Chapter 2064
Chapter 2064
Chapter 2064
There is not much time to delay the follow-up investigation in the diplomatic process. If Haihan had time to wait for the reply from the Ming court, Ning Qi would not have to come to Fei Cexian to discuss it in such a hurry.The executive committee hopes to persuade Fei Cexian to accept Haihan's arrangement, and issue relevant documents to provide diplomatic support for Haihan's subsequent actions, so that when the Haihan army takes action in the coastal areas of Daming, it will not be caught by the other party. Charged with an armed invasion.
Although in terms of military affairs, Haihan is not afraid of the Ming army stationed in the southeast coastal area of Ming Dynasty, but it is always a good thing to have less trouble during the operation process, not to mention that if an armed conflict breaks out due to a misunderstanding, it may also lead to a complete situation. Out of control, and that is not the result that Hai Han wants to see.
But Fei Cexian is not a fool, how can he recite this big pot easily.If he endorses Hai Han as a guarantee, he will be responsible for any troubles in the future. He may be charged with various crimes for this, but he may not get any benefits from it.
"I cannot make decisions on behalf of the imperial court." Fei Cexian shook his head and rejected Ning Qi's proposal: "If your country refuses to negotiate and insists on going its own way, your country will bear full responsibility for all the consequences that arise!"
Seeing Fei Cexian's resolute attitude, Ning Qi had no choice but to persuade him from a different angle: "This operation is already on the verge of being launched. May I ask Mr. Fei if there is any other way to avoid misunderstandings between our army and the local government of Daming during the operation?" ?”
Fei Cexian thought to himself that as long as you Haihan don't send troops and maintain the status quo honestly, then nothing will happen?But judging from what Ning Qi said, Hai Han had clearly made up his mind to proceed with this matter, perhaps the troops had already assembled and were just waiting for an order.
Fei Cexian quickly calculated the current situation. The most ideal situation is that what Ning Qi said is true, and Haihan sent troops for no other ulterior purpose. After completing their mission, they automatically retreated from the Ming Dynasty.In the worst case, armed conflicts between the armies of the two countries will occur during this period, and even local wars will be triggered as a result.
But even if it is the former, it is estimated that the imperial court will find it difficult to accept the Haihan army entering the country in a dignified manner-although this is not the first time.
The only way to save the court's face is to change the nature of Haihan's action into a cooperation between the two countries, so that at least the Haihan army's entry into Daming territory can be rationalized, and the court's acceptance can be slightly higher.Ning Qi had made a similar suggestion before, but he requested that the Haihan Army take the lead in this matter. The local government can send people to participate, but they cannot interfere or stop the Haihan Army's actions. This is also unacceptable in Fei Cexian's view.
"Minister Ning, maybe we should use a more fair way to resolve our differences." Fei Cexian suggested: "The two countries cooperate to eliminate criminals. Since they are going to operate within our country, the name should be led by our country. Rather What does the minister think?"
Of course Ning Qi heard the meaning of concession in Fei Cexian's words, he thought for a moment and then nodded: "Yes, but the actual command of the troops participating in the operation shall be in our hands."
Since Fei Cexian always said "in name", it means to save face and not face. This can not only ensure that Daming will not lose face because of letting the Haihan army in, but also ensure that the actions of the Haihan army are in the official position of Daming. under effective supervision.
Of course, this is only a stopgap measure as a last resort. Fei Cexian has no way to prevent Haihan from taking action, and he has to try his best to avoid conflicts between the two sides under the premise of saving Daming's face. It seems that there is no better way to deal with it at the moment.Although it sounds like not many concessions have been made, in essence a compromise has been chosen.As for the condition proposed by Ning Qi, Fei Cexian didn't intend to bargain any more. After all, it was too unrealistic to ask the Haihan army to hand over the command, so there was no need to waste saliva and time on this condition.
