1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 594

Due to the large size of the "Weisignal" and the fact that it was getting dark, it took longer than ordinary ships to dock at the port.A total of hundreds of sailors on the ship and on the shore worked with torches and lanterns, and used cables and winches to drag the huge "Prestige Signal" to the dock bit by bit.It took more than an hour for the seven ships of the mission fleet to enter the port and dock.After the boat stopped, Xu Yuzhuo boarded the "Wei Signal" again to invite the missionaries to disembark and go ashore.

"The operating efficiency of this pier is low enough." Ning Qi shook his head and gave Zhongzuo wharf a failing evaluation.His scoring standard is measured according to the average level of Shengli Port, Sanya Port, Heitu Port, and Zhennan Port, and the situation here is obviously far from a qualified military terminal.Of course, this may also have something to do with the fact that the local pier has never received such a large ship.

"Contrary to you, I feel relieved seeing such a situation." Shi Diwen replied with a smile.

"Why?" Ning Qi didn't react for a while, and subconsciously asked.

"The low operational efficiency means that their sailors are not trained enough, the number of warships entering and leaving the port is small, and the sailors are not skilled enough to operate large ships docking." Shi Diwen patiently explained.

"So it makes sense!" Ning Qi suddenly realized and nodded, and couldn't help but look at Shi Diwen with admiration.

Their mission to Fujian this time is not only to interview Xu Xinsu about some important matters concerning the cooperation between the two parties, but also to take advantage of this opportunity to collect local intelligence information, which of course also includes Fujian's military situation.Being able to infer the training status of the local garrison from the details of the arrival at the port is indeed something that Ning Qi had never thought of before. If Shi Diwen hadn't noticed it, Ning Qi would probably have missed it inadvertently.

"This is a habit we developed from sailing in the past. Every time we arrive at a new port, we have to observe the operation of the local wharf. In addition, we also need to measure data such as water depth and current velocity." Shi Diwen said while pointing He pointed to the port side, where several soldiers were quietly measuring the water depth and other data with tools according to his previous instructions.

"My servant, General Xu Yuzhuo of the Yongning Guard of the Ming Dynasty, respectfully invite the Haihan delegation to come ashore!" Xu Yuzhuo's voice came from the end of the cabin, stopping their discussion.

"Let's go, go and have a look at the Zhongzuo City!" Ning Qi didn't take any airs, and immediately got up and walked out of the cabin.

However, his wish was not fully fulfilled. Although lanterns and torches had been lit on the city wall in the middle and left, only a rough outline could still be seen in the dark night.After approaching, it can be seen that the height of the city wall is about seven meters. The outer wall is made of large granite strips. The city wall is complete with battlements, muzzles, towers and other fortifications, which is something they have seen since crossing. The most fortified of the guards' strongholds.The ruins of the guard station that I saw in Yulinjiao before, the wall only reached about half of the Zhongzuo city, and most of them were of adobe structure. Only the city gate was made of stone bricks, which was far stronger than Can't compare.

Starting from the pier, the local soldiers of the Ming army stood on the side of the road holding torches at intervals of about two feet to welcome this special mission into the city.During their march to Zhongzuo City, the soldiers on the side of the road were very quiet, and they didn't move around at will. Even Ning Qi could feel that the military discipline of this army at least seemed to be very good.

"There are a total of 1240 soldiers stationed in this city on the left side of the city. There are four gates in the east, west, north, south, and north, namely Qiming Gate, Huaiyin Gate, Chad Gate and Huangshu Gate. The next place to enter the city is The Huaiyin Gate is on the west side." Xu Yuzhuo introduced the situation of Zhongzuo City to the guests while leading the way: "My father has set up a reception banquet for everyone in the city, and you can enjoy it to your heart's content later."

"Your father is also in the city?" The news made Ning Qi a little bit surprised. Before he came here, he thought that he would have to go to Zhangzhou to meet Xu Xinsu himself.

"To tell the truth, Mr. Ning, my father came here from Zhangzhou yesterday just to welcome you all." Xu Yuzhuo explained.

