Chapter Sixty-Five: The Suppression Strategy

“The Fubo Army was not inherited from a mature military system,” He Ming seemed a little unsure how to express it. “This is an army without tradition, without history. It lacks…” he pondered for a moment, “a soul.”

“I think Little Wei’s political education is quite good…”

“This has nothing to do with political education. That’s not what I’m talking about,” He Ming shook his head. “You were also a soldier. You should understand what I mean. The Fubo Army’s organizational model and tactics—including Wei Aiwen’s political education—are all things we copied. No matter how well we train them, they are just an ‘armed force.’ Only an army that has seen blood on the battlefield and fought a real war will have its own soul.”

“You’re worrying too much.”

“Hehe, in three years, everyone has accumulated this capital from scratch, bit by bit, and now it’s all in my hands. How can I not be afraid?” He Ming said.

It was a matter of course that this battle would be won—the technological and generational advantages were so great. If there was a slight setback, the public opinion in the Senate would be very unfavorable to him. Wu De understood his thoughts.

“The problem is, will the road be repaired in time for the real battle?”

“Of course it won’t be finished. The road will be built as long as it can be. Even extending it one meter closer to Qiongshan County town will reduce our logistical pressure. The ultimate goal of building the road is for governance,” He Ming said.

“If the enemy really does as some have speculated, that the Ming army will not launch an offensive until October, this road might be built all the way to Qiongshan County town.”

“The Ming army may not come that late. We should still try to overestimate the enemy,” He Ming said.

The Planning Institute evaluated the plan to build a road across the border. According to the estimates of the General Staff and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, Chengmai itself had no power to resist the road construction. It was just a renovation of the post road, and there was no harassment or conflict of interest with the local people. On the contrary, the road construction team could expand its influence by hiring local labor and purchasing materials.

The officials in Chengmai County would not welcome such a thing, but they would not organize their own troops to attack—everyone knew that leading a few hundred village braves and garrison soldiers to attack the Australians was suicide. The local officials in Chengmai, apart from sending urgent reports upwards, would only turn a blind eye to the road construction project—not because they were unwilling, but because they were unable.

If any local tyrant or evil gentry was blind enough to offer themselves up, they could be directly eliminated to establish their authority.

The problem was the materials and manpower for road construction, Wu De thought after doing the math in his office for a long time. It was about a hundred kilometers from Lingao to Qiongshan. Even if the road was built according to the standard of a simple highway, it would take at least two years to complete it with only manpower. If mechanical equipment was used, it would still take more than six months. The war would probably not wait.

Of course, the road was not originally built just for war. Since they were going to actually control the entire island, this road had to be built sooner or later. Only with a road could they talk about control over the local area. The effect of road construction was particularly obvious in Lingao. Wherever the roads of the Transmigration regime reached, the government orders were also particularly smooth.

Today was the Dragon Boat Festival in May, the day of the dragon boat races on the Pearl River. The city and its surroundings were bustling with activity. In Guangzhou during the Little Ice Age, the weather on the Dragon Boat Festival was still cool enough to wear a lined jacket.

The governor’s yamen in the city was heavily guarded. The sedan chair of Governor Li Fengjie first entered the governor’s yamen through the side gate, followed by many civil and military officials, including General-in-Chief He Rubin, Imperial Censor Gao Shunqin, the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Haibei Sub-prefect, the Hainan Sub-prefect, and the Guangzhou Prefect, who all arrived one after another.

Behind the main hall of the governor’s yamen, after passing through a courtyard, was the second hall. The second hall, in addition to the central hall, also had heated pavilions on both sides, which were places for meetings and discussions.

Wang Zunde was in the west heated pavilion of the second hall, secretly discussing military matters with the main civil and military officials of Guangdong. It was already a consensus among everyone that the suppression of the Bopu bandits required the strength of the entire province.

After all the main officials had arrived, the meeting was presided over by Wang Zunde. After he made the decision to use force, he had held several private meetings with the officials in the provincial capital and had reached a general consensus.

The Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner had already agreed to allocate 200,000 taels of silver in advance for the army to repair weapons and ships and for the start of the campaign. Other expenses would be raised later.

“Today, we are discussing the matter of suppressing the bandits, which is very urgent. The bandits occupy Bopu, privately open a commercial port, build cities and forts, and recruit local traitors as soldiers. Their power is already great. I have heard that the bandits have iron ships and fast cannons, and their firearms are sharp. If this continues, they will become a great disaster for our Guangdong province. I invite you all to express your opinions on how to drive the bandits out of Qiongzhou.”