After intense negotiations, Ning Qi and Fei Cexian finally reached a preliminary interim cooperation agreement on behalf of the two countries, the content of which was mainly aimed at Haihan's investigation and arrest operations on the southeast coast of Daming. .As the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Haihan, Fei Cexian will draft a temporary official document explaining the urgency and necessity of this operation, as well as the general cooperation method between the two countries.A copy of this official document will be sent to the government offices along the coast as quickly as possible, so as to prevent local officials from ignoring the situation and gathering troops to fight against the Haihan people.
It is worth noting that the official document drafted by Fei Cexian is not in the nature of an order, but more like a notice. As for whether to follow the suggestions in the official document, it is not within Fei Cexian's control. So there is still a risk of conflict to a certain extent.
This is actually a disguised reduction of Fei Cexian's responsibility. At least he managed to notify the local governments at the first time. However, with his authority, it is obvious that he cannot dictate the decisions of the local governments. He can only inform the cooperation content and provide some suggestions. , and how to deal with it will still be decided by local officials.
Of course, it is not enough to just notify the place for such a big event. Fei Cexian also drafted a memorial to be sent to the capital to report the ins and outs of the matter to the imperial court.However, it is estimated that the delivery of this memorial to the capital will be a few days later than Haihan's action. When the discussion in the capital reaches a result, Haihan should have already started to attack in the south.Fei Cexian can only hope that Haihan will not make the matter too big, and not turn the arrest operation into a local war.
"It's done, it's done!"
After discussing the general plan with Fei Cexian, Ning Qi immediately rushed back to Victory Fort to tell the others the good news.However, Yan Chujie, who should be most excited about this, seemed very calm, just like the attitude of the military, no matter whether Fei Cexian agreed with Haihan's proposal, the follow-up actions would continue.
"When you were negotiating with Fei Cexian, the Ministry of National Defense had notified the garrison in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang by telegram that they were going to launch a search and arrest operation in the predetermined target area." Yan Chujie said calmly: "Tomorrow will be the latest start to act."
Ning Qi said in astonishment: "Then the document written by Fei Cexian is too late to send over! Are you planning to cut it first and play it later?"
"When the documents are delivered from Sanya, we think that almost all the people we want to arrest will have run away!" Yan Chujie responded unceremoniously: "Arrest people first, and other things will be discussed later. The documents from the embassy are just for the bottom line. It’s useless to take this thing to a place where you don’t want to cooperate. Now we can find out the case and arrest the person, which is more effective than anything else.”
Ning Qi took so much saliva to persuade Fei Cexian. Of course, he was not willing to be dismissed as worthless by Yan Chujie, so he immediately asked: "Then what if there is a conflict with the local authorities?"
Yan Chujie said in a deep voice: "If it hinders our actions, then we should do business. But Fuguang should not have a big problem. After all, the coastal states have dealt with us for many years, and no matter how big things are, they have to be discussed. Jiangsu and Zhejiang Over there... I guess there will be some troubles!"
The Guangdong and Guangxi regions are the Ming territories closest to Haihan. However, in all the coastal state capitals, local high-ranking officials must have more or less conflicts of interest with Haihan. big obstacle.Fujian is Xu Xinsu's territory, and he has also been involved in this series of gun cases, so he will definitely cooperate with Haihan in carrying out local investigations.
The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is more complicated. The influence of Han becomes weaker as you go to Beihai, and it is greatly reduced after Hangzhou Bay.It's nothing more than normal business, if Haihan mobilizes troops, it may indeed cause panic in the local area, and even lead to confrontation by the local garrison.
In February 1638, with a series of orders issued from the Haihan Ministry of Defense in Sanya, the investigation of the series of arms smuggling cases also entered a new stage.
The Beibu Gulf Fleet stationed in Annan Heitu Port and Tushan Port, the Pearl River Fleet stationed in Hong Kong Island at the Pearl River Estuary, the Naval Taiwan Fleet stationed in Penghu Magong Port and Taiwan Kaohsiung Port, and the Navy East Sea Fleet stationed in Zhoushan Dinghai Port. Received the order the same day.They were asked to immediately investigate the coastal state capital of Daming, and arrest them against a list provided by the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau.
