Chapter 608: Two approaches
Although Fujian has to pay a large amount of money every year in exchange for Haihan's various assistance, for Xu Xinsu and others, how much money they spend is not a problem. Being able to get this unique military assistance is the key point. After all, these are ahead of the times. There is no other company besides Haihan for its sophisticated weapons and corresponding tactics. If Xu Xinsu and others want to protect their vested interests, they must hold on to Haihan's thigh. And a very important point is that the Haihan people are not as greedy for money as the Folangji people or the red-haired people. As long as they can afford the price, they will sell weapons to anyone. They only value money but not people, and the price they ask is far higher than the Haihan people. Han's weapons were much higher.
However, the Haihan people's weapons sales in Fujian have always been limited to the Xu Xinsu Group. According to the Haihan people, this is to prevent these weapons from flowing into the hands of Shiba Zhi, the rival of the Fujian official army. Such conscientious arms dealers are under the guise of Lanterns are hard to find. Although Haihan weapons cannot be said to be cheap, the supply is stable, the quality is obviously better than Fanren's goods, and the price/performance ratio is still very high.
But before that, Xu Xinsu had always had doubts about the reason and purpose of Haihan's efforts to support her. As a businessman, he did not believe that the shrewd Haihan people did this just out of charity or to join in the fun, or because they were originally worried that "the protracted war would harm the people of Fujian." In Xu Xinsu's view, the Haihan militia were able to train their own troops, manufacture guns and even warships, and complete cross-sea expeditions. They did not choose to directly attack Shibazhi, but instead supported the Ming army to fight pirates. The reason for this really made Xu Xinsu Can't figure it out.
Xu Xinsu has actually been waiting for a long time for the opportunity to have a frank talk with Haihan senior officials like today. Although he had been to Guangzhou last time, Malik and He Xi were not yet at the top of Haihan's power structure, so they did not dare to give Xu Xinsu too much guarantee on some major political matters, and spent most of their time communicating. Issues in the fields of trade and immigration between the two sides. Therefore, although Xu Xinsu bought a considerable amount of Haihan arms in Guangzhou last time, Xu Xinsu was not satisfied with the results of the talks.
This time Haihan took the initiative to send a delegation to visit Fujian, and there was a senior Haihan leader like Ning Qi leading the team. Xu Xinsu also believed that this was a good opportunity for both parties to discuss some substantive issues. However, what Xu Xinsu did not expect was that Ning Qi and his party would cause such a big mess just two days after arriving in Zhangzhou. At this time, he really could not take the initiative to discuss such a serious and essential topic with Special Envoy Haihan. . Fortunately, Ning Qi did not blindly blame the Fujian side for the assassination. Instead, he took the initiative to request talks at this time. The content happened to be some issues that Xu Xinsu had always wanted to understand but could not find the opportunity.
Although the explanations given by Ning Qi did sound questionable in their credibility, Xu Xinsu looked at his words and felt that Ning Qi did not have much in the way of acting. The most important thing is that Xu Xinsu believes that there is no need for the Haihan people to make up lies to deceive themselves on this matter. And Ning Qi's evaluation of him undoubtedly gave him a shot in the arm.
At least in Fujian, Xu Xinsu is the only person Haihan likes. This conclusion made Xu Xinsu's originally a little uneasy mood immediately relax a lot, and finally there was a smile on her face: "Mr. Ning is really an award! Xu is so virtuous and capable that he can be so valued by you! ”
Ning Qi also responded with a smile: "Being able to manage Fujian Haiphong to the current situation shows Master Xu's ability. To be honest, our Haihan Executive Committee is quite satisfied with what Master Xu has done during his tenure. That’s why we decided to further increase military assistance to Fujian this year.”
"If you can sell me more weapons, ammunition and warships, then what do you have to fear about Shiba Zhi? Within a year or two, I can destroy its nest, destroy its wings, and let the word Shiba Zhi disappear. The coast of Fujian has completely disappeared!" Xu Xinsu immediately expressed her determination without losing any time. He knew whether the arms purchase in the next period of time would still be subject to the same restrictions as before. It would probably depend on the outcome of the meeting with Ning Qi, so he also took the time to gain favor in front of Ning Qi.
