1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 858 Lead the way party vs lead the way party vs lead the way party

Lin Xing has been to Sanya, so he has naturally heard the legendary stories of many maritime merchants in Fuzhou and Guangzhou who quickly made a fortune after they became friends with Haihan.In particular, the Li family in Panyu, Guangzhou, which is now known as the richest man in Guangdong and Guangxi, is an example that many maritime merchants want to emulate.Of course, making money is only one aspect of it, and being able to get all-round support from Haihan is what everyone values ​​more.The Li family that was posted to Shanghai Han early on has now become a local tyrant in the true sense. Panyu County under the Guangzhou government has completely become the private property of the Li family. Li Jifeng's words are even more effective than the local magistrate. The elite soldiers have also completely taken over the duties of the local guards, as if they have become the local emperors of Panyu County.

People in other places may just envy the privileges of the Li family, but armed smugglers like Lin Xing, who are themselves outlaws, think more.When he went south to Sanya, the Sanlin Gang already occupied a place on Liuheng Island. How to turn this situation of occupying the mountain as king into a real local separatist force is also the direction Lin Xing wants to try one.The Sanlin Gang does not have enough strength to copy Haihan's model, but if they want to follow the Li family's fortune line, the relative threshold is much lower.As long as Haihan is willing to take action, it is not impossible to support local tyrants like this in other places. The problem is that Zhejiang, where the Sanlin Gang is located, is far away from Haihan's sphere of influence. Zhi's troubles, it seems that there is no plan to go north to Zhejiang for development, but this idea has always remained in Lin Xing's heart.

Now that Haihan is heading north, and the army has already arrived at his door, this is both a danger and an opportunity for the Sanlin Gang. General Haihan's statement made Lin Xing see a glimmer of hope for the realization of his idea, so he naturally agreed first. Come down and talk.

But his straightforwardness did not bring Qian Tiandun's approval. Qian Tiandun said: "Don't rush to answer, we still have conditions. It's not too late for you to make a decision after listening."

"Please tell the general clearly." Lin Xing responded quickly.

"First of all, all the people under your command must be disarmed, and we will identify and reorganize. We only need people who are obedient and able to do things under our command, and we don't need to do whatever we want. Do you understand what I mean?" Qian Tiandun asked.

Lin Xing frowned slightly, but still responded quickly: "I will obey the general's arrangement."

Of course, Lin Xing was not happy to accept such an arrangement. The measures Qian Tiandun said were undoubtedly to remove the foundation of the Sanlin Gang's rule in the northern area of ​​Liuheng Island in one fell swoop.The members of the Sanlin gang handed over to Haihan to break up the identification and reorganize it, so the three brothers of the Lin family basically lost the main evidence for bargaining with the Haihan people.But compared to being crushed by the Haihan fleet, or even having a bad luck, such an arrangement is not unacceptable.

Sure enough, Qian Tiandun then talked about the topic he was most concerned about: "Secondly, we are going to clean up the entire Zhoushan Archipelago, including Liuheng Island, who can be used and who must be eliminated. I also hope you Can you organize a general charter for us as a reference first. Well done, I will give you more opportunities in the future, don’t limit your vision to the square inch of Liuheng Island.”

Lin Xing's heart skipped a beat again. Sure enough, the Haihan people had a huge structure in their eyes, and they didn't regard Liuheng Island as an obstacle at all. They were all focused on how to take the entire Zhoushan Islands into their pockets. In contrast, Sanlin The weight of Gang and Liuheng Island is indeed lighter.However, Lin Xing believed that his understanding of the geographical situation and power distribution of the entire Zhoushan Islands deserved enough attention from the Haihan people. If he seized this opportunity and gave it a go, he might become a phoenix afterward.

Lin Xing hurriedly stood up again and clasped his fists, saying, "I will not be grateful for the general's appreciation, and I will definitely do my best!"

When Lin Xing sat down, he saw that Ma Ling, who seemed to be in a state of mind and body before, was staring at him, as if he saw a flower on his face.He was taken aback for a moment, and soon realized that Ma Ling was able to sit here and listen to the whole process. Obviously, he had completely surrendered to the Haihan people, and he was treated like this only after gaining their trust.In this way, the local leading party that can provide information to the Haihan people is not limited to the Sanlin Gang!If the Haihan people want to use themselves, it will undoubtedly take away the work that might have belonged to Ma Ling, so that the two sides will become competitors.

