Chapter 438: Catch them all in one fell swoop
Li Qingyang's heart sank when he heard this. There was indeed a secret document in his luggage. It was written by the commander of Nanzhen Fusi. The content explained Li Qingyang's identity and the purpose of this operation. To put it simply, it was After Li Qingyang went south, he mobilized the credentials of the Jinyiwei system to cooperate. The reason why this official document is important is that it contains a very clear statement such as "investigate and deal with the Haihan Rebellion Party". Even if Li Qingyang wanted to clear his name, he would not be able to do so.
Sure enough, Chen Yixin asked the visitor to go out first, and then said slowly: "We spent money, time, manpower and material resources to help the court to relieve the victims, quell the banditry, and develop trade, but in the end we got charged with rebelling against the party? Can Li Baihu do it?" Tell me what this means? ”
Li Qingyang defended: "Of course there are some misunderstandings in this. After I check it out, I will clear up your grievances."
"I'm afraid that what you think is different from what you said. All you think about is how to frame charges so that we can catch all the gangsters like us!" Of course Chen Yixin would not believe what Li Qingyang said. After all, the other party was a professional spy and what he said was credible. You have to at least fold it in half first.
Li Qingyang was about to continue arguing, but Chen Yixin had already raised his hand to stop her: "You don't need to explain. Instead of arguing about this issue, why not show your sincerity first and talk about how you arranged this operation? Is there anyone else?" Are you planning to sneak into Sanya to investigate us like you?”
Li Qingyang didn't know the situation of the other companions, so he naturally didn't answer Chen Yixin's questions and fell silent at the moment.
Chen Yixin saw that he was not cooperating, but he was not angry because of it. He continued: "If you don't cooperate, you will naturally suffer hardships later. When the time comes, you will still tell the truth after suffering, so why bother? If you don’t tell me, can your companions grit their teeth and hold on like you?”
Li Qingyang snorted and said: "As an official of the imperial court, I am responsible for serving the country. How can I succumb to your despotic power?"
Chen Yixin shook his head and said: "You are so foolish and loyal! Think about it carefully. Even if you really went to Sanya, you still made up a bunch of charges for us. How will this matter be solved in the end? Our Haihan Militia has thousands of members. Heavily armed soldiers, can you rely on your guards to deal with them?"
Li Qingyang argued: "My Ming Dynasty has millions of troops..."
"Yes, you have millions of troops, but how many of them can actually go to the battlefield to fight?" Chen Yixin interrupted unceremoniously: "In recent years, the Ming army has been fighting wild boar skins in the northeast and pacifying Luxury in the southwest. An's Rebellion, do you think the imperial court will have spare money to open a new battlefield on Qiongzhou Island? You Jinyiwei want to make meritorious service, but the imperial court may not want to fight. Do you really think that the officials at all levels in Guangdong and Guangxi don't know what we are doing? But everyone just wants to make money peacefully, and no one wants to start a war and cut off their own financial resources. Do you know how big the business between us and Daming is? Do you know how many people's livelihoods are related to these businesses? You think you are serving the country, but have you ever thought about how many people you will kill by doing this?”
"Humph, these are just your one-sided words!" Li Qingyang was still stern, but he was already feeling a little uneasy in his heart. It seems that although these Haihan people have settled on the remote Qiongzhou Island, their news is not blocked at all. They even know about the war that took place in the far northern Xinjiang. Moreover, the possibility that Chen Yixin mentioned does not exist at all. There are many cases of government and local powerful people colluding together to seek benefits, which can be found all over the country. Under the trend of huge interests, the weight of the imperial court is probably not comparable. White money.
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, but you can think carefully about why you were arrested as soon as you arrived. I'm not afraid to tell you that from the time you entered Guangzhou City, everything you have done has been in our We are under surveillance, including your application for the position and your arrival by boat, all of which were arranged by us in advance!”
"Someone betrayed us!" Li Qingyang immediately understood the meaning of Chen Yixin's words. This can also fully explain why they were picked out by the Haihan people when they first arrived at Wanshan Port without revealing any obvious flaws. Since the Haihan people had already set up a trap waiting for them in Guangzhou, it was natural that someone had informed the Haihan people about their actions before that.
