1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1785 Joint Action
Although no empirical evidence has been collected so far, He Xiao's intuition still believes that the purpose of Deng Qing's appearance in Ningbo is to harm his own side.He called this group of people doing dirty work together to prepare for the worst in advance. If Deng Qing didn't listen to the advice and still made a fuss about Haihan's purchase of grain, then he would have to do it Ruthlessly cut off the bad signs first.

But where Deng Qing will end up, He Xiao doesn't know. Although he sent people to track down the other party, Jin Yiwei is a professional trained in espionage. Whether the people sent out can bite this target, he is actually not very sure. grasp.And if Deng Qing's purpose in coming to Ningbo was to cause trouble, then it is unlikely that he acted alone, and most likely brought other people over.

After He Xiao briefly explained the mission requirements, he asked the group of people to wait for orders in this house, and notified them to dispatch when there was further news.

That night, another guest visited He Zhai in a very low-key manner, but this time it was not someone who came to make trouble, but Lin Xing, the boss of the Sanlin Gang who was currently working for the Haihan people.

The three brothers Lin Xing, Lin Si, and Lin De of the Sanlin Gang were the first batch of maritime merchants from Zhejiang to join Haihan, and they also enjoyed the dividends of Haihan's local import and export trade.Now the three brothers spend half of their time in Ningbo, managing business for Haihan and dealing with some matters with the local government.The reason why Lin Xing came to the door was because he is now the agent of Golden Shield Escort in Zhejiang. He Li approached him today to inform him about Jinyiwei. He had to discuss some things with He Xiao again.

Golden Shield Escort is a relatively unique existence among the many official industries of Haihan, because it carried some special functions when it was established, so in addition to the southern merchants headed by Fu Ruifeng, the major shareholders also have the name of the Haihan military. Among them, this is also one of the few industries that the military directly participates in.

It is precisely because of this special shareholder that the Golden Shield Escort is several grades higher than the bodyguards and chariots on the market. Even the flintlock guns that have not yet been popularized in the Ming army, the Golden Shield Escort also has A certain amount of equipment, and a considerable proportion of its employees are veterans from the Haihan Army.In terms of personnel, equipment, and training levels, the comprehensive combat effectiveness of the Golden Shield Escort may be even better than that of the ordinary Ming army.

It is also because of this that most of the errands received by the Golden Shield Escort are to escort valuables or important people, and the expenses are expensive.However, because the scope of their activities is generally only in the prefecture and county of Linhai Prefecture, and rarely goes deep into the inland, the government usually turns a blind eye to the behavior of armed crossing the border, so as not to make trouble for themselves.

When the two countries did not formally establish diplomatic relations a few years ago, most of the goods escorted by Golden Shield in Daming territory were smuggled high-value commodities.Sometimes in the name of escorting goods, some secret operations are carried out in the territory of Ming Dynasty.For some special tasks that are not suitable for dispatching troops, the existence of the Golden Shield Escort can indeed solve the problem.

As Haihan's activity area on the Daming coastline moved northward year by year, Golden Shield Escort also expanded its business scope to the north of the Fujian Strait.The three brothers of the Lin family had always played the role of local tyrants in Ningbo, and they did their best after joining Haihan. Shi Diwen gradually handed over some matters including the arrangement of the Golden Shield escort business to them.

And after Lin Xing took over Jindun's business, he did not disappoint Shi Diwen's trust, and gradually expanded his business scope from Ningbo Prefecture, and now Jindun escorts are also undertaking business in Shaoxing Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture and other places , not only achieved a significant increase in operating income, but also expanded a lot of contacts because the customers he contacted were either rich or expensive.

Although Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, had a personal relationship with Shi Diwen, who was in charge of Zhoushan, most of the affairs between the two sides were handled by the people below, so Lin Xing and the He brothers were no strangers.Lin Xing heard He Li say that there might be changes in the purchase of grain and grass, and he needed the assistance of the Golden Shield escort, so he didn't dare to neglect at the moment, so he came to see He Xiao with him to find out the specific situation.

