The next morning, Xu Yuzhuo also came to the mission station early, commanding the soldiers here to boil hot water for the mission and prepare breakfast, not at all like a military general, but more like a housekeeper.

Ning Qi saw it in his eyes and couldn't help but praise: "It seems that the Xu family's family style is not bad, and Xu Yuzhuo's background is not much of a fight." ”

Shi Diwen responded: "According to the information sent back before, among Xu Xinsu's seven sons, Xu Yuzhuo is the most important, and it seems that there is some truth. ”

After Haihan and Xu Xinsu secretly reached a cooperation agreement, Fujian soon sent a group of officer cadets to Sanya to study, and Xu Yuzhuo was among the first batch of cadets. Although the children of the Xu family went to Sanya to study various subjects one after another, Xu Yuzhuo's relationship with Haihan officials is undoubtedly the deepest among these people, and he also knows the most about Haihan. And the various professional skills he learned from Haihan's side, as well as his broader horizons and knowledge than his contemporaries, will indeed help him get a better career in the army.

Xu Yuzhuo saw Ning Qi and Shi Diwen coming out of the room, and immediately stepped forward to take the initiative to say hello. Ning Qi smiled and said: "Xu Yuzhuo, you are a general of the Ming Dynasty, and it doesn't seem like it's good to be so courteous to us, a foreign visitor?"

Xu Yu said with a straight face: "Although the student is a Ming general, this master and apprentice etiquette must still be followed, my Ming is the state of etiquette, which is also a due gift." ”

Shi Diwen said: "Xu Yuzhuo, if you are not busy today, you will take me around this island after lunch." ”

Xu Yu replied: "The mission of students these days is to accompany all distinguished guests, Mr. Shi has a life, and students should obey it." ”

After breakfast, Xu Xinsu sent someone to invite the people of the mission to go to Zhangzhou with him. However, according to last night's temporary discussion, Shi Diwen will stay on Xiamen Island with the main combat ships and crews, while Ningqi will take the non-military members of the mission to Zhangzhou on the "Lightning". In order to ensure safety, Shi Diwen still sent an "expedition-class" warship and a supply ship to go with him.

Before the team left, Shi Diwen specially called Morgan to the side and said a few words. There is a blonde and blue-eyed foreigner like Morgan in this Haihan mission, which is quite eye-catching. Even some Ming Army officers who had already known each other yesterday couldn't help but glance at Morgan a few more times at this time.

Ning Qi walked up to Xu Xinsu and took the initiative to invite him: "Lord Xu, if it is convenient, you can take this sailboat of ours." After that, he pointed to the "Inaza" catamaran that had been being watched on the pier.

Xu Xinsu responded with a smile: "I don't dare to ask for it." ”

After the "Inaksem" catamaran was bought by the North American gang, in order to be able to carry more munitions and materials, some of the living facilities have been dismantled. However, after the crossing, the Ministry of Shipping tried to do its best to repair the interior of the ship. Although it is no longer as good as when it left the factory, the comfort of its interior is still much better than that of a sailboat of this era. Moreover, among the hundreds of ships owned by the entire shipping department and the navy, the "Lightning" and the other catamaran "Speed" are the two best maintained, and they have to enter the dock for full maintenance every two months on average, so although they have been in use for four years after the crossing, the ship is still in quite good condition.

Xu Xinsu boarded the ship from the stern under the leadership of Ning Qi, stood at the door of the cabin and took a look at it, and then ordered his subordinates: "Don't come up, you can't stand in the cabin!"

However, Xu Xinsu's subordinates didn't dare to let him stay alone on someone else's ship easily, not to mention that it was said that the speed of this ship was extremely fast, and ordinary sailing ships couldn't catch up at all, what if something happened?

The two sides coordinated for a while, and finally let Xu Xinsu's side send four people on board. However, this is basically the upper limit of the "Lightning", after all, there are several people on the Haihan side, plus the crew and sailors who are responsible for operating the ship, if you still want to get on the boat, you really don't even have a place to sit.

Although the speed of the "Lightning" was fast, this place was Xu Xinsu's territory after all, so the pilot ship was still arranged by the landlord, and after the "Lightning" unmoored and lifted the sail and anchored, it only followed steadily behind, and did not increase the speed of the ship.

