Chapter 964 - Chess Pieces in Shandong
Zhao Yingong returned to his lodgings feeling quite pleased with himself. With Sun Yuanhua's support, matters would proceed much more smoothly. But he had countless tasks to attend to, especially the Zhejiang refugee collection work that was about to commence. He had to arrange everything quickly and hurry back to Hangzhou to take charge.
With so many matters at hand, he sat behind his desk and worked until nearly midnight. While engrossed in his tasks, the physician accompanying him came to report that the young man they had rescued had awakened and could now speak.
Xie Yao was a fully trained naturalized general practitioner from the Health Department. He spoke with a Shaanxi accent, which made him stand out among Lingao's naturalized population. Both in language and lifestyle, Xie Yao felt somewhat out of place, which was precisely why he had volunteered when people were being recruited for the Shandong mission.
"Oh? Did he say anything?" Zhao Yingong kept writing, pen never leaving paper.
"He asked who we were and what happened to his companions." Xie Yao said.
"Who is he? What's his name?"
"He claims to be Wang Qisuo—a local military household, even holds a minor flag commander rank." Xie Yao said enthusiastically. "Two knife wounds on his body, not serious—just a bit weak."
"Since he's fine, let him rest and recover." Though Zhao Yingong had impulsively saved this person, he hadn't yet considered what to do with him. Perhaps he could serve as a channel to connect with local salt vendors and military households? He had no detailed plans yet—too many things demanded his attention. "Keep a close eye on him—don't let him wander about."
"Yes." Xie Yao was about to withdraw when Zhao Yingong called him back. "While you're at it, summon Huang Xiong for me."
Huang Xiong had originally been assigned to the Northern Expedition Support Team, where he had even encountered his distant kinsman Huang Ande—both were preparing to participate in Operation Engine. When Zhao Yingong headed north to Shandong, he had specifically requested Huang Xiong as one of his retinue.
Huang Xiong had found his position as mine guard captain at Jiazi Coal Mine utterly tedious. Hearing that many men had distinguished themselves and received promotions during the Chengmai campaign—many who had been mere soldiers when he was already a platoon leader had since made lieutenant—while he remained stuck at the mine drilling militia with no prospects in sight, he had grown somewhat anxious. Being transferred to the Northern Expedition Support Team for the Shandong mission was exactly what he had hoped for.
He came before Zhao Yingong with great enthusiasm, snapped a salute: "Chief! Army Second Lieutenant Huang Xiong reporting for duty!" He wore retainer's clothing with a fake topknot, but his spirit was strong—the capable bearing of a modern soldier shining through.
"At ease!" Zhao Yingong said, then looked him over. "This won't do. From now on, you need to put all this away. Call me and Chief Lu 'Master.' When meeting us, you bow and curtsy."
"Yes, Chief!" Huang Xiong hastily corrected himself: "Master!" He smiled a bit sheepishly. "Takes a moment to get used to."
"You need to get used to it quickly." Zhao Yingong said. "I'll be leaving here soon. We need to build a fortress here, and you're from the Shandong garrison troops—you'll be the fortress's military commander from now on."
Huang Xiong immediately snapped to attention and saluted again. Zhao Yingong then explained his specific duties: besides leading a portion of the soldiers to defend the fortress or estate, he would also be responsible for training the recruited refugees, arming them, and ensuring this base could protect itself during the coming Dengzhou Mutiny.
"Of course, here you'll only be a retainer captain or village militia instructor for a long time. You need to adapt to this cover identity—this is still Great Ming territory for now, understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
"You should know, we have no cannons to give you. I'm giving you one squad—you'll use them as seeds to train the recruited refugees into qualified militia, or at least qualified village defense forces."
"That's easy—at Jiazi Coal Mine I did nothing but this every day—" Huang Xiong began, then couldn't help feeling deflated. Wasn't this just being a mine guard captain again? Only this time with an estate instead of a mine.
Zhao Yingong noticed his expression change and could roughly guess what he was thinking—the Political Security Bureau had provided him with the latest psychological reports on all personnel assigned to Shandong work before departure.
"You should know, Operation Engine is a national-level operation of the Senate. Everyone participating must devote all their strength wholeheartedly to this task!" He smiled slightly. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand!" Huang Xiong's spirits lifted immediately. He grasped the meaning in the "Chief's" words: after the operation succeeded, as a project leader, he would surely receive promotion and commendation. He said loudly: "For the Senate and the people!"
"Good. Go ahead and think through how to organize the village forces. Report to me tomorrow on how many weapons and equipment you'll need. Prepare a list."
After Huang Xiong left, Zhao Yingong immediately sent for Lu Wenyuan. Lu Wenyuan was a young man who had previously worked in water conservancy engineering and also possessed certain civil engineering skills. Since D-Day, he had been at the General Construction Company handling agricultural infrastructure matters for the Agricultural Committee. For this Shandong mission, his expertise was relevant, he was young and strong, and so he had been selected as the Shandong base manager.
