Chapter 1725
He Xi's Worries
Chapter 1725 He Xi's Worries
Of course, He Xi admired Cheng Dapeng's achievements in Batavia in the past few years. He knew that his subordinate's ability to act on the front line was indeed very strong, and his understanding of the Dutch was second to none in the Ministry of Security. He is the person in charge of Batavia's intelligence station.So when Cheng Dapeng returned to Sanya to work for a period of time, he proposed to go south and return to Batavia for a permanent residence. He Xi also agreed, because he knew very well that only by deploying Cheng Dapeng in Batavia could he play his best role. role.
But at the same time, He Xi also noticed that Cheng Dapeng's actions in Batavia and even the South China Sea area are increasingly showing a strong personal style. Many things are planned and implemented by him, although he will follow the system of the Ministry of Security Sanya reported, but the time to ask for instructions on work is less and less.
It's not that there is something wrong with Cheng Dapeng's loyalty. He Xi is still convinced that this subordinate is loyal to the country. It may be possible to make a decision after consulting the local people for instructions on current affairs.
The advantage of this model is that front-line intelligence personnel can respond to changes in the local situation in a timely manner, and will not miss great opportunities because of back and forth asking for instructions. At the same time, it can also improve the independent operation ability of intelligence personnel.But the disadvantages also exist at the same time. The intelligence agencies are originally privileged departments. Giving these officials who are in charge of intelligence work abroad too much power can easily lead to a situation that cannot be lost. Such cases are not among the intelligence officials stationed abroad under the Ministry of Security. There is no precedent.
Most of the officials dispatched by the Ministry of Security are fairly loyal to Haihan, an emerging regime. As upstarts who have risen together with this country, they often cherish the power in their hands, but they have money and power when they are stationed abroad all the year round. It is difficult for someone to completely restrain their natural desire to seek higher social status and more material enjoyment.
However, Haihan has a high demand for professionals because of its rapid expansion, so the official induction training period for them is relatively limited, and the content often emphasizes professional skills. less.
In an environment that lacks sufficient supervision and restrictions, these halfway and privileged intelligence officers can easily lose their hearts.He Xi was really a little worried that Cheng Dapeng stayed in Batavia for too long, and gradually forgot that he was taking orders from Sanya, instead of thinking of someone to ask for help when he was unable to do so.
The last time Cheng Dapeng went to the Straits of Malacca to carry out cross-border trade, he went to Xingdao to recruit a few Han prisoners who were said to be fluent in Spanish. Although He Xi nodded at the time, he still thought that Cheng Dapeng Recruitment was a bit sloppy.After all, there is almost no suitable training conditions for intelligence personnel in the local area, and these people are prisoners exiled from Manila to Xingdao. They may have more than awe of Haihan, but their loyalty is definitely not enough. Cheng Dapeng wants to personally train these people in the local area. For a newcomer, in He Xi's opinion, this is not a completely reliable plan.
Now, it is only one month since Cheng Dapeng completed his recruitment in Xingdao, and he is going to carry out a big move in Batavia that is not planned by the Ministry of Security under the pretext of controlling the grain market and recruiting anti-Dutch officials.How necessary it is to take these measures, and how sure Cheng Dapeng is of success, none of this information has been specifically explained in the telegram sent back by Batavia.
How urgent is the local situation, whether the Dutch officials who contacted Cheng Dapeng are reliable, how much money will be used in the process of competing for control of the local grain market, and whether these extra-budgetary expenses can be recovered through reasonable business methods afterwards... There are still a lot of problems that He Xi needs to figure out. If these problems do not get a reasonable explanation, then it will be difficult for him on the executive committee side to justify the necessity of Cheng Dapeng taking drastic measures locally.
