"Fortunately, they are all non-fatal skin injuries. After examining the injuries of several Assassins, Morgan finally came to a conclusion that relieved Xu Xinsu's heart.

When he came over just now and saw that these captured assassins were all covered in blood, Xu Xinsu almost had a seizure on the spot and was about to scold Yang Lu. Of course, he knew that Yang Lu was also eager to solve the case, so he would serve the live mouth who had just been caught, but Yang Lu didn't understand the thoughts of the Haihan people at all, what people wanted was probably not just to let these assassins pay for their lives, but to figure out the mystery behind this matter, and the most important thing was to find out who was behind the scenes. And Yang Lu probably thought that even if he couldn't catch the real murderer, he would have to deal with the people of Xiang Haihan by cutting off a few heads, which was too naïve in Xu Xinsu's opinion. If the Haihan people are really so easy to deal with, can they make such a big situation in just a few years after coming to Daming?

While Morgan was treating the wounds on the bodies of several assassins, Xu Xinsu called Yang Lu aside and asked in front of Ning Qi, "Have these captured assassins ever confessed?"

Yang Lu shook his head helplessly and said, "Their mouths are quite tight, but the lowly will definitely find a way to pry their mouths open!"

Xu Xinsu was noncommittal to this statement, and continued to ask: "How is the shape of the city at this time?"

"When he learned of the assassination of the nobles of the mission, he immediately ordered the gates of the city to be closed in Zhangzhou, and no one was allowed to leave the city without the permission of the city defense army. He has sent more than 700 members of the city defense army to cooperate with the yamen to arrest the assassins in the city. Yang Lu honestly reported: "In addition, there are two assassins at large, and I believe that the hiding place of this escaped assassin is probably the place where his comrades are located. ”

Ning Qi asked, "Are these assassins natives from Zhangzhou?"

Yang Lu hesitated slightly, shook his head and said, "These people have mixed accents, they should be from both Fuguang and Fuguang." ”

Ning Qi analyzed: "I also temporarily went to the street to visit today, so there should be little preparation time for the attack launched by these people in the teahouse, most of them followed the teahouse to see the environment there to facilitate the action, and launched a surprise attack just when I was about to leave." There were more than a dozen of them who did it, and these people probably followed me from the time I left Lord Xu's mansion. If they are outsiders, they are likely to live in the same place, so that they can move in tandem. ”

Xu Xinsu was also a human being, and he immediately instructed Yang Lu: "Why are you still standing stupidly? What Mr. Ning said is a clue! These outsiders who eat and live together in the city will definitely leave clues! Hurry up and check the inns and inns in the city, as well as those who like to hire outsiders to practice and sail! Anyone who has suspicious deeds should be arrested first!"

Yang Lu suddenly responded with a big understanding, and was about to hurry to arrange the action, but Xu Xinsu stopped him: "Slow!"

"What else do you have to say?" Yang Lu asked puzzled.

"The Zheng family's shop, we must focus on the investigation!" Xu Xinsu added an order before waving his hand to signal Yang Lu to hurry up.

After Yang Lu left in a hurry, Xu Xinsu explained to Ning Qi: "Zheng Zhilong's distant relatives have opened a trading house in Zhangzhou, but they usually have no direct contact with Shibazhi, so they are not specifically forbidden to operate in this city. ”

Ning Qi nodded, indicating that he had understood Xu Xinsu's explanation. However, he does not fully believe this statement. Earlier, he had already heard from the father and son of the Gong family stationed in the local area that Eighteen Zhi had arranged some secret stakes in Zhangzhou, and his means of concealing his identity was to disguise himself as various trading houses, so that he could deal with the stolen goods obtained by Eighteen Zhi from the sea raids, and buy some necessary materials from the mainland on his behalf. And Xu Xinsu specially told Yang Lu to focus on the inventory of the property under the name of Eighteen Zhi, obviously also doubting the origin of these assassins.

Ning Qi said without hesitation: "Actually, after the accident just now, the object of my suspicion is also Eighteen Zhi. Because if our mission is attacked, they will benefit the most. First, it can deal a certain blow to the prestige of our Haihan and sabotage our activities during this visit to Fujian, and second, it can split the relationship between you and me, and may even make us turn against each other and make the Fujian government lose the support of Haihan. ”

Xu Xinsu said with a solemn face: "Fortunately, Mr. Ning is not injured, otherwise the old man really doesn't know how to explain to the Haihan Executive Committee." In short, no matter who the main messenger behind these assassins is, the old man must dig them out and deal with them strictly, so as to set an example!"

