1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 429 Gong Shiqi's Difficulties
Although such inspection procedures are cumbersome and will greatly affect the efficiency of cargo handling at the terminal, under the current situation, the Ministry of Security and the Police Department cannot come up with a more effective way to investigate for the time being.Before obtaining more detailed opponent information, relevant departments can only use this slightly primitive and clumsy method to strengthen local intelligence and defense work.

This kind of scene does not only appear on the wharf of the Sanya Inland River Port. In fact, in the nearby Shengli Port, relevant departments have also made similar arrangements. Even Tielu Port, which specializes in berthing salt ships, has been notified to Conduct key investigations on those who go to the place and try to stay.

In addition, the Lijiazhuang immigration transfer station in the mainland and Wanshan Port, which undertakes some cargo transfer tasks, have also received notices from the base camp, asking them to strengthen the investigation of foreign personnel in the near future.

"If this kind of thing doesn't happen, the executive committee won't realize the importance of our intelligence agency!" He Xi took the towel handed over by Xiaobao and wiped his face, and said angrily: "I made a report last year to let The Executive Committee expanded the establishment of the Security Department, but this matter has been delayed until the end of the Hue attack this year. Now all the new recruits are still in training, and there are only a few people who can be used in the field, so how to arrest them?"

Yu Yao, who was sitting next to him, responded: "You don't have enough manpower, then you should transfer people from the guard company first, and if not enough, then transfer people from the Golden Shield escort, you should be able to get two or 300 people together .”

"There is no one available at the Golden Shield for the time being." He Xi shook his head and said, "I just went to ask about it today, and they took on a big job there to escort a batch of goods to Shaoguan. Let's go. From Guangzhou, I have to trek all the way. I don't think I will be able to return in ten days. I don't need to count on them in the near future. Xiao Liang even took half of the guards to Panyu, and the rest had to Looking at home, how dare I transfer out to the field at will?"

"Don't just complain, isn't there still Gong Shiqi? This guy can be used as a team by himself, don't make it seem like you have no one to use." Yu Yao retorted with a smile .

"Gong Shiqi is capable, but there is only one! If there are ten or eight Gong Shiqi, I don't have to complain." He Xi argued helplessly.

Gong Shiqi was the one named by He Xi to the military after the battle of Lijiazhuang last year, because he himself joined the army with art, and he has made military exploits in the army and received awards, so both his combat ability and his loyalty are worthwhile. trust.Before the naval battle with Liu Xiang in the Pearl River Estuary last year, it was Gong Shiqi who led his people to attack and pulled out many hidden piles and dens arranged by Liu Xiang near Guangzhou. It can be said that it laid an excellent foundation for the subsequent victory in the naval battle.

He Xi was also very satisfied with Gong Shiqi's performance. In the written report submitted to the executive committee after the operation, he was not stingy in calling him "the object that can be cultivated" and applied for third-class personal merit for him.This time, after the intelligence agency of the Guangzhou Office got the news of Jin Yiwei's actions, He Xi sent Gong Shiqi out again to collect information among the people.

As one of the first batch of field personnel under the Ministry of Security, Gong Shiqi enjoyed even higher treatment than Lin Nan in the base camp.Not only is he equipped with a single-shot pistol and some other special agent equipment, but he also has certain command authority.During the execution of the mission, the field team of the Guangzhou Office was fully commanded by Gong Shiqi.

When He Xi was complaining about the lack of manpower in the Guangzhou Office, Gong Shiqi was leading a team to lurk outside a certain wine shop in Guangzhou.Gong Shiqi stood in the shadow of the eaves, fanning the wind slowly with his straw hat, and glanced at the restaurant opposite from his corner of the eye from time to time.There was a load of firewood in front of him, which was also a prop he used to conceal his identity - pretending to be a farmer who went to the city to sell firewood.

Although the title of field commander sounds good, in fact, the field staff of the Guangzhou Office has only eight people, so that they often have to turn to the security company of the Guangzhou Office.Last year, Gong Shiqi led a team to raid Liu Xiang's underground bank in Xin'an County. At that time, because of insufficient manpower, he had to transfer people from Lijiazhuang to transport the money.However, because of the high level of secrecy involved in today's operation, Gong Shiqi did not ask for someone from the guard company in advance, but only brought people from the field service team to dispatch.

