Chapter 1025 Landing at Qimu Island

To achieve such goals, appropriate "guidance" was necessary. The Senate possessed no silver-tongued intermediaries capable of manipulating Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng, and others through eloquent speech. The only approach was armed intervention.

Block or accelerate rebel movement at certain nodes. Guide the rebels to operate according to Command's requirements. Besides deploying special operations forces, this was also the Northern Expedition Detachment's primary mission.

In the overall operational deployment, Command had made a decision to ensure Sun Yuanhua would not "fall into rebel hands." As long as Sun Yuanhua avoided capture by the rebels, not only would his culpability greatly decrease, but in the subsequent suppression operations, he would occupy a more proactive and advantageous position. Authority over suppression would likely fall to him. Combined with Xu Guangqi at court, the Restoration Society they were actively cultivating, and Eunuch Yang's influence in the palace, internal and external coordination would be possible. With deft maneuvering, he might well be "cleared of charges" or even "earn merit"—thereby preserving Sun Yuanhua's position as Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor.

Retaining Sun Yuanhua as Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor would greatly facilitate the Senate's subsequent operations in Shandong. The eastern three prefectures in particular were geographically self-contained, possessing many excellent coastal ports—with potential for armed separatism. According to normal history, before long the Manchus' second invasion would enter Shandong, devastating the region. Ming court rule in Shandong would be severely damaged. At that point, using the eastern three prefectures as a base, they could extensively infiltrate the entire Shandong region.

Even if Sun Yuanhua's governorship could not be saved, he still retained room for reinstatement. Using this to cultivate Sun Yuanhua and Xu Guangqi's more progressive and pragmatic bureaucratic faction at court would also positively impact the next phase of political and economic infiltration of the Great Ming. Moreover, such "cultivation" proved more durable than relationships obtained purely through silver bribes.

A primary mission of the special operations team was ensuring Sun Yuanhua would not "fall into rebel hands." If necessary, the team would mount a rescue.

Command could not accurately estimate how much Sun Yuanhua could be used and controlled, but this person championed Western learning and valued practical affairs. He was a relatively flexible pragmatic official. Combined with the Jesuits serving as their banner, cooperation should be achievable to some degree.

Through Huang Ande and Sun's household retainer Sun Yuan, along with other former comrades-in-arms, Lu Wenyuan could roughly track Sun Yuanhua's general activities in the Dengzhou-Laizhou region. He had placed an operative in Dengzhou, with a group of couriers bringing that day's confirmed intelligence daily.

Wang Qisuo wore a thick cotton jacket, standing guard at the newly completed gun emplacement near the jetty—Master Lu called it not a "gun emplacement" but a "blockhouse." The name was quite apt, because it was a three-story brick and stone building where garrisoned soldiers could live inside. Atop it was mounted a strange cannon: square-shaped, with densely packed iron tubes inside, mounted on a circular disc-shaped frame.

He stood beside this delicate cannon—polished and oiled daily, wrapped in a gun cover—gazing out to sea. The sea wind howled. The cold was truly unbearable. But Wang Qisuo dared not slack off: this was a task personally assigned by militia leader Huang Ande. "Watch the sea constantly. Report immediately if any ships belching black or white smoke!" He had emphasized this to Wang Qisuo several times.

Wang Qisuo was puzzled. Ships belching white smoke was understandable—perhaps someone cooking on deck. But black smoke meant the ship was on fire, did it not?

Puzzled or not, he still executed the task meticulously. Since being saved by Master Lu, he had come to understand these people's way of working: no unnecessary chatter, absolute obedience to superiors' orders, do everything according to the rules.

"These Shorn-Haired Criminals certainly have their methods," Wang Qisuo said to himself. Though he did not understand why he was watching the sea, he still remained alert, scanning the cold, desolate ocean.

Neither on the open sea nor in the bay were many ships visible. Only some small fishing boats were active in nearby waters, including several boats belonging to the island's fisher-tenants. These vessels brought fresh fish and shrimp daily for the militia to feast upon.

In the bay, under refugee labor, Qimu Island's jetties had grown from one to three. The longest stretched nearly half a li—no one knew what purpose so many long jetties served. Besides Master Lu's tenants' fishing boats, only cargo ships carrying coal, grain, and timber docked here.

Suddenly, several columns of black smoke rose on the distant sea—very striking against the clear winter sky. He hurried forward several steps, nearly leaning past the blockhouse top's battlements.

No mistake—definitely black smoke! Four columns total. As time passed, the smoke trails grew thicker, rising straight toward the heavens.

Wang Qisuo's spirits rose: "They're here!" He hastily struck the bell hung by his sentry post.