However, what Ning Qi said was only part of the thoughts in his heart, in fact, who instructed these people to assassinate in broad daylight, Ning Qi thought that it was still secondary, and how to use the current situation to promote a favorable outcome for Haihan was the main issue that Ning Qi was considering now.

The main purpose of the Haihan mission to Fujian was to try to end the armistice and peace talks that might have been underway between the Fujian government and Shibazhi. As for the methods to be used to achieve this goal, the Executive Committee did put forward some plans before departure, such as increasing preferential trade conditions to induce each other, or showing force to deter Fujian officials, coercion and inducement. However, Ning Qi suddenly thought that this was an excellent opportunity for Xu Xinsu to express his attitude on behalf of the Fujian official.

Whether this matter is instigated by Eighteen Zhi behind it has actually become a secondary issue, as long as Hai Han resolutely deducts this pot on Eighteen Zhi's head, then Xu Xinsu must make a choice, whether to take care of the love of old friends, or to protect old enemies, and the difficulty of this choice is obviously not too great.

If Xu Xinsu didn't take the initiative to burn this fire on Eighteen Zhi's head, then Ning Qi would also turn the topic to this aspect to see if Xu Xinsu would protect Eighteen Zhi because of a ghost in his heart. However, judging from Xu Xinsu's reaction, Ning Qi should have been too worried, and Xu Xinsu was obviously anxious to clarify his feelings, and probably didn't care about any armistice and peace talks.

When Ning Qi and Xu Xinsu were talking here, Zhangzhou City had already boiled a pot. Ordinary people didn't know what was going on, only that the officials and soldiers had closed the city gates and started to search street by street. All the non-local residents were cleared out and identified by the yamen people one by one. However, it will take a long time to rely on the limited number of people to investigate the tens of thousands of residents in the city.

The soldiers on the mission and the arresters received orders that all suspects should be arrested first, and then the investigation should be carried out slowly, so that suspects tied up in a long line of ropes could be seen everywhere on the street.

As for the few commercial houses that secretly worked for Shibazhi, they were all directly seized. According to the instructions from above, these firms, from the boss to the men, from the account room to the laborers who carry the bag, all had to be taken into custody.

Yang Lu personally led people to the "Zhengfeng" in Nancheng, which was the business run by Zheng Zhilong's distant relatives as Xu Xinsu said. This business usually sells deerskin and antlers and other specialties from Ogen Island, and its background is self-explanatory. Yang Lu asked his subordinate officers to lead people to block the front and back doors, and then sent someone to call the door.

After knocking on the door for a long time and there was no response, Yang Lu didn't bother to wait any longer, so he asked his subordinates to climb in from the wall and open the door. In the process, he did not encounter any resistance, but the result made Yang Lu very angry, this business has been emptied, and even a figure is gone. Obviously, he probably expected that the Ming army would come to clean up here, and he had already moved in advance.

"These guys ......" Yang Lu was so angry that he waved his hand and ordered: "Seal all the things in this business!

This time it was a good harvest, and there were a lot of deer skins and antlers stored in the storehouse, which were worth eighteen thousand taels of silver, to say the least. In addition, a number of gold and silver were copied out, and Yang Lu thought that this could subsidize the cost of the city's large-scale search.

Since Eighteen Zhi's people have chosen to run away in advance, no matter who the pot of assassinating Haihan dignitaries on the street is, Eighteen Zhi has to carry it first. Yang Lu immediately called someone to pass on the paperwork, and immediately began to write the relevant wanted warrants in the shop of the "Zhengfeng", and at the same time immediately sent someone to report the news to Xu Xinsu.

Xu Xinsu was also silent for a while after hearing the news, and then issued a new order: "Zhangquan and Quanzhou, all the personnel related to Eighteen Zhi, all the people are arrested first!"

Ning Qi listened to it next to him, and his heart was completely torn apart.

