Chapter 1347 Extraordinary Means
The official road from Guxian Town to Fushan County passes through the south side of Majiazhuang. This is a section of the main road connecting Dengzhou City and Fushan County. This road continues to extend eastward after passing through Fushan County, leading to Shandong Weihaiwei and Chengshanwei at the eastern end of the peninsula. However, after Haihan settled in Fushan County, the land connection between the various guard posts in the east and Dengzhou City was cut off. The exchange of materials and personnel had to go around the mountainous area south of Fushan County, which was very time-consuming and laborious. . The government had nothing to do with the Haihan people entrenched here, and later simply changed all transportation between the two places to sea transportation. At least the warships on Zhifu Island where Haihan was stationed have not yet cut off the coastal routes. However, private traffic has not been greatly affected, except that there are a few more checkpoints along the way controlled by Haihan and responsible for security inspections.
Zheng Ai had traveled on this road many times in the past, and he had to admit that after the Haihan people came here, they were much more diligent in repairing bridges and roads than the government. Nowadays, the road is wide and flat, and it is no longer muddy on rainy days. Most of the credit for this must be attributed to the Haihan people. A conspicuous Haihan slogan was painted with white paint on the wall of a village beside the road - If you want to be rich, build roads first.
The content of this slogan is simple and crude, but if you take a closer look, it seems to make sense. In the past, it took Zheng Ai's large flatbed truck to transport goods through the official road of only more than 20 miles from Guxian Town to Majiapu. The reason was that the road was damaged by the Denglai Rebellion in the past few years. During the war, the warring parties dug out many places in order to block traffic. After the war, the government did not have enough financial resources to organize maintenance. Many places on the road were rugged, making it quite inconvenient for vehicles and horses to pass.
After the Haihan people occupied this area, they organized hundreds of laborers and spent a month and a half repairing and maintaining this section of the road to ensure that it reached normal traffic capacity. Zheng Ai knew that the Haihan people also built a road leading to Zhifu Island on the seaside, so that the goods they transported from the south could enter the Ming Dynasty through land passage. Now it only takes less than half a day to complete this journey, which is indeed much more convenient than in the past. Especially the merchants who come from the direction of Dengzhou to trade with Haihan benefit a lot from it.
After the construction of this road, the impact on the lives of the people along the way was also obvious. Most of the young people in the nearby villages gave up their original livelihood and turned to work for the Haihan people in order to obtain generous rewards. Some people even immigrated with their families and settled in the south according to the arrangements of the Haihan people.
So are these people rich? According to Zheng Ai's observation, the people in this area are indeed accumulating wealth at a rapid rate, including himself, who maintains trade relations with Haihan. The money he earned from working as a licensed supplier in the past six months was probably enough to buy half of Guxian Town. It's a pity that this wealth will not fall into his personal pocket. After deducting the normal operating expenses and the expenses for buying and managing Haihan officials, the remaining profits must still be turned over, so don't try to put it into your own pocket easily.
Of course, Zheng Ai only played the role of a philistine businessman, but he was not actually a person who was greedy for money, otherwise he would not have organized the current armed action that was almost suicidal. Money cannot solve the problems that Ming Dynasty is currently facing, only swords and blood can. Zheng Ai hopes to use unconventional means to solve this stubborn problem that has been plaguing the Shandong government for a year.
The more than 20 people who participated in this operation were all elite soldiers transferred from armies across Shandong. They had never fought against the Haihan Army, so their fear would not affect their on-the-spot combat effectiveness. . However, they had carefully digested all the information about the Haihan Army beforehand, and had a relatively good understanding of the Haihan Army's main fighting methods and weaponry. In addition, they have been training in the mountainous area near Guxian Town recently. While training the personnel, they are also looking for the possibility of evacuating from the mountainous area after the operation. After all, as soon as something happens in Majiazhuang, the Haihan people's first reaction will definitely be to close the checkpoints on the various traffic arteries. Evacuation from the mountainous area is likely to be their only way to survive.
Zheng Ai didn't speak during the whole journey, sitting silently on the shaft of the car, thinking over and over about what needed to be changed in his action plan. In the past twenty days or so, all he had been thinking about day and night was this operation, and every aspect had been rehearsed many times in his mind. Although he couldn't say he was 100% sure, he believed that he had at least a 60-70% chance of success. In his original idea, as long as there was 30% hope, this matter would be worth a try.
