Chapter 2048
Xu Yuxing's specialty is intelligence collection and analysis, but he is not completely ignorant of the economic and financial fields. When I was receiving intelligence training at Haihan, analyzing economic and financial information and data was also one of the subjects that I had to master. The first investigation method that he thought of after accepting this task was to investigate currency circulation.
Xu Yuxing remembered that when he was taking classes in Sanya, He Xi, the head of the Haihan Security Department, once said a theory that impressed him deeply. The main idea was that if a certain business has a 10% profit, it will automatically appear in many markets. place; if there is 20% profit, it will become very active; if there is 50% profit, people will take risks for it; if there is double profit, people will even dare to trample on the law; if the profit reaches three times, Then people will not hesitate to commit any crime for this, not even afraid of losing their heads.
At that time, many students felt enlightened after hearing this theory, and greatly admired He Xi's vast knowledge. However, He Xi said that this theory was not created by him, but was put forward by a sage named Ma in his work. But no matter what, Xu Yuxing still firmly remembers this theory and will apply it in his work.
Xu Yuxing's idea of why there were maritime merchants helping the Spanish transport munitions to various places for sale was somewhat different from those of the Haihan people. Limited to the level of information he had access to, he did not think too much about the underlying purpose behind this approach or its impact on the international situation. Instead, he believed that the fundamental reason why someone took great risks to do such a thing was It's about profit. It is certainly dangerous to go against the Haihan people, but as long as there are sufficiently generous benefits, there will still be many people who cannot resist the temptation to engage in this kind of business that will cause them to lose their heads.
According to the information provided by the Haihan people, there were merchants in Zhangquan, Fujian, acting as middlemen for the Spanish. Xu Yuxing judged from this that a large amount of Spanish silver coins would inevitably flow into the pockets of these merchants, and the merchants who received these silver coins , will definitely try to convert part of it into official silver for use. Only financial institutions like Huifenghao have the ability to exchange large sums of money at any time.
Of course, merchants can also store the recovered silver coins at home to prevent the bank from paying the exchange fee. But the problem is that Xu Xinsu has already used her influence to get the local government to legislate that such foreign silver coins are not legal currency in Fujian. People who own these silver coins should either not take them out for public use, or they can only take care of the banks. Business. No matter what means these merchants used to earn back the silver coins, some of them would definitely flow into the pockets of the Xu Group.
When Xu Yuxing decided to use this investigative method, he naturally had to consider how to screen out the most suspicious people from the bank's many customers. The three conditions he mentioned to Shopkeeper Qin can eliminate most of the bank's customers in a relatively simple way, leaving only a few targets, making it easier to investigate.
After Xu Yuxing explained this, Shopkeeper Qin was an insider in the industry, so he immediately understood his intention. He nodded and said, "It would be a good idea to use such conditions to screen first."
At that moment, the two of them agreed on a rough screening method, and then Shopkeeper Qin went back to check the accounts of the past year, listed all the objects that met these conditions, and then handed them over to Xu Yuxing for the next step of investigation.
The last person to meet Xu Yuxing was Shopkeeper Liang of Fumao Trading Company. Shopkeeper Liang Quanliang is different from the two shopkeepers Xu Yuxing met before. He is not related to the Xu family by marriage, but his seniority is not low. Like Dong Yanyun, they are all old subordinates who followed Xu Xinsu before he became famous. Xu Yuxing is There are only juniors in front of him.
And this Fu Mao Trading Company was the commercial institution that Xu Xinsu started when he was still a businessman before joining the army. The funds he later used to buy an official position also came from the income from running Fu Mao Trading Company. More than ten years later, Xu Xinsu has become the local emperor with real power in Fujian. His wealth has been countless times greater than when he was a businessman, and he directly and indirectly controls hundreds of business organizations. However, he has always been responsible for the Fu Mao Trading Company. One of the most important industries in the name.
Today, everyone in Fujian knows that Fu Mao Trading Company is the property of Mr. Xu Xinsu. However, Liang Quan, the shopkeeper of this firm, did not follow Xu Xinsu into officialdom. Instead, he continued to run the firm's business for ten years.
