Chapter 590 Small Action
Due to the long distance to Fujian, the base camp is completely helpless if something goes wrong. For safety reasons, Haihan has not stationed travelers there. The local intelligence is only collected and summarized by naturalized personnel and then sent back here regularly. At present, this relatively backward intelligence transmission method is difficult to achieve the results desired by the Ministry of Security. Therefore, in Wanshan Port, Zhennang Port and other places, it is another matter to inquire about Fujian news from businessmen traveling between Fujian and Guangzhou. A simple and easy way to collect intelligence. And this matter does not necessarily have to be done by people from the security department. People like You Yihan often get some useful information from chatting with businessmen.
Xu Xinsu was promoted to the rank of Fujian General Soldier with his impressive record, while Zheng Zhilong was still just a big pirate leader. The development direction of things was completely different from the historical trajectory, so Haihan could no longer deal with it based on the original history. To make inferences about things that have not happened yet, decision-making must rely more heavily on the collection of intelligence information.
What is the focus of intelligence collection in the Fujian direction? Of course it was the protracted confrontation between Shibazhi and the Ming army. Out of vigilance against Shiba Zhi, Haihan began to proactively provide military support to Fujian at the beginning of his time travel when his own strength was not strong enough, in order to enable him to avoid the armed confrontation with Shiba Zhi. Defeated. This kind of military assistance has indeed achieved very good results in the past few years. Xu Xinsu was not defeated and killed by Zheng Zhilong as in the original history, and Zheng Zhilong also failed to defeat Xu Xinsu and then accepted recruitment to become the first tyrant in Fujian. .
However, Haihan's purpose in supporting Xu Xinsu was not simply to help him become powerful in Fujian, but to maintain a situation of rivalry between the two families along the coast of Fujian. In other words, Haihan does not want the fighting between the two families to end. Whether it is from a political perspective or from the perspective of arms sales interests, it will be beneficial and harmless to Haihan if the two families continue to fight.
But if the two families stop fighting, it will attract the attention of Haihan. Fujian purchases a large amount of arms from Haihan every year, and pays Haihan to train officers and technical units for it. Now even warships have been conditionally opened to Fujian for purchase rights. But if there is no war, the effects of the armistice will soon be reflected in arms sales orders, thus affecting Haihan's profits from the arms trade.
Of course, there is another possibility, that is, everything remains the same and Xu Xinsu continues to spend money to buy, but this will also make Haihan worried - if Xu Xinsu's strength grows to a certain extent, it may affect Haihan's future. The mainland strategy to be implemented in the future creates obstacles.
Different from the Haihan Army's aid to Annan, there are no Haihan militia troops stationed in the coastal areas of Fujian, and the Haihan Navy has not even set foot in Fujian waters so far, and has no influence in the local area. In addition to providing military assistance, Haihan does not have better control methods over Fujian. This can be said to be one of the fundamental reasons why Haihan cannot relax about the situation in Fujian.
If something happens to Annan, the local garrison of the Haihan Militia will be able to block Annan's coastline in a short time and have the ability to make further responses. But if something happens in Fujian, Haihan can really only watch, and it will be difficult to take effective action in a short period of time. As for the news that the warring parties in Fujian had ceased war and negotiated peace, Haihan had not received any news before.
You Yihan's expression changed because he noticed this detail, and immediately asked: "Boss Chen, what's going on with the peace talks? Where did you get the news? Can you tell me?"
Seeing You Yihan's cautious question, Chen Lin quickly responded: "Speaking of which, the villain also learned the news accidentally..."
Chen Lin arrived in Zhangzhou a few days ago. When he went to the Municipal Shipping Department to handle the cargo entry procedures, he heard others chatting that Shibazhi had sent envoys to Zhongzuosuo City on Jiahe Island off the coast of Zhangzhou to prepare for truce negotiations with Xu Xinsu. Although the authenticity of this news needs to be verified, Chen Lin learned from the local area that Shibazhi had indeed not launched a raid on the coast of Fujian for nearly two months.
"What's the reason? Is it because Shiba Zhi can no longer be defeated?" Of course You Yihan would not be satisfied with such a superficial description. He had to try to see if he could dig into the deeper reasons.
