Chapter 894 Blatant
Due to the limited force of Haihan's northern expedition to Zhoushan, it was difficult to continue to divide his troops to attack Daishan, Qushan and other islands in the north after occupying Zhoushan Island. With the combat capabilities of the Haihan militia, it is not difficult to capture these places, but they do not have the troops to garrison the areas. The remaining local armed forces already know how powerful Haihan is and will no longer engage in head-on confrontation. They will take a circle on the sea to avoid it. Kaihai Han militia's offensive will come back later. The headquarters conducted two expulsion operations with little apparent results. Later, it gave up the idea of eliminating them as soon as possible and concentrated its main energy on the construction project of Zhoushan Dinghai Port. After all, suppressing bandits can only bring short-term one-time benefits, but the completion of the trading port can make the area prosperous, and the long-term benefits obtained through commerce will be more considerable.
Of course, this was because Haihan was sure that the strength of the small armed forces in the north was not strong enough to threaten the safety of Dinghaiport, so he allowed them to continue to survive. Ma Teng on Qushan Island was one of them. Ma Teng's territory is slightly far away from Ningbo, with Zhoushan Island in the middle, so the destinations of his smuggling trade are mostly Shaoxing and Songjiang on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay. Haihan's current main trading area is still Ningbo, which is closest to Zhoushan Island, so the conflict of interest in trade is not particularly significant.
However, it has always been common for the armed forces in the East China Sea to do dirty work for government patrons. Killing people and stealing goods at sea is also part of their livelihood. If the three people from Hangzhou Prefecture go to the Haining Guard Commander to lobby and persuade him to join the group and participate in the operation, then it is indeed possible to use the power of Ma Teng on Qushan Island. As for whether Ma Teng still has the courage to confront Haihan, that is another matter.
Although Wang Jialin was once an all-powerful overlord in the East China Sea, he was not very familiar with the official situation in Zhejiang. He was not clear about the relationship between the commanders of these guard posts, and even the official ranks of the people involved were unclear. The distinction is not clear, and the information provided is actually of limited value. It only took Gong Shiqi less than an hour to get all the information he could get from him.
The prisoners' confessions were of limited use, so Gong Shiqi could only lead the team to Jiaxing in person. Calculating the time, six or seven days have passed since Yu Pingfeng and others went to find Wei Shan. If they really planned to go to Jiaxing to lobby the Haining Guard Commander, they would have already found out by this time. If Hainingwei really wants to take action, there will be more or less signs showing up beforehand.
After Gong Shiqi left the temporary imprisonment, he immediately gathered his men and prepared to go to Jiaxing. There are more than 20 people in the field team under Gong Shiqi. Half of them are his old subordinates brought over from Guangdong, and the other half are from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They were assigned to his command before going north this time. There seems to be a lot of people, but these are all the field personnel currently deployed by the Ministry of Security in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In theory, they are responsible for field operations in all areas north of Fujian. This is not an easy job.
The main task of the field team is to collect various intelligence within the Ming Dynasty, including but not limited to politics, economy, military, culture, etc. In addition, when necessary, it will also perform tracking, surveillance, and even unconventional tasks such as kidnapping and assassination. Carrying out these tasks within Ming Dynasty is very risky, because there is no way to get direct support from Haihan's powerful armed forces. All they can rely on are their own professional skills and the strict organizational system of the Ministry of Security.
Gong Shiqi specially found a cargo ship that originally belonged to the Zhoushan Shipping Gang from the dock, then transferred a batch of southern goods from the warehouse on the island for loading, and went to Jiaxing Prefecture pretending to be a businessman from the south.
Jiaxing was founded in the Qin Dynasty. It has been a prosperous and prosperous place since ancient times. It is one of the most important grain-producing areas in the eastern coastal area. There is a saying that "Jiahe is the largest among the three villages in western Zhejiang". By the Yuan Dynasty, foreign trade at Zhapu, Kanpu, Qinglong and other ports gradually flourished, and the economy also caught up with the Suzhou and Hangzhou regions. During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the government was reorganized and Jiaxing Prefecture administered seven counties. Cotton and silk began to be sold in the north and south. Silk from Wangjiangjing Town and Puyuan Town, and Weitang yarn from Jiashan were all very popular products.
