Chapter 1682 Everyone uses their own methods

Qin Huacheng's trick is actually to pretend to be powerful, to bluff, to coax and intimidate the Ding family into paying for benefits, which is really worthless. If the Haihan official notices his approach, then I'm afraid Qin Huacheng will come back

He was sentenced to be shot in front of little Francis. But Qin Huacheng was indeed brave enough. He expected that the Ding family would not take the initiative to publicize the matter. There were only a few insiders of the whole matter, and the Ding family had no choice.

Check to see if he really dealt with government figures as promised, so he dared to take risks and blackmail the Ding family.

Even a veteran like Ding Feng was unable to confirm in person whether what Qin Huacheng said was true or false. As for Qin Huacheng's claim that he could try to fix the joints and find an opportunity for someone to attack little Francis in Haihan Prison, it was difficult for him to refuse this temptation.

, but he didn’t dare to believe it. If he missed it or the news leaked out, the Ding family would be in a desperate situation. Moreover, he was very worried that Qin Huacheng’s work was not reliable enough, but if he rejected Qin Huacheng’s proposal right now, what would happen?

I'm afraid that this guy will secretly do bad things while holding a grudge. After all, a small person like Qin Huacheng who has gained power at one time may not be enough to achieve success, but it is more than enough to ruin it.

The Ding family is not short of money, but Ding Feng will not allow others to regard the Ding family as being taken advantage of and find any excuse to arrange themselves. Although the money Qin Huacheng requires is not a small amount, the Ding family can come up with it if they are a little tight.

But Ding Feng was not going to leave it to chance as to where the money would go.

After sending Qin Huacheng away, Ding Feng told Ding Pingsheng: "Find a few new faces and keep an eye on Qin Laoer from tomorrow. It's best to know where he has been and who he has met every day."

Ding Pingsheng said: "It turns out that my father still can't trust this person."

Ding Feng responded calmly: "Although shrimps have their own ways and crabs have their own ways, I still don't believe that with Qin Laoer's quality, he can have a deep relationship with the senior officials of Haihan. If he dares to be clever,

, if you are playing tricks with us, then dad doesn’t mind teaching young people what the rules are!”

Qin Huacheng, however, was not aware of the trick at all, and hummed a little tune all the way back home. When his family saw that he seemed to be in a good mood, when asked why, Qin Huacheng laughed and said nothing. He thought that his brain was not as useful as that of his eldest brother Qin Huaming, so the eldest brother

He went to work as a clerk in the Haihan Yamen, and he could only be a security police patrolling the streets every day. But if this thing can be done, then it will be rare for him to complete a big business on his own. But

He also understands that this matter is very risky, and the more people who know about it, the more dangerous it will be, so even if it is his family, he will keep this secret very carefully. At least until it is completed, he does not plan to tell his plan again.

to others.

The real protagonists of this intrigue, the Spaniards Francis and his son, are currently being imprisoned in a manor about ten miles away from Manila, completely isolated from the outside world.

The owner of this manor was a captain of the Manila Fleet, but he had been killed in a naval battle in Manila Bay before. After the Haihan army arrived here, they confiscated the manor as a trophy. The main building of the manor,

A three-story Spanish-style building was also used by the military as a place to imprison senior prisoners of war after the war.

An important reason why these high-level prisoners of war were sent to be detained outside the city was that the Haihan military was not worried about the environment in the city. After all, the Spaniards had been operating locally for generations, and their influence could not be eradicated overnight. If

By detaining these high-level prisoners of war in the city, the military was worried that incidents such as prison escapes or silencing would occur one after another. Moreover, the public's attention to these prisoners of war was particularly high, which was not conducive to Haihan's actions, so they simply sent them all outside the city.

House arrest was implemented in every manor. In this way, social order in the city could be restored to normal as soon as possible, and the lives of these prisoners of war could be slightly easier.

