Chapter 353: Island-wide Naturalization

“We only had five hundred men at the beginning, and now we control Hainan Island, don’t we?” Zhu Mingxia said. “Don’t be anxious. Once we have more immigrants from Shandong, this place will naturally be all ours.”

“That’s true. The three companies of local militia you brought can at least replace some of the Japanese Public Security Army’s garrison duties,” Nangong Wudi said. “But they don’t have firearms, so at best they’re at the level of the Public Security Army.”

“What about the cavalry and transport corps training teams?” Zhu Mingxia remembered that these units had already been relocated to Jeju Island, numbering several hundred men.

“They’re all being bossed around by Nick. I can’t get a hand in at all.” The cavalry and transport corps training teams, shipped from Hainan Island, were busy with horse-breeding duties in addition to their daily training.

Nick had taken over the stables outside Jeju City, as well as the stables in the three cities and nine towns and some nearby official horse pastures. The number of horses under his control had swelled to over three thousand. To screen, treat, breed, and raise these horses, he had not only occupied most of the men from the two training teams but also used many of the local stable hands and horse-breeding government slaves, and he was still constantly complaining about being short-staffed.

“…Nick asks me for men every day now. He’s very dissatisfied with the locals—says he can’t communicate with them. He insists on having my soldiers, or at least the naturalized citizens from the agricultural reclamation companies. It’s hard for me too.”

Although Nangong Wudi sounded aggrieved, he was actually quite willing for Nick to use these troops. The reason was simply that he also hoped to see a powerful cavalry force soon. Ever since he had mounted the dozen or so former mounted samurai from the Japanese Public Security Army company on warhorses and upgraded them to a cavalry guard, Nangong Wudi had fallen in love with the feeling of being surrounded by cavalry. It would be even more impressive if the men, horses, uniforms, and weapons were more majestic and magnificent.

In that case, the troop strength was indeed a bit thin. The forces under Nangong Wudi’s command were small and varied. He had all sorts of units, but they were mainly auxiliary and logistical troops. Apart from the two training teams, the only other usable unit was the engineer company. But this engineer company also served as the core construction team for many building projects.

The only real combat units were two infantry companies and one Japanese Public Security Army company. As for the naval personnel, they were basically unavailable. The ships of the Second Fleet were frequently sailing between Jeju and Shandong, and the sailors were physically exhausted, making it difficult to spare any for land operations.

If it weren’t for the Jeju Agricultural Reclamation Corps, which had been sent over earlier and had taken on a significant portion of the local defense duties, the Jeju Island detachment wouldn’t even have been able to complete the task of manning their posts and holding the line.

It was precisely because of the lack of troops on Jeju Island that Zhu Mingxia had transported three hundred local militiamen from Shandong. With these three hundred men, they could take on a considerable part of the garrison duties, freeing up troops for mobile operations in the interior.

Although Zhu Mingxia was not in charge of political work and this was his first time on Jeju Island, he had some understanding of the situation on the island through the weekly intelligence summaries sent from Jeju.

The upcoming Jeju Political Consultative Conference was, in fact, a meeting to demand the complete submission and expression of sincerity from all the powers on the island. Any force whose performance did not satisfy the Senate would subsequently be eliminated.

Many of the powerful local families on the island were probably aware of this. So, although it was calm and peaceful now, the island would plunge into intense turmoil as soon as the meeting ended. The next step would be to launch a pacification campaign, depending on the situation, to eliminate “hostile forces” and “destabilizing factors.”

However, in the secret orders from the Planning Commission and the People’s Committee for Civil Affairs to the Jeju Island Forward Committee, Jeju Island was to fully implement “village consolidation and settlement” when the “time was ripe.” This was based on the fact that the local population consisted mostly of tenant farmers, herdsmen-slaves, and government slaves, with a very low population density.

Apart from a very small number of merchants, almost no one among the lower-class commoners on Jeju Island had any property or land. Village consolidation and settlement would not encounter much resistance. As for the landlords and pasture owners, they would naturally not be allowed to continue to exist.

Based on the reconnaissance work carried out by the special reconnaissance team deep into Jeju Island over the past few months, the Jeju Island Forward Committee had roughly identified all the settlements on the island. By combining the scale of these settlements with the data from the supervisory camp, they had estimated the total actual population of the island to be around forty-three thousand people.

Twenty thousand Shandong refugees had already been transported to Jeju Island, and more would follow. Although most of the population would be transferred to Taiwan and Hainan Island after the purification process, a considerable number would remain on the island, forming the basis of the Senate’s rule.

Before that, the northern detachment had to ensure the complete suppression and elimination of all forces on the island that hindered its “naturalization.” According to a plan that was still under discussion, a portion of the island’s Korean population would be transported to Taiwan and Hainan Island to accelerate their “naturalization” process. This had not yet been formally approved only due to concerns about the transport capacity for the southward journey.

Zhu Mingxia and Nangong Wudi discussed the troop adjustment plan. Before the Political Consultative Conference, he needed to prepare sufficient mobile forces: at least one complete infantry company and several artillery units ready for combat at any time. The Japanese Public Security Army company would also be committed to battle if the situation required it.

