Chapter 1109 - Naturalizing the Entire Island
"When we first arrived, we were only five hundred people—and now we govern all of Hainan Island?" Zhu Mingxia said. "Don't worry. Once there are more Shandong migrants, it will all belong to us."
"True enough. The three militia companies you brought can at least take over some garrison duties from the Japanese Public Security," Nangong Wudi said. "Though without firearms, they're at best the same level as Public Security troops."
"What about the Cavalry and Transport training cadres?" Zhu Mingxia recalled that those units had already relocated to Jeju Island. There were several hundred people in total.
"They're all being run ragged by Nick—I can't get my hands on them at all." The Cavalry Training Cadre and Transport Training Cadre shipped from Hainan spent their days training and handling horse husbandry duties.
Nick had taken over the horse corrals outside Jeju City, then absorbed the corrals and nearby official ranches of the three cities and nine towns. The horses under his control had swelled to over three thousand. Between screening, treating, breeding, and raising these horses, not only had most of both training cadres been commandeered, but he was also utilizing island inhabitants and former horse-tending government slaves—and still constantly complained about insufficient manpower.
"...Nick demands people from me every day. He's very dissatisfied with the locals—says he can't communicate with them. He insists on using my soldiers, or at the very least naturalized workers from the agricultural companies. I'm in a difficult spot too."
Despite his aggrieved tone, Nangong Wudi was actually quite willing to let Nick use these units. The reason was simple: he too was eager to see powerful cavalry troops take shape. Ever since the dozen or so former mounted samurai from the Japanese Public Security company had been given horses and upgraded to a cavalry escort, Nangong Wudi had fallen in love with the feeling of being surrounded by horsemen—if only the men, horses, uniforms, and weapons could be more imposing and splendid.
Given all this, troop strength was indeed rather thin. Nangong Wudi's forces were few and miscellaneous—all kinds of units, but auxiliary and logistics troops predominated. Apart from the two training cadres, the only usable force was the engineer company—but they were also serving as the core construction team for many building projects.
The actual combat forces amounted to just two infantry companies and one Japanese Public Security company. As for the Navy personnel, they were essentially unavailable—Second Fleet ships shuttled constantly between Jeju and Shandong, and the sailors' physical exertion was immense. Extracting additional forces for land operations would be nearly impossible.
Without the Jeju Agricultural Colonization Corps sent earlier to take on substantial local garrison duties, the Jeju Island Contingent couldn't even have managed the task of occupying key points and holding lines.
It was precisely because of Jeju Island's troop shortage that Zhu Mingxia had brought three hundred militia from Shandong. With these three hundred, they could take over a considerable portion of garrison duties, freeing up forces for mobile operations into the interior.
Though Zhu Mingxia didn't handle political work and was visiting Jeju for the first time, the weekly Jeju Island Intelligence Digest gave him a reasonable understanding of the situation.
The upcoming Jeju Political Conference was essentially a meeting demanding that all island factions submit completely and demonstrate their sincerity. Any faction whose performance failed to satisfy the Committee would subsequently be eliminated.
This much was probably clear to many of the island's local strongmen. So although things were currently calm, turmoil would erupt as soon as the conference ended. The next step would be to conduct counter-insurgency operations as circumstances dictated, eliminating "hostile elements" and "destabilizing factors."
However, a secret directive from the Planning Committee and the Civil Affairs People's Commission to the Jeju Forward Committee indicated that in the future, when "conditions were ripe," Jeju Island would implement comprehensive "village consolidation and settlement concentration." This decision was based on the local situation: most of the population were tenant farmers, herdsmen-serfs, and government slaves, with very low population density.
Apart from a very small number of merchants, virtually no one among the lower classes possessed any property or land. Village consolidation would encounter little resistance. As for landlords and ranch owners—naturally, their continued existence would not be tolerated.
Based on the Special Reconnaissance Team's months of in-depth surveys across Jeju Island, the Forward Committee had roughly mapped all inhabited settlements. Combined with data from the Provincial Administration archives, they estimated the island's actual total population at approximately 43,000.
Currently, some 20,000 Shandong refugees had been transported to Jeju, with more to come. Though most would be transferred to Taiwan and Hainan after completing purification, a substantial number would remain on the island, forming the foundation of Committee rule here.
Before that, the Northern Expedition Detachment had to ensure the complete subjugation and elimination of all forces obstructing the island's "naturalization." According to one plan still under discussion: some portion of the island's Korean population would be shipped to Taiwan and Hainan to accelerate their "naturalization" process. This had not yet received official approval only due to concerns about southward shipping capacity.
Zhu Mingxia and Nangong Wudi discussed troop redeployment plans. Before the conference opened, he needed to prepare sufficient mobile forces: at minimum, a complete infantry company plus artillery support, ready to deploy at any moment. The Japanese Public Security company might also be committed to battle as circumstances warranted.
