1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 607 The Chosen One
"Master Xu, at this point in the matter, I think it's time for us to let go of our guard and have a frank and honest talk." After dealing with the assassination case, Ning Qi, who had just returned to Xu Xinsu's mansion, made a request to the other party.

Originally, Xu Xinsu arranged a residence nearby for the Haihan mission as a place of residence during the visit, but after the assassination, Xu Xinsu was not sure how many assassins were still in the city, so in order to be sure, he asked Ning Qi and others moved back to Xu's residence.Ning Qi also wanted to take this opportunity to play the side drum for Xu Xinsu again, so he readily agreed.

Xu Xinsu nodded and said: "In any case, this old man is responsible for what happened in Zhangzhou. Please rest assured, Mr. Ning, this old man will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for this assassination case."

Ning Qi shook his head and said, "Master Xu, what I want to talk to you now is not the investigation of the assassination case, but the attitude of the Fujian government towards Shibazhi."

Xu Xinsu's expression froze for a moment, and then he responded, "Okay, as Mr. Ning wishes. If Mr. Ning wants to ask the old man, you may as well speak up."

Ning Qi Surong said: "Then let me just say it straight, we Haihan have always regarded Shibazhi as our enemy, and we even don't hesitate to spend a lot of resources every year to provide military assistance to the Fujian government. Regarding the goal of pirates, I think we both have common interests, but why has Fujian always been obedient, while suppressing bandits, while allowing Shibazhi to continue to deploy their commercial organizations in coastal areas of Fujian? Don’t Master Xu know, Doing this is actually feeding tigers?"

Xu Xinsu smiled wryly and said: "I don't know the truth about keeping tigers as a threat? I also have many difficulties when I turn a blind eye to these shipping companies that work for Shibazhi. During the first interview with Mr. Ning, the old man I just wanted to mention it, but I was afraid that Mr. Ning would not like to hear such topics, and I was lucky... Well, if I had been more decisive at the beginning, it would not have happened to the shitty thing like today!"

Ning Qi said: "Your Majesty Xu might as well talk about it first and listen to it. If there are any difficulties, we can also solve them together through negotiation."

Xu Xinsu sighed: "Actually, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than a profit word. Mr. Ning, do you know how many years it took me to be promoted from a small navy to the current provincial commander?"

Without waiting for Ning Qi to answer, Xu Xinsu asked himself and answered: "At the beginning Zheng Zhilong robbed the family property of my friend Li Dan, and even wanted to take away my share. In order to survive, I spent tens of thousands of dollars in the six years of Tianqi. Jin, I bought a naval officer from Lord Yu, who was the commander in chief at the time. I didn’t have any long-term plans at the time, I just wanted to continue the power of the government and let Zheng Zhilong retreat. This year is the fourth year of Chongzhen, I didn’t expect It took only five years for the old man to be promoted from a down-and-out merchant to a provincial commander. People outside probably thought that the old man was rewarded by the imperial court for his meritorious service in killing pirates and protecting the country in the past few years. But things are not that simple!"

Xu Xinsu took a sip from the teacup, and then continued: "The former commander-in-chief also used troops against Shibazhi a lot, but he repeatedly suppressed them. Instead, the officers and soldiers suffered repeated defeats. Except for the weakness of the Ming army, In addition, many people in the government have taken the benefits of Shibazhi and tipped them off, which is also one of the reasons. If the old man wants to beat Shibazhi, it will inevitably affect the interests of many people. There are ways to deal with this old man, but it is impossible to guard against stumbling in secret. If this old man wants to secure his official position and protect his own interests, he must make compromises in other minor areas."

Hearing this, Ning Qi understood a little bit, interjected and asked: "Master Xu means that these eighteen Zhizhi's agencies are located in the coastal cities of Fujian. In fact, the conflicts of interests behind them are very complicated, so you have to choose to compromise. acquiesce in their existence?"

"That's roughly the case." Xu Xinsu nodded and confirmed Ning Qi's guess: "These shipping companies usually have more than Shibazhi's family. For example, the "Zhengfeng" that the old man ordered Yang Lu to seize earlier, its shareholders One of them is a certain adult in Nanjing City. It is easy to seize the seal, but it will be very troublesome to deal with the finishing matters afterwards. It is a trivial matter to use some money to fill the holes that were poked out, but these human relations are irreparable troubles. Situations like this are not uncommon in coastal areas of Fujian. Although the old man has military power in his hands, he still has to obey the orders of the imperial court, and there are many inconveniences. I hope Mr. Ning can understand the difficulties of the old man."

