Chapter 1082 Suspect
After lunch, Feng Fei returned to his study to handle official duties. Suddenly he saw on the table the investigation report sent by Ning Haiwei last night. He remembered that he sent someone to Yantai Mountain to deliver the letter early this morning. It seemed that he had not come back to him yet. At that moment, He called someone in and asked, "I asked Jia Liu and Zhang Huzi to go to Yantai Mountain this morning. Have these two people come back?"
The subordinate responded: "These two people haven't turned around yet, and I don't know what the situation is."
Feng Fei was a little unhappy when he heard this: "I went to Yantai Mountain to deliver a letter, but I still have to be lazy and fish for fun. This rule is really messed up!"
The garrison garrisons in many areas of Shandong have more or less lost part of their organizational structure during the Denglai Rebellion in the past two years. The incomplete military command system has also caused the military discipline of some garrisons to gradually become loose, and daily training and duties have become lax. It is not uncommon for soldiers and even some rank-and-file officers to find opportunities to slack off. Feng Fei thought that the two soldiers he sent out to deliver orders had not returned yet, and they probably took this opportunity to wander out of the city. Otherwise, it was only more than ten miles from Qishan City to Yantai Mountain, so how could it be possible that they had not returned for half a day? . Feng Fei decided to scold these two guys after they came back. Otherwise, if the most basic rules in the army were gone, how would he be able to command the troops under the jurisdiction of Qianhu in the future.
But things seemed to be a little different from Feng Fei's expectation. After handling official duties, he felt a slight pain in his waist, so he lay down on the couch and fell asleep for a while. When he woke up, he asked about the news of the two people. They hadn't come back yet. Feng Fei felt that something was wrong. These soldiers were not newbies who didn't understand the rules. Even if they were lazy and went out to have fun, they wouldn't stay outside. So long. Feng Fei immediately sent someone in and ordered a group of soldiers to be sent to Yantai Mountain to see if anything happened there.
Feng Fei's order this time was very clear, requiring the officers leading the team to go to Yantai Mountain to find out the whereabouts of the two people sent there in the morning, and to return as soon as possible after confirming the situation.
The officer leading the team is named Luo Biao. His current position is Baihu, and he is also an old subordinate who has followed Feng Fei for many years. He felt a little strange when he took on such a mission. There was no human habitation from the north of Qishansuo City to Yantai Mountain. The people who originally lived in this area had long since fled to death, leaving only some deserted fields and It was an abandoned house. It was obviously unreasonable for Feng Fei's soldiers to stay in such a place for several hours. As for sneaking back into the city, it was even more impossible. There were only two cross streets in Qishan City. As long as they came back, someone would definitely see them.
According to Luo Biao's opinion, these two soldiers probably hit it off with Zheng Laoqi, who was greedy for alcohol but had a bad drinker, after they went to Yantai Mountain. They drank too much there and their legs became weak and they couldn't come back. Originally this was just a trivial matter, but after being delayed outside for too long and being noticed by Feng Fei, it became serious. After being brought back this time, he was probably going to eat a military stick.
Luo Biao led his people all the way to Yantai Mountain in a hurry, and then discovered two things that shocked him. One was that all the garrison troops on the piers and outposts of Yantai Mountain were missing, and the two people who came here to deliver the letter in the morning were also missing. . But after Luo Biao looked around, there were no signs of a fight. The personal belongings and weapons in the barracks were well placed, but the owner just disappeared.
The second thing that shocked Luo Biao was the huge fleet anchored in Zhifu Bay. Not just him, everyone present was shocked when they saw the scene in Zhifu Bay. Luo Biao instantly thought that the reason why Feng Fei sent people to Yantai Mountain to deliver the message was because the nearby guard station discovered an unidentified army at sea. Only large fleets will send a joint investigation report to Qishan Station. Luo Biao didn't even need to ask. He was basically certain that this was the fleet that many guards in Dengzhou Prefecture were looking for, because a fleet of this size could not be found in the entire Jiaodong Peninsula waters. The second one.
With so many sailing ships docked densely on the coast of Zhifu Island, Luo Biao estimated that this fleet carried at least a thousand people - of course the actual number was several times that. Uncertain of the opponent's background, Luo Biao did not dare to go straight to Zhifu Island with his current number of troops. He immediately decided to leave a few people hidden in the woods of Yantai Mountain to continue monitoring, while the rest retreated first. Qishansuocheng, let’s report the situation.
