Chapter 602 Intelligence Work
Ning Qi didn't have many opportunities to go on business trips after time travel, but he also heard people stationed abroad talk about their experiences in the Ming-controlled areas when they returned to Sanya to report on their work, and many of them included this kind of hospitality that provided special services. It was obvious that Morgan had noticed the little girl waiting outside when he came, so he was in a hurry to leave - of course, it is more likely that the little girl arranged by the owner to wait on him had arrived first, and this guy just wanted to go back to eat. Just meat.
Ning Qi doesn't have any moral obsession. This is the general environment and social atmosphere of this era. Moreover, most of the men who abandoned their previous comfortable life and traveled to this time and space do it for the various enjoyments after success, which naturally includes This aspect of private life. Now that Xu Xinsu has arranged this kind of sideshow, Ning Qi is not going to refuse it, both for public and private reasons.
The next morning, Ning Qi rarely slept until three o'clock in the morning. When I was in Sanya, my schedule was packed with various tasks every day. It was rare to have this opportunity to sleep until I woke up naturally.
After washing up, Ning Qi went to the front yard and saw Morgan already sitting in the flower hall enjoying breakfast. When Morgan saw Ning Qi coming in, he immediately asked with a wink: "It seems that you had a good rest last night!"
"You too!" Ning Qi responded tacitly. He asked the little girl last night, and sure enough, Xu Xinsu assigned a woman to warm the bed to every Haihan official in the Haihan mission, and she was very considerate in the reception measures.
Soon after breakfast, Haihan's office staff who lived in Zhangzhou came to report their work. Sun Jin brought two naturalized citizens to the study, and then introduced them to Ning Qi and Morgan.
These two naturalized citizens are a father and son. The father is Gong Ping and the son is Gong Shaoqi. They are old immigrants recruited from Yacheng when the Crossing Group first landed. When Gong Ping was recruited, he was actually a prison inmate of Yacheng Prison. He once served as the chief clerk of a county in Jiangxi. Although he was only a ninth-grade official, he could be considered a civil servant in the Ming Dynasty. During his tenure, he assisted the local magistrate in charge. Grain and horses, tax administration, household registration, patrol and other matters. But later, something happened to his boss due to embezzlement, and Gong Ping was also implicated and sentenced to exile in Yazhou. And his son Gong Shaoqi was working as a head catcher in the county government at the time, and he was also implicated by some strange combination of circumstances.
Not long after the father and son of the Gong family arrived at Yacheng Prison, they caught up with Haihan and reached a deal with Yazhou Zhizhou, allowing the prisoners in Yacheng to work as cheap labor in Shengli Port, so they were also shipped to the sea inexplicably. Han's construction site. The father and son both worked in the yamen and were both literate. They quickly stood out from the ordinary prisoners and became foremen. Later, because of his good performance, after serving more than half a year of hard labor, he was given the opportunity to become a naturalized citizen of Haihan.
Together, the two fathers and sons realized that they were guilty and had no chance to return to official careers even after serving their sentences in Yacheng. However, they were really involved in the prosperous situation under Haihan's rule, so they simply gave up. After everything in the past, he chose to join Haihan and work for the leaders of Haihan.
Because Gong Ping was familiar with the Ming Dynasty's official system, he was quickly transferred to the diplomatic department. Gong Shaoqi, on the other hand, first joined the Police Department and worked in his old profession for a while, and then was asked to leave by the newly established Ministry of Security to join the intelligence front. It has been more than a year since the two father and son were transferred to Fujian to take charge of Haihan affairs. When the delegation entered the city yesterday, they had already had brief contact with Sun Jin.
Both of them were considered "senior" naturalized citizens, so when they saw Ning Qi and others, they did not kneel down or anything like that. They just bowed deeply according to Haihan's rules, and then reported their position names themselves.
"Sit down and talk." Ning Qi didn't have any airs and asked the two of them to sit down first before talking.
"You were the first to collect the news about Shibazhi sending people to Zhangzhou for peace talks with the Fujian government, right?" Ning Qi didn't waste time talking about other issues and went straight to the point. After all, the main purpose of the executive committee's high-profile mission to Fujian was to resolve this matter.
"This is the news that Quanzi got first. Let Quanzi report this matter!" Gong Ping responded and handed over the conversation to his son Gong Shaoqi.
