1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1980
Just as Zhang Qianzhi guessed, the fundamental reason why these incidents attracted the attention of Haihan's high-level officials was where the muskets used in them came from.Although these weapons that have appeared so far are not enough to affect the foundation of Haihan, these incidents themselves are already a danger signal, which must be detected as soon as possible to take measures to eliminate hidden dangers.

As for Zhang Qianzhi, he not only had to trace the origin of the musket, but also continued to investigate the details of Xue Zheng and his gang.He believed that if the identity and background of this group of people could be found out, then the source of the gun could be traced.However, according to He Xi's tone, the focus of the high-level investigation is now on the source of the guns, and the situation surrounding the inspection trip of the son of North Korea a while ago, perhaps because the person has been caught, the follow-up attention from the high-level has obviously decreased. many.

"Then what should we do with this group of people who have been arrested? They must have received relevant training and have a strong ability to resist interrogation. The humble staff has never been able to confirm whether their confessions are true and valid." Zhang Qianzhi asked He Xi for instructions.

He Xi said in a deep voice: "Since these people think they can keep their mouths shut, then keep it! Lock them up first, and ignore them for the time being. Perhaps the news that can be found in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be better than the one you caught. Groups of people are more valuable."

Hearing his boss's statement, Zhang Qianzhi couldn't help but frowned slightly. He had hoped that after these people were escorted back to Sanya, He Xi could arrange a more effective interrogation method to get Xue Zheng and others to confess.But obviously He Xi's interest in these suspects was not as great as he expected, and he didn't even plan to start a new round of interrogation immediately.

Although He Xi and Zhang Qianzhi are called superiors and subordinates, they love each other like master and apprentice father and son, so they naturally noticed Zhang Qianzhi's emotions through observation.

"No matter how vicious the people you captured in Danzhou are, they are just weapons in the hands of others. Don't expect the captured weapons to provide all the information you need."

He Xi enlightened: "I know what you think, but sometimes we can try different methods to solve a case. Maybe you think that the Danzhou case must be found out and the real purpose behind the scenes can be considered a successful conclusion. But you're still looking at the case in isolation without realizing the real connection that exists with the leads found elsewhere."

Zhang Qianzhi thought about the point of view he had stated before, but he still felt a little unconvinced. He had obviously put forward two views on the possible connection between the two cases, and He Xi also admitted that this was in line with the current opinions of the high-level officials. How come now? He also said he was unaware of the real connection.

He Xi said slowly: "Have you ever thought that the two possibilities you mentioned are actually the same situation?"

Zhang Qianzhi was a little confused when he heard it, and after thinking for a while, he understood what He Xi meant: "You mean that it is possible that the muskets used by the gang in Danzhou were also purchased by salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and they were sent to Haihan. To carry out the mission? This situation is of course reasonable in theory, but there is no conflict of interest between the Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt merchants and the Joseon prince. Even if Li Mo was assassinated and died in our country, it still cannot change the impact on the local salt industry market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The status quo. It is impossible for them to get any direct benefits from it, so why bother to spend so much trouble?"

However, He Xi changed the subject and said: "You mentioned earlier that the group of people who came to Danzhou to attack the Joseon Prince came from different regions, and they probably belonged to different behind-the-scenes forces. Then think about it, among these people will be Will there be people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt merchants?"

"You mean that the Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt merchants are not necessarily against the son of Joseon, but for some reasons... For example, the person who provided them with weapons asked them to participate in or cooperate with this action. They felt that they could not refuse, so they took advantage of the situation. Did you send someone to participate?" Zhang Qianzhi felt as if he had found some ideas from He Xi's reminder.

He Xi nodded and said: "In this way, does it make more sense? I know you will think that such a speculation has no actual evidence at all, and it is too far-fetched, but in fact, our daily intelligence collection in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Work still has a certain role, and the situation of the local salt merchants is not ignorant."

