Chapter 1351 The culprit
Of course, Chen Yixin did not have any personal relationship with Zheng Ai, nor did he ask him to transport any goods. Therefore, after the matter was implemented at this stage, the Ministry of Security could basically determine that there was a big problem with Zheng Ai. Hao Wanqing personally ordered that Zheng Ai's shops in Guxian Town be monitored continuously, and all people who have been in contact with him recently should also be investigated.
The investigators soon discovered that the group of retired Ming soldiers they had been looking for came to Guxian Town one after another, and all entered Zheng Ai's shop in a very covert manner, and never came out again. It is obvious that these people have secretly gathered here, and they are likely to carry out some shady actions next.
At this point, the Ministry of Security has been able to basically conclude that Zheng Ai and others must have planned some evil actions, and their target is most likely the Fushan County Management Committee station outside Majiazhuang, as well as the chief officer stationed there. Chen Yixin.
The military did not deploy many soldiers and horses locally, because there were already several checkpoints on the peripheral transportation thoroughfares, and the possibility of a large group of troops trying to raid Majiazhuang was extremely low. But if there is a situation like Zheng Ai who secretly takes a group of people to Chencang and enters the hinterland to carry out methods in the name of transporting goods, the local armed guards may not be able to stop them.
Of course, now that the Ministry of Security has basically verified the matter, the military will be able to deal with it much more calmly. After Chen Yixin learned the ins and outs of the incident, he volunteered to personally direct the operation. It wasn't that he wanted to make a fuss about it, but it was because he hadn't commanded such a military operation for so long that his hands were really itchy. What's more, in the current situation, it is obvious that Haihan has taken the initiative. All he has to do is set a trap and wait for the opponent to get in. The risks are also within the controllable range. In addition, he is the most familiar with the local situation, so this command position is naturally his.
After confirming the opponent's situation, the next arrangement is very simple. Chen Yixin applied for a company of army troops from Zhifu Island as assistance, but Qian Tiandun chose a platoon of people from the special operations battalion to give him to ensure nothing was lost. The soldiers who were finally placed in Chen Yixin's office were all elites from the special operations battalion, and the weapons they were equipped with were seven-shot rifles that were only installed in small batches in the army. This group of people huddled in the room on the second floor to set up an ambush, and there was a small-caliber cannon to press the formation. Not to mention that the opponent only had about twenty people. Even if they doubled or tripled, they would not be able to rush into this room from the corridor.
In order to dispel the enemy's suspicion, Chen Yixin not only let Tie Pingjiang stay at his original post as a bait, but also arranged for a soldier to dress up as a woman to add to the scene. This arrangement was later proven to be successful in luring the enemy. Almost decisive role.
Chen Yixin deployed nearly 200 people nearby, but Zheng Ai's team of assassins only had more than 20 people. Naturally, he was unreasonable when he sent them to his door. The reason why Zheng Ai and others were able to survive was not because of Chen Yixin's sudden mercy, but because of the routine designed from the beginning to force the survivors to the second floor and create a closed environment with nowhere to escape. Force them to surrender.
If life and death were at stake, this group of people wouldn't even get a chance to get to the second floor. However, Chen Yixin needed to stay alive to find out the mastermind behind this incident, so he designed such a complicated routine, step by step. Zheng Ai and others were forced into a desperate situation. The Ministry of Security's investigation during this period has lasted for more than a month, and the military had made arrangements three days ago to control the two-mile radius. But for Zheng Ai, it was really hard for him to imagine how the Han people who went to sea knew about their actions in advance and made such targeted arrangements in advance.
At this stage, Zheng Ai had completely given up the idea of taking any chances. He hesitated for a moment and then revealed the truth as requested by Chen Yixin.
"Sneak attack on Majiazhuang, this is Master Liao's intention." After Zheng Ai was silent for a moment, he finally revealed the identity of the main envoy.
"Which Mr. Liao? Liao Jie, the commander of Shandong Dusi?" Chen Yixin continued to ask expressionlessly.
"Exactly..." Zheng Ai knew that if he wanted to continue living, he had to try his best to throw the blame away at this time. Although he did have the intention to die before, after he got the chance to live, it was difficult to muster the courage to face death again. Since the Haihan people were so interested in the main messenger, Zheng Ai did not hesitate to use the information he had in exchange for a better chance of survival.