Since he was too young and might have difficulty dealing with local natives—after all, the opening move was Zhao Yingong's setup—Lu Wenyuan had been posed as Zhao Yingong's cousin. To facilitate work, before departure Lu Wenyuan had been baptized at the Lingao church, then specifically brought by Zhao Yingong to Hangzhou for a tour to gain the trust of the Hangzhou church.
Lu Wenyuan's grand ambition was to build a large harem, which he had not yet achieved. He had reluctantly purchased one maidservant—at least someone to do laundry and cooking. Being assigned to this Shandong mission had sent his hormones surging: as the saying goes, "those near the water enjoy the moonlight first." If he didn't seize this opportunity to acquire some Shandong girls for his harem, this trip would have been for nothing.
"Little Lu—"
"Just use my name—I'm not Junko." Lu Wenyuan said with displeasure.
"Fine, Junko—no, Wenyuan," Zhao Yingong said. "In the coming days I'll survey suitable land with you, purchase it as our Shandong operations base, and then it'll be your responsibility."
"Agricultural water conservancy construction—that's my specialty." Lu Wenyuan boasted. "I'm a bit lacking in actual farming, though."
"Just plant whatever for now. Soon there'll be fighting in Shandong—first build walls, build a dock, and wait to receive people."
Lu Wenyuan indicated he understood.
"In a few days I'll take you to meet Sun Yuanhua and set up your connections. You're a Catholic now—don't forget to attend local church activities, especially weekly services!" Zhao Yingong cautioned. "Don't blow your cover!"
"Fine, I know." Lu Wenyuan nodded reluctantly. "Dean Wu gave me enough religious instruction."
From historical materials, Zhao Yingong knew the Shandong church during the late Ming and early Qing had over three thousand believers by the mid-seventeenth century. This was after the chaos of the late Ming period. When Sun Yuanhua was Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor, the church's scale would have been at least this large.
Though three thousand wasn't many, the believers touched various social strata, and internal cohesion was strong. Finding ways to leverage the local church as support for their activities was the best method Zhao Yingong had devised for rapidly establishing a foothold in Shandong.
As for where to locate the Shandong base, there had been many different opinions. Candidates included Dongying, Yangkou, Longkou, Huangqibao, Jimo, and even Qingdao. Every port along the Shandong Peninsula coast had been proposed; Rizhao and Qingdao had drawn the most advocates.
However, after the General Staff studied the available materials, they concluded that though Kong Youde's rebel forces would create great momentum in Shandong, their actual range was quite limited. The rebels would basically only operate along the Bohai Bay coast of the Shandong Peninsula. The Eastern Three Prefectures' terrain was relatively rugged, and under Ming-era transportation conditions, neither refugees nor rebels could travel very far. Bases located too far from the Dengzhou-Laizhou region would prove ineffective for receiving refugees. Thus ports along Jiaozhou Bay were eliminated first.
As for Dongying and Yangkou—though also on the Bohai Bay coast, they were too remote from the Dengzhou-Laizhou region, over three hundred kilometers by land. By comparison, reaching Cangzhou in Hebei was actually closer and more convenient.
Looking at all options, effective collection and transfer of refugees probably required occupying a base along the Bohai Bay coast. The final choice was Longkou. Not only was Longkou a fine harbor, but it was also close to Zhaoyuan—a major Chinese gold-producing area. The disadvantage was that Longkou was in Huang County, right where Kong Youde's rebels and Ming forces would engage in seesaw battles. Maintaining a presence amid the chaos would create considerable military pressure.
"But there are advantages too. Longkou isn't a prosperous place right now—at most a small fishing port. Kong Youde may not be interested in specifically attacking us at Longkou. As long as we can get naval support and hold Longkou, receiving refugees shouldn't be a problem."
"Longkou it is, then." Lu Wenyuan said. "When it comes to building fortresses, probably no one in this timeline can match us. I don't believe Kong Youde has what it takes to capture our fortress."
"Don't be too confident. Kong Youde is quite skilled with red-barbarian cannons. Dengzhou had Portuguese and many Western cannons—they still fell to him." Zhao Yingong said. "If we don't have cannons ourselves, we may not be able to hold out."
"By then the Northern Expedition Support Team will arrive, won't they? Surely they're no match for the Support Team." Lu Wenyuan said. "I'm thinking we do it this way—"
Specifically: utilize official support to first claim land in Longkou for development, establishing an armed trading post and estate. Simultaneously send people ahead to Yizhou and other areas to recruit refugees and bring them to Longkou. These would serve as the basic armed and construction force for the Longkou base. Once warfare erupted, as long as they demonstrated sufficient capability to stabilize the area, refugees would naturally flow toward trading posts protected by armed forces. After the war, they would rapidly occupy or install proxies to completely control both Longkou and Zhaoyuan.
(End of Chapter)