Liu Xinneng was appointed by Liu Xiang as an envoy and came alone to negotiate with the Guangzhou Office, which shows that he is not actually a mediocre person, and he is still somewhat smart. After Liu Xin quarreled with Mariko for two days over the scope of the arms ban in the Guangzhou Office, he found that he had inexplicably been delayed by the other party for two days of precious time.

Seeing that the last day of the negotiation period had arrived, and that he would soon have to rush back to Chaozhou to resume his life, Liu Xin had no intention of fighting with Mariko anymore, so he gritted his teeth and had a simple showdown -- if it was discovered that there were still Haihan weapons flowing into Fujian in the future, then the "Eighteen Zhi" would probably have to take some tough measures against Haihan.

"Tough measures, are you going to go to war with us?" The look on Mariko's face was a slightly exaggerated surprise, he turned his head and exchanged glances with He Xi, who was sitting next to him, before he continued: "This kind of thing is not easy to stop once you move, Mr. Liu really thinks about it? Can Mr. Liu afford the consequences caused by this?"

Liu Xin said with a straight face: "What are the consequences, you are to blame, and you can't blame others!"

Mariko pretended to be frightened and said, "Then how can I get you to change this decision?"

Liu Xin shook his head and said, "This matter is non-negotiable. But if you are willing to sell us weapons, it is not impossible to say a few kind words for you when you go back. ”

As for the matter of arms sales, the two sides have been arguing for more than 10 days, and all kinds of quid pro quo have basically been put forward and discussed, and Liu Xin has long put forward the matter of asking Haihan to sell weapons to his side. However, the Executive Committee had relatively strict control over weapons from the very beginning, that is, it did not want a large number of weapons produced by itself to flow into the hands of "Eighteen Zhi", and it would be even more impossible to sell them directly, so Liu Xin immediately hit the nail after putting forward this condition, and Mariko refused him without even being interested in discussing it.

At this time, Liu Xin mentioned this matter again, also with the idea of a dead horse being a live horse doctor, the Haihan people refused to agree before, maybe now they are forced to change their minds due to the pressure of war?

Mariko smiled and said, "It's not that the sale of weapons is not negotiable, but I'm afraid the price will be unacceptable to you." ”

"Oh?" As soon as Liu Xin heard that Maliko's tone was showing signs of loosening, he immediately cheered up and asked, "Boss Ma might as well talk about it first, although my master doesn't dare to say that he is rich and rivals the country, he can still get some money." ”

"One hundred taels of silver for a rifle, two thousand five hundred taels of silver for an artillery, ammunition, accessories, and operational training, at an additional cost. Marik showed his knife unhurriedly at this time, if Liu Xin dared to ask for it, he would take this opportunity to stab "Eighteen Zhi" hard.

Liu Xin immediately bounced up from his chair: "What? Boss Ma, don't you talk about it! What is the price of your Haihan's weapon, haven't you inquired about it? Why don't you just make it clear!"

Haihan has already sold more than 1,000 arquebuses, and this price is naturally no secret. Twenty-one arquebuses, eight hundred and one artillery, Liu Xianghua bought dozens of arquebuses from the black market at a high price, but it was only forty-two, compared to the sky-high price quoted by Maliko, it can be called kind. Liu Xin originally thought that if Mariko's offer was reasonable, then it would be okay to discuss this matter again, but when he heard this terrible price, he naturally understood how much Mariko's sincerity was.

"How can this be called robbery?" Mariko sneered and replied: "We open the store, what we pay attention to is the fairness of the sale, there is no forced buying and selling, if you think the price of our things, then you can not buy it." ”

"Boss Ma is teasing him like this, it seems that he has no intention of continuing to talk. Liu Xin clenched his fists angrily and said: "In this case, there is no need to continue to waste saliva here! Today's matter, you and I will talk about it another day!"

"I'm not far away!" Now that he has openly turned his face, Marik has no idea of continuing to gag, and sends Liu Xin away.

"You guy...... Turn your face and turn your face, and step on someone before leaving!" After Liu Xin left, He Xi said with a smile: "You are here, after he goes back, I am afraid that he will add oil and vinegar, which will make Liu Xiang's hostility towards us even greater!"

"It's a matter of time before a fight starts, and it's not much use to create goodwill now. At this time, Mariko had already put away his previous playful expression, and said sternly: "Although we are not afraid of the 'Eighteen Zhi' coming ashore, we must also prevent them from making a surprise attack, and you have to pay close attention to defense matters." ”

He Xi nodded and replied: "Of course, I and Xiao Liang and Yu Yao have rearranged the vigilance duty round of the Guangzhou Office last night, and it will be implemented from now on." ”

It was not only the Guangzhou Office that began to get busy, but also the noise in Wanshan Port at this time. In addition to bringing in shore defense artillery to bolster the combat effectiveness of the port's coastal defense facilities, 400 navy and three companies of land forces have been stationed here to defend the waters of the Pearl River estuary together with the original garrison on the island.

