1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 215 Exchange of Information
Li Jifeng was so nervous, it wasn't a trick for Schneider to show, but he really felt fear.Wei Zhongxian, who claims to be [-] years old, is not a good stubble. Most of the court officials who opposed him were killed, demoted, and exiled. A considerable part of the remaining clan, relatives, and courtiers who were still in the court took refuge in him. He joined the eunuch party, and was proud to be Wei Zhongxian's minion, and even a few academicians who drafted the imperial decree would write down the words "I and the factory minister" in the imperial decree. This "factory minister" refers to Wei Zhongxian, because He is so powerful that no one dares to write his name directly.

The Jinyiwei, which existed as the private army of the Ming emperor, had already been replaced by Wei Zhongxian's men and horses. In 1627 alone, Wei Zhongxian sheltered as many as 17 commanders of the Jinyiwei, and appointed ten grandchildren, in-laws, etc. More than one person served as governor, governor Tongzhi, Qianshi and other positions, and even Cui Chengxiu, the current minister of the Ministry of War, was directly appointed by Yuezu on his behalf.Wei Zhongxian's nephew, Wei Liangqing, even offered sacrifices to the Taimiao on behalf of Emperor Tianqi. Many people believed that Wei Zhongxian might usurp power, and Li Jifeng was one of them.

It can be said that most of the current imperial court, from the cabinet and the six ministries to the four governors and governors, are members of Wei Zhongxian. Big, Li Jifeng doesn't even think what Schneider said can be realized.But Schneider's swearing appearance made Li Jifeng very hesitant.If this matter is handled well, the use value will be much higher than that of the new emperor, but if the operation is wrong, it will definitely end in extermination. It can be said that risks and opportunities coexist.

Seeing Li Jifeng's hesitant look, Schneider tried to persuade him: "The shopkeeper Li doesn't have to make a decision right away, wait until the news from the capital confirms what I said before, and then you can consider whether to follow my advice or not." It is recommended to do it."

Li Jifeng didn't respond to Schneider immediately, he had already started to think in his mind, which of his businesses had contacts with members of the eunuchs, and if he wanted to draw a line with the eunuchs, what measures should he take so as not to cause trouble.In his view, even if the Eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian will start to decline after the new emperor ascends the throne, at most it will just lose power, and it may not develop to the point of life and death, so this measure of keeping distance has to be carefully considered. grasp.

Schneider coughed a few times before Li Jifeng came back from contemplation and apologized again and again.Schneider didn't take it seriously either. He didn't know how much Wei Zhongxian's matter would affect the government and people's sentiments at this time, so he didn't understand Li Jifeng's nervousness at this time.

"Treasurer Li, I have already shown my sincerity. Shouldn't your bank also show it?" Schneider asked.

After spoiling so much information, if Schneider can't even exchange any valuable information, he will definitely be looked down upon by He Xi, the leader of the intelligence system, after returning.The worse situation than being despised is being despised by one's own subordinates. As a member of the Supreme Executive Committee and director of the Guangzhou Office, Schneider does not want to be seen by others because of "ineffective intelligence collection" and other reasons. low.

Li Jifeng was puzzled, "What does Mr. Shi mean?"

"I'm not in a hurry to find out if it's too far away, but our two ships will soon return to Shengli Port. It is said that pirates often appear outside the Pearl River Estuary. Can shopkeeper Li reveal some information about this?" Schneider asked.Regarding the situation in the southeast coast, especially the coastal area of ​​Fujian, Schneider knew that the other party would definitely not disclose it easily, at least until his "prophecy" was fulfilled before gaining the other party's trust and information.At present, we can only settle for the next best thing, and first find out the situation in the Pearl River Estuary where the Military and Police Department intends to set up in the future.

Li Jifeng pondered for a while, and finally said: "There are several naval battalions stationed in Xin'an County outside the Pearl River Estuary. Pirates generally dare not appear in the waters near it. Most pirates along the coast of Guangdong camp on the islands west of Xin'an. I heard that you have a Such an extremely detailed map, Mr. Shi must know that there are two large bays west of Xin'an, right?"

