Chapter 2063
No matter what reasons Haihan had for taking some unconventional measures in the southeastern coastal areas of Ming Dynasty, Fei Cexian had clear objections to this. The reason is simple. In the past two years, he has made a lot of efforts to convince the court that Haihan has no intention of military invasion of the southeastern coastal areas. Now that the Haihan people suddenly jumped out and said they wanted to change the status quo, this was equivalent to a fight. Fei Cexian's face. The court might think that all the information he had provided before was to cover up Haihan's plan, and it would not be impossible to charge him with colluding with foreign countries.
As for the reason Ning Qi claimed, it sounded even more outrageous to Fei Cexian. It felt like Haihan just found a lame reason to send troops. Since when did Haihan need to dispatch armed forces to assist in the investigation of what happened in the Ming Dynasty? This is obviously relying on the superiority of force to forcefully cause trouble in the southeastern coastal areas.
But Fei Cexian still has to restrain his emotions at the moment. At least there is still a chance for negotiation. He can also try his best to persuade the Haihan people to give up this dangerous approach. Otherwise, once an armed conflict breaks out between the two countries, it will be difficult to control the situation at that time. It's just too difficult. So he immediately questioned Ning Qi's statement and believed that such situations should not be decided unilaterally by Haihan.
Ning Qi said: "Master Fei, the cases our country is investigating did not entirely occur in your country, and not all the perpetrators were Ming people. In fact, during our investigation, we found that this case involved many countries and regions. , Daming is just one of them. The investigation we are going to launch in the southeast coastal area is not aimed at Daming, and there are no other bad intentions. Finding out this case as soon as possible will also have many benefits for Daming.”
Fei Cexian was doubtful and said: "Well, Minister Ning, why don't you tell me first what the situation of this case is."
Haihan has so far spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to investigate this matter, which can be said to be a rare big move in recent years, and there are many parts that still need to be kept secret. Ning Qi can directly reveal to Fei Cexian at the moment It is impossible to go into too much detail, lest the news leak out and affect the subsequent investigation.
Now the only part that can be told to Fei Cexian is the situation that happened in Liaodong. The Qing army began to install weapons manufactured by Western countries, which was definitely bad news for the Ming Dynasty. Once the Qing army's musketeers formed combat effectiveness, the defensive pressure that the Ming Dynasty had to face would increase exponentially. Ning Qi told him that the case Haihan was currently investigating was to find the middlemen who smuggled weapons to various places for the Spaniards, and then cut off this transnational weapons transportation channel to avoid the emergence of more and more weapons with equipment everywhere. Armed with standard muskets.
After listening to Ning Qi's story, Fei Cexian said in shock: "The Qing army was equipped with Spanish muskets? Is there any evidence for this?"
Ning Qi nodded and said: "Of course there is evidence. In fact, our troops stationed in Jinzhou, Liaodong have already fought with them, and the situation is not optimistic. If the Qing army's musketeers expand to more than a thousand people, and then they are deployed to the north of the Ming Dynasty, At the border, your country's border defense is expected to face a very severe test. The various evidences returned from Liaodong are already on their way south. If everything goes smoothly, Mr. Fei will be able to see the muskets used by the Qing army in person in a few days. .”
If this news is true, the defensive pressure it will put on Ming Dynasty will not be as understated as Ning Qi's tone. However, Fei Cexian felt that there was something fishy in it and couldn't help but ask: "Minister Ning, what do you mean about the Qing army?" The muskets were purchased from the Spaniards by middlemen and resold to the Qing army, so why didn’t they try to sell them to the Ming Dynasty? In terms of financial resources, the Ming Dynasty is better than the Liaodong barbarians anyway.”
Ning Qi sighed and said: "Since Mr. Fei asked about this, let me reveal some more information! It's not that these middlemen who smuggle weapons don't sell to Ming Dynasty, but the transactions they do in Ming Dynasty have ulterior motives. They encouraged salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to set up private armed forces, and instigated salt merchants to fight for their own benefit, causing heavy casualties among the people. They bribed the Jinyiwei with large sums of money in Fujian, and tried to create conflicts between the Jinyiwei and the local garrison. If we had not caught them in time, they , maybe they will succeed! This group of people smuggled weapons to the Ming Dynasty, not through formal channels, and their purpose was not to strengthen the Ming Dynasty’s military power, but they have been trying their best to create chaos and conflicts, and their intentions are very sinister!”