"Starting tomorrow, two ships will be kept patrolling out of the port every day, and the troops stationed on the island will also begin to enter the third level of combat readiness. In addition, all merchant ships entering Wanshan Port must also be inspected more intensively to prevent pirates from sneaking into the island. Tom Wang, who had just arrived at Wanshan Port, immediately convened a meeting of the local officers to arrange the task of preparing for war.

Although the opponent is the "Eighteen Zhi" that has been feared by the Executive Committee for a long time, Tom Wang has strong confidence in the possible outbreak of war in the future. In his professional opinion, it was not easy for an opponent with backward military technology and tactics and a lack of sufficient intelligence to attack Wanshan Port by sea, and he would not even be able to rush ashore without a hundred and ten ships.

Even if it is to fight at sea, Tom Wang's judgment of the trend of the battle situation is far more optimistic than that of other executive committee members. If the advantage of the "Eighteen Zhi" is that the sailors have rich experience in navigation and maritime combat, then the advantage of the Haihan militia is that it is advanced in equipment, even if it cannot skillfully rely on artillery to sink the opponent's ships on the sea, but at least it can rely on the good maneuverability of its own warships to deal with the opponent, even if Zheng Zhilong can borrow the Galen ship from the Dutch, it is difficult to compete with the Haihan, a super-era warship built with advanced technology. If Haihan wants to slip away, he can use his opponent to fly a kite on the sea just by the speed of the boat.

Of course, Tom Wang did not forget what Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie had specially told him before he set off - despise the enemy strategically and attach importance to the enemy tactically. Despite having full confidence in the troops under his command, Tom Wang was meticulously involved in the development of the defense and vigilance plan, and will sit in Wanshan Port for some time to come as the supreme military commander in the local area. As for when this temporary position can be completed, it will depend on the situation that changes next.

Half a month later, a customer from Chaozhou came with news that Liu Xiang had blocked the offshore shipping route from Chaozhou, Guangdong to Zhangzhou, Fujian, and that all merchant ships going to Fujian were banned, and that all merchant ships under the "Qiong Lianfa" were directly plundered. When Haihan received the news, three merchant ships under the names of the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" had been robbed by Liu Xiang's men and horses at sea.

"Liu Xiang probably knew that the bones on our side were too hard to bite, so he picked soft persimmons and pinched them. Chen Yixin spoke at the intelligence analysis meeting: "However, their method can also play a little role, and now several shareholders who lost the ship have filed a complaint with the Guangzhou Office, and we don't seem to be able to say anything about it." ”

"It is impossible for us to send troops to Zhangzhou, and they are unwilling to take the initiative to attack us, so this situation can only continue as it is now. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, these businessmen who were robbed by Liu Xiang did not forget to order a batch of arms from us when they came to complain, which can be regarded as a disguised promotion of our arms sales. "Wang Tom is not as impulsive as Chen Yixin, and there are merchant ships going to Fujian that will be attacked by the "Eighteen Zhi", which is an expected situation, but if Liu Xiang thinks that he can make Haihan obey with this kind of trick, it will inevitably think about things too simply.

"If we don't send troops to stop them, then how will this battle be fought?" asked Li Dou, who was the chief civil affairs officer of Wanshan Port who was observing the meeting, curiously.

"It's simple, he hits him, I hit mine. We don't need to go so far away from Chaozhou, we don't need to take the risk of directly attacking Liu Xiang's nest, we just base ourselves on the local area, and slowly clean up the various hidden piles and merchants he arranged on the shore first. Wang Tom explained with a smile: "Regarding this matter, Director He Xihe of the Guangzhou Office is already going on, and we only need to cooperate with the action." ”

"Espionage warfare?" Li Dou immediately cheered up when he heard this: "I heard that Director He has some means in Guangzhou, and I really want to see it." ”

"You still do your job well, in this era, it's not as easy as in the movies to be 007. King Tom got up and put on his military hat: "I will take the ship out of the port now, and come back before dark, and the affairs of the island will be entrusted to you." ”

On November 13, 1628, October 18 of the first year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou City.

A few days ago, the heavy rain caused many waterlogging in the city of Guangzhou, and now although the stagnant water has receded, there are still foul-smelling mud pits everywhere in the city, but fortunately, the weather has gradually cooled, but there is no epidemic caused by this sudden natural disaster.

"Guangsheng" is also one of the victims of this natural disaster, this small business specializing in Zhangzhou specialties because of the low-lying terrain, was flooded in the heavy rain, and the store has not been completely cleaned up for several days, although it has been opened in the past few days, but because the smell of mud in the house has not yet been released, and no customers have come to the door.

Seeing that it was getting dark, the guy who had been dozing off at the door all afternoon stood up and prepared to move the door panel to close the door. At this time, two men suddenly hurried to the door, and one of them raised his hand and beckoned, "Don't hurry to close the door!"

"You two want to buy something, please!" the man did not suspect him, so he led the way in front and led the two into the store, but as soon as they entered the store, the two men stepped forward and twisted the man's arm from behind, put him on his knee, and put him on the ground. The fellow was about to cry out loudly, when a ball of sackcloth was stuffed into his mouth, and he couldn't make a sound for a while.

