Chapter 1055 Advance step by step
Hangzhou is the economic, political and cultural center of Zhejiang. Almost all the yamen with the highest level and the most authority in Zhejiang are concentrated in the city. Therefore, it is not unusual for people from local state governments to come to Hangzhou to run official positions. Although this "Master Qiao" set his goal a bit high, the two guides were just ordinary people with limited vision and knowledge, and they did not think further. For them, free money is the most realistic thing. As for who "Master Qiao" seeks to establish a relationship with, and whether he can succeed in the end, that is indeed beyond their control.
While the Gaoqiao Nan group was wandering around the city, Wan Fa also took Gong Qi Qi into Hangzhou City and went directly to the house in the south of the city that he had agreed to the day before. As Wan Fa said, this house is quite close to Fengshan Gate. After entering the city gate, you only have to turn a corner along the road and you can already see the gatehouse of this house.
When Gong Shiqi arrived at the door, he saw that the top of the gate tower had an overhanging eaves style. There were double-sided brick carvings on the lintel with patterns of flowers, bats, butterflies, etc. There were also a pair of stone drums on the left and right of the door. The plaque of the owner's family was supposed to be hung on the lintel, but now it has been taken down, leaving an empty space. There are red lanterns hanging on the left and right sides of the plaque, but they have not been replaced for a long time and are already somewhat worn. The two brass animal head door knockers on the dark red door panel, which are larger than a palm, are polished to a shiny finish. This gatehouse is not big, but the craftsmanship is exquisite. It seems that a lot of investment was made when building the house.
Wan Fa stepped forward and knocked on the door, and someone opened the door not long after. After Wan Fa explained his purpose, the man asked them to wait outside the door for a while, and then came back and took them into the courtyard. Gong Qiqi looked at the courtyard. There is a courtyard, but most of the grass and trees are withered, and it seems that no one has taken care of it for a long time. The servant who led the way took Gong Shiqi and others to the flower hall. Sitting there was a middle-aged man. When he saw them coming in, he stood up and waved his hands.
Wanfa took the initiative to introduce in the middle: "This is the landlord, Boss Feng...Boss Feng, this Boss Gong is here to see the house. The two of you are very close."
The two parties exchanged a few words and then sat down to talk in detail. Gong Shiqi saw that there were no screens, vases or other decorations in the flower hall. The tables and chairs were made of high-quality mahogany, but judging from the appearance, they must be quite old. Wanfa said yesterday that the family was planning to sell their house to get money to survive because their family was in trouble. It seemed that before selling the house, they had already sorted out the bits and pieces here.
Gong Shiqi was eager to finalize the matter, so he did not slowly bargain with the other party on the price, but focused on the procedures and time for handing over the house. After the two sides talked for a while, Gong Shiqi proposed to take a closer look at the house. The landlord readily agreed and personally took them through the house to see every room and corner of the yard.
Probably due to the care of the craftsmen who built this house in the last century, the overall condition of this house is actually pretty good. Except for the flowers and seedlings in the courtyard of the third courtyard that need to be replanted, and some small areas need to be repaired, there is nothing. See what's wrong with it. Currently, only the owner and an old servant live here. The family has moved to the countryside. There are only some basic furniture left in this house. It looks empty and not popular, but rather like an uninhabited abandoned place. Home.
After looking at the house, the owner took out the deed. After Gong Shiqi read it and confirmed it was correct, he asked his entourage to take out the money. Of course Gong Shiqi didn't bring so much cash with him. He only took out two hundred taels of cash as a deposit. The remaining silver still needs to be settled at a bank in the city by both parties, and then they go to the Yamen to change the house deed, even if there is an interim payment. Without delay, it will take at least a day.
Naturally, Gong Shiqi had to personally handle the matter of house deed and money delivery. He called Wan Fa aside and said: "When you go back, put up a notice outside Chengfeng Hang to recruit some plasterers, carpenters, and stonemasons. The house is being renovated here.”
Wan Fa said: "I know some craftsmen, so I can just find them later. There is no need to go to the trouble of posting notices."