Everyone looked at each other. They more or less knew about the bandits or Australians in Lingao. As for the reputation of the Australians’ firearms and iron ships, everyone had also heard of them. In general, apart from Imperial Censor Gao and General-in-Chief He, everyone was not enthusiastic about going to war with the Australians.

The Australians had not done anything in the coastal areas of Guangdong that gave everyone a headache. They did not kill, rob, or set fires. They did business in a proper manner. The several businesses they had in Guangzhou were also very well-behaved. They never shorted the customary payments for the three festivals and two birthdays, and would occasionally offer some new Australian things as tribute. As for the Ziminlou, it was a good place where many people had gone to enjoy the “Australian secret arts.”

Now that they were to be expelled and annihilated, some people felt a little reluctant. And some people thought that Governor Wang was recklessly starting a border conflict—the government army was not necessarily a match for the Australians. If they lost a battle, it would instead anger the Australians and cause chaos along the coast.

But since Governor Wang had made up his mind, it was naturally not convenient for everyone to object. Some people were already making other plans—how to divide the property left behind by the Australians after they were expelled.

It should be known that the Australians not only had three properties in Guangzhou, but it was said that many Australian goods were made in Lingao, and they had privately opened a commercial port in Bopu. In that case, there was no telling how much Australian wealth there was in Lingao!

After a battle, when the Australians fled, they could not take everything with them. Everyone would benefit.

Gao Shunqin was the one who most approved of the governor’s decision. He had originally hated these overseas visitors very much. He had originally wanted to expel the Portuguese, let alone this group of Australians of unknown origin.

He coughed and said: “The so-called Australians, they have not paid tribute in previous years, nor are they from the various barbarian tribes of the West or the East. Even the red-haired and the Franks do not know their origin. The things they sell are all strange and obscene things that corrupt the hearts of the gentry and the common people. This kind of ugly creature has secretly become a disease in the heart of Guangdong!”

Everyone echoed his words. But everyone had no confidence in how to expel the Australians.

As for the specific situation of the Australians in Lingao, apart from a few reports sent by Qiongya Commandant Tang Yunwen, everyone only knew some scattered rumors: for example, they claimed to be descendants of the Song people from Yaishan; the Australians were skilled in craftsmanship and so on. Even Commandant Tang’s report only said: the Australians have built forts in Bopu with huge cannons; they have iron fast ships that can travel like flying without sails or oars. In addition, many “traitors from Fujian and Guangdong” have defected to the “fake bandits” and become their vanguard.

Apart from this, no one knew how many people, how many cannons, or how the big iron ships moved, etc. in Lingao. Even how many fake bandits there were was unclear to everyone.

However, Wang Zunde had reports from the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, knowing that after the defeat of Zhu Cailao, a group of people and ships had defected to Lingao, and then the scattered people and ships of various pirates had also defected to Lingao. In total, there should be tens of thousands of people.

“The total number of real and fake bandits in Lingao is at least ten thousand,” He Rubin said. “They also have cannons and iron ships, so it’s not easy to suppress them.”

He Rubin was a military officer, and he only had the right to advise on the strategy of the battle, not to decide. But he was after all the person who would carry out the combat operations, so his thoughts were also very important.

Lu Yizhong quickly said: “The fake bandits are only after the small profits of the bandits. As long as the governor issues a proclamation to inform them of the harm of joining the bandits, and the imperial army moves, the fake bandits will naturally disperse. They are not a threat.”

“Hmph, this matter may not be as easy as the strategist says,” He Rubin said. “The fake bandits are mostly remnants of pirates like Zhu and Yang. They were originally desperadoes on the sea. Now they have joined forces with the bandits. The bandits can sail iron ships and break through thousands of miles of waves. They must be good at sailing. If the two collude and we cannot annihilate them in one fell swoop, and they scatter, our Guangdong waters will never have a peaceful day!”

“The bandits are not like ordinary pirates. Ordinary pirates are only after money. The Australians call themselves descendants of the Chinese, and when they came to the Ming, they neither sent envoys to the court nor submitted to our rule. They privately built a city in a corner of Lingao and recruited refugees. They have a disloyal heart!” He said with a stern voice and expression, putting a big hat on the Australians.

“General Yinzhi.”

He Rubin quickly stood up, cupped his hands and said: “I dare not, my lord.”

“You are a hereditary commander of the court, and you are also a high-ranking official of the town garrison. This governor has always relied on you as the great wall of Guangdong. What good strategy do you have for suppressing the bandits?”