"Don't move if you don't want to die!" said one of them, lowering his voice.

The man felt a cold and sharp thing against his neck, and quickly stopped struggling, lest one accidentally scrap himself. He only felt that he was twisted around his arm and quickly tied a few loops of rope, and then he heard a chaotic footstep into the store, but no one spoke again, and when he was about to look up, he was covered by a black cloth bag over his head, and suddenly it was pitch black.

There were more than a dozen people pouring into the store, all of them young men dressed in black, all carrying two-foot-long waist knives in their hands, and the last two people who entered the room immediately turned around and began to put the door panel on, while the rest of the people silently walked through the store hall and felt to the courtyard behind the storefront.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, a black dog suddenly burst out of the shadows of the corridor, and before it could bark halfway, it was cut off by the man who hit the head, and before it could even scream, it fell to the ground. But this still alarmed the people in the room, and someone on both sides immediately opened the door and came out to check the situation.

"Do it!" As soon as the leader of the team saw that the situation was about to lose control, he immediately gave an order, and stabbed the unlucky ghost who had just walked out of the door next to him in the stomach as he spoke.

The fight didn't last long, and a few moments later, several of the guards were slashed to the ground by the group of swordsmen of unknown origin. The leader kicked open the door of the main room and pulled out the boss who was trembling on the **.

"Heroes spare their lives......" This heart is to meet the strongmen who robbed the house, and they didn't dare to look up to see their faces at the moment, but they were busy begging for mercy: "There are seven hundred taels of silver in the red wooden cabinet in the west wing, which is the only bit of property in the store, you can take it for your own use, please let go of the villain's cheap life!"

"We don't want your life, we want your roster. The man in charge put the knife against the boss's throat and said in a deep voice, "Hand over the roster in your hand, and your life will be saved." ”

"The villain doesn't know what the roster is called...... the boss trembled, and quickly said that he didn't know.

The leader sneered: "There is no need to play the play anymore, since we have come to the door, of course we already know your details, we want a roster, if you refuse to confess, then your life will have no value to us." ”

"You ...... Who the hell are you!" The boss knew that his identity had been revealed, and his face became even more panicked.

"You don't have to know. Hurry up so that you still have a chance to leave this courtyard alive!"

Half an hour later, the group quietly left the courtyard from behind, carrying a few boxes, and then divided into several carriages. These carriages went straight to the east gate, and the soldiers guarding the city gate were about to get on the car to check, but the man who escorted the car had already stuffed a piece of silver into his palm: "It's just an empty car, don't bother the military master to check it." ”

The soldier quietly weighed the weight of silver taels in his hand, waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

After a few carriages left the city, they came straight to the Guangzhou Office, got off through the back door and entered the courtyard. At this time, it was already dark, and the people who usually came to the Guangzhou Office to do business had already returned to the city at this time, so basically no one around noticed the storage of these carriages.

"I thought you wouldn't be out of the city before the gates were closed...... How's things going?" He Xi was notified and immediately came to the courtyard of the back room to meet these people.

"My subordinates are fortunate not to be dishonored!" The leader stepped forward and bowed in response: "Guangsheng is indeed Liu Xiang's businessman, and his subordinates led a team to copy three thousand three hundred taels of silver, one hundred and fifty taels of gold in the store, and the roster that the adults said. ”

The two people next to him immediately lifted up the seized things, and He Xi did not open the box to count the silver taels, but first took the three-inch wide and five-inch thin book to look through.

A big pirate leader like Liu Xiang must have a lot of eyeliner in the towns on land, as well as merchants who buy supplies for him and sell stolen goods. Although Guangzhou is not Liu Xiang's territory, as the largest and most prosperous city in Guangdong, Liu Xiang has of course also arranged his own manpower here. And the den that He Xi ordered someone to end was Liu Xiang's merchant nest in Guangzhou City.

This place was not discovered by He Xi recently, but was confessed by pirates captured during the Battle of Dangan Island a few months ago. However, there was no conflict between Haihan and Liu Xiang before this, and He Xi couldn't deal with them. But this time Liu Xiang took the initiative to step on the door to show his attitude, and there was no buffer room between the two sides, so He Xi naturally wanted to strike first and pull out Liu Xiang's hidden stakes buried inside and outside Guangzhou. And the first to bear the brunt is the command organization of the "Guangsheng". Before He Xi made his move, he bribed a clerk in the store by tricks, knowing that the shopkeeper had a secret roster in his hand, which was specially used to contact other merchants and eyes and ears in nearby states and counties, so he did not hesitate to send someone to risk entering the city to grab this roster. With this thing, He Xi can take advantage of the situation to play a roll call game near Guangzhou, and according to the names and addresses of the people listed clearly on the roster, he will clear and clean Liu Xiang's hands one by one. "Well done, I'm going to give you credit for this. He Xi probably looked through the roster, and he was basically sure of the results of this battle. He handed the roster back to the leader and said, "Take this to the confidential room and let them make a copy of it as a backup." ”