1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1990
Although the means of Gong Shiqi's plan in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were simple and crude, he would try to perfect the details as much as possible before taking action, which was a professional habit he had developed over the years.Gong Shiqi is not that familiar with the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Apart from the intelligence reference from the Ministry of Security, if Ji Yuanqing, who is good at carrying out field missions and familiar with the local conditions, can give advice, it will undoubtedly make the action easier. The probability of success is greatly improved.

Of course, Gong Shiqi didn't take this opportunity to test the other party's plan in his mind, to see if Ji Yuanqing was as good as Wanfa said.If this old man was only strong in the outside world and couldn't come up with any effective opinions, then Gong Shiqi would naturally have other means to keep him on the sidelines so that he would not affect his plan of action.

Then Ji Yuanqing said in a deep voice: "Brother Gong's plan is generally feasible, but there is still no corresponding plan for how to evacuate the local area after we succeed. Our opponent is not an ordinary rich man in the country, but a rich and powerful salt merchant. Not only do they have private armed forces, they may also have support from the local government, and they even need to consider the situation of the local garrison dispatching troops. If a more extreme situation occurs, the retreat plan designed by Brother Gong may not be feasible."

Gong Shiqi nodded slightly. It's not that he didn't consider the details of what the other party said, but he deliberately reserved some in the explanation just now. The purpose is to see whether Ji Yuanqing can perceive these loopholes.

Ji Yuanqing continued: "Since the purpose of our operation is to solve the problem, we must avoid more problems caused by this operation, so how to quickly evacuate the dangerous area after we succeed is also one of the links we must consider. I suggest that in addition to the original evacuation plan, enough fast horses and an evacuation route to the seaside should be prepared in advance in case of emergency.”

Gong Shishi said: "Brother Ji is right. In fact, the Ministry of Security sent people to the area yesterday to arrange the evacuation that Brother Ji said in advance."

Ji Yuanqing was not a fledgling rookie either. Hearing what Gong Shiqi said, he knew that the other party was deliberately trying to test him.However, he also thought that the other party would definitely make such a move, so he didn't feel offended by it.

Ji Yuanqing replied blankly: "Fortunately, Brother Gong is thoughtful, otherwise the preparations will be a day late, and the follow-up actions will also be affected by this. At least it will save a day of time."

Although the two of them spoke very politely, they each kept a little bit of caution, constantly testing each other's attitude.The organizations they belong to are different, but their functions actually overlap, and there is an objective competitive relationship. Therefore, although this joint mission is arranged by the superior, in fact, both Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing have the idea of ​​competing for victory. ——At the very least, you can't lose your own face in the action.

At this time Wan Fa also came, not to participate in the discussion, but to invite the two of them to dinner.After all, this place is the venue of the Ministry of Security, and as the host, he must do these basic hospitality work well.So the two of them suspended their discussion and went to dinner with Wanfa first.

But after dinner, Wanfa also joined them, because Gong Shiqi's plan needed to use Haihan's intelligence network in Daming territory, so Wanfa had to be in the middle to coordinate and arrange in advance to provide as much help as possible. Gong Shiqi's action plan to provide assistance.

The Military Intelligence Bureau actually has its own intelligence network, but because it was established much later than the Ministry of Security, its scale and operational efficiency are far behind the Ministry of Security, so Ji Yuanqing did not take the initiative to plead for his own in this link.Of course, for Ji Yuanqing, having access to the intelligence network under the Ministry of Security is also a rare opportunity to observe competitors up close, and he is still looking forward to it.

Wan Fa thought it was just a brief meeting to report the progress of their respective preparations, but unexpectedly, the discussion lasted from after dinner until midnight.When the things he was in charge of came to an end and he yawned and said goodbye, the other two were still sitting in the study, studying the action plan together with the map, and their energy was indeed far beyond what anyone could match.

He didn't realize that these two old men were already competing secretly when they met each other.Both of them knew that the other party was indeed a good player in the industry, and such opportunities to compete in the same field were rare, and each wanted to show their strength to overwhelm the other.

