Chapter 2054
Although Xu Yuxing was angry, he had always been relatively steady in dealing with things, so he did not lose his mind because of this. He knew that at a small scale, this matter was that Jin Yiwei colluded with the Spaniards to cause trouble in Zhangzhou City. At a larger scale, it might affect the overall situation in Fujian, and even lead to unexpected changes in the Ming Dynasty. If the relationship between the Xu family and Mingting is completely broken due to this, Xu Yuxing will not be able to solve the many troubles that will follow.
To be on the safe side, this matter does need to be reported to Xu Xinsu first, who can then decide on subsequent actions after weighing the pros and cons. However, at the same time, Xu Jiaqi had left in a hurry. In order to prevent relevant people from escaping, he ordered that all city gates be closed immediately and all people were prohibited from entering or exiting.
Xu Xinsu soon received the news from Xu Yuxing, and this unexpected situation was also beyond his expectation. Fujian's Jin Yiwei has been quite honest in the past few years and has not caused him any trouble, but now it seems that this kind of composure is more likely to be an illusion deliberately created by Jin Yiwei to numb himself and relax his vigilance against him. When the right time comes, jump out and do something.
The question is whether the Jin Yiwei's behavior of secretly hiding guns in Zhangzhou City was the unauthorized initiative of some of them, or whether it came from a secret order from the court.
If it was the former, Xu Xinsu would not hesitate to show his thunderous skills to these daring people. He would catch those who should be caught and kill those who should be killed. I understand that the Jinyiwei Yamen would not dare to have any big reaction. But if it is the latter, then he must carefully consider whether to pursue the matter publicly and the consequences that will arise.
With Xu Xinsu's current strength, it is not impossible to separatist power in Fujian, but he knows that apart from doing so for a short time, it will not actually benefit him much. Moreover, Haihan has hinted to him many times over the years not to easily try to establish his own business, but to maintain the current situation.
As time went by, Xu Xinsu gradually agreed with Haihan's view that splitting with the Ming Dynasty would not bring any practical benefits, but would instead lead to war. Although the Fujian Ming Army is well-equipped, if it does not receive sufficient support from Haihan, it will be difficult to replenish the equipment and ammunition required for combat in a timely manner. In this case, if a province has to carry the troops of a country, it is estimated that it will end It wouldn't be too good.
However, Xu Xinsu himself did not take the initiative to cause trouble, but it did not necessarily mean that the imperial court would always sit back and watch him continue to grow his personal strength in Fujian. Over the years, Xu Xinsu has taken most of the military power in Fujian into his own hands, and most of the local garrison has become his private army. As for the economy, he is the dominant one, basically controlling the most profitable import and export trade in the area. Xu Xinsu expanded the army while making money, and at the same time placed a large number of Xu family members in the army and local yamen, slowly eclipsing the officials appointed by the court, and turned Fujian into his own backyard.
The imperial court was not ignorant of these situations, but the mountains in Fujian were high and the emperor was far away. Even if the big shots in the court knew that Xu Xinsu was a local tyrant here, they were beyond their reach. It was difficult to take any effective measures to restrain Xu Xinsu. What's more, Xu Xinsu has an even more difficult backer named Haihan.
Of course, if the imperial court determines that Xu Xinsu has become a huge hidden danger to the stability of the Ming Dynasty, it is indeed possible to take some extreme measures to eliminate the hidden danger, but the possibility of this happening is extremely low, because if there is any mistake in the process, it may lead to Another large-scale civil war broke out in the Ming Dynasty, which was almost an unacceptable situation for the Ming Dynasty, which had been trying hard to avoid the outbreak of war in the south.
Xu Xinsu took a few deep breaths to calm down her emotions as much as possible. Any impulsive decision at this time may affect the life and death of thousands of people in the future. He must clarify the current situation and make a correct judgment on the situation before he can decide on the next response measures.
Dong Yanyun and a group of close aides were already waiting outside Xu Xinsu's study. Although some of them wanted to give advice, they were not summoned by Xu Xinsu, and no one dared to break into his study without permission.
Someone asked Dong Yanyun in a low voice what he thought of the news just sent. Dong Yanyun responded: "Now that the city gate is closed, if the relevant people are still in the city, nothing major will happen to them. The worst is just a few more people dying."