"Jin Yiwei..." After listening to He Xiao's explanation, Lin Xing shook his head slightly and said, "It's really in a hurry! I heard from the chief that the purchase of military rations this time is the intention of Sanya. If there is any mistake in the middle , Don’t talk about you and me, I’m afraid that those who handle this matter will be held accountable!”

"Really want to fight?" He Xiao couldn't help asking after hearing his tone.

Lin Xingdao: "I don't know if there will be a war this time, but the last time Chief Shi personally arranged the purchase of military rations was probably before the Liaodong war."

He Xiaodao: "Since the matter is so important, we need to work together. Let me just say, can Master Lin mobilize manpower to take care of the food convoy that is being transported to Ningbo from other state capitals?"

Lin Xing was stunned and said, "Responsible for the food? Didn't you invite me here because you want the Golden Shield escort to go out to deal with Jin Yiwei?"

"It seems that there is no need for this at the moment. I have already sent people to monitor the hundred families of Jinyiwei. If the situation is really wrong, I will be prepared. However, the manpower is limited here, and it is difficult to take care of the food shipped to Ningbo from all over the place. That's why shopkeeper Lin needs to help arrange it."

He Xiao is not in a hurry to make things big. If this matter can be resolved by himself, then he doesn't want Hai Han to get involved too much. After all, the identity of Jin Yiwei is still a little sensitive. If Hai Han gets involved, it may make people The situation is out of control.The reason why the Golden Shield escort was invited to meet the grain delivery convoy was, on the one hand, it was indeed for safety considerations, and this errand was originally intended to serve Haihan, so it was not appropriate for the prefect to transfer Mingjun to come forward, and on the other hand, it was also taking advantage of this opportunity Inoculate Haihan first.

Lin Xing said with a smile: "This errand can be accepted, but if I remember correctly, there is no part of the Golden Shield escort in this military ration purchase contract. It is said that if you want to send out the Golden Shield, there will be corresponding What does Master He say about the fee?"

When He Xiao came up with this idea, he naturally took this into consideration. Although the cost of hiring Jindun was indeed expensive, he knew very well that it was a worthwhile service. If you don't make money, you must buy an insurance in this way.

He Xiao responded: "There is nothing else to say, I just hope that Master Lin will give you a discount for his own sake."

"This is easy!" Lin Xing stretched out a hand and shook it: "My own, [-]% off! Don't dislike Mr. He, I don't need to take any money, but the brothers who go out on missions have to collect some money, otherwise there is no way Cross."

"Then I would like to thank Shopkeeper Lin!" He Xiao cupped his hands to express his gratitude.

Lin Xingbao's discounted price was a little lower than He Xiao's estimate, which also made him heave a sigh of relief. If everything goes well and there are no other additional expenses in the middle, then after bearing the expenses, the food order this time There is still money to be made.

Lin Xing took the initiative to say again: "If... I mean, if Master He encounters difficulties in dealing with the Jinyiwei, please let me know in time. Besides escorting the goods, the Golden Shield Escort can also do many other things."

He Xiao responded without changing his expression: "Thank you for your kindness, Manager Lin, I hope the situation will not develop to that point."

He Xiao understood that what Lin Xing said was that he was still worried about his ability to handle affairs, but he didn't dare to deny the other party's "good intentions". It will all be passed to the ears of Mr. Shi on Zhoushan Island through Lin Xing.Of course, using this method to inform Hai Han of the current situation was one of the purposes he had asked He Li to find Lin Xing.

Not long after Lin Xing left, the people He Xiao sent to track down Deng Qing's whereabouts also returned.Sure enough, as He Xiao expected, Deng Qing did not come to Ningbo alone, but brought eight subordinates with him.However, Deng Qing and his group did not settle in the city, but lived in a town about five miles away from the city, and they did not disclose their status as official servants to the innkeeper, but all pretended to be merchants.

It is not uncommon for Jin Yiwei to pretend to be various professional identities during the investigation, but it seems a bit strange that Deng Qing and his group live specially outside the city.He Xiao noticed that the town happened to be located on the official road from Shaoxing to Ningbo, which seemed to confirm what he was worried about before——Deng Qing might start with the grain shipped from other places, so as to pay for the grain this time. Trade creates trouble.

