Lu Ming

After the incident, the leader kindly pointed out the location of the local hotel to the visitors, and then they left... There was no threat or threat, as if the name "Liu Xiang" was a soy sauce. Yu Xianke, who was holding the receipt, couldn't relax for a long time.

While lamenting the good governance of the Cao family, he ordered people to carry the goods and gifts. After Yu Xianke explained a few words to the crew leader who stayed on the boat, he took his entourage off the boat.

After walking down the trestle bridge, several people who were all too familiar with this place lost their way for a while.

The muddy coastline in my memory has long been replaced by bright concrete roads and rows of long brick buildings.If you look into the distance, you can still see the Huandao Road, which is being extended a little bit and is under continuous construction.

People come and go on the pier, and the wheels converge.Merchants, laborers, horse-drawn carriages, and sedan chairs flowed in an endless stream, but they were neat and tidy, which made Yu Xianke and his party, who came here for the "first time", inexplicably felt a strange feeling.

Yu Xianke led his entourage and walked slowly along the street in the direction pointed out by the gentleman, while observing secretly. It didn't take long for him to really see some tricks.

He found that pedestrians, carriages and horses on the street were separated according to the speed of travel.

Pedestrians like him have to walk on the red brick pavement that is one step higher on both sides of the street.Next to the steps are sedan chairs, poles and other slow-moving things, and in the middle of the street is the fast-moving path for carriages and carts.

And on the broad street, someone painted the grid with white paint, and divided it into left and right sides - there were Tolerances holding short sticks and wearing red and yellow helmets patrolling the middle of the street, but some pedestrians and vehicles did not follow the rules. Those who move forward with the right hand will be driven back by tolerance.

In addition, there are garbage bins and street sweepers cleaning up garbage at every interval on the road. The mess, thieves, beggars and lingering stench on the traditional pier are not here.

"There are rules and regulations for walking, stopping, advancing and retreating, and orderly rule. It seems that this General Cao is a person with a big structure." After Yu Xianke understood the traffic rules here, he couldn't help but nodded secretly, and commented on General Cao Another level higher.

The planning of Xiamen Port is very advanced compared to this era.The wharf not only has well-equipped roads, residences, warehouses, and various mechanical equipment, but also plans various functional areas in advance in accordance with the common practice of later generations.For example, bad-tasting fish docks and cold storage are located away from commercial areas.

After Yu Xianke and his party walked along the sidewalk for about half a mile, they arrived at the business district.

Since it is a commercial area, the architectural pattern is better than the office area just now: the office area is all warehouses and two-story long buildings without exception. The lines and colors are very dull, except for the large pieces of glass on the windows. And outside of the nice concrete floor, there isn't much to see.

The business district is different.Although the pavement facing the street is also a two-story brick-concrete building, the businessmen from all over the place who bought this land are not poor, so all kinds of glazed tiles, all kinds of hanging corner cornices, all kinds of interior decoration... The whole commercial street is dressed up and There is no difference between those antique streets in later generations, the combination of ancient and modern, antique and flavorful.

Yu Xianke and the others quickly opened a room in a high-end hotel in the business district.After enjoying the astonishing hot water bath and the smell-free toilet, Yu Xianke specially invited the shopkeeper of the inn, took out the money, and verified what the dock officials just said.

The innkeeper naturally knew everything when he saw Yin Zi, and besides, many of the guests who lived here originally came to do various business affairs.So the shopkeeper told Yu Xianke very familiarly: If you want to see General Cao, you don't need to go through the door, just go to Zhongzuo City tomorrow to register and make an appointment.

Yu Xianke felt relieved after hearing this.

Early the next morning, he took his entourage and some gifts, packed a carriage, and walked along a lonely cement road leading to the middle left Suocheng, and soon arrived in front of Suocheng.

The previous city was built of stone.Now, the outer wall of the Zhongzuo city has been renovated, not only covered with bricks, but also covered with a layer of cement, and there are watchtowers and machine gun nests at the four corners, which is obviously a military important posture.

There is naturally a group of guards in front of the city gate.

After announcing his intention, Yu Xianke saw a vice-lord wearing a weird hat with a pistol in his waist turning around and entering a small wooden house.Soon after, he was allowed to enter the city—all his entourage, carriage, and gifts were stopped in front of the gate of the city.