Of course, there are actually only a few senior prisoners of war who are eligible to be included in this house arrest list. After sorting out the prisoners of war held in various places after the war, there are only less than a dozen people, plus people like little Francis

All immediate family members who were imprisoned after the war were all imprisoned in this place. The former Philippine Governor Aragones was also imprisoned in this place for a time before he was released. In addition to the more than 20 armed guards living in the building

In addition, a company of troops was stationed outside, and a no-entry zone of about one hundred acres was set aside to ensure that no one would break into this place.

To be serious, little Francis would be imprisoned because he was implicated by his father. If it weren't for Francis' identity as the city defense commander, little Francis, who was just a businessman, would not have been captured by the Haihan Army. Manila's absolute

Most Spanish businessmen were safe after the war. As long as they did not take any armed resistance against the Haihan army during the war, most of them could regain their freedom after paying a ransom fee in proportion to their property, and they could also go on their own.

Choose whether you want to stay here or leave.

Of course, for little Francis, his family background is not something he can actively choose, and being under house arrest now can only be regarded as fate. At first, he did not understand Haihan's measures. In his opinion, the loser must

He was sentenced to death or exiled to a remote island, but the Haihan people had always provided delicious food and drink to these Spanish officials. Later, it was his father who explained Haihan's intentions to him. These senior officials were in charge of their own affairs in the past.

The specific affairs of a certain field in Manila, and the conditions of these fields they manage are often lack of clear and detailed records in written materials, so Haihan hopes to get more detailed confessions from these people to help them solve the problem as soon as possible.

Take over the rule of Manila area.

Among the intelligence information that Francis possesses, what interests the Haihan people the most is naturally the local military deployment status of the Spanish colonial authorities and the details of the armed organizations. Although his position is the city defense commander of Manila City, in fact

He was basically responsible for organizing, training and deploying the land armies of the colonial authorities throughout the Philippines. In terms of armed strength alone, the armed forces that the colonial authorities could command were not bad at all. It was just that they encountered

Haihan Army, a super strong opponent, could only be passively beaten throughout the whole process, and its combat effectiveness was only 20/10, so it naturally ended in a disastrous defeat.

However, the Haihan Army did not underestimate the Spanish armed forces because of this. After the war, Francis was still interrogated many times, sometimes even as often as two or three times a day. The Haihan Army recruited and trained the Spanish army.

He has a strong interest in many details such as organization, equipment, combat tactics, etc., and Francis is undoubtedly the best source of information. Therefore, during the post-war period, Francis was probably one of the prisoners who was interrogated the most times in this prison.

.

Little Francis also thought about trying to raise a sum of money in exchange for the freedom of the father and son, but unfortunately the Haihan people did not intend to let Francis go for the time being, and little Francis's request for ransom was rejected, and he could only continue to be under house arrest here. Well.

The Haihan people's detention of the father and son was not too harsh. At least they could live in the same house and take care of each other.

Little Francis once placed his hopes on his father-in-law. He believed that the Ding family was of Han origin and was of the same race as the Haihan people. He might be able to find a way to reconcile the relationship and at least spend money to save the lives of his father and son. However,

Francis did not agree with his son's idea. He had different views on the marriage relationship between the two families.

During the Spanish rule, the marriage between the Francis family and the Ding family was indeed a win-win situation. The Ding family gained a strong official protection umbrella, and the shipyard's business scale further expanded, while the Francis family received business resources and the support of the local Han ethnic group.

, the official position of the city defense commander became more and more consolidated, and little Francis also received many business opportunities and made a lot of money in just one or two years after marriage. However, this kind of marriage based on interests did not matter when the current situation was turbulent.

Stability.

Francis knew that there is a Chinese proverb called "When disaster strikes, we all fly away." Although this is a sentence used to describe the relationship between husband and wife, it seems to be quite suitable to use it to describe two families with cross-border marriages at the moment. Even if there is no news from the outside world.

