Chapter 575 Li Jin’s attitude

The data provided by the Ministry of Commerce was sent back to the Security Ministry Command Center in Danzhou City in the shortest possible time, which made several anxious naturalized cadres breathe a sigh of relief. The situation discovered by the frontline spies, combined with the business

The recent pig iron sales data in Danzhou provided by the ministry matched up with their previous inferences, which shows that the direction of the investigation so far is very correct.

Although these reactionaries have tried to avoid Haihan's detection and transported the purchased pig iron to blacksmith shops in the countryside to secretly make weapons, their anti-reconnaissance capabilities are not that high.

In the face of investigative methods, suspicious behavior was quickly exposed.

Having found one of the sources preparing to provide weapons to the reactionaries, the subsequent investigation of the Ministry of Security will be easier. Keep an eye on the blacksmith shop and the commander of the avant-garde station, and you can quickly find out the people involved with them in the nearby area.

.

After another seven days, the Ministry of Security's surveillance targets had expanded from the initial two or three to many towns and villages in Danzhou and nearby, and the list of people involved in the case had also increased to more than 20 people.

At this stage, the Ministry of Security's manpower in Danzhou has once again become stretched thin. In order to avoid scaring away the big fish that have not yet emerged, the Ministry of Security cannot immediately arrest these people and can only control the surveillance.

scope, and issue advance warnings to other states and counties where reactionary elements may be hiding.

Zhang Qianzhi's lurking in Zhongming Academy also achieved certain results, and he identified several Confucian scholars who would participate in the assassination operations with him and be responsible for setting fires to disrupt order. However, the whereabouts of the Ming military attaché mentioned by Huang Zixing has not yet been found.

"As we expected, the Danzhou Chamber of Commerce has booked the Nanhai Restaurant in the city as the venue for Director Zhang's birthday." Wang Baisuo entered the house dusty and turned to Lin, who was immersed in studying the map of Danzhou.

Nan and Li Qingyang said: "This restaurant is the place we visited specially a few days ago."

In order to prevent the news from leaking, the Ministry of Security did not make official arrangements for the venue of Zhang Xinshou's birthday in advance, but let the Danzhou Chamber of Commerce choose on its own. However, there are not many high-end restaurants in Danzhou City, and the range of choices is actually limited.

, the Ministry of Security had already checked out all these candidate locations in order to formulate an action plan in advance. The Nanhai Restaurant finally determined by the Danzhou Chamber of Commerce happened to be the one the three of them had just visited five days ago.

The places I visited were quite impressive.

"Who owns this restaurant?" Lin Nanyan asked succinctly.

Wang Baisuo understood the key point immediately and responded immediately: "The owner of this restaurant is a native of Danzhou, his surname is Yu. He has never done anything against me, Haihan. As far as I know, this person is related to Danzhou

People from the government have no direct relationship. Director Zhang often goes to this restaurant to eat, so people from the Chamber of Commerce must have taken Director Zhang’s preferences into consideration.”

"On the day of your birthday, all the busboys, counters and kitchens in the restaurant will be replaced by our people. You can find a way to get the boss to cooperate with our arrangements." Lin Nan immediately made arrangements. After thinking about it, he added: "Qingyang

, you ask someone to check if this restaurant has hired any new waiters in the past three months, and if anyone has come to the door in the next few days to ask for work. If so, you know what to do."

Lin Nan would not let Dadi think that his opponent's assassination plan was just to arrange some assassins with sharp blades to carry out face-to-face assassinations at close range. If the opponent was smart enough, he would send people to sneak into the restaurant and directly put poison in the food and drinks to kill Chief Haihan.

, that can achieve the same effect, and it is easier to escape after the incident. Therefore, the staff of the restaurant are definitely one of the loopholes that must be guarded against. The safest and safest way is, of course, to clear the inside and outside of the restaurant when the time comes.

All the people have been replaced by their own people.

Wang Baisuo pointed to the map and said: "The houses and streets near Nanhai Restaurant need to be controlled as soon as possible. Later, I will ask people to find a few residents nearby who are willing to naturalize and let them free up their houses for a few days."

"Be careful not to expose your identity!" Lin Nan reminded: "If these people find something is wrong and back down, then our big plan will be in vain."

With Haihan's current control in Danzhou, it is not difficult to expropriate private houses outside Nanhai Restaurant and set up a secret cordon. The main thing is to avoid making too much noise and exposing the intention of the layout.

