Chapter 2045
As the head of the Xu family in Fujian, Xu Xinsu chose to cooperate with Haihan very early, and this cooperative relationship, including economics and military, also helped him step by step become the local emperor of Fujian. Now Xu Xinsu has tens of thousands of elite soldiers on land and sea under his command, controlling the sea access to the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that he needs money and people, and now even the orders of the imperial court may not be enough to sway him.
Although Xu Xinsu still relies on Haihan's support in many aspects, as the economic scale and military strength increase year by year, his independence in acting is also becoming stronger and stronger. Especially in terms of trade, Xu Xinsu was a maritime merchant who was engaged in smuggling before joining the army. He was familiar with cross-border maritime trade. Now that he has the power in his hands, he is even more comfortable running his old business. If the tonnage of merchant ships and cargo ships is calculated, Fujian Xu's current business scale has exceeded that of Shibazhi's heyday.
And Xu Xinsu’s cross-border trade partners are far more than Haihan’s family. In fact, for businessmen, business is business, and the only difference is whether they can make money. As for the camp they belong to, their positions, and their close relationships, these are not the decisive factors in choosing trade partners. . Even Haihan maintained trade with the Spanish colonial authorities through middlemen for a long time, let alone Fujian.
At that time, Spain and the Netherlands competed to open colonial settlements in the Taiwan Strait. One of their purposes was to facilitate trade with Fujian. The original conflict between Xu Xinsu and Shibazhi was originally caused by the conflict of interests caused by the competitive relationship in cross-border trade. However, the winner is the winner and the loser is eliminated. Xu Xinsu naturally has the final say in Fujian's import and export trade.
After taking sole control of Fujian's import and export trade, there must be some hidden operations in the industries directly or indirectly controlled by Xu Xinsu's name, such as maintaining trade relations with Western countries such as the Netherlands and Spain. Haihan is not completely unaware of this, but both parties are tacitly aware of this and understand that this is just for a casual meal, and will not affect the existing cooperative relationship because of these things.
But if the matter Haihan asked Xu Xinsu to investigate turned out to be the Xu family's property, then the matter might not be easy to handle. After all, the most profitable foreign trade business in Fujian is almost entirely in the hands of the Xu family, so the situation Jin Ming is worried about is not impossible.
Gong Ping asked: "Then do you have any contingency plans?"
Jin Ming said: "It would be inappropriate to leave this matter entirely to Master Xu. We must also follow up on the relevant investigation."
Gong Ping already understood when he heard this. Jin Ming didn't want to miss this credit. If this matter was really left to Xu Xinsu to investigate, they would probably be able to find something. However, the intelligence department would probably not be able to get even a little bit of credit afterwards, so Jin Ming had to think of a high-sounding reason to get involved.
This kind of thinking is actually understandable. After all, the functions of the intelligence department are quite special. If you want to achieve meritorious service, you must have work to do. In Fujian, no one dares to go against Haihan in recent years. The intelligence personnel stationed here are basically There is nothing to do, let alone meritorious service. This time, he finally got an arrest mission. Of course, Jin Ming didn't want to miss the opportunity in vain. Even if Sanya wanted to leave the matter to Xu Xinsu, he could make do without eating meat and drinking soup.
Gong Ping responded solemnly: "That's the truth. When we go to meet Mr. Xu later, we will explain this request. I believe Mr. Xu will not object."
Gong Shaoqi also responded: "Brother Jin has thought carefully, and you really need this arrangement to feel at ease."
The father and son of the Gong family are both talented people, and after figuring out Jin Ming's intentions, they were very cooperative. They invited Jin Ming over to discuss. In addition to following the rules and requiring people from the intelligence department to be present for intelligence matters, they also had the idea of asking Jin Ming to come over to share responsibilities. In fact, they had already considered the problem that Jin Ming was thinking about. If something went wrong, someone would have to bear the corresponding responsibility. The Gong family father and son were able to be stationed in Fujian for several years. In addition to their own work ability, this prudent work was also one of the reasons.
The three of them agreed on a strategy and took a car to Xu Xinsu's mansion together. For ordinary people, Xu Xinsu is not someone who can be met whenever they want. Officials with a slightly lower rank have to submit a greeting card and wait for an appointment before going to the Xu Mansion. As for civilians, they can't even step through the gate. However, Haihan officials stationed in Fujian are a special case. No matter when they visit, Xu Xinsu will be received immediately as long as he has time.