"Are you really right?" Feng Fei was shocked when he heard the news brought back by Luo Biao, and asked for confirmation.
"Sir, that fleet is in Zhifu Bay right now. It's true! If your Excellency leaves the city immediately and goes to Yantai Mountain, you should still be able to see them." Luo Biao almost jogged all the way back to meet Feng Fei. I was still out of breath all the time. There is still a while before the sun sets at this time. If you move quickly, you can go to Yantai Mountain to confirm again before dark.
"Do you know where the ship is?" Feng Fei asked.
Luo Biao thought for a while, shook his head and replied: "It's too far away to see clearly, but it doesn't look like a Japanese pirate's Yawata ship."
"What about Zheng Laoqi?"
"Zheng Laoqi...and his people...are gone!"
Feng Fei was puzzled and continued to ask: "What does it mean to be gone?"
"It's just that... they all disappeared without a trace!" Luo Biao explained: "Hongzhi and his men searched all over Yantai Mountain, but no trace of Zheng Laoqi's team was found!"
Seeing that he was speaking categorically, Feng Fei muttered a little: "Zheng Laoqi and his gang have all disappeared... I wonder if it has anything to do with the fleet... Luo Biao, have you ever found anything near that pier? Something suspicious?”
Luo Biao responded: "I checked the piers and barracks and found no traces of blood or fighting, and no supplies or weapons were missing..."
Feng Fei interrupted him and asked: "Where are the weapons of those two people who went there in the morning?" Luo Biao said: "Well... I didn't find any clues related to Jia Liu and Zhang Huzi. However, I checked the barracks. There is still a little bit of warmth in the stove. I should have cooked breakfast this morning.”
Feng Fei couldn't help but frowned. If the items left behind by these two people were not found, it would be impossible to know whether they disappeared after going to Yantai Mountain. It would also be difficult to confirm whether their disappearance was related to the disappearance of the defenders at the Yantai Mountain post. One thing. The clues we know now can only prove that the local garrison disappeared after this morning.
A dozen men with good hands and feet would naturally not disappear out of thin air without any reason, but if there was an invasion from a foreign enemy, how could they not leave even a trace? Feng Fei naturally did not expect that the two groups in front and behind were captured without any resistance. The Haihan Army carefully cleaned the scene of the incident when they took the prisoners away, so naturally they would not leave anything behind for the Ming Army. What valuable information.
However, for the Ming army, the biggest suspect at present is still the mysterious fleet in Zhifu Bay. Although according to Luo Biao, the place where this fleet docked was an entire Zhifu Bay away from Yantai Mountain, the timing of its appearance was so coincidental that it was difficult not to associate the missing Ming army with it.
Feng Fei stood up slowly, walked to the map of Dengzhou Prefecture hanging in the room, and began to sort out the relevant time context based on the map.
According to the joint investigation report, the Weihaiwei of the Unknown Fleet was first discovered yesterday morning. If the Unknown Fleet was heading west according to its course at that time, judging from the distance from Weihaiwei to Zhifu Bay, it is very likely that the Unknown Fleet was sighted after dark yesterday We had arrived at Zhifu Bay before. As long as the Yantai Mountain defenders were not blind, it stands to reason that they should have discovered the existence of this unknown fleet at that time. However, the Yantai Mountain post did not send out a warning firework signal, so what happened next was completely unknown to Qishansuo City.
Feng Fei could probably guess why Zheng Laoqi didn't send out a warning. After all, the warning beacon was not random. If it was later discovered that there was no danger, the officer leading the troops would definitely be punished for falsely reporting military information. Weihaiwei was the first to discover it. He assisted in the investigation and sent the report to Qishan, but he did not light the beacon. Zheng Laoqi did not light the fireworks. This does not mean that his judgment was wrong. It was probably just following the normal response procedures.
Regardless of whether the unknown fleet is dangerous enough to ignite a beacon or not, Zheng Laoqi's duty must be to verify its identity. And this may be the real reason for his disappearance. But if this is the case, Feng Fei cannot explain why the entire outpost has disappeared collectively, because even if Zheng Laoqi goes to Zhifu Island to verify the identity of the other party, it is impossible to take all the people out of the outpost. It is also unlikely that the other party will directly touch Yantai Mountain. Due to the terrain, no matter if you approach Yantai Mountain from sea or land, people on the mountain will find it first, and you will have time to light fireworks and call the police.