He Rubin respectfully bowed and replied: “In my humble opinion, there are three difficulties in suppressing the bandits.”

“What are the three difficulties?”

“There is no difference between the fake bandits and the real bandits. During the Jiajing era’s pirate turmoil, there were also real pirates and fake pirates. The real pirates were only one or two out of ten, but they still rampaged on the seas for decades and were a great disaster for the court. This is the first.”

“Hmm,” Wang Zunde nodded.

“Secondly, the bandits in the Guangdong area have recruited refugees, bought and sold fairly, did not plunder merchants or rob ships, and have done much to win the hearts of the people. Once our army moves, there will be people who have followed the bandits to report to them. It will be difficult to keep military secrets.”

“Reasonable.”

“Thirdly, the bandits’ ships are strong and their cannons are sharp, and their firearms are sharp. Our army is no match for them. In my humble opinion, they are probably even better than the red-haired, the Dutch, and the Franks.”

Wang Zunde stroked his beard and smiled, asking: “What strategy does the general have?”

“I dare not, my lord,” he said with even more respect. “Your Excellency is a man of divine strategy, and you naturally have a plan to pacify the bandits. Please enlighten me on your strategy.”

“At today’s meeting, speak your mind freely.”

“Yes.”

He Rubin’s strategy was no different from what Lu Yizhong had envisioned. The Australians had the advantage of ships and cannons, and it was not enough to force them to withdraw by just sending a few thousand men and a hundred or so ships to show force. Therefore, a large army must be used.

A land and sea army of 20,000 men would be dispatched, with at least 6,000 combat troops. More firearms would be brought, especially Hongyi cannons.

“The enemy is used to ships, and they have also taken in the remnants of various pirates. Our army must not fight them on the sea,” He Rubin was not from the navy, but he was very clear about the capabilities of his province’s navy. Let alone big iron ships and fast iron ships, they were no match for the red-haired’s large galleons and fast boats. If they did not use fire ships, they could not fight the enemy at all.

In his strategy, the Guangdong navy would only undertake transport tasks, transporting the participating troops in batches to Haikou Thousand-Household Post, where the entire army would assemble in Qiongshan County.

“Although the Australians are powerful, they have not yet been able to capture a single county, which shows that they are not good at land warfare. If I use a large land army to suppress them, I can achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

According to He Rubin’s estimate, the fake bandits were mostly remnants of pirates like Zhu Cailao. The imperial army might not be their match on the sea, but in land warfare, if they set up a proper formation, the other side would not dare to face them head-on. They would inevitably retreat to Bopu and hold their ground. He would personally lead a large army to Bopu by land. The people of Lingao who had followed the bandits would no longer dare to supply the Bopu bandits with vegetables and meat. If the army besieged them for a few months to half a year, they could be forced to dismantle their forts and leave.

Wang Zunde was quite satisfied with his plan. But according to the usual rules, the formulation of the strategy was not the business of a military officer, so it was not convenient for him to say whether it was good or not. He just stroked his beard and smiled.

“Your Excellency!” Li Fengjie said, “If we only send a land army to suppress them, the bandits will still be able to come and go freely on the sea. Although the traitors in Lingao cannot supply them with vegetables and meat, there are many traitors in Fujian and Guangdong who are greedy for heavy profits. I’m afraid it may not be as the garrison commander wishes.”

“What good strategy do you have, brother?”

“Liu Laoxiang is a scourge to our Guangdong. If we can follow Cao Lǚtai’s strategy and offer him amnesty to use the bandits to attack the bandits, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?”

That was true, but who would go to contact this “great bandit”? Liu Laoxiang had been raiding the mouth of the Pearl River, and the government troops and local village braves had fought with his small landing parties many times, but they never knew where his main force was. The Portuguese had tried to eliminate Liu Xiang many times without success—they even wanted to join forces with the Ming to suppress him.

To pacify such a great pirate on the sea, it would be impossible without one or two years of back-and-forth contact. The so-called “using bandits to attack bandits” was just empty talk.

Although Wang Zunde was all smiles, he actually disagreed.

“This matter needs to be considered in the long run. If we can pacify them, it will naturally be a great good thing,” he said. “I wonder who is the Cao Lǚtai of Guangdong province?”

Yuegang Maritime Defense Sub-prefect Cao Lǚtai was the main person in charge of Xiong Wencan’s pacification of Zheng Zhilong. All matters after Zheng Zhilong’s pacification were also handled by him. The strategy of using bandits to attack bandits was first proposed by Cao Lǚtai. Wang Zunde felt that his province did not have such a bold, capable, and well-informed official who understood the “situation of the bandits.”

