Chapter 1945
Xue Zheng can choose not to believe the other party, but he also knows that if the other party can really provide effective information about the whereabouts of the North Koreans, it will undoubtedly greatly increase his chances of success. Moreover, except for this unidentified Mr. Huo, there is probably no other way to provide this kind of critical information in Danzhou in a short period of time. The other party dared to offer such a high price, obviously because he was sure that no one else could take over this business. The amount of money is indeed not a small amount, but if compared with the goals that Xue Zheng wants to accomplish and the possible subsequent impact, then It’s nothing.
It didn't matter whether the other party could complete the deal, but with this difficult task at hand, Xue Zheng had no choice. Even if he had the slightest chance, he would try his best to fight for it. The inspection trip of the North Koreans will not go on endlessly. When they return to Sanya after this trip, it will be even more difficult to attack them.
"Then how do I pay you? I don't have any cash around me for such a large amount of money." Xue Zheng had no choice but to compromise in the end. It didn't make much sense to question the other party's ability. Even if he couldn't trust the other party, he could only give it a try now. It's a gamble.
Mr. Huo said: "It just so happens that I don't plan to collect gold and silver property. You should pay with Haihan coins! You go back and find a place to stay on your own. I will send someone to collect the money later."
After speaking, Mr. Huo took out a piece of Haihan banknote, tore it in half, then put one half on the desk in front of him, and said to Xue Zheng: "Take this half back, and my people will take the other half when the time comes." The banknotes will come to you, and the money will be handed over after matching. The same operation will be done after providing you with relevant information.”
Xue Zheng walked forward slowly to get the half banknote, and glanced at Mr. Huo sitting behind the desk, trying to see his appearance clearly, but when he got closer, he realized that this man actually had a mask on his head. With his two eyes exposed, you can't tell what he looks like at all. It seems that he has been prepared and will not let the outsiders who are talking to him here see his true appearance.
Xue Zheng secretly thought that he had lost again. The other party had covered his face tightly, but he had his whole face exposed. Obviously, he was not as well prepared as the other party. But there was no point in worrying about these details now. He couldn't take off the other person's mask to see clearly, so he could only hold his nose to recognize it.
Xue Zheng took the half banknote and left the study along the same path. As expected, the big man who searched him before returned both the blunderbuss and the dagger to him. Xue Zheng returned to the warehouse, and the carriage was still parked there waiting for him. Xue Zheng knew that he had to take a carriage before being allowed to leave here, so he got into the carriage honestly and put on his hood again. After a lot of twists and turns, he was sent back to the door of the teahouse where he had started, and then the carriage turned around and left.
Xue Zheng did not dare to try to track the carriage. If the other party noticed something was wrong, it would be a small matter to stop the cooperation, but it would be a big trouble to report their purpose to the official. He returned to the teahouse to meet the others and then looked for another place to stay. Although Xue Zheng also tried to identify whether anyone around him was monitoring him, his efforts seemed somewhat futile. He still had no way of knowing how Mr. Huo monitored his actions to determine his whereabouts in Danzhou—perhaps this was It may be one of the manifestations of the opponent's hands and eyes in Danzhou.
At this time, the real protagonist Li Bo had no idea that someone in Danzhou was already deploying an attack plan against him. At this time, he had already arrived by boat at Fushuizhou Island in the sea of Beibu Gulf. When Haihan started operating as a maritime transfer station and haven many years ago, this island was still a deserted island. However, although the port on the island is still small in size, the supporting facilities are quite complete, and a port has even been opened. A hotel that can accommodate a hundred people.
There are now more than 20 households on the island, forming a small village. In addition to growing vegetables and fruits, raising livestock, and fishing on the island, these islanders are also responsible for maintaining the port facilities here and operating the only hotel on the island. Most of the ships that dock here are merchant ships and cargo ships that travel between Annan and Haihan all year round. Many sailors and islanders are also familiar with it.
This place reminded Li Pu of the time he took a day to visit an uninhabited island when he went south. The living facilities on this island were more complete, but the location was isolated overseas, some distance from Annan and Haihan. The distance actually makes it feel a bit out of touch with the world.