"So that's how it is." Ning Qi said in his heart that this explanation was quite reasonable, and it just explained why Xu Xinsu tolerated Shibazhi's deployment of those organizations that were clearly commercial firms but were actually hidden piles under his nose.The bottom line of Xu Xinsu's friendship is to show Haihan's heart - it's not that the old man is ineffective in suppressing the bandits, it is really that the bandits are too cunning, and they have found the old man's untouchable contacts to support behind them.

Xu Xinsu continued: "The old man has planned several major actions in the past few years, hoping to wipe out the main force of the Shibazhi in one fell swoop, but every time before the action, the news has leaked. Although the old man has the heart to fight with him , but there are always people holding back..."

Hearing this, Ning Qi couldn't help interjecting: "If Mr. Xu has any taboos, you might as well make a list first. Maybe we can give Mr. Xu some advice."

Xu Xinsu's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this. There are many folk rumors about the prophecy that the Haihan people can avoid evil.It is said that the recent alternation of the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the rise of many emerging wealthy businessmen in Guangdong have a lot to do with the prophecies provided by the Haihan people.If the people of Haihan are willing to use this magical ability to guide themselves in the maze, it will really be a means of reference.

And Ning Qi's purpose of saying this is indeed here. If it is a person with a name and surname in the officialdom, then the relevant information can be found in Haihan's large database, and it may be able to provide some help to Xu Xinsu.

But Xu Xin Suxuan shook his head resolutely and said, "Actually, there is no need to use these methods. As long as Shibazhi is killed openly, the forces behind these will immediately change their positions and stand by our side."

Ning Qi thought to himself that although Xu Xinsu came from a grassroots background, he was able to reach his current position, but it was indeed not purely by luck.Obviously, he believes in the reliability of solving problems by force more than relying on some mysterious means.And his point of view, Ning Qi also agrees very much, the power behind Shibazhi to support them is nothing more than the huge interests in the sea trade, but if there is no Shibazhi along the coast of Fujian, then Xu Xinsu will become A person like the Sea Dragon King, as long as he wants to get a share of the Southeast Sea Trade, he must stand on the same front as Xu Xinsu, unless he has the ability of Haihan and can create a team of his own. A powerful sea fleet to crusade against dissidents.

"If Mr. Xu can have such determination, then I will try my best to persuade the executive committee to provide more and stronger military aid to the Fujian military as much as possible after I go back." Now that Xu Xinsu has made his statement, then Ning Qi also wants to give some sweetness to encourage the other party to make such a choice.

"Thank you, Mr. Ning!" Xu Xinsu clasped his fists and said, "However, I also have some doubts in my mind, can I ask Mr. Ning to explain my doubts face to face?"

"Sir Xu, please tell me!" Ning Qi nodded and said.

"As far as I know, your people arrived at Qiongzhou Island where Shengli Harbor is located on Qiongzhou Island seven years after Tianqi. Is this true?" Xu Xinsu's question at the beginning had nothing to do with Shibazhi's matter. .

But Ning Qi still answered him exactly: "That's right, we landed on Qiongzhou Island at the beginning of the seventh year of the Apocalypse."

Xu Xinsu went on to say: "If I remember correctly, Shibazhi's troops only went as far as Qiongzhou Strait, and never went to the southern tip of Qiongzhou Island. However, it was in the seventh year of Apocalypse that you started to contact me. What happened in the second half of the year. The old man has always been curious, how did Shibazhi offend you at that time, so that he did not hesitate to provide military aid to the old man thousands of miles away to fight against Shibazhi's expansion?"

Ning Qi couldn't help being a little stunned when he heard this question. What reason did the envoy send at that time explain the relationship with the Fujian side? After a few years, I can't remember it.But I didn't expect Xu Xinsu to still remember this detail a few years later, it can be seen that this question has been buried in his heart for too long.

Seeing that Ning Qi was silent, Xu Xinsu went on to say, "When I went to Guangzhou last time, I also talked about this matter with Director Ma."

