1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 467 Report from the Ministry of Security
For the Ministry of Security, which has a total staffing of only 300 people, a seven-member team is already considered a medium-sized field team.However, due to safety considerations, this field team did not arrange traversers to serve as commanders, so there is no good way to send the intelligence they can collect in Batavia back to the Sanya base camp in time, about every two It takes a month to bring back a written report by the merchant ship going to the local area, and the timeliness is actually not good.Of course, as Tao Donglai said, there is no rush for intelligence collection. These intelligence personnel lurking in Batavia will play a role sooner or later.

The work of the Batavia Intelligence Station was not the only reason why Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie came to the Ministry of Security. In addition to sending out intelligence personnel to collect information, another important function of the Ministry of Security was counter-intelligence work.It has been a while since Jinyiwei spies Li Qingyang and others were arrested last time, but due to the unknown circumstances of the case, and in order to avoid the situation where the opponent sent multiple batches of personnel, the security department continued to conduct strict investigations for a period of time. Case closed.Another purpose of Tao and Yan's coming to the Ministry of Security today is to listen to Hao Wanqing's closing report.

"After our repeated interrogation, as well as simultaneous investigations in Guangdong and Sanya, it can be basically confirmed that this group of Jinyiwei spies has no other accomplices, only the five people who were arrested by us. The Nanjing side directly appointed Li Qingyang, a hundred householders of the Jinyiwei As the commander of the operation, the purpose is to break into the Sanya area, find out our details, and give him the power to mobilize local Jinyiwei personnel to cooperate with the operation when necessary." Hao Wanqing changed the subject here: "I personally think that our existence It has attracted the attention of the intelligence agencies of Ming Dynasty to a certain extent, but obviously they did not pay enough attention to it, otherwise at least two to three batches of personnel should be sent from the very beginning."

"It's hard to say, maybe Jinyiwei Yamen also has its own considerations." Tao Donglai has a different opinion on this: "Look at our own situation, the executive committee pays enough attention to Batavia, right? But the personnel and Funds are limited, so we can only send a few people to lurk there. Jin Yiwei just wanted to find out the bottom line, and did not investigate us as a major treason case. It is normal that the resources invested are limited."

"What did Li Qingyang say in his confession?" Yan Chujie had no intention of participating in their discussion. This kind of subjective opinion is definitely not as accurate as the statement of the parties themselves.

Hao Wanqing lowered his head and looked through the documents: "Li Qingyang claimed that his order was to lurk in the local area and collect information about our Haihan. As for other actions, we need to wait for further instructions from the Nanjing side."

Yan Chujie shook his head and said, "It's as good as not saying it. Have you found out why Nanjing is suddenly interested in us?"

"It's mainly because of the weapons we export." Hao Wanqing is very sure about this: "We have purchased a large number of weapons in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian in the past two years. The two of you should know more about this than me. The situation. Just the thousands of matchlock guns and dozens of large and small artillery equipped by the Fujian Navy in the past two years are enough to attract the attention of interested people."

In fact, the military equipment that Haihan sold to Daming was far more than muskets and cannons. There were also all kinds of personal equipment prefixed with "tactics", such as daggers, multi-functional armed belts, marching backpacks, wound medicine, armor, and combat boots. wait.Of course, the sales targets of these things are not ordinary soldiers in the Ming army, but officers who have spending power and are willing to spend money to achieve better performance on the battlefield.Most of these things are imitated according to more mature products in another time and space. Whether it is the comfort brought by the design concept based on ergonomics or the convenience and practicality of functional design, they are all the standards of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. Products are unattainable, and as long as the owner is willing to spend money, it can even provide personalized differentiated services.