"The reason... I really don't know." Chen Lin quickly accused: "I just heard a few words from the sidelines, and the information may not be reliable. Don't blame Director You!"
"It's okay, just tell me as much as you know. Sit down for a moment, and I will help you write a description of the situation. You can take it to the Ministry of Commerce to re-register." Although You Yihan was a little disappointed, he did not let it go. The intention of blaming Chen Lin was that after all, the other party was not Haihan's intelligence officer and had no obligation to collect this information for Haihan.
Chen Lin felt a little sorry. While You Yihan was writing, he tried to think back on what he heard that day. This thought really reminded him of something: "Director You, I remembered that I heard a sentence at that time, but at that time After many days, I have a vague impression. I am not sure whether I heard it correctly, and I don’t know whether to say it or not. ”
You Yihan stopped writing and raised his head and said, "Say."
Chen Lin responded: "I also heard from the person who was talking about this that day that the reason why Shibazhi wanted to negotiate a peace was because of the Red Haired People's intentions. Fujian has been fighting for several years, making it impossible for the Red Haired People to buy goods from Fujian. , a little annoyed.”
"I see." You Yihan nodded, and now things made sense.
The reason why the Dutch had to establish a colonial stronghold near the Taiwan Strait was, on the one hand, to maintain trade routes with Japan, and on the other hand, to be able to trade with the Ming Dynasty and purchase raw silk, tea, porcelain and other specialties from Fujian. Ship it back to Europe for profit. The successive battles between the Shibazhi and the Fujian Ming Army will definitely affect the Dutch's local trade to a certain extent, and thus their profits.
In the original history, both Xu Xinsu and Zheng Zhilong were suppliers to the Dutch. For a long time, Fujian's raw silk export trade was controlled by Xu Xinsu. There are also reasons why Zheng Zhilong wanted to kill Xu Xinsu. The purpose is to take his place. Zheng and Xu went to war for their own interests and survival, and the Dutch could not gain any benefits from it. Instead, they had to bear the economic losses caused by the war, so they naturally became the natural peace faction.
If Shibazhi negotiates peace with Xu Xinsu with the Dutch's entrustment, then this matter is really possible. After all, for Xu Xinsu, being able to resume trade with the Dutch means at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year. The trade volume, coupled with the military expenditure saved by the armistice, the annual income is still considerable. Xu Xinsu is a businessman. For him, interests that can be measured in money are far more important than political attitudes. There is no guarantee that he will not negotiate a truce with Zheng Zhilong behind Haihan's back.
Of course, You Yihan did not dare to draw a conclusion on this. After all, this was just hearsay from Chen Lindao, without any real evidence. Moreover, the Haihan agency in Zhangzhou has not sent back relevant information, and it is temporarily unable to confirm the authenticity of the information Chen Lin said. After sending Chen Lin away, You Yihan immediately got up and left the office, went to the confidential room on the third entrance to the courtyard, turned on the radio, and sent a telegram to Guangzhou and the base camp respectively with the news he had just learned. This matter is not within the scope of You Yihan's authority. He has no right to directly intervene in how to deal with it next. It is safer to leave it to the security department who is specifically responsible for this matter.
"I can't be trusted by the Security Department!" You Yihan couldn't help but muttered after sending the telegram. He was very proud of his carefulness, and at the same time he despised the work efficiency of the Security Department. If Chen Lin, a timber merchant, hadn't accidentally reported such important news, how long would it have been before we got wind of it?
In fact, the Ministry of Security was not as useless as You Yihan thought. Just two hours after he sent the telegram, channels affiliated with the Ministry of Security also sent back information from Fujian, and the content was basically what Chen Lin said. It can be mutually confirmed that the Shibazhi took the initiative to send people to visit Zhongzuo Suo City in Zhangzhou at the request of the Dutch and prepared to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Xu Xinsu.
The Ministry of Security received the news in Fujian at the same time as Chen Lin, and even sent the news one day earlier than Chen Lin. However, Chen Lin went straight to Zhennang Port after returning from Fujian for the land acquisition of Hong Kong Island, while the Ministry of Security The messenger from the ministry had to travel an extra mile across the waterway to deliver the news directly back to Guangzhou and hand it over to He Xi. After all this time, He Xi got the news later than You Yihan.