The people and institutions listed in this list are mainly clues obtained from investigations in various places, especially the group of people captured in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province recently. The confessions obtained from them have made great progress in the investigation work.
Although these Jinyiwei in Zhangzhou were used by the partners to a certain extent, it did not mean that they were defenseless against the partners.At the beginning of the contact between the two parties, Sun Yongjun, a hundred households of Jinyiwei, conducted an investigation on Zhengfuji to confirm that its strength could meet the cooperation requirements of Jinfahao.So regarding the situation of Zhengfuji, Sun Yongjun intermittently recruited a lot of critical information.
According to Jin Yiwei's investigation, Zhengfuji still has several merchants with close contacts in various places in Fuguang. The intelligence agency believes that it is very likely that there is the same organization as Zhengfuji, the same operation method, and the same backstage boss. , just changed the place and changed the name by the way.And these commercial organizations related to Zhengfuji are all on the investigation list.
As for the missing Japanese treasurer Tagawa, he was also the key target of this operation.Sun Yongjun didn't know where this person usually hides, but he heard that this person said that he had visited Magong Port in Penghu and Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan, so there may be relevant clues in these two places.And this Tagawa is undoubtedly a key person who holds a lot of important information, so tracking and arresting him is also listed as a priority.
The military wharf at Magong Port in Penghu has not been as busy as it is now for a long time. Hundreds of soldiers lined up in two long lines to transfer various war supplies from the warehouse to the cargo hold of the warship. There is an atmosphere of war coming.
In the past two years, the entire Fujian Strait has been calm for most of the time. The naval forces stationed in Penghu only need to dispatch a few warships to perform daily patrols in the strait every other day to complete the task. Time is in a state of idleness.The Ministry of National Defense had to arrange for the Penghu garrison to change its defense every year, and transfer part of the establishment to serve in the theater, lest these naval units stay in a comfortable environment for too long, and their combat effectiveness would be affected.
Most of the various war preparation materials stored in the Magong Port Naval Base have been stored for more than two years. If it hadn't been for the order to act this time, these materials might have to eat ashes in the warehouse for several more years.
The local officers were very excited about the orders they received. Everyone knew that only by leading troops to fight in the Haihan Army could they quickly accumulate military merits and be promoted. Penghu has been too peaceful in recent years. It was still in the direction of Fujian, and there was almost no need to dispatch the fleet.Now that they have finally seized an opportunity to send troops, the officers naturally value it very much, and they are all gearing up to take advantage of this opportunity to perform well.
But Yu Yao, who was in charge of the command of the Penghu garrison, knew very well that the scale and intensity of this operation probably would not be as expected by his officers.The enemy they have to deal with is at most a group of armed maritime merchants, which is really overkill for the Penghu garrison with more than ten standard warships.And judging from the information they have so far, the main task they want to perform is to search and arrest, and it is not certain whether they can find the target. It is too early to talk about meritorious service and awards.
The information sent from Fujian shows that one of the target persons may have visited Penghu. Considering the identity and behavior of the other party, he may have an agency in Penghu. Therefore, before dispatching the fleet to search for a larger area Therefore, Yu Yao needs to conduct an inventory of local commercial organizations and outsiders first to confirm whether the enemy has planted hidden stakes in his jurisdiction.
Compared with the trade environment of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou on the opposite side of the strait, Penghu, which is located in the middle of the strait, is obviously not at the same level.The local industries in Penghu are mainly fishery and small-scale planting, and it is obviously difficult for these products to attract a large number of foreign merchants. Merchants who buy Haihan agricultural products are more willing to go to the Kaohsiung area where the planting scale is larger.Therefore, there are not too many foreign businessmen who come and go in and out of Penghu. In addition, there is a naval base here, and foreign businessmen and merchant ships who arrive at the port will basically be required to register. difficult.
Yu Yao asked the local port authority and several inns that provided accommodation services to immediately check the registration information of the past two years, and screen out all the objects that matched the information provided by Zhangzhou. A staff officer was also sent to assist in the investigation.Although this method is a bit clumsy, it is very effective. After only a few hours, the investigation work has paid off.
