Lin Ming received the mission and knew that the Australians would make great use of him. It was the time to show his loyalty. Although he was full of entanglements, he still saw the general trend clearly. He knew that there was only one chance to follow the dragon, and he had to seize it to win.
The long-term wealth of our children and grandchildren. Now I cheered up and went to the Hundred Households Office. The hundreds of households in the office were old and dim. They had long ignored everything and just took money. In this small Hundred Household Office, it was Lin Ming.
The final say.
Lin Ming first prepared a piece of official documents and sent them to the county offices, health offices and other places in Xijiang and Beijiang counties in the name of Baihu Office, saying that the office handles "major criminal cases" and hoped that all counties would cooperate. In fact, he was in Foshan.
The Baihusuo and the counties along the way cannot be compared with each other, and they are not even on the same level. If it were an ordinary Baihusuo, it would be a sesame mung bean official who is no better than a big-headed soldier. But the majesty of the Jinyiwei is still there.
Generally, yamen have to sell some face. Free food, drink and accommodation along the way, plus recruiting husbands are not a problem.
After everything was done, he returned home and settled down with his family. He said that he would be on a business trip for a few months. Although his wives and concubines were extremely reluctant to leave him, they couldn't stop him when they heard that it was an official errand. They just gave him some more instructions. Lin Ming was thoughtful.
In order to please the new superior, he asked his wives and concubines to cook more "street food", saying that they wanted to "respect the superior".
After waiting for a few days, the instructor once again invited him to "have flower wine" and met "guests from the center" on the flower boat.
There were three people in total. The leader was less than thirty years old and tall and handsome. The one next to him was in his thirties, with a beard, a strong body and a powerful figure. The last one was a young man in his twenties with a complexion.
Dark, looking smart and capable.
Although their looks are different, the three of them all have the same capable and strong figure, and they all look full of energy - Lin Ming is such a smart man. He has met many "Australian chiefs" in Lingao.
One look at the temperaments and expressions of the three people in front of me and I knew that most of them were so-called elders.
Three elders came over at once. The importance of this task was obvious without asking. He quickly took a step forward, bowed and said loudly: "Lin Ming, a humble official. I have met these three masters."
"You're welcome." The leader said, "My surname is Suo. From now on, you can just call me Mr. Suo in public."
"Yes. I know I know."
The elder Suo introduced them one by one: "This is Mr. Kang, and this is Mr. Xie."
Lin Ming did not dare to be negligent. No matter what Chief Suo said, "Don't be too polite," he still insisted on making thousands of greetings one by one. After the ceremony, everyone sat down. Lin Ming still only sat half-assed, looking respectful and ready for orders at any time.
Seeing the behavior of the hundred households in front of him, Thorp secretly despised him. It seemed that this person had a lot of official history. But the other party was a newly surrendered person, not a naturalized citizen. Naturally, he couldn't ask for too much.
He asked: "Comrade Lin Ming——"
Lin Ming immediately stood up: "Sir, please give me instructions——"
Thorpe waved his hand dissatisfied: "Comrade Lin Ming! It's better to put away your old habits of the Ming Dynasty officialdom. As officials, we serve the Senate and the people, and we don't use this set of hypocritical etiquette!"
"Yes, yes, I understand!"
"Sit down and talk." Thorpe already had opinions about the old officials, but Lin Baihu's behavior became more and more annoying to him.
Lin Ming felt bored, knowing that Australians were not interested in this kind of thing, so he quickly sat down.
"Because the center said that you are very familiar with the situation in Guangdong, we will ask you to be the guide for this mission and take us along the Xijiang and Beijiang rivers to various places." Thorp considered the words. "Do you have any difficulties? Let me explain it now.
, let’s discuss a countermeasure. Don’t say when things happen, this won’t work, and that won’t work either.”
"Don't dare. It's a humble honor to let humble people lead the way." Lin Mingmei smiled, "There are some difficulties, but they don't get in the way. Even humble people can overcome them."
"Okay, then everything will depend on you." Thorpe saw that he answered simply and did not pose any pretentious conditions, and his impression was slightly better, "I need you to come up with a plan on how to go about it."
"I have already thought about this humble position." Lin Ming was determined to please and show off in front of his new boss, and had already gone through the things to be done in detail. "I wonder which route these gentlemen are going to take first?"
Thorpe and others had discussed in advance that among the three rivers in Guangdong, the Xijiang River has the best navigation conditions. Passing the Xijiang River can not only control the mountainous areas that affect western Guangdong, but also directly penetrate into the richest areas of Guangxi. The Yamen of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi in the Ming Dynasty established
In Zhaoqing Prefecture, where the Xijiang River flows through. The Ming army was stationed here. It was the focus of military deployment and it was necessary to conduct reconnaissance in advance. Therefore, we decided to go to the Xijiang River first, and then to the Beijiang River.
"We plan to go to Xijiang first," Thorpe said, "and then go up the river to Wuzhou."
Lin Ming's heart skipped a beat. As soon as he came out of the Sanshui River, he saw Zhaoqing Mansion on the Xijiang River. It was the residence of the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi! There are still several battalions of soldiers stationed there. This group of Australians were the first to go to the Xijiang River. Their purpose is self-evident.
ah.