The houses on the island are built with stones and wood quarried on site. They are crude in appearance but sturdy in structure, so they can withstand the wind and rain on the sea. The only thing that is completely dependent on outside supply is the food needed by the island's permanent population. There is also a granary built on the island, which stores thousands of kilograms of grain all year round in case of bad weather that interrupts sailings.
Although the conditions on the island are simple, Li Bo feels that the simple living environment here looks very good. The islanders have no worries about food and clothing, and do not need to do too much work. If there is any shortcoming, it is probably the relatively small environment. Closed. After all, the island is not big, and one day should be enough to circle the island several times along the coastline.
Not long after Li Bo and his fleet arrived at Fushuizhou Island, an expedition-class warship from the Tushan Peninsula also arrived. This ship is specifically here to perform navigation and escort tasks. Although there are basically no man-made security threats in this sea area, this small fleet includes two important figures, Bai Kesi, the top official of Haihan, and the crown prince of North Korea. Then the pomp that should be there must be sufficient.
At the same time, the warship also brought news that after Annan received the notice from Haihan, Pingnan General Zheng Bai, who happened to be inspecting the training situation at the new military camp near the Tushan Peninsula, would come out to receive Li Fu and Bai Kesi.
Although Li Pu did not recognize the Annan Kingdom general, he did recognize his son Zheng Ting. This year, Annan Kingdom's troops sent to North Korea were led by the new generation general Zheng Ting. When Li Pu was in North Korea, he met the young Annan. The generals also met several times.
The fleet stayed at Fu Shuizhou Island for one night and set off early the next morning to continue traveling northwest. The voyage from Fushuizhou Island to Tushan Peninsula is only about seventy nautical miles. With the speed of this fleet, it arrived at Tushan Peninsula that afternoon.
In the early years, most of the goods and personnel exchanges between Haihan and Annan were carried out through the Tushan Peninsula, so a relatively complete military and cargo terminal was built here. This layout and architectural style reveal a strong Haihan style port. Li Bo had already seen it many times on his way south, and there was no need for Bai Kesi to introduce it. He knew at a glance that this place belonged to Haihan's jurisdiction.
Generals Zheng Bai and Bai Kesi are also quite familiar with each other. During the Annan Civil War, Bai Kesi was in charge of the technical negotiations for Haihan when he purchased arms and equipment from Haihan. The two of them had been dealing with each other for almost ten years. Therefore, Zheng Bai did not need to avoid suspicion and took the initiative to come to the port of Haihan Base to welcome the arrival of Bai Kesi and Li Bo. Compared with the crown prince of Joseon who came from afar, Zheng Bai was actually more happy about Bai Kesi's arrival. In recent years, the development momentum of Haihan has been getting faster and faster. Senior officials on the executive committee are busy dealing with domestic affairs, and it is difficult for them to have time to travel to other countries. The last time Zheng Bai saw Bai Kesi was when he went to Sanya to inspect a batch of artillery two years ago. The last time Bai Kesi went to Annan was many years ago.
For Annan, the exchanges with Haihan have many tangible benefits, especially exchanges in the military field. Military technology is also one of the things Annan values. At present, Annan has successfully introduced some of Haihan's ordnance technology and can manufacture small-tonnage exploration-class warships and special types of muskets and artillery on its own.
Of course, Zheng Bai also knew very well that the ordnance technology Haihan taught Annan was not very advanced. Haihan kept the really good things for his own army. Of course, there is nothing wrong with such an arrangement, but Zheng Bai still hopes to obtain more military technology for Annan by maintaining a good personal relationship with Haihan's senior officials.
And Bai Kesi is the official in charge of Haihan Ordnance Industry. Usually Annan might not be able to invite him over as a guest. This time he took the initiative to show up, and Zheng Bai naturally wanted to greet him well on behalf of his country.
As for the uninvited prince of North Korea, Zheng Bai is still unclear about the real purpose of his visit. However, since Annan sent troops to North Korea this year to help him retreat from the enemy, the relationship between the two countries has become closer. Quite a few, Zheng Bai thought that the other party should have come to Annan with some friendly diplomatic mission. Moreover, the other party was accompanied by Bai Kesi on this trip, which shows that Fort Victory attaches great importance to this trip. The senior officials of Haihan should also have some expectations for this high-level meeting.
