Chapter 608: Two Ways to Advance

Although Fujian has to pay a large amount of money every year in exchange for Haihan's various assistance, for Xu Xinsu and others, how much money they spend is not a problem. Being able to get this unique military assistance is the key point. After all, these are ahead of the times.

There is no one other than Haihan who has sophisticated weapons and corresponding tactics. If Xu Xinsu and others want to protect their vested interests, they must cling to Haihan's thigh. And a very important point is that the Haihan people do not

They are not as greedy for money as the Folangji or the red-haired people. As long as they can afford the price, they will sell weapons to anyone. They only care about money but not people, and the asking price is much higher than Haihan's weapons.

However, the Haihan people's arms sales in Fujian have always been limited to the Xu Xinsu Group. According to the Haihan people, this is to prevent these weapons from flowing into the hands of Fujian's rivals, Shiba Zhi. Such conscientious arms dealers are under the guise of

Lanterns are hard to find. Although Haihan weapons can't be said to be cheap, the supply is stable and the quality is obviously better than Fanren's products, so the price/performance ratio is still very high.

But before that, Xu Xinsu had always had doubts about the reason and purpose of Haihan's efforts to support him. As a businessman, he did not believe that the shrewd Haihan people did this just out of charity or to join in the fun, or perhaps

It was because they were worried that "the protracted war would harm the people of Fujian". In Xu Xinsu's view, the Haihan Militia could train their own troops, manufacture guns and even warships, and complete cross-sea expeditions. They did not choose to directly

Xu Xinsu couldn't figure out the reason why he attacked Shibazhi instead of supporting the Ming army to fight pirates.

Xu Xinsu has been waiting for the opportunity to have a frank and honest talk with the senior officials of Haihan like today for a long time. Although he went to Guangzhou last time, Malik and He Xi are not yet at the top of Haihan's power structure. Therefore,

I didn’t dare to give Xu Xinsu too many guarantees on some major political matters. Most of the time, I spent communicating with the two parties on issues related to business, trade and immigration. Therefore, although I bought a considerable amount of Haihan arms in Guangzhou last time, Xu Xinsu personally felt that

The results of the talks were not satisfactory.

This time Haihan took the initiative to send a delegation to visit Fujian, and there was a senior Haihan leader like Ning Qi leading the team. Xu Xinsu also believed that this was a good opportunity for both parties to discuss some substantive issues. However, what Xu Xinsu did not expect was that Ning

It had only been two days since Ning Qi and his party arrived in Zhangzhou, and such a big mess had already occurred. At this moment, he really could not take the initiative to discuss such a serious and essential topic with Special Envoy Haihan. Fortunately, Ning Qi did not because of

The assassination was blindly blamed on the Fujian side, but at this time he took the initiative to request talks, and the content happened to be some issues that Xu Xinsu had always wanted to figure out but could not find the opportunity to do so.

Although the explanations given by Ning Qi did sound worrying, Xu Xinsu looked at his words and believed that Ning Qi was not acting. Most importantly, Xu Xinsu believed that the Haihan people did not make up lies about this matter.

to deceive himself. And Ning Qi's evaluation of him undoubtedly gave him a shot in the arm.

At least in the Fujian area, the only person Haihan is optimistic about is Xu Xinsu. This conclusion made Xu Xinsu relax a lot, and finally there was a smile on his face: "Mr. Ning is really too generous.

! How virtuous and capable is Xu to be so valued by your side!"

Ning Qi also responded with a smile: "Being able to manage Fujian Haiphong to the current situation shows Master Xu's ability. To be honest, our Haihan Executive Committee is quite satisfied with what Master Xu has done during his tenure.

That’s why we decided to further increase military assistance to Fujian this year.”

"If you can sell me more weapons, ammunition and warships, then what do I have to fear about Shiba Zhi? Within a year or two, I can destroy its lair, destroy its wings, and let the word Shiba Zhi disappear.

The Fujian coastline has completely disappeared!" Xu Xinsu immediately expressed his determination without losing any opportunity. He knew whether arms purchases in the next period of time would still be subject to the same restrictions as before, it probably depends on the outcome of this meeting with Ning Qi, so

He also took the time to gain favor in front of Ning Qi.

