1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1714 Probationary Period

Cheng Dapeng gathered the six people together, and then asked them questions: "I told you when I got on the ship, you must observe everything carefully when you are on the ship. In the past three days, our ship has been docked in Malacca. Hong Kong, the six of you have been staying on the ship all the time. Although you can’t go on deck during the day, you can also move around freely in other places on the ship. Then I want to ask you, how many batches of cargo have been unloaded and reloaded in the past three days? How many shipments? How many people on board did not come up after going down, and how many new faces were on board when they set off?"

No one would have thought that Cheng Dapeng would suddenly ask such a tricky and weird question after leaving Hong Kong, and he looked at each other in blank dismay for a while. How could ordinary people pay attention to such meaningless details without being prompted, let alone make statistics? .

Of course, Cheng Dapeng's surprise attack was not to be idle, but to test whether this group of people had the talents needed to become intelligence officers.Of course, he didn't expect these people to be able to accurately count the data he asked, but if someone took the initiative to pay attention to this aspect, it would definitely be a big plus for Cheng Dapeng.

After everyone was silent for a while, Qin Huacheng responded, "I'm reporting to the shopkeeper, the villain probably remembers a little bit, but I don't know if there are any mistakes."

"Let's listen first." Cheng Dapeng nodded, encouraging Qin Huacheng.

Qin Huacheng said: "On the first day, the unloaded grain was loaded in the bilge, and a batch of cotton cloth was loaded. On the second day, the spices loaded in the front tank were unloaded, and about 150 barrels of wine were loaded. I remember this number, it was mentioned by a sailor brother at that time. On the third day, the pile of goods on the deck that had been covered with tarpaulins was unloaded. When I went to the deck to ventilate that night, I saw that the original place where the goods were stacked had been emptied. On the third day, no cargo was loaded onto the ship, but fresh water and food were supplied to the ship before departure."

Cheng Dapeng nodded silently while listening, and expressed his approval of Qin Huacheng's description. Although his memory is not particularly detailed, and there is still a big gap between the intelligence personnel's requirements, but being able to have this kind of thought shows that he really has this idea. Talent in all aspects—even if it is not so obvious.

Qin Huacheng continued: "As for how many people got off the ship and didn't come back, and what new faces appeared on the ship, the villain really doesn't know, because many people are on the deck during the day, and only go back to the cabin to sleep at night. But the villain is paying attention. The two cooks on the ship have changed, the previous two guys were really not good at their craftsmanship, but the two cooks on board yesterday are much better, at least there is no more raw food."

"Very good." After listening to it, Cheng Dapeng finally praised Qin Huacheng for his carefulness.He looked at the other people, and they all lowered their heads to avoid his gaze, obviously feeling ashamed for not being as meticulous as Qin Huacheng.

Cheng Dapeng said: "The errands you have to do in the future can be summed up in four words 'attentive' and 'meticulous'. As long as you can do these two things, you can accomplish great things. If you can't do it, your life will be lost!"

Everyone didn't dare to answer, but just listened to his lecture quietly.These people were all picked up by Cheng Dapeng from the hard labor camp. He naturally understood that Cheng Dapeng, who possessed such energy, was not just a businessman, but a secret official working for the Haihan government.If they want to live a good life in the future, their fate will be in the hands of Cheng Dapeng.Of course, some of them might want to find an opportunity to get rid of Cheng Dapeng's control, but at this moment, no one dared to show an impatient look on their faces.

Cheng Dapeng continued: "I am a person who pays attention to rewards and punishments. If I do well, I will naturally be rewarded. Qin Huacheng, from now on, you can also go on deck during the day. As for the others, starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for Wash the deck before."

Qin Huacheng bowed and thanked Dapeng Cheng, but turned a blind eye to the fiery gazes from the other people.He is very clear that he and these people are not partners, but real competitors.It is unknown how many people Cheng Dapeng will choose from among the six in the end, but those who are eliminated can only go back to Xingdao and continue to be imprisoned. This is a result that Qin Huacheng will never accept.Now that he has come out of that place, he must win this competition and bid farewell to the prisoner life in the hard labor camp.

