Zhan Gui didn't expect Yan Chujie to tell the truth so bluntly, and he was dumbfounded for a moment and didn't know how to deal with it...... For more up-to-date chapters, visit wèn:. Although he was a maritime merchant specializing in 'smuggling' business, and his courage and adventurous 'spirit' were much stronger than most people in this era, he was still psychologically resistant to participating in military operations such as marching and fighting.

In this era, engaging in 'smuggling' business, even if it is found by the authorities, is not a big deal, it is nothing more than taking out more money to settle it, no matter how big the matter is, at most it is just a confiscation of property, and it will not hurt one's own 'life'. Although Zhan Gui is a representative of the "Haihan faction", his ideological consciousness is far from being lofty enough to be willing to sacrifice his 'sex' life for the executive committee.

But to refuse the requests made by these Haihan bigwigs in front of him, Zhan Gui really didn't have such confidence. After entering the shareholders' meeting of "Qiong Lianfa", Zhan Gui really realized how big the plot of the Haihan Executive Committee was, and if he did not cooperate with them, it would be difficult for Zhan Gui to guarantee that he would not receive the news of being kicked out of the shareholders' meeting when he woke up tomorrow.

Zhan Gui thought about it before and after, and said tremblingly: "Then if you go to Hoi An Harbor and the people of the militia group are found out, what should you do?"

"You can rest assured that the people we are going to send this time are basically immigrants from Annam, and there is no difference between their words and deeds and the locals. Yan Chujie immediately gave him a package ticket: "And they will also protect your personal safety and let you come back safely." ”

This blocked the last reason for Zhan Gui to think of to shirk, as for any means such as pretending to be sick, he didn't dare to use them - the Haihan people's medical skills were extremely clever, and he didn't dare to risk being exposed to tell such a lie.

"Then I don't know when to leave?" Zhan Gui saw that he couldn't shirk, so he had to grit his teeth and simply accept it.

"Three days later. At that time, the Ministry of Commerce will issue you a separate batch of goods, this time because the situation is more special, you don't need to pay for the goods first, and you will talk about it when you come back from Annan. Schneider's answer finally made Zhan Gui feel a little relieved, so it wouldn't be in vain.

During these three days, the relevant ministry 'gate' was not idle, and organized a group of militiamen and sailors of Annam nationality to temporarily take over Zhan Gui's merchant ships, and sailed many times in and around Shengli Harbor to familiarize themselves with the ship's 'sex' ability. Fortunately, Zhan Gui's 300-material Cantonese merchant ship had only done hull maintenance last month, and there was no major 'problem', but the speed was a little slow, which made those sailors seconded from the navy quite unaccustomed to it.

"Boss Zhan, the people who went on the mission with you this time are all 'elite' British personnel selected from our militia group, you can rest assured. In addition, we will also help you take care of your family, so go boldly and boldly, don't have any worries!" On the morning of his departure, Tao Donglai personally came to the dock to see off Zhan Gui, who was about to leave.

Zhan Gui forcibly squeezed out a smile on his face and said: "Mr. Tao is polite, it is an honor to serve the executive committee!"

"When you get there, you can do business when you need to, go to visit relatives and friends, and you don't need to be involved in other things, so don't have too much pressure. Tao Donglai raised his hand to look at the time, nodded and said, "Get on the boat and go, I wish you a smooth journey!"

The Cantonese sailing ship sailed slowly out of Shengli Harbor and headed west along the coastline. Its destination was not to go directly to the South Vietnamese region, but to first go to Vinh An Harbor, behind the Hengshan Zhengjiang defense line, to meet with Qian Tiandun, who had recently arrived here.