In addition to Gong Shiqi, several other people pretended to be passers-by, grocery peddlers, beggars, etc., and watched the restaurant together. In addition, there was a covered carriage parked at the back of the street. .According to the news that Gong Shiqi had received before this, this restaurant is actually one of Jinyiwei's secret strongholds, and it is directly under the jurisdiction of Nanzhen Fusi - this news is worth a full 500 taels of silver, and He Xi signed it without saying a word But, if Gong Shiqi didn't get anything of value out of it in the end, then it might be difficult for him to explain to He Xi what the money was for.

Gong Shiqi's team has been monitoring here for two days. He thinks that if someone from Nanjing's Nanzhen Fusi comes, they may show up here.However, since he got the news too late, he was not sure whether the people from Nanjing had already been here, so he could only be a dead horse as a living horse doctor, hoping to obtain more detailed information by monitoring this place.

It has to be said that the official intelligence agencies of this era still seriously lack the vigilance of intelligence struggles. The people in this restaurant still have a somewhat unconcealable atmosphere of public officials. Gong 17 has seen several people in the restaurant in two days. Xiao Er is not familiar with the business of selling liquor, and the result of sending someone into the store to deliberately make things difficult for Xiao Er yesterday was that Xiao Er turned out to be swearing at each other.

This kind of unprofessional performance basically confirmed the information that Gong Shiqi bought with money. Of course, Jin Yiwei, who pretended to be a commoner in the restaurant, probably never thought that someone would be so bold as to spy on them. Surveillance is defenseless.

Due to the limited personnel in the field team, there was no way to investigate more places by casting a net. Gong Shiqi decided to take a risk this time and concentrate the strength of the field team to monitor this place.If luck is right and the bet is right, then maybe this is the starting point for his future success.

Seeing that it was already noon, Gong Shiqi took out the steamed buns wrapped in cloth from his arms, broke them apart and ate them bit by bit.This kind of fixed-point monitoring is supposed to not consume a lot of energy, but the hot weather has become the biggest enemy. Even if Gong Shiqi has been standing under the eaves for shade, he still sweats a lot after half a day.But he didn't dare to be distracted in the slightest, because this action is very likely to affect his future career, and its importance is unmatched by past field missions.

Although Gong Shiqi was born in Daming and grew up in Daming, he really didn't have much respect for the Ming court, let alone a lot of loyalty.If he hadn't been oppressed by the government at the beginning, he wouldn't have lost his family and ended up in exile in Victory Port.He is well aware of how powerful these overseas visitors for whom he has worked for, let alone dealing with a few Jinyiwei, even if one day sends troops to attack Guangzhou City, he will not be shocked.Therefore, when He Xi relieved him before the action, he was the one who comforted He Xi that he didn't need to worry, and at the same time showed his loyalty by the way.

Gong Shiqi had already had a plan in his heart. If Jin Yiwei from Nanjing really showed up, he had to do everything possible to keep them all in Guangzhou.As for assassination or kidnapping, it depends on the specific circumstances.

When Gong Shiqi took out the second steamed bun and gnawed halfway, he noticed several suspicious figures appeared on the street.These five people are also dressed up by ordinary people, but Gong Shiqi can feel from their walking posture that these people should be Lianjiazi, their feet are obviously much more stable than ordinary people, and their eyes are sharp. Professionally observe the surrounding environment.

After the five people reached the entrance of the restaurant, they did not rush in directly, but stayed at the entrance for a while. The three of them entered first, and the two of them stood at the entrance and looked around before following in.After Gong Shiqi noticed that these people went in, the waiter soon invited out the only two customers in the shop, and then began to close the door.

This is the first time since the start of the surveillance operation that this restaurant has closed early. Obviously, the identities of the five visitors who entered the restaurant are somewhat unusual, and the only thing Gong Shiqi can think of is to link them with the actions of Nanzhen Fusi. together.