"It really doesn't make people worry!" He Xi took the two pieces of news about the situation in Fujian that were sent one after another today, and couldn't help but sigh: "If there is a temporary truce in Fujian, then the arsenal in Sanya will be partially suspended. ! ”
"Has the headquarters already heard about this news? People from the Industrial Port must be making impassioned speeches at the meeting and want to tighten the leash around Xu Xinsu's neck." Malik next to him added sarcastically.
"The Victory Port Shipyard signed a contract with Xu Xinsu for four exploration-class warships just two months ago. Haihan Ordnance Industry has just lifted the export ban on 24-pound army guns. If the war in Fujian ceases, the sales of these weapons will It will be affected!" He Xi also understood this clearly: "If I were from the industrial port, I would also make a fuss. If I don't have a roof for three days, I would really have to take care of it."
"If I were Xu Xinsu, I would continue to buy weapons. Anyway, it's always good to stock up on more weapons. Who knows what day we will start fighting again?" Maliko responded.
He Xi nodded and said: "This is the most worrying thing. They remain in fighting condition. At least we know that the ammunition sold is constantly being consumed. But if there is no war but Fujian keeps buying arms, then We have to worry about where these things go and what they are used for.”
Maliko said: "But now apart from military cooperation, it seems that we have no other way to control Xu Xinsu, right?"
He Xi responded: "The Executive Committee probably won't take radical action immediately. It will probably warn Xu Xinsu first, and only consider other methods if it doesn't work. Cutting off military aid will mean killing a thousand enemies and damaging eight others. Hundreds, not a good deal for us.”
Malico continued: "You are right, but the Executive Committee certainly cannot sit back and watch them negotiate a peace."
"The problem is not that he wants to negotiate peace with Shibazhi. For the sake of interests, there is nothing wrong with that." He Xi said this, and then changed the subject: "But his mistake was that he did not communicate with us in time and ask for our opinions. . Of course, it’s possible that he didn’t intend to let us know about it.”
In the previous cooperation agreement between the two parties, mutual notification of major measures was also part of the agreement. However, it seems that the Fujian side did not try to inform Haihan that Shibazhi had sent an envoy to negotiate peace. It would be fine if it was just an inadvertent mistake, but if Xu Xinsu arranged it this way intentionally, the severity of the problem would be different.
Maliko responded: "It's enough to hide it from us. The confidentiality work is so poor that even a timber merchant knows about it. How can Xu Xinsu still hope to hide it from our eyes and ears?"
"Xu Xinsu is just a businessman. Being a military leader and a politician is a bit difficult for him." He Xi said: "He wants our military aid, and he also wants to make money from the Dutch. He wants to take advantage of both sides." It's a pity that there are not so many good things in this world. He wants to do business with the Dutch on Taiwan Island, but what we are thinking about is how to expel those Dutch people from Taiwan Island in the future. If we can't find a way to help him correct his direction, That may become a stumbling block on our way forward in the future!”
"In the final analysis, the stumbling block is still the Dutch." Malico added: "Whether they are in the south or the north, they play the role of stumbling block. Even if we don't want to touch them for the time being, they are still making small moves to increase their presence."
The Guangdong Office in Guangdong had already known the news that the Haihan Navy secretly went south to capture the Ambuna Islands a month ago. Travelers know that Haihan and the Netherlands will sooner or later have an armed conflict in South Asia over the chokepoint on the sea. The situation in the north is similar. Haihan is bound to win this key waterway between Fujian and Taiwan. Whether it is the Shibazhi who settled in Penghu or the Dutch who established a colonial stronghold in Tainan, they are all targets of elimination in the future.
Of course, whether it is Batavia or Taiwan, the current Haihan Navy does not yet have enough strength to capture the area, so it has never actively provoked the Dutch. The Dutch should also know from the side that the strength of this group of people on Qiongzhou Island is not weak, and they have not taken any hostile actions. However, this time the Dutch wanted Shibazhi to negotiate peace with the Fujian government, but they had inadvertently touched Haihan's interests.
(End of chapter)