Chapter 1673: Post-War Merit Evaluation
Whether this person is Aragones or not, we will find out later when we return to Manila and find the relevant people. Wu Sen was not in a hurry about this. The enemy had already captured it anyway, and he would not give them another chance to escape. However, the eloquent Ran Hui was really powerful, and Wu Sen actually made a profit from him. Pen, I couldn't laugh or cry for a moment. But Wu Sen had already promised to protect his life, so he had no choice but to go back and report the situation to his boss and ask for a favor for this guy.
When the "Black Shark" returned to the Port of Manila, the sky had completely darkened, but fortunately, the port facilities of this large port were relatively complete, with a lighthouse to guide the way and a fire on the pier for lighting. After the warship slowly docked, there was already a group of people waiting on the dock, but it was Ran Tianlu and the group of cavalry he led out of the city.
Ran Tianlu didn't know that he had caught a big fish in this net. He was just worried that if he let the gang go, he would not be able to report to the military later, so he took this team of cavalry to the dock to wait for the return of the "Black Shark". However, he had almost no direct dealings with senior officers in the Navy, so when he saw Wu Sen disembarking from the ship, he didn't know how to greet him when he went up to him. He could only explain his identity and purpose of coming.
Wu Sen was more thoughtful and did not mention Ran Hui and Aragones. He only said that the escaped people had been captured and all the hostage crew members had been rescued, but the cargo ship had been sunk in Manila. In the bay, naturally there was no time to take out the cargo on the ship.
After hearing this, Ran Tianlu finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he got all the people back, it would be fine. As for the cargo ship, it was not worth the 10% introduction fee Ran Hui paid him. The worst he could do was to spit out the money to compensate the military. That's it for the boat trip. Moreover, when he led the cavalry to intercept the Pasig River, he found that in order to reduce the load of the cargo ship, these people did not load the batch of porcelain on the ship at all. If you include the batch of goods that must be confiscated, although Haihan Loss of a cargo ship, but still a huge profit.
Although Ran Tianlu brought a group of people over, Wu Sen naturally would not hand over the prisoners he had worked so hard to capture to ask for credit. He immediately ordered a group of sailors to be responsible for escorting these prisoners, and then returned to the city with Ran Tianlu to resume their duties. . Since the sky was already dark and he was in a relaxed mood, Ran Tianlu did not take a closer look at the faces of the people who were escorted from the boat, so he returned to the city with Wu Sen.
After the two returned to the headquarters, Wu Sen first reported the pursuit process and results to Wang Tom, and finally mentioned that one of the prisoners was suspected to be the Philippine Governor Aragones. When Wang Tom heard this, he first asked Ran Tianlu if he recognized it. Ran Tianlu quickly nodded in agreement, but he already understood in his heart that Wu Sen had deliberately concealed the situation from him at the port just now, and he probably didn't want to share the credit with himself.
Ran Tianlu had no intention of grabbing credit, but he was worried that he would be at fault for letting the group of people escape, so he brought a group of cavalry to wait on the dock. In Wu Sen's view, this behavior was naturally a sign of eagerness for meritorious service. , I want to get a piece of the action. But this was done by the Navy, and Wu Sen certainly didn't want the Ministry of Security to take credit for it, at least he had to make this clear in front of his superiors.
Wu Sen's little thought and the reactions of the two people were naturally obvious to Wang Tom, but he would not tell them, and only asked Ran Tianlu to quickly identify whether the prisoner's identity was true. After all, compared to this act of seeking credit, quickly confirming the identity of the suspect was what he really valued.
Ran Tianlu has stayed in Manila for such a long time, and the church in the city is a must-go place every week. Naturally, he has seen the Governor many times. He went to see the man Wu Sen brought back. Sure enough, he looked about 60-70% similar, but his demeanor and clothes were quite different. However, he soon figured out the reason. The governor was forced to flee the city by the Haihan Army. The psychological pressure was unimaginable. Even after boarding the ship and going to sea, he still maintained civilian clothes. If it hadn't been given to him by Ran Hui If he is sold, he might actually be treated as an ordinary immigrant after being escorted back to Hong Kong.
