According to the current military expenditure standards of the Haihan People's League, even if a battalion-level unit stationed abroad does not carry out combat missions, the military expenditure required for a year will be about 15 to 180,000 yuan. Because a considerable part of the military supplies had to be transported from Sanya to Guò by sea, the farther the garrison was from the base camp, the higher the corresponding maintenance costs. The Fujian side is willing to bear this considerable expense, and Haihan's attitude must be happy to see it happen.

After this unit is deployed to Fujian, it will be able to effectively change the current situation in which the base camp is slow to respond to the situation in Fujian. In the past, the base camp could only passively accept information from Fujian, and most of the time it was strict and lacking timeliness, but after the garrison, it was able to respond more quickly to changes in the local situation, and even took the initiative to guide the situation and further strengthen the influence of Haihan on Fujian.

For the local main war faction in Fujian, the news announced by Ning Qi played a greater role than the sale of new warships. After all, there is still a long way to go between being able to buy a new type of warship and forming an effective combat force, and it will be at least a year or two before the latter step is realized, and whether or not to cease war must be made in a short period of time, and it is certainly too late to buy ships from Haihan alone. And the Haihan militia stationed in Fujian, it sounds much more feasible, if there is an invincible Haihan militia in Zhangzhou, then the difficulty of exterminating the eighteen zhi will undoubtedly be reduced a lot. Moreover, the scale of the Haihan militia stationed in Fujian is very limited, only one battalion, and it seems that there is no need to worry about how much storm this man will set off in Fujian.

At that moment, some people spoke out one after another, praising Haihan for being anxious and righteous, and this move will save the people of Fujian who have been plagued by bandits for many years. Some people also expressed their attitude that as long as the Haihan militia dared to go to sea to fight against Shibazhi, they would advance and retreat together with the militia army. And some people who advocated peace talks in the past have now closed their mouths with great interest -- the Haihan people have made it clear that they want to work with Shibazhi, even if they can persuade Xu Xinsu, can they still persuade the Haihan people?

Of course, there is no need to discuss the specific implementation details of these things in depth on this occasion. As long as the leaders of both sides have expressed their attitudes, the rest of the matter can be handed over to the people in charge below to negotiate slowly.

After the banquet that day, no other activities were arranged, and the accommodation arranged by Xu Xinsu for the mission was very close to Xu's mansion, just across the street. And Xu Xinsu's influence in Zhangzhou was indeed not built, so he directly ordered people to temporarily close the streets, and then sent a team of guards to send the Haihan delegation over.

Although Ning Qi drank a lot at the banquet, after drinking two cups of hot tea at his residence, he became much more refreshed, and asked his entourage to invite a few people from the mission to come and discuss business.

In a short time, the people he notified arrived, one was Morgan, who was in charge of the military, security, and medical treatment of the mission, and the other was Sun Jin, a naturalized cadre under the Ministry of Security.

"Sun Jin, have you been in touch with our people today?" Ning Qi pointed to the chair in the room and motioned for him to sit down and reply.

Sun Jin sat on the edge of the chair with half of her buttocks, and replied respectfully: "Report to the chief, the mission has already been in contact with our people when it entered the city, and I will come here tomorrow to report to the chief in person." ”

Sun Jin was also one of the immigrants who fled from Guangdong to Sanya a few years ago, and is only in her early twenties. When he first arrived in Victory Port, he was assigned to work on the docks, and later because he had read and could read, he was recommended to teach a literacy class at Victory Port Primary School. At that time, after the establishment of the Ministry of Justice, there was a shortage of internal affairs clerks, so Sun Jin was transferred to serve part-time, and then the Ministry of Security was separated from the Ministry of Security, and he was seconded to the Ministry of Security to do internal affairs. However, the special nature of the Ministry of Security did not allow personnel to serve as other departments, so Sun Jin's establishment changed from three to one, and he became a full-time staff member of the Ministry of Security.

After becoming a full-time job, Sun Jin's work is no longer just about internal affairs, after all, such a young man with an innocent background, a cultural foundation, and a clever work is also a scarce resource in the Ministry of Security, and it is reasonable to be reused to a certain extent. This time, Haihan sent a delegation to Fujian, and the Ministry of Security appointed Sun Jin to accompany him, who was responsible for contacting the personnel stationed in Fujian after arriving here, and waiting for an opportunity to collect various local intelligence information.