As soon as Zhang Qianzhi heard this, he knew that his boss had ambushed him, and there must be some key information that he hadn't told him, so he smiled immediately and waited for He Xi to reveal the answer himself.Sure enough, He Xi didn't intend to wait for Zhang Qianzhi to ask questions, so he continued talking.

Almost all Haihan's overseas occupied areas have branches of the Ministry of Security. The Zhoushan Islands are close to prosperous coastal areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Naturally, there are personnel from the Ministry of Security stationed there. Part of their function is to collect information on various local industries.Although the information is complicated, after screening and sorting, it will become an important reference material for understanding local politics, economy, military affairs, culture and other fields.Among them, important industries controlled by the state, such as salt and iron, are of course also the focus of intelligence personnel's attention, and they will try to monitor their production and circulation links.However, the specific implementation strength depends on the actual situation of the local area and the professional level of the resident personnel.

After several years of operation, the intelligence network currently established by the Ministry of Security in the coastal areas of Zhejiang has been relatively sound.Needless to say, Ningbo Prefecture, which has the closest relationship with the Zhoushan authorities, has been infiltrated by Haihan from top to bottom. Taizhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, and Hangzhou, the central city of Zhejiang, which are close to Zhoushan, have also been infiltrated. An intelligence branch of the Ministry of Security has been established.

The official of the Ministry of Security who is currently in command of the local intelligence agency in Zhoushan is quite familiar with the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, because before he took up his current position, he had been lurking in Hangzhou for a long time as a civilian, and he had participated in the Haihan's important action in Hangzhou.This person is Wanfa, who was running a business store outside Hangzhou. In 1634, he cooperated with Gong Shiqi and Gao Qiaonan to assassinate the well-known anti-Haihan officials in Zhejiang official circles at that time. It was Guo Zheng, Jin Yiwei Baihu Liao Xun and others.

After the incident was completed, Wanfa set fire to the store and left Hangzhou City. After that, he was transferred back to Sanya to work for a period of time, and took some new intelligence courses by the way.He quietly returned to Zhoushan last year and took up the position of director of local security and intelligence affairs.But after a facelift, no one would associate him with the chubby store owner outside Hangzhou.

The Ministry of Security's overseas establishment is limited, so Wanfa is responsible for a huge area, covering the coastal states and counties of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. There are more than 30 intelligence personnel at all levels under his command, including two field operations teams.The number of people seems to be quite a lot, but in fact, besides the NO. There may only be two or three people in the government.

However, even with limited manpower, the work efficiency of the security department is still commendable. Every month, all kinds of information collected by these intelligence personnel will be summarized and screened on Zhoushan Island, and the analysts will record and judge the most valuable information. , and use this to predict changes in various local areas.Some of the more critical information will also be sent back to the Sanya headquarters as soon as possible, and it will be judged here whether follow-up is necessary for in-depth investigation.

In the first half of this year, local intelligence personnel had already heard rumors that some salt merchants in the Jianghuai area had made harsh remarks, wanting to give some color to those in Zhejiang who sell privately produced sea salt as official salt.However, nothing happened in the follow-up, and this kind of action was regarded as a mouthful, and it was not recorded.However, it was later reported that some salt merchants quietly donated money and organized private armed forces called "salt protection teams", and it is said that they also hired special instructors for training.

These news still haven't attracted enough attention from the intelligence personnel, because there are some armed personnel in each salt field, and it is normal for rich and powerful salt merchants to have some personal guards.This seems to be that the salt merchants have paid to arm the staff of the salt field, and it is not a new operation.

It wasn't until the salt transport teams from Ningbo were repeatedly attacked that the news made Wanfa realize that the competition in the salt industry had shifted from the market to the battlefield, and it was more direct and rough. He ordered to strengthen the monitoring and investigation of the movements of Jianghuai salt merchants, And more people were dispatched to Huai'an, Yangzhou and other places to collect intelligence.