Speaking of Lord Liao, he has a deep feud with Haihan. This is not the first time that the two sides have fought each other. The Dengzhou Ming Army's attack on the Fushan Copper Mine last year was planned by Liao Jie. However, the operation commanded by Dengzhou Staff General Guo Xingning hit a brick wall at the Fushan Copper Mine. He was beaten by the Haihan Army stationed there and lost all his armor. He fled all the way back to Dengzhou City. The Ming army in Dengzhou suffered a heavy loss in that battle and never dared to provoke Haihan again. Even Qishan Station, which was closest to Haihan's occupied area, ceased operations, and even the daily patrol arrangements for Zhifu Bay were completely cancelled.
For the Dengzhou garrison, the existence of the Haihan people is undoubtedly an extremely troublesome problem. The attempt to drive away the Haihan people by means of war has already failed. However, based on the current situation in Dengzhou and the comparison of strengths between the two sides, they dare not Escalating or expanding the scale of the war may lead to an unmanageable situation. Dengzhou is at a time when the fighting is exhausted, and it is difficult to obtain military support from other state capitals in Shandong. In order to wipe out the peasant army in the Central Plains, almost all the elite troops from the state capitals in western Shandong have been transferred to Hebei, Anhui and other places. After fighting, he couldn't care about the messy things in his own backyard for a while.
If the bright one doesn't work, then you can only use the dark one. Liao Jie doesn't mind using some unconventional means to achieve the purpose of expelling Haihan like his "missing" brother Liao Xun did. Among the methods that can threaten Haihan to submit, the most feasible is probably to kidnap senior officials of Haihan as hostages.
Senior officials from Haihan live in seclusion in Shandong, keeping their whereabouts secret, and are always surrounded by a large number of armed personnel for protection. It is not easy to kidnap him, and if he is not careful, he will face the flames of war. Liao Jie was also well aware of the difficulties involved, so after careful consideration, he handed over the task to Zheng Ai, who had changed his identity and lurked in Guxian Town at that time, and delegated great authority to him, allowing him to plan his own action plan. Regardless of manpower, funds or other aspects, we must cooperate as long as the goal can be achieved in the end.
Zheng Ai did not disappoint Liao Jie. After observing Haihan for a period of time as a businessman, he believed that Majiazhuang was an excellent breakthrough point. This place is located in the hinterland of Haihan's occupied area, and its usual defense is obviously inferior to key areas such as Zhifu Island and Fushan Copper Mine. For Haihan, this is a defensive blind spot. But he never expected that Haihan's intelligence network had covered Dengzhou City, and the few clues left behind were followed by Haihan's security department, and all the assassination operations led by him were investigated.
Of course, according to Zheng Ai's statement, the mastermind who led and planned this incident was naturally not himself, but Liao Jie, who was still waiting for news in Dengzhou City. Zheng Ai unceremoniously placed all the responsibility on Liao Jie, saying that he was just an executor.
Chen Yixin did not comment on his confession and asked separately: "If you succeed, what will you do next?"
Zheng Ai said: "Of course we are taking the hostages to Dengzhou to report to Lord Liao. As for the subsequent negotiations, that is beyond the scope of the villain."
Chen Yixin seemed a little disappointed with this answer and waved his hand to signal the soldiers to take him away. At that moment, two soldiers came forward, held his arms, and dragged him out backwards. Zheng Ai saw that Chen Yixin did not order how to deal with him, but instead accepted the result calmly. At least Chen Yixin had not planned to take his life so far. Chen Yixin really didn't think that much. It was not his task to examine Zheng Ai. He just asked in passing. The real waiting for Zheng Ai's interrogation is still to come. The Security Department will escort all these survivors back to Zhifu Island, and then proceed slowly. Cross-examination. As far as Chen Yixin knew, the interrogation by the Ministry of Security was not as simple as just asking him casually. It would at least involve repeated questioning day and night for several days to confirm every doubtful detail. It doesn't matter whether what Zheng Ai said to him just now is true or false. Anyway, in the hands of the Security Department, no matter how eloquent he is, he will eventually be asked about the truth.
