Yin Feng stood on the bow of the Xinxing, holding a telescope and looking at the Zhejiang Navy ships opposite.
"Look at the flag. They should be the subordinates of the Japanese commander of Changguo." Zeng Qi said doubtfully: "It stands to reason that they are under the jurisdiction of Ningshao Counselor Luo Qing. This Luo Qing has been cooperating with our Zhonghua Company for many years. How could it be possible? …”
Yin Feng put down the telescope and sneered: "Luo Qing has been fed by us for a long time. Without us giving him funds and giving him so many pirate heads, how could he be promoted to the rank of general? I don't believe he has the courage to treat us Disadvantage. He should know best about our power at sea."
Luo Qing was probably the first general in the Ming Dynasty official army who cooperated with Yin Feng in the smuggling business. Yin Feng followed his path when he first went to sea for trade.
The commander of the first fleet of the navy's main fleet was Lu Shitou's younger brother. He shouted impatiently: "Ship owner, let our gunboats give them some color. Let them know who is the boss on this sea. .”
Yin Feng shook his head: "No need. They don't seem to be hostile. They seem to have sent an envoy. Lin Haisheng. Bring them to me."
The officers and soldiers of the Navy sent a small officer dressed as a sentry officer. He only took one soldier with him and rowed a small boat to the Xinxing.
The junior officer is in his twenties. He is a thin man with a big head. His eyes are wandering around. His face is slightly pale. His skin is dark, which is obviously the result of being exposed to the sun and rain all year round at sea.
The three-masted gunboats in front of him were each larger than the combined volume of the dozen or so small sand ships he led. The cannons on the sides and decks of the ships were densely packed. The cannons on each ship were larger than the entire Changguo Navy. It has many cannons and they are big.
He remained calm on the surface just because of his status as an officer and soldier. Of course, he knew very well that the mission of this trip was not to start a war with the powerful opponent in front of him.
This officer obviously knew Yin Feng. He walked straight to Yin Feng.
Yin Feng smiled. He waved his hand to Lin Yue who was blocking the front. Everyone was curious to see the officer of the imperial court respectfully salute Yin Feng with his hands clasped in his fists. Then he said: "I am Ning Shao, General Luo Qing. Luo Xiaoming, chief sentry officer of the Changguo Naval Battalion, courtesy name Shuimu. May I ask, your Excellency, Mr. Yin of the Taiwan Thousand Households Office."
Yin Feng laughed: "You are Luo Qing's nephew, right? You were the one who escorted my first batch of silk to the sea. I still recognize you. You were only sixteen years old at that time. You are General Luo's relative. Bing, right? Ten years have passed in a flash..."
Luo Xiaoming knelt down on one knee and saluted Yin Feng respectfully: "My General Luo asked me to greet Mr. Yin Qianhu Yin here."
Yin Feng hurriedly stepped forward to help him up. He smiled and said, "You and I have similar official positions. Why do we need to give such a big gift?"
Luo Xiaoming lowered his head and said respectfully: "When I came here, my uncle had a message in advance. When meeting Captain Yin, you must be polite. I dare not violate it."
He raised his head and said: "Your Excellency, Captain Yin, is a cheerful person. I won't talk nonsense; my uncle is a shareholder of Zhonghua Company. He knew Captain Yin and Dadong's family would come to Zhejiang a month ago, so he ordered me to greet him here. But .I came here half a month ago to welcome the boss to Hangzhou. Now, I have been ordered to prevent you from going to Hangzhou."
Xu Xinsu, Zeng Qi and others present looked at each other in confusion. Luo Xiaoming took out a document from his arms, handed it to Yin Feng and said, "The ship owner will know after reading this document."
Yin Feng unfolded it and took a look. He found that it was an order jointly issued by Zhejiang Chief Envoy Yamen and Zhejiang Commander-in-Chief Shen Yourong: requiring Zhejiang Dinghai, Linguan, Changguo, Songhai, Jinpan and Haining to prepare for the invasion of Japan. Camp. Conduct strict inspections of Japanese pirates along the coast. Pay special attention to ships flying flags with Chinese characters on a blue background.
"What's going on?" Yin Feng asked while handing the document to Zeng Qi.
With many years of official career, Zeng Qi immediately recognized that this was a formal official document. He nodded to Yin Feng.
"This happened half a month ago. On October 12 (the 40th year of Wanli Year, 1612), officers and soldiers of the Dinghai Division of Zhejiang Province captured a Fujian and Zhejiang merchant who had returned from trading with Japan's Five Islands on the ocean surface of Zhoushan Islands. Lin Qing, Zhang Ming, Wang Hou, Zhang Yuyu and other 69 people seized more than 3,900 taels of silver and trade accounts. Most of them involved trade projects with Huaxing Associates, namely China United Company." Luo Xiaoming said: "Master Yin should know Your company issues navigation licenses and Chinese flags to scattered merchants. It only charges 300 taels of silver per year. Therefore, many scattered port merchants forge your flags and licenses to go to sea. Generally, our naval officers and soldiers will not It was too difficult for them. This incident happened unexpectedly. The government suddenly wanted to investigate a major Japanese case. They also pointed out very clearly where and when to arrest the Japanese ships. Therefore, my uncle had no choice. Moreover, the sea water was determined. The commander of the division was always promoted by Commander-in-Chief Shen Yourong. He didn't buy it at all... Therefore, this major case of Zhejiang merchants communicating with Japanese invaders has been reported to the imperial court by the Zhejiang Chief Envoy. The current situation is that there is evidence that Zhonghua Company was directly involved in the case. It's not enough. However, some people are dissatisfied with Lord Yin's control of the coastal sea routes and want to make things bigger. They have already passed some imperial officials to reach Tianting. At the same time, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, together with the Zhejiang tax eunuch and others, issued a document demanding stricter requirements. Investigate and deal with major Japanese cases."
