Gu Baiyi took a sip of wine with a taste, and then asked: "Why are you so sure it was me who arranged it?"
"You have a good relationship with the King of Taihu, Linghu Xuan." Qin Xiao smiled and said softly: "The pirates who intercepted the merchant ships were naturally sent by the King of Taihu to pretend to be the pirates. If you hadn't been in contact with the King of Taihu, how could the King of Taihu help us?
Intercept merchant ships?”
During the Suzhou Rebellion, Gu Baiyi evacuated from Suzhou City, but took a group of people to Taihu Lake.
Afterwards, the Taihu navy went out to assist Qin Xiao in quelling the Queen Mother Association rebellion.
Although Gu Baiyi did not take the initiative to mention the matter afterwards, Qin Xiao learned the details from Chen Zhitai.
At that time, Chen Zhitai followed Gu Baiyi to Taihu Lake. Although he did not publicize this matter, he naturally would not hide it from Qin Xiao. Qin Xiaodao knew from his mouth that Gu Baiyi had a relationship with the King of Taihu, but he did not know about the two.
specific relationships between people.
However, Qin Xiao understood at that time that the Taihu King was able to lead the army out of battle only because Gu Baiyi came to the island to lobby.
Since the King of Taihu could be persuaded by Gu Baiyi, the relationship between the two was naturally extraordinary, and Qin Xiao knew even more that although Gu Baiyi was just a small clerk in Kyoto, his background was indeed extraordinary, but the two of them had always
Didn't say anything.
Qin Xiao met the master at Zhiming Academy, and also met the second gentleman of the academy, and also knew that Hongye was also from the academy.
Gu Baiyi came from the academy, so he naturally had a close relationship with these people. Qin Xiao also believed that the relationship between Gu Baiyi and the King of Taihu must be related to his academy background.
The academy is still under the clouds so far, and Gu Baiyi has never mentioned the academy directly to him, but along the way, Qin Xiao can naturally feel Gu Baiyi's kindness towards him, otherwise he would not be able to entrust his biological sister to it.
In this case, Gu Baiyi did not take the initiative to mention it, and there was no need for him to ask more questions. If Gu Baiyi felt that the time had come, he would definitely not hide anything anymore.
Gu Baiyi smiled and said, "Did you guess that it was the King of Taihu who took action?"
"If there is such a powerful pirate at sea, even if the imperial court does not take action, Wang Xingchao will not remain indifferent." Qin Xiao said with a smile: "Suddenly a pirate appeared and helped us intercept Fucheng just in time.
If I can’t figure out the strange maritime trade routes, I’ll really die.”
Gu Baiyi sighed: "Since you can think of it, Wang Xingchao must also be able to think of it."
"Brother, do you think they will take action next?"
"If it were you, would you watch your only maritime trade route being cut off?" Gu Baiyi smiled lightly and said softly: "I mentioned the Liaodong Navy to you last time, just to tell you that Liaodong has always been
The Liaodong Navy, which has been ignored by the army, will definitely take action this time."
Qin Xiao frowned and said: "Although the Liaodong Navy is not strong, it still has thousands of sailors. If it really takes action, it will indeed be a big trouble."
"There are two possibilities for their plan." Gu Baiyi said: "From then on, the Liaodong navy took on the important task of protecting the maritime trade routes. In order to ensure that the Fucheng trading market would not disappear, the Liaodong army naturally let the merchants purchase the goods.
They are hoarding them in Qingzhou Port or Hangzhou Bay. When the time comes, they will send merchant ships directly from Liaodong to meet them, and the Liaodong Navy will also serve as a escort force to ensure the safety of merchant ships along the way." He smiled lightly and said: "Soldiers are not allowed to engage in business, but
After this incident, they just had an excuse to send troops to protect the interests of merchants in the Northeast, which is completely justified."
Qin Xiaodao: "If the Liaodong Navy really becomes the escort force for merchant ships, it will not be easy to intercept them."
"It's not easy." Gu Baiyi said with a smile: "Zhou Lie's ability to command the navy can be regarded as the best in the entire Tang Dynasty. Although they only have four warships at present, their strength is not strong, but the navy's
Basically, we still need an elite naval force. The thousand men under Zhou Lie are all good soldiers. As long as the Liaodong Army is willing to spend huge sums of money to build warships, the Liaodong Navy will be able to dominate the East China Sea in less than two years.
.”
Qin Xiao frowned.
"Even with the current strength of the Liaodong Navy, it is not easy to intercept them." Gu Baiyi said: "Among the four warships, there are two large warships that can accommodate three to four hundred sailors. In the hands of the King of Taihu
But no warship can match Zhou Lie's two warships."
Qin Xiao asked: "Brother, if this happens, won't the maritime trade routes fall into their hands again?"
"But if they really do this, the cost of their goods will be greatly increased." Gu Baiyi said: "Having the Donghai Navy guard merchant ships for many years, the navy officers and soldiers are not working in vain. Even if Zhou Lie is willing, the officers and soldiers under his command will have
Complaints, so there is no heavy money to spend, and it will not last long. The most important thing is that the Liaodong Army has a very clear mentality. If the so-called pirates at sea are not eradicated, then this trade route will always face threats, so they should have another plan. "
"Destroy the pirates?" Qin Xiao said immediately.