Wanting to compete with the officers of Daming for a chance to stand out under the Haihan people, Lin Xinglai did not expect this to happen, and quickly began to calculate the advantages and disadvantages of the two sides in his mind.

Ma Ling, as a member of a thousand households in the Shipu Guard, is obviously no less familiar with the area south of Xiangshan than the Sanlin Gang. However, due to the limited area under its jurisdiction, the waters of the Zhoushan Islands north of Xiangshan may not be as familiar as those who have been there all year round. The Sanlin Gang, which is active in a piece of sea area, has joined, and Lin Xing thinks that he has a little advantage in this regard.

But the advantages of Ma Ling's special identity are completely incomparable to the Sanlin Gang. He can use his official identity to enter and leave all ports on the coast of Ningbo Prefecture at will, and has certain authority to mobilize local armed forces and materials.Even if the Sanlin Gang had power and influence in the East China Sea, they still couldn't get rid of their status as pirates and smugglers. When they entered the territory of Ningbo Prefecture, they would often have to change their names and not dare to show off in public.If the Haihan people plan to organize supplies in Ningbo, then Ma Ling's official status is obviously easy to handle. Of course, the premise is that Haihan and the Ningbo government do not openly tear their faces into an armed conflict.As for what happened here in Shipu Port, it seems that the impact is still controllable. For the Haihan people, Ma Ling, a pawn, can obviously still come in handy. Out.

Lin Xing believed that there were two reasons why Ma Ling took refuge with the Haihan people. One was greed for life and fear of death, and the other was the trend of profit.Needless to say on the previous one, after seeing the huge fleet of Haihan people docked in Shipu Port, Lin Xing believes that most normal people will become greedy for life and fear death, and besides, the troops stationed in the Shipu Guard Station do not have much will to fight. , and it is unlikely that he would choose to die generously for Daming's honor.Even if Ma Ling died in battle, it would be difficult to make up for his loss of land, but Lin Xing believed that what the Haihan people wanted was not the land here, and the occupation of Shipu Port was just to eliminate the hidden danger of the garrison here, and by the way, use it as a transit and assembly place for the fleet That's all.

With the Haihan people's way of doing things, most of them also gave Ma Ling some promises, such as continuing to maintain Ming Dynasty's nominal rule in Shipu Port and so on.However, Lin Xing also knew that there were a lot of valuable goods in the city, and the Haihan people would probably not spit out the good things they ate, and Ma Ling couldn't explain to the owner of the goods including himself afterwards.

Thinking of this, Lin Xingcai suddenly realized that Ma Ling was not only greedy for life and afraid of death, but his only escape now fell on the Haihan people. If he could not stay in Daming any longer, working for the Haihan people was indeed a good way out.When Lin Xing went to Sanya, he had seen that the local inspection department, naval division, and guard army in Yazhou all obeyed the command and dispatch of the Haihan people, and there were quite a few Ming soldiers who served them. It's just that those who belong to quality are generally not favored by Haihan people, and almost all those who are really capable have been picked away by the Haihan militia.Although this Ma Ling didn't have any great skills, but he could manage Shipu Port with a radius of tens of miles, and he could naturally get a suitable job under the hands of the Haihan people.The more Lin Xing thought about it, the more he felt that it was reasonable, and when he looked at Ma Ling again, he couldn't help feeling somewhat hostile.

While talking, it was time to eat, but Qian Tiandun, relying on his status, would not condescend to have dinner with these little people who fawn on Hai Han.He didn't know whether it was on purpose or not, so he arranged for Ma Ling to take Lin Xing to dinner.

After leaving the festival hall, Lin Xing saw that Qian Tiandun did not send any other people to follow him, so he took the initiative to say to Ma Ling: "Master Ma, from now on we will all work for Haihan together, please take care of me!"

Ma Ling snorted and said, "Boss Lin has a good plan. It's hard to say who will take care of who in the future. You don't have to be so polite." Apparently, he had already calculated the impact that Lin Xing would have on him after joining this game. , it is really hard to say anything good about this competitor.

Lin Xingqian said with a smile: "Master Ma, don't worry, I can't do your job, and it's hard for you to take mine away. In fact, there won't be any conflict. Why don't you and I work together to make big things happen?"

Ma Ling looked at Lin Xing, shook his head and said, "Do you think you and I are the only ones working for the Haihan people in Ningbo Mansion? Think about it, you and I have never met these Haihan people. Trust us? Did you hear what General Qian said just now? People say to take your suggestion as a reference, it’s just a reference, don’t think that you have become a military advisor for the Haihan people.”