At the end of February, the surveillance targets of the Ministry of Security began to enter Danzhou City in batches. Most of these people have been identified, and most of them were former members of the Ming Guard Army and local regiment training. However, they disguised themselves as various

When he entered the city with this identity, he probably did not expect that he had fallen into the strict surveillance of the Haihan people.

Yan Mingjun and Li Jin both received invitations from the Danzhou Chamber of Commerce on the last day of February, asking them to attend the birthday of Zhang Xin, director of the Danzhou Management Committee, at the Nanhai Restaurant in the city in five days.

Yan Mingjun had already met with Huang Zixing before this. He actually knew what would happen on this birthday. However, due to confidentiality considerations, he did not inform Li Jin until after the event.

After receiving the formal invitation letter, Yan Mingjun invited Li Jin over and told him the truth.

Li Jin was also shocked after hearing this: "Brother Yan, are you saying that a group of scholars in Danzhou want to assassinate the Haihan people? Are these bookworms stupid because of their studies? With their little ability, is it possible that they want to kill the Haihan people?

The Haihan people stretched their necks and waited for them to cut with their knives?"

Yan Mingjun shook his head and said: "I said just now that the scholar was just one of the initiators. If it was really run by a group of scholars, how could I rest assured? According to what he said, in fact, there was also a Jinyiwei general who came down from Nanjing to be in charge of this operation.

.As long as they can succeed, you and I will immediately take over the local military affairs and regain the land of Danzhou for the imperial court."

However, Li Jin's face did not show much joy because of this, but continued to ask: "Brother Yan, does he know how many troops these people who are preparing to take action have? How do they plan to defend Danzhou and prevent the subsequent revenge of the Haihan people?

"

"This..." Yan Mingjun also muttered. Regarding the details of this assassination plan, he only knew what Huang Zixing said. He only knew that he would capture or kill the Haihan people on Zhang Xinshou's birthday, and then

The local officials immediately took over the local government affairs and returned Danzhou to the rule of the Ming Dynasty. As for the details of the group responsible for the attack, and how to defend Danzhou after they succeeded, Yan Mingjun did not delve into it. Of course, even if he took the initiative

If asked, Huang Zixing might not be able to safely inform him of all these arrangements.

Li Jin continued: "Brother Yan, have you ever thought about whether you and I would be implicated if things fail? With the level of control the Haihan people have on Qiongzhou Island today, if they want you and me to disappear completely, I'm afraid

There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”

"Brother Li, I haven't seen you for a few days, why have you become timid?" Yan Mingjun responded with some dissatisfaction.

In Yan Mingjun's impression, Li Jin was a straight-tempered man who started fighting with others when he first arrived in Danzhou, and he was no less resentful towards Haihan than he was. If he wanted to become an enemy of Haihan, Yan Mingjun thought that Li Jin would definitely be very aggressive.

He happily stood up and took the lead. But after listening to his remarks today, he seemed not to be too optimistic about the assassination.

Li Jin shook his head and did not respond to his question, but asked: "In the past few days since I came to Danzhou, Brother Yan must have gained an understanding of local people's sentiments. I dare to ask, Brother Yan thinks that the current situation in Danzhou is better than that of you and me when we were here earlier.

How about Luodingzhou?"

Although Yan Mingjun didn't know what he meant, he still responded honestly: "Danzhou has prosperous culture and education, prosperous commerce, and stable people. In terms of livability, it is better than Luodingzhou."

"This Haihan militia can be seen everywhere inside and outside the city. Brother Yan must have seen it too. How does it compare to my Ming army?" Li Jin continued to ask.

Lord Yan Ming responded: "The ships are strong, the guns are powerful, and the military discipline is strict. In terms of strength, it should be superior to the garrison on Qiongzhou Island."

Li Jin added: "In my opinion, not only the Qiongzhou Island garrison, but also the entire Guangdong and Guangxi, it is difficult to pull out a team that can compare with the Haihan Militia."

It is indeed difficult to refute Li Jin's point of view, because since a few years ago, the Haihan militia has been helping the Ming Dynasty government and military to clear away those tough bones. From bandits to pirate lords, there are many things that the Ming Dynasty cannot eliminate.

These banditry troubles were finally solved by the Haihan militia. Just judging from the results, the armed strength of the two sides is far from the same level.