Fei Cexian was shocked after hearing this. He had never heard of this news before, but if what Ning Qi said was true, then this group of weapons smugglers was indeed very dangerous. Especially in provoking a conflict between the Jin Yiwei and the local garrison in Fujian, this was clearly to force Xu Xinsu to rebel!
"Is there any real evidence for what Minister Ning said?" Although Fei Cexian believed 70% to 80% of the situation, he still wanted to make sure that Ning Qi had not deceived himself by exaggerating in his description.
Ning Qi nodded and said: "For confidentiality reasons, I cannot provide more specific information to Mr. Fei for the time being, but we have relevant personal and material evidence on hand. If Mr. Fei is interested in these cases, you can also come back. We will update you step by step on the progress of the investigation.”
"I have another question. It seems that your country was not involved in the several cases mentioned by Minister Ning just now, so why did your country take the initiative to investigate the matter?" Fei Cexian still has doubts in his heart. He must first Only by getting an explanation can one agree with the conditions described by Ningqi.
Ning Qi was silent for a moment before speaking: "In fact, the reason why we noticed this situation is that since October last year, someone has caused trouble in our country and tried to assassinate some visiting foreign dignitaries. I am not sure who it is. We have said that, but we have reason to believe that Mr. Fei may also be one of the other party’s intended targets.”
"Me?" Fei Cexian was really shocked when he heard this statement. In his mind, Haihan Country was really a peaceful place, and he didn't feel any danger at all.
When Fei Cexian first arrived in Sanya, he felt that this city without city walls was a bit dangerous, but after a while, he realized that Sanya seemed undefended, but in fact it was almost impossible for an army to invade this place. . The Spaniards had made an attempt, but the fleet that expedition to Sanya was beaten and sunk in the Port of Victory, suffering heavy losses. It is said that less than half of the ships successfully escaped. The locals were also very calm about the war. When the Spanish fleet arrived at their doorstep, Sanya people flocked to the heights of the Yulin Peninsula in large numbers to watch the excitement, which shows the people's trust in the Haihan Army.
It is reasonable for a trading port that is not threatened by war to become prosperous under Haihan's management. After the local people's lives become rich due to trade, the level of social security will also increase. get promoted. Fei Cexian also went to understand the operation of the police office and found that the security situation that the police dealt with the most was actually the drunken fights between sailors from various countries.
He has been here for two years and has hardly heard of any vicious incidents in Sanya. As for the assassinations of officials and dignitaries, he has never heard of them since he came to Haihan, and he never thought that one day he would become someone else's assassin. goal. However, Fei Cexian was quick-witted and immediately thought of the purpose of this assassination method: "Is this to damage the relationship between your country and other countries?"
Ning Qi nodded and said: "Although the mastermind behind the scenes has not been captured yet, we think so. Almost all countries that have established diplomatic relations with our country have sent dignitaries or envoys like Mr. Fei to be stationed in Sanya. If there is a security issue, If there is a problem, then our country must bear most of the responsibility. If there are important people, or when the diplomatic relations between the two countries are not so stable, if a vicious incident occurs, it may indeed have extremely negative consequences.”
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Fei Cexian secretly thought that there were indeed many foreign embassies in Sanya, but there were not many foreign dignitaries who were truly important. The one who appears most frequently in Sanya is probably the young prince Zheng Zha of Annan Kingdom. However, in the second half of last year, another person who cannot be ignored was added, that is, the Joseon prince Li Zhen who came to study in Haihan Kingdom. In addition, North Korea and Haihan have not established diplomatic relations for a long time, and the relationship cannot be said to be particularly stable. If something happens to the heir to the throne of North Korea in Haihan, it may indeed directly affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Thinking about it this way, the foreign dignitary Ning Qi mentioned was most likely the crown prince of Joseon.
