Chapter 215 Exchange of Information
Li Jifeng was so nervous, not because he was playing a trick to show Schneider, but because he truly felt fear. Wei Zhongxian, who is said to be nine thousand years old, is not a good person. Most of the court officials who opposed him were killed, demoted, and exiled. A considerable number of the remaining clan members, relatives, and court officials who were still in the court took refuge. They were proud to be Wei Zhongxian's minions, and even several academicians who drafted the imperial edict would write the words "I and the factory ministers" in the edict. This "factory minister" refers to Wei Zhongxian, because He is so powerful that no one dares to write his name directly.
As for the Jin Yiwei, who existed as the Ming Emperor's private army, they had all been replaced by Wei Zhongxian's men from top to bottom. In 1627 alone, Wei Zhongxian sheltered as many as seventeen Jin Yiwei commanders, and appointed his descendants, in-laws, etc. More than ten people have served as governors, governors, magistrates, and ministers. Even Cui Chengxiu, the current minister of the Ministry of War, was directly appointed by him as his deputy. Wei Zhongxian's nephew Wei Liangqing even offered sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple on behalf of Emperor Tianqi. Many people believed that Wei Zhongxian might usurp power. Li Jifeng was also one of those who held this view.
It can be said that most of the entire imperial court, from the cabinet and the six ministries to the governors and governors of the four directions, are Wei Zhongxian's people. In this one-sided situation, even if there is a new emperor, it will still be extremely difficult to overthrow Wei Zhongxian. Li Jifeng didn't even think that what Schneider said could be realized. But Schneider's confident appearance made Li Jifeng hesitate. If this thing is done well, the usable value will be much greater than the new emperor's ascension to the throne, but if it is done wrong, it will definitely result in the annihilation of the entire clan. It can be said that risks and opportunities coexist.
Seeing Li Jifeng's hesitant look, Schneider advised him: "Shopkeeper Li doesn't need to make any decision immediately. When news comes from the capital and confirms what I said before, you can then consider whether to follow my decision." Recommended to do it.”
Li Jifeng did not respond to Schneider immediately. He had already begun to think about which of his businesses had dealings with people in the eunuch party. If he wanted to draw a clear line with the eunuch party, what methods should be used to avoid causing trouble. In his opinion, even if the eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian will begin to decline after the new emperor ascends the throne, it will only lose power at most and may not develop to the point of life and death. Therefore, we need to think carefully about how to maintain this distance. grasp.
Schneider coughed a few times, and then Li Jifeng came back from his thoughts and apologized again and again. Schneider didn't take it seriously either. He didn't know how much impact Wei Zhongxian's incident would have on the government and public sentiment at this time, so he didn't understand Li Jifeng's nervousness at this time.
"Shopkeeper Li, I have shown my sincerity. Shouldn't your bank also show its sincerity?" Schneider asked.
After spoiling so much information, if Schneider cannot exchange even a little valuable information, he will definitely be looked down upon by He Xi, the head of the intelligence system, after he returns. There is nothing worse than being despised, but being despised by one's own subordinates. As a member of the Supreme Executive Committee and Director of the General Office of the People's Republic of China, Schneider does not want to be seen by others for reasons such as "inability to collect intelligence". Low.
Li Jifeng asked in confusion: "What does Mr. Shi mean?"
"I'm not in a hurry to know about places that are too far away, but our two ships will soon return to Victory Port. It is said that pirates often appear outside the Pearl River Estuary. Can Shopkeeper Li reveal some information about this first?" Schneider asked. Regarding the situation along the southeastern coast, especially along the Fujian coast, Schneider knew that the other party would not reveal it easily. He would at least have to wait until his "prophecy" was fulfilled before he could gain the other party's trust and information. At present, we can only do the next best thing and first understand the situation in the Pearl River Estuary where the Military and Police Department plans to set up a base in the future.