"It's easy to walk along the Xijiang River. The Xijiang River is deep and wide. We only need to prepare a big boat in advance - the boat is spacious and comfortable to live in. It's also convenient if you want to bring your family..." As he spoke, he quietly used the corner of his eye to watch the reactions of several Australians.
He had been in Lingao for a long time and knew that the senators valued maids the most and spent huge sums of money on them. He thought that they were all lustful people and deliberately catered to them.
"This is a serious matter, why should we bring women?" Thorpe frowned.
"Yes, yes." Lin Ming saw that his speculation was completely wrong, so he simply stopped showing off his merits and said that he had prepared official documents from the Jin Yiwei and planned to travel in the name of the Jin Yiwei's case investigation.
"... Using the name of Jinyiwei not only makes it easier to pass customs, but you can also ask for support from the county government along the way, making it convenient no matter what you do. Gentlemen, what do you think?"
Thorpe nodded, it was not a bad idea. Although he thought it was a bit whimsical: the staff trip to Guangdong organized by the General Staff was actually going to be done under the banner of the Ming Dynasty and using the Ming Dynasty's resources. It's really surprising.
Have fun.
"Okay, just follow your plan."
"Okay then, I'll go prepare the ship now..."
"You don't have to worry about the ship," said Thorpe, "I'm ready."
Before they got up, the Qiwei Escort Bureau had already received orders to prepare ships and reliable sailors, as well as multiple escorts to accompany them. The Guangdong water world in the Ming Dynasty was not a peaceful land. Not to mention that water bandits were everywhere.
The boatmen and fishermen will not hesitate to kill and steal goods as long as they seize the opportunity.
Although Lin Ming's official cover is used as a cover, it is hard to say whether these water heroes will be able to accept this trick.
"Our first stop is Sanshui County," Thorpe said.
It is only more than thirty kilometers from Foshan to Sanshui: In the 21st century, Sanshui is a district of Foshan, but in the Ming Dynasty, Sanshui was a county under Guangzhou Prefecture. Its history is not long. It was only from Nanhai during the Jiajing period.
It is separated from the two counties of Gaoyao; Hekou Town, where its county seat is located, is located in the northwest corner of the Pearl River Delta, at the intersection of Xijiang, Beijiang and Suijiang, hence the name Sanshui. This place is the gateway from Guangzhou to western Guangdong and Guangxi. Especially
Western Guangdong and northern Guangdong are mountainous and have inconvenient transportation. The transshipment of goods and people mostly relies on shipping from Xijiang and Beijiang. Its geographical advantage is very obvious. Therefore, it was opened as a trading port in 1895, and the customs was also established accordingly. At that time, the customs work
The British wrote in the report: "The vast Beijiang Basin is actually undeveloped. The mineral products in these places are extremely rich and can be easily transported to Sanshui for transshipment or processing. Sanshui is located in a geographical location similar to Guangzhou.
Hong Kong is extremely convenient and seems to have been earmarked to be a natural cargo distribution center between a great commercial port and two major rivers."
The unique transportation and geographical environment here makes it not only the most prosperous water transport terminal in the province, but also the first railway in Guangdong: Guangzhou-Sanshui Railway.
It is for this reason that Thorpe suggested at the meeting of the General Staff that this be the main military depot for the Guangdong strategy. Supplies, ammunition, wounded, replacement troops and trophies would all be distributed and transported here. In the future, the Senate will engage in economic construction in Guangdong.
When the time comes, this place will become a material transfer center again.
The purpose of Thorpe's visit was to go on a staff trip before the start of the Guangdong strategy. Cummings, a veteran of the General Staff, came with him. The other young man was not a veteran, but his favorite disciple Xie Peng. This young man had already been recruited by the General Staff.
A staff officer who has been designated as a key training officer. This time he came specifically for internship.
The reason why Lin Ming was asked to lead the way was also because of the complexity of social sentiments along the Xijiang and Beijiang rivers. Although the Jin Yiwei is an "official", he is responsible for detective matters. He has many contacts with the lower classes of society and is familiar with social conditions. Compared with the escort agency, he is also because of his status.
In the relationship, everyone is afraid of San San, and can give San San a little face at critical moments.
"Is this Lin Ming reliable?" Cummings couldn't help but ask after Lin Ming left.
"The center said he can be trusted." Although Thorpe felt that he was unreliable and had old habits, after talking with him, he felt that he was not cunning. "We still trust the center's judgment."
The instructor of the intelligence network said with a smile, "Don't worry. He has a big family in Foshan Town - there are four wives alone. If you want to hold back the bad news, you have to take care of your family."
"Four little wives? They are really capable." Cummins said casually.
"Lin Baihu's concubines are famous for their beauty. But this is not unusual." The instructor said, "The key is that wives and concubines in other families don't get along, and fighting is common. His family is the most harmonious.
. Outsiders say that the Lin family’s wife is virtuous.”
"Xianhui? Haha." Thorp smiled, "Let's not talk about his family affairs. When will the powerful ship be ready?"
"The boat has arrived and is parked in the outer river, waiting for orders." The instructor said, "The escort agency has come with six good men, and they are all waiting on the boat. The boatman is also selected by the escort agency. He is familiar with the road and is reliable." (To be continued)