Yin Feng and everyone looked at each other in shock after hearing this. They all felt a little unprepared.
Zeng Qi immediately said: "Among the arrested people, Zhang Yuyu is from Quanzhou, Fujian. He is an old customer of our Zeng family. This is aimed at us. We can't go to Hangzhou."
Yin Feng stood up immediately: "No. Most of the shareholders from across the country have gathered in Hangzhou now. If this major Japanese conspiracy case leads to a big prison, many of our shareholders will be unlucky. No. It must be done immediately. Notify Hangzhou Huaxing Joint Commercial Store. Stop all activities. Transfer all funds back. Let all shareholders disperse home immediately. Shareholders who may be directly involved in the case, have them move to Taiwan immediately. Xu Xinsu. Now there is a way to notify Hangzhou immediately. A store?"
The first thing he thought of was the safety of the many shareholders who attended the meeting. This made the sentry officer Luo Xiaoming secretly sigh in his heart: Captain Yin is worthy of the name of benevolence and righteousness.
Xu Xinsu used to be in charge of domestic trade. Now he is in charge of trade with Japan. He can be said to be a key criminal in "traveling with the Japanese". He thought for a while and said: "We have no troops stationed along the coast of Zhejiang. We can only send people to Hangzhou after the ship has docked. …”
"You can't dock. Zhejiang Commander-in-Chief Shen Yourong has issued an order. Security has been stepped up along the coast of northern Zhejiang. With your huge ships and cannons, no one can stop you at sea. But it's hard to tell when you get to the shore. Commander-in-Chief Why don't you lead your troops ashore?" Luo Xiaoming was startled. He quickly jumped out and said, "I can help you deliver the message. This is the Shengsi Islands off Zhoushan. The nearest ports are Changguo, Dinghai, and Ningbo. There are yours there. People. I can help you bring a message to them."
After Yin Feng, Zeng Qi, and Xu Xinsu looked at each other, they turned to Luo Xiaoming and said, "The matter is urgent. If the shareholder list falls into the hands of those who intend to cause trouble, your uncle, General Luo Qing, will definitely be implicated as well."
Luo Xiaoming's face turned pale: "What. List."
"Of course. There will be lists of shareholders from all over the country at the shareholders' meeting." Yin Feng nodded: "You must send the letter to the company's personnel. Then immediately send someone to Hangzhou to stop all preparations for the meeting. Quickly. Evacuate.”
Yin Feng's words are false and true. They are a bit meant to deceive Luo Xiaoming: the list of shareholders does exist. But secret shareholders like Luo Qing and Fujian General Soldier Zhu Wenda who use their power to invest in shares generally will not appear publicly at the shareholders' meeting. Luo Xiaoming is Believing it to be true, he hurriedly got Yin Feng's letter and hurriedly rowed a small boat to leave the Xinxing. He left with the navy ship of his headquarters and went straight to Ningbo Port. Two days later, he handed the letter to Huaxing Bank's branch in Ningbo. No. The agents of the company's business information department and security department stationed in the Ningbo branch were very suspicious of the identity of this navy officer at first. After verifying the secret code of Yin Feng's personal letter, they took action and hurriedly sent the letter to Hangzhou.
It takes at least two days to get from Ningbo Port to Hangzhou by land. Two days later, the agents of the Ministry of Security, who were working hard, killed a horse and rushed to the Qiantang River. It was already a step too late: Commander-in-Chief Shen On the orders of the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang and the eunuch guarding Nanjing, Yourong has mobilized troops into Hangzhou City. A large-scale manhunt will begin soon.
Shortly after Luo Xiaoming left, the Xinxing and other ships had to turn around and return to Taiwan.
The main fleet of the navy - the commander of the first fleet of the second fleet commanded the fleet's flagship to leave the fleet and sail north alone. He planned to move towards Hangzhou along the north shore of Hangzhou Bay. Yin Feng was still not reassured about Luo Xiaoming's message, so he sent his own They tried to send a message directly to Hangzhou. At the same time, they also asked them to explore the waterway conditions of Hangzhou Bay and investigate the northern coast of Zhejiang.
Shortly after Luo Xiaoming left, Xu Xinsu immediately said to Yin Feng and others: "Sir, Master Zeng, there is something fishy about this matter. The captain is going to Hangzhou to hold a shareholders' meeting. This matter is not confidential. Just ask around at Taiwan Port." We can know. However, the routes and travel times used by Zhang Yuyu and others to trade with Japan are generally kept confidential. Except for internal personnel of our company's business information department, overseas trade department, etc., no one else can know."
"Is this Zhang Yuyu a shareholder of the company?" Yin Feng asked.
Zeng Qi shook his head: "He is not. Zhang Yuyu failed the imperial examination and gave up his studies to engage in business. He was the silk supplier of our Zeng family at first. After the rise of our Zhonghua Company, he hired the company's ship to go to sea for business. The goods were his. The ship It’s from the company.”
Yin Feng immediately noticed the problem keenly: "Mr. Xu, father-in-law, there are two possibilities: First, it is the opinion of shopkeeper Xu. Someone in our company colluded with the government and betrayed the information of our Japanese customers. Secret; the second possibility is that the problem lies with Zhang Yuyu."