Li Jifeng pondered for a while and finally said: "There are several navy battalions stationed in Xin'an County outside the Pearl River Estuary. Pirates generally do not dare to haunt the waters near it. Pirates off the coast of Guangdong mostly set up camp on the islands west of Xin'an. I heard from Quanzi that you have a An extremely detailed map. Mr. Shi must know that there are two large bays to the west of Xin’an, right?”
Schneider nodded to express his understanding. He had been to Shenzhen and Hong Kong many times before traveling, and he was quite familiar with the conditions in that area. The two bays Li Jifeng mentioned were Dapeng Bay and Daya Bay located near Shenzhen in later generations.
"There are four or five groups of pirates who have settled in these two bays, waiting for opportunities to rob ships traveling between the Pearl River Estuary and Fujian." Li Jifeng introduced: "It is said that there are also pirate lairs in the Dangan Island area, responsible for plundering ships from Xin'an ships sailing to Qiongzhou, Nanyang and other places."
Schneider had done solid homework beforehand. As soon as Li Jifeng said the name "Dangan Island", the location of this place immediately appeared in Schneider's mind.
Dangan Island is located on the sea about 30 kilometers south of Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is named "Dangan" because of its narrow and long shape that resembles a pole. This island covers an area of more than ten square kilometers. There are no other islands to the east or south of it. All ships entering and leaving Hong Kong from the South China Sea must pass by this island. From a geographical point of view, it can be regarded as the gateway to Hong Kong, so Its military value is also quite high. In later generations of the Republic, this island was the first garrison area of Wanshan Fortress and could be regarded as an important strategic gateway in South China.
When the Military and Police Department selected the Pearl River Estuary as a suitable location for establishing a stronghold, they also considered Dangan Island. This island not only has several natural harbors suitable for building docks, but also has natural mineral water veins on the island, so fresh water supply will not be a problem in the future. However, the main purpose of the Military and Police Department is to monitor the shipping routes between Guangzhou, Qiongzhou, and Nanyang. Danqian Island is really far away from this shipping route, and is not as advantageous as the Wanshan Islands from a geographical point of view. In addition, Dangan Island is located too far to the east. The Military and Police Department believes that since it is well known that there are pirates in the waters east of Hong Kong, the location of Dangan Island will be easily attacked by pirates, and the Military and Police Department does not intend to use this surveillance function. If there is a large-scale attack by pirates, the limited personnel left on the island may not be able to survive for even an hour. This kind of risk is really not worth taking.
And now Li Jifeng's words undoubtedly confirmed the suspicion of the Military and Police Department that the situation on Dangan Island was indeed a bit troublesome. And it seems that the Military and Police Department still has a headache on how to prevent or deal with pirates on Dangan Island, because it is only more than 20 nautical miles away from the Wanshan Island, Baili Island, and Dong'ao Island that the Military and Police Department likes. You might just hit the door at any time.
But if you have a headache, that's a matter for the Military and Police Department. Schneider doesn't care about it. What he has to do now is to remember everything Li Jifeng said in his mind, and then sort out the relevant information when he goes back and hand it over to professionals. .
"The pirates on Dangan Island are called 'Hai Tornado', and their leader is said to be from Guangxi. They only have one or two hundred people in total, and four or five ships. They are considered very small pirates along the coast of Fuguang." Now that Li Jifeng has opened the door, He did not hold anything back and explained the situation about this group of pirates to Schneider in detail: "It is said that the navy in Xin'an County went to suppress it twice, but the news probably leaked out, and they were avoided in advance by the pirates on the island. Open. This group of people does not move out frequently. It has been more than two years since they appeared on Danqian Island, and it seems that they have not made many transactions.”
"With all due respect, has Shopkeeper Li ever interacted with this group of people before?" Schneider asked straight to the point. This Dangan Island is so close to the location where the Military and Police Department is located. I am afraid that sooner or later there will be an armed conflict between the two sides. It is best to find out whether "Furuifeng" is involved in it, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings later.
Li Jifeng shook his head and denied: "This group of people has nothing to do with Bihang. At the beginning of this year, when Bihang had a ship heading to the South China Sea, it was stopped by this group of people, but their ship was too slow and they couldn't intercept it at all. A despicable ship.”