Prior to this, the Ministry of Security had deployed a small number of personnel to Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and their public identities were all affiliated with certain firms under the Haihan Ministry of Commerce, so when the mission entered the city, these agents had already made contact with Sun Jin in a grand manner.

Ning Qi nodded and said, "Regarding Eighteen Zhi, is there any news from the Ministry of Security now?"

Sun Jin responded: "Our people have already found out some news, but today is too hasty, and the specific situation will have to wait until they come over tomorrow to make it clear." ”

What Ning Qi asked was not the eighteen-zhi entrenched in Penghu, but the representative of the eighteen-zhi sent to Zhangzhou to negotiate peace with the Ming army. The Haihan mission came all the way to Fujian to stir up the situation, and the main purpose was to try to prevent the negotiations between the Eighteen Zhi and the Ming army. In addition to working on Xu Xinsu's side, the mission also tried to find the peace talks envoy sent by Shibazhi to see if it was possible to solve the problem at the root.

After Ning Qi asked a few more questions, he sent Sun Jin to rest first. Sun Jin knew that the two chiefs had something to discuss separately, so she immediately got up and said goodbye, and didn't forget to close the door with her backhand.

After Ning Qi saw Sun Jin leave, he turned his head sideways and looked at Morgan who was sitting opposite: "Morgan, tell me what you think after you come here." ”

Morgan organized his language for a moment before he said in Mandarin, still with a strong "crooked nut" tone: "I think the shape is better than we expected, and the main battle faction in the Ming army still occupies the majority. I have paid close attention to the observation today, and there is not even a single person from the military who advocates peace talks at the banquet. ”

Ning Qi nodded and said: "That's true, I also paid attention to it at the time, most of the lords and civilians are businessmen or literati, and the military generals' desire to fight is very urgent." But it's no wonder, after all, soldiers rely on accumulating military merits to get promoted, and not fighting is equivalent to cutting off the way to promotion for them. ”

"So you see, whenever this kind of heavy decision-making happens, it is often the literati who hold back......" Morgan saw that Ning Qi's face was a little unhappy, and quickly added: "Of course, I didn't mean to be sarcastic, but I just expressed my opinion on the situation in Fujian." ”

Every time the Executive Committee discussed the military plan, the opposition was basically from a few civilian officials, and Ning Qi was naturally one of them. Of course, he is still much better than the pacifist Gu Kai, at least most of the time he will still weigh the interests between war and non-war more rationally, rather than blindly opposing war like Gu Kai. Although Morgan is a doctor by profession, he is more focused on the military, so his attitude is also on the side of the military, and it is inevitable that he will have some complaints about this phenomenon of civilian officials dragging his feet.

Ning Qi didn't want to argue with him about this issue, so he just waved his hand and said, "It's okay, let's continue to get down to business." ”

"Let......'s get down to business," Morgan nodded, "I think it's worth noting that the level of city defense in Zhongzuo and Zhangzhou City is quite good, and it is said that this is the result of the guidance of our military advisers." After I go back, I will build a military commission to check the records to see who was in charge of this task at that time, and this kind of talented person should be promoted. ”

"Then what do you think of the local Ming army?" Ning Qi continued to ask.

"Just looking at them taking sides doesn't lead to anything. Morgan shrugged his shoulders and said, "I would like to have the opportunity to see their drills, of course, preferably actual combat, so that you can really see how well a unit is fighting." But I noticed that the Ming army here was heavily armed with Type 27 arquebuses, as well as Type 28 flintlock pistols with about a tenth of the proportion. With the weapons we have provided, I believe that their combat effectiveness must be higher than that of other Ming armies of the same era, but this also needs to be further determined. ”

"You mean, the Ming Army organized a military exercise during our visit to Fujian?" Although Morgan's words were twisted and turned, Ning Qi still heard what he wanted to express.

Morgan nodded and said, "We can take the initiative to build a joint military exercise in the near future." It just so happened that we also had three warships, and we could take this opportunity to show our strength to the top brass of the Fujian military. ”

"This is not bad. Ning Qi touched his chin and responded.

