Chapter 335: Hutouya

Lü Zeyang’s Laizhou dialect dispelled much of Fan Shier’s wariness. Seeing that this “commander” of Lujiazhai was very “savvy” and had the calm demeanor of a great general, Fan Shier’s mood improved slightly. Lü Zeyang knew that he had few men and little strength, and many things would require the help of this team of able-bodied men. So he used some means of persuasion. Fan Shier was, after all, just a man who made a living on the streets and didn’t have many schemes. After a few exchanges, their relationship gradually became harmonious.

Fan Shier said that the able-bodied men of the suburb were stationed in several nearby ancestral halls and burial grounds. The government had also issued them some weapons, but the able-bodied men had not been trained, so the weapons were useless.

Lü Zeyang comforted him with a few more words and then called for the acting company commander, Qian Duo.

Qian Duo had enlisted in a later batch than Huang Ande. The two of them had carried guns and stood guard together. Qian Duo’s performance in the army was not very outstanding. He had experienced the baptism of the Battle of Chengmai and the pacification war. By seniority, he had also been promoted to second lieutenant. He was originally just a platoon leader. After the Northern Expeditionary Detachment arrived in Shandong, there were many non-combat casualties due to frostbite. The company commander of the third company of the line infantry was left on Qimu Island because of frostbite on his feet, and Qian Duo was appointed as the acting company commander.

Although Qian Duo was wearing a homespun cotton robe, the spirit forged by his long military life could not be concealed by this attire.

He walked into the hall with a 75-centimeter stride, snapped to attention, and saluted, “Third Company of the Line Infantry, Acting Company Commander, Second Lieutenant Qian Duo, reporting to you! Sir, please give your instructions!”

“At ease!” Lü Zeyang ordered.

The way he walked in and his crisp and neat movements shocked Fan Shier—this kid is really energetic!

Fan Shier had seen many militia and local soldiers who had come to assist in the south gate suburb. Most of them had a listless look, and it was rare to see a few energetic ones.

Not only was he energetic, but there was also a faint aura of killing intent about him. Fan Shier had opened a restaurant outside Laizhou city and had seen many military officers passing by. The military officers who had been on the battlefield and killed people all had a murderous aura, which was not comparable to the bravado of ordinary burly men.

“This is the local paijia, Master Fan. If you need anything, just find him!” Lü Zeyang introduced. “Master Fan is an old hand here. We will have to ask for his help a lot while we are stationed here.”

Fan Shier quickly put on a fawning smile, “It’s my duty, my duty.”

Fan Shier and Qian Duo then went out to discuss matters of stationing, sentry posts, and building fortifications. Qian Duo would handle all these matters well. As a second lieutenant who had undergone three months of intensive training in the training corps, his ability in this area would only be stronger than that of the half-baked Senator Lü. After arranging the matters at hand, Lü Zeyang immediately took a few special reconnaissance soldiers out of the suburb and went to the Haimiao Port west of the city to conduct some preliminary reconnaissance work.

His plan was: if he only assisted Sun Yuanhua in defending the city, it would not reflect his value at all. Only by making greater achievements in the Engine Operation could he effectively enhance his own and the financial circle’s status in the Senate. This was the time for him to exert his “subjective initiative.”

With the development of the war, it was estimated that the next move of both sides would be a seesaw battle around the defense of Laizhou city. The focus of the rebels’ ravages would also shift from the vicinity of Dengzhou to Laizhou. This was already the area of Weifang and western Yantai in later generations. If the collected refugees were to travel by land from here to Qimu Island, it would be a bit too far—the speed of refugees traveling by land was too slow. Therefore, it was logical to find a suitable port near Laizhou as a transfer point.

He planned to use Haimiao Port west of the city as a transfer point. This was a famous fishing port in the Bohai Bay with superior conditions. In later generations, many of the Shandong people who went to Manchuria and the Eighth Route Army who advanced into the northeast set out from Haimiao. In particular, this place was only 10 kilometers from the prefectural city, and the land transportation with Laizhou was relatively convenient. Once the war started, a large number of refugees would definitely flee to the prefectural city with the protection of the city walls, which would bring pressure to the city defense work. It was estimated that Sun Yuanhua would be eager for the Senate to transport away these burdens that consumed grain.

“As long as a pier is built here at Haimiao Port, and Laizhou city is used as bait, won’t the population come rolling in? By this calculation, the merit will be great…” Senator Lü, wrapped in a thick military greatcoat and riding on a horse, couldn’t help but wipe his drool at this thought.

But when he arrived at Haimiao Port, his heart sank. The sea was frozen.

It was his own carelessness. In later generations, Haimiao Port was often reported on CCTV news as a typical example of winter freezing in the Bohai Bay. In the Ming Dynasty during this Little Ice Age, the freezing situation would only be more severe. Senator Lü was so focused on the geographical advantages of Haimiao Port that he unconsciously ignored this point. Now he could only scratch his head. What to do?

After wandering around Haimiao Port for a while, Senator Lü finally ran out of ideas and had to mount the Mongolian horse he had borrowed from the cavalry team and return home dejectedly.