However, Fei Cexian really didn't expect that he would also be a target, but could assassinating himself really destroy the relationship between Daming and Haihan? He doesn't think so. At this stage, both countries hope to live in peace with each other, and this general environment cannot be affected by the life and death of a small person like himself. As long as Haihan pays more attention to the aftermath, the imperial court will at worst send another official. There will be a lot of people with similar qualifications in the Department of Rites and People, who are more than qualified to fill this idle envoy position. But this special qualification gave him a feeling that he was valued. Maybe his influence on these two countries is actually greater than imagined?
Ning Qi claimed that Fei Cexian was also one of the assassin's intended targets, but of course this was just a temporary act on his part. In fact, judging from the current situation, Fei Cexian's name did not appear in the confessions of Xue Zheng and others captured in Danzhou, and there was no mention of plans to assassinate Ming officials. However, Ning Qi felt that saying this would make Fei Cexian empathize with him and make it easier to convince him to accept Haihan's action arrangements, so he boldly took advantage of it.
The effect was as he expected. Fei Cexian was indeed touched and realized that what Ning Qi mentioned was no joke. There was really a group of people secretly instigating a series of vicious events. However, because the information Fei Cexian received was extremely limited, his view of the matter was inevitably slightly biased.
The incidents mentioned by Ning Qi are all related to the Ming Dynasty. As for the incidents that occurred in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, Ning Qi gave too little information and sounded like they were not directly related to Haihan. This made Fei Ze Xian subconsciously believed that the arms dealers Haihan was pursuing had Ming Dynasty as their main target and were secretly implementing various methods aimed at weakening Ming Dynasty.
But in fact, Haihan, Ming Dynasty, and even soy sauce North Korea are all the targets of this group of people. It is precisely because they are aware of the impact of this group of people's actions on Haihan that the intelligence agencies will pursue this at all costs.
However, because the case has not yet been ascertained, the Haihan Intelligence Department does not intend to share the information it already has with Daming in order to ensure that the investigation process and key information will not be leaked. Especially since it was recently revealed that Fujian Jinyiwei was involved in this matter, the credibility of Ming Dynasty officials has obviously been infinitely lowered, and it is even less possible for Ning Qi to inform Fei Cexian of key information.
Fei Cexian said: "Since the situation is so serious, it is indeed necessary to get to the bottom of it, but can Minister Ning tell me what the actions your country will launch in the southeastern coastal areas of our country will be, and whether the Haihan Army will appear there. , or even enter our territory.”
Ning Qi said: "In view of the fact that the target of our investigation has a large number of standard muskets, the army must be dispatched during the arrest operation. If we find that the target has fled to the Ming Dynasty, we may also complete the arrest across the border, so We must communicate with your country first to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Fei Cexian said with a cold face: "Your army has entered our country fully armed. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be no misunderstandings, right? I suggest that your country's investigation and arrest are best conducted at sea. If the suspect escapes into our country, Then the Haihan Army can apply to the local government, and the local government will dispatch police officers and garrison troops to complete the arrest, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings!”
Ning Qi said: "What Mr. Fei said is correct, but what if the local government shelters suspects? I'm not worried about it in vain. In Fujian, even Jin Yiwei was dragged down by these arms dealers. It is difficult to guarantee that similar situations will not occur in other places. In my opinion, the Haihan Army should still be the main force in the arrest operation. The local government can send people to participate in the entire process and provide assistance in the investigation, but it cannot stop the Haihan Army's arrest operation. ”
On this issue, Ning Qi couldn't make too many concessions. If he didn't negotiate the terms well, his hands would be tied up during subsequent military operations, which would affect the investigation and arrest work. If Fei Cexian could not be persuaded to relent, he would have no choice but to ignore the other party's protests and let the Haihan Army decide on its own.
Fei Cexian took a deep breath and tried to make his tone calmer: "Well, how about I write a memorial first and explain the whole story clearly, and then we can discuss it after the court's decree comes down?"< br>
Ning Qi shook his head and said: "It takes too long to go and come back. The situation is changing rapidly. We can't wait that long. Time is tight. We need you to sign the official document immediately after your agreement. Then the army will take the official document and a copy and set off. , we will try our best to seek cooperation from the government during local operations.”
(End of chapter)