Temporarily acting as the operational commander on the ship was Minami Takahashi, a trainee platoon commander of naturalized civilians who had returned to Annam after completing his training ahead of schedule. He returned to Shengli Port with Qian Tiandun at the time of the anniversary, and after receiving a military merit award from the Military Commission, he stayed in Shengli Port and entered the officer training course to receive training in tactics. During this period, he also accompanied Wang Tom to Guangzhou, where he participated in two battles at Lijiazhuang and Dangan Island. However, due to the relatively large difference in strength in these two battles, Takahashi Minami almost did not find any opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

According to the arrangement of the Shengli Port Military Academy, Takahashi's refresher course was supposed to last until July, but because of the expansion of the militia in Heitu Port, they asked the base camp in advance, hoping that Takahashi Minami and several other naturalized civilian officers could return to Heitu Port to lead the troops, so as to alleviate the shortage of grassroots officers in the local militia group. So Takahashi Minami and others ended their training ahead of schedule and took this sailing ship on a special mission to Annam.

On June 27, Zhan Gui and his entourage arrived at Vinh An Port in North Vietnam. Originally, this place was only a rear base selected by the vanguard before the January expedition, and the fighters who came across the sea arrived here to rest and recuperate before setting off for the battlefield in the south. At the end of the battle in early February, this place was only a temporary wharf with three trestle bridges and a simple shack, but in the post-war military negotiations, Thang Long Province, which could not repay the military expenses of the Hai Han, chose to use the Yongan Port area as a long-term concession and 'handed' it over to the Hai Han side to pay off part of the debt.

Since then, the renovation and expansion of Yongan Port has not stopped. Although it is not a priority area for the Executive Committee's plan, more than 1,000 Annam immigrants have been brought in the first few months of the year, and port facilities, storage buildings and residential areas have been continuously expanded. Up to now, there are more than 1,400 permanent residents in Yong'an Port, and the vast majority of them are Annamites who have just joined the naturalized nationality.

In addition to maritime transport, the economy here is mainly based on agricultural development. Rubber tree seedlings brought from Shengli Port have been planted in several mountainous areas near the harbor, and the planting area is now more than 300 acres, while the Ministry of Agriculture plans to plant no less than 5,000 acres.

It is worth mentioning that the fishing boats driven by the fishermen here are all from the newly established Heitu Port Shipyard this year. Although it is not possible to build a high-tech large sailing ship such as the "Exploration Class", there is no technical problem in building some fishing boats and merchant ships with a displacement of less than 100 tons. As of June, the Heitu Port Shipyard has completed the construction and delivery of a number of small civilian vessels, and its work efficiency has even been commended by the Executive Committee.

Zhan Gui and his entourage waited in Yong'an Port for two days before Qian Tiandun arrived by boat. Because of the specifics of coordinating the July operation with North Vietnamese military personnel, Qian Tien Dun had to spend two more days on the Tu Son Peninsula. Qian Tiandun was 100 percent supportive of the base camp's initiative to continue the sabotage war in the rear of South Vietnam, and he also knew very well that his special combat team would definitely be 'drawn' again and fight as a front-line unit. Although he himself is the supreme commander of the Central Military Commission in the Annam region, most of the operations are led by the troops to fight on the front line, and it is unlikely that he will stay in the North Vietnamese area to coordinate tactical arrangements with the North Vietnamese officers, so he must do a good job of communicating the details of the operation in advance, so as not to miss major events because of the lack of smooth information at that time.

Zhan Gui was fortunate enough to meet Qian Tiandun at a certain social 'communication' reception at the anniversary celebration of Shengli Port, and he also learned from Yan Chujie that the commander of this operation was this high-ranking member of the Haihan military -- although he did not know very well how big the gap was between the "captain", "lieutenant", and "second lieutenant" of the Haihan people, the title of "supreme commander of the Haihan militia in the Annan region" was very easy to understand. Therefore, when he learned that the ship from the north had arrived at the port, Zhan Gui hurriedly came out of his residence and rushed to the dock to greet him.

"Boss Zhan, I haven't seen you for a long time, it's always been good?" Qian Tiandun recognized Zhan Gui at once, and greeted him with a smile.

"It's okay, it's okay, thanks to the captain. Zhan Gui replied with great humility. He knew very well that his safety would be in place in the next few days, but it was all 'handed over' to the Captain Qian in front of him.

Qian Tiandun turned to the side, stretched out his hand and patted Gao Qiaonan's shoulder: "After this ticket is finished, your intern platoon leader can be turned into a regular." ”

"Chief Xie cultivates!" Takahashi Nanyi 'stiffened' and 'chest', and the words answered in a round manner.