The porter recognized the Gong family and his son, and knew that these were his master's guests. He did not dare to let them wait at the door. He first took them to the side hall where they first entered the courtyard, and asked the servants to quickly notify the master.
As soon as the concierge hurriedly served hot tea to these people, someone came from the inner courtyard to greet them. However, the person who came was not Xu Xinsu, but his close aide Dong Yanyun.
"Three of you are really rare guests!" Dong Yanyun stepped into the room and greeted him with a cupped hand: "Unfortunately, Mr. Xu is receiving guests, so I can only greet the three of you first."
Gong Ping said politely: "Mr. Dong is joking, how dare you come out to greet Mr. Xu in person! Since you are busy, I will wait here."
Although Dong Yanyun's identity is only Xu Xinsu's master, he represented Xu Xinsu in Sanya in the early years. He had good friendships with the big shots in Haihan, and he spoke with considerable weight in Xu Xinsu's camp. As Haihan officials stationed in Fujian, the Gong family and his son naturally knew that Dong Yanyun's identity was not just as simple as a confidant, master, staff, or subordinate. It would be more accurate to say that he was Xu Xinsu's friend or partner, and he must be given enough respect. .
If ordinary guests came to visit, Dong Yanyun might not be able to come out to greet them. As for Xu Xinsu to greet them in person, Gong Ping asked himself that it had not reached such an extent. According to the principle of reciprocity, only when senior officials from Haihan visit Fujian, Xu Xinsu will come out to greet him in person.
While Dong Yanyun greeted Gong Ping and the others, he was also secretly wondering about the purpose of these three people's visit. If it was just the Gong family and his son who were visiting, he would think that the other party was coming for political affairs or trade, but he knew that Jin Ming was an intelligence officer, and since this person also came with him, it was probably not an ordinary matter.
The cooperation between Haihan and Xu Xinsu is not only in the military and economic fields, but also includes intelligence sharing. For this reason, Xu Xinsu even established a special intelligence agency to facilitate work docking with Haihan's intelligence department. But if it is a pure intelligence matter, then Jin Ming probably doesn't need to come here, because the intelligence work in Fujian is not managed by Xu Xinsu himself, but by his third son, Xu Yuxing. There is no need to come to Xu Xinsu to hand over the work.
However, since the Haihan people did not take the initiative to explain their intention, Dong Yanyun would not lose his composure. There are some things where the first step is to lose half the money, and a veteran like Dong Yanyun would not be fooled. On Haihan's side, Gong Ping took the lead. Gong Shaoqi and Jin Ming both sat quietly. Gong Ping chatted with Dong Yanyun about current local affairs without saying a word, and did not mention the purpose of his visit. The two old foxes looked very relaxed, as if this visit was really just an ordinary visit. After waiting for about half an hour, a servant hurried in, bowed and whispered a few words in Dong Yanyun's ear. Dong Yanyun nodded and greeted Gong Ping and others: "Your Excellency, please invite the three of you to meet in the study."
On the way to the study, they saw a Westerner leaving under the guidance of a servant. The Gong family father and son may not recognize this person, but Jin Ming has met this person because of work. This is Philip, a Dutch maritime merchant who has been stationed in Taiyuan Port, Taiwan in recent years. Although Taiyuan Port is no longer what it used to be, and its trade scale is squeezed by the neighboring Kaohsiung Port and Penghu Magong Port, there are still a few maritime merchants like Philip operating based in Taiyuan Port. After all, this place is relatively close to several trading ports in Fujian, so there is still some profit in buying and selling between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The Western businessmen doing business in these trading ports in Fujian are all on the watch list of the Haihan Intelligence Department, and Philip is naturally no exception. Jin Ming knew that Philip came to Zhangzhou at least three to four times a year, but he didn't know that he could actually enter Xu Xinsu's mansion. It seemed that there should be some little secrets between Xu Xinsu and the Dutch.
Xu Xinsu's study room is very large. In addition to a place for reading and writing, there is also a large wooden table nearly two feet long and five feet wide. It is used as a conference table when convening meetings with his cronies.