Ning Qi responded: "Master Xu, there is no need to rush. Regarding the arms order, we can wait for two days after our joint military exercise is over, and then we can talk about the content slowly. Let you take a look at the things first. If you think they are good, you can then place the order."

It’s not too late to place your order.”

"Yes, yes, the leaders of Haihan have thought carefully!" Xu Xinsu accidentally used the title she heard from the international students under her command.

Ning Qi smiled slightly and said: "This assassin case needs to be investigated, but Sir Xu also needs to hurry up and prepare for the joint military exercise. Our time for this trip is limited, and we want to see if we can go further north."

"Your mission wants to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Xu Xinsu immediately asked sensitively.

Ning Qi nodded and said: "If I have enough time, I have this plan. But it's hard to say now. Let's wait and see after the military exercise."

"Then I'll go back and urge my people to hurry up and prepare. I'll reply to Mr. Ning within three days. How about that?" Xu Xinsu is very cooperative now and almost obeys Ning Qi's words.

Ning Qi nodded and said: "Then I will wait for the good news from Mr. Xu. By the way, I also hope that Mr. Xu can inform you in time about the progress of the investigation of the assassin case."

"Absolutely, I will inform Mr. Ning as soon as I have any news." Xu Xinsu responded quickly.

After leaving the hall, Xu Xinsu immediately sent a message to the Zhongzuo Institute, asking Xu Yuzhuo who was stationed there to immediately contact the senior officials of the Haihan Fleet about the exercise and report as soon as possible the size of the troops that needed to be mobilized, the status of supplies, and

Detailed arrangements for sailing and conducting sea exercises.

That night, this oral order was sent to the Zhongzuo Institute together with the latest investigation progress of the assassination case. After Xu Yuzhuo read the content, he hurriedly went to find Shi Diwen and informed him of the situation: "Today, an assassin attempted to kill someone in Zhangzhou City.

An attempt was made to assassinate Mr. Ning, but fortunately he was properly protected and Mr. Ning escaped the disaster safely."

Little did he know that Shi Diwen had learned about the Zhangzhou City assassination incident from telegrams a few hours ago, and even the results of the meeting between Ning Qi and Xu Xinsu had been sent by wireless telegram.

Shi Diwen also deliberately wanted to tease Xu Yuzhuo, and responded with a smile: "Don't tell me yet, let me guess what other good news there is... Well, Mr. Xu should have arranged a joint military exercise between the two armies."

Xu Yuzhuo's eyes widened and he subconsciously said: "How did Mr. Shi learn about this..."

But before he finished speaking, he had already reacted: "... Could it be that he used Haihan's technique of sending messages across thousands of miles?"

Seeing that Xu Yuzhuo saw through the trick, Shi Diwen stopped playing and nodded: "Tell me, what instructions does Mr. Xu have for you?"

Xu Yuzhuo responded: "Master Xu ordered me to work with Mr. Shi as soon as possible to outline the action plan, required supplies, and the size of the personnel regarding the joint military exercise, and report this plan to Zhangzhou."

"This is simple." Shi Diwen immediately took out a pen and paper and began to explain to Xu Yuzhuo: "We will dispatch three warships and two of the four supply ships, a total of five combat ships. The personnel quota is approximately

About five hundred and forty people. Assuming that the number of personnel dispatched by the Ming army is similar to that of ours, because the ships of the Ming army are smaller, I estimate that you will need to dispatch roughly twelve to fifteen ships. Is this number very wrong? "

"Absolutely." Xu Yuzhuo nodded and confirmed Shi Diwen's calculation: "This also depends on the current maintenance status of the navy's ships. If the conditions of those large ships are suitable for going to sea, then about twelve ships should be enough.

"

"Okay, then we can prepare supplies for about 1,200 people, the quantity... Our planned exercise time this time is two to three days, but I require that fresh water and food be prepared for at least seven days, just in case

Are there any temporary changes?" Shi Diwen continued while writing on the paper.

What Shi Diwen recorded on the paper was very simple. In fact, it was just a row of abbreviated Arabic numerals. If Xu Yuzhuo hadn't studied in Shengli Port, he probably wouldn't be able to understand the meaning of these ghostly symbols. Xu Yuzhuo side

While listening to Shi Diwen's explanation, he was silently calculating in his mind how much supplies he would need to prepare according to the plan proposed by the other party.

"During the exercise, will we stop at the coast of Fujian again for supplies?" Xu Yuzhuo asked.