The next day, He Xi brought Cheng Dapeng's telegram to Fort Victory, first found Schneider, and explained the situation to him.Currently, Ning Qi and Schneider are jointly managing foreign affairs. Ning Qi is in charge of Ming Dynasty and the surrounding small countries that are deeply influenced by Han culture, while Schneider is in charge of the affairs of Western colonial countries. The two have their own division of labor.Cheng Dapeng was in charge of the area ruled by the Dutch in the South China Sea, so He Xi naturally wanted to talk to Schneider first.
After listening to He Xi's introduction, Schneider said, "It's okay to ask the Executive Committee to support the actions of the Ministry of Security, but Minister He, you have to bring out some dry goods. First, find out how much food the Dutch want to buy from Champa. I Sending people from the embassy here to do work, there must be a clear statement, otherwise it will be meaningless to be looked down upon by the Champa. Also, your people want to disrupt the grain market in Batavia, I am afraid 80 won’t work, right? Can you give me an accurate amount? How much money does he have, how big is the gap, when will the money be used, and will the money be recovered slowly afterwards or will it be transferred to your safe In the next year's budget, these minutiae matters must be planned first."
He Xi couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard these problems mentioned by Schneider. The telegram sent back from Batavia was only one or two hundred words, so how could he explain so many problems clearly.But Schneider's request is not nitpicking. He is in charge of foreign affairs and the head of the Ministry of Finance. All these things have to be handled by him. Schneider's responsibility is over, so naturally he has to sort things out with He Xi first.
During the conversation, Ning Qi also arrived. After listening to He Xi's narration, Ning Qi's attitude was basically the same as Schneider's. He believed that the information provided by the Ministry of Security was too little, and even if the executive committee wanted to cooperate with the work, it was a bit difficult to start.As for whether Cheng Dapeng's local actions in Batavia were necessary, this was what He Xi was most worried about being picked on by the executive committee, but unexpectedly no one mentioned it.
But in fact, it is not difficult to understand. For senior officials like Ning Qi and Schneider, a considerable part of the external information they have comes from the intelligence department led by He Xi, and the reliability of this information is mostly reported to the executive committee. It has been verified before, and if it is really news of doubtful credibility, He Xi will naturally explain it.But since He Xi didn't specifically explain it, they subconsciously believed that the measures Cheng Dapeng planned to take in Batavia were actually arranged by He Xi.
The Haihan executive committee has always had a default rule, that is, not to interfere too much with the direction of the intelligence department's work, and leave professional work to professional personnel. If anyone can guide the work of the security department according to their own wishes If you move your feet, there will definitely be problems with the operation of this department.Unless there is a serious deviation in the work of the security department, or He Xi and Hao Wanqing raise some issues that need to be resolved by the executive committee, generally no one will question the planning and arrangement of the security department.
Based on this understanding, Ning Qi and Schneider would not doubt whether the request made by the Ministry of Security was reasonable and necessary, but only put forward their own views and requests to He Xi on the problems that might arise during the implementation process.
But He Xi had a headache. The information that his subordinates gave back was only these. If he had to pursue detailed data, Cheng Dapeng might not be able to get it.After all, front-line intelligence work often has to make decisions based on intuition, instead of having data and information from various sources as a reference like in the rear of Sanya, and after discussions and trade-offs by various departments, choose the one that is the safest or most suitable for Haihan. Favorable scheme.If Cheng Dapeng had to collect the information requested by Ning Qi and Schneider before making a decision, then the day lily would have been cold long ago.
"The questions you raised do exist, but we must also consider the actual situation. Some things seem to be nothing if we drag on for a day and a half, but the local intelligence personnel may have missed the best because they were waiting for Sanya to issue an order." The timing of the action." He Xi thought about his words, and then explained to them: "Cheng Dapeng is one of the most capable intelligence personnel under my command, and I think the missing information in the telegram he sent back was not intentional omissions, but It is too late to conduct a more detailed investigation.”
"I trust your professional judgment, but you have to tell me, what can I do to help your people complete the task?" Schneider didn't want to argue with He Xi on this issue. He still has several meetings to hold today. In contrast, this application from the Ministry of Security is really not an important matter.