Gong Shiqi shook his head and said: "If people outside don't want it, just do as I tell you. When a group of craftsmen from Ningbo apply for the job, you will hire them together."
Wanfa's eyes lit up: "Is he one of ours?"
Gong Shiqi nodded and said: "You also know the person leading the team, there is no mistake. You should handle this matter more cleanly and don't reveal any flaws."
"I understand, villain." Wan Fa nodded and responded.
It is obvious that the scale of the Security Department's operation in Hangzhou is not small, and the participants are far more than the people Gong Shiqi brought the day before. However, if a large number of visitors from other places enter the city and gather together for a long time, it will be easy. attract the attention of the government. Gong Shiqi and others had already considered this when formulating their action plan, so they arranged for people to enter the city in batches. The house Gong Shiqi bought in the city was used as a place to gather people.
In order for more security personnel to be gathered here inconspicuously, it is very reasonable to recruit a group of craftsmen to renovate the house. The reason why Wanfa was asked to post notices outside the city to recruit people was to use this It shows that these craftsmen have nothing to do with the owner of the house. If Gong hadn't woken up at 17 o'clock, even Wan Fa would not have thought that there would be such a special relationship between the craftsmen he wanted to recruit and the new owner of the house.
Although this is not a particularly clever method, the preparation time for this operation is relatively hasty, and many details of the operation that have not yet been finalized can only be advanced step by step in Hangzhou. This can be used as a means to arrange a joint action team. It is extremely difficult for people and horses to assemble in the city.
However, Wanfa immediately thought of something and asked proactively: "Boss, after you enter the city, will the rooms here in Chengfengxing still be retained?"
Gong Shiqi said: "After three days, you can resume daily operations, but if anything unusual happens, you must report it to me as soon as possible. If you don't have time to enter the city, go to the pier to find the boat I came on. , the people on board will know what to do.”
There were also several armed personnel on the ship that sent Gong Shiqi and others to Hangzhou. These people were affiliated with the navy and would not be directly involved in the operation. Instead, they were responsible for responding and delivering news outside the city. If something happens to the action team in the city, then the intelligence ship on the riverside outside the city is probably the only way out.
According to the division of labor beforehand, Gong Shiqi's group was responsible for finding a convenient assembly point in the city, while Gaoqiao South's group was responsible for completing the reconnaissance of the target's main activity areas. After the preparations were completed, the two groups would return. Join other members of the action team who have entered the city sporadically and launch an attack together.
After Gong Shiqi finalized the purchase of the house, he immediately sent people to the east of the city to deliver news to the inn where Gao Qiaonan and others were staying, informing them of the location and subsequent layout of the property. The two groups of people settled in the east and south of the city separately. Although there was some trouble in delivering the news, it was also to avoid gathering too many people and attracting outside attention. In addition, if the operation was exposed, at least one side could be preserved by dividing it into two places. Hope of escape.
The two groups of people did not meet directly in the first two days after entering the city, but worked separately to advance their respective tasks. The action team had considered the means of concealing their identities well in advance, so they did not encounter any trouble after entering the city. Gong Shiqi led his men to move into the newly bought house in the city, and then a group of hired men came The craftsmen soon moved in and started renovating the house in a decent manner. Gao Qiaonan also spent two days completing visits to various government offices and areas where officials live in the city, improving the map information at hand, and tracking the daily activity routes of the three targets. It wasn't until the third day after entering the city that the two groups met in a restaurant in the west of the city. This restaurant is not owned by Haihan, so the two of them were extra careful and booked a private room here in advance. After eating for a while, the guard outside opened the door and came in and reported: "Boss, it's ready."
Gong Shiqi put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, stood up and left the private room, as if he wanted to go for convenience. However, when he walked to another private room with two guards standing at the door, the two guards opened the door. Gong Shiqi walked straight in, and no one else in the restaurant noticed this detail.
"Tell me to wait!" Takahashi Nan stood up and greeted him: "I thought you would come here after finishing eating."
Gong Shiqi said: "Be careful. When I came, I arranged for two people to sit alone in the hall. I watched the outside for us. After making sure there was nothing abnormal, I gave the signal and then I came to meet you."
