"Do you recognize the person clearly?" Xiao Liang stopped not far from the port center and asked a militiaman behind him.

"Report chief, that Li Qingyang is the leader, I can see it very clearly, and I won't admit my mistake!" The militiaman stood up and said categorically. He was one of the members of the field service group who had followed Gong 17 on a surveillance mission in Guangzhou the day before, and he had seen the faces of these surveillance targets, so He Xi specially sent him to Panyu to let him come here to recognize people.

However, in He Xi's plan, he did not plan to arrest them here, because Lijiazhuang is not only a cargo transit terminal, but also a major transit point for Haihan to carry out large-scale migration from the mainland, and the migrant camp not far from the dock has long been inhabited by thousands of migrants. In the absence of a comprehensive understanding of Haihan, the vast majority of these people had to seek refuge in Haihan for their livelihoods, and if there were an armed conflict here over the capture of Jinyiwei, it was likely that these migrants would be frightened and even misunderstood about their future employers. In addition, the waterways near Lijiazhuang extend in all directions, and it is possible that the Jinyi guards could escape during the capture process, and the few mobile troops are not enough to set up an effective encirclement in this nearby area. If there are other spies in the vicinity that have not been discovered in the previous investigation, it will be easy to arrest them openly.

Xiao Liang took people to the port center to confirm the identity of the Jinyi Wei spy. After the face-to-face confirmation, the next step can be carried out according to the established process.

And Li Qingyang didn't realize the reality of his identity being exposed at this time, and after following Song San to complete the pick-up procedures, he returned to the dock together. Song San kindly told him: "In the future, when the business is busy, the shopkeeper will inevitably let you do some things to pick up and order the goods, and you can remember these procedures just now, so that things can be done properly when the time comes." ”

"What Song Sange said is that the younger brother must remember it in his heart. Li Qingyang arched his hand and answered.

At this moment, he was not thinking about the responsibilities of Mr. Ledger, but worried about the action arrangements after going to Sanya. As far as he could see, the Haihan people were very meticulous and organized, and it was difficult for such people to exploit any major loopholes in the area under their jurisdiction. After going to Sanya, the first thing to consider is probably not how to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, but to cover up his identity and not reveal his feet.

Li Qingyang originally thought that he would wait for a while, but he didn't expect that as soon as they arrived at the dock with their front feet, the delivery team followed with them. Li Qingyang couldn't help but praise: "This doesn't delay time at all!"

Song Sanying said: "There is a clear saying among the Haihan people that time is money. If it is at the Pearl River Wharf, it is not a problem to delay for a few hours when loading the goods, but in this place, after the manifest is handed over to the warehouse, the incense is not shipped in time, and the people on the other side of the warehouse have to be punished. ”

"But looking at this dock, it seems that Cheng Dù is not so busy that he needs to queue up to load and unload goods?" Li Qingyang asked suspiciously.

Song San explained: "This is because the time when our ship came was also a coincidence, and we just missed the busiest days around the fifteenth day of the first month of the month, but the rules of the Haihan people are set like this, regardless of when they are busy or when they come, the speed of loading and unloading goods is so fast." If you think about it, it takes about a day to a day and a half for a big ship like ours to be shipped in Guangzhou, and it will be done in half a day here, and the time saved in a year is enough to run a few more round-trips. ”

"I see. Li Qingyang said in his heart that these Haihan people are indeed shrewd, and even this kind of detail has been calculated, no wonder it has only been a year or two since they appeared, and their reputation has already spread to the north of the Yangtze River, and there are really some doorways.

The ship he was on this time was mainly to carry tea and porcelain to Sanya, and these goods had already been packed before they were put into storage, and they only needed to be carried to the ship for loading on the ship. There was another person on the ship who was responsible for counting the goods, and Li Qingyang was idle, so he turned his head to look at another ship parked on the dock.

