Chapter 1057: Lack of skills to deal with it
"Have Master Guo and Master Yu arrived?" Liao Xun returned to the house and asked the housekeeper immediately after getting off the sedan chair.
"The two adults have arrived and are resting in the flower hall." The housekeeper responded quickly.
Liao Xun did not rush to meet him. He first took the towel provided by the servant and wiped the sweat on his body. It was already early summer, and it was quite hot and stuffy in the sedan all the way. Even though he was sitting still, he was sweating. . He invited two other people to come over for dinner today, but unexpectedly he was delayed by official business. As the host, he showed up last. However, since he was already late, there was no rush at this moment.
Guo Zheng and Yu Pingfeng came today in casual clothes. This was also at Liao Xun's request to keep a low profile and avoid attracting outside attention. After the three of them met and exchanged a few words, Liao Xun ordered his servants to start the banquet and serve the food, and chatted while eating.
"I recently received news that another armed fleet from Haihan has arrived in Zhoushan. There are dozens of warships and at least a thousand troops." After drinking for three rounds, Liao Xun took the initiative to bring up the business: " Haihan is likely to mobilize his troops and take action in the East China Sea again! ”
When Yu Pingfeng heard this, he put down his wine glass and said, "Is it possible that Haihan's move is intended to use force against the prefectural governments in Zhejiang?"
Liao Xun said: "In my opinion, this possibility is unlikely. The Haihan people now have a lot of trade relations with Ningbo Prefecture, and rashly using force will not have any direct benefit to them."
"Weren't the Zhoushan Islands all wiped out by the Haihan people last year? What do they want to increase their troops now?" Guo Zheng asked puzzledly.
Liao Xun responded: "The Haihan people's home base is far away in Qiongzhou Island in the south. Traveling thousands of miles north to increase troops will inevitably cost a lot of money. Both of you are experts. I don't need to elaborate on the secrets here. I think they can understand it. Hai The reason why the Han people mobilized people to do this kind of thing is not because they are too idle. They must have some purpose, but they can’t find out the details at the next moment, so they invited you two to come over and study it together.”
Although Haihan's garrison on Zhoushan Island was not large, its location was such that it could put Zhejiang officials at a loss. If it were a pirate gang like the one in Shuangyu Port in the past, it would take at most ten and a half months for the governments of the coastal states to mobilize their troops to wipe them out. But the strength of the Haihan people is there. If they raise their troops to attack Zhoushan, they will be wiped out. It's easier to explain if you win, but if you lose, no one can shoulder this responsibility. But now that the troops are increasing again, this has indeed posed a new threat to Zhejiang's defense.
Yu Pingfeng took office in the Zhejiang Dusi, which was originally the highest local military leadership organization and was equivalent to a military region in later generations. Although Guo Zheng was a person in charge of punishment and inspection, he also held the position of a military Taoist priest. The official position is an official who organizes local military preparations, supervises the military and can directly participate in combat operations, and can be regarded as most military generals.
Both of them were familiar with the military, so they could naturally imagine how much financial and material resources Haihan would have spent on moving troops from the distant Qiongzhou Island to Zhejiang. Although the Haihan troop increase this time is only a thousand troops, imagine that if Zhejiang wants to send a thousand troops to Qiongzhou Island to perform combat missions, it will definitely not be a quick trip. I am afraid that troops and other supplies will be mobilized in the early stage. Preparation work will take three to five months. This kind of large-scale cross-regional troop deployment is not something that can be done with money.
The Zhejiang government may not be able to handle things well, but the Haihan people spared no effort to do it. With their consistent temperament, it is obvious that this measure will have some strong purpose, but the three people racked their brains, but still wanted to do it. Not a reasonable possibility. Indeed, even if they broke their heads, they would not have thought that the Haihan people's move was not to take action against Zhejiang, but to continue northward from Zhoushan and find their next foothold on the coast of North China. Due to their limited vision, almost all the guesses they could make centered around Zhejiang, so it was naturally difficult to find a reasonable explanation.
The less they could think of a reasonable explanation, the more they believed that Haihan's deployment of troops had bad intentions for Zhejiang. Once this bull's-eye got in, it would be difficult to get out again. The three of them discussed it, but no one was clear about it. The conclusion was that I no longer even had the appetite to eat. Liao Xun asked people to cancel the banquet, which had only a few dishes, replaced it with hot tea and fruits, and continued to discuss business.
"How are the training of the people recruited by Mr. Liao now?" Since the Haihan people's plan could not come to an end, Yu Pingfeng simply changed the topic.