Ran Tianlu can speak Spanish. If that person pretends to be crazy, he will not be able to pass him. Ran Tianlu himself is a professional engaged in intelligence work and is very sensitive to information feedback during interrogations. After a few brief questions and answers with this man, he basically confirmed that this guy was not an ordinary citizen. He immediately went back to resume his duties, saying that he was not 100% sure of confirming his identity and could ask the two Spanish officers Juan Luis and Francis who were in prison to to identify this person and determine his or her identity.
In fact, Ran Tianlu had basically identified this person, but if he wanted to make a solid case, it would be safer to let the Spaniards confirm it themselves. At that moment, Wang Tom ordered that Juan Luis and Francis be taken out of the prison and brought here to meet the suspect.
Not long after, the three prisoners met in the open space outside the headquarters. After staring at each other, Aragones sat down on the ground and couldn't get up. Juan Luis had a wry smile on his face, while Francis sneered again and again. Upon seeing this, Wang Tom asked people to escort the other two people back. Although the three people did not know each other's names, there was no need to interrogate them one by one for their current reactions. Everything was left unspoken.
Now that the absconding Philippine Governor has been caught, overnight interrogation is a necessary measure. No one should know the situation in the Manila area better than him. If Haihan wants to take over this area and implement his rule smoothly in the future, he will definitely be able to get a lot of useful information from Aragones' mouth.
Several other generals who were not at the headquarters rushed back to the city as quickly as possible after learning the news to participate in the trial together. In order to ensure that the contents of the interrogation would not be leaked, the command did not involve the Portuguese this time—even the capture of the Philippine Governor was not immediately notified to the Portuguese. Because Ran Tianlu can speak Spanish, is from the Ministry of Security, and is familiar with the local human geography, he naturally became the translator for this trial.
The interrogation lasted from nightfall to dawn the next day. Aragones was not tortured that night. Only those who participated in the interrogation knew what kind of information Haihan received. .
Ran Tianlu was given a half-day break after the interrogation, allowing him to take a nap before continuing to follow up on the matter. As for the affairs he was originally responsible for, all the matters he was originally responsible for were temporarily suspended, and he focused his energy on the translation work at the headquarters.
Apart from the several senior generals who led the Haihan Army to Manila this time, Ran Tianlu is probably the person who knows the most about the current situation. It is precisely because of this that he can almost be sure that Haihan's next reception in the Manila area will be much smoother than before. And this change all came from the all-night interrogation last night. There was no bloody torture as expected by Ran Tianlu in the interrogation room. The two parties spent less than half an hour bargaining. After reaching agreement on the terms, Aragones revealed in detail Spain's local business conditions and the conditions as requested by Haihan. The Spaniards who are currently fleeing have several major hiding places in the northern plains.
What Aragones got in exchange for his cooperative attitude was his own free agency. Of course, this freedom cannot be obtained immediately. His agreement with Haihan is to provide Haihan with all the information he needs, and Haihan will release him after fifteen days, or send him a ship to anywhere in the South China Sea. .
Putting aside the pursuit of fugitives, Haihan also needed to collect a lot of information. Regarding the local population, products, geography, climate, development status, etc., Aragones could not explain all these things in one night. of. A lot of information still needs some time to confirm its authenticity, so we agreed with Aragones for half a month.
As for where to go in half a month, Aragones has not decided yet. Anyway, he knows that if Manila is lost, his political future will basically come to an end. When this news spreads back to China, no matter who you call, you will probably not be able to keep your official title, and will most likely be convicted and imprisoned. The wiser thing to do now is to simply settle in the Far East and not return to China in the future.
With Spain's operating conditions in the South China Sea, it is not too difficult to find another colony to settle down, but the premise is that the Haihan people will not continue to launch similar military operations against Spain in the short term. Otherwise, with the level of armament of those small colonies, Don't even think about being able to resist the Haihan invasion.