After listening to the father and son of the Gong family talk about the complex entanglement of interests between Xu Xinsu and Eighteen Zhi, Ning Qi actually understood a little bit why the war on the Fujian side lasted for several years and did not end, in addition to the fact that the maritime forces under Xu Xinsu's command were slightly insufficient, the entanglement of interests between the two sides in the secret also affected the direction of the war. On the one hand, the two sides are at war, and on the other hand, they use other identities as a cover to conduct underground transactions.

Eighteen Zhi blocked part of the sea routes, which certainly affected Xu Xinsu's maritime trade business, but Eighteen Zhi also had to take out a large amount of silver every year to purchase various materials from the mainland through Xu Xinsu's trading house. Xu Xinsu lost a considerable part of the benefits in the sea trade, but in fact, he took back a considerable part of it from the hands of Eighteen Zhi through such means. Moreover, both groups had business dealings with the Dutch, and this common interest allowed them to maintain a strange tacit understanding in spite of the fighting.

How many manpower has been deployed in the coastal cities of Fujian, Xu Xinsu will not be unaware of the fact that a local snake like Xu Xinsu is not at all, and now ordering the removal of these places can be regarded as a ruthless measure to cut off the back road to Eighteen Zhi. It is very difficult for Shibazhi to rely on the immigrants under his command to grow enough food for tens of thousands of people on the island of Taiwan, and now without the operation of these commercial houses, Shibazhi's own material supply will become a very troublesome problem.

Of course, they will definitely find other solutions, such as buying grain from farther Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but this will undoubtedly increase operating costs, and it is difficult to guarantee the stability of supply. After all, they are not like the Haihan people entrenched on Hainan Island, and there is such a rear granary as Annan, who can purchase a large amount of grain at any time.

Ning Qi deliberately asked: "If Eighteen Zhi has stationed people in Zhangquan and Zhangquan Prefectures, then you might as well invite their person in charge to come over and explain it in person, or maybe it is difficult to say who is doing it." ”

Xu Xinsu shook his head and said: "Everyone has run away, this is obviously a lack of heart, what else to say? If the old man gets their person in charge, he will definitely send it to Mr. Ning, and Mr. Ning will personally ask for understanding!"

Ning Qi said in his heart, if you send it to me, then even if it is not made by Eighteen Zhi, it will become made by Eighteen Zhi. However, since the people of Eighteen Zhi have chosen to run away, it seems that they are indeed making trouble in secret.

After Morgan had dealt with several of the Assassin's wounded, he resumed his questioning. However, in order to save the lives of the Assassins for the time being, Morgan forbade the officials responsible for torturing them from using torture, and instead taught them a new way of doing a new thing, without injuring their flesh, which was the 24-hour fatigue bombing tactic.

Fatigue interrogation is a process of rotating interrogators, asking questions of suspects non-stop, and using various methods to keep them out of time. This method does not seem to have direct torture, but the mental destruction is very powerful, even those tough guys who can resist various punishments, they often gradually lose their minds and lose their ideological defense line in the days and nights of uninterrupted interrogation. In the time and space before the time-traveler came, this method of interrogation had already been counted by the legal profession into the category of extorting confessions by torture, and it was an improper interrogation method. Of course, there are not so many taboos in this plane, as long as they can get a confession, no one cares whether these prisoners live or die - anyway, from the moment they are caught, the final outcome is already doomed.

Morgan was sure that this method of interrogation would be able to ask something useful, and that as long as the prisoners were constantly stimulated in various ways to prevent them from sleeping, sooner or later the defense line would collapse due to mental fatigue. The only problem is that this type of interrogation often takes a long time, and it can drag on for two or three days or even longer with someone who is more determined.

However, Ning Qi didn't mind that the interrogation would take a little longer, anyway, the city search operation here would take some time, and it might not be possible to catch the prisoners' comrades outside before they confessed.

Shi Diwen, who was stationed in the Zhongzuo Institute, sent a telegram three hours after the incident, asking if he needed to send someone or a boat to meet them. Ning Qi called back and declined Shi Diwen's kindness, it was obvious that the other party's assassination methods were just a wave, and there was probably no time to prepare any follow-up actions in a hurry, now that the whole city of Zhangzhou City is under martial law, there are at least one or two hundred guards within thirty meters of Ning Qi's side, and personal safety is no longer a problem at all, but it is necessary to seize this time and destroy the peace negotiation process between Xu Xinsu and Eighteen Zhi first.