According to Liang Quan, Fu Mao Trading Co., Ltd. was the business where Xu Xinsu made his fortune. He had to guard the family business for his master. Even if more than half of the Xu family's children entered the officialdom, Fu Mao Trading Co., Ltd. had to continue to operate. On the surface, this seems to be the sentiment of a few people, but in fact there are still many practical considerations.
For the Xu family to achieve long-term rule over Fujian, it is not enough to rely solely on military power. Political, economic, financial, cultural and other aspects must also be exerted. Commercial institutions such as Fumao Trading Company, Huifeng Company, and Sihai Shipping Company can not only continue to earn a lot of money for Xu Xinsu to expand his strength, but also allow him to control the economic trends and market conditions of the entire Fujian, and use this to build a Transnational trade channels have tied their own interests to the big ship Haihan. Regarding how to use economic and trade means to consolidate rule, Xu Xinsu learned a lot from the Haihan people.
Fu Mao Commercial Bank's current main business project is cross-border trade, and it is also the largest importer and exporter in Fujian. More than half of the import and export goods in Fujian are completed through the channels of Fu Mao Commercial Bank. Regarding the trend of the foreign trade market, probably no one knows better than Shopkeeper Liang.
"Uncle Liang, I invited you here today mainly to ask you a few questions." Xu Yuxing had no airs to speak of in front of Liang Quanquan. After all, this old shopkeeper was someone that even his father respected very much. Even Liang Quanquan respected him very much. Xu Yuxing poured the hot tea in front of him personally.
Liang Quan pondered: "When I came here, I heard that Xiao Luo and Xiao Qin had already been to your place before. It seems that you have encountered some trouble this time? Tell me, who are you trying to investigate?"
Liang Quan has been operating locally for many years and has connections throughout Zhangzhou. It is not surprising to learn that the other two shopkeepers have been here. Seeing that Liang Quan had actually guessed the reason for being invited, Xu Yuxing told the other party the general details of the case he wanted to investigate, but he did not take the initiative to say that this was Haihan's request.
Liang Quan was silent for a moment before responding: "Since you have already talked with them, you should get two lists from them, right?"
Xu Yuxing said: "There is nothing wrong with the Huifeng. I estimate that the list will be handed over to me tomorrow. Shopkeeper Luo from Sihai Shipping Company is not sure which of his colleagues are still doing business with the Spaniards. He probably can't be of much help." .”
Liang Quan snorted and said: "This Luo Yun, he doesn't know what he is doing, he just doesn't want to offend anyone! After all, if he hands you the list, then the people on the list may go to jail, and people will find out later. , he gained countless enemies overnight.”
When Xu Yuxing heard Liang Quan point out the reason for this, he realized that he had not considered it thoroughly when talking to shopkeeper Luo earlier. The other party was afraid and did not dare to follow his request. If he had been asked to provide a list of maritime merchants who had traded from Fujian to Manila in the past year, perhaps Shopkeeper Luo would not have worried about offending anyone.
In fact, before this, the Manila authorities had reported to Sanya a list of Han maritime merchants compiled by the local port authority. However, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the maritime merchants' local registration information, especially those merchants with ulterior motives. His true identity is used to register at the port, so the reliability of this list is actually very limited and can only provide a little reference for the intelligence department.
But if Fujian can get first-hand information, the reliability will be different. This is one of the reasons why Haihan Intelligence Department asked Xu Xinsu to provide assistance in the investigation. Under Liang Quan's reminder, Xu Yuxing discovered that there was something missing from the previous conversation with Shopkeeper Luo, and immediately thought about remedial measures for the matter. Liang Quan said slowly: "Third Young Master, don't worry. I will talk to Xiao Luo later and ask him to cooperate with your investigation. He may not be able to listen to what others say, but if I speak, he must still be aware of it." Understand the stakes.”
Liang Quan took the initiative to take over the matter, which was beyond Xu Yuxing's expectations and he quickly thanked him. Liang Quan waved his hand and said: "The matters I have entrusted you to investigate are all very important. How can you delay the business because of the selfishness of these people? Where I can contribute, I naturally cannot sit idly by."