"I've heard of Haihan's little white boat being fast and stable at sea before, but I didn't expect to have the opportunity to take it in person!" Xu Xinsu sat on the sofa in the living room of the cabin, couldn't help but reach out and touch the soft leather sofa, and couldn't stop admiring: "This cushion is very comfortable, or you Haihan people will enjoy it!"

"If you like it, you might as well wait for your free time to go to Sanya to live for a while, there will definitely be many things that will interest you. Ning Qi replied with a smile.

Xu Xinsu gently patted the armrest of the sofa and said, "Why didn't the old man want to stop and rest for a while?" It's just that the situation in Fujian has been difficult to stabilize, and I can't leave it alone for the time being!"

"What Lord Xu said refers to Eighteen Zhi? I heard that in the past two years, Lord Xu has won successive battles, and Eighteen Zhi no longer dares to harass Zhangzhou and Quanzhou?" Ning Qi asked tentatively.

Xu Xinsu shook his head and said, "Things are not as simple as they are rumored. With the military assistance provided by Haihan, it is true that Shibazhi is no longer the opponent of our army in the war, but there are too many people along the coast of Fujian who are inextricably linked with their interests, even if they fight for another ten or eight years according to the current situation, it will be difficult to completely exterminate Shibazhi!"

Ning Qi heard that Xu Xinsu seemed to have something in his words, so he followed his meaning and asked, "Then what is Lord Xu's opinion?"

Xu Xinsu said: "If you want to destroy Eighteen Zhi, you must destroy Zheng Zhilong! As long as Zheng Zhilong dies, Eighteen Zhi will definitely fall and scatter, and it will soon break down into small gangs one by one, and then they can be eliminated one by one." ”

Ning Qi nodded and said, "I understand the reason, but how does Lord Xu plan to destroy Zheng Zhilong?" As far as I know, Zheng Zhilong is either in Penghu or on Dayuan Island, and it seems that there is not enough surface armed force on the Fujian side to attack such a far place. ”

"What Mr. Ning said is very true, so the old man can only write down this account for the time being, and wait for the time to be ripe before making plans. Xu Xinsu readily admitted Ning Qi's statement.

When Ning Qi heard this, he hurriedly asked, "So now there is a truce between the Fujian garrison and the Eighteen Zhi?"

"To fight or not to fight, the initiative is not on our side. Xu Xinsu shook his head and said: "Our army is still only holding on to the stronghold to defend against the other party's attack. ”

Ning Qi said in his heart, you pushed it cleanly, it seems that if you don't make it clear, this circle will have to continue to go on like this.

"Forgive me for daring to ask, is Lord Xu already thinking of a temporary truce with Eighteen Zhi now?" Ning Qi asked very specifically this time, no longer allowing Xu Xinsu to be sloppy easily.

Xu Xinsu looked at Ning Qi and said: "Mr. Ning, when the dog returned from training in Sanya, he once retold a lot of your military theoretical knowledge to the old man, and I remember that one of them roughly said that war is for political service, and understanding why you are fighting is a very important thing for those who hold great power." ”

Ning Qi nodded and said: "This is a doctrine written by a general named Clausewitz in the West, called "On War", and some of the contents of it have indeed been taught to the officer cadets who studied in Sanya. ”

Xu Xinsu continued: "Then what is the reason why our army fought against Eighteen Zhi? I don't think you may necessarily believe this reason, and even I myself am not very convinced. ”

Ning Qi smiled, agreeing with Xu Xinsu's statement. Xu Xinsu started his business by helping the sea merchant Li Dan in his early years, and in addition to the regular business that Li Dan did, there were also many shady transactions in private. And in this era, many of them are both maritime merchants and pirates, and among Xu Xinsu's subordinates who came ashore with whitewashing, there are actually many people who were born in the early years of trading with knives and licking blood.

Although Xu Xinsu is now a senior general of the Ming army and a member of a province, it is really hard to say how much weight the interests of the Ming Dynasty occupy in his heart. If you really want to make a comparison, maybe the silver weight of Baihuahua is even heavier. And the war that broke out between him and Eighteen Zhi was for control of maritime trade from the very beginning, and the interests involved were simply astronomical, not a simple game of cat and mouse, officers and soldiers catching robbers. Xu Xinsu himself understands this very well, and he believes that the Haihan people who have been giving him military aid also see the stakes very clearly.