Based on suggestions from local subordinates, Gong Shiqi set his destination at Jiaxing Zhapu Port, which is also the closest trading port to Zhoushan Island in Jiaxing Prefecture. The voyage of more than 60 nautical miles takes about one day. Can be reached. Zhapu Port is located about thirty miles east of Haining Acropolis. Gong Qiqi believes that he should be able to find out some news about Haining Acropolis locally.
After the ship arrived at the local area, Gong Shiqi took several of his men to wander around the towns on the shore in the name of discussing business. Although it was their first time to come to this place, based on their past experience, they quickly found out about the location of a teahouse in Zhapu Town where all kinds of information were concentrated. It is said that about 50% of local transactions are negotiated in this teahouse. Merchants who come here to trade will basically use this place as their first stop after landing.
After Gong Shiqi arrived at this place, he discovered that it was more like a trading market than a teahouse. The two-story teahouse was almost full of people, and there were even extra seats under the eaves on the street. What attracts so many tea drinkers is not that there is any great tea here, but that most of the buyers and sellers of silk fabrics from the seven counties of Jiaxing Prefecture are concentrated here. Quotations and counter-offers come and go, making it very lively. . The subordinate pretending to be an entourage grabbed a passing waiter and gave him a piece of broken silver, and then arranged a table for them in the corner of the first floor. Although the location is not ideal, it is enough for Gong Shiqi.
Gong Shiqi didn't dislike the noisy and disorderly place here. On the contrary, it was this kind of place that made him feel like a fish in water. There were at least thirty or forty merchants from out of town upstairs and downstairs in this teahouse, and no one would pay special attention to his presence. There will always be some intelligence information inadvertently revealed in the conversations between these businessmen traveling from north to south. Perhaps the person speaking will not realize the value of this information, but for those who are interested, the meaning is different.
Gong Shiqi had already carefully considered how to start on the way to Jiaxing from Zhoushan Island. He was a senior intelligence officer who had been personally trained by He Xi, and his thinking was more flexible. What he was considering was not "how to confirm Hainingwei's preparations." Take hostile action against Haihan", but "What would Hainingwei do if they were to take action?"
Gong Shiqi put himself in the position of his opponent to think about this issue, and came to the conclusion that the local garrison must first collect relevant information through various channels and methods, such as which businessmen in Jiaxing Prefecture have already established a line with Zhoushan, What can be moved and what cannot be moved, how many troops of the Haihan people on Zhoushan Island are deployed near Hangzhou Bay, how often they sail, whether they will board and inspect civilian ships at sea, etc. Most of the questions related to Haihan will only be known by those who have been to Zhoushan Island. If Hainingwei directly summons these insiders, it will inevitably arouse widespread suspicion and most likely leak the news in advance. The best way is to choose an open information exchange venue, monitor it, and then classify and organize the collected information to select useful parts.
Zhapu Port is the closest port to Zhoushan Island in Jiaxing Prefecture. Most of the local merchants who go to Zhoushan to trade with Haihan will start from this port. The most and most comprehensive information about Haihan can be collected here. If the person in charge of Hainingwei had any brains, he probably wouldn't let go of this window to understand Haihan. What Gong Shiqi expected was to find Hainingwei's spies here.
This matter may sound difficult, but Gong Qiqi has his own way of distinguishing it. First of all, the nature of the interception of civilian merchant ships by the government and military organizations is very bad. Even if Hainingwei wants to participate, they must strictly keep the secret. The information they want to find out is too targeted, and it is impossible to hand over such an important task to outsiders. Otherwise, if you are not careful at all, you will be alerted and all your efforts will be wasted.
If someone from the military came to inquire about information, even if they were pretending to be businessmen, it would be difficult for them to look decent. Acting skills, even if you have talent, still need to be honed, and what Gong Qiqi is secretly observing is whether anyone here is exposed due to poor acting skills.
But it didn't take long for Gong Shiqi to realize that he was a little too smart. His opponent obviously did not consider so many scruples, and did not seem to worry about leaks, because he had already seen several Ming soldiers walking into the teahouse surrounded by an officer wearing general military uniform. These people went straight to the second floor, and soon some people came down from the second floor. It is said that they were driven away to make room for the military men. Not long after, a soldier came down from upstairs and asked if anyone was coming from Zhoushan Island. The boss upstairs wanted to buy some Haihan goods, and the price was negotiable. He didn't know whether the merchants were worried about defaulting on the president's debt or causing other troubles. After he asked twice, there were only a few answers. It seemed that no one was interested in this matter.