Ning Qi responded: "Master Xu, there is no need to rush. Regarding the arms order, we can wait until after our joint military exercise is over in two days, and then we can talk about the content slowly. Let you take a look at the things first. If you think they are good, you can then place the order." It’s never too late to place your order.”
"Yes, yes, the leaders of Haihan have thought it through!" Xu Xinsu accidentally used the title she heard from the international students under her command.
Ning Qi smiled slightly and said: "This assassin case needs to be investigated, but Sir Xu also needs to hurry up and prepare for the joint military exercise. Our time for this trip is limited, and we want to see if we can go further north."
"Your mission wants to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Xu Xinsu immediately asked sensitively.
Ning Qi nodded and said: "If I have enough time, I have this plan. But it's hard to say now. Let's wait and see after the military exercise."
"Then I'll go back and urge my people to hurry up and prepare. I'll reply to Mr. Ning within three days. How about that?" Xu Xinsu is now very cooperative and almost obeys Ning Qi's words.
Ning Qi nodded and said: "Then I will wait for the good news from Mr. Xu. By the way, I hope Mr. Xu can inform you in time about the progress of the investigation of the assassin case."
"Absolutely, I will inform Mr. Ning as soon as possible when there is news." Xu Xinsu responded quickly.
After leaving the hall, Xu Xinsu immediately sent a message to the Zhongzuo Institute, asking Xu Yuzhuo who was stationed there to immediately contact the senior officials of the Haihan Fleet about the exercise, and report as soon as possible the size of the troops that needed to be mobilized, the status of supplies, and Detailed arrangements for sailing for sea exercises.
That night, this oral order was sent to the Zhongzuo Institute together with the latest investigation progress of the assassination case. After Xu Yuzhuo read the content, he hurried to find Shi Diwen and informed him of the situation: "Today, an assassin attempted to kill someone in Zhangzhou City. An assassination attempt on Mr. Ning, but fortunately with proper protection, Mr. Ning escaped the disaster safely. ”
Little did he know that Shi Diwen had learned about the Zhangzhou City assassination incident from telegrams a few hours ago, and even the results of the meeting between Ning Qi and Xu Xinsu had already been sent by wireless telegram.
Shi Diwen also deliberately wanted to tease Xu Yuzhuo, and responded with a smile: "Don't tell me yet, let me guess what other good news... Well, Mr. Xu should have arranged a joint military exercise between the two armies."< br>
Xu Yuzhuo's eyes widened and he subconsciously said: "How did Mr. Shi learn about this..." But before he finished speaking, he had already reacted: "... Could it be that he used Haihan's technique of sending messages across thousands of miles?" < br>
Shi Diwen saw that Xu Yuzhuo saw through the trick, so he stopped playing and nodded: "Tell me, what instructions does Mr. Xu have for you."
Xu Yuzhuo responded: "Master Xu ordered me to work with Mr. Shi as soon as possible to outline the action plan and the scale of required materials and personnel for the joint military exercise, and report this plan to Zhangzhou."
"This is simple." Shi Diwen immediately took out a pen and paper and began to explain to Xu Yuzhuo: "We will dispatch three warships and two of the four supply ships, a total of five combat ships. The personnel quota is approximately About five hundred and forty people. Assuming that the number of people dispatched by the Ming army is similar to that of ours, because the Ming army’s ships are smaller, I estimate that you will need to dispatch roughly twelve to fifteen ships. Is this number wrong? "
"Absolutely." Xu Yuzhuo nodded and confirmed Shi Diwen's calculation: "This also depends on the current maintenance status of the Navy's ships. If the conditions of those large ships are suitable for going to sea, then almost a dozen ships should be enough. ”
"Okay, then we can prepare supplies for about 1,200 people. In terms of quantity... Our planned exercise time this time is two to three days, but I require that fresh water and food be prepared for at least seven days, just in case. Any temporary changes?" Shi Diwen continued while writing on the paper.
What Shi Diwen recorded on the paper was very simple. In fact, it was just a row of abbreviated Arabic numerals. If Xu Yuzhuo hadn't studied in Victory Port, he probably wouldn't have been able to understand what these ghostly symbols meant. While Xu Yuzhuo listened to Shi Diwen's explanation, he silently calculated in his mind how much supplies he would need to prepare according to the plan proposed by the other party.
