Chapter 377: Falling out and taking action
The fact that Liu Xin was appointed as an envoy by Liu Xiang and came to the Guangdong Office alone for negotiations showed that he was not a mediocre person and had some sense. However, the Haihan people played one trick after another, with various methods emerging one after another. After so many days, even normal people would be confused by the torment. After Liu Xin argued with Malik for two days at the General Office of the People's Republic of China on the scope of the arms embargo, he realized that he had been inexplicably delayed for another two days of precious time by the other party.
Seeing that it was the last day of the negotiation time limit, and he had to rush back to Chaozhou to resume his life, Liu Xin had no intention of arguing with Malik anymore, and gritted his teeth and simply showed his cards - if it is found that there are still Haihan weapons flowing into Fujian in the future, then " "Eighteen Zhi" may have to take some tough measures against Haihan.
"Strong measures? Are you preparing to go to war with us?" The look on Malico's face was a slightly exaggerated surprise. He turned his head and exchanged glances with He Xi sitting next to him, and then continued: " It is not easy to stop using force once. Has Mr. Liu really considered the consequences? "
Liu Xin said with a straight face: "Whatever the consequences are, you are responsible for them. You cannot blame others!"
Maliko pretended to be frightened and said: "Then how can I get you to change this decision?"
Liu Xin shook his head and said: "There is no room for negotiation on this matter. But if you are willing to sell weapons to us, it wouldn't be a bad idea to say a few good words for you after I go back."
Regarding the arms sale, the two sides have been arguing for more than ten days. Various exchange conditions have basically been discussed. Liu Xin has already discussed the matter of asking Haihan to sell weapons to his side. It was put forward as a condition. However, the Executive Committee has had relatively strict control over weapons from the beginning, because it does not want a large number of weapons produced by itself to flow into the hands of "Eighteen Zhi", and it is even more impossible to sell them directly, so Liu Xin proposed this The conditions immediately hit a snag, and Malico rejected him without even being interested in discussing it.
At this time, Liu Xin brought up the matter again, also with the idea of treating a dead horse as a live doctor. The Haihan people were rambling and refused to agree before. Maybe they have changed their minds now under the pressure of starting a war?
Maliko smiled and said: "The sale of weapons is not non-negotiable, but the price may not be acceptable to you."
"Oh?" When Liu Xin heard that Maliko's tone was showing signs of loosening, he immediately cheered up and asked, "Boss Ma, you might as well talk about it first. Although my master doesn't dare to say that he is as rich as the enemy, he can still spend some money. ”
"A rifle is one hundred taels of silver, and an artillery is two thousand five hundred taels of silver. Ammunition, accessories, and operational training are all extra." At this time, Maliko calmly showed the knife, and Liu Xin If he dared to ask for it, he would take this opportunity to stab "Eighteen Zhi" severely.
Liu Xin immediately jumped up from his chair: "What? Boss Ma, please don't talk nonsense! Haven't you asked me about the price of Haihan's weapons? Why don't you just tell me the price!"
Haihan has sold more than a thousand matchlock guns, so the price is no secret. There are twenty taels of matchlocks each and eight hundred taels of artillery. Previously, Liu Xianghua purchased dozens of matchlocks from the black market at a high price, but they were only forty taels each. Compared with the sky-high price quoted by Maliko, it was considered a generous price. . Liu Xin originally thought that if Malico's quotation was reasonable, then it would be a good idea to discuss the matter again, but after hearing this terrible price, he naturally understood how sincere Malico was.
"How can this be called robbing?" Malico responded with a sneer: "When we open the store, we pay attention to fair transactions and never force buying or selling. If you don't like the price of our products, then don't buy them."
"Boss Ma is teasing me like this. It seems that he has no intention of continuing the conversation." Liu Xin clasped his fists angrily and said, "In that case, there is no need for me to continue to waste my words here! You and I will discuss today's matter another day. ! ”
"Sorry for sending Liu Xin away!" Now that he had openly turned against him, Malik had no intention of continuing to make jokes and sent Liu Xin away with his hands.
"You guy... just fall out when you fall in love, and you'll step on someone before leaving!" After Liu Xin left, He Xi said with a smile: "When you come here, he will only add fuel to the fire and make Liu Xiang hate him when he returns." Our hostility is even greater!”
"It's only a matter of time before a fight starts. There's not much use in trying to create goodwill now." Maliko had already put away his previous playful expression and said seriously: "Although we are not afraid of the 'Eighteen Zhi' coming ashore, we must also be on guard against it. When they launch a surprise attack, you have to pay close attention to defense matters.”
He Xi nodded and responded: "Of course. Xiao Liang and Yu Yao, I and I have rearranged the security duty rotation of the Guangdong Office last night and it will be implemented from now on."
The Office in Guangzhou was not the only one that started to get busy, Wanshan Port was also noisy at this time. The first fleet stationed here from Victory Port has arrived today. In addition to bringing in coastal defense artillery to enhance the combat effectiveness of the port's coastal defense facilities, there are also 400 navy personnel and three companies of the army stationed here. , together with the original garrison on the island, defended the waters of the Pearl River Estuary.