(End of this chapter)
There is not much time to delay the follow-up investigation in the diplomatic process. If Haihan had time to wait for the reply from the Ming court, Ning Qi would not have to come to Fei Cexian to discuss it in such a hurry.The executive committee hopes to persuade Fei Cexian to accept Haihan's arrangement, and issue relevant documents to provide diplomatic support for Haihan's subsequent actions, so that when the Haihan army takes action in the coastal areas of Daming, it will not be caught by the other party. Charged with an armed invasion.
Although in terms of military affairs, Haihan is not afraid of the Ming army stationed in the southeast coastal area of Ming Dynasty, but it is always a good thing to have less trouble during the operation process, not to mention that if an armed conflict breaks out due to a misunderstanding, it may also lead to a complete situation. Out of control, and that is not the result that Hai Han wants to see.
But Fei Cexian is not a fool, how can he recite this big pot easily.If he endorses Hai Han as a guarantee, he will be responsible for any troubles in the future. He may be charged with various crimes for this, but he may not get any benefits from it.
"I cannot make decisions on behalf of the imperial court." Fei Cexian shook his head and rejected Ning Qi's proposal: "If your country refuses to negotiate and insists on going its own way, your country will bear full responsibility for all the consequences that arise!"
Seeing Fei Cexian's resolute attitude, Ning Qi had no choice but to persuade him from a different angle: "This operation is already on the verge of being launched. May I ask Mr. Fei if there is any other way to avoid misunderstandings between our army and the local government of Daming during the operation?" ?”
Fei Cexian thought to himself that as long as you Haihan don't send troops and maintain the status quo honestly, then nothing will happen?But judging from what Ning Qi said, Hai Han had clearly made up his mind to proceed with this matter, perhaps the troops had already assembled and were just waiting for an order.
Fei Cexian quickly calculated the current situation. The most ideal situation is that what Ning Qi said is true, and Haihan sent troops for no other ulterior purpose. After completing their mission, they automatically retreated from the Ming Dynasty.In the worst case, armed conflicts between the armies of the two countries will occur during this period, and even local wars will be triggered as a result.
But even if it is the former, it is estimated that the imperial court will find it difficult to accept the Haihan army entering the country in a dignified manner-although this is not the first time.
The only way to save the court's face is to change the nature of Haihan's action into a cooperation between the two countries, so that at least the Haihan army's entry into Daming territory can be rationalized, and the court's acceptance can be slightly higher.Ning Qi had made a similar suggestion before, but he requested that the Haihan Army take the lead in this matter. The local government can send people to participate, but they cannot interfere or stop the Haihan Army's actions. This is also unacceptable in Fei Cexian's view.
"Minister Ning, maybe we should use a more fair way to resolve our differences." Fei Cexian suggested: "The two countries cooperate to eliminate criminals. Since they are going to operate within our country, the name should be led by our country. Rather What does the minister think?"
Of course Ning Qi heard the meaning of concession in Fei Cexian's words, he thought for a moment and then nodded: "Yes, but the actual command of the troops participating in the operation shall be in our hands."
Since Fei Cexian always said "in name", it means to save face and not face. This can not only ensure that Daming will not lose face because of letting the Haihan army in, but also ensure that the actions of the Haihan army are in the official position of Daming. under effective supervision.
Of course, this is only a stopgap measure as a last resort. Fei Cexian has no way to prevent Haihan from taking action, and he has to try his best to avoid conflicts between the two sides under the premise of saving Daming's face. It seems that there is no better way to deal with it at the moment.Although it sounds like not many concessions have been made, in essence a compromise has been chosen.As for the condition proposed by Ning Qi, Fei Cexian didn't intend to bargain any more. After all, it was too unrealistic to ask the Haihan army to hand over the command, so there was no need to waste saliva and time on this condition.