After Haihan sent troops to capture Manila at the beginning of this year, he took back a large amount of gold and silver treasures from the local area, and these properties had to go through a series of procedures to be cashed out before they could be charged into the treasury.At the same time, the national treasury needs to spend a large amount of military expenses to distribute rewards to troops participating in the war and meritorious personnel, pensions for the fallen soldiers, and the cost of returning the troops participating in the war to their original stations.
In addition, Haihan mobilized some big businessmen to invest in Manila in order to complete the control of the local economic lifeline as soon as possible. Haihan Bank, an extremely important part of Haihan's economic system, has also established a branch in the local area and began to implement it in Manila. Haihan is a bank-centered financial system, and it is also preparing to launch paper Haihan coins into the Manila market to enter the circulation system.
Although Schneider does not need to keep an eye on these matters, the general arrangements must be made with his participation and finalization, so the recent period has been extremely busy, and there are at least three or four meetings every day to meet with people from all walks of life. .
In addition to this, there is another more important matter that has kept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very busy recently-there are two days left before the [-]rd anniversary of the founding of Haihan and the [-]th anniversary of the crossing operation. Sanya will hold A series of celebrations.Most of these activities are carried out openly, and many countries that have established diplomatic relations with Haihan have been invited to send representatives to participate.
At present, in addition to some foreign envoys stationed in Sanya, there are also some invited foreign distinguished guests arriving in Sanya one after another. As the officials in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Schneider and Ning Qi both undertake the task of receiving these distinguished guests. Letting them spend too much time paying attention to the affairs of other departments at this time is really a bit of a stretch.
So although Schneider still has some doubts about what He Xi said, he no longer intends to entangle this issue any longer.As long as He Xi comes up with a passable solution, then he can arrange it according to the other party's wishes.
As for the problems that may arise in the middle, Schneider believes that they can be ignored. The fact that the people from the Special Security Department want to disturb the local grain market in Batavia is actually just a matter of money. Generally speaking, problems that can be solved with money are not considered problems.At most, it is to ask the Ministry of Security to make up some procedures afterwards, so that the financial department can have a reasonable reason to balance the expenditure accounts.
Of course, He Xi also heard the impatience shown in Schneider's words. Although he didn't even have 100% confidence in Cheng Dapeng's plan, as the head of the security department, he still had to take on the responsibility at this time. Responsibility comes, first win over diplomatic and financial support.
It only took about half an hour for He Xi to get what he wanted from Schneider and Ning Qi.Ning Qi will personally plan to notify Haihan's embassy in Champa by telegram later, so that they can try to prevent Champa from selling large quantities of grain to the Dutch.On the other hand, Schneider issued a bad check to the Ministry of Security, authorizing He Xi to mobilize a fund of no more than 100 million yuan to cooperate with the intelligence personnel's operations in Batavia if necessary.
Such an arrangement is undoubtedly considered very loose for the security department, and He Xi has nothing to criticize about it.He now only hopes that Cheng Dapeng will not make any mistakes in Batavia, otherwise the next time there is a similar situation that requires domestic emergency support, the two departments of foreign affairs and finance may not be willing to help in this way.
After He Xi returned to the small building of the Ministry of Security, he immediately drafted a call back to Batavia.In the telegram, he made several requests to Cheng Dapeng. First, to report the detailed information about this operation to the Ministry of Security as soon as possible, including the relevant figures requested by the foreign affairs and financial departments, so as to better cooperate with Cheng Dapeng. Dapeng's local actions.The second is to ask Cheng Dapeng to pay attention to the scale and try not to conflict with the Batavian authorities, so as not to affect the operation of the intelligence network that has been deployed locally for several years.
However, according to the system of the Ministry of Security, the default communication time of the radio stations stationed abroad is arranged at night, so as to prevent the temporary antenna from being noticed by interested people, so his call back can only be sent to Cheng Dapeng at night. side.It might take another day to wait for Batavia's next call back.