"In Fujian and Guangdong, many people do not want to change the current situation, especially the relationship between Haihan and Ming Dynasty. If someone tries to change the status quo, someone will naturally stand up to stop him." Chen Yixin said He looked at Li Qingyang with a look of pity and said: "So when you received the order to set off in Nanjing, you were already destined to fail. Even if Nanzhen Fusi sends ten or a hundred more, you will end up with the same fate. . Your current lack of cooperation will not affect the overall situation at all, do you understand?”
"This... this is impossible..." Li Qingyang was in a daze for a moment. Since he was inexplicably arrested by the Haihan people in the morning, he has been thinking about whether there were loopholes in his actions after setting off from Nanjing, and what link went wrong that led to his whereabouts being exposed. However, Chen Yixin's words forced him to face the cruelest fact - the person who betrayed them was most likely someone from the government, and he had considerable power and had access to the yamen at the Fusi level in Nanzhen.
If Chen Yixin's words are true, then the five of them have undoubtedly become victims of the game of interests between the Ming Dynasty and the Haihan people. The only person who knew their final whereabouts was the secret whistle at the wine shop in Guangzhou. However, looking back now, it was difficult to determine whether the people in that wine shop were trustworthy.
"You are now considered missing in the world, and no one will be able to find you again. The reason why you and your companions are left alive is because we think you still have value in living. If you can't prove your value ..." Chen Yixin paused and said word by word: "Then I can guarantee that you will die for the country soon!"
Chen Yixin stood up and said: "I'll give you half an hour to think about it. If you have something to say, just call the guard outside. If you don't want to say anything, it doesn't matter, because you will only stay here for one night and tomorrow morning I will send the five of you on your way myself!”
Chen Yixin and Li Dou conducted cross-examinations on the five people, and the news they received also made them greatly relieved. The spies sent by Nanzhen Fusi were indeed only the five of them, and their mission was only to sneak in for reconnaissance. , gathering intelligence, and there is no content such as sabotage and assassination that the Ministry of Security is worried about.
However, the leader of the five, Li Qingyang, who had the most information, did not confess too many things. He only admitted matters related to the five of them. As for the issues related to Jin Yiwei, he remained tight-lipped and did not make any response.
Early the next morning, Li Qingyang, who was dazed after being smoked all night in the salted fish warehouse, was dragged out. He finally saw his other four companions again after a day. The others also looked very depressed, but there were no obvious injuries, and it seemed that they had not been severely tortured.
"Untie them first and give them food." Chen Yixin appeared at the scene and said to the Jinyiwei spies who had not yet recovered: "Eat well, don't stand up, don't whisper to each other!" Li Qingyang raised his hand to indicate that he had something to say. Said, Chen Yixin nodded and said: "You say."
"I wonder what your plans are for my brothers?" Li Qingyang asked boldly.
"Eat first, and then I'll send you on your way after eating." Chen Yixin responded casually.
Li Qingyang got excited and stood up from the ground: "You said yesterday that you would protect our lives..."
"Sit down!" The militiaman behind him kicked Li Qingyang in the crook of his leg, causing him to fall to the ground.
"You misunderstood. I really just sent you on your way, not to take your lives." Chen Yixin responded: "Do you think that with your status, you can just let it go and leave? Since you guys If you try your best to sneak into Sanya, I’ll just send you to see it! Seeing is believing, I believe you will definitely change your opinion about us when you get there!”
The order Chen Yixin received was indeed to send these prisoners to Victory Port, but not as tourists, but to be sent there for further interrogation by the Ministry of Security. As for whether these people will die in the execution cabin of the Ministry of Security or be thrown into a hard labor camp as coolies, it has nothing to do with Chen Yixin.
