1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2046
To the outside world, the most famous descendants of the Xu family are Xu Yuzhuo, the fourth eldest of Xu Xinsu's family, and Xu Jiaqi, his nephew. These two command the land and water armies that are loyal to Xu Xinsu, and they can be said to be the backbone of the Xu family. strength.Over the years, the Fujian Ming army sent troops to participate in the military operations organized by Haihan, and most of them were led by the two of them.

But Xu Yuxing, the youngest of the Xu family, is not as famous. Although many people have heard of him, they don't know what the youngest of the Xu family is doing.Few people know that Xu Yuxing, besides the two leading generals of the Xu family who were sent to Sanya for training, had actually been there.It's just that the training he received was different. It was not the military program that the other two had studied, but the intelligence subject that Xu Xinsu personally selected for him.

The reason for this arrangement was that Xu Xinsu had already realized the importance of intelligence warfare through cooperation with Haihan at that time, so he also planned to follow Haihan's approach and set up a special intelligence agency to assist his rule in Fujian.And if this special organization was to be handed over to outsiders, Xu Xinsu was obviously worried. After some consideration, he decided to hand over this important job to his third son, Xu Yuxing.

When Xu Xinsu chose this candidate, in addition to safety considerations, there was also a very important point that Xu Yuxing's own qualities were more suitable for this position.Xu Yuxing has inherited one of Xu Xinsu's traits as a businessman very well. He has shown a talent in arithmetic calculations since he was very young, and he has a calm personality and doesn't like to compete with his other brothers. In Xu Xinsu's opinion It is in line with the many requirements that Haihan people put forward for candidates.

The most important thing is that Xu Yuxing himself accepted this arrangement. You must know that after entering this industry, it is unlikely that there will be any more prosperity. As the person in charge of the intelligence system, he can only hide behind the scenes in a low-key manner. Standing in front of the stage and being admired like his brothers is indeed not so easy for the ambitious Xu family man.

In order to avoid suspicion, the intelligence agency formed by Xu Xinsu didn't even have a formal yamen, so it was directly placed under the name of his personal guards. From now on, it can basically only exist in obscurity. If it were someone else, it probably wouldn't be like this Willingly accept the arrangement.

So Xu Yuxing was appointed as the person in charge of this organization, and he went to Sanya to study abroad for a period of time.In order to keep his identity secret, Xu Yuxing kept his name anonymized even during his study abroad, and very few people in Sanya knew his real identity.After finishing his studies, he returned to Fujian, and he seldom showed his face in public. Asked by outsiders, Xu's family only said that Mr. Xu was obsessed with cultivating Taoism and didn't like to go out. No one knew that Xu Yuxing was secretly forming an organization loyal to Xu Xinsu. Intelligence agency.

As for the main monitoring targets of this organization after its establishment, they are the two major spy organizations of Jinyiwei and Dongchang.It is ironic to say that a large part of the reason why the imperial court set up these spy agencies is to monitor the localities and local officials, and the main function of the intelligence agencies under Xu Xinsu's command is to monitor the agencies sent by the imperial court to monitor him.The intelligence agencies loyal to the local warlords and the imperial court's intelligence agencies monitored each other, and this situation was probably unique in the entire Ming Dynasty.

However, Xu Xinsu didn't think there was anything wrong with doing this. Although he had no plans to separate himself and become king, he didn't want anyone to spy on him beside his couch.In Xu Xinsu's view, taking some countermeasures against the imperial court's espionage organization is an effective means to protect his own interests, and this move can better connect with Haihan, and the joint military operations between the two sides will proceed more smoothly in the future.

After waiting for about a stick of incense, Xu Yuxing arrived.He is acquainted with the Gong family father and son and Jin Ming, so there is no need to introduce him now.Xu Xinsu said: "Several adults in Haihan have some important business to discuss, and I specially asked you to come over and listen carefully, and see if there is anything that can be of help."

Xu Yuxing responded: "Then I'm sorry, please explain the situation!"

