Chapter 215 Exchange of Information

Li Jifeng was so nervous, not because he was doing a trick to show Schneider, but because he really felt fear. Wei Zhongxian, who was said to be nine thousand years old, was not a good person. Most of the court officials who opposed him were killed and demoted.

, Exile after exile, a considerable number of the remaining clan members, relatives, and courtiers in the court have defected to the eunuch party, and are proud to be Wei Zhongxian's minions. Even a few academicians who drafted the imperial edict will be included in the imperial edict.

When writing the words "I and the factory ministers", the "factory ministers" refer to Wei Zhongxian. Because of his high position and authority, no one dared to write his name directly.

As for the Jinyiwei, which existed as the private army of the Ming Dynasty, all of them had been replaced by Wei Zhongxian's men from top to bottom. In 1627 alone, Wei Zhongxian protected as many as seventeen Jinyiwei commanders, and appointed his descendants, in-laws, etc.

More than ten people have served as governors, governors, magistrates, ministers and other positions. Even Cui Chengxiu, the current Minister of the Ministry of War, was directly appointed by his Yuezu agent. Wei Zhongxian's nephew Wei Liangqing even worshiped the Ancestral Temple on behalf of Emperor Tianqi. There are quite a few people among the people because of this

Li Jifeng was also one of those who believed that Wei Zhongxian might usurp power.

It can be said that most of the entire imperial court, from the cabinet, the six ministries to the four governors and governors, are Wei Zhongxian's people. In this one-sided situation, even if a new emperor is replaced, it will still be extremely difficult to overthrow Wei Zhongxian.

Big, Li Jifeng didn't even think that what Schneider said could be realized. But Schneider's vow made Li Jifeng very hesitant. If this thing is done well, the usable value will be much greater than the new emperor's ascension to the throne, but if it is done wrong,

That would definitely result in the annihilation of the entire clan, which can be said to be a coexistence of risks and opportunities.

Seeing Li Jifeng's hesitant look, Schneider advised him: "Shopkeeper Li doesn't need to make any decision immediately. When news comes from the capital and confirms what I said before, you can then consider whether to follow my decision."

Recommended to do it.”

Li Jifeng did not respond immediately to Schneider. He had already begun to figure out which of his businesses had dealings with people in the eunuch party. If he wanted to draw a clear line with the eunuch party, what measures should be taken to avoid causing trouble.

In his opinion, even if the eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian will begin to decline after the new emperor ascends the throne, it will only lose power at most and may not develop to the point of life and death. Therefore, we need to think carefully about how to maintain this distance.

grasp.

Schneider coughed a few times, and Li Jifeng came back from his thoughts and apologized repeatedly. Schneider didn't take it seriously. He didn't know how much influence Wei Zhongxian's incident would have on the government and public sentiment at this time, so he didn't care.

Understand Li Jifeng's nervousness at this time.

"Shopkeeper Li, I have already shown my sincerity. Shouldn't your bank also show its sincerity?" Schneider asked.

Having spoiled so much information, if Schneider cannot exchange even a little bit of valuable information, he will definitely be looked down upon by He Xi, the head of the intelligence system, after he returns. There is nothing worse than being looked down upon by one of his subordinates.

Contempt, as a member of the Supreme Executive Committee and Director of the General Office of the People's Republic of China, Schneider does not want to be looked down upon by others because of "incompetent intelligence collection."

Li Jifeng asked in confusion: "What does Mr. Shi mean?"

"I'm not in a hurry to know about places that are too far away. However, our two ships will soon return to Victory Port. It is said that pirates often appear outside the Pearl River Estuary. Can Shopkeeper Li reveal some information about this first?"

Schneider asked. Regarding the situation on the southeastern coast, especially the Fujian coast, Schneider knew that the other party would not disclose it easily. At least he would have to wait until his "prophecy" was fulfilled before he could gain the other party's trust and information. At present, he could only retreat.

Secondly, first understand the situation in the Pearl River Estuary where the Military and Police Department plans to set up a base in the future.

Li Jifeng pondered for a while and finally said: "There are several navy battalions stationed in Xin'an County outside the Pearl River Estuary. Pirates generally do not dare to appear in the waters near it. Pirates off the coast of Guangdong mostly set up camp on the islands west of Xin'an. I heard from Quanzi that you have a

With an extremely detailed map, Mr. Shi must know that there are two large bays to the west of Xin'an, right?"

Schneider nodded to express his understanding. He had been to Shenzhen and Hong Kong many times before traveling, and he had a relatively good understanding of the conditions in that area. The two bays Li Jifeng mentioned were Dapeng Bay and Dapeng Bay, which were later located near Shenzhen.

Daya Bay.