The organization of joint military exercises with the Fujian military was not actually part of the mission's plans for the visit. However, the mission had two very clear tasks, one was to sell new arms to the Fujian military, and the other was to demonstrate to the Fujian military the strength of the Haihan militia navy. Organizing a joint military exercise can just complete these two tasks together, and by the way, in the name of inviting Xu Xinsu and other local leaders to observe the scene, so that they can see the power of Haihan's black technology with their own eyes.

As the saying goes, it's better to see than to hear, and even if Ning Qi can blow the performance of the Haihan warship into the sky, it is better to pull these people onto the ship and see with his own eyes how this new warship can crush the opponents it encounters at sea. Buying a ship is one thing, and it can also give these people a little more confidence, so that they can understand how huge the gap between the Eighteen Zhi and the Haihan People's League in terms of maritime armed strength is.

"According to the itinerary, there will be a separate meeting with Xu Xinsu tomorrow, and I will mention this matter to him at that time. Ning Qi felt that this plan was feasible and immediately decided to give it a try. He believed that Xu Xinsu should not oppose this mention, after all, for these Ming troops who had originally received military training in the Haihan model, it was not easy to get an opportunity to coordinate with the Haihan militia in a coordinated exercise.

"Do you have any other trips tomorrow besides meeting Xu Xinsu?" Morgan asked.

Ning Qi thought for a while and said, "I want to go out and walk around the city of Zhangzhou, after all, we have to send troops over, so it's better to understand the local environment first." In addition, the scale of the Fujian office may also need to be further increased, and the small courtyard that was previously arranged for expatriates is estimated to be unable to accommodate future institutions, and they will have to buy another property locally. ”

"Okay, then say so, see you tomorrow morning. Morgan took the initiative to get up and take his leave.

"Are you in a hurry?" Ning Qi asked curiously when he saw this. You must know that a few days ago on the way, Morgan, who was idle and had nothing to do, almost every day to pull Ningqi to pass the time, but now it seems that he has changed a person.

Morgan spread his hands and said, "My friend, I am a very interesting person, and I think I should leave you some personal time to enjoy the hospitality of the master here." ”

Ning Qi was puzzled when he heard the second monk: "Morgan, what are you talking about?"

Morgan put his index finger in front of his mouth and made a silent gesture before exiting. When Ning Qi was puzzled, a woman's voice came from outside the door: "The little woman is a ...... sent by Lord Xu to serve Mr. Ning."

Ning Qi got up and walked to the door, and saw that his guards had stopped a little girl outside. This little girl looks like she is only fifteen or sixteen years old, her appearance is beautiful, her skin can be regarded as a rare fairness in Lingnan, and her figure is a little thinner. The little girl saw Ning Qi open the door and come out, and hurriedly bowed down to bless, but her eyes didn't dare to stare at Ning Qi.

Although Ning Qi is a scholar, he is not a saint and gentleman, although he has never been to Dongguan or other places before crossing to see the world, but he basically understands the common sense that he should know, and he understands the meaning when he sees this posture.

Ning Qi coughed dryly and said, "I drank too much wine just now, and I didn't eat too much, so you go to the kitchen and get me something to eat." ”

The little girl answered, and turned away. Ning Qi instructed the guards again: "It's not too early, you should go and rest." ”

The guards answered, but they didn't really leave, but retreated far away to the porch on the other side of the courtyard, silently clubbing. Ning Qi knew the work rules of these guards, and they couldn't be completely at ease that they were alone with a stranger, so they didn't say anything more at the moment, and returned to the house.

After a while, the little girl came back with a four-colored pastry and a bowl of milk. Ning Qi was also a little surprised when he saw this: "There is actually milk here?"

The little girl responded: "Mr. Hui Ning's words, the steward instructed all the masters of Haihan to like to drink milk before going to bed, so today's fresh milk has been prepared in the kitchen early, and it has been supported by hot water, and the old men can drink it at any time when they come back." ”

"**, it's amazing!" Ning Qi criticized this kind of enjoyment that he had never experienced before, but after the criticism, it would not prevent him from continuing to enjoy. Although there is also special milk in Sanya, the people who bring milk are often five big and three thick guards, not such a delicate little girl in front of me.