Gu Baiyi nodded and said: "Exactly."
"If we can wipe out the pirates, we can solve the troubles at sea once and for all." Qin Xiao said: "This way there is no need to always send the East China Sea Navy to escort."
Gu Baiyi said with a smile: "This is just one of the purposes."
"Brother is saying... they want to take this opportunity to cause something bigger?"
"With Wang Xingchao's cunning, do you think he can't guess that this ship robbery is related to us?" Gu Baiyi smiled and said: "He should have guessed by now that the people who intercepted the merchant ship must be the Taihu King's subordinates. If he even knows this
I never thought that General Anton’s chair would have been replaced a long time ago.”
Qin Xiaodao: "So he will let the Liaodong Navy find an opportunity to hunt down the sailors in Taihu Lake, and use this as a breakthrough to point the blade at us?"
"Would you do the same thing if it were you?"
Qin Xiao thought for a while and couldn't help but nod.
"During the Suzhou rebellion, the Taihu Navy assisted you in putting down the rebellion. Wang Xingchao naturally knew all about this." Gu Baiyi said slowly: "This time, a powerful pirate suddenly appeared on the sea.
When intercepting the merchant ship, Wang Xingchao would of course think that you had secretly contacted the King of Taihu. However, he did not have any evidence to prove this, so he did not act rashly. However, he would definitely hunt down the Taihu navy at all costs. As long as he succeeds, those Taihu navy
The army became the evidence he held in his hand."
Qin Xiao smiled coldly, and when Gu Baiyi mentioned it, he immediately understood the Liaodong Army's countermeasures. If the Liaodong Navy really caught the Taihu Sailors alive, they could use various means to force the Taihu Sailors to provide export documents.
, the authenticity of the confession is no longer important. What is important is that the confession must point to Long Ruijun, proving that Long Ruijun was behind it.
In fact, as long as there is such a confession, the Liaodong Army can succeed in its purpose.
Long Rui's army cut off the land trade routes, and almost at the same time, the Taihu Navy intercepted at sea. Moreover, the Taihu Navy had become Qin Xiao's main force in suppressing the rebellion. The two sides had a close relationship. If he was hunted by the Liaodong Army at sea,
The pirates proved that they were the Taihu navy, and they could also interrogate confessions. In this case, almost no one would suspect that Long Ruijun was behind all this.
As a result, the Liaodong Army will of course take advantage of this to go to war, and it is inevitable to impeach Qin Xiao to the court.
It would be fine if the court dismissed Qin Xiao or even transferred Long Rui's army, but if the court favored Long Rui's army, the Liaodong Army would definitely not give up. With an excuse, it would be possible to even mobilize troops to attack.
From this point of view, the Taihu Navy's interception of merchant ships actually gave the Liaodong Army an opportunity.
Unless the Taihu Navy has withdrawn from the East China Sea and never appears again, if it continues to cruise in the East China Sea, it is likely to be hunted by the Liaodong Navy, and the situation will be greatly unfavorable to Long Rui's army.
But if the Taihu Navy really intercepted once and then withdrew, then this operation would not be of much significance. It would only cause some financial losses to Liaodong merchants and would not be able to completely cut off the maritime trade routes. The significance of the Taihu Navy action
That means it has no value.
Therefore, Qin Xiao believed that things would not be that simple, and the Taihu navy would never withdraw just like that.
Moreover, Qin Xiao knew that with Gu Baiyi's wisdom, it was impossible for Long Ruijun to fall into such a passive situation.
"Brother naturally expected that the Liaodong Army would have such countermeasures." Qin Xiao asked softly: "Why give them such an opportunity?"
Gu Baiyi stared at Qin Xiao and said: "There is nothing wrong with this strategy of attacking the Fucheng Trade Center and cutting off the important financial resources of the Liaodong Army. If the Fucheng Trade Center cannot be completely destroyed, the Liaodong Army will continue to exist in the Northeast.
Even Long Ruijun cannot completely defeat them." He paused, looked serious, and said slowly: "So it is imperative to cut off their trade routes. The trade routes on land are already under our control, but we must completely
To cut off the maritime trade routes, we must completely defeat the Liaodong Navy."
When Qin Xiao heard this, he knew that Gu Baiyi had actually made a plan for a long time. He felt refreshed and said excitedly: "Brother, have you already planned to kill the Liaodong Navy?"
"As long as the Liaodong Navy is destroyed, the maritime trade routes will never be completely cut off." Gu Baiyi said seriously: "Now it seems that God has given us a chance. The strength of the Liaodong Navy is still relatively weak at present, and the Liaodong Army did not realize it before.
The importance of the Navy is important, so before the Liaodong Army reacts and the Liaodong Navy is still weak, we must annihilate it as soon as possible." He smiled slightly and said: "You thought that changes in Kyoto would have an impact on us, but actually
In my opinion, it just gives us an opportunity. There are changes in Kyoto and the court has too much time to take care of itself. At this time, there is no way to intervene in Northeast affairs. If something really happens at sea, the court has no energy to take care of it, so we must seize the opportunity. At this time, we should