Zhao Yingong returned to his lower place, feeling quite proud. With Sun Yuanhua's support, things would be much easier to handle. However, he had many things going on, especially the work of collecting refugees in Zhejiang was about to begin, so he had to get things done as soon as possible.
Make arrangements to rush back to Hangzhou to take charge.
There were so many things at hand, and he sat behind his desk and worked hard for almost half the night. While he was busy, the doctor who came with him came to report that the young man who had been rescued had regained consciousness and had the strength to speak.
Xie Yao is a naturalized general practitioner trained by the Ministry of Health. He speaks Shaanxi dialect, which makes him very special among the naturalized people in Lingao. Whether it is language or living habits, Xie Yao feels a little out of place, so
This time someone was going to be sent to Shandong and he took the initiative to sign up.
"Oh? Did he say anything?" Zhao Yinqiao kept writing the letter without leaving his pen.
"He asked us who we were and how his friends were doing," Xie Yao said.
"Who is he and what is his name?"
"This man calls himself Wang Qisuo. He is a local military household and a small flag." Xie Yao said enthusiastically, "There are two stab wounds on his body. They are not serious, but he is a little weak."
"Since there is nothing wrong, let him raise him." Although Zhao Yingong rescued this man on a whim, he had not yet thought about how to deal with him-perhaps he could be used as a channel to contact the local salt dealers and military households? He has not yet given details.
Plan - there are too many things to do, "Watch it carefully, don't let him wander around."
"Yes." Just as Xie Yao was about to exit, Zhao Yingong stopped him: "Call Huang Xiong here by the way."
Huang Xiong had originally been transferred to the northward detachment. In the northward detachment, he also met his distant cousin Huang Ande - they were all preparing to participate in the engine operation. This time Zhao Yingong wanted to go north to Shandong, so he asked Huang Xiong to go as a
One of the attendants.
Huang Xiong's job as captain of the mine protection team in Jiazi Coal Mine was boring. I heard that many people made meritorious service in the Chengmai Battle and were promoted. Many who were just soldiers when he was a platoon leader became second lieutenants after the war.
However, he was stuck in the coal mine practicing militia with no progress. He was a little anxious at first, but this time he was transferred to the northward detachment to go to Shandong, which fulfilled his wish.
He came to Zhao Yingong excitedly and saluted: "Chief! Army Second Lieutenant Huang Xiong has been ordered to come and report!" He was wearing servant's clothes and a wig bun, but he was full of energy and looked capable and modern.
Military style.
"Take a break!" Zhao Yingong said, then raised his head and looked at him, "You can't do this. From now on, you have to put this thing away temporarily. If you want to ask me to meet Mr. Lu Chief, I will fight you thousands of times.
Please greet me."
"Yes! Chief!" Huang Xiong quickly corrected, "Master!" He smiled a little sheepishly, "I felt a little uncomfortable for a while."
"You have to get used to it." Zhao Yingong said, "I will be leaving here soon. We are going to build a fortress here. You are a soldier from Shandong, and you will be the military commander of the fortress in the future."
Huang Xiong quickly stood at attention and saluted again. Zhao Yingong then explained his specific tasks: in addition to leading some soldiers to defend the fortress or farm, he was also responsible for training the recruited refugees, arming them, and ensuring this base.
Able to protect themselves in the Dengzhou Rebellion.
"Of course, here you will be just a servant leader or a village yong teacher for a long time. You have to adapt to this disguise. This place is still the territory of the Ming Dynasty for the time being. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
"You have to know that we don't have cannons for you. I'll give you a class, and you have to use them as seeds to train the recruited refugees into qualified militiamen - at least qualified rural warriors."
"It's easy. That's what I do all day long in Jiazi Coal Mine -" Huang Xiong said. He couldn't help but feel frustrated. He was now the captain of the mine protection team again, but this time it was changed to a farm.
Zhao Yingong saw the difference in his expression and probably knew what he was thinking - the Political Security Administration had given him all the latest ideological developments of the personnel to be assigned to work in Shandong before departure.
"You have to know that Operation Engine is a national policy-level operation of the Senate. Everyone involved in the operation must do their best to contribute their full strength to this mission!" He said with a slight smile, "Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!" Huang Xiong perked up and immediately understood the meaning of the "chief"'s words: after the operation is successful, as the person in charge of a project, he must be promoted and rewarded. He said loudly: "For the veteran
Serving the hospital and the people!”
"Well, you go down first and sort out the ideas for organizing Xiang Yong. Then report to me tomorrow how many weapons and equipment are needed. Come up with a list."
After Huang Xiong left, Zhao Yingong immediately sent someone to find Lu Wenyuan. Lu Wenyuan was a young man who used to be engaged in water conservancy engineering and also had certain civil engineering skills. He has been working in the construction company since the d day.
He is responsible for the agricultural infrastructure work of the Agricultural Committee. When he came to Shandong this time, his professional counterpart was young and strong, so he was selected as the person in charge of the Shandong base.