After following a small soldier through the gate of Suocheng, Yu Xianke couldn't help being stunned again: The inside of Suocheng has completely changed.

All the buildings he was familiar with had been demolished and replaced by the red brick two-story building and concrete floor outside.In addition, according to legend, the pier where "Lord Lei" was placed stands at a corner of the city, and Yu Xianke saw a silver pot that was constantly rotating on an iron tower.

The next moment, a large number of soldiers who were training on the playground shouted slogans. The loud and orderly sound made Yu Xianke lower his head hurriedly, and followed the soldiers silently to a small building next to the city gate.

After being searched by the guards at the gate, Yu Xianke was able to enter the small building and sat down in a room that looked like a reception room.

After a while, a tall, fair-skinned man in a blue shirt came in from the door.

Chapter 333 Recruiting Journey ([-])

It was Ma Yue, deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, who entered the door.

This gentleman is from Shanghai, and he worked in the security department before crossing, so he is considered a rare professional in the intelligence community.

In view of this, the task of in charge of agent training fell on him.In addition, he is also responsible for inspecting intelligence stations in various places and providing technical guidance and short-term training to the Ling Lingqi who have become monks halfway, so Ma Yue is very busy.

It was just a coincidence that he met Yu Xianke at Zhongzuo Institute today.Because Zhang Dongdong, the nominal boss of Zhongzuo Institute, is still a member of the staff, and Sha Zhengming, who is in charge of the military, usually does not get involved in such matters, so Ma Yue, who came to Zhongzuo Institute for inspection at the first stop after the annual meeting, just filled in the hole.

Ma Yue naturally knew about Yu Xianke's background.So after receiving the sentry's request, Dang immediately ordered someone to bring him in.After that, Ma Yue looked at the information in the computer again, and came to the reception room after he knew what he knew.

After the two sides simply exchanged hands and reported their families to each other, Yu Xianke learned that the person in front of him was surnamed Ma and was Cao Chuan's aide.

"You don't need to be polite, Junshi Yu, please sit down."

Yu Xianke, who stood up to salute seeing the visitor's neither salty nor indifferent attitude, didn't mind.If you are looking for a door-to-door business, it's good if people don't give you a cold face.

After sitting face to face in front of a long table, Ma Yue spread out a palm, indicating that the other party could speak.

Seeing the strangely dressed, tall man in front of him making gestures that didn't look like a staff member at all, Yu Xianke probably understood: this group of people seemed to not talk about red tape and politeness, and acted rather bluntly, so he could only Confidentially tell the truth.

"Congratulations to General Cao now that he has ruled Fujian... My master... admires... but if we cooperate, we will gain and share, but we will suffer..."

Yu Xianke tried his best to express his intention of coming with more euphemistic words, and the whole process took about 5 minutes.During this period, Ma Yue did not disturb the other party, and sat there quietly listening to what the other party said.

Then he smiled silently, then sat up from the chair and said, "It's a little difficult for me to speak politely. Mr. Yu, if I'm not mistaken, shopkeeper Liu sent you here to recruit security and surrender?"

Yu Xianke was still not used to this hard-spoken way of speaking, but the matter had come to an end, he could only nod his head slowly.

"only……"

"Stop..."

Just when Yu Xianke was about to add a few words, Ma Yue stopped him with a wave of his hand: "As for this matter, I will report to the general before making a decision. Don't worry, the time will be very fast, and it should not exceed tomorrow."

"However..." Ma Yue stood up at this time: "I personally feel that your negotiation level should not be enough."

After Ma Yue said this, he nodded slightly, then turned and went out the door, leaving the surprised Yu Xianke sitting there alone in a daze.Then the guard quickly entered the house and motioned for the latter to follow him out.

It took less than 10 minutes from the beginning of the conversation to the time before and after being presented... This made Yu Xianke very depressed.Although he could feel that the other party was not deliberately perfunctory, but habitual, he was still not used to this fast-paced office style.

On the way back from Suocheng, Yu Xianke was at a loss.The strange environment, the strange bureaucratic system, and the strange way of thinking all made him feel helpless—from the moment the other party refused to accept the gift, in fact, Yu Xianke, a traditional character, could no longer handle it.