Then, as Cheng Dapeng said, the other five people except Qin Huacheng were driven back to the cabin below the deck, and Qin Huacheng was finally able to bask in the sun on the deck. Nesting in the cabin, he was really worried that he would get moldy.

After leaving the port of Malacca, the ship did not immediately turn back to the south, but continued to travel northwest along the channel of the strait to the port of Banda Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

At the end of the 13th century, Islam was introduced to Southeast Asia via Banda Aceh, and later it became a transit point for Southeast Asian pilgrims to take boats to Mecca, known as the "gateway to Mecca". A large number of trading posts for gold, ivory and camphor were set up here.By the 16th century, Banda Aceh became the capital of the Kingdom of Aceh and was for a long time the center of the pepper trade in Southeast Asia.

And this naturally aroused the covetousness of the Western colonists. Aceh had fought many wars with Portugal and the Netherlands. From the 16th century to the 17th century, it initiated several wars to attack the city of Malacca under the rule of the Portuguese colonists, but all failed. And back.

Although the war between the two countries has lasted for a century, the trade has not been banned because of this, especially the neutral multinational businessmen like Cheng Dapeng, who will be welcomed by local businessmen no matter in Malacca or Banda Aceh .Cheng Dapeng purchases local products here, and sells some goods shipped from Batavia by the way, making a lot of money every time he enters and exits.

There was no need for Cheng Dapeng to remind him this time, the few people he selected were very active and began to record all kinds of information they observed.And Qin Huacheng, who was qualified to be active on the deck, could collect much more information than those in the cabin.Although it is more intuitive, the content to remember has increased correspondingly, which is also a bit tricky for Qin Huacheng who has not received professional training.

Qin Huacheng was able to pass the test set by Cheng Dapeng at the Port of Malacca before, on the one hand because he did take into account Cheng Dapeng's reminder when he boarded the ship, and on the other hand because he was on the voyage from Manila to Xingdao Because it was too boring to be held alone, Zhong began to pay attention to various small movements on the ship, and developed this unique habit.After arriving at the hard labor camp in Xingdao, Qin Huacheng put this habit of paying attention to the hard labor construction site. Besides being an interpreter, he also helped to count the labor volume of the prisoners.When he paid attention to this information at the port of Malacca that day, he didn't think too much about it, and he never thought that this habit of his would come in handy by mistake.

The ship stayed in Banda Aceh for a longer period of time. In addition to handling trade, Cheng Dapeng also specially spent three days visiting local celebrities and officials.On the one hand, this is to lay the foundation for continuing to develop trade channels in the future, and on the other hand, it is also taking the opportunity to collect local military and political intelligence.Currently, Haihan has not set up a fixed intelligence station in Banda Aceh, so as long as there is an opportunity to come here, the intelligence personnel will try their best to collect all kinds of information to enrich the reserves of Haihan's intelligence database.

This kind of errand does not need to be arranged by the headquarters in Sanya. As the person in charge of this area, Cheng Dapeng has extremely high autonomy, and he only needs to report to Sanya before the action.Even if the group of newcomers he brought is only in the apprenticeship training period, Cheng Dapeng can decide whether to let them know the intention of this trip and the next arrangement.As the object of his favor, Qin Huacheng also received special care when the ship docked in Banda Aceh—Cheng Dapeng specially took him as an entourage to visit local officials.

Cheng Dapeng's local contacts are still extremely limited, and even the translators are found after landing, so the officials he can meet in a short period of time are not very high.However, Cheng Dapeng is well aware of the truth that you can’t become fat if you eat one bite, and he is not in a hurry to directly open up the channels of the upper echelons of the Aceh country. Instead, he first focuses on the grassroots officials and gradually understands the ecology of the officialdom in the Aceh country through contacts. , and then find a suitable way to expand contacts.

Cheng Dapeng did not explain to Qin Huacheng the reasons and intentions of his actions in detail, but let him think about it for himself.And Qin Huacheng knew that this kind of treatment was precious, and he didn't dare to neglect it at all. Everyone Cheng Dapeng met in Banda Aceh, every word he said, Qin Huacheng carefully thought out every word, savored the meaning carefully, and used this to guess Cheng Dapeng. friend's purpose.