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Gao Qiaonan couldn't help but praise: "You city people are still very sophisticated, I admire you!"
Gong Shiqi said: "Be careful with the ten thousand year ship. There are many people in Hangzhou who want to seize the opportunity to punish us. If you and I are exposed, I am afraid that we will be imprisoned on various charges immediately. It’s hard to get out.”
Takahashi Nandao: "How could the Ming Dynasty's intelligence agency be so powerful?"
"Although Dongchang Fanzi and Jinyiwei are not as good at handling cases as our Security Department, their strength should not be underestimated." Gong Shiqi explained: "These two yamen have a history of hundreds of years, and there are many capable people among them. You and I have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. You must try your best to avoid these unnecessary troubles.”
Takahashi Minami nodded and said: "It makes sense, but the overall situation should be the most important thing. Let's get back to business, let me talk about the progress on my side first."
Takahashi Nan made a gesture, and immediately his men quickly removed the food and wine from the table, and then laid out the map.
"Brother Gong, please look at the places marked with red handwriting on this map. They are the places I have been to in the past two days. The Department of Punishment and Prosecution, the Department of Commanding and Envoys, and the Jinyiwei Yamen are all among them." Gao Qiao As Nan spoke, he pointed out the locations of these government offices on the map.
Gong Shiqi looked at it carefully for a while before saying: "This block is full of large and small yamen. It is really not easy to do something here. What about the residences of these targets?"
"Here..." Gao Qiaonan pointed out the three people's residences in the city one by one on the map: "The residences of Guo Zheng and Yu Pingfeng are not far from each other. They are both in the same building in the east of the city, but the Jin Yiwei Liao Xun recently moved to a house in the north of the city, which is quite far away from these two families.”
Gong Shiqi frowned and said: "This is a bit troublesome!"
According to the intelligence obtained by the Ministry of Security, the personal relationship between these three targets is quite close. If something happens to one of them, the news will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the other two. Therefore, the general plan formulated by the Ministry of Security is to prepare An assassination attack was carried out on three targets during the night. First, the two of them will each lead a team to deal with one target, and after completion, they will join the team to deal with the third one. The purpose of this action plan is to strive to kill the target in one fell swoop, so that if the news gets out, others will be more vigilant and it will be inconvenient to take action.
But this plan has a premise, that is, the locations where the three people are attacked cannot be too far apart, otherwise on-the-spot command and information transmission will be relatively troublesome. According to the information obtained by the Ministry of Security, these three people all lived in the same building, but Liao Xun didn't know what was wrong and actually moved his residence. Looking at the map now, the residence of Liao Xun, a member of the Jinyiwei family, is at least three blocks away from the other two. The action team has to cross the street after the night curfew. If the distance is too long, the whereabouts will be easily exposed.
Gao Qiao Nandao: "The action plan we specified before coming to Hangzhou is actually a no-win solution. If we can find a better plan now, then giving up the original plan would be a good thing."
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Gong Shiqi said: "Our original plan has many problems... but it is also the plan with the highest probability of success. If we want to change it now, I am afraid that time does not allow it."
The original plan planned by the Ministry of Security was simple and crude. Considering the skills of the people in the field team and the special operations battalion, the chance of success was very high. It's just that you have to operate at night, and you can't leave Hangzhou City immediately after you succeed. If the deceased is found before dawn, his official status is enough for Hangzhou City to launch a closed-city manhunt. Moreover, these three people are all anti-Haihan officials in Zhejiang official circles. If their heads were missing overnight, even a blind person would be able to associate this matter with Haihan. Therefore, although the original plan is the most promising, it also carries great risks and many sequelae. It is not a perfect plan in the true sense.
Although Gong Shiqi and Gao Qiaonan had imagined further improving the assassination plan when they were in Zhoushan, they were unable to find a more suitable plan due to the environmental conditions and time constraints they had. They had no choice but to prepare according to the designated draft first, and then act decisively when the time came. As for the subsequent escape and mopping up, to be honest, they still had some luck.
However, the changes in the situation now known through investigation have caused relatively big problems in the original action plan. If the original plan is still implemented, it is very likely that the set goal of this operation will not be achieved.
(End of chapter)