Lin Xing frowned and said, "Master Ma, you mean that there is another person under Hai Han who is responsible for providing information?"

Ma Ling nodded and said, "Yes, boss Xu Kexu from Xiangshan County just came back from Liuheng Island yesterday."

"Xuke?" Lin Xing frowned and said, "This name is a bit impressive, it seems to be a rich man. This Xiangshan County is still under the rule of Daming, why did this person work under the command of the Haihan people?"

"I don't know, but it looks like the people of Haihan planted their eyeliner in Xiangshan." Ma Ling lowered his voice and said, "Since the people of Haihan want to attack in Zhejiang, they must have already made plans. I don’t know how many people are lurking in Ningbo Mansion.”

Hearing what Ma Ling said, Lin Xing also felt that his previous thoughts were too simple.This Haihan person has always acted meticulously, how could he leave such an obvious loophole in the employment.Most likely, as Ma Ling said, the Haihan people will compare the information they have collected with the information provided by the generals of the Ming Dynasty and the Sanlin Gang, and then select valuable parts for use.If there is any conflict in the intelligence information, I am afraid that the Haihan people will trust their own intelligence sources more.

Thinking of this, Lin Xing couldn't help but feel a little upset: "This person surnamed Xu actually went to Liuheng Island secretly to find out who I am. No wonder General Qian is so clear about the situation of my Sanlin Gang just now!"

"You're lucky. If the surname Xu hadn't said that the Sanlin Gang had imitated Haihan's many actions, General Qian wouldn't be interested in you. Even if you took the initiative to come to Shipu Port to make connections, he would at most disarm you. Surrendering and disarming will not give you a chance to cooperate?" Ma Ling said enviously.

"So, should I thank him for speaking well for me in front of General Qian?" Lin Xing didn't expect such twists and turns.

"If you want to thank you, you can thank you in person." Ma Ling pouted forward, "Here, that person is Xu Ke."

After Xu Ke returned to Shipu Port yesterday, he and Zhao Cheng reported to the command headquarters all the information he had seen and collected on Liuheng Island.Regarding the various management measures of the Sanlin Gang that imitated Haihan, he only told the truth, and did not specifically speak good words for the Sanlin Gang.It's just that after listening to their reports, several high-level executives couldn't help feeling a little closer to the head of the Sanlin Gang.Today, Lin Xing took the initiative to pay a visit, and this kind of favor was added again, so Qian Tiandun gave him the opportunity.

Although he has returned to his real name in front of Qian Tiandun, Shi Diwen, Xu Yuzhuo and others, he still maintains the identity of "Xu Ke" at other times, so as not to let interested people associate things with the Fujian Xu family.Even a general like Ma Ling, who has obtained the right to observe, doesn't know the true identity of this boss Xiang Shanxu.

Ma Ling stopped Xu Ke and introduced Lin Xing's identity to him.In fact, there is no need for a special introduction. Xu Ke also recognized Lin Xing. He had met Lin Xing when he went to Liuheng Island before, but the two sides had never really dealt with each other face to face.Xu Ke didn't attend Lin Xing's meeting with Qian Tiandun just now, but he had already heard that Lin Xing came to Shipu Port in person, and he didn't expect to meet so soon.

"I heard that Boss Xu just came back from Liuheng Island yesterday and went to the wharf of our Sanlin Gang. Why didn't he say hello so that I can have the opportunity to be an entertainer." Lin Xing complained, but his words were Faintly thorny: "Now you and I are both working for Haihan, we need to get closer."

Xu Ke can be regarded as a relatively shrewd person. Hearing this, he immediately glanced at Ma Ling, but Ma Ling deliberately avoided his eyes.He did not meet the Lin brothers this time when he went to Liuheng Island. Obviously, Ma Lingang had told him about it.Xu Ke would not believe that Ma Ling had slipped his mouth unconsciously. After all, he was a dignified family, and it was impossible for him to casually reveal military secrets.But Lin Xing said in words that he had taken refuge in Haihan, which was obviously a statement to himself.Ma Ling told Lin Xing about this, and Xu Ke could only understand it as sowing dissension.

"I have a mission to go to Liuheng Island this time, so it's inconvenient to bother Boss Lin. If I offend you, please forgive me!" Xu Ke bowed his hands to Lin Xing, and responded neither humble nor overbearing.

(End of this chapter)