Dong Yanyun's idea is very clear. If Jin Yiwei intends to use the weapons provided by the Spanish to cause chaos in Zhangzhou City, or even assassinate Xu Xinsu or other important figures, then all he needs to do is close the door and remove all Jin Yiwei's people. As for how to characterize this matter, and whether to cover it up or use it as an excuse later, it all depends on Xu Xinsu's attitude.
Everyone didn't wait long, Xu Xinsu opened the door and let everyone in to discuss together. After Dong Yanyun and others entered the room and sat down, Xu Xinsu said: "You should already know what happened when you received the notice, so I won't waste my time explaining it slowly. Who can tell me, everyone in Zhangzhou City Where are the adults at this time?”
"Prefect Huang started working in the Yamen this morning and has not gone out."
"Chen Tongzhi was hungover at Hutchison Restaurant with some relatives and friends last night. He went home in the middle of the night and has not gone out today."
"Zhang Tongpan handled official duties at the Yamen in the morning, and hosted a banquet at Dafenglou for two friends who were said to be from his hometown. After the banquet, he went home..."
Almost all high-level officials in Zhangzhou City have their whereabouts under surveillance. This is also a security measure that Xu Xinsu has adhered to over the years. However, the local military attaches are not under surveillance. After all, in Zhangzhou, from the commander of the guards to the lowest hundred households, the officers at all levels are basically Xu Xinsu's people. The officers sent to Fujian by the imperial court can only interact with other senior officials. Just the same, staying in Fuzhou in the north.
If these local officials in Zhangzhou City made any changes after the Jinfa incident, it is likely to be related to it. The number of people in the officialdom involved in this matter will also be one of the important basis for Xu Xinsu to measure the subsequent handling.
After Xu Xinsu listened to the report from her subordinates, she asked impatiently: "Where is Sun Baihu from Jinyiwei?"
"That Sun Baihu... left Zhangzhou City two days ago, and his whereabouts are unknown."
Xu Xinsu raised her hand and patted the table and said: "Does this mean that the leader ran away early and the third child only caught a bunch of minions on the Jinfa?"
Perhaps out of fear of Xu Xinsu, Jinyiwei stationed not many personnel in Zhangzhou in the past, and there was only one officer, and the two places, one light and one dark, were always under Xu Yuxing's surveillance. This Jinfa Hall is a property under the name of a certain Jinyiwei commander Qianshi. It is just a branch in Zhangzhou, and it has been operated very low-key since it opened last year, so no one regarded it as a hidden danger before.
The Jin Yiwei side may have also believed that Jin Fahao's cover-up work was good enough, and they did not expect a sudden search, so that the local Jin Yiwei leader was not in the city when the incident occurred.
Someone responded: "Reporting to your lord, the city is currently searching for the remaining Jin Yiwei. It is expected that all the Jin Yiwei in the city will be captured before nightfall!" Now that the leader of the opponent cannot be caught, he can only settle for the next best thing and try his best. All members of Jinyiwei in Zhangzhou City were arrested. So far, the situation is still under Xu Xinsu's control. As for how to deal with the aftermath after catching these Jin Yiwei, this is actually not a problem at all. If sacrificing these people can prevent the outbreak of war in Fujian, then both the senior officials of Jinyiwei and those who gave orders to Jinyiwei will probably be happy to see these people disappear forever.
Of course, figuring out where the weapons in the Jinyiwei's hands came from and how they colluded with the Spanish is also a necessary part of finding out the truth of the matter.
Xu Xinsu suddenly felt a little lucky. If the Haihan people hadn't asked for assistance in the investigation, they might not have been able to discover the activities that Jin Yiwei was secretly carrying out in Zhangzhou City in time. And maybe when one is careless, Jin Yiwei will use these weapons to aim at his own head in the dark.
"Temporarily block the news and tell the outside world that we are arresting bandits who have sneaked into the city. In short, we should calm down the people first and avoid causing trouble. Interrogate the arrested persons as soon as possible. No matter what method is used, I will receive detailed information before tomorrow morning. Report!" Xu Xinsu waved her hands and said, "Everyone else should go ahead and do your work! Mr. Dong, I have something to say."