Because he was too young and feared that it would be difficult to deal with the local indigenous people - after all, it was Zhao Yingong who made the start - Lu Wenyuan was Zhao Yingong's cousin. In order to facilitate the work, Lu Wenyuan was educated at Lingao Church before departure.
After receiving the baptism, Zhao Yingong led him around Hangzhou and gained the trust of the Hangzhou church.
Lu Wenyuan's grand ambition is to open a large harem, but he has not succeeded yet - the maid reluctantly bought one, so that at least she would have someone to do the laundry and cook. When this person was sent to Shandong on a mission, Lu Wenyuan's hormones were secreted in large quantities:
As the saying goes, first come first, first come the moon. If you don't take this opportunity to recruit Shandong girls to enrich your harem, your trip will be in vain.
"Little deer——"
"Call my name, I'm not Junko." Lu Wenyuan said dissatisfied.
"Okay, Junko - no, Wenyuan," Zhao Yingling said, "I will work with you to explore suitable land recently and buy it as the base for our Shandong operations. Then it will be your job."
"I am good at farmland water conservancy construction," Lu Wenyuan boasted, "Farming land is relatively lacking."
"Lord, you can do whatever you want. There will be a fight here in Shandong soon. Let's build the wall first, build the pier, and wait for the people to be installed."
Lu Wenyuan said he understood.
"In a few days, I will take you to see Sun Yuanhua and prepare a way for you - you are a Catholic now. Don't forget to participate in the religious activities of the local church, especially the weekly services!" Zhao Yingong warned, "Don't be exposed.
Got it!"
"Okay, I understand." Lu Wenyuan nodded helplessly, "Dean Wu has given me enough religious classes."
Zhao Yingong knew from historical data that the Shandong Church in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties had more than 3,000 believers in the middle of the 17th century. This was after experiencing the war and chaos in the late Ming Dynasty and when Sun Yuanhua was the governor of Denglai, the size of the church was at least not low.
to this number.
Although the number of more than 3,000 people is not large, the believers are involved in all social levels, and their internal cohesion is relatively good. Trying to use the power of the local church as a basis for local activities is the best way Zhao Yingong planned to quickly open up the situation in Shandong.
method.
As for where to choose this Shandong base, there are many different opinions. The candidate list includes Dongying, Yangkou, Longkou, Huangqibao, Jimo and even Qingdao. All ports along the Shandong Peninsula have been proposed. Among them, Rizhao and Qingdao have the most proposals.
.
However, the General Staff Headquarters studied the data and found that although Kong Youde's rebels were powerful in Shandong, their scope of influence was very small. The rebels basically only operated along the Bohai Bay coast of the Shandong Peninsula. The terrain of Dongsanfu was relatively rugged. In the Ming Dynasty,
Under the traffic conditions, neither refugees nor rebels could go too far. The base was chosen too far from the Denglai area, making it difficult to accommodate refugees. Therefore, various ports along the Jiaozhou Bay were first cancelled.
As for Dongying and Yangkou, although they are also along the Bohai Bay, they are too far away from the Denglai area. The land distance is more than 300 kilometers. In comparison, they are closer and more convenient to Cangzhou, Hebei.
It seems that the only way to effectively collect and transfer refugees is to occupy a base along the Bohai Bay. The final choice is Longkou. Longkou is not only a good port, but also very close to Zhaoyuan, which is China's main gold producing area.
The disadvantage is that Longkou is located in Huang County, which is where Kong Youde's rebels and the Ming army fought. There is great military pressure to maintain the existence in the chaos.
"But there are advantages. Longkou is not a prosperous place now, it is just a small fishing port at best. Kong Youde may not be interested in making a special trip to Longkou to attack us. As long as we can get the support of the navy, it will not be a problem to occupy the population of Longkou."
"Let's just go to the mouth of the dragon." Lu Wenyuan said, "When it comes to building fortresses, no one in this time and space can match us. I don't believe that Kong Youde has the ability to capture our fortress?"
"Don't talk too much. Kong Youde is very good at using red cannons. There are Portuguese people in Dengzhou and many Western cannons. Didn't they be shot down by him?" Zhao Yingong said, "If we don't have cannons in our own hands, how can we still kill them?"
There’s really no guarantee that we can hold on to it.”
"Isn't the northward detachment coming by then? They may not be the opponents of the northward detachment." Lu Wenyuan said, "I want to do it this way-"
Specifically, using the support of the government, we first started construction in the Longkou enclosure and set up armed shops and farms. At the same time, we sent people to Yizhou and other places to recruit refugees to Longkou first. These people will serve as the basic armed and construction force of the Longkou base.
Organize yourself. When the war breaks out, as long as you show enough strength to stabilize the place, the refugees will naturally flow to the business houses protected by armed forces. After the war, they will quickly occupy or support agents to completely control Longkou and Zhaoyuan.