Li Fengjie, however, had his own little plan. Someone in his staff had made contact with Liu Laoxiang and was persuading him to surrender. From his staff, he learned that although Liu Xiang’s power had expanded rapidly for a time, he was extremely worried about Zheng Zhilong’s expansion—once Zheng Zhilong eliminated Zhong Bin, he would inevitably go east to Guangdong to eliminate him.

Li Fengjie believed that since Liu Xiang had such thoughts, the possibility of pacifying him was very high, so he had been stepping up his efforts in this matter recently. In order to avoid Wang Zunde’s interference, he kept it a secret.

At this time, he brought it up, not really to use Liu Xiang, but to first get Wang Zunde to express his attitude towards pacifying Liu Xiang. Now that his goal was achieved, he did not say much more, only simply saying: “I will do my best to handle it.”

The suppression strategy formulated by Wang Zunde was:

He Rubin would command the entire army, and set out from Guangzhou after a flag-raising ceremony. They would cross the sea in batches to Qiongzhou Prefecture and assemble at Haikou Thousand-Household Post. Three hundred naval ships would be dispatched—the navy did not have so many large ships, and it was too late to build them immediately, so the shortfall would be supplemented by commandeering ships along the coast.

A total of 15,000 men would be mobilized, with He Rubin’s town standard central battalion and personal retainers as the main force, supplemented by parts of the provincial and commandery standards—a total of 6,000 combat troops. Qiongya Commandant Tang Yunwen’s troops would also be under his command. In this way, the Ming army for the suppression would have 20,000 men by land and sea. Wang Zunde also prepared to order the Hainan Sub-prefect: he was to mobilize the village braves of Qiongshan, Chengmai, and Lingao and the usable local garrison soldiers to cooperate in the battle. The rations and pay for this force would be handled by Qiongzhou Prefecture itself.

After the troops were assembled, the land army would advance towards Lingao along the post road. After the land army had surrounded Bopu, the navy would act according to the situation. Wang Zunde had no hope for the combat effectiveness of his province’s navy, so he did not specify their mission.

The matter of borrowing Frankish warships and cannons to assist in the suppression was strongly opposed by Gao Shunqin. He had originally wanted to submit a memorial to cut off trade with the Portuguese. Now if the borrowing of troops to drive out the bandits was successful, the court would regard the Franks as useful allies. How could his memorial be approved?

Therefore, although he knew that the Franks’ large ships and heavy cannons were beneficial to the suppression of the bandits, he still held a firm attitude of opposition. Wang Zunde was unwilling to argue with him and did not mention this matter again.

Since the government army’s navy could not compete with them, Wang Zunde resorted to the magic weapon of a sea ban. He immediately ordered Qiongya Commandant Tang Yunwen to lead the navy to patrol near Haikou and prohibit all civilian ships from entering the Qiongzhou Strait.

“My lord, why not transfer troops from Guangxi?” Lu Yizhong was surprised that his master had not summoned the officials of Guangxi to the meeting. Guangxi had some brave and capable Tusi soldiers. In the past few Li rebellions in Hainan, the court had transferred Miao, Yao, Dong, and other ethnic Tusi soldiers from Guangxi to fight across the sea.

“This is a Guangdong matter, so Guangdong’s troops are better to use,” Wang Zunde said nonchalantly. “Guangxi is a barren and poor place, so it’s better to conscript less.”

Lu Yizhong thought for a moment and understood his meaning—”Guangdong matters are handled by Guangdong.”

“Your Excellency has a high opinion.”

“Not at all.” Wang Zunde nodded with a graceful air. Then he asked Lu Yizhong for detailed information about the bandits in Lingao. Lu Yizhong was equivalent to the “chief minister” in the governor’s staff. All kinds of news, reports, and documents would first be gathered in his hands.

However, the reports from Hainan received in Guangzhou were only a few vague words—they knew too little about the situation of the bandits in Lingao. Wang Zunde immediately ordered people to go to Qiongzhou Prefecture to post a notice to recruit talents, to gather people who understood the situation of the bandits in Lingao and were familiar with the local hydrography and geography. He also ordered He Rubin to send more spies to Lingao to investigate.

“There is one person who I think can be asked.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“The magistrate of Lingao County—Wu Mingjin.”

Lu Yizhong reminded him that Lingao County town had not yet fallen. The officials in the county were all alive and well. The county magistrate should know the situation of the bandits best. It would be better to send someone to summon him to Guangzhou in the name of reporting on his duties. The local situation and the internal situation of the bandits could be known at once.