"Starting from tomorrow, two ships will be patrolling the port every day, and the troops stationed on the island have also begun to enter the third level of combat readiness. In addition, all merchant ships entering Wanshan Port must also increase inspections to prevent pirates and spies from sneaking into the island." Just now. Shortly after arriving at Wanshan Port, Wang Tom immediately convened a meeting with local military officers to arrange combat preparation tasks.
Although the opponent is the "Eighteen Zhi" that has been feared by the executive committee for a long time, Wang Tom has strong confidence in the war that may break out in the future. From his professional perspective, it would not be easy for an opponent with backward military techniques and tactics and lack of sufficient intelligence to attack Wanshan Port by sea. Without hundreds of ships, they might not even have the chance to reach the shore.
Even if there is a battle at sea, Wang Tom's judgment on the war situation is far more optimistic than other executive committee members. If the advantage of the "Eighteen Zhi" is that the sailors have rich experience in navigation and maritime combat, then the advantage of the Haihan Militia lies in its advanced equipment. Even if they are not yet proficient in relying on artillery to sink the opponent's ships on the sea, at least they can Being able to rely on the good maneuverability of his own warships to deal with opponents, even if Zheng Zhilong could borrow armed Galen ships from the Dutch, it would be difficult to compete with Haihan, a super-era warship built with advanced technology. If Haihan wants to slip away, he can use the speed of the boat alone to take his opponent to fly a kite on the sea.
Of course, Wang Tom also did not forget what Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie had specially warned before setting off - to despise the enemy strategically and to pay attention to the enemy tactically. Although he has full confidence in the troops under his command, Wang Tom still participated in the formulation of the defense alert plan in detail, and will be sitting in Wanshan Port as the top local military commander for some time to come. As for how long this temporary position can be achieved, it depends on the subsequent changes in the situation.
Liu Xin was full of resentment when he left Guangzhou, and this resentment turned into action. Half a month later, news came from a customer in Chaozhou that Liu Xiang had blocked the road from Chaozhou, Guangdong to Zhangzhou, Fujian. In the coastal waterways, all merchant ships heading to Fujian are prohibited, and all merchant ships under the "Qiong Lianfa" are directly robbed. When Haihan received the news, three merchant ships under the names of shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" had already been robbed by Liu Xiang's men at sea.
"Liu Xiang probably knew that our bones were too hard to bite, so he picked soft persimmons." Chen Yixin said at the intelligence analysis meeting: "But their method can have some effect. Now Several shareholders who lost their boats have filed lawsuits with the Guangdong Office, and it seems that it is not justified for us to ignore this matter.”
"It is impossible for us to send troops to Zhangzhou. They are unwilling to take the initiative to attack us, so the situation can only continue as it is now. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. These businessmen who were robbed by Liu Xiang came to complain. He never forgot to order a batch of arms from us, which can be regarded as a disguised promotion of our arms sales. "Wang Tom will not be as impulsive as Chen Yixin. Merchant ships going to Fujian will be harassed by the "Eighteen Zhi". This was a situation that was expected to happen, but if Liu Xiang thought that he could make Haihan surrender with this trick, he would be thinking too simply.
"If we don't send troops to stop them, how will we fight this war?" Li Dou, who was observing the meeting as the civil affairs chief of Wanshan Port, asked curiously.
"It's very simple, he fights his, I fight mine. We don't need to go as far as Chaozhou, and we don't need to take the risk to attack Liu Xiang's home base directly. We can base ourselves on the local area and slowly arrange for him to be on the shore first. Let’s clean up all the hidden piles and dealers.” Wang Tom explained with a smile: “Director He Xihe of the Guangdong Guangdong Office is already working on this matter. We just need to cooperate with the action.”
"Spy war?" Li Dou cheered up when he heard this: "I heard that Director He is very capable in Guangzhou, and I really want to see it."
"You'd better do your job well. Being 007 in this era is not as easy as in the movies." Wang Tom stood up and put on his military cap: "I will take the ship out of the harbor now and come back before dark. Things on the island will be settled." Please give it to you. "November 13, 1628, the eighteenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou City.
The heavy rain a few days ago caused many waterloggings in Guangzhou. Although the water has receded, there are still smelly mud pits everywhere in the city. Fortunately, the weather has gradually cooled down, but there is no reason for this sudden flood. Natural disasters caused epidemics.
"Guangshenghao" was also one of the victims in this natural disaster. This small shop specializing in Zhangzhou specialties was completely flooded in the heavy rain because it was located in a low-lying area. It took several days to clean up. The store was thoroughly cleaned. Although it has been open for the past few days, because the smell of mud in the room has not yet dissipated, no customers came in.
Seeing that it was getting dark, the clerk who had been sitting at the door and dozing all afternoon stood up and was about to move the door panel and close it. At this time, two men suddenly came to the door in a hurry. One of them raised his hand and said, "Don't close the door!"
"Do you two want to buy something? Please come in there!" The clerk didn't doubt that he was there, so he led the way and led the two people into the store. However, as soon as they entered the store, the two men stepped forward and grabbed the clerk from behind. arms and knees, bringing him to the ground. The guy was about to call out loudly when a ball of linen was stuffed into his mouth, and he couldn't make any sound for a while.