Although Gong Shiqi had already drawn up a rough action plan on the way here, the actual preparation work took longer than he expected, especially the arrival of Ji Yuanqing, which made the preparation work more unplanned. His suggestion was not just a retreat plan. After Gong Shiqi expressed that he could speak freely, he proposed many amendments to Gong Shiqi's plan.And most of these details still have room for improvement, Gong Shiqi can only admit that the other party's vision and experience are very sophisticated.

Three days later, near the mouth of the Yongjiang River in Ningbo Prefecture, here is the starting point of the sea channel for various materials in Ningbo Prefecture and the surrounding areas. There are many kinds of goods sent from here, and one of the most important export goods in recent months is Ningbo. Sea salt produced locally in the prefecture.

In fact, Ningbo has always produced sea salt in the past, but because various armed pirates were rampant in the Zhoushan Islands, it was difficult for the official salt farm to engage in production activities in a stable manner, so the production capacity was far from comparable to that of Jiangsu coastal areas. At that time, the salt field in Ningbo basically had no major output, and the salt on the market mainly came from the Jianghuai area.It wasn't until Haihan came to Zhejiang and gradually controlled the coastal areas that the salt industry was put on the agenda again.

What really played a direct role in promoting this was the participation of local officials. These local officials provided a lot of convenience for the development and operation of the salt industry, so that the salt field led by Haihan could be put into production in the fastest time, and had official Recognized Sales Qualification.

Of course, turning the output of these saltworks into official salt is only the operation of the Ningbo government, and the foreign government may not necessarily admit it.For example, in the area north of Hangzhou Bay, many places regard the sea salt produced in Ningbo as private salt and do not allow it to be sold on the market.Although there is no public ban on sales, there are many means of stumbling in private, and the previous attack can actually be regarded as one of them.

However, the few attacks that took place outside Ningbo Mansion actually had a very limited impact on the people. Many people have never even heard of these incidents. Only a few people who have direct interests in these incidents can experience the attacks. caused trouble.However, the business that should be done must continue to be done, and one cannot take the initiative to close down because of a few attacks. This involves a large business with an annual transaction volume of up to 10 taels of silver, and it is absolutely impossible to give up on this.

The table salt produced in Xiangshan and Shipu is not directly transported from the salt field to the destination, but is first transported to the salt industry distribution terminal at the mouth of the Yongjiang River. There is an official cutscene here, and after obtaining the official salt certification, it passes through various roads. Salt merchants transport it by land or sea to other places for sale.

For several state capitals around Ningbo, it is not a big problem to use this kind of sales method, but the north of Hangzhou Bay is the traditional sphere of influence of Jianghuai salt merchants. Ordinary salt merchants cannot transport salt from other lands into these places for sale. However, there are so many energetic new salt merchants in Ningbo. Although they know there are risks, there are still people who organize the supply of goods to the Jianghuai direction.

And the two salt ships departing from here today are said to be full of locally produced refined salt and will go to Yangzhou Prefecture for sale. From Haihan, the salt is more refined and the price is lower. If you want to grab the market at the door of Jianghuai salt merchants, you will still face a lot of risks.

A group of laborers were sitting in the tea shop by the pier, drinking a large bowl of hot tea for two copper coins, and discussing the whereabouts of the two salt shipments they had just finished loading.

A thin man said: "A few accidents happened to the salt transport team that went to the north in the past two months. At this time, they are going to sell salt in Yangzhou. I think this boss is brave enough!"

A person next to him sneered and said: "Zhang Laoliu, are you right? Don't you have the guts to sell private salt? This is called wealth and wealth. If you can sell all these two boats of salt, you can earn a few thousand taels at least." Silver, you can’t earn that much in your life!”

The man named Zhang Laoliu replied: "Although it is salt produced by the Haihan people's salt field, since it is approved by the government, it is no longer considered private salt."

"Why is it not private salt? This Xiangshan salt and Shipu salt are [-]% cheaper than the previous official salt. Isn't this the practice of private salt!" Others also disagreed with Zhang Laoliu's statement.