Although the newly formed White Horse unit was not very effective in combat, they were familiar with the local situation and could serve as guides and translators.

In that case, the total force seemed to be roughly sufficient. After all, Jeju Island was not as complex as Hainan Island in terms of area, geography, or social conditions. And the policy of “island-wide naturalization” greatly reduced the workload of political work. After the village consolidation and settlement, they could “educate” them however they wanted.

“How many cavalrymen can we get from Nick?”

“The cavalry training team can probably field one company, but they have many new recruits and few veterans. I’m afraid they won’t be of much use.”

Most of the veterans in the cavalry training team were serving as reconnaissance cavalry in Shandong. There were not many personnel on Jeju Island who could carry out combat missions, and this portion of the men also had to serve as instructors for the horses and soldiers.

Zhu Mingxia said, “No matter. They are mostly stationed outside Jeju City now and can serve as a garrison force. With the addition of the new Shandong Public Security Army company, we can free up the entire Japanese Public Security Army to serve as a reserve. I hear they are quite good fighters?”

“They are indeed very good fighters. They don’t like using rifles and prefer close combat…” Nangong Wudi sighed. “It’s a pity the best one is crippled. Although he survived, he can no longer be a soldier.”

“If he can’t be a soldier, he can do other things. Those who have shed blood for us are all candidates for cultivation,” Zhu Mingxia said, looking at his watch. “Let’s go. Let’s go see old Feng and see how his Political Consultative Conference is coming along.”

Zhu Mingxia waited for a long time in the meeting room of the supervisory camp before Feng Zongze and Xue Ziliang arrived. The two exchanged views on the situation and work on Jeju Island and discussed the next steps. As it was getting late, Feng Zongze hosted a banquet.

“You’ve had a hard time on that small island these days—eating dry rations every day, I suppose.”

“It’s alright. There’s no shortage of meat, just no vegetables,” Zhu Mingxia said, feasting on stir-fried cabbage with dried shrimp. “Why didn’t you get some Korean kimchi? It’s sour and spicy, and goes well with rice.”

“Who else in East Asia is growing red peppers besides us at this time?” Feng Zongze laughed. “There is non-spicy kimchi, but I thought you wouldn’t be interested…”

“Indeed, I’m not interested. Do you have seeds?”

“Wait until spring. And potatoes, garlic, and tangerines,” Feng Zongze said enthusiastically. “The Agricultural Committee says they’ll send people to guide us soon. Potatoes have a high yield and are well-suited to the conditions here. And they taste better than sweet potatoes. It won’t be a problem to feed a hundred thousand people. As for tangerines and garlic, they are famous products of Jeju. I think the quality will be very good.”

“I’ve been wanting to eat potatoes for a long time too,” Zhu Mingxia said. Hainan Island was not suitable for growing potatoes. They were only grown on a small, horticultural scale at Wu Nanhai’s farm, purely for seed preservation. The Yuanlao rarely got to eat them.

“By the way, what about the group of life secretaries you brought? I saw there are several of them…” Feng Zongze grinned lewdly. “The pavilion closest to the water gets the moonlight first…”

“Nonsense… How could I do something so unorganized and undisciplined?” Zhu Mingxia said dismissively. “They are all talents I specially discovered. They’ve almost completed their quarantine period in Shandong. You just need to arrange for someone to purify them and then settle them in a separate place—”

“I know, I know. I’ll definitely find a place very close to the supervisory camp…” Feng Zongze gave a knowing smile that said, “I understand everything, you don’t need to say more.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Zhu Mingxia smiled. “Not just close to the supervisory camp, but preferably inside it. I have things I need to communicate with them frequently.”

The members of the Liu opera troupe were thus housed in a government building next to the supervisory camp. The courtyard was guarded by female Korean auxiliary personnel. They were not only forbidden to go out but also to talk to each other—unless a Chief was present.

The bald-headed Liu Yisi—the former leader of the opera troupe, Liu—was staring intently at Zhu Mingxia’s laptop. She had gotten used to this strange object. The computer was playing aerobics music—”Youthful Charm.” Yesterday, this Australian Chief had given her this task. She was required to listen to this music over and over until she could play it herself. This music was completely different from any she had ever encountered before. Besides instruments like the zheng, dizi, and cymbals, there were some she had never seen before. The melody was even more unfamiliar—to her, it was almost like noise.

She cautiously asked Zhu Mingxia what those instruments were. Zhu Mingxia told her that she just needed to find similar ones to substitute for them.

This was Zhu Mingxia’s private plan. He wanted to train a group of maids who could do aerobics, a group of maids who could remind the Yuanlao of the old days, a group of maids with a more modern aesthetic, a group of maids who could be rugby cheerleaders. He could teach the basic movements and routines, and could also choreograph some simple moves. For anything more complex, he would have to rely on his laptop. He had a large number of videos of competitions and training sessions on his computer. With a model to follow, he could replicate it.