On the way back, Lü Zeyang had been thinking about how to save his plan. Now, on the Huang County side, Master Lu had already sent out armed work teams to various parts of the Jiaodong Peninsula, and the work of “picking up people” was in full swing. But his own action had just started, and it had been ruthlessly broken by this damn weather—it would inevitably leave a bad impression of “exaggeration” among the bigwigs in the financial circle. Senator Lü now particularly regretted the boast he had made to Cheng Dong and Yi Fan at the banquet before his departure. It seemed that this fieldwork was after all not as simple as accounting, and he had thought too simply.

Returning to his lodging in the south gate of the county seat, Lü Zeyang stood in front of a large-scale map of Laizhou Prefecture and, comparing it with the data from his field survey just now, began to think again.

From the map, besides Haimiao Port, there were two other places in Laizhou where one could go to sea: Sanshan Island to the north and Hutouya to the south. In Lü Zeyang’s impression, Sanshan Island was a port that the local government had focused on developing later. He had also been there once or twice. Although it was located further north, due to the influence of the ocean currents, it was actually ice-free in winter. The disadvantage was that the straight-line distance from Laizhou Prefecture city was 25 kilometers, and it would take two or three days for the refugees to walk there. The land route was too far, and the sea route was only 20 nautical miles from Qimu Island, which was too close for shipping. Building a temporary pier was quite uneconomical. Senator Lü shook his head and moved the needle of his distance measuring compass to another candidate location: Hutouya.

Compared to Haimiao Port, Hutouya was located further south. This was also the end point of shipping—the entire coast of Laizhou Bay, only the line from Qimu Island to Hutouya was a sandy and gravelly coast suitable for ships to dock. To the west of Hutouya was almost all tidal flats, and it was impossible to go to sea. Therefore, from an economic point of view, transferring disaster victims from here was the most profitable point, but the problem was the same as Haimiao Port: freezing.

“Freezing, freezing…” Lü Zeyang was very annoyed. He had been going around in circles and had come back to this unsolvable problem. In fact, according to his own experience, the winter on the Shandong Peninsula was not particularly cold. The temperature in Laizhou rarely dropped below -5 degrees Celsius. In one year, he had even survived the winter without wearing long johns to show off. It was now the first lunar month of the fifth year of Chongzhen. If he was optimistic, the sea would probably thaw in one or two months. During this time, the Senate would still have patience.

The problem was that this was the Ming Dynasty, and there were no climate and hydrological data for Laizhou Bay. If the situation was as he estimated, this freezing period could be used to build facilities near the port and make preliminary preparations. The refugees could be temporarily accommodated in the city—if there was not enough grain, he could request that Qimu Island support Sun Yuanhua with a batch of grain. When spring came and the flowers bloomed, Laizhou city could have a large population explosion.

However, if they really did this, it would involve the problem of the refugees leaving the city. In the original historical time and space, the main force of the rebels was stationed under the city of Laizhou, and the siege lasted for more than half a year. Although ancient sieges could rarely truly surround a city to the point of being “impenetrable,” it was impossible for the rebels not to see thousands or tens of thousands of people leaving the city for the seaside.

However, Lu Wenyan had once talked to him about this, and he would find a way to solve it. As for how to solve it, Lü Zeyang could roughly guess: nine times out of ten, it was to reach some kind of agreement with the rebels.

At this time, Fan Shier was arranging for people to send door panels to the Wang family’s burial ground to build bunks. He saw that this group of militia was working nimbly, each busy with their own tasks: surveying the houses, building bunks, repairing fortifications… No one was slacking off, and no one was gathering together to chat. Although people were constantly coming and going between the various courtyards, there was no extra noise, and the order was well-maintained.

Fan Shier secretly admired them: no wonder this Master Lü was so confident! This was not a militia, but a first-class strong army!

Walking into a courtyard, a strange two-wheeled cart was emitting green smoke—Fan Shier had seen many carts, but this was the first time he had seen a cart with a chimney, and he was very curious. When he got closer, he saw that there was actually an iron stove on the cart, and a pot of boiling water was being heated on it. Several cooks were busy on the side. Next to the cart were many wooden boxes and freshly delivered cabbage, radishes, and grain bags.

In the courtyard, there were also a few baskets of seafood that smelled of the sea—they had probably just been brought here.

The able-bodied men who had come with him to deliver the bunk boards also found it strange and gathered around to watch the excitement—this was the first time they had seen a stove on a cart. It was a real eye-opener.

The cooks saw them approaching and did not stop them, but they did not allow them to get too close, and they were especially not allowed to get close to the water buckets and the operating table. These cooks were all wearing oilcloth aprons, with their sleeves rolled up high, and there was a strange smell on their arms.

Just as Fan Shier was looking at it with curiosity, he suddenly saw Qian Duo walk in and beckon him over.

“What are your orders, Vice-Master Qian?”

“Chief, hmm, the master wants to eat sea intestines and mackerel dumplings. I heard that you used to be a cook. Do you know how to make them?”

“Yes, yes, this is a famous local dish,” Fan Shier thought to himself, so this Master Lü likes this—although this thing is delicious, high officials and nobles rarely ask for it—it’s a “poor man’s delight.”