Chapter 1979

Zhang Qianzhi, who is in Danzhou, does not know how important the musket found in Yangyue Village will be in investigating a series of strange situations that have occurred in various places recently. He could vaguely guess that the projectiles previously sent back to Sanya for inspection were

The headquarters discovered some new clues, but still focused on Xue Zheng and others as the breakthrough point in the case investigation.

As the investigation continued, in addition to realizing that this group of people had received special training and had certain counter-reconnaissance and anti-interrogation capabilities, Zhang Qianzhi also gradually confirmed some other situations. For example, this group of people was most likely to belong to different

forces, and lack of preparation for carrying out this attack mission. There are many signs of hasty actions, etc. However, the interrogation of this group of people did not go smoothly. Even if Zhang Qianzhi tried his best, it was still difficult to

Obtain real and effective information from Xue Zheng and others.

After spending another half day in the interrogation room, Zhang Qianzhi finally ran out of patience. He decided to end the interrogation work in Danzhou as soon as possible and escort the captured prisoners back to Sanya. Zhang Qianzhi knew the limitations of his abilities, and among these people

No more information can be found on his body, but the possibility of another attack on the Crown Prince of Joseon has been basically ruled out in the near future, and the relevant arrest operations can be brought to an end.

Before leaving Danzhou, Zhang Qianzhi paid a special visit to the North Korean prince Li Bo and explained to him that he had other work commitments and was about to return to Sanya and could not accompany him to complete his subsequent itinerary. Li Bo felt a little regretful about this,

He was not very clear about Zhang Qianzhi's real position. He just regarded him as a Haihan official who was similar in age to him and could get along with him. However, after leaving Changhua, Mr. Zhang was busy with other things and did not follow him.

Annan and Li Pu also probably thought that he would no longer accompany them.

However, Li Pu knew that he would return to Sanya after completing this trip, so he took the initiative to make an appointment with Zhang Qianzhi. The North Korean Embassy would come forward in a while to invite the Haihan officials accompanying this trip to a gathering.

Thanks for taking care of me along the way, Zhang Qianzhi must also attend.

And this was not the only invitation Zhang Qianzhi received before leaving Danzhou. When he went to say goodbye to Gai Liangcai, Tian Zheng, Hong Jingwen and others, these people also took the initiative to make similar invitations. Of course.

, these people all know his true identity, and most people are rarely willing to take the initiative to deal with people in the yamen of the Security Department. This also makes Zhang Qianzhi feel a little emotional. It seems that he has made some official connections during this trip.

It was an unexpected gain that I didn't expect before setting off.

The last person Zhang Qianzhi visited before leaving Danzhou was Zhang Xin. This time he was able to set up a trap in Danzhou to capture Xue Zheng and his gang. Zhang Qianzhi's plan was important, but more important was Zhang Xin's support and trust in him.

, mobilized almost the entire resources of Danzhou to cooperate with his plan, otherwise it would be impossible to catch all the gangsters lurking in the dark so cleanly. Out of Zhang Xin's respect and gratitude, he must have done it before leaving Danzhou.

Go and meet Zhang Xin.

Zhang Xin was not surprised by his arrival. He served hot tea and snacks, casually asked about the progress of the investigation, and then took the initiative to mention Zhang Qianzhi's next itinerary: "You want to escort the prisoner back to Sanya, call a civilian ship?"

It’s so convenient, I’ve ordered someone to prepare a fast boat for you, and you can set off tomorrow.”

Zhang Qianzhi was flattered and quickly stood up to thank Zhang Xin. Although there were sea ships under the Ministry of Security's name, the number was very small, and almost all of them were concentrated in Sanya, not in Danzhou. Zhang Qianzhi originally planned to let Wang Baisuo go.

Rent a civilian ship, or temporarily recruit a troop transport ship from the navy stationed in Danzhou, but I didn't expect that Zhang Xin had already arranged all these things quietly.

Zhang Xin continued: "The Crown Prince of Joseon will probably go to Haikou next, and then return to Sanya to attend school. If possible, you can also have more contact with him in the future. Victory Fort values ​​this person very much, so maintain it well."

Personal relationships will also be beneficial to your future work.”