Although Liao Xun was in charge of training this group of people, the funds were raised from many sources. In addition to the three of them, there were also other financial backers, most of whom were wealthy businessmen and powerful people whose interests were damaged after Haihan's arrival. . Although this money is not the kind of investment that can be recovered through profits, the investors who invested the money do not have no expectations in return. They used the money to let Liao Xun think of a way. After all, the purpose was to deal with the Haihan people on Zhoushan Island. Of course, you also need to use an intermediary to care about the effectiveness of the money spent.
Liao Xun responded: "I invite you two adults to come over today and I just want to take this opportunity to talk about this matter. I am training these people. They are in the backyard right now. Are you willing to go and see with your own eyes?"< br>
Naturally, Yu Pingfeng and Guo Zheng would not refuse his request, and the three of them immediately came to the backyard. This is said to be the backyard, but in fact Liao Xun bought another house facing the back door, sealed the alley in the middle, and then connected the two houses together. The people he trained were fed, housed and trained in this compound on a daily basis.
Before Liao Xun and others set off, he ordered his men to come over and assemble the team. At this time, these people had just finished dinner and were resting in their respective rooms. When they heard that their superiors came to inspect, they quickly came out to stand in line and assemble. These people are not all soldiers, so their clothing is not uniform, and they were gathered in a hurry, making the team look a bit scattered.
Yu Pingfeng and Guo Zheng are both military officials. Although they are not generals, they have daily contact with the strictly disciplined army. They frowned slightly after looking at this group of people. In terms of the requirements of the army, the military appearance of this team is obviously unqualified. But these people were all selected by Liao Xun, and Liao Xun was in charge of the training. In front of him, the two of them were not eager to express their opinions. They wanted to see what Liao Xun could show first.
Liao Xun ordered a man in his thirties to come out. This man was dressed in blue homespun clothes, and his trousers were tied one high and the other low. His complexion and appearance looked like that of a farmer who had just returned from the fields, with a smile on his face. A silly smile. This is the kind of person that if you meet him on the street, you will never take a second look at him. Even if he does, he will turn around and forget what he looks like. He will not have any impression.
Liao Xun asked him to state his name, and the man responded obediently: "The villain Tian Jin is from Kuaiji County, Shaoxing Prefecture. He makes a living by farming."
Liao Xun then asked: "What are your specialties?"
Tian Jin responded: "A villain can only serve the fields and raise poultry. He has no special skills."
Liao Xun said: "I heard that you are good at swordsmanship. Can you show it to the adults present?"
Tian Jin responded: "Since the gentlemen want to see it, then the villain will show his embarrassment."
After saying that, someone else handed over a waist knife. Tian Jin took the hand and linked it with a pattern. His aura immediately changed. His slightly hunched body straightened up. His eyes showed a cold light, and there was a faint and frightening look in his eyes. murderous intent. At that moment, everyone moved to the wall and under the eaves, leaving an open space in the middle for him. Tian Jin was also unambiguous and greeted the three officials with fists. He immediately performed a set of sword skills. He turned his body left and right, raised and lowered, and the waist knife in his hand changed into chopping, stabbing, lifting, chopping, etc. The knife skills such as wiping, belting, pulling, and cutting, etc., the steps on the lower body are clear, and the waist is flexible and powerful. You can tell at a glance that it is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Liao Xun introduced from the side: "This Tian Jin is originally from the martial arts world and has learned good sword skills. Last year, someone recommended him to join the Imperial Guard. I thought he was a talent and was not in a hurry to include him in the staff, so he He is still a civilian now.”
After Tian Jin finished a set of sword skills, there was a slight sweat on his forehead, but there was no sign of breathing. Guo Zheng called him to him and ordered him to stretch out his hand and take a look. Tian Jin handed the knife to Liao Xun, honestly spread his two hands together, and stretched them out in front of Guo Zheng. There are thick calluses on the palms and fingertips of these two hands, and they really look like people who have been farming for many years.
Liao Xun said: "I am also afraid that his hands will show flaws, so I recently ordered him to plant flowers and trees here every day so that his hands will have the earthy smell that cannot be washed away."
Guo Zheng asked: "Have you ever killed anyone with your hands?"
As soon as Tian Jin took the knife away from his hand, his silly expression returned to his face, and he responded naively: "I have killed before, but I just can't remember to count."
Guo Zheng smiled and said to Liao Xun: "No wonder you let him deal with the soil, just to cover up the smell of blood on his hands."