These commercial sales methods have indeed greatly promoted the development of the arms trade in actual operation, especially those wealthy businessmen who organized local militias under the call of Haihan, often tailor-made for themselves or their families regardless of the price. A set of exclusive equipment.For example, Li Nai, a Haihan culture fanatic, has a set of combat uniforms that are completely made according to the standards of the traverser officers, and his personal equipment is complete, except for the walkie-talkie and firearms. The armed belt around the waist and the gun The holster is used to hold two flintlock pistols specially made for him.Of course, this custom-made equipment with the "Li" logo everywhere is not cheap. The price is as high as four figures, enough to buy two 6-pound cannons produced by Haihan.After Li Nai returned to Guangzhou with this set of equipment, the Guangzhou Office received more than 20 private custom orders one after another in the next month, and the total amount was enough to arm a company of militias.

Because Li Nai has the legal armed organization "Golden Shield Escort" under his name, he usually has a lot of dealings with the dignitaries on the ground in Guangdong, so under the guidance of the Guangzhou Office, he formed a group called "Haihan Tonghao" "private organization.The organization whose name sounds like a literati poetry society is actually a place similar to a military house club, which recruits a large number of second-generation local tyrants who have nothing to do and have no intention of studying for fame near Guangzhou to join.This "hobby club" organizes members to go hunting in the wild, going on sea cruises and other activities every month, and people from the Haihan military are responsible for arranging the itinerary and programs. The guns used for hunting are the standard equipment of the current militia. You can't buy it, and the "exploration-class" warships of the Haihan military are the ones that go to sea. Ordinary people can't enjoy such treatment.

The cost of this kind of itinerary is not cheap. Generally, it costs 300 taels of silver to participate in the three-day and two-night event. In the next month, I will not be able to integrate into the discussion topics in this circle. After several months of operation, the "Friends Club" has developed a group of loyal fans in Guangzhou, and young people from other states and capitals have begun to sign up for this private organization.

Although this kind of organization is purely non-government in nature, because its members are almost all middle and upper class people in society, its influence is far beyond that of ordinary organizations such as chambers of commerce, fellow countrymen's associations, and literati poetry societies. With the conscious participation and guidance of the Guangzhou Office and the military, this organization has changed from a purely underground society to a semi-public form.The content of the activities in the past few months has been to organize members to visit the militias in various parts of Guangdong that are funded and trained by Haihan, and to hold small-scale military exercises in the residences of these militias. In addition, you can also have the opportunity to participate in simulated military operations.

With Haihan's organizational ability and rich activities, it is undoubtedly easy to capture the hearts of these young people.The relevant departments don't need these people to directly join the Haihan militia to serve the executive committee, as long as they have their hearts attached to Haihan, and they won't jump out to make enemies of Haihan—of course, treat this matter as a business It is also a matter of course to make a fortune by the way.

Naturally, this kind of alternative organization is not liked by everyone. In the eyes of some people, the "Hainan Club" is simply a heresy and a cult, which is degrading and should be punished as soon as possible.However, the objections of the scholars had no effect in front of these little overlords who were armed to the teeth. Instead, they were approached by members who had heard the news. These young people were rich and powerful, and they were not afraid of causing trouble at all.After several poetry clubs were demolished one after another, no one in Guangzhou publicly discussed the "hobby club" anymore.In the later historical records, the members of the "Haihan Club" who made their fortunes in Guangzhou City were also called the first batch of "***" in the history of Haihan.

Due to the distance, Fujian has not been invaded by the culture of Guangzhou. However, the naval forces stationed in the most important foreign trade ports in Fujian are almost all equipped with weapons produced by Haihan, which has completely replaced Ming Dynasty. The standard equipment of the Ministry of War.Moreover, the Fujian Navy's report to the Ministry of War has clearly stated that all weapons and equipment quotas for the next year will be discounted and prepared by the Navy itself.The main reason for Nanjing's attention is probably because of this matter.As long as the intelligence department investigates with peace of mind, it is not difficult to find out that the source of these weapons is in Guangdong, and Haihan's reputation in Guangdong has long been known to passers-by, and a lot of information can be collected without special inquiries.