The newly-organized White Horse Unit had limited combat capability but was familiar with local conditions and could serve as guides and interpreters.
Viewed this way, overall troop strength was roughly adequate. After all, Jeju Island's area, geography, and social conditions were far simpler than Hainan's. Moreover, the policy of complete island "naturalization" greatly reduced the political work required. Once villages were consolidated, "education" could proceed however they pleased.
"How many cavalry can Nick spare?"
"The Cavalry Training Cadre can probably field one company—but most of them are new recruits with few veterans. They probably won't be of much use."
Most of the Cavalry Training Cadre's veterans were serving as reconnaissance cavalry in Shandong. Few personnel on Jeju could perform combat missions, and this group also had to serve as instructors for horses and soldiers.
"No matter," Zhu Mingxia said. "They're currently stationed outside Jeju City, so they can serve as garrison troops. Add in the newly-arrived Shandong Public Security company, and we can pull out the entire Japanese Public Security to serve as a reserve—I hear they're quite capable in a fight?"
"They are indeed. They don't like using rifles—prefer hand-to-hand combat with blades..." Nangong Wudi sighed. "Unfortunately, the most capable one was crippled. He survived, but can't serve as a soldier anymore."
"Can't be a soldier, but can do other things. Anyone who's bled for us is cultivation material." Zhu Mingxia checked his watch. "Come on, let's go see Old Feng. See how his conference preparations are coming along."
Zhu Mingxia waited quite a while in the Provincial Administration conference room before Feng Zongze and Xue Ziliang arrived. The two exchanged views on Jeju's situation and work, then discussed next steps. As evening approached, Feng Zongze hosted a banquet.
"You've had it rough these past few days on that little island—eating dried rations every day, I imagine."
"Not too bad—no shortage of meat, just no vegetables." Zhu Mingxia dug heartily into his stir-fried cabbage with dried shrimp. "Why didn't you prepare some Korean kimchi? Sour and spicy—great with rice."
"Besides us, who in East Asia is growing chili peppers these days?" Feng Zongze laughed. "Non-spicy pickles we have—I figured you wouldn't be interested..."
"You figured right. Got any seeds?"
"Wait until spring. Also potatoes, garlic, and citrus." Feng Zongze was enthusiastic. "The Agricultural Commission says they'll send someone to advise us soon. Potatoes yield heavily and are well-suited to conditions here. And they're tastier than sweet potatoes—no problem feeding a hundred thousand people. As for citrus and garlic, they're both Jeju specialties. Should be excellent quality."
"I've been wanting to eat potatoes for a long time." Zhu Mingxia said. Hainan's climate wasn't suited for potato cultivation. Wu Nanhai's farm grew only a small amount using garden methods purely for seed preservation—Committee members only got to eat them occasionally.
"By the way, those 'life secretaries' you brought along—how are you planning to place them? I noticed quite a few..." Feng Zongze smiled somewhat lewdly. "Advantage of being close to the water..."
"Nonsense... Would I do something undisciplined like that?" Zhu Mingxia was dismissive. "They're all talents I specifically discovered. Their Shandong quarantine period is almost complete. You just need to arrange for someone to finish their purification. Then find a separate place to settle them—"
"I understand, I understand. I'll definitely find somewhere very close to the Provincial Administration..." Feng Zongze wore a knowing, subtle smile.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Zhu Mingxia smiled. "It's not that it needs to be close to the Provincial Administration—ideally it should be inside the compound. I have matters to discuss with them frequently."
So the members of Madam Liu's theatrical troupe were housed in a government building adjacent to the Provincial Administration. Female Korean auxiliary personnel guarded the courtyard, not only preventing them from leaving but forbidding them to converse among themselves—unless in the presence of an Official.
The shaven-headed Liu Yisi—formerly the troupe's principal, Madam Liu—was staring intently at Zhu Mingxia's laptop. She had grown accustomed to this strange device by now. The computer was playing aerobics music—"Youth Charm." Yesterday, the Australian Official had assigned her this task: she was to listen to this music over and over until she could play it herself. The music was completely different from anything she'd ever encountered. Besides zheng, flute, and cymbals, there were instruments she'd never come across. The melody was utterly foreign—to her ears, it was practically noise.
She carefully asked Zhu Mingxia what instruments those were. He told her she just needed to find similar instruments to substitute.
This was Zhu Mingxia's personal project. He wanted to train a group of servants who could perform aerobics—servants who would remind Committee members of the old timeline, servants more aligned with modern aesthetics, servants who could become cheerleaders. He could teach the basic movements and routines, and do simple choreography. For anything more complex, he relied on his laptop—he had extensive training and competition videos. With a model to copy, they could learn.
(End of Chapter)