"If you don't want to die, don't move!" one of them said in a low voice.
The man felt something cold and sharp pressed against his neck, and immediately stopped struggling, lest he accidentally scrapped himself. He only felt that his arms that were twisted behind him were quickly tied with several turns of rope, and then he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps entering the store, but no one spoke anymore. Just when he was about to look up and take a peek, A black cloth bag was placed over his head, and his vision suddenly became dark.
There were more than a dozen people who poured into the store, all of them young and strong men in black, holding two-foot-long waist knives in their hands. The last two people who entered the room immediately turned around and started to install the door panels, and the rest The other people walked quietly through the store and towards the courtyard behind the store.
As soon as they entered the yard, a black dog suddenly jumped out from the shadows of the corridor. But as soon as it barked, the man who led it had its neck cut off with a knife. It fell to the ground before it even had time to whine. But this still alarmed the people in the room. Someone from the side rooms on both sides immediately opened the door and came out to check the situation.
"Do it!" When the leader saw that the situation was about to get out of control, he immediately issued the order. As he spoke, he stabbed the unlucky guy who had just walked out of the door next to him with a knife in the stomach.
The fight did not last long. After a while, several guards were hacked to the ground by this group of unknown swordsmen. The leader kicked open the door of the main room and pulled out the shivering boss who was huddled on the bed.
"Hero, spare your life..." This man thought that he had encountered a strongman who was robbing his house. He did not dare to look up at their faces at the moment, but he hurriedly begged for mercy: "There are seven hundred taels of silver in the red wooden cabinet in the west wing. It's the shop's All the heroes can take what little property they have and use it for their own use. Please spare the villain this miserable life!”
"We don't want your life, we want the roster in your hand." The leader put the knife edge against the boss's throat and said in a deep voice: "Hand over the roster in your hand, and your life will be saved."
"I don't know what the good guy means by roster..." The boss trembled and quickly said he didn't know.
The leader sneered and said: "There is no need to play the show again. Since we have come to the door, of course we already know your details. What we want is the roster. If you refuse to confess, then your life will be of no value to us." .”
"You...who are you?" The boss knew that his identity had been exposed, and his expression became even more frightened.
"You don't need to know this. Recruit quickly, so that you still have a chance to leave this yard alive!"
Half an hour later, this group of people carrying a few boxes quietly left the yard from the back, and then separated into several carriages. These carriages went straight to the east gate. The soldiers guarding the city gate were about to get on the carriages for inspection. The man escorting the carriages had already stuffed a silver coin into his hand: "It's just an empty carriage. I won't bother you, military master, to check it."
The soldier quietly weighed the silver in his hand, waved his hand and said: "Let's go, let's go!"
After several carriages left the city, they went straight to the Liaison Office in Guangzhou, got off the carriages through the back door and entered the courtyard. It was getting dark at this time, and the people who usually came to the Guangdong Office for business had already returned to the city, so almost no one around noticed the existence of these carriages.
"I thought you couldn't leave the city in time before the city gate was closed... How is the matter going?" He Xi was notified and immediately came to the yard of the back room to meet these people.
"My subordinates are lucky to have lived up to their orders!" The leader stepped forward and bowed, "Guangsheng No. 1 is indeed Liu Xiang's dealer. My subordinates led a team to steal three thousand three hundred taels of silver and one hundred and fifty taels of gold from the store." Twelve, and the roster that your Excellency mentioned.”
The two people next to him immediately carried up the seized things. He Xi did not open the box to count the silver coins, but first took the thin book that was three inches wide and five inches long and looked through it.
A big pirate leader like Liu Xiang must have a large number of informants in the towns on land, as well as merchants who buy supplies for him and sell stolen goods. Although Guangzhou is not Liu Xiang's territory, as the largest and most prosperous city in Guangdong, Liu Xiang has certainly deployed his own manpower here. The den that He Xi ordered people to destroy was Liu Xiang's business den in Guangzhou City.
This business place was not discovered by He Xi recently, but was told by the pirates captured in the battle of Dangan Island a few months ago. However, there was no conflict between Haihan and Liu Xiang before this, and He Xi had no need to deal with them. But this time Liu Xiang took the initiative to express his attitude by stepping on the door. There was no room for buffering between the two sides. He Xi naturally wanted to take the first step and pull out the secret stakes that Liu Xiang had buried inside and outside Guangzhou. The first one to bear the brunt is the command organization "Guangsheng".
Before He Xi took action, he bribed a clerk in the store through roundabout ways. He knew that the store owner had a secret list that was specifically used to contact other businessmen and informants in nearby counties, so he did not hesitate to send someone to risk it. Take the risk and go to the city to grab this roster. With this thing, He Xi can take advantage of the situation and play a roll call game near Guangzhou, clearing out Liu Xiang's men one by one according to the names and addresses clearly listed on the roster.
"Well done, I'll give you a credit for this." He Xi glanced at the roster and was almost certain of the result of this victory. He handed the roster back to the leader and said, "Take this to the confidential room and ask them to make a copy first as a backup."
(End of chapter)