Everyone stood up quickly, bowed deeply to Xu Xinsu and filed out of the study. Only Dong Yanyun was left sitting in his seat without moving.
"Mr. Dong, what do you think about this matter?" Xu Xinsu's most trusted aide is Dong Yanyun, and before making major decisions, he often seeks Dong Yanyun's opinion.
Dong Yanyun said: "Do you want the local area in Fujian to continue to maintain the same status quo, or do you want to take this opportunity to do something big?"
Dong Yanyun actually asked a very vague question, but Xu Xinsu had known him for many years, so she could understand what he meant. She hesitated for a moment before asking again: "Which one do you think is more suitable, sir?"
Dong Yanyun said: "If it's the former, then it's simple. After the interrogation, kill all the insiders, and then issue a silence order to our people, and pretend that this matter never happened. But the key evidence must be kept in hand. If Jin Yiwei still wants to pursue this matter for some reason, then take it out and make them nervous.”
Xu Xinsu nodded noncommittally, and then asked: "What if it's the latter?"
Dong Yanyun glanced at Xu Xinsu, as if to judge his true thoughts from his expression. After a while of silence, Dong Yanyun said: "In my opinion, it is best not to try this."
"What's the reason?"
Dong Yanyun said: "Although your lord's influence in Fujian is unparalleled, we are not ready to completely fall out with the imperial court. Weapons and equipment, food and grass mobilization, and logistics are far from enough to support a battle." A total war. In addition, we do not have a definite strategy. We have no corresponding plan whether to go north, west or south after the outbreak, and to what extent we will stop.”
Xu Xinsu said in a deep voice: "You can't go to the north and the south, so don't mention it."
To the south and north of Fujian are Guangdong and Zhejiang respectively, but these two places have a large number of industries belonging to Haihan. The Haihan people will definitely not sit back and watch Xu Xinsu let these places fall into war.
Dong Yanyun nodded and continued: "The Haihan people have never advocated Fujian's independence. If we have to go ahead and do it, the Haihan people will probably ask us to give up by cutting off the supply of arms. In addition, they have armed fleets stationed in Penghu and Kaohsiung can block the sea access between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou at any time, so it is basically difficult for us to bargain with them.”
Xu Xinsu snorted, but did not deny Dong Yanyun's statement. Although he has no obsession with raising an army and establishing his own business, sometimes he still feels a little unhappy when he thinks about being controlled by Haihan. When he discussed this matter with Dong Yanyun, he actually just wanted to listen to Dong Yanyun's advice so that he could calm down and give up those unrealistic plans.
Dong Yanyun said: "The Haihan people attach great importance to the smuggling of weapons by the Spaniards. It can be seen that this has caused them a lot of trouble. If you want to gradually become independent in the future, you can invest more resources in the direction of manufacturing ordnance."
Xu Xinsu was touched by Dong Yanyun's words, and he sighed and replied: "I don't understand this truth, but sir, I also know that these are not the things I spend so much money on to buy weapons and various equipment from the Haihan people every year. We can’t make it at all, and part of the money is actually given to the Haihan people so that they can trust us.”
Since cooperating with Haihan, Xu Xinsu has been one of the main buyers of Haihan's arms. The funds spent on purchasing arms every year are at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and sometimes even millions of taels. His subordinates The troops ranged from land to sea, and almost all their main equipment came from Haihan. Xu Xinsu was certainly not taken advantage of by spending so much money to buy weapons every year. In addition to arming his own troops, there was another reason that both parties knew well, which was to pay protection fees to Haihan in disguise.
Xu Xinsu can obtain part of the weapons manufacturing technology provided by Haihan for technology transfer, as well as the military craftsmen trained by Haihan. However, if Fujian wants to develop its own weapons and gradually get rid of the procurement method from Haihan, then Haihan will sit back and watch this. Does the situation arise? The answer is obviously no.
Of course, this does not mean that Xu Xinsu has completely given up efforts in this direction. In fact, somewhere near Zhangzhou City, there is an ordnance research institute secretly established by Xu Xinsu. For the sake of confidentiality, except for a few people in charge, Even close aides like Dong Yanyun had no idea about this. The Spanish-style muskets that Xu Yuxing seized on the Jinfa would inevitably be sent to the ordnance research institute later for the craftsmen to dismantle and study them.
(End of chapter)