Nanyuan has set a plan to attack the port of Zhongzuo, and Zhou Guoxin, a hundred households in Guangzhou Jinyiwei, has a new task. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoThis time, I didn't fight local tyrants in Guangzhou, but went to Fujian to spy on the news of Zheng Zhilong, the guerrilla general of the Five Tigers.

If it had been placed in the past, Zhou Guoxin would have refused such a long-distance and dangerous task in his heart, but after experiencing the case of Gao Shunqin's collusion with Liukou, he tasted the sweetness of doing things for Xia Nan, and his enthusiasm for work was greatly improved - of course, it did not mean running errands for the imperial court, but doing private work for the Qiongzhou camp. If the object is replaced by Zheng Zhilong, who is rich and rivals the country, will he be able to earn enough money for the rest of his life, retire with honor, and retire in glory and retire for the rest of his life?

Zhou Guoxin, who was standing in the Nanyuan conference hall and was summoned by Xia Nan, couldn't help but express his enthusiasm for work: "Did you draw a scoop with a gourd, get Zheng Zhilong's handle, and send it to the capital to be cut at the entrance of the vegetable market?" In this way, the property of the Zheng family ...... "Thinking of the legendary Zheng Zhilong's wealth and rivaling the country's net worth, Zhou Guoxin almost drooled.

Xia Nan shook his head: "Zhou Baihu, your ideological tendency is very dangerous." Who is Zheng Zhilong, he is the biggest pirate leader in the entire Ming Dynasty, with thousands of warships and more than 100,000 troops! Such a person, even if he grabs his pigtails, do you think he will be like a powerless Gao Xun, obediently tied up and captured? ”

Zhou Guoxin's words are a lot sober. In recent years, it has become the norm in officialdom that unarmed civilian officials are easy to deal with, and military attachés who hold military power are very tricky. Don't talk about it from afar, let's just say that the general in front of him didn't blink when he killed the Jinyi guard, how could he have put the court in his eyes again?

He put away the little careful thought of making a fortune, and cautiously asked: "What should his subordinates do?" ”

"It's very simple, you immediately rush to the Zhongzuo Institute and contact the local Jinyi guards in Fujian, no matter what method you use, you have to get the news out of their mouths anyway. I need to know Zheng Zhilong's exact whereabouts in advance, can I do it? ”

Zhou Guoxin pondered a little in his heart, this matter is not difficult to do, and at that time, in the name of handling the case, he will ask his colleagues in Fujian to help inquire. The trip of a guerrilla general is not a private visit by the emperor out of the palace, and it is not difficult to grasp his accurate whereabouts in advance. It's just that if you are looking for someone to help, you have to ask for food and drink, and go down to the restaurant to visit the kiln, who should pay for this cost? It stands to reason that it is for the Qiongzhou battalion, and the Jinyi Guard Yamen must not be allowed to spend, after all, the relationship between the two sides is secret and cannot be made public. But if you don't spend money from the public, do you pay out of your own pocket?

He replied hesitantly: "Back to General, things are not difficult to do, Jinyi and Wei from all over the country are in the same spirit, and it is common for them to exchange news in order to handle cases, but it's just ......."

If you are a pedantic reader, you may not be able to understand where Zhou Guoxin's hesitation comes from, but I haven't seen what kind of cat you are tired in the workplace in the summer, officialdom and the workplace are similar, and immediately saw through the little Jiujiu in Zhou Guoxin's heart, and scolded with a smile: "Hundreds of dignified brocade clothes, broaden your horizons, don't stare at these small profits." In this way, you can rest assured to do things, what expenses are needed, temporarily pay in advance, and when things are done, they will be fully reimbursed, and the amount will be reported by you; If things don't work well, fill in the holes yourself! ”

There is no possibility of doing this kind of trivial thing badly, and the so-called filling in the hole by yourself is just a joke. Zhou Guoxin was a little embarrassed to be said, and said curtly: "Where is it, a little money, there is no need to withdraw it from the Qiongzhou camp account......" But he made up his mind in his heart, such a little money is still calculated by himself, anyway, he squeezed a lot of oil and water from Gao Shunqin, not bad for this money, in the future, with such a domineering and arrogant Qiongzhou camp gangster, I am afraid that there will be no chance to make a fortune?

"Very good, you will take the clipper boat to Fujian today, and our fleet will then set off and wait for your news on Nanao Island."

The plan codenamed "Tiger Fighting Operation" officially began, and the "Yangming" carried Zhou Guoxin, Liu Heizi and others to Fujian first, and William led a fleet of eight Wuyi-class warships to set off later. Because of the importance of the matter, Xia Nan was not relieved, and also followed the fleet to Fujian.

Under the guidance of Murong Longcheng, the fleet arrived at Nan'ao Island off the coast of Shantou six days later.

Nanao Island is located at the junction of Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan provinces, in the old time and space, is the largest and only island county in Guangdong Province, 160 nautical miles away from Kaohsiung in the southeast, 97 nautical miles away from Xiamen in the northeast, and 180 nautical miles away from Hong Kong in the southwest. The location is excellent. Since ancient times, Nanao is a necessary berthing point and transit point for trade along the southeast coast, and it has been known as the "maritime market" in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Passing through Changshan Bay in the western part of the island, William observed a fort that was at the same angle as the mainland, and copper cannons of various sizes could be seen on the wall. Murong Longcheng introduced: "This is the only Changshanwei Fort on Nanao Island, which belongs to the jurisdiction of the deputy commander-in-chief of Nanao, and now it is in disrepair, and I don't know if these cannons can be fired......

William, who had seen the Humen Yaniang Shoe Fort, had lost the only remaining fear of the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense forts, and the forts were vulnerable to such dangerous terrain as Humen, and such a remote island was not much better. While ordering the fleet to ignore this Changshanwei Fort and pass straight through, he asked Murong Longcheng, "Which harbor on this island is more suitable for big ships to anchor?" ”

Murong Longcheng replied: "If you talk about the openness of the harbor and the convenience of supply, there are only Shen'ao Bay and Qing'ao Bay in the entire Nan'ao Island. However, Qingao Bay is a shallow bay, and large ships with heavy draft are easy to run aground, so they can only go to Qingao Bay. ”

"Then go to Qingao Bay as you said, do you still need to think about this?"

"It's not that simple, Qingao Bay is the ...... where the deputy commander of South Australia is stationed."

When William heard this, he turned to Xia Nan: "Head, this is something you need to think about." From a technical point of view, our fleet must be anchored in a deep-water port, and the draft of a 500-ton warship is relatively deep, and it will be very tricky to run aground in a shallow water port......"

Xia Nan thought for a moment and said, "Didn't Murong Longcheng say that as long as some benefits are given, the officers and soldiers on the island will ignore the ships coming and going? Since you need to dock at a deep-water port, let's go to Qingao Bay. ”

Murong Longcheng reluctantly explained: "The officers and soldiers on the island only recognize the silver, but it is all for scattered merchant ships, and they are parked in other small ports. Our fleet of this magnitude has to stop under the noses of the officers and men, and unless they are all dead people, they will remain indifferent -- we must first think of a rhetoric and countermeasures. ”