On 1 July, merchant ships loaded with various cargoes departed from the port of Vinh An and sailed towards South Vietnam. The main target of the battle plan formulated by the Military Commission was Hoi An Port, so the sailing ship did not dock on the way, and went all the way south, passing through the 'Dong' Sea, Quang Tri, Hue and other places, and arrived at the location of Da Nang in the later world in the evening of the next day. This place is actually not far from Hoi An, and if you sail overnight, you can reach it in the middle of the night, but Zhan Gui persuaded Qian Tiandun to stop and rest for the night, and then set off for Hoi An at dawn tomorrow.

Da Nang is backed by mountains, and the Son Tra Peninsula is a harbor barrier in the northeast. Later, Vietnam was also used as one of the main naval bases, which can dock 10,000-ton warships. About 35 kilometers southeast by land, you will find the destination of this trip, Hoi An.

The merchant ship that arrived in the night did not attract too much attention, and the crew members who deliberately hid their tracks did not even get off the ship after docking, and untied the cable and hoisted the sails when the sky was just dark. Half a day later, the merchant ship arrived at Hoi An Port without a hitch.

Hoi An Port is located along the estuary of the Thu Bon River, and was formerly a dependency of the Champa State, known as "Dazhan Haikou" in ancient times. However, in recent years, the occupation of the city has been declining, and most of the land has been occupied by Annam in the north, and Hoi An is one of them. Although Annam is now divided into two parts, the north and the south, the Nguyen regime in the south is still crushing the Champa state to the core.

Before Qian Tiandun came, he had already learned about the situation of Hoi An through various channels in Guò, and he also knew that this was a marked Chinatown, and a large number of Chinese engaged in commercial activities settled here, but when he really saw the various Chinese buildings inside and outside Hoi An, he was still shocked by the strong Chinese atmosphere here. If you don't know very well that this is Hoi An, I'm afraid many people think that they have arrived in a certain Linhai county in the Fujian region of Liangguang.

On the riverbank wharf, Qian Tiandun was not surprised to see two Western-style sailing ships docked on the shore, and it is certain that the penetration of Western forces here was far earlier than the crossing group.

Soon after the ship docked, a local trading firm came to the door to discuss a deal with Zhan Gui. Seeing this, Qian Tiandun said, "Boss Zhan, you are busy with your business, and I will take someone ashore to go around." ”

Zhan Gui advised: "The locals are all proficient in Chinese, Brother Qian must be careful, don't leak your mouth at will and 'reveal' your identity!"

Qian Tiandun smiled and said, "I understand this, don't worry." "After that, let Takahashi Nan order a squad of militia, and go ashore into the city to wander around.

Zhan Gui's fears were not unfounded, and after the battle in January, the South Vietnamese side soon learned that the biggest reason for the defeat was that the northern rebels had invited a mysterious mercenary force called the "Haihan Militia" to fight across the sea. Various sources of information in South Vietnam found out that this mysterious force was from Qiongzhou Island in the Ming Dynasty, but it was not a Ming officer and soldier but a militia group, which caused an uproar in the Nguyen court.

The South Vietnamese's own water power was too weak to organize a large-scale army to fight across the sea to save face, so they turned to the Portuguese, who had trained troops and provided weapons for them, hoping that the Portuguese would send a fleet to attack the lair of the Haihan militia and avenge the defeat on the battlefield of Annam. On the other hand, South Vietnam also began to investigate merchants from the Ming Dynasty in the name of preventing 'spies' and 'mixing' in their own areas, hoping to commercially retaliate against the Haihan people, who were said to be good at maritime trade.

But soon the court of South Vietnam discovered that these two roads were dead ends. The first was that the Portuguese rejected their pleas for help, because from the various sources of information they had received, the self-proclaimed "Haihan" was not a small country army, but a monster with guns, cannons, money and power, as the Haihan had amply demonstrated in the battle in January.