But this is just a guess. The people sent to track Deng Qing did not try to approach this group of people in order to avoid exposing their whereabouts. It is difficult to accurately judge the direction of their next actions.But for He Xiao, it is necessary to prepare for the worst and consider how to resolve the worst situation.

"Nine people..." He Xiao secretly calculated the manpower he had gathered, and found that his preparation seemed a little insufficient.Although these people under him are all good players, if they want to go one-on-one with Jin Yiwei, they may not be able to gain the upper hand, let alone catch Deng Qing and his gang all at once.And He Xiao still has another worry, that is, whether there will be people brought by Deng Qing hiding in the dark, and will only show up to support them when they act.

"Could it be a prophecy so soon, do you really want to ask Jindun Huyun to come forward to solve the problem?" He Xiao knew that the means he could use might not be able to solve the problem completely, and it might even cause a lot of damage in Deng Qing's hands Manpower, he hesitated at the moment.

But He Li has already seen the stakes of this matter very clearly: "Brother, if you can't get the desired result according to your thinking, then you might as well think about what kind of result you need to get, and then look at the desired result." By what means will it be achieved?"

The result He Xiao wants is to completely get rid of the troubles caused by Deng Qing. Of course it would be best if this person can disappear from the world, but he knows that he probably can't do it.Can Haihan people do it?The answer should be in the affirmative, but He Xiao still felt that it was inappropriate to leave this matter to the Haihan people.

That night, He Xiao suffered from insomnia, which brought his dislike for Jin Yiwei to a new level.It was not until the morning that he finally made a decision. It would be safer to ask the Golden Shield escort to deal with the professional matters. However, in order to save face, he asked the two parties to take joint action.

After Lin Xing received the news, he was not surprised. No matter what purpose Jin Yiwei had in investigating the grain purchase, this behavior had obviously touched Hai Han's interests.And Haihan has never had much patience for this kind of situation, so it's over.

The scale of Golden Shield Escort's operations in Zhejiang is actually not too large. There are only less than [-] people in the semicolon here. If there are more businesses at the same time, it will be overwhelmed.But now, in order to solve He Xiao's worries, Lin Xing plans to re-arrange his manpower, especially those veterans who have retired from the army, all need to be transferred to the front line to perform this task.

A day later, two caravans entered the small town named Changxing one after the other.There are only about 200 households in this town, and most of them are farmers.If it is not located on the official road, it is a bit reluctant to call it a town.There are only two inns in the town, both of which have the same name as the town, but they are called "Big Changxing" and "Little Changxing" by the locals because of their scale of operation.

According to information, Deng Qing and his group lived in the "Little Changxing Inn", but it was no longer possible to accommodate the two new caravans here at the same time, so they could only live in two inns.Among them, Lin Xing personally led the team, stayed in Xiaochangxing Inn, and monitored Deng Qing's group nearby.

He Xiao didn't show up directly in the local area, but he still organized a group of experts he had gathered, and then handed it over to Lin Xing for command.

Lin Xing was not as eager as He Xiao. Before he did anything, he still wanted to take the opportunity to find out the behavior of this group of people and whether there were other accomplices hiding in the dark.

But it was not the temporary combination of these two that took the lead in taking action, but Deng Qing and his group who were under surveillance.The grain transport convoy from Shaoxing Prefecture entered the boundary of Ningbo Prefecture via Shangyu and Yuyao, and Deng Qing and his gang planned to stop the batch of grain and grass in Changxing Town.Deng Qing was able to accurately grasp the itinerary of the grain transportation convoy, and it was obvious that someone in the local area had betrayed information to him.

But Deng Qing probably didn't expect that the praying mantis catches the cicada and the oriole is behind him. The more informed he is, the more he will be listed as a dangerous person, and Haihan's tactics against him will be more aggressive.

"I don't care what the origin of Deng Qing and his subordinates is. He has already threatened the interests of our country, so we have to express it."

As for the expression, Lin Xing didn't say any more nonsense, because news had already come from outside the town that Deng Qing and his gang had stopped the grain transport convoy on the official road.At this time, rush over, just waiting for the opportunity to move.

(End of this chapter)