"If such cheap salt is transported to Yangzhou, isn't that forcing the local salt merchants to cut their meat and reduce the price? In my opinion, it is impossible to say that these two ships will have to be driven back in despair when they arrive in Yangzhou."

"It's just fine to be driven back. You see, the last time Lai Baozi went to the north with the boat, it is said that he met a strongman in Changzhou Prefecture. In the past, if Lai Baozi hadn’t run so fast, maybe he would have confessed to the salt in the past!”

"The lives of migrant workers are worthless. The salt merchants only care about whether the salt can be sold smoothly, and they don't care about the life and death of you little people!"

Everyone talked lively, and there were two people at the next table listening silently, until the group of laborers finished drinking tea and returned to the dock to continue working, only one person at the next table got up and left.The man walked to the back of a nearby warehouse, whispered something to an old man sitting on a bamboo chair basking in the sun, and then returned to the tea shop.The old man got up and walked into the warehouse. A moment later, a pigeon flew out from under the eaves of the warehouse, circled twice in the air, and then flew north.

The old man looked up at the pigeons going away, and whispered to himself: "How dare you go directly to Yangzhou... These people really want money and life! Well, don't make things bigger, these Ningbo salt merchants I won't consciously restrain myself!"

Gong Shiqi didn't know that when he boarded the ship, someone had sent out the news that the batch of salt was about to depart from Ningbo to Yangzhou. It is necessary to monitor the itinerary of the salt transportation team in advance before carrying out an ambush attack in the wild.And although he was going from the sea, the opponent would not miss his own existence, and he should have made preparations before the two ships arrived in Yangzhou.

The reason why I chose the sea route instead of the land route is that I have to consider the itinerary. From Ningbo to Yangzhou, I have to go through the Hangzhou Bay and the Yangtze River Estuary, and I have to transfer at least two boats in the middle of the land route, and the detour is quite long. Far less efficient than sea transport.Second, Gong Shiqi's goal was to go directly to Huanglong, and he planned to go directly to the local area to see the real reaction of the other party.Although this is very risky, it is also one of the best ways to force the other party to show up.

Pretending to be a salt merchant and escorting a batch of salt to Yangzhou, Gong Shiqi's action plan was bold and direct. Even Ji Yuanqing couldn't help being a little surprised at the radicalness of this plan when he just listened to the explanation.But Ji Yuanqing did not object to Gong Shiqi's plan because it was too risky. On the contrary, he strongly agreed with it, thinking that this might be the only possible solution to the mess without sending out troops.

"Those who stand out will be dealt with until no one dares to stand out again."

Thinking of what Gong Shiqi had said before when he explained his action plan, Ji Yuanqing also felt that this guy who was said to be the number one thug in the Ministry of Security was quite domineering, and his style of acting was very close to the military's.If this guy had served in the army, he would have already made a name for himself.

"Brother Gong, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. You always carry a faint murderous aura about you. You don't look like a businessman who makes money with kindness. You have to restrain yourself a little bit."

Seeing Gong Shiqi standing on the side of the boat with his hands behind his back, Ji Yuanqing stepped forward and started a conversation with him: "Be calm, otherwise you don't look like you are doing business, but rather collecting debts!"

Gong Shiqi smiled and said, "Brother Ji is right, but I would like to ask you why Brother Ji can pretend to be an ordinary person who is harmless to humans and animals even though he is with me and does the same things. Pretending to be a salt merchant, brother Ji is indeed much more suitable than me."

Ji Yuanqing said: "Brother Gong's question is a bit difficult to answer. I didn't do it deliberately. If I have to say the reason, it may be because I like to read books. If you have time, Brother Gong, you can also try to read more." Some books may be able to slowly reconcile the temperament."

Gong Shiqi said: "Then I have to say something cheeky. In fact, I usually read a lot of books. It's just that the content of these books may not be so self-cultivating."

Ji Yuanqing asked curiously, "What kind of books does Brother Gong usually read?"

Gong Shiqi replied: "A book on military affairs, a book on history."

"No wonder!" Ji Yuanqing said, "These books are like whetstones, reading them frequently will only sharpen Brother Gong's sharp knife!"

(End of this chapter)