Gong Shaoqi said: "Returning to Chief Ning, Beizhi noticed at the beginning of last month that Shibazhi's spies in several places in Zhangzhou City suddenly became more active. At that time, Beizhi thought they were going to do something in the city, so he The surveillance was intensified, and it was discovered that they had secretly picked up several people from Yuegang into the city, and one of them was an aide under Zheng Zhilong. The humble official later learned through informants in the Zhangzhou government that Shiba Zhi's identity was unknown. Someone from the government had been asked to lobby Xu Xinsu for peace talks. After receiving the news, he immediately wrote a report and ordered people to send him back to Zhennan Port by speedboat. "
"Well done." Ning Qi first affirmed Gong Shaoqi's performance, and then raised his own question: "Shibazhi arranged a spy in Zhangzhou City, can this be hidden from Xu Xinsu's eyes?"
Gong Shaoqi said: "Xu Xinsu naturally knows things that everyone in humble positions knows. However, although the battle between Shibazhi and Xu Xinsu continues, the two parties still maintain some information channels in private. This is probably also the reason between them. A tacit understanding.”
"Why did Xu Xinsu do this?" Morgan, who was listening, asked in confusion.
"Xu Xinsu has a lot of business dealings with the Dutch. Although the war has greatly affected the past two years, she still manages to transport a large amount of raw silk and porcelain to Taiyuan Island every year. Shibazhi is also involved in this matter "Although they will ban merchant ships from Fujian, they still dare not attack the goods purchased by the Dutch." Gong Shaoqi immediately explained.
"So these underground information channels are the balance point between Xu Xinsu, Shibazhi and the Dutch?" Ning Qi already understood about half of it after listening.
Xu Xinsu and Shibazhi were fighting openly, but privately they both had trade relations with the Dutch East India Company, a major customer, and the East India Company valued actual interests more and did not focus on support. One of them, so the three families maintain a very subtle tacit understanding.
"Shibazhi also purchases a lot of supplies from the mainland every year. Most of the goods and ships they plunder from the sea have to find ways to sell them back to the mainland. Even if Xu Xinsu doesn't do these businesses, others will, so we have to be serious. Speaking of which, Shibazhi and Xu Xinsu actually have business relationships, but neither party will admit this relationship," Gong Ping also added next to him.
"Fighting and doing business at the same time, these people are really open-minded!" Ning Qi couldn't help but sigh after hearing this. It seems that the situation in Fujian is more complicated than the Executive Committee expected. There is not only a life-and-death military struggle between the two warring parties, but also mutually beneficial trade exchanges.
"So, is there any news about the progress of their contact?" After Ning Qi listened to the background information introduced by the Gong family and his son, Ning Qi returned to the business. Gong Shaoqi responded: "According to the information I have learned from my humble position, Shibazhi's envoys have had at least two or three contacts with people from the Xu family, but their negotiations were all one-on-one meetings, and there were no other people except the person involved. Knowing the content of the negotiations, there is no way to find out the progress. However, judging from the daily situation of the garrison in Zhangzhou City, the armistice agreement between the two sides should not have been reached. The defense change between Zhangzhou and Zhongzuo City still follows the previous wartime arrangements. During the execution, the navy on the Zhangjiang River has never lifted its alert.”
"From last month to this month, it seems that there should be some key interests between them that cannot be compromised." Ning Qi speculated.
"If there is a truce, the Shibazhi will definitely demand the disclosure of the right to conduct commercial transactions on the Fujian coast. Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to obtain more practical benefits from the truce." Gong Ping expressed his opinion: "Xu Xinsu Our current position depends on monopolizing most of Fujian's maritime trade business, and we will definitely not let others get involved easily. The negotiations between the two parties have not made progress, and it is probably stuck at this link."
"It makes sense." Ning Qi nodded and confirmed Gong Ping's view: "In that case, we still have time to do some more work for Xu Xinsu and help him stabilize his moral integrity."
After listening to the report on the intelligence work, Ning Qi also asked Gong Ping about the local political situation and the status of business transactions. The trade between Haihan and Fujian is basically based on Xu Xinsu's control of Fujian's sea power. Therefore, changes in the political situation here are also one of the key issues of the Executive Committee.