Xu Yuxing said yes again and again, and then Liang Quan continued: "It's not difficult to find out which merchants are selling Spanish goods in the market. I will make another list for you tomorrow. I have three lists in hand. Find the person who appears in these lists and that is probably the person you are looking for.”
"Thank you, Uncle Liang, for your guidance!" Xu Yuxing was immediately convinced. Liang Quan only listened to what he said about the issues to be investigated, and he could understand his idea of investigating the case so quickly, without any sign of aging and slowness. It seemed that the Fu Mao Trading Company could continue to be handled by him with confidence.
It was late at night when the meeting with Liang Quan ended. Xu Yuxing respectfully put the other party on the carriage and then returned to the study to sort out today's gains. The progress of the investigation should be much smoother than he expected, and the three shopkeepers he found were relatively cooperative. Although shopkeeper Luo concealed the situation, his reasons were not incomprehensible, and remedies could be made.
Judging from the information currently known, at least the industry under Xu Xinsu's name is not involved. Trade with the Spanish has been completely terminated long ago, and Xu Yuxing no longer has to worry about involving his family. The investigation was carried out from three directions: market sales, financial circulation and cargo transportation. Businessmen who were ultimately confirmed to have connections with the Spaniards in these three areas were probably highly suspected of being involved in the case. Xu Yuxing believes that there will not be too many suspects on this list, and the subsequent investigation should be simpler.
The next day, before the three lists were delivered, the Haihan people came to visit first. As Haihan's representative in the joint investigation, Jin Ming came to Xu Yuxing early in the morning to discuss the arrangements for the investigation.
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Jin. I made arrangements yesterday and there will be a reply within today." Xu Yuxing said confidently: "When the investigation list comes out, we will search according to the picture and check them one by one."
Seeing that Xu Yuxing was so confident, Jin Ming curiously asked him how he arranged it. Xu Yuxing also wanted to hear the evaluation of Haihan Intelligence Officer, so he gave a general summary of the work he had done yesterday, except that Luo, Qin, and Liang were omitted. The specific identities of the three people were not mentioned.
After hearing this, Jin Ming couldn't help but praise: "The third young master's arrangements are meticulous, and his methods are indeed good. He has lived up to the heavy responsibility entrusted to us by our country. After the truth of the case is found out, I will write down the investigation work provided by the third young master into the report. I wonder why Adults will also be very happy to see it.”
Xu Yuxing cupped his hands and said, "Then I'd like to thank Mr. Jin for his kind words first!"
The three shopkeepers who were invited back by Xu Yuxing to talk yesterday were very efficient in their work. They received the three lists they provided on the same day. Even shopkeeper Luo, who originally claimed to be unaware, still handed over a list. This is probably Liang Quan's role.
After carefully comparing the three lists from different channels, Xu and Jin together identified the most suspicious targets.
Doing business with the Spaniards during this period would certainly result in huge profits due to Haihan's trade blockade, but it would also entail great risks, and he might be convicted if confirmed. Moreover, the voyage from Fujian south to Cebu is three to four thousand miles long, and the sea environment it has to pass through is also relatively complex. Not all maritime merchants have such sailing capabilities.
You must have both courage and ambition, as well as outstanding abilities. This has actually screened out most maritime merchants. In the end, names appeared on all three lists, and only three companies were left.
Jin Ming said: "I wonder if the third young master knows the situation of these three families?"
Xu Yuxing nodded slowly and said: "I know a little bit... none of these three companies are fuel-efficient. Each has its own background and backing. If not handled properly, there will be some trouble."
Jin Ming said: "Third Young Master, please explain."
Xu Yuzhuo pointed to the first circled target on the list and said: "The boss behind this Kowloon shipping company is Mr. Liao, the commander of the Fujian Dusi. This Mr. Liao was an official assigned to Fujian by the imperial court five years ago. He has always been with his father. As long as the water in the well does not interfere with the water in the river, everything can be considered peaceful. Although Mr. Liao cannot mobilize many troops in Fujian, he is still an official of the imperial court, so he tried to arrange a profitable business for him and use money to make him live a little more peacefully. This Kowloon Boat Company is the property in his name.”
Jin Ming nodded and said: "If we touch his property, it will inevitably break our skin and make it difficult for Mr. Xu."
(End of chapter)