(End of this chapter)
Of course, He Xi admired Cheng Dapeng's achievements in Batavia in the past few years. He knew that his subordinate's ability to act on the front line was indeed very strong, and his understanding of the Dutch was second to none in the Ministry of Security. He is the person in charge of Batavia's intelligence station.So when Cheng Dapeng returned to Sanya to work for a period of time, he proposed to go south and return to Batavia for a permanent residence. He Xi also agreed, because he knew very well that only by deploying Cheng Dapeng in Batavia could he play his best role. role.
But at the same time, He Xi also noticed that Cheng Dapeng's actions in Batavia and even the South China Sea area are increasingly showing a strong personal style. Many things are planned and implemented by him, although he will follow the system of the Ministry of Security Sanya reported, but the time to ask for instructions on work is less and less.
It's not that there is something wrong with Cheng Dapeng's loyalty. He Xi is still convinced that this subordinate is loyal to the country. It may be possible to make a decision after consulting the local people for instructions on current affairs.
The advantage of this model is that front-line intelligence personnel can respond to changes in the local situation in a timely manner, and will not miss great opportunities because of back and forth asking for instructions. At the same time, it can also improve the independent operation ability of intelligence personnel.But the disadvantages also exist at the same time. The intelligence agencies are originally privileged departments. Giving these officials who are in charge of intelligence work abroad too much power can easily lead to a situation that cannot be lost. Such cases are not among the intelligence officials stationed abroad under the Ministry of Security. There is no precedent.
Most of the officials dispatched by the Ministry of Security are fairly loyal to Haihan, an emerging regime. As upstarts who have risen together with this country, they often cherish the power in their hands, but they have money and power when they are stationed abroad all the year round. It is difficult for someone to completely restrain their natural desire to seek higher social status and more material enjoyment.
However, Haihan has a high demand for professionals because of its rapid expansion, so the official induction training period for them is relatively limited, and the content often emphasizes professional skills. less.
In an environment that lacks sufficient supervision and restrictions, these halfway and privileged intelligence officers can easily lose their hearts.He Xi was really a little worried that Cheng Dapeng stayed in Batavia for too long, and gradually forgot that he was taking orders from Sanya, instead of thinking of someone to ask for help when he was unable to do so.
The last time Cheng Dapeng went to the Straits of Malacca to carry out cross-border trade, he went to Xingdao to recruit a few Han prisoners who were said to be fluent in Spanish. Although He Xi nodded at the time, he still thought that Cheng Dapeng Recruitment was a bit sloppy.After all, there is almost no suitable training conditions for intelligence personnel in the local area, and these people are prisoners exiled from Manila to Xingdao. They may have more than awe of Haihan, but their loyalty is definitely not enough. Cheng Dapeng wants to personally train these people in the local area. For a newcomer, in He Xi's opinion, this is not a completely reliable plan.
Now, it is only one month since Cheng Dapeng completed his recruitment in Xingdao, and he is going to carry out a big move in Batavia that is not planned by the Ministry of Security under the pretext of controlling the grain market and recruiting anti-Dutch officials.How necessary it is to take these measures, and how sure Cheng Dapeng is of success, none of this information has been specifically explained in the telegram sent back by Batavia.
How urgent is the local situation, whether the Dutch officials who contacted Cheng Dapeng are reliable, how much money will be used in the process of competing for control of the local grain market, and whether these extra-budgetary expenses can be recovered through reasonable business methods afterwards... There are still a lot of problems that He Xi needs to figure out. If these problems do not get a reasonable explanation, then it will be difficult for him on the executive committee side to justify the necessity of Cheng Dapeng taking drastic measures locally.
The next day, He Xi brought Cheng Dapeng's telegram to Fort Victory, first found Schneider, and explained the situation to him.Currently, Ning Qi and Schneider are jointly managing foreign affairs. Ning Qi is in charge of Ming Dynasty and the surrounding small countries that are deeply influenced by Han culture, while Schneider is in charge of the affairs of Western colonial countries. The two have their own division of labor.Cheng Dapeng was in charge of the area ruled by the Dutch in the South China Sea, so He Xi naturally wanted to talk to Schneider first.