Schneider nodded to show that he understood. He had been to Shenzhen and Hong Kong many times before crossing, and he was quite familiar with the situation in that area.The two bays mentioned by Li Jifeng are Dapeng Bay and Daya Bay, which are located near Shenzhen in later generations.

"Four or five bands of pirates settled in these two bays, waiting for the opportunity to plunder ships traveling between the Pearl River Estuary and Fujian." Li Jifeng introduced: "It is said that there are also pirates' lairs around Dangan Island, responsible for robbing ships from Sea ships sailing from Xin'an to Qiongzhou, Nanyang and other places."

Schneider had done solid homework beforehand. As soon as Li Jifeng said the name "Dangan Island", the location of this place immediately appeared in Schneider's mind.

Dangan Island is located in the sea about [-] kilometers south of Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is named "Dangan" because of its narrow and long shape like a shoulder pole.This island has an area of ​​more than ten square kilometers. There are no other islands to the east and south of it. All ships entering and leaving Hong Kong from the South China Sea must pass by this island. From a geographical point of view, it can be regarded as the gateway of Hong Kong, so Its military value is also quite high.In the republic of later generations, this island is the first defense area of ​​the Wanshan Fortress Area, which can be regarded as an important strategic gateway to southern China.

In the process of selecting a suitable location for establishing a stronghold at the Pearl River Estuary, the Military and Police Department also considered Dangan Island.This island not only has several natural harbors suitable for building docks, but also has natural mineral water veins on the island, so the supply of fresh water in the future will not be a problem.However, the main purpose of the Military and Police Department is to monitor the air routes between Guangzhou, Qiongzhou, and Nanyang, and Dangan Island is a bit far away from this air route, and it is not as favorable as the Wanshan Islands in terms of geographical location.In addition, the location of Dangan Island is too far to the east. The Military and Police Department believes that since it knows that there are pirates in the waters east of Hong Kong, then the location of Dangan Island is very vulnerable to pirate attacks, and the Military and Police Department does not intend to use this monitoring function. If there are pirates attacking on a large scale, the limited remaining personnel on the island may not be able to survive for an hour. This kind of risk is really not worth taking.

But now Li Jifeng's words undoubtedly confirmed the speculation of the military and police department that the situation on Dangan Island was indeed a little troublesome.Moreover, it seems that the Military and Police Department still has a headache on how to guard against or deal with the pirates on Dangan Island, because it is only more than 20 nautical miles away from Wanshan Island, Baili Island, and Dong'ao Island, which the Military and Police Department favors. When it is accurate, it is possible to touch the door directly.

But if you have a headache, that is also the matter of the military and police department. Schneider doesn't care about it. What he has to do now is to keep all the situation Li Jifeng said in his mind, and then go back and sort out the relevant information and hand it over to professionals. .

"The pirates on Dangan Island are called 'Haixuanfeng'. The leader is said to be from Guangxi. They only have one or two hundred people and four or five ships. They are considered very small pirates along the coast of Fuguang." Since Li Jifeng opened the He didn't keep anything more out of his mouth, and explained the situation of this pirate to Schneider in detail: "It is said that the navy in Xin'an County went to suppress it twice, but it probably leaked the news, and they were all avoided by the pirates on the island in advance." It's open. This group of people doesn't move out frequently, they have been on Dangan Island for more than two years, and it seems that they have not heard of them making a few deals."

"Excuse me, may I ask if shopkeeper Li has been with this group of people before?" Schneider asked straight to the point.This Dangan Island is so close to the site chosen by the Military and Police Department, I am afraid that sooner or later there will be an armed conflict between the two sides. It is best to know whether "Fu Ruifeng" is involved in it, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings in time.

Li Jifeng shook his head and denied: "This group of people has nothing to do with Shixing. At the beginning of this year, when Bihang had a ship going to the South China Sea, it was stopped by this group of people, but their speed was too slow, so they couldn't stop it at all. Despicable ship."