That would be a rift, Schneider secretly commented on this.
"Then what are the origins of those pirates west of Xin'an?" Schneider asked.
"Those groups of pirates are actually owned by a big boss. Have Mr. Shi ever heard of Liu Xiang?" Li Jifeng asked.
Schneider shook his head and said to himself, "I know Liu Xiang. Who is Liu Xiang?"
Li Jifeng smiled, but did not continue. Since Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he would naturally not be in a hurry to reveal all the cards in his hand to the other party.
Although Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he still wrote down the name first, and he would find out when he went back and asked the people in the Military and Police Department.
"Apart from them? Are there any other pirate forces in the Pearl River Estuary?" Schneider continued to ask when he saw Li Jifeng stopped.
Li Jifeng shook his head and said: "As far as I know, from there all the way to Nan'ao Island in Chaozhou Prefecture, it belongs to Liu Xiang's sphere of influence." "Oh?" Schneider came back to his senses and dared to admit what Li Jifeng said "Liu Xiang" "This is not an ordinary pirate leader, but a big pirate with considerable strength!
For this reason, Li Jifeng stopped talking. After chatting for a few more words, the two of them had no intention of continuing the conversation. At that moment, Schneider said goodbye to Li Jifeng and left.
"Mr. Shi!" Yu Xiaobao, who had been waiting outside, quickly came over and took Schneider's briefcase from his hand. After Yu Xiaobao arrived at the Guangdong Office this time, he was assigned to work beside Schneider, while his friend Zhang Qianzhi followed He Xi. Schneider actually had no interest in taking on a special apprenticeship, but Ning Qi specially sent him a message this time, asking him to take good care of Yu Xiaobao. Schneider still had to give Schneider enough face to work on the executive committee, so Yu Xiaobao became Schneider's little tail. As soon as Schneider left the yard of the General Affairs Office, Yu Xiaobao would definitely follow behind and carry his bags.
Yu Xiaobao didn't think carrying bags was so despicable. Although he didn't have the slave idea in his mind that "being able to carry bags for leaders is a blessing", he also knew that even for this kind of bag-carrying job, there were many people in Shengli Port. You can't even grab it if you want. After all, this is working next to Chief Haihan. A position that can be maintained around the clock like this is rare in Victory Port. Speaking of which, there was a successful example of someone who worked as the chief's shadow until now - Takahashi Minami. It was precisely because Gao Qiaonan worked as Ren Liang's shadow and dogleg every day in the labor camp that he later had the opportunity to show his ability and was promoted. It is said that in the telegram recently sent back from Heitu Port, the military chief Qian Tiandun has proposed that Gao Qiaonan be responsible for the local militia training affairs. In the future, he will be promoted and raised to integrate into the mainstream society of Haihan. It seems to be just around the corner. In just a few months, this guy has transformed from a chicken to a phoenix.
There are many people in history who were famous for carrying bags. Yu Xiaobao remembered that Ning Qi once told him a story when they were in Victory Port. In the distant northern empire, there was a young man from a commoner background. Once he got a very rare job, which was to carry a bag for the country’s leader. Later, this young man became the new emperor of the northern empire, and Reigned for twenty years.
Of course, not everyone who carries a bag for the leader has the opportunity to become an emperor. There are countless stories between carrying a bag and ascending to the throne that are not well known. But Yu Xiaobao has already understood the true meaning of Ning Qi's story - even the powerful emperor may have been just a bag-carrying boy; even an ordinary bag-carrying boy still has the opportunity to become a big shot. If you want to change your destiny, you can only rely on yourself to fight for it. Only by fighting for it will you have a chance, otherwise you will be like the thousands of bag-carrying boys who have not become big shots.
Schneider touched Yu Xiaobao's head and walked straight forward. He suddenly stopped before taking two steps, turned to Xiaobao and asked: "Xiaobao, I heard from Mr. Ning that you are very smart, probably the smartest kid in Victory Port. Can I ask you a question?"