Xu Xinsu continued: "The old man has been fighting with Shibazhi for so many years, and what he has done is nothing more than a good word, but if he doesn't have to continue fighting, there is a way to protect his own interests, so is the benefit of the truce greater than if he continues to fight?"

Ning Qi replied quietly: "Although what Lord Xu said is reasonable, this calculation method should only be economic benefits, right?"

Xu Xinsu nodded and said: "Indeed, as Mr. Ning said, from a business point of view, once the war is armisted, our side can save hundreds of thousands of taels of military spending every year, and we can resume normal trade with Dayuan Island, Ryukyu and Japan. And the taxes paid by Fujian to the imperial court in the previous year were less than three million taels of silver. As a normal person, no one can turn a blind eye to such a large amount of money, right?"

"If everything is decided by money, then a lot of things are very easy to deal with. Since Xu Xinsu had already taken the initiative to open the skylight and speak brightly, Ning Qi didn't plan to hide it anymore: "Our weapons can also be sold to whoever gives money, but we haven't done this before, and we don't plan to do it in the future, does Lord Xu know why?"

"The old man would like to hear about it. Xu Xinsu's face did not change much, and he still looked very calm.

"It's very simple, the Tao is different, and there is no conspiracy with each other. "We only work with people who share the same ideas and interests, and some people whose ideas and intentions are far from ours will not be our partners," Ningqi said. ”

"So you chose to cooperate with the old man because we have a lot in common?" This topic aroused Xu Xinsu's interest. Although the two sides have been working together for several years, Xu Xinsu has not had many opportunities to talk about such deep-seated issues face-to-face with Haihan's senior personnel. And to have the opportunity to listen to Ning Qi, one of the supreme rulers of Haihan, say his opinion, this is indeed a rare opportunity for Xu Xinsu.

"There's at least one thing we're on the same page. Ning Qi said slowly: "For the existence of Eighteen Zhi, we also have the attitude of getting rid of it quickly. However, our capabilities are limited, and we must find a strong ally to assist us, and Lord Xu is a very suitable person in our opinion. ”

Ning Qi's words are actually a little vague, but Xu Xinsu is also an old fritter who has been rolling on the rivers and lakes for many years, so he naturally heard the overtone of his words - Ning Qi said at least one thing with the same attitude, in fact, it is likely to mean that this is the only common ground between the two sides, and if even this only common ground is gone, then the basis for cooperation between the two sides will no longer exist.

This time, Xu Xinsu was silent for a while before he spoke again: "If the old man hadn't started a war with Eighteen Zhi, then naturally he wouldn't have had the opportunity to cooperate with you?"

"Maybe there will still be economic and trade cooperation, but the military side will definitely not choose Xu as a partner. Ning Qi didn't hide anything, and showed his hole cards straightforwardly.

While what both sides say is only hypothetical conditions, there is no doubt that this applies to the current situation. If the Fujian side really ceased war with Shibazhi, then the Haihan side may react to this and stop cooperating with the Fujian side. And once this kind of military cooperation stops, it is not easy to say whether the 18 Zhi, which has been coveting Fujian, is still willing to abide by the so-called armistice agreement.

Ning Qi didn't need to say this truth, he believed that Xu Xinsu would also be able to think of it. If Xu Xinsu would rather take such a risk and have to stop fighting with Eighteen Zhi, then Ning Qi could only admire his stubbornness.

Xu Xinsu said in a deep voice: "There are some things that the old man can not make the decision alone, which involves the interests of many parties, and the old man can only weigh it and make a choice that is beneficial to all parties as much as possible." ”

"The choice you have made may be beneficial to others, but for us Haihan, with all due respect, I did not think of anything beneficial. Ning Qi chased after him: "The truce means that Eighteen Zhi has the energy to go south and enter our Haihan's sphere of influence." No matter where this gang goes, it will be a big problem! When the time comes, it is very likely that we will have to personally dispatch a fleet to help Fujian clean up this pile of scum. Or is this the real purpose of Lord Xu's choice to armistice?"