That's the end of the beam, Schneider secretly commented on this.

"Then what are the origins of those pirates in the west of Xin'an?" Schneider asked.

"Those pirates are actually headed by a big boss. Has Mr. Shi heard of Liu Xiang?" Li Jifeng asked.

Schneider shook his head, thinking that I know Liu Xiang, and who is Liu Xiang.

Li Jifeng smiled, but did not continue talking.Since Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he naturally wouldn't rush to reveal all the cards in his hand to the opponent.

Although Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he still wrote down the name first, and he would find out when he went back and asked the people in the military and police department.

"Apart from them? Are there any other pirate forces in the Pearl River Estuary?" Seeing Li Jifeng stop, Schneider continued to ask.

Li Jifeng shook his head and said: "As far as I know, all the way from there to Nan'ao Island in Chaozhou Prefecture belongs to Liu Xiang's sphere of influence."

"Oh?" Schneider finally recalled that the "Liu Xiang" Li Jifeng mentioned was not an ordinary pirate leader, but a great pirate with considerable strength!
Speaking of this, Li Jifeng kept silent, and after chatting for a few more words, the two of them had no intention of continuing the conversation, so Schneider bid farewell to Li Jifeng and left.

"Mr. Shi!" Yu Xiaobao, who had been waiting outside, hurried over and took his briefcase from Schneider.After Yu Xiaobao arrived at the Guangzhou Office this time, he was arranged to work beside Schneider, while his little friend Zhang Qianzhi followed He Xi.In fact, Schneider had no interest in taking an apprentice apprentice, but Ning Qi specially sent him a message this time, asking him to take good care of Yu Xiaobao.Working on the executive committee together, Schneider still has to give enough face, so Yu Xiaobao has become Schneider's little tail, as long as Schneider leaves the courtyard of the Guangzhou Office, Yu Xiaobao will definitely follow behind carrying bags.

Yu Xiaobao doesn't think carrying bags is so cheap. Although he doesn't have the slavish idea of ​​"being able to carry bags for the leader is a blessing" in his mind, he also knows that there are many people in Shengli Harbor even for this kind of work of carrying bags. If you want to grab it, you can't grab it.After all, this is working next to Chief Haihan, and it is rare to see a post like this around the clock in Victory Port.To put it bluntly, there was a successful example of being the chief's shadow until the early days—Gao Qiaonan.In the beginning, it was precisely because Gao Qiaonan acted as a shadow for Ren Liang every day in the labor camp that he had the opportunity to show his ability and was promoted.It is said that in the recent telegram sent back from Heitu Port, Qian Tiandun, the chief military officer, has proposed that Gao Qiaonan be in charge of the local militia training affairs. It seems that it is just around the corner that he will be promoted and integrated into the mainstream society of Haihan in the future.In just a few months, this guy has transformed from a native chicken to a phoenix.

In history, there are many people who are famous for carrying bags. Yu Xiaobao remembers a story that Ning Qi told him when he was in Victory Port.In the far northern empire, there was a young man who was born as a commoner, and once he got a very rare job, which was to carry bags for the heads of the country—later, this young man became the new emperor of the northern empire, and Reigned for 20 years.

Of course, not everyone who carries the bag for the leader has the chance to become an emperor. There are countless stories between carrying the bag and ascending the throne that are not known.However, Yu Xiaobao has already understood the true meaning of Ning Qi's story - even the powerful emperor of the empire may have been just a bag boy at the beginning; even an ordinary bag boy has the opportunity to become a big shot.If you want to change your destiny, you can only fight for it by yourself, and you will have a chance if you fight for it. Otherwise, you will be like those thousands of bag boys who have not become big shots.

Schneider touched Yu Xiaobao's head, and then walked straight forward.After taking two steps, he stopped suddenly, turned to Xiaobao and asked, "Xiaobao, I heard that Mr. Ning said that you are very smart, you are probably the smartest kid in Shengli Harbor, so can I ask you a question?"