Yu Xiaobao nodded quickly. It was rare for Schneider to take the initiative to talk to him. This opportunity could not be let go easily.
Schneider asked: "Suppose we plan to buy a house in a place, but the family living next door is a bad person. However, if we drive out this bad person, an even worse family may move in. What do you think we should do in this situation? That’s good?”
Yu Xiaobao blinked and replied: "Then buy a house somewhere else?"
Schneider shook his head and said: "We can't change the place, let's think about it again!"
Yu Xiaobao rolled his eyes and continued to answer: "After driving away that family, buy the house next door too, so you don't have to worry about that problem."
Schneider grinned and said: "Sure enough, Mr. Ning was right!"
After returning to the Guangdong Office, Schneider asked Yu Xiaobao to notify the three people from the Military and Police Department to come over for a meeting. However, after waiting for a while, only Xiao Liang and Yu Yao came. He Xi said that he had gone out to do some business, but no one knew where he went. Schneider was used to He Xi's style, so he didn't pay much attention to it and just sat the two people down for a meeting.
Schneider told the whole story of today's meeting with Li Jifeng, and then informed the two of them of the information he had exchanged. Xiao Liang and Yu Yao exchanged glances after hearing this, but did not speak.
Schneider felt something was wrong in the atmosphere, and quickly asked: "Did I spoil too much? But what I said to Li Jifeng were all approved by the base camp. If they hadn't written the materials and sent them over, I wouldn't have I can’t tell him!”
Xiao Liang shook his head and said: "It's not this problem, it's the information you obtained... that Liu Xiang's matter, I'm afraid it will be more troublesome."
Schneider seemed to have understood everything: "The way I heard Li Jifeng speak, it seemed that Liu Xiang had a big background."
"It's not big, it's very big." Xiao Liang corrected him: "Who is the most threatening maritime opponent to us in the next few years?"
"Zheng Zhilong's Eighteen Zhi!" Schneider replied without thinking. In the work discussions these days, as long as sea trade is involved, it is almost impossible to avoid this topic. The primary target of all intelligence collection work in the Fujian direction by the Guangdong Office is also this pirate gang named "Eighteen Zhi". Although the two parties have never met, and there is no contact at all, the relevant departments have already begun to prepare for future conflicts with the "Eighteen Zhi", and the business department that Schneider is responsible for is also among them—— The arms sales policy for Fujian is almost formulated for the "Eighteen Zhi".
"Zheng Zhilong is Liu Xiang's brother who cooked rice wine, chopped chicken heads and worshiped the master!" Yu Yao took over and said: "To put it simply, Liu Xiang is also one of the pirate leaders of the 'Eighteen Zhi'."
Schneider swallowed hard: "This means that we will soon face the threat from the 'Eighteen Zhi' head-on?"
Xiao Liang nodded and replied solemnly: "It's very possible. According to what Li Jifeng said, Liu Xiang's territory is from the west of Hong Kong to the sea near Chaozhou. So he has thousands of people under his command. Only a hundred ships can control such a large sea area. Even if our armed forces are deployed, we may not be able to defeat him at sea."
"It's not necessarily a fight, right?" Schneider still had a glimmer of hope about this matter: "I thought about it, and when Li Jifeng talked about Liu Xiang, he didn't feel that there was much awe in him. Maybe he and Liu Xiang There is a personal connection with the gang.”
"Having connections does not mean that he can do what he says." Yu Yao disagreed with Schneider's optimism: "Can Li Jifeng convince Liu Xiang to do something or not? Even if we don't set up a stronghold at the Pearl River Estuary now, when our power grows in the future After expanding to the coast of Guangdong, there will still be a day when he will confront Liu Xiang. After all, Li Jifeng is just a businessman. At most, he can help smooth things over in the early stages. When it comes time to fight for the right to survive, who will take his words seriously. Things? Do you know? ”
Schneider shook his head slightly and had to admit that Yu Yao's words made sense.
(End of chapter)