Ning Qi said: "Mariko? What did he say at that time?"

Xu Xinsu said: "His reaction at that time was exactly the same as that of Mr. Ning at this time. So this old man is thinking, is there any secret that is not humane?"

Ning Qi couldn't help laughing and said: "Secret? In fact, it's not a secret. Since Mr. Xu wants to know so much, then I'll tell you."

Maliko's reaction shows that he must have forgotten the excuse he gave to Fujian at that time, but Xu Xinsu's question is not difficult for Ning Qi to answer. In just a moment, he has already come up with a reasonable explanation: "Xu Xinsu Your Excellency probably also knows that we Haihan people have a strong ability to predict certain things that haven't happened yet."

Xu Xinsu nodded to show that he knew that just now Ning Qi asked him to provide the list of Ming officials who supported Shibazhi, and Xu Xinsu already had a premonition that Ning Qi's purpose was related to this magical ability of the Haihan people.

Ning Qi went on to say: "Maybe Mr. Xu will not believe what I said next, just treat it as my idiot and lie. The prediction we made on the situation in Fujian at that time, Shibazhi will be in the future." Captured the main strongholds along the coast of Fujian within a year, causing a devastating blow to the Fujian navy. Afterwards, Zheng Zhilong would accept the Fujian Governor Xiong Daren's recruitment, transformed himself into a general of the imperial court, and began to occupy the road between Fujian and Dayuan Island. The golden waterway imposes high protection fees on merchant ships that come and go here, and uses this to accumulate wealth. In a few years, he will become the most powerful maritime tycoon along the coast of Fuguang. Even the imperial court will not take him for more way."

Xu Xinsu wondered after listening, "Why didn't Mr. Ning mention the old man's whereabouts?"

Ning Qi was silent for a moment before saying: "To be honest, according to our speculation, if the situation develops according to the original track, Mr. Xu will die in battle in the waters near Zhangzhou in the first year of Chongzhen."

After hearing this, Xu Xinsu's face was also a little ugly. Anyone who heard someone predicting his own fate in this way would probably not feel much better.Xu Xinsu said: "What Mr. Ning means is that if Haihan hadn't provided military aid to the old man, then there would be no such person in the world now?"

"Although this will be difficult for Mr. Xu to accept, this is the conclusion we infer." Ning Qi nodded and admitted Xu Xinsu's opinion: "Half a year after we landed, we have not yet established ourselves in Yazhou. At that time, we hurriedly provided military assistance to Mr. Xu who was thousands of miles away, and assisted the Fujian Ming army to fight Shibazhi. Before that, we had never had any contact with Shibazhi, and we couldn't talk about any grievances. The reason for doing this is to prevent Shibazhi from ruling the coastal areas of Fujian. The person who can stop Zheng Zhilong as we know is not Yu Zigao, the general soldier of Fujian at that time, nor Xiong Wencan, the governor of Fujian. Mr. Xu, who is starting to learn to lead soldiers! This is why you have always wanted to know, I wonder if my explanation can satisfy you?"

After Xu Xinsu was silent for a long time, he opened his mouth to respond: "This seems to be the only reasonable explanation. But I also want to know, if you had chosen to support Zheng Zhilong and the Shibazhi led by him, wouldn't it be easier to get twice the result with half the effort?" Effect? ​​And with your means, it doesn’t seem to be a problem to let Zheng Zhilong provide Haihan with special treatment after occupying the important coastal areas in Fujian, right? Why did you choose the old man instead of the young and strong Zheng Zhilong and his men? The mighty Shibazhi?"

Ning Qi responded to this question very calmly: "According to the information we know, Zheng Zhilong has a vicious personality, a capricious temper, and lacks trust in people around him, especially in partners. Even if he is willing to take the initiative to join us , we will not choose to cooperate with him. No matter how powerful he is, in fact, he is just like a chicken and a dog in our eyes. When the time comes, we will naturally take action to clean him up. But before that, we need It takes time to develop and grow. There must be reliable people to stand up to Zheng Zhilong in the front line of Fujian, and we think Master Xu is the best candidate. Master Xu should not belittle himself. The person we have chosen is a truly capable person !"

(End of this chapter)