Zheng Bai never expected that all his speculations were just fantasy. This trip was not arranged by the Victory Fort at all, nor was it proposed by the Crown Prince of Joseon. Instead, something went wrong during the original inspection trip to Haihan, and it was a temporary arrangement. Li Bo just went overseas for a tour. Bai Kesi's companionship was just to make the arrangement look more reasonable and avoid making North Koreans think in a bad direction.
As for what kind of illusion this trip will bring to Annan, in fact, Bai Kesi did not think deeply when making this decision. But Bai Kesi knew that Annan intended to make friends with North Korea to establish trade routes, so Annan should be very happy to see the arrival of the North Korean crown prince. Baikes hopes to take this opportunity to let the North Koreans understand the status of military cooperation between Haihan and Annan. According to his judgment, Annan will definitely be happy to show a third party the strong military alliance between his country and Haihan.
The actual situation was exactly the same. When he heard that the Joseon Crown Prince wanted to visit the training conditions at the nearby Annan Recruitment Camp, Zheng Bai agreed without hesitation and said that he would personally accompany him and act as a temporary guide for Li Mu. He even took the initiative to ask Bai Kesi if it was necessary to arrange a temporary exercise involving the navy near the Doshan base so that he could better demonstrate the style of the Annan Army to the distinguished guests.
Bai Kesi does not mind the Annan people's efforts to show off their muscles. For North Korea, Annan is a replicable and successful model in front of it. The stronger the military strength Annan shows, the more it shows the relationship with Haihan. Military cooperation is effective, allowing North Korea to more safely follow Haihan's military arrangements and suggestions.
Li Pu did not expect that such a large-scale event could be arranged in this temporary schedule, and he immediately felt that he was proud. After all, Zheng Bai made it very clear that he wanted to ask him to see the strength of Annan Army. It can be said that it is an event specially organized for him.
In fact, Li Bo had already seen the Annan Army when he was in North Korea, and it was a real front-line combat force, not the level of the new military camp near Tushan. However, he really wanted to see what the new recruits of the Annan Army, which was said to be trained completely in accordance with Haihan military standards, would be like. If it is really powerful, then in the future, the domestic army will be able to be trained by military consultant Haihan and feel more at ease.
However, it was already a little late when we arrived at Tushan Peninsula that day, and it was definitely too late to arrange a visit immediately. Moreover, Zheng Bai had already set up a dinner party in advance to welcome Bai Kesi and Li Bo and their party.
Compared with the rich flavors of Haihan cuisine, Annam's cooking flavor is more focused on sweet and sour, and a large number of fruits and vegetables grown in the tropics are used as ingredients, rather than focusing on meat like Haihan cuisine. However, in recent years, there have been frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries. Some dignitaries in Annan have also begun to imitate the flavor of Haihan cuisine in catering and regard it as a treat for the upper class. Therefore, at today’s banquet hosted by Zheng Bai, There are quite a few dishes made by Haihan.
Since Li Bo went abroad, he had eaten a lot of high-end banquets along the way, and now he is quite a knowledgeable foodie. He also admired this banquet very much.
While Li Huang was feasting in Annan, Zhang Qianzhi, who was staying in Changhua to investigate the case, had finished his work there and handed over the remaining clean-up matters to subordinates of the Ministry of Security, while he rushed to Danzhou by boat. The investigation into this incident continues.
Zhang Qianzhi set out from Changhua nearly three days later than Xue Zheng and his group, but during this period he did not receive any good news from Danzhou. After receiving the telegram notification from Changhua, Wang Baisuo, the head of the local security department, organized monitoring and investigation of Danzhou Port, but the suspicious Fuzhou ship and related personnel were not found. The voyage from Changhua to Danzhou only takes one day. If this ship is going straight to Danzhou, it cannot be that it has not arrived at the port for so long. The only explanation is that this ship is not going to Danzhou at all. port.
The ocean is so big that it is naturally impossible to easily trace the whereabouts of a certain ship. Zhang Qianzhi's judgment that the other party will go to Danzhou is only based on some information currently available, and there is no firm evidence. The ship may not have intended to go to Danzhou at all, but left Hainan Island directly. But Zhang Qianzhi's intuition was that even if the ship did not go to Danzhou after leaving Changhua, the people on the ship might not have given up on subsequent actions.
(End of chapter)