However, regarding the matter of the person behind the scenes, Chen Yixin still believed in Zheng Ai's confession. After all, Haihan had fewer and fewer local enemies in Dengzhou, and the commander Liao Jie and Haihan had an old grudge. Dengzhou military power, it seems very reasonable to take the lead in this matter.
But Chen Yixin did not dare to make a rash decision on whether to retaliate against the Dengzhou military. After all, he was now a civil affairs official, not a general leading troops in war. If he really wanted to use force to retaliate, Chen Yixin might not be able to grab the job. Now we can only report the situation to the Zhifu Island headquarters truthfully, and the headquarters will make the final decision.
After confirming that there were no enemies lurking nearby to launch a second wave of offensive, Chen Yixin ordered the lifting of martial law in the area near Majiazhuang. However, after all the fuss today, it was obvious that he couldn't continue working, so Chen Yixin simply gave himself a half-day holiday and planned to go home early to rest. When he went out, he saw that the cleaning work in the corridor was still continuing. Four assassins had died in the corridor in the previous conflict. There were quite a lot of bloodstains on the floor and walls. Although it has been washed repeatedly with clean water, the obvious smell of blood can still be smelled.
"Brush this wall with mortar again to cover the blood stains." After Chen Yixin finished the cleaning work in an understatement, he went downstairs and left, as if the shooting of three of the assassins on the second floor had nothing to do with him.
As soon as Chen Yixin stepped into the house, Ma Yuling rushed up and grabbed his arm. She looked him up and down before saying, "Is your husband okay?"
"Of course I'm fine." Chen Yixin saw her face turned pale. He must have heard the gunshots at home just now, and had been frightened for a long time. He reached out his hand and rubbed Ma Yuling's head lovingly: "Don't worry, we just caught a few people making trouble. The bad guy is fine now.”
Chen Yixin has banned Ma Yuling from going out in recent days and mobilized troops to protect his yard. When Ma Yuling asked, he just said that he wanted to catch the bad guys. Although he was confident, Ma Yuling was really scared these days.
Back in the room, Ma Yuling took the initiative and said: "My father came to visit today and also talked about this matter. Husband, Dengzhou is not peaceful after all. Why don't we just follow your advice and move to the south?"
In the past, when Chen Yixin mentioned moving south to Ma Yuling, Ma Yuling often showed an attitude of being reluctant to leave her homeland. Although he has been studying various related courses to prepare according to Chen Yixin's arrangements, he has never relaxed his words. Today's incident seemed to have a big impact on her. She actually took the initiative to bring up the matter of moving south, which surprised Chen Yixin.
"Have you figured out the matter of moving south?" Chen Yixin pulled her to sit next to him and asked softly.
Ma Yuling nodded and said: "Although our homeland is good, it is not peaceful. Even if the Haihan army is protecting us, things like today will still happen. My husband said that there is no war in Haihan, and I think it will be much more peaceful than Shandong. It’s better to follow my husband’s wishes and move to the south.”
Chen Yixin pondered: "What do the old man and brother-in-law think?"
He wanted to take Ma Yuling to settle in a place thousands of miles away. Naturally, he had to communicate with the Ma family first. Although his father-in-law, Ma Dongqiang, and his brother-in-law, Ma Cai, are just landlords in rural Shandong and have limited knowledge and vision, they are a family after all, and such important matters must be discussed and handled properly.
Ma Yuling said: "Dad said, as long as I follow you, I'll rest assured. My brother wants to go to the south with us."
Chen Yixin said: "Are your parents staying in Dengzhou and not leaving?"
"Dad is the patriarch of the Ma family. There are hundreds of people in Majiazhuang. How can we just leave at will." Ma Yuling explained.
"It's not impossible to arrange for hundreds of people to go south together. It depends on your family's wishes." Chen Yixin didn't have much burden for this. In the process of absorbing immigrants, the whole village moved together. It is not uncommon for clans to go to the south, but after such clans immigrate to the south, they are usually dispersed and resettled to prevent the clan power from having too much influence in the local area and making it inconvenient for grassroots civil affairs units to manage them. If the Ma clan members in Majiazhuang really plan to move to the south, then Chen Yixin can make arrangements for them and find one or several suitable places for them to resettle.
Ma Yuling shook her head and said: "This matter is not as simple as words. If my husband cannot come up with a practical plan, how can the family give up the property here and move to the south to settle down."
(End of chapter)