"I've kept you three waiting for a long time!" Xu Xinsu greeted them at the door of the study.
"We just sent the Dutch away, but these red-haired ghosts actually came to Shu. Seeing that they have gradually relaxed their attitude towards them in the past two years, they actually want to open a business store in Zhangzhou." After Xu Xinsu sat down, she took the initiative to explain the reason for her meeting with the Dutch just now.
Gong Ping responded: "The Dutch probably can't stay in Damuan Port anymore. After all, there aren't many products there, and there aren't enough manpower to complete the infrastructure. It's just such a small port with a thousand people. It's hard to see what's going on there." Business prospects.”
Xu Xinsu nodded and said: "Master Gong is right. The Dutch have actually been coveting the market in Fujian for a long time. However, they did not get permission from your country and did not dare to take a step further. Today, this Dutch businessman came to pester me. Grant them a piece of land to build a business store, saying that they are willing to donate five thousand taels of silver if they agree to this. Hehe, they are quite willing to spend the money!"
Gong Ping asked calmly: "Then how did Mr. Xu reply to him?"
Xu Xinsu smiled and said: "That's not easy. I'll ask him to go to you to get the permission first. As long as Haihan agrees, I will let him go."
Gong Ping laughed dumbly and said: "Your Excellency, it is easy to calculate. Now the Dutch can only give up voluntarily, and they have to charge this account to our Haihan!"
Of course, Gong Ping was just joking. How could Haihan worry about the feelings of the Dutch in Damuan Port? By leaving this place instead of directly razing it, he had already given the Dutch enough face. As for the idea of opening a business store in Daming, it is 100% impossible here in Haihan, so the Dutchman didn't even take the initiative to say hello after they met just now. Naturally, he knew that this road would not work anyway.
Of course, if he could win Xu Xinsu's support, then the situation would be completely different. By then, even if Haihan is dissatisfied with this matter, he still has to take care of Xu Xinsu's face. Maybe this business store will have a chance to open.
In fact, this kind of operation is not without any chance, but the problem is that the conditions that the Dutch can offer are really limited, and there is no way for Xu Xinsu to risk offending the Haihan people to support him in opening a business store in Zhangzhou. Although five thousand taels of silver is no longer a small amount, for Xu Xinsu's net worth, it is really not even a drop in the bucket, so naturally he will not be tempted by it.
Of course, only he and Dutch Philippe know whether Xu Xinsu's description of the matter is truthful. Although Gong Ping was joking, he was secretly paying attention to it. As for Jin Ming, who was sitting next to him, he was already considering whether to leave first and try to bring Philip back to have tea and talk to him about opening a business store.
However, Jin Ming only thought about it for a moment and realized that this was not feasible. It was not that there was anything wrong with arresting a Dutch businessman for interrogation, but that he had to do it before the other party left Zhangzhou. If Xu Xinsu knew about it, he would subconsciously think that Hai Han Xin was the only one who would do this. This will definitely have a negative impact on the relationship between the two parties, and Jin Ming still dare not try such an over-the-top operation easily.
This was just a small episode. After the exchange of greetings between the two parties, Gong Ping could no longer wait patiently with Xu Xinsu this time. He immediately mentioned the purpose of his visit: "Master Xu, what I informed you the day before yesterday, now The investigation has made new progress and we need your assistance in Fujian.”
After shooting cases occurred in several places, Haihan also reported the situation to his main allies in order to collect as many clues as possible. However, there are almost no overt hostile forces in Fujian, so there have been no relevant clues. If intelligence personnel had not obtained relatively clear information from Cebu pointing to Fujian, Haihan probably would not have paid attention to it. Focus on this seemingly impossible area.
Xu Xinsu said: "Wait a minute, since Mr. Jin is here too, it seems that this matter also requires me to dispatch relevant personnel. I will call the third child here first, so that you will not have to repeat it to him again later."
The "third child" Xu Xinsu calls is his third son Xu Yuxing, who is in charge of intelligence work. Although Xu Xinsu followed Haihan's example and established a special intelligence team, because this thing was somewhat taboo to the court, he did not create a new yamen to operate it, but classified it under his own guard establishment. name, and put his third son Xu Yuxing in charge of operations.
(End of chapter)