For the Executive Committee located in Victory Port, Jinyi Weinan Town Fusi sent spies to Sanya, but it was just one of the many daily affairs that could not be said to be too important. After the Ministry of Security informed the Executive Committee that all the people in Wanshan Port had been arrested, the Executive Committee's attention was no longer focused on this matter. There are more important matters at the moment, which require all the efforts of all members of the executive committee. This is the Changhua-Shilu transportation line construction project that has begun to enter the implementation stage.
In order to ensure that sufficient labor is invested in the construction site, the executive committee approved a labor quota of five thousand people for this road construction plan, an increase of two thousand people from the initial planning. This is because of this year's immigration The situation was excellent. After the fall of the South Vietnamese regime, a large number of young prisoners of war were traded to Haihan by the Annan court as collateral for military expenses, and their destinations were various large-scale project sites in Qiongnan and Qiongxi.
Transporting thousands of people and various required supplies to places hundreds of nautical miles away is not an easy task in this era. For this reason, the Ministry of Shipping has mobilized most of its cargo ships to participate in this development operation , and outsourced some freight tasks to maritime merchants like Zhan Gui.
June 30, 1629, the tenth day of the fifth month in the second year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Changhua Fishing Port on the west coast of Qiongzhou Island.
Nowadays, it is no longer appropriate to call this place a fishing port. More than a dozen trestles have been built along the shore of the small harbor for cargo ships to dock here. All the original fishermen's shacks on the shore have been demolished, and now a large number of standard boat-shaped houses have been built, including several Haihan's unique blue-roof prefab houses. According to the plan of the Ministry of Construction, it can accommodate nearly a thousand workers and armed guards arriving in the initial stage.
A large storage area is planned on the east side of the port to store various production tools, building materials, daily supplies, etc. that are arriving one after another. To the north of the storage area, workers have cut down a large area of forest land and built a closed residential area here to accommodate the incoming prisoners of war. Naturally, these hard laborers who are treated as consumables cannot enjoy the same living treatment as naturalized laborers. Their living conditions are relatively much worse. What the Executive Committee wants is to let them do more work. Just control the sanitary conditions and prevent large-scale infectious diseases from breaking out.
Qiao Zhiya put his HK416 rifle on his back and jumped directly from the side of the ship to the trestle. The militia platoon leader who hurried over stood at attention, saluted him and said: "Please give instructions, chief!"
Qiao Zhiya raised his hand and returned the military salute, and then ordered the naturalized civilian officer: "Bring all the packed luggage down on the deck and deliver it to my residence. Find a few more people to clean the deck. By the way. , Where is Liu Shanxia now? ”
"Report, Chief Liu is currently at a construction site about two miles east. Do you need me to send someone to lead the way?" the militia platoon leader asked diligently.
"No, I have to take a shower first. It's not very comfortable these days." Qiao Zhiya patted the militia platoon leader's shoulder and dragged his tired body towards the station.
This time Qiao Zhiya was escorting a group of hard laborers from the base camp, but the voyage this time was not smooth. Not long after leaving Victory Port and before reaching Yazhou, he encountered a sudden storm at sea. The two sailboats sailed desperately into the Ming army's water village at the mouth of the Ningyuan River in the south of Yazhou, and finally escaped. Of course, Yacheng Shuizhai has now become one of the sub-bases of the Haihan Militia Navy. Almost all the people docked in Shuizhai Harbor are navy patrol boats - all the original navy warships have become salt dealer Luo Sheng Dong's tool to make money, he simply freed up the place completely for Haihan's still angry patrol boat to use as a station.
After resting for the night in Yacheng, the two sailboats that had escaped the storm continued to head west. However, they did not expect that misfortunes never come singly. They encountered another storm six hours later, but thankfully their position was We were already very close to the Yinggehai Saltworks, so we managed to avoid it once again. But this time the sail of one of the ships was damaged in the storm, and Qiao Zhiya had to let the team stay in Yinggehai for a day to repair the sail.
By the time the fleet overcame various difficulties and arrived at Changhua Port, it had already taken two full days longer than the normal voyage. As the leader of the fleet, Qiao Zhiya has indeed not had much rest time in the past few days. What he needs most now is to take a shower and lie on the bed to sleep. As for other things, he can do it later. Say it again.
(End of chapter)