Although 60% to 70% seems high, Zheng Ai also knows that there are only two possibilities for this matter: success or failure, and failure can basically be directly equated with death. Any loophole or accident may lead to the death of their group. They all died in Majiazhuang, so Zheng Ai didn't dare to be careless at all. Even if he was about to arrive at his destination, he was still rehearsing the details of the action in his mind, trying to avoid unplanned situations.
Although Zheng Ai swore a lot when explaining the action plan to these dead soldiers and seemed to have everything under control, in fact many of the contents were unilaterally imagined by him, such as the security measures implemented by Haihan soldiers against Chen Yixin. After a sneak attack, the opponent may take counterattack measures. Zheng Ai's understanding of these situations is very limited, and he can only unilaterally deploy actions based on his own guesses. However, he believes that his action plan can take advantage of the situation, which is his greatest reliance.
Zheng Ai touched his chest, where the pass order was hidden. When he proposed conditions to Tie Pingjiang the day before yesterday, he did not explain his true purpose. He just asked Tie Pingjiang to try to cover him in transporting a batch of goods to Zhifu Island, and promised that he would not trouble him again after the matter was settled. Although Tie Pingjiang was doubtful, he finally agreed to Zheng Ai's request to apply for a traffic order and try to get his convoy to Zhifu Island via Majiazhuang.
Of course Zheng Ai's destination was not Zhifu Island, it was just a rhetoric he used to divert Tie Pingjiang's attention. His target of attack was Majiazhuang, and he claimed to be going to Zhifu Island just to reassure Tie Pingjiang. After all, Zhifu Island is a heavily fortified military zone. Even if Zheng Ai has some ideas, he will definitely not be able to change things when he gets to Zhifu Island.
As for the "goods" Zheng Ai claimed to be transported to Zhifu Island, he did not explain it to Tie Pingjiang in detail. He only said that he was entrusted by others to transport some things specially prepared for Chief Haihan. This move may improve the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. The less outsiders know about the relationship between Hai and Han, the better. If Tie Pingjiang is worried, he can follow him to Zhifu Island. However, these goods are of great significance and can only be revealed after arriving at Zhifu Island. There cannot be any leakage at present.
Zheng Ai spoke eloquently, blaming the previous "threat" to Tiepingjiang on the value and influence of this cargo. He had to get a guarantee from the person who handled it before he could safely ship it. The so-called "guarantee" is naturally the personal and material evidence that Zheng Ai proposed regarding Tie Pingjiang's bribery. These clues would not put Tie Pingjiang to death, but they could indeed ruin his future. After Zheng Ai forced him into a corner, he took the initiative to give in. As long as Tie Pingjiang cooperated, he would not report it to his superiors. Although Tie Pingjiang was very dissatisfied with him, in order to preserve his future, it seemed that he had no choice but to give in to Zheng Ai. Judging from the fact that Tiepingjiang subsequently sent the traffic order honestly, he should have figured out what was important.
Zheng Ai is quite satisfied with the handling of this aspect of Tie Pingjiang. He believes that he can give himself at least nine points on a ten-point scale, and giving him one less point will prevent him from being proud. But when he launched it in Majiazhuang, he wanted to see what kind of reaction Tie Pingjiang would have.
Only two miles away from Majiazhuang, Zheng Ai and his party stopped in front of the checkpoint again. This is the third Haihan checkpoint we have encountered since setting off from Guxian Town. Several pairs of wooden horses are lined up sideways on the official road, blocking most of the road, leaving only an alley for pedestrians to pass. There are not many Haihan soldiers stationed here, only a dozen or so, but they are all loaded with guns and ammunition, and they look quite solemn.
Zheng Ai had put on a harmless smile when he jumped off the carriage. He quickly ran to the officer leading the team, took out the pass and handed it over. He said in greeting: "Master Lao, my dear." This convoy has been here since ancient times to deliver building materials to Majiazhuang." The officer nodded, but still waved his hand and said, "Check these cars."