Zhang Xin's remarks were consistent with He Xi's earlier views, and Zhang Qianzhi quickly agreed. He roughly knew that Victory Fort intended to support the heir to the throne of Korea, and Zhang Xinyuan also noticed this in Danzhou.

The momentum is purely due to vision and smell. As for taking the initiative to mention Zhang Qianzhi, this is purely out of personal friendship, and not just anyone can receive this treatment.

Zhang Qianzhi had nothing to repay for such care, so he could only secretly write down this favor, and try to do what he could for Zhang Xin the next time he returned to Sanya.

Early the next morning, Zhang Qianzhi and Wang Baisuo personally led a team to escort Xue Zheng and his gang to the Baimajing Pier in Danzhou Bay, where the clipper Zhang Xin had prepared for him in advance was parked here. After escorting all the prisoners on board, Zhang Qianzhi

He said goodbye to Wang Baisuo and asked him not to relax just because the investigation work was over, but to still pay more attention to Li Bo's security work.

The ship arranged by Zhang Xin was indeed very fast, and Zhang Qianzhi was eager to return home. He did not dock for rest during the trip and arrived at Victory Port the next morning. The security department, which had received the telegram notification in advance, had arranged several

A carriage was waiting at the pier and picked up all the prisoners who had been escorted back as soon as possible.

Zhang Qianzhi returned to the small gray building of the Security Department, and first went to He Xi to report on the investigation. In fact, his main task for this trip was to accompany Li Bo to complete the tour, but because of the attack, his

The mission was also adjusted to detection and investigation. After capturing Xue Zheng and his gang, considering the need to find out the truth as soon as possible, after asking He Xi for instructions, he terminated the original accompanying security mission and first transferred these prisoners

He was escorted back to Sanya to complete subsequent interrogation work.

"The reason why I asked you to come back first is because I feel it is necessary to let you know some of the recent situations..."

While He Xi carefully examined the handgun brought back from Danzhou with a magnifying glass, he said to Zhang Qianzhi who was standing in front of him: "We will soon know whether the projectiles you sent back before came from this gun."

.”

At this time, someone was already using the found bullet-making pliers to make lead bullets. The answer will be known later when compared with the projectiles sent back by Zhang Qianzhi earlier. Zhang Qianzhi estimated that the gangsters should have brought more projectiles, but they should

The bullets were thrown into the pond while disposing of the weapons. The little thing was not so easy to find in the mud, so they could only re-make the bullets to verify their speculation.

However, He Xi immediately added: "Actually, with this gun, it is no longer important whether the bullet can hit the mark. When the knowledgeable big shots on the executive committee see this gun later, they will definitely feel sorry for it."

Excited by this.”

Zhang Qianzhi didn't quite understand what He Xi meant, but he didn't rush to ask questions and waited quietly for He Xi to explain the situation.

Not long after, the bullet comparison report was sent. This gun was completely consistent with the fatal bullet sent back earlier. Although there was no confession from the suspect, it was already confirmed that someone used this gun to arrest the suspect.

An accomplice was shot and killed during a fight that took place on the night of the arrest.

"The projectile you sent back before was immediately taken to Tiandu Industrial Zone. Several experts from Haihan Ordnance Industry conducted a detailed inspection on it and confirmed its composition." He Xina

Picking up the projectile, he said: "Before this, a batch of projectile samples were sent back from Zhejiang. The composition ratio is exactly the same as this projectile. Do you think this is a coincidence? However, no weapons were found there, so there is no news for the time being.

There are many ways to confirm its origin, but now it is only confirmed that this is not a military standard weapon produced by our country or the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Qianzhi immediately understood why Sanya was so anxious to find weapons that matched the projectiles, because this not only involved the group captured in Danzhou, but also probably involved another incident in Zhejiang. Although He Xi still

He did not explain what the case was in Zhejiang, but considering that the projectiles were sent all the way back to Sanya for inspection, it should be no small matter.

"The things in Zhejiang are also related to the Koreans?" Zhang Qianzhi asked tentatively. His first reaction was that the events in the two places were related. There might be other factors besides weapons.

But He Xi shook his head and said: "Judging from the current situation, what happened in Zhejiang has nothing to do with the North Koreans."

He Xi then briefly explained the conflict of interest in Zhejiang caused by the sea salt produced in Ningbo Prefecture, as well as several subsequent attacks on the salt transport caravans. After listening to this, Zhang Qianzhi understood what had attracted Sanya's attention.

