefully, what advantages do you have compared with the Haihan people? Everyone here is behind you

There are big and small backers, but where can these backers come in handy? Only in the Ming Dynasty! If we fall, will your backers let the court send troops to avenge us? No, they will only choose to fight with those who replace us.

People continue to cooperate, because no matter who controls Zhoushan, they will open trade with the Ming Dynasty. The money that the big shots should receive will not be less than one tael, it is just another person to pay. Now the Haihan people have arrived at Dengbu Island, and their swords are ready

It’s on your neck. If you’re still fighting over these meaningless things, you won’t even know how you’ll die by then!”

After Wang Jialin's rebuke, some people began to realize the seriousness of the current situation. The Haihan people were different from ordinary pirates. They were not the type to just rob and leave. Instead, they wanted to occupy a place, take root and dominate the place.

Their actions in the East China Sea were obviously not intended to stop after seizing Liuheng Island.

"Haihan people arrived in Ningbo for half a month, and they occupied six or seven large islands and wiped out several forces. Now the Ningbo government and local garrison are turning a blind eye to them. Are you still counting on your backers to come forward?" Wang Jialin said in a deep voice:

"Don't deceive yourself! The only one who can turn the situation around now is ourselves!"

"It's better to try negotiating. I heard that the Sanlin Gang was spared only after Boss Lin personally talked to the Haihan people." Some people still hope that the current crisis can be solved peacefully.

Wang Jialin sneered and said: "The Lin brothers have been colluding with the Haihan people for who knows how long. They are just putting on a show when things happen. Do you believe it? If just talking casually can make the Haihan people stop, then we might as well surrender together. In the name of Zhoushan

Now that it belongs to Haihan, it is actually in our hands. Wouldn't it save trouble? You don't even think about it. If the Haihan people really want to talk, why would they take action on Liuheng Island without saying a word? Now they are pushing to the door step by step.

There is no resistance at all. If it were you, would you still plan to talk to these opponents who have no power to fight back?"

"The Haihan people are so tyrannical in force. The Haisha Gang was defeated in one day and destroyed in two days. I am afraid that it will be difficult for us to defeat them. At that time, it will give the Haihan people an excuse to fight in the East China Sea."

Some people are still very afraid of the power of the Haihan fleet and think that taking action may not be effective.

"Whether we take action or not, the Haihan people don't intend to stop. Do they have any reasonable reason for attacking the Haisha Gang? The Haisha Gang attacked the Shipu Guards. This kind of excuse can't even fool a three-year-old child! Come on!

If you can just find an excuse to attack at any time, what's the problem for them?" Wang Jialin retorted: "What's more, although the Haihan people are strong in combat, they are not invulnerable."

"It seems that Mr. Wang has a good idea. Let's discuss it together!" At the moment, some people who supported Wang Jialin also echoed.

Wang Jialin continued: "I can't say a good way yet, but after thinking hard these days, I have come up with a few ways. You can think about it."

"First, the Haihan people's territory is thousands of miles away in Fujian. If they want to fight in Zhoushan, supply will definitely be a big problem. If we can detect their supply route, intercept their fleet and cut off their supplies,

Maybe we can force them to retreat without a fight."

"Secondly, although the Haihan Militia is powerful, its strength is limited. It is said that the fleet going north this time, including sailors and civilians, only has about 3,000 people. If 3,000 people want to occupy the Zhoushan Islands, wouldn't it be an island?

Can they only put a hundred or so people on it? The bigger the area they want to occupy, the more dispersed their forces will be. Although we don't have enough combat power, if we concentrate on attacking their weak points, we can eat them bit by bit.

their people.”

"Third, although the government and the garrison have not expressed their attitude, it does not mean that they are on the side of Haihan. They are probably just observing the direction of the situation and waiting for the situation to become clear before choosing a side. Although we cannot let the government

Send troops to attack the Haihan people, but at least we cannot let them sit back and watch the Haihan people do whatever they want in Ningbo."

"Fourth, if all the families here can work together to organize an elite force, when the Haihan people attack Zhoushan Island, they can circle back to Liuheng Island and capture its supply port. With good luck, they can capture a few Haihan leaders.

There is still room for maneuver in negotiations.”

Wang Jialin mentioned several methods in one breath, and they all sounded reasonable. However, if you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find that their purpose is to force Haihan to retreat, rather than to win. This shows that even Wang Jialin himself has no idea about defeating Haihan.

Han didn't have much confidence, and there was no plan to fight to the death in the plan he was considering.

However, for everyone who is currently like a headless chicken, the plan proposed by Wang Jialin is worth trying. After all, no one can come up with a better way for the time being. Wang Jialin saw that there were no more objections, and immediately began to discuss the details.

.This plan is easy to say, but there is still a lot of preparation to be done to implement it. And now that Haihan has arrived at the city, there is not much time for them to slowly make preparations.
Chapter completed!