"There are four or five groups of pirates who have settled in these two bays, waiting for opportunities to rob ships traveling between the Pearl River Estuary and Fujian." Li Jifeng introduced: "It is said that there are also pirate lairs in the Dangan Island area, responsible for plundering ships from

Ships from Xin'an bound for Qiongzhou, Nanyang and other places."

Schneider had done solid homework beforehand. As soon as Li Jifeng said the name "Dangan Island", the location of this place immediately appeared in Schneider's mind.

Dangan Island is located about 30 kilometers south of Kowloon in Hong Kong. It is named "Dangan" because of its long and narrow shape like a pole. This island covers an area of ​​more than ten square kilometers, and there are no other islands to the east or south of it.

All ships entering and exiting Hong Kong from the South China Sea must pass by this island. From a geographical point of view, it can be regarded as the gateway to Hong Kong, so its military value is also quite high. In the later republics, this island was the first in the Wanshan Fortress Area.

The garrison area can be regarded as an important strategic gateway in South China.

When the Military and Police Ministry selected the Pearl River Estuary as a suitable location for establishing a stronghold, they also considered Dangan Island. This island not only has several natural harbors suitable for building docks, but also has natural mineral water veins on the island, which will provide fresh water in the future.

Supplies are not a problem. However, the main purpose of the Military and Police Department is to monitor the shipping routes between Guangzhou, Qiongzhou, and Nanyang. Dangan Island is really far away from this shipping route, and is not as advantageous as the Wanshan Islands from a geographical point of view. In addition,

The location of Dangan Island is too far to the east. The Military and Police Department believes that since it knows that there are pirates in the waters east of Hong Kong, the location of Dangan Island is easily attacked by pirates, and the Military and Police Department does not intend to use this kind of surveillance function.

Take risks at the stronghold. If there is a large-scale pirate attack, the limited remaining personnel on the island may not be able to survive for even an hour. This kind of risk is really not worth taking.

And now Li Jifeng's words undoubtedly confirm the suspicion of the Military and Police Department that the situation on Dangan Island is indeed a bit troublesome. And it seems that the Military and Police Department still has a headache on how to prevent or deal with pirates on Dangan Island, because it is far away from the military.

The Wanshan Island, Baili Island, and Dong'ao Island that the police department likes are only more than 20 nautical miles away, and there is no telling when they may be directly at their doorstep.

But if you have a headache, that's a matter for the Military and Police Department. Schneider doesn't care about it. What he has to do now is to remember everything Li Jifeng said in his mind, and then sort out the relevant information when he goes back and hand it over to professionals.

.

"The pirates on Dangan Island are called 'Hai Tornado', and their leader is said to be from Guangxi. They only have one or two hundred people in total and four or five ships. They are considered very small pirates along the coast of Fuguang." Now that Li Jifeng has opened the door,

He did not hold anything back and explained the situation about this group of pirates to Schneider in detail: "It is said that the navy of Xin'an County went to suppress it twice, but the news probably leaked out, and they were avoided by the pirates on the island in advance.

Open. This group of people does not move out frequently. It has been more than two years since they appeared on Danqian Island. It seems that I have not heard of how many transactions they have made. "

"With all due respect, has Shopkeeper Li ever interacted with this group of people before?" Schneider asked straight to the point. This Dangan Island is so close to the location where the Military and Police Department is located, and I'm afraid that sooner or later there will be armed conflict between the two sides.

It is best to find out whether "Furuifeng" is involved in this, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings later.

Li Jifeng shook his head and denied: "This group of people has nothing to do with Bihang. At the beginning of this year, when Bihang had a ship heading to the South China Sea, he was stopped by this group of people, but their ship was too slow and they couldn't intercept it at all.

A despicable ship."

That would be a rift, Schneider secretly commented on this.

"Then what are the origins of those pirates west of Xin'an?" Schneider asked.

"Those groups of pirates are actually owned by a big boss. Have Mr. Shi ever heard of Liu Xiang?" Li Jifeng asked.

Schneider shook his head and said to himself, "I know Liu Xiang. Who is Liu Xiang?"

Li Jifeng smiled, but did not continue. Since Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he would naturally not be in a hurry to reveal all the cards in his hand to the other party.

Although Schneider didn't know who Liu Xiang was, he still wrote down the name first, and he would find out when he went back and asked the people in the Military and Police Department.

"Besides them? Are there any other pirate forces in the Pearl River Estuary?" Schneider continued to ask when he saw Li Jifeng stop.

Li Jifeng shook his head and said: "As far as I know, from there to Nan'ao Island in Chaozhou Prefecture, it belongs to Liu Xiang's sphere of influence."

"Oh?" Schneider then came back to his senses and realized that the "Liu Xiang" Li Jifeng was talking about was not an ordinary pirate leader, but a big pirate with considerable strength!