It is not a conflict between old and new salt merchants, but the weapons and equipment used by one of the parties in the conflict have been beyond the control of Haihan. The real focus of the investigation is not who attacked the Ningbo salt caravan, but who

He provided so many muskets of unknown origin to Jianghuai salt merchants.

But on the Zhejiang side it was a private fight between local salt merchants, and on Hainan Island it was an unknown organization attacking the crown prince of Joseon. The two incidents did not seem to be necessarily connected - if it were not for the fact that they happened to find common ground in the testing process of bullets,

Probably no one would associate these two completely unrelated things together.

"What do you think?" He Xi also wanted to hear the opinions of his beloved disciple. Many times Zhang Qianzhi's ideas may not be so comprehensive, but he will also provide some ideas with more reference value.

Zhang Qianzhi thought for a while before responding: "I think there may be two possibilities. One is that the group captured in Danzhou is related to the Jianghuai salt merchants, and may even be driven by them. However, this speculation currently lacks evidence to support

"Another possibility is that the same customer supplies weapons and ammunition to both places, so the projectiles they use are exactly the same."

He Xi nodded and said: "Now the people in the executive committee who know the news probably hold this view, and more people are leaning towards the latter possibility."

Seeing that his idea was recognized, Zhang Qianzhi continued: "But training a group of musketeers who can act together does not happen overnight. For example, among the gangsters captured in Danzhou, it is likely that only one can use

People with muskets, so this musket was also found in their equipment, and the others were all ordinary weapons. The people in Zhejiang must have obtained the weapons much earlier than the people in Hainan Island, at least a few months ago.

Trained."

He Xi said: "If we count from the time when our salt farm in Ningbo started production, it has been more than half a year from now. The real impact on the Jianghuai salt merchants' business is estimated to be less than half a year. So if we start secretly organizing manpower from that time on,

After three months of training, we will almost be able to form effective combat effectiveness, which is consistent with your speculation."

Zhang Qianzhi said: "But I still have one thing that I don't understand. If attacking the crown prince of Joseon can damage our country's diplomacy and make North Korea lose its trust in our country, then the salt merchants' fight in Zhejiang will have a very limited impact on our country. Is that possible?

Those who provide weapons to salt merchants have no intention of targeting our country."

He Xi said: "Before I saw the gun you brought back, I actually had similar thoughts. Could it be that there are transnational arms dealers, selling weapons to various camps indiscriminately, just to make money and not to fight against my country? But now I don’t think so. The events that happened in these two places should not be just a coincidence. There will probably be a third or fourth place where similar situations will occur."

Zhang Qianzhi said: "Is there any explanation for this gun?"

He Xi pointed to the decorative patterns on the gun handle and said: "Although I am not a weapons expert, I can still tell that this is a musket from a Western country. We can ask experts to identify the patterns on this later."

The appearance of this kind of handgun is not completely unfamiliar to He Xi. He has seen similar weapons a few years ago - Thomas, the Portuguese Ambassador to Sanya, often hangs one on his waist.

A flintlock handgun that looks somewhat similar to this. However, his sidearm actually only functions as an accessory. It is not usually loaded with ammunition, and the workmanship is much more gorgeous than this gun. Every time He Xi

From a distance, you can see the shining reflective gems on the gun handle.

Will the Portuguese sell weapons to the Ming Dynasty? The answer is of course yes. Long before the Haihan people came to this time and space, the Portuguese were already selling weapons to the Ming Dynasty officials and assisting them in training musketeers and artillery. Through the Portuguese, they flowed into the Ming Dynasty.

There were actually quite a lot of muskets and artillery. Even the Han flags of the Qing army were equipped with Portuguese-made guns and artillery brought to Liaodong by the rebels from Dengzhou City during the Denglai Rebellion.

But that was a long time ago. The Portuguese had already chosen to stand with Haihan, and they purchased weapons from Haihan almost every year. Some of them were used to arm themselves, and some were sold to distant places.

The Middle East, and even transported thousands of miles back to Europe where the fierce war was raging, and sold them to all parties involved in the war at high prices. As for the Ming Dynasty, due to the need to directly compete with Haihan, Portugal has basically given up the arms trade in this region.
Chapter completed!