After the adjustment of the focus of work, more information was gathered to Zhoushan one after another, and the musket pellets used to attack the salt transport team in Ningbo were also collected by intelligence personnel going to the Jianghuai area during this period, and then sent to Zhoushan. Back to Sanya for inspection.

Although the attacking team equipped with muskets was elusive and their whereabouts were uncertain, the Ministry of Security had a detailed grasp of the itinerary of each salt transport team from Ningbo to other areas, so they could send personnel to accompany them nearby.So as long as the other party makes a move, there is a great chance of tracking it.Although it has not yet been confirmed who the main messenger behind the scenes is, but the scope of activities of this mysterious Musketeer has been basically grasped.

Speaking of this, He Xi said quite proudly: "The information I have now is not even known to the Military Intelligence Bureau. This is exclusive information!"

"Boss, don't be fooled. What are the clues that make you so sure that the battle of salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is related to the assassination in Danzhou?" Zhang Qianzhi listened for a long time, but He Xi still did not reveal the key evidence. Eager, he finally couldn't help urging He Xi to show his hole cards.

He Xi smiled and said, "Your boss, I'm based in Sanya. I'm strategizing and gaining insight into the opponent's schemes. Can't I be a little proud? Actually, the answer is very simple. We found that there were foreigners in that musketeer team."

The "foreigner" He Xi mentioned obviously refers to countries other than Daming and Haihan, but Zhang Qianzhi still asked in puzzlement: "So? What country are they from?"

"Korean."

Zhang Qianzhi was really taken aback by this answer, but He Xi hadn't finished speaking.

"...There are also Westerners. There may be more than that, and there may be people from other countries."

Zhang Qianzhi felt a little confused for a moment. If a North Korean wants to deal with Li Mo, the motive is probably due to political reasons. The various bloody battles that unfolded are not uncommon in Korean history.But the North Koreans killed and robbed salt merchants in Zhejiang. What is the situation?And what about the Westerners?Is it true that if you have money, you can turn ghosts around? Even Western ghosts went to work for salt merchants for the sake of money?
"If the information we have is correct, then there are personnel from at least three countries in this musketeer team, and the actual situation may be more than this. Tell me, what does this situation remind you of?" He Xi shared the key information After the disclosure, Zhang Qianzhi was asked a question.

In the past days, He Xi would often use this way of asking questions to guide Zhang Qianzhi to think about problems, and Zhang Qianzhi was also accustomed to this way of talking, and after listening to the questions, he began to ponder silently.Seeing this, He Xi didn't rush, and slowly sipped tea with her legs crossed, waiting for Zhang Qianzhi's answer.

Zhang Qianzhi was not very sure about the answer he thought of, but he didn't need to have any reservations in front of He Xi, so he threw out his answer very straightforwardly: "The humble job is dull, and I only thought of our country's two The second foreign war, the battle of Manila at the beginning of the year, and the war in Korea in the middle of the year."

"That's right!" He Xi was very satisfied with the answer given by Zhang Qianzhi, and then gave his own comments: "These two wars were led by our country, participated by many parties, and formed a coalition to fight. In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions The Musketeer team that appeared is actually a small multinational force!"

"But I still don't understand. What's the use of such a small fight? I heard that the Musketeer team only had a few dozen people every time it was dispatched. Even if the Musketeer team was ten times larger, It is no match for the garrison troops in Zhoushan, let alone openly be an enemy of our country." Zhang Qianzhi still has not figured out the key point.

"They are not planning to organize an army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. I think this is actually using the special form of the 'salt guard team' to complete military training for certain specific targets in the local area."

Speaking of this, He Xi changed the subject again: "You know the foreign military students in the Sanya Military Academy, right?"

"You mean, these people are concentrated in the local area to receive actual combat training, and then bring back the military skills they have learned?" Zhang Qianzhi vaguely noticed something, but it was still not clear enough.

"Not only military skills, but also weapons and equipment." He Xi said slowly: "Someone provided them with weapons and taught them how to use them. Maybe they also taught them how to cause trouble for our country."

(End of this chapter)