At the moment, Jin Ming introduced the circumstances and investigation progress of several recent gun cases related to the Spaniards, and pointed out that the clues obtained so far lead the investigation direction to Fujian, and local officials need to provide assistance in the investigation.

"According to our investigation, the group of people hiding behind the scenes is very difficult to deal with. They not only colluded with the Spaniards to smuggle arms and equipment, but also deliberately supported the armed forces of various countries to fight against our country. This is absolutely intolerable to our country. Things." Jin Ming stated his position very seriously: "If they have business in Fujian, then we can take this opportunity to find out the true identity of this group of people!"

Xu Yuxing asked: "How does your country need us to assist in the investigation?"

Jin Ming said: "According to the clues we have, there are businessmen here who ship products for the Spaniards and buy Ming Dynasty specialties. I think if we conduct investigations in this direction, it should not be difficult to find the target. But if we start this matter The investigation will inevitably cause a lot of inconvenience, so I hope Master Xu and the third son can help. Of course, we will also participate in the entire process of the investigation and provide the necessary information for the investigation as much as possible."

Jin Ming's words were high-sounding, but he couldn't tell at all that he was actually taking credit for this investigation mission.

The expression on Xu Yuxing's face did not fluctuate, but there was a very short exchange of eyes with Xu Xinsu, and then he responded: "According to what Lord Jin said just now, this person who acts as a middleman for the Spaniards should be active in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. , maybe there are shops and warehouses opened. However, Mr. Jin should know that there are at least a thousand merchants engaged in this kind of cross-border trade in these two places, and it will not be easy to find clues."

Before Xu Yuxing agreed, he explained the difficulties first, which sounded a bit evasive to Jin Ming.However, this is actually within his expectation. If the other party immediately pats his chest and promises to take over the matter as soon as he hears it, then he may not be able to hand over the job to the other party with confidence and boldness.

And just as Jin Ming mentioned to the Gong family and his son before coming to Xu's mansion, more than half of Fujian's most profitable import and export trade is directly or indirectly controlled by the Xu family. The family is inextricably linked, and it would be ugly to check and find yourself.Jin Ming could think of such a situation, and so could the Xu family. Naturally, they had to try to eliminate the hidden dangers as much as possible before the investigation started.

Buying more time now will give the Xu family more initiative.As for the saying that there are thousands of employees in the industry, it is just to find some more plausible reasons for this.Even if there were so many businessmen in this business, at least half of them were working for the Xu family.As long as Xu Yuxing asked the shopkeepers of several big commercial firms under Xu's name, it would not be difficult to know which commercial firms in Zhangzhou were selling souvenirs from Nanyang.

Of course, Jin Ming would not teach Xu Yuxing to be a man without knowing the interest. He didn't need to talk too much about these superficial investigative methods.

Jin Ming responded immediately: "This matter is indeed tricky, otherwise there is no need to trouble the third son. But with the third son's familiarity with the local area, I believe he will not let me down."

Although Jin Ming's main job is intelligence analysis, trying to figure out other people's thoughts is also a basic skill of an intelligence officer, and his ability in this area is not bad. He expected the other party's general plan, and gave Xu Yuxing a hand with a few words. Let the other party feel bad and continue to shirk.

Sure enough, Xu Yuxing didn't continue to emphasize the difficulties when he heard the words. After all, the responsibility of disappointing the most important ally is not small. Even if Jin Ming might just talk casually, Xu Yuxing has to deal with this matter with full energy.

As for Jin Ming's suggestion that Haihan would also participate in the entire investigation process, this did not make Xu Yuxing feel that there was any problem. In his opinion, this should be taken for granted, but if the investigation work is dictated by the Haihan people, it is inevitable Some are not beautiful.So he still carefully confirmed the relevant arrangements to Jin Ming: "Then this investigation will be led by Mr. Jin?"

Jin Ming shook his head and said: "This matter needs to rely heavily on the strength and information channels of the third son. The investigation is naturally led by the third son."

