Due to the large size of the ship and the fact that it was dark, it took longer than ordinary ships to dock. A total of more than 100 sailors on the ship and ashore worked with torches and lanterns, using cables and winches to drag huge "Wei Signals" little by little to the docks. It took more than an hour for the seven ships of the mission fleet to enter the port and dock. After the ship was stopped, Xu Yuzhuo boarded the "Wei Signal" again and came to ask the people of the mission to disembark from the ship.

"The operation of this terminal is inefficient enough. Ning Qi shook his head and gave a failing evaluation to the dock of the middle left. His scoring criteria are measured by the average level of Shengli Port, Sanya Port, Heitu Port, and Zhennan Port, and the situation here is obviously far from a qualified military wharf. Of course, this may also have something to do with the fact that the local marina has never received such a large dock.

"Contrary to you, I feel relieved when I see this situation. Shi Diwen replied with a smile.

"Why?" Ning Qi didn't react for a while, and subconsciously asked.

"The low operational efficiency shows that their sailors do not have enough training intensity, the number of warships entering and leaving the port is small, and the sailors are not skilled enough in the operation of large ships docking. Shi Diwen patiently explained.

"I see, it makes sense!" Ning Qi nodded with sudden realization, and couldn't help but look at Shi Diwen with admiration.

In addition to meeting Xu Xinsu with Xu Xinsu on some important matters concerning cooperation between the two sides, they also took the responsibility of taking advantage of this opportunity to gather local intelligence information, including, of course, Fujian's military intelligence. Being able to infer the training status of the local garrison from the details of the port and docking is indeed something that Ning Qi had not thought of before, if it wasn't for Shi Diwen's attention, Ning Qi would probably have missed it inadvertently.

"This is a habit we have developed in the past, and every time we arrive at a new port, we have to observe the operation of the local terminal, and by the way, we have to measure the water depth, flow speed and so on. Shi Diwen said as he pointed to the port side of the outward, where several soldiers were quietly measuring the depth of the water with their tools, following his previous instructions.

"In the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Yuzhuo, respectfully invite the Haihan delegation to go ashore!" Xu Yuzhuo's voice came from the cabin, interrupting their discussion.

"Let's go, go and see this Zhongzuo City!" Ning Qi didn't take the shelf, and immediately got up and walked out of the cabin.

However, this wish was not fully realized, and although the lanterns and torches were already lit on the walls of the center and left, only a rough outline could still be seen in the dark night. Upon approaching, it can be seen that the height of the castle wall is about seven meters, the outer wall is made of large granite strips of stone, and the city wall is equipped with various fortifications such as battlements, cannon ports, and castle towers, which is the strongest of the strongholds they have seen since they crossed. In the past, I saw the ruins of the garrison of the guard in Yulin Corner, the wall is only about half of the city in the middle and left, and most of them are adobe structures, only the city gate is made of stone bricks, and the solidity is far from comparable.

From the pier, the local Ming soldiers stood on the side of the road with torches at intervals of about two zhang to welcome this special mission into the city. During their march towards Zhongzuo City, the soldiers on the side of the road were quiet and did not move around at will, and even Ning Qi could feel that the military discipline of this army at least seemed to be very good.

There are a total of 1,240 soldiers stationed in the local city of the left center, and the city has four city gates in the east, west, north and south, which are Qiming Gate, Huaiyin Gate, Chade Gate and Huangshu Gate, and so on to enter the city, which is the Huaiyin Gate in the west. Xu Yuzhuo led the way while introducing the situation of Zhongzuo City to the guests: "My father has set up a reception banquet for you in the city, and you can enjoy it later." ”

"Your father is also in the city?" This news surprised Ning Qi a little, he thought that he would not see Xu Xinsu himself until he came to Zhangzhou.

"Don't hide it from Mr. Ning, my father is here to greet you, and he just came from Zhangzhou yesterday. Xu Yuzhuo explained.

After entering the city through the Huaiyin Gate, the team soon arrived at the core of the city, the command center of the garrison. When Ning Qi was in Zhennan Port, he saw the photo of Xu Xinsu secretly taken by the intelligence department provided by Marik, and saw an old man with a vague resemblance to Xu Yuzhuo coming over, and he recognized the identity of the other party.