After listening to He Xi's introduction, Schneider said, "It's okay to ask the Executive Committee to support the actions of the Ministry of Security, but Minister He, you have to bring out some dry goods. First, find out how much food the Dutch want to buy from Champa. I Sending people from the embassy here to do work, there must be a clear statement, otherwise it will be meaningless to be looked down upon by the Champa. Also, your people want to disrupt the grain market in Batavia, I am afraid 80 won’t work, right? Can you give me an accurate amount? How much money does he have, how big is the gap, when will the money be used, and will the money be recovered slowly afterwards or will it be transferred to your safe In the next year's budget, these minutiae matters must be planned first."
He Xi couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard these problems mentioned by Schneider. The telegram sent back from Batavia was only one or two hundred words, so how could he explain so many problems clearly.But Schneider's request is not nitpicking. He is in charge of foreign affairs and the head of the Ministry of Finance. All these things have to be handled by him. Schneider's responsibility is over, so naturally he has to sort things out with He Xi first.
During the conversation, Ning Qi also arrived. After listening to He Xi's narration, Ning Qi's attitude was basically the same as Schneider's. He believed that the information provided by the Ministry of Security was too little, and even if the executive committee wanted to cooperate with the work, it was a bit difficult to start.As for whether Cheng Dapeng's local actions in Batavia were necessary, this was what He Xi was most worried about being picked on by the executive committee, but unexpectedly no one mentioned it.
But in fact, it is not difficult to understand. For senior officials like Ning Qi and Schneider, a considerable part of the external information they have comes from the intelligence department led by He Xi, and the reliability of this information is mostly reported to the executive committee. It has been verified before, and if it is really news of doubtful credibility, He Xi will naturally explain it.But since He Xi didn't specifically explain it, they subconsciously believed that the measures Cheng Dapeng planned to take in Batavia were actually arranged by He Xi.
The Haihan executive committee has always had a default rule, that is, not to interfere too much with the direction of the intelligence department's work, and leave professional work to professional personnel. If anyone can guide the work of the security department according to their own wishes If you move your feet, there will definitely be problems with the operation of this department.Unless there is a serious deviation in the work of the security department, or He Xi and Hao Wanqing raise some issues that need to be resolved by the executive committee, generally no one will question the planning and arrangement of the security department.
Based on this understanding, Ning Qi and Schneider would not doubt whether the request made by the Ministry of Security was reasonable and necessary, but only put forward their own views and requests to He Xi on the problems that might arise during the implementation process.
But He Xi had a headache. The information that his subordinates gave back was only these. If he had to pursue detailed data, Cheng Dapeng might not be able to get it.After all, front-line intelligence work often has to make decisions based on intuition, instead of having data and information from various sources as a reference like in the rear of Sanya, and after discussions and trade-offs by various departments, choose the one that is the safest or most suitable for Haihan. Favorable scheme.If Cheng Dapeng had to collect the information requested by Ning Qi and Schneider before making a decision, then the day lily would have been cold long ago.
"The questions you raised do exist, but we must also consider the actual situation. Some things seem to be nothing if we drag on for a day and a half, but the local intelligence personnel may have missed the best because they were waiting for Sanya to issue an order." The timing of the action." He Xi thought about his words, and then explained to them: "Cheng Dapeng is one of the most capable intelligence personnel under my command, and I think the missing information in the telegram he sent back was not intentional omissions, but It is too late to conduct a more detailed investigation.”
"I trust your professional judgment, but you have to tell me, what can I do to help your people complete the task?" Schneider didn't want to argue with He Xi on this issue. He still has several meetings to hold today. In contrast, this application from the Ministry of Security is really not an important matter.