"During the exercise, will we stop at the coast of Fujian for supplies?" Xu Yuzhuo asked.
"Probably not. I suggest you prepare for actual combat in advance. No one among us can predict what will happen after going to sea." Shi Diwen said.
In fact, even if he didn't warn him, Xu Yuzhuo would probably make corresponding preparations. After all, pirate ships from Shibazhi often appeared in groups off the coast of Fujian, and they would be hit by accident. And this time with the Haihan warship accompanying them, the Fujian navy no longer has to avoid being besieged by pirate ships. If it really encounters Shibazhi's ship again, the navy's men must seize the opportunity to perform well.
"Next we have to do the most difficult part, see how to arrange the voyage of this sea exercise and the corresponding combat exercise plan." Shi Diwen opened his briefcase and took out a hand-drawn map of Fujian's coastal areas. .
Shi Diwen did not shy away from Xu Yuzhuo, because when the other party was receiving training in Victory Port, he had already seen accurate charts like this, so he was not surprised. In addition to marking the outline of the Fujian coastline, this map also marks various guard posts along the coast where the Ming army was stationed. The map reproduced using satellite images is naturally far more detailed than the Ming military map of the same period. map.
Of course, it is not enough to have such a fine map. As for the sea conditions along the coast of Fujian, the Haihan fleet, as an outsider, has no idea at all. Only sailors and crew members who have been active in local waters for a long time can master the weather here. conditions, ocean current trends, etc. For the Fujian Ming Army, this was a joint military exercise involving large and small trumpets, but for Haihan, it was a good opportunity to familiarize himself with the sea conditions in Fujian in advance.
While the Zhongzuo Institute was busy planning joint military exercises, the interrogation in the Zhangzhou City Defense Army prison did not stop for a moment. Although the interrogation lasted only a few hours, the mental condition of the injured and hungry assassins was already very bad. The detectives who interrogated them followed the methods taught by Morgan and lit several torches in the secret room to make the dark room bright and dazzling. They also prepared ice water, acupuncture and other means to constantly treat the drowsy interrogators. Personnel stimulated them to wake them up again and again from their semi-absence states.
And every time after waking up, the interrogators would keep asking the same questions again and again - Where are you from? Who do you take orders from? Where are your accomplices hiding?
Every hour, the interrogators would change shifts to ensure that their repeated questioning did not hypnotize themselves. Morgan visited twice and instructed the interrogators to give the assassin some brown sugar water regularly to maintain his strength and prevent him from fainting from hunger.
The effect of this method was unexpectedly good. The next morning, some people chose to confess because they could not bear the mental torture. The few fragments of words uttered intermittently from the unconscious assassin's mouth basically established the connection between the murder case and the Shibazhi Pirate Group.
Shibazhi had already made a request for peace talks to Xu Xinsu through some unofficial channels a month and a half ago. Later, Zheng Zhilong sent one of his staff, Zheng Xinzhi, to sneak into Zhangzhou secretly, looking for an opportunity to have face-to-face contact with Xu Xinsu's party. However, this contact that the two parties thought was very covert was not so safe. Not only did the Haihan Intelligence Agency quickly learn the relevant information, but even Chen Lin, a timber merchant who came to Zhangzhou to do business, also accidentally learned the news. . So after the news leaked, Haihan responded quickly and sent a mission to visit Fujian.
Originally, this news should have been kept secret from the outside world, but Xu Xinsu's subordinates were not monolithic, so the news was reversely transmitted to Zheng Xinzhi through the operation of a thoughtful person. The news of the visit of the Haihan delegation made Zheng Xinzhi feel very panicked.
Shibazhi is not a fool. In the past few years, they have been losing battles and their control area has been shrinking. Of course, they know who Xu Xinsu's strong backing is. Even if it was not clear at first, it became clear after the Pearl River War at the end of 1628. How strong the Haihan people are can be found out without any troublesome means. Shibazhi knew that he could not go to Qiongzhou Island to fight with the Haihan people's fleet, so he could only endure this and retreated to the Fujian Strait. But if Shibazhi wants to consolidate its sphere of influence here, it must eliminate the stumbling block of Xu Xinsu. However, in the next two years, it still suffered repeated defeats and could no longer continue to fight.
(End of chapter)