"Haihan Ningqi, I've seen Lord Xu!" Ning Qi hugged his fists and saluted, and took the initiative to greet first.

"The old man has admired Mr. Ning for a long time, and when I see it today, he is really imposing and extraordinary!" Xu Xinsu was born as a businessman and has been rolling on the rivers and lakes for many years, and this flattery also comes as soon as he opens his mouth, without any hesitation.

Xu Xinsu was dressed in civilian clothes and did not wear an official uniform, which made Ning Qi's mood relax a little. He personally did not like to deal with Ming officials, and he did not want to simply handle the relationship between Haihan and Fujian as a public-to-public model. If Xu Xinsu insisted on receiving the Haihan delegation as the general soldier of Fujian, then I am afraid that there would be much less room for turning around on some of the topics to be discussed next.

Xu Xinsu set up two tables for the banquet, and both sides introduced the people present on their side before the banquet. Ning Qi noticed that the attendees arranged by Xu Xinsu were not civilian officials in the Zhangzhou area, and all of them were military personnel. And most of the people in the escort are surnamed Xu, and it is obvious that the relationship with Xu Xinsu is not just a simple superior. In other words, Xu Xinsu arranged his own people at this reception banquet.

At the banquet, Xu Xinsu did not mention the fortifications, but only symbolically greeted the situation of the mission's fleet on its way to Fujian, and also recalled his own experience of his last visit to Guangzhou. And Haihan's side was also very cooperative and did not rush to get down to business, after all, there were many people talking about this occasion, and some more secret things would have to wait until the formal meeting later.

After the banquet dispersed, it was still Xu Yuzhuo who took them to the residence. However, this station was temporarily sorted out by the military camp in the city, and Xu Yuzhuo was a little sorry: "Everyone, please be wronged for one night, and I will arrange for you to go to Zhangzhou tomorrow, and the family has prepared a large house for you over there to ensure that you can live comfortably." ”

Before Ning Qi could respond, Shi Diwen had already rushed to the front and answered: "It doesn't matter where you live, as long as it's clean." If it was convenient, we would have liked to stay here for an extra two or three days. ”

Xu Yuclumsy said with an embarrassed face: "It's not a secret, my father still has important matters to go back to Zhangzhou tomorrow to deal with, so I also hope to be able to receive you in Zhangzhou City with better conditions." It's not a problem for you to stay on Jiaheyu Island for a few more days, but I'm afraid that it will delay your business. ”

Ning Qi and Shi Diwen exchanged glances, and then took the initiative to say: "Otherwise, I will go to Zhangzhou tomorrow, and Shi Diwen will still stay here." It is a little inconvenient for our big ship to sail into the Zhangjiang River, so it is better to dock at Jiaheyu. ”

This reason is also sufficient, although the "Wei Signal" is not yet a giant, but there are indeed some hidden dangers for this tonnage of sea ships to sail into the inland river, not to mention that the water situation of the Zhangjiang River is completely black for the crew, and Ning Qi does not want to take any risks with the treasure of the navy. And Ning Qi also saw that Shi Diwen should consciously want to stay, since the military had such a plan, then he was also willing to cooperate.

After Xu Yuzhuo settled them and left, Ning Qi asked, "What do you have in mind when you stay?"

Shi Diwen nodded and admitted Ning Qi's guess: "Today, the lights are blind, and I can't see the situation here clearly, I plan to take a little time to study the defense situation here and touch the bottom of this army under Xu Xinsu's command." ”

"Your military's idea of attacking Xiamen Island?" Ning Qi guessed very sensitively.

"You're thinking too much. Shi Diwen denied Ning Qi's idea this time: "The military's first choice is to leave the mainland some distance from Penghu and Taiwan, even if we want to establish a military base here in Fujian, we think that Kinmen Island is more suitable than Xiamen Island, and its location can easily control Quanzhou in the north." ”

Kinmen Island and Xiamen Island face each other across the sea from one east and one west, and the nearest place is only five nautical miles apart, but Kinmen Island is located further outward, and the radiation control range is relatively larger, and the voyage distance from Quanzhou in the north is almost a quarter closer than that of Xiamen Island. Of course, there are also Ming troops stationed on Kinmen Island, and as long as the cooperative relationship between the two sides continues, it is inconvenient for Haihan to take some unfriendly actions against the "friendly forces". Therefore, in the development plan drawn up by the military, it did not target Xiamen Island and Kinmen Island near the coast of Fujian, but set its sights on the area east of the Taiwan Strait.