After intense negotiations, Ning Qi and Fei Cexian finally reached a preliminary interim cooperation agreement on behalf of the two countries, the content of which was mainly aimed at Haihan's investigation and arrest operations on the southeast coast of Daming. .As the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Haihan, Fei Cexian will draft a temporary official document explaining the urgency and necessity of this operation, as well as the general cooperation method between the two countries.A copy of this official document will be sent to the government offices along the coast as quickly as possible, so as to prevent local officials from ignoring the situation and gathering troops to fight against the Haihan people.
It is worth noting that the official document drafted by Fei Cexian is not in the nature of an order, but more like a notice. As for whether to follow the suggestions in the official document, it is not within Fei Cexian's control. So there is still a risk of conflict to a certain extent.
This is actually a disguised reduction of Fei Cexian's responsibility. At least he managed to notify the local governments at the first time. However, with his authority, it is obvious that he cannot dictate the decisions of the local governments. He can only inform the cooperation content and provide some suggestions. , and how to deal with it will still be decided by local officials.
Of course, it is not enough to just notify the place for such a big event. Fei Cexian also drafted a memorial to be sent to the capital to report the ins and outs of the matter to the imperial court.However, it is estimated that the delivery of this memorial to the capital will be a few days later than Haihan's action. When the discussion in the capital reaches a result, Haihan should have already started to attack in the south.Fei Cexian can only hope that Haihan will not make the matter too big, and not turn the arrest operation into a local war.
"It's done, it's done!"
After discussing the general plan with Fei Cexian, Ning Qi immediately rushed back to Victory Fort to tell the others the good news.However, Yan Chujie, who should be most excited about this, seemed very calm, just like the attitude of the military, no matter whether Fei Cexian agreed with Haihan's proposal, the follow-up actions would continue.
"When you were negotiating with Fei Cexian, the Ministry of National Defense had notified the garrison in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang by telegram that they were going to launch a search and arrest operation in the predetermined target area." Yan Chujie said calmly: "Tomorrow will be the latest start to act."
Ning Qi said in astonishment: "Then the document written by Fei Cexian is too late to send over! Are you planning to cut it first and play it later?"
"When the documents are delivered from Sanya, we think that almost all the people we want to arrest will have run away!" Yan Chujie responded unceremoniously: "Arrest people first, and other things will be discussed later. The documents from the embassy are just for the bottom line. It’s useless to take this thing to a place where you don’t want to cooperate. Now we can find out the case and arrest the person, which is more effective than anything else.”
Ning Qi took so much saliva to persuade Fei Cexian. Of course, he was not willing to be dismissed as worthless by Yan Chujie, so he immediately asked: "Then what if there is a conflict with the local authorities?"
Yan Chujie said in a deep voice: "If it hinders our actions, then we should do business. But Fuguang should not have a big problem. After all, the coastal states have dealt with us for many years, and no matter how big things are, they have to be discussed. Jiangsu and Zhejiang Over there... I guess there will be some troubles!"
The Guangdong and Guangxi regions are the Ming territories closest to Haihan. However, in all the coastal state capitals, local high-ranking officials must have more or less conflicts of interest with Haihan. big obstacle.Fujian is Xu Xinsu's territory, and he has also been involved in this series of gun cases, so he will definitely cooperate with Haihan in carrying out local investigations.
The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is more complicated. The influence of Han becomes weaker as you go to Beihai, and it is greatly reduced after Hangzhou Bay.It's nothing more than normal business, if Haihan mobilizes troops, it may indeed cause panic in the local area, and even lead to confrontation by the local garrison.
In February 1638, with a series of orders issued from the Haihan Ministry of Defense in Sanya, the investigation of the series of arms smuggling cases also entered a new stage.
The Beibu Gulf Fleet stationed in Annan Heitu Port and Tushan Port, the Pearl River Fleet stationed in Hong Kong Island at the Pearl River Estuary, the Naval Taiwan Fleet stationed in Penghu Magong Port and Taiwan Kaohsiung Port, and the Navy East Sea Fleet stationed in Zhoushan Dinghai Port. Received the order the same day.They were asked to immediately investigate the coastal state capital of Daming, and arrest them against a list provided by the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau.
The people and institutions listed in this list are mainly clues obtained from investigations in various places, especially the group of people captured in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province recently. The confessions obtained from them have made great progress in the investigation work.