After returning to the inn, he asked again at the shopkeeper, and after learning that the local government really did not accept gifts, he was relieved a little.However, even so, he was still worried: Ma Yue felt that he was not qualified, and the implication was that shopkeeper Liu should come in person... How could shopkeeper Liu, who has a ghost in his heart, agree?

Early the next morning, the delegation staying in the inn received a message from the courier: The city invites Yu Junshi.

After seeing the visitor, Junshi Yu didn't dare to neglect, so he hurried out to Suocheng to wait for the audience.Today he learned how to behave, he didn't bring any entourage, and he didn't hire a carriage - if he didn't bring gifts, the city was not far from the inn, just a few steps away.

It's still that room, it's still Comrade Ma Yue.

Today's Ma Yue is even more straightforward, because he had already communicated with the cabinet by telegram yesterday, and the answer he got was indeed: "According to the established policy."

So he ended the meeting in only one minute: "The general only negotiates with Liu Xiang himself, and the rest of the idlers will not be accompanied!"

……

The empire's attitude towards Liu Xiang Group is very clear: no matter whether he surrenders or not, he has to go to Guangdong to make trouble.When the officialdom in Guangdong was forced to "lead wolves into the house" and send an official document to dispatch Cao's soldiers and horses into Guangdong to suppress bandits, when Liu Xiang's historical mission was completed.

So here is a kind of attitude towards Liu Xiang: if you sincerely want to surrender, then please kowtow single-handedly, and then "take orders" to continue to be a pirate in Guangdong, and then openly surrender, and it is still okay to keep your seat in the CPPCC of.

It doesn't matter if you don't have the guts to surrender.At the right time, there will naturally be a fleet starting from Xiamen to drive you to Guangdong to continue to be a pirate, but if you are so passive, Liu's ending will definitely not be too good.

This is the reason why a certain military adviser who came to explore the way was treated coldly: the cross-travelers had to put on a cold look to put pressure on Liu Xiang, forcing him to abandon his illusions and choose one of the two extremes.

Rao Yu Xianke had already had a bad premonition before, but when he stood outside the city gate and recalled the scene just now, he still couldn't help burning with anger: Do you really treat my gang of tens of thousands of brothers as nothing? ?Sent it in one sentence! ?

However, the reality is so cruel. After Master Yu returned to the inn on foot, his anger dissipated after a short walk... The so-called tens of thousands of brothers dare not even come around Xiamen, or they will be killed. Look down on it?

"It seems that he has been taken into account." After thinking for a long time in the guest room alone, Yu Xianke had the most intuitive characterization of Kunren's malice.

"Since that's the case, it's not suitable to stay here for a long time." After thinking about the cause and effect, Yu Xianke planned to leave.It is comfortable to live in the inn, but the host does not welcome it, so it is useless to stay in vain.

So early the next morning, the Qingfu sailed northward and headed straight for Fuzhou.

……

Filled with melancholy and helplessness, Yu Xianke arrived at the pier outside Fuzhou seven days later.Standing on the ship tower, looking at the majestic ancient city and the old bluestone wharf approaching in front of him, he felt inexplicably kind at this moment: the fast-paced later style of Xiamen Port made him extremely uncomfortable.

After the ship docked at the port, Yu Xianke was in a happy mood watching his entourage negotiate with the tax collector who jumped on board, quarreling, haggling, and finally handing over the money... both public and private have to pay.

That's right, this is the Daming style that Yu Xianke is used to.

After collecting the fees, the tax collector left with a smile on his face, without any intention of inspecting the goods.The boat passengers moved the salutes off the boat very skillfully, hired sedan chairs and carriages at the pier, went all the way to the city smoothly, and stayed in an inn.

However, Master Yu, who was sitting in the sedan chair along the way, was in a bad mood again: the clean streets, the cleaners in uniforms, the latrines at the crossroads, and the disappearing crowd of beggars...all these made him feel confused again. In the shadows, I felt a fear of being remotely controlled by the "Cao family".

Although the main "business" of selling recognition flags has now shrunk, and the pirates have turned to underground activities, the staff of the refurbished office are still running some ordinary commercial strongholds.So after entering Fuzhou City and settling down, the delegation quickly contacted the local informant.