"The people we sent here have always lived in Zhangzhou City, and there is still a blank information on the deployment of Xiamen Island, so I have to take this opportunity to collect some useful information. Shi Diwen said as he pulled out a single-lens reflex camera from his suitcase: "Go out tomorrow and take pictures of the arming situation inside and outside the city by the way, anyway, they don't know what I'm doing." ”

"Remember to go back and give me a copy of the photo, it will be a precious historical document in a few hundred years!" Ning Qi quickly added.

All kinds of expeditions or combat units sent by Haihan will archive or record the video data in the large database of Shengli Port. Although there is only a theoretical theory of how many years these numbers can be preserved, the travelers still hope to preserve these original images until the technological level of future generations can decipher them from the disks.

Shi Diwen responded: "No problem. By the way, did you notice just now that almost all the people attending today are from the Xu family?"

Ning Qi nodded and said, "Of course I noticed it, Xu Xinsu probably didn't want us to have too much contact with the outside world, and it might even be to prevent the news of our visit from spreading too early." ”

"But this probably can't be done, when it gets dawn, our ship will cause a sensation, and the boats entering and exiting from the mouth of the Zhangjiang River can also see this big guy!" Shi Diwen squeezed his eyes at Ning Qi and said, "Didn't we build this big guy just to make it attract attention?"

Ning Qi ignored Shi Diwen's joke, coughed dryly and changed the topic: "You said that if the representative of Eighteen Zhi knew that we were coming, what kind of mentality would he have." ”

The smile on Shi Diwen's face slowly faded: "I think they will have the idea of getting rid of us quickly." We are providing arms to Xu Xinsu, training the army, and teaching him how to fight, these things are not a secret, and I believe that Shibazhi has known these news for a long time. For them, perhaps trying to cut off the military aid behind Xu Xinsu was the best way to defeat Xu Xinsu. ”

Shi Diwen pointed at himself, and then at Ning Qi: "Me and you should be their potential targets." Maybe they'll send out Assassins to see if they can assassinate us. ”

"It seems dangerous to say that. Ning Qi didn't take this seriously: "If they can assassinate us, then they can also assassinate Xu Xinsu, why do they go around in such a big circle to provoke us, a big evil star who can't be provoked?"

Shi Diwen shrugged and said, "Maybe when we assassinate us, it will be difficult to say that even Xu Xinsu will be killed." However, I must warn you that Zhangzhou is more dangerous than here, and you have to be careful of your personal safety. ”

There is only one Zhongzuo city on Xiamen Island, and the troops stationed in the city are basically all troops, and it is generally difficult for outsiders to get in. Although there are still some fishermen living on the island, it is unlikely that they will be allowed to enter the city, so it is safest to live in this slightly worse Zhongzuosuo City, compared to Zhangzhou City, which is full of three religions and nine streams, the situation is indeed much more complicated.

However, Ning Qi was not a timid person, but smiled indifferently: "I'll be careful, if someone really comes to assassinate, I want to try to see if I have the ability to protect myself." ”

In accordance with internal security regulations, travelers like them who travel to non-controlled areas on business are issued personal weapons. Ning Qi also received a pistol and ammunition before leaving, although the last time he practiced target shooting was before crossing, but this did not prevent Ning Qi from being confident in his marksmanship.

"I will let old Morgan go to Zhangzhou with you, and I will be more relieved to have him by your side. Shi Diwen did not recognize Ning Qi's blind confidence, and still arranged an umbrella for him.

While Morgan's primary individual skill is that of a sniper, his pistol is also very accurate - after all, it is a sniper's best skill in close combat. Moreover, Morgan has received formal military training, and his reaction and handling methods are a hundred times stronger than Ning Qi, who has only received ten days of temporary military training, and he also knows how to protect himself and others when something really happens.