The Second Fleet's main force had arrived: flagship Zhenyang, accompanied by Nongchao, Daishuang, and Fubo forming the escort convoy, along with eight H800 transport ships carrying the Northern Expedition Detachment's main force.

The Second Fleet had deployed virtually in its entirety. This reflected the consideration that Longkou lay very close to the Ming forces' Penglai Naval Base—large-scale maritime transport would certainly attract Ming attention and required sufficient protection. Additionally, after escorting the main force's landing, the Second Fleet would proceed to cruise Jeju Island waters, conducting preventive strikes against Great Ming and Joseon naval forces active there, seizing sea control, and clearing obstacles for the next phase's Jeju Island landing.

Wang Qisuo stared wide-eyed, watching the fleet approach Qimu Island amid rolling waves. So many large ships! Momentarily he held his breath involuntarily. The Shorn-Haired Criminals' fleet was truly formidable—they lived up to their reputation!

Shortly after reporting the fleet's arrival, Wang Qisuo observed a group of people in blue clothing surge from the buildings on shore, boarding several small boats moored by the water and rowing quickly toward the bay's outer areas. These were the naval pilot personnel who had arrived earlier, immediately deploying navigation buoys outside the bay.

The Second Fleet's ships were too numerous and too large. Even three jetties could not meet docking needs. So all small boats on the island were deployed for ferrying personnel and cargo. The bay was bustling with crisscrossing boats.

Wang Qisuo watched dumbstruck as soldiers he had never seen before poured endlessly from those dozen-plus large ships. They wore uniform dark gray long coats—hems reaching above the knees—with white belts at the waist, thick furry hats with ear flaps protecting the cheeks, and gleaming star insignia on the hat fronts. They bore cross-body bags and canteens on their chests, short swords at their waists, tight boots on their feet, and large backpacks with thin wool blankets strapped atop. Each carried a long musket on their back.

"So this is the Shorn-Haired Criminals' army!" Wang Qisuo thought. Somewhat different from the rumors. But he had to admit that although the Criminals dressed strangely, their clothing and equipment were impeccably clean and sharp. Each soldier possessed extraordinary bearing—clearly an elite tiger-and-wolf force at a glance.

Under corporals' commands, soldiers landed by squad. The moment they set foot on the jetty, corporals' orders rang out continuously:

"Fall in!"

"Count off!"

"Check equipment!"

"Forward march!"

"Senate-Approved Military Songbook, Number Seventeen! The Great Army Fears No Long March! Sing!"

As deep male voices rose in chorus, squad after squad began moving from the jetty—troops disembarking from ships endlessly, making observers feel the soldiers were inexhaustible.

At the temporary barracks on the dock, the Fourth Infantry Battalion's banner flew. Northern Expedition Detachment Commander Zhu Mingxia stood under the flag, extending his hand to the quickly approaching Lu Wenyuan.

"Finally you've arrived." Lu Wenyuan nearly had tears of joy. No more worrying now! "Now we can relax!"

"You have Old Chen holding down the fort. What's there to fear? I don't even have a machine gun." Zhu Mingxia joked.

Chen Sigen chuckled: "Little Lu trusts your Minié rifles more than machine guns."

Lu Wenyuan could not be bothered to counter. He waved: "Come, let's talk inside the command post."

The command post was the farmstead's conference room, already warmed with floor heating—cozy and comfortable. Zhu Mingxia immediately shed his officer's short coat upon entering.

"It's really warm here." He looked around, stretching. "Much more comfortable on land. Ships are too exhausting."

He removed his hat and sat down heavily. The Northern Expedition Detachment had been delayed a full half month in Taiwan. Though the soldiers had not been idle, Zhu Mingxia had felt extremely anxious—worried that too much delay would reduce the troops' time to adapt to local conditions. This battalion was visiting the cold north for the first time. Though many northern soldiers had been transferred in, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Jiangxi-origin soldiers still constituted over two-thirds of the Northern Expedition Detachment.

"Where's the troop camp set up?" he asked. This was his most pressing concern.

Lu Wenyuan had already made arrangements. He opened the Qimu Island topographical map on the table and indicated a location.

"Barracks are in a mountain valley between the east and west hills—wind-sheltered, sun-facing, with water sources nearby. I've had laborers build drainage ditches and public latrines there, plus a batch of semi-underground dugouts and wooden barracks. But the quantity may be insufficient..."

"That's fine. Soldiers can build more themselves." Zhu Mingxia said. "How are the food supplies?"

"One week's rations for five thousand people."

"That's plenty. Including the advance company, landing forces total only about one thousand."

The Northern Expedition Detachment main force landing at Qimu Island comprised six infantry companies, one engineer company, one artillery company, and two supply companies. The remaining troops would deploy to Jeju Island.

(End of Chapter)