Immediately, several soldiers stepped forward, pulled apart the tarpaulin covering the vehicle, and inspected the shipped goods. Zheng Ai was not worried that Hai Hanbing would find something fishy on these carts. Unless someone got under the cart and slowly groped the bottom of the cart with his hands, he would find hidden compartments underneath. Compared with the weapons hidden in the car, he was actually more worried that these Haihan soldiers would notice these dead soldiers dressed as coachmen and laborers. These people had more or less murderous intent on them. If you are sensitive to this, People are likely to notice something unusual about them.
Fortunately, these Haihan soldiers didn't seem to notice anything unusual about Zheng Ai and his party. After a quick inspection, they signaled to the officers that there was no problem. The officer handed the pass order back to Zheng Ai, and then ordered the soldiers to move the roadblock and let the convoy pass.
"My lord, you've worked hard, and I'm a little considerate. Please don't dislike me, lord!" Before Zheng Ai left, he knowingly stuffed a piece of silver into the officer's hand. Although it is not a big amount, it is definitely enough to buy a few jars of locally produced sorghum wine. From the beginning to the end, Zheng Ai perfectly behaved as a merchant, and it was completely impossible to tell that he was a dead soldier who was about to launch an attack on Haihan.
After Zheng Ai and his party continued to march for a while, they saw the flagpole erected in front of the small building of the Haihan Administrative Committee outside Majiazhuang in the distance. A red and blue flag was fluttering in the wind at the top of the pole, representing the nearby area. The control is in Haihan's hands. Of course, this flag is really a big irritation to Zheng Ai and others. After all, their purpose of coming here is to drive this annoying flag completely away from the land of Ming Dynasty.
"Everyone, the flagpole in front is where we will start. At that time, you will listen to my orders. Once started, you cannot stop. If it fails, Zheng will die for the country with you here!" Said these words! By the time, Zheng Ai's face had turned grim, and there was even a bit of anger in his eyes, completely unable to connect him with the philistine businessman just now.
When everyone heard his words, they all responded in low voices. They had been preparing for today's mission for dozens of days, and success or failure depended on this. If the task can be completed successfully, prosperity and wealth will be just around the corner.
The group of people slowly arrived outside Majiazhuang, and someone came forward to guide them to the cargo yard to register the incoming goods. The goods yard is only a few dozen feet away from the two-story building of the management committee. From here, you can clearly see the doors and windows of the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor. However, Zheng Ai didn't plan to start right here. He needed to get closer to the small building of the Management Committee, and even closer. For every ten feet closer, the possibility of success increases. Zheng Ai needs to shorten this distance to a certain limit to ensure that when he leads his men to the second floor, the enemy chief Chen Yixin has no time to escape.
"These goods were ordered by Mr. Tie. Please come over and inspect the goods in person." Zheng Ai calmly took out the manifest and explained the situation to the staff who came to receive the goods.
This situation is also normal. Some important goods must be inspected and accepted by the quartermaster in person. Someone immediately went to notify Tie Pingjiang. Not long after, he saw Tie Pingjiang coming. Zheng Ai stepped forward to greet him with a very humble attitude. There was no clue that Tie Pingjiang was actually the target of his blackmail.
Tie Pingjiang pretended to look at the two carts of goods, and then said to his entourage: "Part of their goods are going to Zhifu Island. I will go with them." Then he turned to Zheng Ai and said: "You take it. Leave the goods that should be left here and follow me to Zhifu Island first.”
Tie Pingjiang's arrangements were carried out according to the process discussed by the two. Zheng Ai signaled three of the carts of goods to stay here, and only untied the pack horses and took them away, leaving even the large cart behind. It seemed that he planned to come here to take the cart away when he returned. Everything seemed very natural.
Zheng Ai and Tie Pingjiang walked side by side, but their eyes were fixed on the small management committee building they were about to pass in front of them. There were several Haihan soldiers on duty standing downstairs, and people could be seen coming in and out of various offices from time to time. It seemed that the security was not very high. Zheng Ai suddenly asked: "Why are there still women coming in and out of this place?"
He saw the back of a young woman appearing in the corridor on the second floor, so he asked. Tie Pingjiang's face changed slightly and he said, "That... seems to be Chief Chen's wife."
"Oh? So that's the eldest lady of Majiazhuang!" Zheng Ai nodded, thinking that now he had another target to attack. If he could capture the couple together, he would be sure to succeed. At least it can be increased by one or two.
(End of chapter)