Yu Pingfeng suddenly asked: "Since you were born in Kuaiji, Shaoxing, I would like to ask you, who is the current magistrate of Kuaiji, Shaoxing?"
This question is a bit tricky. People who are not locals may not be able to grasp this kind of information. Even Liao Xun and Guo Zheng may not be able to answer it right away. Tian Jin still responded with a naive smile: "It's Wang Zhixian. ”
"What about the former magistrate?" Yu Pingfeng asked reluctantly.
Tian Jin's face changed color slightly, and he hesitated for a moment before answering: "The previous one... was the magistrate of Yan County."
"How many counties are there in Shaoxing Prefecture?"
"There are... there are six... seven... no, eight!" Tian Jin was a little panicked now.
Yu Pingfeng nodded and said: "The eight counties are wrong, yes, but you are so panicked. If you apply for Haihan immigration, if I ask you a few more questions, I'm afraid you will find some flaws."
Shaoxing Prefecture governs eight counties: Shanyin, Kuaiji, Xiaoshan, Yuyao, Xinchang, Zhuji, Shangyu and Shengxian. If you are born in Shaoxing, you will naturally understand this common sense. Although Tian Jin did not answer wrongly, he already showed his timidity. It was obvious that he was There is not enough training in this area.
Yu Pingfeng continued: "Be aware that the Haihan people are extremely cunning. When selecting immigrants, they will ask many questions to test whether your self-reported origin is true. If you cannot remember some common sense, you will probably fail at the first level on Zhoushan Island. Will be exposed!”
Guo Zheng also said: "I heard that the Haihan people bribed many Ming officials in the south. Even the Jinyi Guards have turned traitors, so there will be many targeted methods to deal with you. Many people tried to sneak into Haihan in the past, but Most of them were dug out in the early stages, so if you want to successfully infiltrate, you must put more thought into your new identity. If you don't prepare carefully at this time, any flaws will harm you. Life!”
Liao Xun didn't say anything else. He waved his hand to signal Tian Jin to step back first, and then said to the two of them: "You two adults are right, but our biggest problem now is that we know too little about Haihan. I am fighting the enemy clearly. In the dark, it is hard to resist because of the calculation but not the intention. It is already very difficult to achieve the current level. ”
It's not that Liao Xun is unaware of the problems of his group of people, but the trouble lies in the fact that the foundation and quality of these people are different, and their training can only be based on seeing the tricks and using the few they have on hand. Intelligence to infer the Haihan people's practices and possible loopholes. This kind of training method is indeed a bit difficult for Liao Xun to train a group of perfect agents without any flaws. Of course, Liao Xun was not dissatisfied with the critical words and deeds of these two people. We were all like grasshoppers tied to a rope, and we couldn't jump out even if we stepped on Liao Xun.
Guo Zhengdao: "One more thing, these people under your command cannot go to Zhoushan at the same time, otherwise if one person gets into an accident, they will all be ruined. They must go in batches. After the previous batch of people send back the news to confirm that it is safe, the next batch of people will be sent out."
Liao Xun smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Guo, I still know this, and even if you dispatch it in batches like this, it may not be 100% reliable. I have naturally heard the story about the Jin Yiwei's rebellion that you mentioned earlier. That Jin Yiwei and the He was a member of a hundred households, but he was caught by Haihan before he arrived at Qiongzhou Island. To save his life, he chose to join Haihan, but the Haihan people arranged for him to continue to be a Jinyiwei and write reports every month. When applying for funding, I had a lot of money, and this continued for two or three years. Guangdong Jinyiwei Yamen sent more than 20 people to Yazhou one after another, thinking that a solid intelligence network had been established in the local area, but little did they know that it was all done by that person. Director, in the end none of the people sent came back.”
Guo Zheng was silent for a long time after hearing this. Of course, Liao Xun knew the inside story of Jinyiwei better. If what Liao Xun said happened, the first batch of people sent there would be captured by Haihan and then If you rebel, the people you send later will just put meat on the chopping block. In this way, sending people in batches is indeed somewhat dangerous.
Yu Pingfeng said: "I think the Haihan people have also placed a lot of spies inside and outside Hangzhou, but I don't know how they hide their identities."
Liao Xun said: "Sir, the Haihan people sent people to lurk here. The difficulty is different. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Hangzhou. At most, they can only check whether they are carrying prohibited items when entering or leaving the city. It is difficult to strictly control everyone." If you can't find out who is the Haihan people's spy, then the Haihan people's territory is much more stringent than Hangzhou City!"
(End of chapter)