Of course, there is a big difference between the rumors and the actual feelings. Before Li Jin came to Qiongzhou Island, he had a lot of doubts about some rumors that were about to blow the Haihan militia to the sky. But all the way from Guangzhou to Qiongzhou, he kept constantly

After seeing the amazing strength displayed by the Haihan Militia, Li Jin had already dispelled a lot of doubts in his mind. Although the experience in the first few days after arriving in Danzhou was not so pleasant, he subsequently gained many close contacts with the Haihan Militia.

With the opportunity of close contact, the feeling of its strength becomes more profound.

Lord Yan Ming said: "Brother Li, you are trying to embolden other people's ambitions and destroy your own prestige! Although the Haihan militia is stronger than the Ming army, they are still unorthodox here..."

"Brother Yan, there is something wrong with you scholars. You just like to talk nonsense like orthodoxy!" Li Jin shook his head and interrupted Yan Mingjun: "If orthodoxy is useful, the imperial court can win the war in the north and the Central Plains.

Is it so difficult? It doesn’t take the three armies to work hard. Wouldn’t it be better to just use these two words to ask the enemy to surrender?"

In the past two years, the wars faced by the Ming Dynasty have become more and more intensive. In addition to the wild boar skins in the north, bandits have been rife in the Central Plains since the first year of Chongzhen. Due to famine and lack of food, the court was unable to provide disaster relief. Wang Jiayin

Shaanxi Fugu organized the victims to rise up, and responders flocked to it. Leaders such as Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Li Zicheng all served under their command. Soon the war broke out throughout Shaanxi and spread to Shanxi, Ning, and Gansu provinces. The size of the armed forces reached several

Thousands of people.

Although the place where the accident happened is still far away from Guangdong in the south, the indirect impact has begun to appear. In addition to the gradual reduction in the supply of various products from the Central Plains region on the market, the imperial court has collected wages from the south in the past two years.

The intensity is also increasing. The reason is also very simple. Those provinces cannot collect wages, and the court wants to increase troops for war, so the money must be allocated to other provinces that are not in trouble.

As a soldier, Li Jin was naturally much more concerned about these wars than Yan Mingjun. He became a little anxious when he heard that Yan Mingjun was talking about orthodoxy - civil servants always think that adhering to righteousness can win victory on the battlefield, but little does he know

War requires someone to work hard and keep spending money. Having said that, if the war is really so easy to solve, when there was banditry in Qiongzhou Island last year, why did the Guangdong government pretend to be dead and let the Haihan people step in to clean up the mess?

Yan Mingjun didn't expect that Li Jin would refute him like this, and he was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

Li Jin continued: "These days, I go out of the city every day to watch the Haihan Militia's drills, and I know a little bit about their tactics. To be honest, if I were to lead troops to fight against them now, I really don't have much confidence.

Already."

Yan Mingjun said: "Brother Li, did you take money from the Haihan people again, so you spoke for them?"

Li Jin shook his head and said: "Brother Yan, I have figured it out. The Haihan people took the initiative to give us money, not because they are afraid of us, but because they don't want to cause more trouble. For them, giving us this little money is far more valuable than bringing in troops to fight.

The money spent is much less. But instead of being afraid of war, these people are preparing for war all the time! If we were silent, they would not take the initiative to break up with the Ming Dynasty. Look at this Danzhou, at least it is still

Acknowledge the existence of the Ming government. If the Haihan people were really killed in Danzhou, do you think they would give up? If the Haihan people wanted to go to war with the Ming Dynasty, do you think the Guangdong army could stop them? Even if it could, how long could it be done?

?Would the imperial court hope to see a new battlefield open in Guangdong and Guangxi?"

Li Jin's words made Yan Mingjun speechless again. It was definitely wrong not to resist Haihan's encroachment. One of their original intentions when they came to Danzhou was to regain control of this place for the Ming Dynasty and the imperial court. But

Li Jin's current attitude is that he should not take drastic actions that would lead to a quarrel with Haihan. The consequences would probably exceed the loss of Ming Dynasty in losing Qiongzhou Island.

Yan Mingjun did not want to admit the existence of this possibility. After all, it was an extremely embarrassing thing for Ming Dynasty. But judging from what Li Jin said, the revenge that angered the Haihan people would bring may indeed lead to

More serious consequences - this is not a responsibility that he or Li Jin can afford.

Yan Mingjun hesitated for a moment before speaking: "But if the Haihan people are allowed to act recklessly, this Qiongzhou Island will be annexed by them sooner or later. When the court blames them, it will be your and my responsibility!"
Chapter completed!