The soldier snorted coldly and said: "They are all shameless! When it is discovered that there are Haihan goods on the ship, the ship and the goods will be detained. Don't come to Hainingwei to kneel down and cry!"
Gong Shiqi believed that no one here recognized him, so he immediately stood up and responded: "I just came from Zhoushan. I wonder what kind of Haihan goods the boss needs? Maybe they will be available when we get off the boat."
The soldier didn't respond to his question, so he waved for him to go upstairs. Gong Shiqi made a gesture so that his subordinates did not have to follow him and followed the soldier up to the second floor alone.
The side of the second floor facing the street has been vacated, so there is only one person sitting on the railing, while the other subordinates stand far away. Gong Shiqi slowly walked over and cupped his hands and said: "I'm Gong Shi, a maritime merchant from Guangdong, I've met you!"
The boss didn't have any airs at all, so he asked him to sit down and talk. After asking the general manager a few questions about what Haihan goods were loaded on Gong Qiqi's ship, he then began to ask about the situation on Zhoushan Island, seeming to be more interested in the local operations of the Haihan people.
Gong Qi Qi came with a purpose, and he was naturally wary after hearing these questions. However, one of the two parties knew Haihan well, and the other only knew a little about it. Gong Qi Qi just made up some information to deceive the other party without worrying about being exposed. There is probably no other person in Jiaxing Prefecture who can understand the situation in Zhoushan as well as he does. Of course, he would not tell all the information he knew. How to play the role of a maritime businessman passing through Zhoushan to purchase some goods locally? Gong Shiqi also grasped the right balance.
"How long will Boss Gong be staying in Jiaxing this time? Do you have a place to live locally?" After talking for a while, Na Baozong suddenly asked an irrelevant question.
Gong Shiqi was not sure of the other party's intention, so he could only respond cautiously: "I just arrived in Zhapu today and haven't found a place to live yet. I will probably find a hotel nearby to stay. As for how many days I will stay, it depends on how smoothly the business goes. or not.”
The boss nodded and said: "When you go to the Jixiang Inn on the north street, tell me that the king of Hainingwei asked you to come. You can stay here and I can talk to you later."
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Gong Shiqi pretended to be scared and said: "Sir, I'm just a businessman. I haven't violated any national laws. If I can't go to Zhoushan Island, I just won't go in the future!" After saying that, he reached into his arms and took out a tablet. The silver is placed on the table.
Mr. Ba coughed dryly, flicked his hand on the table, and the silver ingot disappeared without a trace: "Don't be afraid, I'm not trying to punish you, but there may be some things I want to ask you about. What I just asked, Don’t mention it to others, remember!”
"Yes, yes, I have remembered it, sir, please rest assured!" Gong Shiqi stood up and retreated tremblingly. When he reached the stairs, his feet softened and he almost fell. Several soldiers nearby laughed out loud.
Gong Shiqi walked slowly downstairs while holding on to the railing, his expression returning to normal. The officers of Hainingwei actually collected information about Haihan on the market in such a semi-public way. This was a situation that he had never imagined before coming here. However, this is good, and it saves a lot of trouble. Otherwise, if we really have to rely on reconnaissance methods to collect information bit by bit, we will never be able to discover the movements of the Haining Weiming Army so quickly.
Gong Shiqi did not leave in a hurry, but continued to sit downstairs and watch. After chatting with the local businessman at the next table, he realized that this boss had come here to do the same thing for the third consecutive day. There were not many new merchants arriving today, so only Gong Shiqiu answered the call. It is said that more people came upstairs to interview Mr. Wang in the past two days.
This at least shows that Hainingwei is collecting information about Haihan in a targeted manner, and it is not just a whim of one person. Although it has not been proven that Hainingwei is obviously hostile to Haihan, Gong Qiqi's intuition has told him that things may be developing in a bad direction. Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing for the Zhoushan Command, which is bent on setting a trap to lure out the hidden hostile forces and catch them all.
(End of chapter)