But no matter what, as long as he can escape from Haihan's cage, it will be a way out for Aragones. He knew that Spanish officials like himself would be unlucky if they were caught in the end. Even if they didn't die, they would be used for ransom, and now he could no longer afford the money needed to buy his own freedom. Since there is a glimmer of hope in front of him, he must try his best to reach out and grab this life-saving straw. Even if he knows that this so-called "cooperation" is actually the same as treason in nature, he can only close his eyes and pretend not to know, and try to let people know about it first. Let’s get out on our own.
Haihan hoped that the captured Spanish officials would have the "enlightenment" of Aragones and reveal all the information they had in various professional fields, saving Haihan the trouble of torture to extract confessions. Therefore, the generals were surprisingly unanimous regarding the conditions offered by Aragones for this "cooperation" and believed that they could let him go after emptying his mind of valuable information. Moreover, most of the information provided by Aragones to Haihan requires long-term records and statistics, and is not of value that can be measured in terms of money.
For Ran Tianlu, the translator, a lot of information is an area that he has not yet touched despite being in Manila for such a long time. The military generously allows this information to be shared with the Ministry of Security, but of course the Military Intelligence Office of the Ministry of National Defense will also keep it. A file.
While sorting and classifying this information, the work of recording the Haihan Army's postwar achievements was also in full swing. The Haihan Army's attack on Manila was a smooth one. It completed a series of combat missions almost smoothly, which was much easier than expected. For the Haihan Army to be able to perform like this, the first thing that must be credited is the various key intelligence provided by the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Office. In particular, the intelligence personnel of the Ministry of Security, represented by Ran Tianlu, collected a large amount of military and political information and provided relatively detailed and reliable reference materials for the Haihan Army to formulate its attack plan.
During the Haihan Army's attack on Manila City, the cooperation of the Ministry of Security also played an obvious role. The Chaosheng Commercial Store alone caused great trouble for the Spanish defenders, and also gained a lot of money. The pen was unexpectedly brought to my doorstep by a Spanish priest. After the war, rewards will be given based on merit, and Ran Tianlu has achieved great success this time. Although he almost let go of the fugitive Governor of the Philippines, fortunately he reacted quickly enough and eventually assisted the military in catching him, which can be regarded as making amends for him. And if it hadn't been for such a drama, Aragones would have been hiding outside for who knows how long, and he might not have been able to catch him for a while.
Yan Chujie was very satisfied with Ran Tianlu's performance and praised him highly in the merit report submitted to the Executive Committee. He even suggested that his working relationship be transferred from the Ministry of Security to the Military Intelligence Department of the Ministry of National Defense so that he could give full play to his intelligence skills. Work ability. Of course, if the Ministry of National Defense really sent such a transfer order to the Ministry of Security, He Xi would definitely sneer a few times when he saw it, then tear the order into pieces and throw it away.
If nothing unexpected happens, Ran Tianlu's contribution will not only bring him an ideal reward in the promotion within the Ministry of Security, but the executive committee will also give him corresponding awards. For example, on the National Day two months later, a group of individuals and collectives who have been commended by the Executive Committee will be announced every year. The contribution of Ran Tianlu should be enough to win himself a medal issued by the Executive Committee.
In addition to Ran Tianlu, those who will judge the merits in their own name include Special Operations Battalion Commander Gao Qiaonan, Captain Sun Zhen, Military Intelligence Officer Fang Peng in Manila, Captain Wu Sen of the Navy "Black Shark", etc. Each of them had extraordinary performance during the battle, and their promotion after the war was definitely indispensable. In particular, Gao Qiaonan, the commander of the special operations battalion, will soon see an upgrade in the organization of the army, and he will also be promoted from battalion commander to regiment commander, and his military rank will be promoted from major to colonel. .
Since the current highest organizational level of the Haihan Army is all at the battalion level, the special operations battalion should be the first unit to be upgraded, and Gao Qiaonan's colonel rank will probably be the highest in the entire army for a period of time and become the returning unit. The first person to become an officer.
Of course, for Takahashi Nan himself, he doesn't care so much whether he is a major or a colonel. As long as his troops can always have a chance to fight, the direct commander will still be Qian Tiandun. If these two conditions are met, , is enough for him.
(End of chapter)