Although the Portuguese were indeed able to organize twenty or thirty armed merchant ships in East Asia, the 'engagement' in the Annam region and the attack on the Ming Dynasty were two completely different things, and if they crossed the sea to attack Qiongzhou Island, where the Haihan people were located, then they would inevitably offend the Ming court, and they would probably lose the Haojingao concession that they had obtained with great difficulty, and even if they won the battle, the Haihan people would not be worth the loss. Of course, the Portuguese's statement about the Nguyen clan in South Vietnam was not so direct, and they still responded more officially with the excuse that they needed to be re-studied and coordinated.

When this matter dragged on until March, new news came from the Australian 'gate' side, which contained the results of the talks with the leaders of the Haihan. To the surprise of the Portuguese, the Haihan were not as arrogant as the Ming people, but were very practical - or snobbish from another point of view. The two sides did not agree on a clash of positions on the battlefield of Annam, but the attitude expressed by the Haihan people has indicated that they will not make any concessions on this battlefield. While expressing a tough attitude, the Haihan people also expressed their willingness to establish commercial relations with Portuguese merchants and exchange goods at fair and reasonable prices. At this time, it was no longer news that Haihan commodities were popular in the Liangguang region, and the Portuguese also knew that this newly emerging force had a strong ability in the production of industrial products, and the other side was also very aware of the advantages of the Portuguese in maritime trade between the East and the West, so the possibility of cooperation between the two sides in commerce and trade was objective.

This attitude of doing things is completely different from that of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese want to trade with the Ming Dynasty, then they must first recognize the status of the Ming Dynasty, and like the British, the Dutch, who do not know what to do, in order to obtain the right to trade and start a war with the Ming Dynasty, was completely banned by the Ming Dynasty afterwards, and can only rely on a small number of "smuggling" merchants to buy the goods produced by the Ming Dynasty. But the Haihan people don't seem to have as many rules as the Ming court, just after the war a few months ago, they can now sit down and talk about how to make money together, and this kind of pragmatic 'spirit' spirit has even gained a lot of goodwill among the Portuguese in Macao.

Of course, the Portuguese on Annam's side were not so easy to coax, and the defeat in January caused many people to lose all their 'pants'. Finally paid money out of his pocket and raised funds to help the South Vietnamese court train a thousand-strong musket army, hoping that they could unify Annam after pushing out the northern army in one go, and then get more rewards from the Nguyen court, but I didn't expect the appearance of the Haihan people to quickly shatter this dream. The loss of nearly half of the musket troops on the battlefield was still a small matter, and more importantly, the confidence that the South Vietnamese military had built up to that point was completely destroyed by the presence of the Hai Han militia, which was the last thing the Portuguese could bear.

The Portuguese on the Macao side of the 'gate' were not harmed by the actual interests and could watch without pain, but the Portuguese on the South Vietnamese side had a painful experience, and it was not so easy to get them to give up their hostility with the Haihan.

But not to be angry, Haihan's low-cost industrial products began to appear more and more in the Hoi An market, but it was something that the Portuguese could not stop at all. Initially, they also asked Nguyen to introduce a law prohibiting the sale of Haihan goods, but it soon became clear that such regulations were too leaky and difficult to enforce - except for a very small number of Haihan goods, the goods sold by these merchants from the Ming Dynasty did not actually indicate that Haihan was produced. For example, the high-quality and low-price 'fine' salt, although everyone can guess that the salt comes from the Haihan Salt Farm on Qiongzhou Island, but the maritime merchants who transported the salt insist that it is produced by the salt field of Daming, and no one can prove it. Moreover, this thing did not dare to be banned casually, because the salt shortage situation in South Vietnam was no better than that in North Vietnam -- a large number of young and strong people were conscripted into the army, and most of the salt works were in a state of abandonment, and if there was no such low-priced salt shipped from overseas, I am afraid that the day of reunification of the North would not come, and the common people would have rebelled because they could not eat salt. And 'delicate' things such as glass mirrors and glass stationery are also selling very well in South Vietnam. Since the Annan Kingdom has imitated the system and lifestyle of the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years, the magnates heard that this was a popular artifact of the Ming Dynasty, and almost all of them did not hesitate to buy and buy, and they didn't care where these things were produced.