At this time, Yu Xianke's experience came in handy.

He first met with an informant.This person is a small official in the chief envoy's yamen, named Jin Luo.The shop in Jin Luo's family has been dealing in Liu Xiang's goods and stolen goods for many years, so everyone belongs to a community of interests.

After Jin Luo received the instructions and a batch of gifts, he quickly visited a Qingke friend in the Governor's Yamen, and after being recommended by the Qingke, Jin Luo was able to meet and talk to the Governor's Yamen. An important person in the painting: Huang Ping and Huang Zanhua.

From this point, it can be seen that the pirates are indeed not what they used to be...at least in Fujian today.

In the past, it was not difficult for a spokesperson of a powerful force like Liu Xiang to meet Xiong Wencan; if it was some critical time, the government would take the initiative to send someone to contact the offices that sell the recognition flag.

However, times have changed, and after just half a year, the Qingping atmosphere has made people in Fuzhou begin to blur the concept of "pirates". That would take a lot of trouble.

So after presenting gifts and a sum of money, Yu Xianke finally got a chance to treat Huang Zanhua to dinner at noon on the seventh day after arriving in Fuzhou City... Both the guests and the host had a good time, and Yu Xianke also gave away a gift afterwards. Master Huang's lobbying fee.

Logically speaking, Yu Xianke's series of operations are relatively safe and reasonable.Under normal circumstances, after today, people will report to Lao Xiong in a more gentle tone about the goodwill released by the Liu Xiang gang and certain conditions for recruiting security, so as to pave the way for future exchanges between the two parties. good foundation.

However, it's not that the national army doesn't work hard, but the communist army is as high as... If you find this kind of thing at Mr. Huang's door, wouldn't you be throwing yourself into a trap?

After seeing Master Yu that day, no one knows how Master Huang went back to tell stories about Lao Xiong, but the feedback from the governor’s yamen came soon afterward——Xiong Fujun immediately stated his position after hearing about it: Let Liu Xiang come forward and speak .

……

Yu Xianke was dumbfounded: Why is it the same as Cao's formulation?Could it be that Xiong Wencan listened to Cao's bewitchment?

He guessed right, since he sailed northward from Xiamen, the news of him had been sent to Fuzhou by telegram, and Huang Ping had already made preparations for his visit.

In other words, even if Yu Xianke finds someone else, Huang Zanhua will eventually break the matter and mess things up in front of Lao Xiong.

Yu Xianke's journey to Zhao'an was shamefully smothered in the cradle.

Chapter 334 Xiong Dao's Mission

Yu Xianke stayed in Fuzhou until the end of the Lunar New Year before returning to Chaoshan.During this period, he has been in contact with many parties, trying to lobby a certain big man in the government.

However, the reality is cruel.The rapid reduction of the strategic position made the influence of Liuxiang Group much worse than before, so no bigwig was willing to jump out of the muddy water.And after Yu Xianke finally consumed all the property he brought with him in the decadent bureaucratic system, he could only return home wearily.

After going back to see the big shopkeeper to exchange the situation, both of them shook their heads again and again.Although the situation is now clearer than before, it is of no use: Liu Xiang cannot meet the interview request proposed by the two northern families, at least he will not consider it now.

"Forget it, I have no choice but to go south." Liu Xiang said dejectedly.

Yu Xianke could only nod his head in agreement at this moment: "This is the end of the matter, it's unknown if we go south to Guangzhou to raise money."

Liu Xiang sighed: "Oh, it's easier said than done."

Although the news from Guangdong sounds good: Guangzhou officials are still interested in recruiting Liu Xiang.But this matter has been mentioned in the previous article, Liu Xiang knows his own suffering - he does not have the territory and business channels needed for transformation.

Macau and Xiamen have already blocked the trade routes between the north and the south. Even if Liu Xiang changes his style like Zheng Zhilong, his merchant fleet will be detained if he cannot reach Fujian. There is no business to do.

In this way, even if the Guangzhou officialdom recruits him, Liu Xiang, who has no business and territory, will still embark on the old road of robbery sooner or later.After that, he turned against the Guangdong government, his reputation value became negative, and then the government began to make up their minds to destroy him...