Gong Shiqi turned his head and made an inconspicuous gesture towards the corner of the street. Immediately, a passerby wandered over and asked, "Brother, how do you sell this load of firewood?"

Gong Shiqi lowered his voice and said, "Hurry back and transfer people, just say that the right idea may have arrived!"

The passer-by raised his voice and said, "What? You want three renminbi? You poor man is crazy about money!" After saying that, he walked away.

Gong Shiqi watched his companion turn the corner, and then turned his attention back to the wine shop opposite.From here to the Guangzhou Office outside the city, to find He Xi to apply for a transfer order, and then rush back with the guard company, it will take more than half an hour.The only thing Gong Shiqi could do was to pray that this group of people would not leave too soon, otherwise the few people he was commanding now might not be able to keep the group of visitors in the restaurant.

Gong Shiqi put the straw hat in front of his body, put one hand into his arms, checked the flintlock pistol in the gun pocket under his arm, and then reached for the dagger at his waist.Touching the handle of the weapon made him feel a little more at ease. Although he has kung fu, he is not a master who can fight ten against one. If he is not sure about the opponent's strength, it is best to use the weapon directly.He clearly remembered that He Xi had said in the training class that when performing field missions, one must disarm the opponent's combat ability in the fastest way, and when he can use weapons to solve problems, he should not rely too much on his fists.

He was not the only one with a gun in this field operation. The eight-person team was issued a total of four pistols. If used properly, it would not be difficult to eliminate the opponent of a five-person team.The real problem is that the loud gunshots of the flintlock guns cannot be concealed. If a few shots are fired during the action, most of them will attract the guards in the city and the Yamen.

Although the location of this wine shop is not in a busy city, there are still quite a few residents around. It is very possible to cause chaos in the street, and once the government notices it, the purpose of this operation has actually failed in half—— What He Xi hoped was to get rid of the group of people sent to Qiongzhou by Nanzhen Fusi quietly, instead of making big news that filled the city.

This undoubtedly put forward extremely high requirements for the field team. Gong Shiqi had been thinking about it for a long time, but he couldn't figure out how to complete the task without alarming the enemy.Just when Gong Shiqi was feeling very anxious, the partner sent back to ask for reinforcements had already returned, and brought back a person who should not have appeared in this place.

As soon as Gong Shiqi saw this person, he immediately sent out a signal to let someone take over his task, and then provoked Chai Dan to leave the original position quickly.

Gong Shiqi carried firewood around the streets and alleys for a while before meeting up with his companions who rushed back: "Where are the reinforcements? Why do you bring outsiders here?"

The man quickly explained: "The guards came with three carriages and more than a dozen people, all parked in the courtyard of the 'Furuifeng' shop on West Street... As for Young Master Li, the boss asked him to come here."

The "boss" he mentioned naturally refers to He Xi, the head of the intelligence agency. As for Young Master Li, it is Li Nai, the good third young master of "Fu Ruifeng".

Li Nai now spends at least half of the time in the Guangzhou Office hanging out with He Xi and the others, so Gong Shiqi naturally knows him as well.Although there is a difference in dignity, Gong Shiqi still couldn't help complaining: "Third young master, I'm doing things now, not for fun! Please go back first!"

Li Nai shook his head and said, "You want to drive me away without even knowing what I'm here for? I'm your boss who invited me to help!"

"Help?" Gong Shiqi asked suspiciously, "Does the third young master know what we are doing?"

"I know! Your boss has already told me." Li Nai responded calmly: "Isn't it just that some people with ulterior motives are planning to sneak into Sanya? Get them under control, right?"

"It's roughly like this..." Gong Qiqi knew that it was indeed He Xi who revealed the inside story to him. It seemed that Li Nai was really not bragging, but he didn't believe this young scholar who could only write with a pen. How this action can help.

"I know you have guns, but if you shoot in the city of Guangzhou, even if you kill these people, it will cause big troubles, and your boss doesn't want to make troubles, so I came here Here to help you." Li Nai said triumphantly.

Gong Shiqi couldn't help asking: "Excuse me, Third Young Master, how do you plan to help?"

(End of this chapter)