After Haihan sent troops to capture Manila at the beginning of this year, he took back a large amount of gold and silver treasures from the local area, and these properties had to go through a series of procedures to be cashed out before they could be charged into the treasury.At the same time, the national treasury needs to spend a large amount of military expenses to distribute rewards to troops participating in the war and meritorious personnel, pensions for the fallen soldiers, and the cost of returning the troops participating in the war to their original stations.
In addition, Haihan mobilized some big businessmen to invest in Manila in order to complete the control of the local economic lifeline as soon as possible. Haihan Bank, an extremely important part of Haihan's economic system, has also established a branch in the local area and began to implement it in Manila. Haihan is a bank-centered financial system, and it is also preparing to launch paper Haihan coins into the Manila market to enter the circulation system.
Although Schneider does not need to keep an eye on these matters, the general arrangements must be made with his participation and finalization, so the recent period has been extremely busy, and there are at least three or four meetings every day to meet with people from all walks of life. .
In addition to this, there is another more important matter that has kept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very busy recently-there are two days left before the [-]rd anniversary of the founding of Haihan and the [-]th anniversary of the crossing operation. Sanya will hold A series of celebrations.Most of these activities are carried out openly, and many countries that have established diplomatic relations with Haihan have been invited to send representatives to participate.
At present, in addition to some foreign envoys stationed in Sanya, there are also some invited foreign distinguished guests arriving in Sanya one after another. As the officials in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Schneider and Ning Qi both undertake the task of receiving these distinguished guests. Letting them spend too much time paying attention to the affairs of other departments at this time is really a bit of a stretch.
So although Schneider still has some doubts about what He Xi said, he no longer intends to entangle this issue any longer.As long as He Xi comes up with a passable solution, then he can arrange it according to the other party's wishes.
As for the problems that may arise in the middle, Schneider believes that they can be ignored. The fact that the people from the Special Security Department want to disturb the local grain market in Batavia is actually just a matter of money. Generally speaking, problems that can be solved with money are not considered problems.At most, it is to ask the Ministry of Security to make up some procedures afterwards, so that the financial department can have a reasonable reason to balance the expenditure accounts.
Of course, He Xi also heard the impatience shown in Schneider's words. Although he didn't even have 100% confidence in Cheng Dapeng's plan, as the head of the security department, he still had to take on the responsibility at this time. Responsibility comes, first win over diplomatic and financial support.
It only took about half an hour for He Xi to get what he wanted from Schneider and Ning Qi.Ning Qi will personally plan to notify Haihan's embassy in Champa by telegram later, so that they can try to prevent Champa from selling large quantities of grain to the Dutch.On the other hand, Schneider issued a bad check to the Ministry of Security, authorizing He Xi to mobilize a fund of no more than 100 million yuan to cooperate with the intelligence personnel's operations in Batavia if necessary.
Such an arrangement is undoubtedly considered very loose for the security department, and He Xi has nothing to criticize about it.He now only hopes that Cheng Dapeng will not make any mistakes in Batavia, otherwise the next time there is a similar situation that requires domestic emergency support, the two departments of foreign affairs and finance may not be willing to help in this way.
After He Xi returned to the small building of the Ministry of Security, he immediately drafted a call back to Batavia.In the telegram, he made several requests to Cheng Dapeng. First, to report the detailed information about this operation to the Ministry of Security as soon as possible, including the relevant figures requested by the foreign affairs and financial departments, so as to better cooperate with Cheng Dapeng. Dapeng's local actions.The second is to ask Cheng Dapeng to pay attention to the scale and try not to conflict with the Batavian authorities, so as not to affect the operation of the intelligence network that has been deployed locally for several years.
However, according to the system of the Ministry of Security, the default communication time of the radio stations stationed abroad is arranged at night, so as to prevent the temporary antenna from being noticed by interested people, so his call back can only be sent to Cheng Dapeng at night. side.It might take another day to wait for Batavia's next call back.
(End of this chapter)