And this cannot explain where the two soldiers Feng Fei sent to Yantai Mountain to issue orders this morning went. If these two people arrived at Yantai Mountain, they would definitely have discovered the unknown fleet in Zhifu Bay. Either rush back to the city to report, or else Fireworks were lit as a warning on the spot. But these two people also seemed to have evaporated out of thin air. They were neither alive nor dead, which was really confusing.
But no matter what, the identity of this unknown fleet currently anchored on Zhifu Island must be verified as soon as possible. However, it is more than 20 miles from Qishansuo City to Zhifu Island. Now in the past, it would be dark if we walked halfway there. If we wanted to go there, we could only go tomorrow. This is the second one. Yantai Mountain overlooks Zhifu Bay to the north and the city of Qishan to the south, but it is a choke point that cannot be lost. Although Luo Biao left people there, the lessons from the past are right in front of him, but Feng Fei does not dare to be careless again. .
"Luo Biao, I will allocate two hundred people to you. You will immediately lead the team back to Yantai Mountain to station and monitor the movements of the fleet on Zhifu Island. If necessary, I will send someone to you tomorrow." Feng Fei thought clearly. After the cause and effect, he immediately assigned a task to Luo Biao: "Remember, if there is an uncontrollable situation, light the pier beacon as soon as possible."
Luo Biao responded: "I obey my humble duty! But how to confirm the identity of the owner of the fleet?"
Feng Fei said: "Tomorrow the Japanese officer will lead his troops to Zhifu Island and handle the matter personally. Someone will be sent to notify you then, and you can lead the team to meet me at Zhifu Bay."
Now that this unknown fleet has arrived uninvited, regardless of whether its appearance is directly related to the disappearance of the Yantai Mountain defenders, Feng Fei's duty is to find out its identity and purpose. As for the possible risks, Feng Fei didn't think much about it. As long as they weren't Japanese pirates, there shouldn't be any big problems. Although the Qishan Institute is not uniformly organized, it is still a regular Ming army, and it can handle ordinary situations if it is drawn out.
The next day, Feng Fei ordered two hundred soldiers, fully armed, and left the city through the north gate towards Zhifu Bay. Arriving at the seaside, Luo Biao, who had been notified, also brought the troops stationed at Yantai Mountain last night to join the team. Although there are only about 400 people, this is the field operation with the largest number of troops dispatched by Qishan Institute in the past year.
Feng Fei led the team slowly northward along Zhifu Bay. After walking for more than an hour, they arrived at the sandbank area connecting Zhifu Island and the mainland. This section of sandbank is about five miles long from north to south, and the narrowest point from east to west is only two miles. If the shape of Zhifu Island is compared to a Ganoderma lucidum grass growing in the Jiaodong Peninsula, then this section of sandbank is the handle of Ganoderma lucidum, which is also formed from the mainland. The only land access to Zhifu Island.
Of course, a large part of the reason why Haihan took a fancy to Zhifu Island and chose this place as his first stop on the way north was because of its dangerous terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as a strong enough barrier is built, If the defensive line blocks this narrow land passage, even if there are hundreds of thousands of troops from the south, they will never be able to reach Zhifu Island.
A two-mile-long fortress-like defense line cannot be built in a day or two, so when Feng Fei brought the Ming army here, there was no defense line similar to a city wall, but there was more than one. A chest-high barbed wire fence runs across the entire sandbank in the east-west direction, blocking the access to Zhifu Island. Behind the barbed wire, there were bunkers made of sacks filled with sand, placed every ten feet apart. These bunkers were combined with barbed wire fences and trenches in an orderly manner, forming several lines of defense on the sandbar.
Although there is a passage about three feet wide, there are several layers of deer villages, horse-proofing and movable barbed wire fences. In addition, there are sandbag bunkers on both sides of the passage. It is difficult to pass through this blockade, which is about ten feet deep. Difficulties abound.
These man-made obstacles were secondary. What surprised Feng Fei the most was that the armed personnel guarding the blockade did not show the slightest nervousness about the arrival of the Ming army, but quietly set fire to it. The gun was set up on the bunker, pointing the black muzzle at Feng Fei and his men. This unabashed hostility gave Feng Fei a bad feeling. He originally thought that this unidentified fleet might be a caravan from the south, but the armed guards of the caravan would not be so bold as to target the Ming army with firecrackers.
(End of chapter)