After the team entered the city through the Huaiyin Gate, they soon arrived at the core area of ​​the city, the command center of the garrison.When Ning Qi was in Zhennan Port, he had seen the photo of Xu Xinsu secretly taken by the intelligence department provided by Maiko, and when he saw an old man with a face vaguely similar to Xu Yuzhuo approaching him, he recognized the identity of the other party.

"Haihan Ning Qi, I've met Master Xu!" Ning Qi saluted with fists in his hands, and greeted him first.

"This old man has admired Mr. Ning for a long time. Today I see you, he is really imposing and extraordinary!" Xu Xinsu was born as a businessman and has been in the world for many years. This flattery came out of his mouth without any hesitation.

Xu Xinsu was dressed in casual clothes instead of official clothes, which made Ning Qi feel a little more relaxed.He personally doesn't like dealing with Ming officials, and he doesn't want to simply treat the relationship between Haihan and Fujian as a business-to-business model.If Xu Xinsu insisted on receiving the Haihan Mission as the commander-in-chief of Fujian, then there would be much less room for turning around some of the topics to be discussed next.

Xu Xinsu set up two tables of banquets, and before the banquet, both parties introduced the people present on their side.Ning Qi noticed that none of the attendees arranged by Xu Xinsu were civil servants from the Zhangzhou area, and all of them were from the military.Moreover, most of the accompanying guests are surnamed Xu, so it is obvious that the relationship with Xu Xinsu is not just a simple subordinate.In other words, Xu Xinsu arranged for his own people at the reception banquet.

At the banquet, Xu Xinsu did not mention the fortifications, but only symbolically greeted the mission's fleet on its way to Fujian, and recalled his own experience of visiting Guangzhou last time.And Hai Han was very cooperative and didn't rush to bring up serious matters. After all, there was a lot of talk on this occasion, and it would be more appropriate to wait for the official meeting later to talk about some more secret matters.

After the banquet was over, Xu Yuzhuo still brought them to the residence.However, this garrison was temporarily sorted out by the military camp in the city, and Xu Yuzhuo was a little sorry: "Everyone, please feel wronged for a night, and I will arrange for you to go to Zhangzhou tomorrow. The family has prepared a large house for you there, and I guarantee that Make your stay comfortable."

Before Ning Qi could respond, Shi Diwen had already rushed forward and said, "It doesn't matter where you live, as long as it's clean. If it's convenient, we'd like to stay here for two or three more days."

Xu Yuzhuo showed distress and said: "To be honest, my father has important matters to go back to Zhangzhou tomorrow, so I also hope to receive all the distinguished guests in Zhangzhou City with better conditions. It is not a problem if you want to stay on Jiahe Island for a few more days , I’m just afraid of delaying the business that everyone needs to do.”

Ning Qi and Shi Diwen exchanged glances, and then said: "If not, I will go to Zhangzhou tomorrow, and Shi Diwen will stay here. It is inconvenient for our big ship to sail into the Zhangjiang River, and it will be docked at Jiahe Islet It's better here."

This reason is quite sufficient. Although the "Prestige Signal" is not yet a giant, there are indeed some hidden dangers for a sea-going ship of this tonnage to sail into inland rivers. What's more, the water conditions of the Zhangjiang River are completely difficult for the crew. With his eyes darkened, Ning Qi didn't want to take any risks with the navy's treasure.And Ning Qi also saw that Shi Diwen should consciously want to stay, since the military has such a plan, he is also willing to cooperate.

After Xu Yuzhuo made arrangements for them to leave, Ning Qi asked, "What do you think about staying?"

Shi Diwen nodded and admitted Ning Qi's guess: "It's so dark today, and I can't see the situation here clearly. I plan to take a little time to study the defense situation here, and get a feel for the army under Xu Xinsu's command."

"Your military wants to attack Xiamen Island?" Ning Qi boldly guessed sensitively.

"You're overthinking." Shi Diwen denied Ning Qi's idea this time: "The military's first choice is Penghu and Taiwan, which are some distance away from the mainland. Even if we want to establish a military base here in Fujian, we think Jinmen Island is better than Xiamen The island is more suitable, and its location can easily control Quanzhou in the north."