The shape of this ship was different from any sailing ship Li Qingyang had seen in the past, and the hull had a bit of the shadow of a wide ship and a lucky ship, but it was even more narrow and long, and its size should have greatly exceeded the shipbuilding limit of 400 materials. What caught Li Qingyang's attention the most was the ship's sail rope system, the mast was obviously much higher than that of ordinary sailing boats, and the sails used were not Chinese hard sails, but soft cloth sails similar to Western sailing ships. Li Qingyang had seen a Western sailing ship in Fuzhou, but the soft sail seemed to be different from the sail style on this ship -- the sails of the Westerners were cut one by one, and they were tied to the transom when the sail was closed, but the sails of this ship were a whole large area, covered with several curved transmasts, and I did not know how to operate the sails of this ship.

"Third Brother Song, what is the origin of this ship next to you?" Li Qingyang finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked Song San.

"This is the sailboat built by the Haihan people themselves, and they call it an exploration ship. The ship was here to transport the migrants back to Sanya. Seeing that the sails of the ship are all raised, it is estimated that it is about to leave. Song San introduced.

Li Qingyang frowned and said, "Explore the ship, why are the sails and masts so strange?"

"That's what makes it so powerful! This ship runs on the sea, travels twice as fast as our ship, and has excellent access to the wind in both tailwinds and upwinds. The ship will arrive in four days at most from Guangzhou to Sanya, but our ship will have to travel for at least seven days. Song San said enviously.

"There is such a fast boat!" Li Qingyang couldn't help but be surprised. He had done some homework before he came, such as the distance from Guangzhou to Sanya and the time it would take. Song San said that the ship could arrive in three or four days, which completely broke through his perception of sailboats.

"The Haihan also had two smaller boats, both white and flat, like an eggshell floating on the water. Song San couldn't help but show off his knowledge: "Those two small boats are said to have been brought by the Haihan people from their country, and they travel extremely fast on the sea, at least half faster than this exploration ship, but unfortunately they can't be copied in Daming, and it is said that the materials for shipbuilding can't be found in Daming." ”

Li Qingyang said: "Junior brother heard that the Haihan people defeated a group of very powerful pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River last year, could it be that this kind of sailing ship was also used?"

Song San looked left and right, and then said cautiously: "You asked me to be the right person, last year, the Haihan militia and the pirate Liu Xiang fought, and I, Song San, were the witnesses!"

When Li Qingyang heard this, he immediately became interested and hurriedly asked.

It turned out that Song San was working as a sailor on a cargo ship in "Fusheng" at that time, and his ship happened to be docked in Wanshan Port when the two sides were fighting, so he was fortunate to witness how the Haihan people took advantage of the terrain and fortifications of Wanshan Port to kill Liu Xiang's pirate fleet.

This is also one of the few wonderful experiences in Song San's life, and he immediately said it with spit flying, and Li Qingyang was secretly frightened while listening. From Song San's description, at least several things can be determined.

First, the Haihan had a large fleet of warships, all of which were armed with several guns, and in naval engagements, they mainly used long-range artillery fire to sink and wound enemy ships. Second, the Haihan people privately built forts on Wanshan Island and had a very strong firepower output - if Song San was not bragging, the forts in Wanshan Port had at least ten or more guns. Third, Wanshan Port is a smuggling port larger than the Lijiazhuang wharf, where in addition to transshipment of goods in and out of Guangzhou, more merchant ships from Huizhou, Chaozhou and even Fujian are used.

With the storage of Wanshan Port, these ships that were originally going to Guangzhou or Qiongzhou can be unloaded at Wanshan Port to complete the transaction. For these shipowners, they save a lot of distances, and they avoid the commercial taxes that the city has to pay, and the direct and indirect income they receive each year will be a large amount. Of course, there is no doubt that a considerable part of these proceeds also went into the pockets of the Haihan people.

Li Qingyang also discovered another fact, that is, everywhere the Haihan people went, the territory occupied was all used for commerce, from the Guangzhou Office outside Guangzhou, to the Lijiazhuang Wharf in Panyu County, to the Wanshan Port at the mouth of the Pearl River, and even the Sanya area on Qiongzhou Island, it seems that under the management of the Haihan people, it has become a prosperous business area, and it seems that the reputation of the Haihan people who are good at business and trade is really not blown. But what disturbed him was that the Haihan people's ability to make money was so strong that he was afraid that the financial resources were already rivaling that of the country -- such a thing as building a commercial port and fort on a small island hanging out of the sea was not something that ordinary rich businessmen were capable of accomplishing.