, Francis could also imagine that the scheming old man of the Ding family was not trying to rescue his father and son at this time, but was probably trying hard to distance himself from the Francis family in order to protect himself. His son was counting on the Ding family to come forward.

Carrying out a rescue operation is really overthinking.

But the father and son have had many arguments about this issue, and neither one can convince the other to accept his own point of view. After all, they are in an environment where they are completely unable to receive information from the outside world, and there is no way to prove that their ideas are correct.

of.

However, the father and son changed the topic of discussion today, because during the just-concluded interrogation, Officer Haihan made a suggestion to Francis, and he was quite moved. However, Francis did not agree on the spot, only saying that he still wanted to discuss it.

I needed time to think about it, so I talked about it with my son after I came back.

"You mean the Haihan people are not only willing to give us freedom, but also want... to ask you to become an official? God, this... how is this possible?" Little Francis couldn't believe his ears. He had been working here for more than ten years.

A prisoner of heaven, his hope for release was decreasing day by day, and the turn of events that occurred at this time was so great that it even far exceeded his initial expectations.

"Of course this is not a benefit given to me unconditionally. There is nothing so cheap in the world." There was not much excitement on Francis's face. It was obvious that this matter was not as simple as it seemed: "This official... is not that simple.

Very good."

"I don't understand what you mean. What do the Haihan people want you to do?" little Francis asked.

"They want to set up a local puppet agency responsible for appeasing and managing the Hispanic people. However, it will be difficult for this agency to convince the public if officials from Haihan are placed in charge, so they need to find a puppet to sit in this position. The local people

Of course it is ideal to have someone we all know. Aragones has already escaped, so they are now targeting me." Francis briefly and concisely introduced the Haihan people's plans to his son.

"Puppet..." Little Francis repeated this word in his mouth, with unavoidable bitterness in his tone.

Francis's words have made it very clear that the Haihan people are not good people, and the price they have to pay for this freedom is not small. If you really act as puppets for the Haihan people, it will be equivalent to completely betraying your motherland.

It may never be possible to return to China safely in the future - of course, in the current environment, talking about returning to China seems to be just a luxury.

Little Francis knew very well that his father was not the kind of villain who could act according to the changing circumstances, nor would he be as selfish and cowardly as Governor Aragones, who would choose to betray the country and the people for his own gain. If he wanted to choose to surrender

, he would not have resisted until the last moment in the city. Now that the Haihan people wanted him to be a puppet, how could he agree to such a ridiculous request?

But little Francis still felt that something was wrong. Based on his understanding of his father, he should have rejected Haihan's unreasonable request on the spot. Then why did he tell the other party that he needed time to think about it again? What else needs to be considered?

Is it necessary? Little Francis raised his doubts, and the answer shocked him again.

"If I refuse the Haihan people's proposal, then they will exile us to work as coolies somewhere overseas. This is not the point. The most important thing is that they will separate us. My dear son, maybe we will all be separated in the future.

There is no way to talk face to face like this anymore!" Francis' expression was very painful, and his tone was full of helplessness. It could be seen that this situation may be more painful and unacceptable to him than the imprisonment and exile itself.

Francis was not afraid of dying in battle, nor was he afraid of being executed by his opponents after the war, but the Haihan people's methods were obviously more sophisticated. He even suspected that during this period, the other party arranged for the father and son to live together in order to

Create an opportunity for them to part ways to break his will.

As the commander of the defeated side, Francis could be said to have lost everything. What concerned him most at the moment was his son Francis. The Haihan people arrested and imprisoned his son. In fact, he also expected that this might be to threaten him one day.

He surrendered, but he didn't expect that the other party's purpose was to make him a puppet, and the price of refusal was probably that he would never see his son again for the rest of his life. Even if his heart was as strong as iron, it would be difficult for him to refuse Haihan on the spot.

requirements.

Little Francis didn't know how to face such a problem. He didn't want his father to betray the Kingdom of Spain, but he didn't want his father to be forced to separate and never see each other again.
Chapter completed!