No need for strong intelligence analysis capabilities, as long as the situation in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces is combined and sorted out a little, anyone who is not blind can see the role of the Haihan force behind the scenes.If Haihan was only engaged in commercial activities, Jinyiwei might not have much interest in following up. However, one of the most important commodities that Haihan people sell to Ming Dynasty is arms. Gross dereliction of duty.

"Jin Yiwei wants to investigate us. It is only right and proper. There is nothing to say. However, after this incident, there is no guarantee that Nanjing will not send out the second and third batches of people, and I am afraid that their mission here is not only It’s just lurking. What countermeasures does the security department have now?” Tao Donglai continued to ask.

Hao Wanqing replied: "We are now mainly taking two countermeasures. First, the Guangzhou Office uses the official connections in Guangdong to obtain relevant information. Last time we were able to catch people like Li Qingyang, the source of the information is also They come from people in the officialdom. Second, we have to rely on strict defense at various checkpoints entering Sanya to eliminate suspicious personnel, but it is hard to say how effective this method will be. Compared with Jinyiwei, our entry-exit management personnel are only amateurs. If the opponent's whereabouts are not confirmed in advance like last time, it is estimated that it will be difficult to directly pick out the opponent from among the immigrants."

"These two methods sound like a bit of luck. Can this really work?" Yan Chujie questioned.

Hao Wanqing smiled wryly and said, "We also know that this is not the best way, but every time there are hundreds or thousands of immigrants from the mainland to Sanya, and we don't have the ability to verify their identities one by one, this task is really difficult!"

Tao Donglai heard something from Hao Wanqing's words, and pondered: "If the Security Department has any concerns, you can tell them directly. The purpose of the Security Department's work is to protect the interests of the Haihan group. If necessary, it can be appropriately relaxed. standard of conduct.”

Hao Wanqing said: "Then can I just say it straight?"

"Say it!" Tao Donglai nodded to signal him to continue.

"The best way is to let them fight their own people." Hao Wanqing obviously didn't come up with this idea just now, and said with eloquence: "The person who is most familiar with Jin Yiwei's way of doing things is only Jin Yiwei himself. If Jin Yiwei can go to the immigration management office to do things for us, then things will be much easier."

"From your tone, someone has already chosen? Jin Yiwei from Yacheng?" Yan Chujie asked tentatively.

Hao Wanqing shook his head and said: "The nature of the people in Yacheng is similar to that of temporary workers. They are not professional enough, and they don't know as much about the Jinyiwei system as I do. According to Li Qingyang, if they can reach Sanya smoothly, they will not take the initiative to contact Yacheng. The reason is that they are afraid that they are not professional enough and will expose the whereabouts of this team of lurkers."

"That's true, 500 taels of silver a year can be bought, how can the professional quality be strong?" Tao Donglai also held the same opinion on Hao Wanqing's opinion.There are only a few people in the staff of the Jinyiwei in Yacheng. When the Yacheng office took out the money, the Jinyiwei in Yacheng immediately willingly became a little transparent from then on, and did not bother about Haihan's affairs at all.It would not be difficult to pay more money for these people to work for Hai Han, but Hao Wanqing didn't intend to use the limited funds to hire a bunch of idlers.

"I think that's the same. It's better to try to instigate the few people caught this time by hiring the people in Yacheng." Yan Chujie also agreed: "These people are all from the Nanjing Yamen, and they have a little way of doing things. The most important thing is But if Nanjing continues to send people over, maybe they will recognize it. Lao Hao, have you tried to do their work?"

It is nothing new to instigate opponents here. Luo Shengdong can be regarded as the first person to be instigated by Haihan. Later, Wei Ping, Yu Zhen, the Ruan Brothers, Wu Sen and others were successfully instigated by Haihan. After entering the Haihan system, people have developed quite well, at least better than before.However, almost all of these people are concentrated in the business and military and police departments, and there has never been a similar situation in intelligence agencies.

(End of this chapter)