"Probably not. I suggest you prepare for actual combat in advance. No one among us can predict what will happen after going to sea." Shi Diwen said.

In fact, even if he didn't warn him, Xu Yuzhuo would probably make corresponding preparations. After all, there are often hordes of pirate ships from Shibazhi off the coast of Fujian, and if you are not careful, you will be hit. And this time there is a sea

With the Han warships accompanying them, the Fujian Navy no longer had to avoid being attacked by pirate ships. If they really encountered Shiba Zhi's ship again, the navy's men would have to seize the opportunity to perform well.

"Next we have to do the most difficult part, see how to arrange the voyage of this sea exercise and the corresponding combat drill plan." Shi Diwen opened his briefcase and took out a hand-drawn map of Fujian's coastal areas.

.

Shi Diwen did not shy away from Xu Yuzhuo, because when the other party was receiving training in Victory Port, he had already seen accurate charts like this, and he was not surprised. In addition to marking the outline of the Fujian coastline, this picture

, and also marked the various garrison stations along the coast where the Ming army was stationed. The precision of this map reproduced using satellite images is naturally far superior to the Ming military map of the same period.

Of course, it is not enough to have such a fine map. As for the sea conditions along the coast of Fujian, the Haihan fleet, as an outsider, has no idea at all. Only sailors and crew members who have been active in local waters for a long time can master the weather here.

conditions, ocean current trends, etc. For the Fujian Ming Army, this was a joint military exercise with large and small trumpets, but for Haihan, this was a good opportunity to familiarize themselves with the sea conditions in Fujian in advance.

While the Zhongzuo Institute was busy planning the joint military exercise, the interrogation in the Zhangzhou City Defense Army prison did not stop for a moment. Although the interrogation lasted only a few hours, several assassins were injured and hungry.

Their mental condition was already very bad. The detective who interrogated them followed the method taught by Morgan and lit several torches in the secret room to make the dark room bright and dazzling. He also prepared ice water, acupuncture and other means to continuously

He repeatedly stimulated the drowsy interrogators to wake them up from their semi-conscious state again and again.

And every time after waking up, the interrogators will keep asking the same questions again and again - Where do you come from? Who do you take orders from? Where are your accomplices hiding?

Every hour, the interrogators would change shifts to ensure that their repeated questioning would not hypnotize themselves. Morgan visited twice and instructed the interrogators to give the assassin some brown sugar water regularly to maintain his strength.

You won't faint from hunger.

The effect of this method was unexpectedly good. The next morning, some people chose to confess because they could not bear such mental torture. The few words confessed intermittently from the mouth of the unconscious assassin basically confirmed the murder case and the ten-year relationship.

The connection between the Bazhi Pirate Group and the years.

Shibazhi had made a request for peace talks to Xu Xinsu through some unofficial channels a month and a half ago. Later, Zheng Zhilong sent one of his staff, Zheng Xinzhi, to secretly sneak into Zhangzhou to look for opportunities to have face-to-face contact with Xu Xinsu's side. But both parties

This kind of contact that they thought was very covert was not so safe. Not only did the Haihan Intelligence Agency quickly learn the relevant information, but even Chen Lin, a timber merchant who came to Zhangzhou to do business, also accidentally learned the news. So

After the news leaked, Haihan responded quickly and sent a mission to visit Fujian.

Originally, this news should have been kept secret from the outside world, but Xu Xinsu's subordinates were not monolithic. Under the operation of a thoughtful person, the news was reversely transmitted to Zheng Xinzhi. And the news of the visit of the Haihan Mission made

Zheng Xinzhi also felt very frightened and uneasy.

Shibazhi is not a fool. In the past few years, they have been losing battles and their control area has been shrinking. Of course they know who Xu Xinsu's strong backing is. Even if they didn't know it originally, they already knew it clearly after the Pearl River War at the end of 1628. The Haihan people

How strong the enemy is can be found out without any troublesome means. Shibazhi knows that he cannot go to Qiongzhou Island to fight with the Haihan fleet, so he can only bear this breath and withdraw into the Fujian Strait. But Shibazhi

In order to consolidate his sphere of influence here, he must eliminate the stumbling block of Xu Xinsu. However, in the next two years, he still suffered repeated defeats and could no longer continue to fight.
Chapter completed!