Xu Yuxing felt a little relieved when he heard the words. He was actually a little worried that Haihan deliberately used this matter to intervene in local affairs.In the cooperative relationship between the two parties, Haihan has been acquiescing that Haihan cannot take the initiative to intervene in Fujian's local affairs, so as to ensure Xu Xinsu's influence and ruling foundation in Fujian.

Whether Haihan will be satisfied with such a tacit understanding, Xu Yuxing is not sure.If Haihan wanted to find a reason to investigate the case to interfere with the distribution of trade-related interests in Fujian, and then affect the Xu family's share in the local economic and trade field, it would be difficult to deal with.But since the other party took the initiative to give him the initiative to investigate the case, it meant that he should be worrying too much.

The two of them briefly agreed on how to communicate information and coordinate actions in the future, and this matter was basically finalized.

After the three of Haihan finished talking about the matter and left, only Xu's father and son were left in the study, so Xu Xinsu asked, "Do you think they have another purpose in raising this matter?"

Xu Yuxing pondered and said: "At first, my boy thought that they might want to use this to start a local import and export business, but judging from what Mr. Jin said, it doesn't seem like an excuse. I heard that this matter is implicated Very widely, Liaodong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Manila, and Haihan are all investigating, and it seems that the Haihan people are really eager to find out who is helping the Spaniards resell weapons."

Xu Xinsu said: "The merchants selling Nanyang goods in Zhangquan and Quanzhou actually have a total of about a hundred people. You should make a list first, which ones are our own business, and call all relevant people to ask if there are any. It's an unruly little move. It's better for us to find people out than to let the Haihan people catch them, do you know what I mean?"

Xu Yuxing responded, "My child understands!"

There is a law in cross-border trade, the farther away the goods are, the rarer the goods are, and the higher the profit of the goods. This is also the main reason why Western colonists transported oriental specialties back to Europe across thousands of miles of sea.

By the same token, the farther the distance from Fujian is to the transnational trade with Fujian as the destination, the higher the value of the commodity and the more profitable the transaction will be.In recent years, many products from the West have been impacted by the cheaper and better-quality Haihan industrial products, and their sales have dropped significantly. However, there are still some local products from the colonies that still have a certain market in Daming.Moreover, Spain would ship a large amount of silver from the Americas every year to purchase various commodities from Daming, and its strong purchasing power made it difficult for merchants to refuse.

Therefore, before the outbreak of the Manila war last year, there were also many commodities from the Philippine Islands on the Fujian market. These spices, gemstones and other commodities from distant foreign countries had quite good sales in the affluent areas of Ming Dynasty, and the profits were naturally very high. rich.

And a considerable part of this kind of lucrative trade is indeed controlled by the Xu family. Until the war with the Spaniards last year, Fujian merchant ships were still trading in Manila.At peak times, there are at least 10 Fujian merchant ships that come to this route from Manila, and at least half of them work for the Xu family, with a yearly turnover of several [-] taels of silver.

Although the trade route from Fujian to Manila was preserved after the war, the trade target was changed from the Spaniards to the Haihan people.Due to the fact that the local social order has not yet been fully restored, the production capacity of many local products has fallen off a cliff, and Fujian did not dare to skip Haihan and go directly to the Spaniards. It was so easy to earn before.

But it cannot be said that some of them will take risks for money and continue to trade in areas ruled by the Spanish.After all, the price they paid for Ming products was much higher than the Haihan people's standards, and the rewards of going there were far greater than Manila under the Haihan people's rule in the past.And these products transported back to Fujian from the Philippine Islands are often sold in the Fujian market under the name of "purchased from the Manila area".

It is precisely because of this that neither Xu Xinsu nor Xu Yuxing mentioned that their own business firms absolutely did not participate in such unruly business methods when they talked with Jin Ming and others just now.At one point, they even suspected that the Haihan people had some clues, and deliberately beat themselves in the name of investigating the case.

Even though Jin Ming's attitude had dispelled their suspicions, out of prudence, they had to try their best to avoid being caught by the Haihan people. Some places that were not clean had to be cleaned by themselves first.As for whether someone in the Xu family was secretly selling arms for the Spaniards, we can only find out after checking it.

(End of this chapter)