Although these Jinyiwei in Zhangzhou were used by the partners to a certain extent, it did not mean that they were defenseless against the partners.At the beginning of the contact between the two parties, Sun Yongjun, a hundred households of Jinyiwei, conducted an investigation on Zhengfuji to confirm that its strength could meet the cooperation requirements of Jinfahao.So regarding the situation of Zhengfuji, Sun Yongjun intermittently recruited a lot of critical information.
According to Jin Yiwei's investigation, Zhengfuji still has several merchants with close contacts in various places in Fuguang. The intelligence agency believes that it is very likely that there is the same organization as Zhengfuji, the same operation method, and the same backstage boss. , just changed the place and changed the name by the way.And these commercial organizations related to Zhengfuji are all on the investigation list.
As for the missing Japanese treasurer Tagawa, he was also the key target of this operation.Sun Yongjun didn't know where this person usually hides, but he heard that this person said that he had visited Magong Port in Penghu and Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan, so there may be relevant clues in these two places.And this Tagawa is undoubtedly a key person who holds a lot of important information, so tracking and arresting him is also listed as a priority.
The military wharf at Magong Port in Penghu has not been as busy as it is now for a long time. Hundreds of soldiers lined up in two long lines to transfer various war supplies from the warehouse to the cargo hold of the warship. There is an atmosphere of war coming.
In the past two years, the entire Fujian Strait has been calm for most of the time. The naval forces stationed in Penghu only need to dispatch a few warships to perform daily patrols in the strait every other day to complete the task. Time is in a state of idleness.The Ministry of National Defense had to arrange for the Penghu garrison to change its defense every year, and transfer part of the establishment to serve in the theater, lest these naval units stay in a comfortable environment for too long, and their combat effectiveness would be affected.
Most of the various war preparation materials stored in the Magong Port Naval Base have been stored for more than two years. If it hadn't been for the order to act this time, these materials might have to eat ashes in the warehouse for several more years.
The local officers were very excited about the orders they received. Everyone knew that only by leading troops to fight in the Haihan Army could they quickly accumulate military merits and be promoted. Penghu has been too peaceful in recent years. It was still in the direction of Fujian, and there was almost no need to dispatch the fleet.Now that they have finally seized an opportunity to send troops, the officers naturally value it very much, and they are all gearing up to take advantage of this opportunity to perform well.
But Yu Yao, who was in charge of the command of the Penghu garrison, knew very well that the scale and intensity of this operation probably would not be as expected by his officers.The enemy they have to deal with is at most a group of armed maritime merchants, which is really overkill for the Penghu garrison with more than ten standard warships.And judging from the information they have so far, the main task they want to perform is to search and arrest, and it is not certain whether they can find the target. It is too early to talk about meritorious service and awards.
The information sent from Fujian shows that one of the target persons may have visited Penghu. Considering the identity and behavior of the other party, he may have an agency in Penghu. Therefore, before dispatching the fleet to search for a larger area Therefore, Yu Yao needs to conduct an inventory of local commercial organizations and outsiders first to confirm whether the enemy has planted hidden stakes in his jurisdiction.
Compared with the trade environment of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou on the opposite side of the strait, Penghu, which is located in the middle of the strait, is obviously not at the same level.The local industries in Penghu are mainly fishery and small-scale planting, and it is obviously difficult for these products to attract a large number of foreign merchants. Merchants who buy Haihan agricultural products are more willing to go to the Kaohsiung area where the planting scale is larger.Therefore, there are not too many foreign businessmen who come and go in and out of Penghu. In addition, there is a naval base here, and foreign businessmen and merchant ships who arrive at the port will basically be required to register. difficult.
Yu Yao asked the local port authority and several inns that provided accommodation services to immediately check the registration information of the past two years, and screen out all the objects that matched the information provided by Zhangzhou. A staff officer was also sent to assist in the investigation.Although this method is a bit clumsy, it is very effective. After only a few hours, the investigation work has paid off.
(End of this chapter)