There are guns and cannons, there are army and sailors, there are people and territories, and the most important thing is that there is a strong ability to make money, such a force exists in the southern Xinjiang of the Ming Dynasty, completely out of the control of the government, but the imperial court does not realize the danger of its existence at all. If it weren't for the fact that Nanzhen Fusi had obtained some report information, in another two or three years, the Haihan people would have a solid foundation and full fledgling, and it would probably not be easy to move them when the time came. Thinking of this, Li Qingyang felt how important the task he undertook this time was to the imperial court. As far as he has learned this news, if it is written and reported to the imperial court, it is probably enough to cause a great shock in the imperial court.

The boat docked next to him had slowly drifted away from the river bank and began to turn around in the middle of the river. Li Qingyang suddenly remembered something and asked Song San: "Third Brother Song, have there ever been incidents of Haihan militia soldiers taking merchant ships in the past?"

Song San was stunned for a while, then shook his head and said, "I don't remember, it's the first time I've encountered it." The militia soldiers generally operated on warships, but there were temporary requisitioning of civilian ships during wartime. ”

Li Qingyang pointed to the sailing boat that was turning around and sailing towards the Pearl River and said: "It was the Haihan people's own boat, which set off before us and was fast, why didn't that group of militia soldiers take that boat to Wanshan Port?"

"This ......" Song San obviously realized this problem, frowned and was silent for a long time before shaking his head and saying: "I don't know why, maybe this ship has no intention of docking at Wanshan Port." ”

This explanation obviously couldn't satisfy Li Qingyang, but only a person like him who was engaged in a special industry would probably notice such an inconspicuous small detail. People like Song San are already excited to have the opportunity to help the Haihan people, so how can they carefully consider the reasonableness of it.

Li Qingyang vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't say why. Due to his professional sensitivities, he could sense that a hint of danger was lurking somewhere, and the wisest choice would be to immediately suspend his current actions and find out the reasons behind this uneasiness before making the next move. But the circumstances he finds himself in now do not allow him to freely make the choice to terminate the operation, and if he misses this opportunity, he will inevitably have to return to Guangzhou to repeat the previous experience, and this kind of repeated face brushing in one place is a big taboo in this business, and its danger is no less than continuing the operation. Li Qingyang thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to continue to look at the situation.

"When you get on the ship, you will also follow, and when you get to Wanshan Port, you will follow the orders of the local commander, understand?" Xiao Liang sat in a room on the second floor of a shop next to the dock, and from this position, he could observe the movement of the ship that Li Qingyang was on, but it was difficult for the other party to notice that he was under surveillance.

The subordinate who was sent to Panyu by He Xi immediately bowed down and responded: "The subordinates obey the order!"

Xiao Liang frowned, and said to the orderly next to him: "You teach him the rules of the army, don't show your feet on the boat!"

Some of the field personnel under He Xi's command did not come from the Haihan military and police system, but were directly recruited in Guangzhou, and the subordinate sent had never been trained in the militia regiment, so it was inevitable that there was a certain habit in his behavior. Xiao Liang was afraid that he would spoil the business because of this kind of detail, so he hurriedly asked someone to take him out to practice the militia military salute.

In the nearly two hours since the cargo was loaded on the ship, Li Qingyang has been in a state of anxiety. However, he was somewhat relieved that no strangers approached him during this time, the militia soldiers had not been seen on the docks, and he even had time to go to the restaurant on the docks with his companions for a meal. When settling the accounts, Li Qingyang remembered what Song San said, so he took out the negotiable coupons that were withdrawn in advance as wages to pay the bill, and sure enough, the store accepted it without any objection. Li Qingyang also confirmed that this kind of colorful little piece of paper can really be used as silver in the Haihan people's control area, which is also a new experience for him.