Gong Ping responded: "Xu Xinsu has achieved great success in recent years with our assistance, and has been promoted to the rank of Fujian General Soldier. He is now a very influential figure in Fujian officialdom. Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian, values him very much. Here in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou , Xu Xinsu can be said to be able to cover the sky with one hand, and his words are more effective than the prefect. With his protective umbrella, Haihan's trade in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou has developed relatively smoothly, and Haihan Bank has also begun to gradually promote vouchers here. Although it is not as convenient as Qiongzhou Island, the business firm under the name of the Xu family is also assisting us in this matter, and we should achieve good results in a year or two.”
After listening to the work report of the Gong family and his son, Ning Qi encouraged them and asked Sun Jin to lead them out.
Morgan shook his head and said: "I really don't understand. Xu Xinsu and Shibazhi have been fighting for several years, why are they still making deals in private? They are enemies!"
Ning Qi smiled and said: "You Americans have too little political intelligence. You probably won't be able to figure this out even if you think about it for two or three months. You only need to understand one thing, whether it is war or peace, it is all about gaining profits after all. The same goes for Shiba Zhi and Xu Xinsu.”
Morgan shrugged and said: "I don't know where you get your sense of superiority. I am now a Haihan like you. If you laugh at me, you are laughing at yourself."
Ning Qi laughed dumbly and said: "Your mind is spinning very fast now! Okay, okay, it's my fault, I promise I won't laugh at you again."
Not long after the Gong family and his son left, Xu Xinsu sent someone over to invite Ning Qi to come over. After all, yesterday's banquet was not a formal negotiation occasion, and today's private meeting was the time for a head-on confrontation. Because today we were going to talk about the arrangements for the joint military exercise, Morgan went with him. He didn't forget to insert a Glock 18 automatic pistol under each arm.
After Xu Xinsu met the two of them and sat down, she took the initiative to ask: "How did you two rest last night?"
"Very good, Mr. Xu is interested." Ning Qi responded without changing his expression.
"Then it's best. If there is any inconvenience, just tell the steward and let the people below take care of it. I have already given instructions to the people below. As long as it is a request made by the mission, we must try our best to satisfy it." Xu Xinsu said with a smile. .
After Ning Qi thanked him again, he began to introduce the main topic: "This time the Executive Committee sent us to visit Fujian. In addition to increasing mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides, we also have another task, which is to teach some maritime combat skills and tactics to the Fujian Navy."
Xu Xinsu said happily: "I wonder how to arrange this course? How big a venue is needed? Can it accommodate low-level officers to observe?"
"Master Xu, don't panic, listen to what I have to say first." Ning Qi continued: "In this lecture, we do not intend to explain the theory in the classroom, but intend to use military exercises to give the officers and men of the Fujian Navy a chance See and learn immersively.”
"Military exercise?" Xu Xinsu repeated. He was no stranger to military exercises. The Ming Army also held large drills every six months. However, the Ming Army's drills were different from Haihan's combat drills. Most of them just gathered together to practice combat formations, and rarely designed them like Haihan's. Practice with actual combat scenarios. The reason is also very simple. It costs money to bring thousands of troops to the wild or even to the sea for large-scale exercises, and it is also quite troublesome to organize. Even now, most of the troops under Xu Xinsu have followed suit and adopted the Haihan Army. However, the number of military exercises was far less than that of the Shanghai Han Militia.
It was not that Xu Xinsu was reluctant to spend the money, but the Haihan Militia did not station troops in Fujian Province at all. If they wanted to observe, only a few officers could go to Sanya to observe. Observation and actual participation are two completely different concepts. Xu Xinsu has also led soldiers, so he naturally understands this truth. Now the Haihan Mission took the initiative to arrange a military exercise in Fujian. Although Xu Xinsu was delighted, she did not forget to think about the purpose of the Haihan people.
Xu Xinsu knew that Haihan people were very shrewd businessmen, and every move had a purpose, so it was impossible to give him this benefit in vain. Considering the current situation in Fujian, it is not difficult for Xu Xinsu to connect Ning Qi's proposal with the armistice and peace talks. Comparing the two sides, military exercises are not only useless for the truce but also cost money. However, the role of this matter in strengthening Fujian's military power cannot be ignored. Xu Xinsu found it difficult to make a decision for a while.
(End of chapter)