The foreseeable future made Liu Xiang frown, but there was something even more disturbing happening: on the fifth day after Yu Xianke came back, two streamlined sailboats each equipped with 5 cannons sailed beyond Nan'ao Island. There was an exchange of fire between Beihe and the pirate cruiser, killing and injuring many pirates and walking away.

Nan'ao Island is located at the border between Fujian and Guangdong, the most important area.

As early as 1575 Wanli, the Ming court designated Nan'ao Island as a joint administration of two provinces, and established the only island general military mansion in the country: "Fujian Guangdong Nan'ao General Town Mansion" with Xiongzhenguan as the boundary.At the same time, the imperial court set up the "Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xie Shou Zhangchao and other places specially stationed in Nan'ao", with a battalion of Fujian and Guangdong troops under it.

In the Qing Dynasty, the standard of the deputy commander-in-chief here was raised to the standard of the commander-in-chief, and the position became more and more important.

Now that the Kun people's gunboat has come to Nan'ao Island to provoke trouble, there is no doubt that the next step is to go south in a big way.

Although Kunren's actions seemed to be provoking the defense zone of the South Australian Deputy Commander, Liu Xiang did not dare to pin his hopes on the official.

So on March 1629, 3, the Liu Xiang Gang, who had been resting for a few months, began to pour out from the Chaoshan area in large numbers, and went straight to the most familiar and most affluent sea route in the south: the Pearl River Estuary.

The strong northern neighbor who got the news didn't do anything, but just watched his opponent go away coldly.

What Liu Xiang doesn't know is that after leaving this time, he will never return to the Chaoshan area where he started. The southern country will be the last stage for all Chinese pirates, and the script will be staged as scheduled.

……

After temporarily withdrawing his eyes from the warm southern country, the giant living in a corner turned his sights to the cold and humid Jiangnan.

"The waves are rushing, the waves are flowing, the waves are surging and the river will never stop..."

The boatman in a homemade blouse, dressed as a fisherman, and wearing a straw hat is rowing hard while listening to the sound of a minor tune floating from the boat tower.Although he couldn't understand this kind of foreign tune with weird lyrics, the boatman still felt a little bit of bleak and melancholy from the singing.

It was Xiong Dao who sang.

The boat departs from Hangzhou and goes down the Qiantang River. When it arrives at Jinshanwei, it can turn north and enter the boundary of Songjiang Prefecture.Traveling through the dense water system of the Yangtze River Delta, it only takes [-] to [-] miles of water to get to Songjiang Fucheng by boat, and another [-] to [-] miles to the north is the pearl of later generations, today's little Shanghai County.

After singing a song on the beach, Xiong Dao, who had finished expressing his enthusiasm, was blown by the cold river wind, and his pride suddenly disappeared.He tightened the bamboo mouse skin robe around his body, glanced at the desolate cotton fields around the river, felt chills all over his body, and hurriedly turned around and rushed into the cabin.

Generally speaking, the cotton fields in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River can be sown in March and April. The famous Songjiang cotton in the Ming Dynasty relied on a large number of cotton fields in the north and south of the Yangtze River to provide raw materials.

This situation caused the Yangtze River Delta, which was originally a land of fish and rice, to become a pure commodity grain purchase area at the end of Ming Dynasty, grain farmers became cotton farmers and mulberry farmers, and the crops in the entire Susongchang area were transformed into cash crops.

However, in Songjiang Prefecture in 1629, cotton was not easy to grow: although it was already March in spring, the cold climate of the Little Ice Age led to late sowing of cotton fields in various places, so when Xiongdao looked at the past just now, the land on both sides of the river was still bleak. Not even a farmer in the field can be seen.

After getting into the cabin, Xiong Dao suddenly felt much warmer: the damned coldness in the Jiangnan area was extremely unaccustomed to him who was born in the north.Because the air humidity is relatively high, and the current temperature is only ten degrees above zero, no matter how thick the clothes are, the underwear always feels damp and cold all over.

After taking a deep breath, Xiong Dao quickly sat down on the chair and stretched out his hands to warm the fire.As a wealthy businessman, his travel cannot be simple: a luxurious flat-bottomed double-decker ship is sailing in the river at the moment. The ship is exquisitely crafted, with exquisite materials, and the interior decoration is luxurious and luxurious, which fully matches his identity.