Kinmen Island and Xiamen Island face each other across the sea from east to west, and the nearest point is only five nautical miles apart. However, Kinmen Island is located further outside, and the radiation control range is relatively larger. The distance from Quanzhou to the north is also shorter than that of Xiamen. The island is almost a quarter closer.Of course, there are also Ming troops stationed on Kinmen Island. As long as the cooperative relationship between the two sides continues, it is inconvenient for Haihan to take some unfriendly actions against "friendly troops".Therefore, in the development plan formulated by the military, it did not target Xiamen Island and Kinmen Island near the coast of Fujian, but set its sights on the area east of the Taiwan Strait.

"The people we sent here have always lived in the city of Zhangzhou, and there is still no information about the deployment of Xiamen Island. I have to take this opportunity to collect some useful information." Shi Diwen said from A SLR camera was found in the suitcase: "Go out for a walk tomorrow, and take pictures of the defense situation inside and outside the city, anyway, they don't know what I'm doing."

"Remember to make a copy of the photo later, it will become a precious historical document in a few hundred years!" Ning Qi quickly added.

Various expedition teams or combat troops dispatched by Haihan will archive and back up the photographed or recorded video data in the large database of Victory Port.Although it is only theoretical to say how many years these data can be preserved, the traversers still hope to preserve these original image data until the technological level of future generations can decipher them from the disk.

Shi Diwen replied: "No problem. By the way, did you notice just now that almost all the people present today are from the Xu family?"

Ning Qi nodded and said: "Of course I noticed, Xu Xinsu probably doesn't want us to have too much contact with the outside world, and it may even be to prevent the news of our visit from spreading too early."

"But it probably won't be possible. When the sun rises, our ship will cause a sensation, and the boats entering and leaving the mouth of the Zhangjiang River will also be able to see this big guy!" Shi Diwen winked at Ning Qi and said: "We built this big guy, isn't it just to make it attract attention?"

Ning Qi ignored Shi Diwen's joke, and changed the subject with a dry cough: "You said that if the representative of Shibazhi knew we were coming, what kind of mentality would he have?"

The smile on Shi Diwen's face slowly faded: "I think they will have the idea of ​​getting rid of us. We are providing Xu Xinsu with ammunition, training the army, and teaching him how to fight. These things are not secrets. I believe Shibazhi also knew the news a long time ago. For them, perhaps trying to cut off the military assistance behind Xu Xinsu is the best way to defeat Xu Xinsu."

Shi Diwen pointed to himself, and then pointed to Ning Qi: "You and I should be their potential targets. Maybe they will send assassins to try to kill us."

"It sounds dangerous for you to say that." Ning Qi didn't take it seriously: "If they can assassinate us, they can also assassinate Xu Xinsu, why are they making such a big circle to provoke us A big evil star?"

Shi Diwen shrugged and said, "Perhaps Xu Xinsu will be killed together when we are assassinated. But I must remind you that Zhangzhou is more dangerous than here, and you have to be careful about your personal safety."

There is only one center-left city in Xiamen Island, and basically all the troops are stationed in the city, so it is generally difficult for outsiders to get in.Although there are still some fishermen living on the island, they are unlikely to be allowed to enter the city. Therefore, it is the safest place to live in the city of Zhongzuo, which has a slightly worse condition. It's much more complicated.

But Ning Qi is not a timid person, he just smiled lightly and said: "I will be more careful, if someone really comes to assassinate, I would like to try to see if I have the ability to protect myself."

According to internal security regulations, travelers like them who travel to non-controlled areas will be issued with personal weapons.Ning Qi also received a pistol and ammunition before setting off. Although the last time he practiced target shooting was before crossing, this did not prevent Ning Qi from being confident in his shooting skills.

"I'll let old Morgan go to Zhangzhou with you. With him by your side, I'll feel more at ease." Shi Diwen didn't approve of Ning Qi's blind self-confidence, and still arranged a protective umbrella for him.

Although Morgan's main individual skill is a sniper, his pistol shooting accuracy is also very good-after all, this is the unique skill of a sniper to save his life in close combat.Moreover, Morgan has received formal military training, and his reaction and handling of situations are a hundred times better than that of Ning Qi, who has only received ten days of temporary military training. He also knows how to protect himself and others when something really happens.

(End of this chapter)