Yu Xiaobao nodded quickly, it was rare to meet Schneider willing to take the initiative to talk to him, this kind of opportunity should not be easily let go.

Schneider asked: "If we plan to buy a house in one place, but the house next door is a bad guy, but if we drive away the bad guy, there may be an even worse guy living in, what should we do in this situation? Is that good?"

Yu Xiaobao blinked and replied, "Then buy a house in another place?"

Schneider shook his head and said, "I can't change the place, think again!"

Yu Xiaobao rolled his eyes and continued to answer: "After driving away that family, I even bought the house next door, so I don't have to worry about that problem."

Schneider grinned and said, "Sure enough, Mr. Ning is right!"

After returning to the Guangzhou Office, Schneider asked Yu Xiaobao to notify the three people from the military and police department to come to the meeting.But after waiting for a while, only Xiao Liang and Yu Yao came. He Xi said that he was out on business, but no one knew where he went.Schneider was already accustomed to He Xi's style, so he didn't care too much, so he just pulled the two of them to sit down for a meeting.

Schneider recounted the process of the meeting with Li Jifeng today, and then informed the two of the information he had exchanged.Xiao Liang and Yu Yao exchanged glances after listening, but they didn't speak.

Schneider felt that the atmosphere was a bit wrong, and quickly asked: "Did I spoil too much? But the things I said to Li Jifeng were all approved by the headquarters. If they hadn't written the materials and sent them over, I would have There is no way to reveal it to him!"

Xiao Liang shook his head and said, "It's not about this problem, but about the information you got... It's about that Liu Xiang, I'm afraid it will be more troublesome."

Schneider seemed to understand everything: "I heard Li Jifeng's tone at that time, it seems that Liu Xiang has a big background."

"It's not big, it's very big." Xiao Liang corrected him: "Who is the most threatening maritime opponent to us in the next few years?"

"Zheng Zhilong's Shiba Zhi!" Schneider replied without thinking.In the work discussions of the past few days, as long as the content of maritime trade is involved, it is almost impossible to bypass this topic.All the intelligence gathering work of the Guangzhou Office aimed at the direction of Fujian is also the first target of this pirate gang named "Eighteen Zhi".Although the two parties have never met each other, and it is impossible to even talk about contact, the relevant departments have already started to prepare for the future conflict with "Eighteen Zhi", and the business department in charge of Schneider is also among them—— The arms sales policy for Fujian is almost formulated for the "Eighteen Zhi".

"Zheng Zhilong is Liu Xiang's Qi brother who burned rice wine and chopped chicken heads!" Yu Yao took over the conversation and said, "Simply put, Liu Xiang is also one of the pirate leaders of 'Eighteen Zhi'."

Schneider swallowed hard: "Does this mean that we will soon face the threat from 'Eighteen Zhi'?"

Xiao Liang nodded, and replied solemnly: "It is very possible. According to what Li Jifeng said, from the west of Hong Kong to the waters near Chaozhou, it is Liu Xiang's territory, so there are at least a thousand people under his command. It takes a hundred ships to control such a large sea area. Even if our armed forces are fully mobilized, we may not be able to defeat him at sea."

"It's not necessarily that there will be a fight, right?" Schneider still has a glimmer of hope for this matter: "I think about it, when Li Jifeng talked about Liu Xiang, he didn't feel much awe. There are private contacts in the gang."

"Having connections does not mean that he can do things with his words." Yu Yao did not agree with Schneider's optimism: "Can Li Jifeng persuade Liu Xiang to do something or not? Even if we don't set up a stronghold in the Pearl River Estuary now, wait for our power in the future After expanding to the coast of Guangdong, there will still be a day when he will face Liu Xiang. Li Jifeng is just a businessman after all, and at most he can help smooth things over in the early stage. When it comes time to grab territory and fight for the right to survive, who will take his words back? thing? Will you?"

Schneider shook his head lightly, and had to admit that Yu Yao's words made sense.

(End of this chapter)