For this reason, Li Jifeng stopped talking. After the two chatted for a few more words, they had no intention of continuing the conversation. At that moment, Schneider said goodbye to Li Jifeng and left.

"Mr. Shi!" Yu Xiaobao, who had been waiting outside, quickly came over and took Schneider's briefcase from his hand. After Yu Xiaobao arrived at the Guangdong Office this time, he was assigned to work beside Schneider, and

His little friend Zhang Qianzhi followed He Xi. Schneider actually had no interest in bringing a follower as an apprentice, but Ning Qi specially sent him a message this time, asking him to take good care of Yu Xiaobao. He was also working on the executive committee.

, Schneider still had to give him enough face, so Yu Xiaobao became Schneider's little tail. As soon as Schneider left the yard of the General Affairs Office, Yu Xiaobao would definitely follow behind and carry his bags.

Yu Xiaobao didn't think carrying bags was so despicable. Although he didn't have the slave idea in his mind that "being able to carry bags for leaders is a blessing," he also knew that even for this kind of bag-carrying job, there were many people in Shengli Port.

You can't grab it even if you want to. After all, this is working for Chief Haihan. A position that can be maintained around the clock like this is rare in Victory Port. Speaking of which, people who work as the chief's shadow to get ahead, before that

There is a successful example - Gao Qiao Nan. It was because Gao Qiao Nan worked as Ren Liang's shadow and dogleg every day in the labor camp, and later he had the opportunity to show his ability and was promoted. It is said that Heitu Port has recently returned.

In the telegram, military chief Qian Tiandun had proposed to put Gao Qiaonan in charge of local militia training affairs. In the future, he would be promoted and paid more to integrate into mainstream Haihan society. It seemed that it was just around the corner. In just a few months, this

The guy suddenly changed from a chicken to a phoenix.

There are many people in history who were famous for carrying bags. Yu Xiaobao remembered that Ning Qi once told him a story when they were in Victory Port. In the far northern empire, there was a young man with a commoner background. Once he won the

He got a very rare job, which was to carry bags for the head of the country. Later, this young man became the new emperor of the northern empire and reigned for twenty years.

Of course, not everyone who carries a bag for the leader has the opportunity to become an emperor. There are countless stories from carrying a bag to ascending to the throne that are not known to everyone. But Xiaobao has understood Ning Qi's story.

The true meaning of - Even the powerful emperor may have been just a bag-carrying boy at the beginning; even an ordinary bag-carrying boy still has the opportunity to become a big shot. If you want to change your destiny, you can only rely on yourself to fight for it.

Only if you have the opportunity will you have a chance, otherwise you will be like the thousands of bag-carrying boys who have not become big shots.

Schneider touched Yu Xiaobao's head and walked straight forward. Before taking two steps, he suddenly stopped, turned to Xiaobao and asked: "Xiaobao, I heard Mr. Ning said you are very smart, maybe

You are the smartest kid in Port Victory, can I ask you a question?"

Yu Xiaobao nodded quickly. It was rare for Schneider to take the initiative to talk to him. This opportunity could not be let go easily.

Schneider asked: "Suppose we plan to buy a house in a place, but the family living next door is a bad person. However, if we drive out this bad person, an even worse family may move in. What do you think we should do in this situation?

Is that good?"

Yu Xiaobao blinked and replied: "Then buy a house somewhere else?"

Schneider shook his head and said: "We can't change the place, let's think about it again!"

Yu Xiaobao rolled his eyes and continued to answer: "After driving away that family, buy the house next door too, so you don't have to worry about that problem."

Schneider grinned and said, "Sure enough, Mr. Ning was right!"

After returning to the Guangdong Office, Schneider asked Yu Xiaobao to notify the three people from the Military and Police Department to come over for a meeting. However, after waiting for a while, only Xiao Liang and Yu Yao came. He Xi said that he was going out to do business. As for going

No one knew where it was. Schneider was already accustomed to He Xi's style, so he didn't pay much attention to it and just sat down with the two people for a meeting.

Schneider told the whole story of today's meeting with Li Jifeng, and then informed the two of them of the information he had exchanged. After listening, Xiao Liang and Yu Yao exchanged glances, but did not speak.

Schneider felt something was wrong in the atmosphere, and quickly asked: "Did I spoil too much? But what I said to Li Jifeng were all approved by the base camp. If they hadn't written the materials and sent them over, I wouldn't have

There’s no way to reveal it to him!”

Xiao Liang shook his head and said: "It's not this problem, it's the information you obtained... that Liu Xiang's matter, I'm afraid it will be more troublesome."

Schneider seemed to have understood everything: "At that time, I heard the tone of Li Jifeng's words, and it seemed that Liu Xiang had a big background."
To be continued...