This practice-style training method is undoubtedly the fastest way to improve the trainees. After visiting several local officials with Cheng Dapeng, Qin Huacheng has basically understood Cheng Dapeng's operating methods, and began to figure out how Cheng Dapeng worked. Dapeng negotiated the terms of the deal with these officials.

Cheng Dapeng is not only an official of the Haihan Security Department, but also a successful businessman. With his experience in business operations and abundant liquidity, it is really extremely difficult to open up a situation in a place like Banda Aceh. easy.Even if these officials can withstand Cheng Dapeng's direct money offensive, it will be difficult to refuse the trade he brought to Banda Aceh. Being lucky enough to grab one.

"Batavia is about four thousand miles away from here. Do you know why I came here to maintain the relationship?" After visiting a local official, Cheng Dapeng asked Qin Huacheng a question.

Qin Huacheng thought for a while and said: "I saw the chart of the Strait of Malacca before. Xingdao is at the southeast end, and Banda Aceh is at the northwest end. They are all waterway passes and the terrain is dangerous. It must be that the shopkeeper attaches great importance to this section, so he personally Come and maintain the relationship."

"You are right about the first half, and the second half is wrong." Cheng Dapeng corrected: "I do attach great importance to the intelligence work in Banda Aceh, but the fundamental reason why I came here in person is because of my subordinates. There are a limited number of people available."

Qin Huacheng silently chewed the meaning of Cheng Dapeng's words, and seemed to have gained something.Although Cheng Dapeng had established his own intelligence system in Batavia, because the South China Sea was too large, the manpower under his command was simply not enough to deploy the intelligence network to every important city.A port city like Banda Aceh, which is too far away from Batavia, has no manpower deployed here at all, so he can only take the time to make a trip himself.

However, there are no Spaniards in this area. After thinking about it for a while, Qin Huacheng also thought that Cheng Dapeng would not send himself here, but the attitude shown by Cheng Dapeng hinted that he would have the opportunity to go abroad in the future. Being alone is quite a temptation for Qin Huacheng's current situation.

"In the work of collecting intelligence, there are many skills, but more of them are talents. I think you have a certain talent. As for the skills, you can only use them if you think about them yourself. I can demonstrate them to you. But how to use the skills, When to use it is something that you need to experience slowly." Cheng Dapeng did not forget to mention Qin Huacheng during his work break.

Qin Huacheng said: "The shopkeeper has good intentions, and the villain will naturally know it. It's just that the villain is stupid. If you only rely on your own experience, your learning progress will be slow. It would be bad to disappoint the shopkeeper."

Cheng Dapeng said: "Everyone is suppressed, I will give you a little more pressure, and I hope you will complete the apprenticeship as soon as possible. I selected these people in Xingdao. Your aptitude is the best, but it is not good enough yet. It can impress me directly. In short, you should try your best to learn more this trip, and when you return to Batavia, the things you will be taught to you will be more boring and difficult to understand.”

Qin Huacheng didn't understand, but he could feel that Cheng Dapeng didn't have any malice towards him. What complicated skills he would learn in the future would be something after returning to Batavia. It's pointless to think too much now .

After staying in Banda Aceh for nearly a week, the lucky boat finally completed its mission and left the port to head south along the coastline of Sumatra Island.However, Cheng Dapeng still did not arrange a direct flight to Batavia. When passing through Belawan, Cheng Dapeng arranged to park at this place for one night.

Belawan is one of the main ports in Sumatra, where palm oil and tea are mainly produced. However, the main reason why Cheng Dapeng stops here is not for trade, but to collect geographical and hydrological data of this port.Although Haihan currently has no plans to launch an offensive against Aceh, this kind of basic intelligence gathering work has become the habit of the intelligence officials of the Ministry of Security. As long as there is a suitable opportunity, they will try to collect such natural intelligence. Information about the port.

And Qin Huacheng also learned how to measure water depth, ocean currents, and record data such as port berths during the short night of berthing in Belawan.

(End of this chapter)