Although it was soon determined that Ningqi would lead the mission, the task of forming the mission was not something he could do alone. For security reasons, the military still has to be the main force of this mission, and the ships and personnel dispatched will mainly be owned by the military. In addition, in view of the opportunity for such a large-scale mission to Fujian, the Executive Committee also hopes to take this opportunity to complete more project visits, so the trade, immigration, mining, and security intelligence agencies must also be freed up to join them. In addition, the logistics, medical, and shipping departments responsible for support should also make corresponding arrangements. Although it is only a mission and not an expeditionary force, it is also a whole body, there are too many departments to coordinate, and too much preparation to do.

As for the fleet to Fujian, the military quickly settled on the lineup. At present, the situation in the Qiongzhou Strait has calmed down, and the "Wei Signal" hybrid warship stationed near the capital city of Qiongzhou will serve as the flagship of the mission, and two more "Exploration-class" warships will be sent as frigates. The Shengli Port Naval Base will send four other warships to the Qiongzhou Strait to take over the local maritime defense.

Although this lineup is far from being comparable to the task force that went south to fight in the Ambuna Islands, it is already considered to be oversized as a mission fleet. In addition to the three warships, two supply ships will also depart from the Qiongzhou Strait with the warships. On the Sanya side, the "Lightning" catamaran and an "Expedition-class" sailing ship will be dispatched to carry the members of the mission.

Although the military dispatched only three combat ships, it was no less important than launching an expeditionary campaign. In addition to using the big killer weapon of "Wei Signal", the allocation of personnel is also not stingy.

Roger and Shi Diwen, former members of the North American Gang, who had just announced their job transfers at last month's annual meeting, will participate in the operation on behalf of the Navy this time, but Roger's mission is to take over the local defense in the Qiongbei Strait, and Shi Diwen will visit Fujian with the mission as the captain of the "Wei Signal". They will be accompanied by their old partner, Dr. Morgan, who will be on the mission as a medical advisor to the mission. Of course, he can also re-operate his second class sniper if necessary, providing a powerful firepower for possible force operations.

After Tom Wang and Qiao Zhiya appeared one after another, several other members of the North American Gang also moved their minds one after another. The original intention of participating in the time crossing operation was to seek excitement, and after arriving here, except for a few large-scale military operations, they seem to be spending more time continuing to work on the content before the time travel, and the quality of life is much worse than the time and space before the time travel, and this is obviously not the state of life they want.

So after Qiao Zhiya, Luo Jie and Shi Diwen, who were workshop directors in Tiandu Industrial Zone, also submitted an application for transfer to the Executive Committee, hoping to be transferred from the production department to the foreign affairs department, such as the military or the shipping department, where they already have part-time jobs.

Because of Wang Tom's relationship, the military naturally knew their movements in advance, and at this time, they also cooperated with the executive committee to name important people - the navy's recent expansion plan just needs a large number of professional command talents, such as the North American Gang, these guys who understand both military affairs and navigation immediately became sweethearts. The most important thing is that Roger and Shi Diwen used to be senior mechanics in mechanical engineering, and they also personally participated in the development and manufacturing of marine steam engines.

In consideration of my own wishes, and the military's arguments, the Executive Committee finally approved the transfer, and the two men were transferred from their posts in the Ministry of Industry and reinstated in their positions in the military. The only person who is dissatisfied with this is probably Bai Kesi, these two people are transferred, he has to find two more people to fill the vacancy, and in the shortage of talents, there is still a certain gap between the strength of the substitute and the main selection, and their transfer will inevitably affect the technical strength reserve of the industrial sector.

Although Roger did not have a hybrid warship to command in this assignment, the third "Majestic-class" battleship booked by the military had basically been finalized and he would be the captain. This also means that in the near future, there will also be a naval fleet with hybrid warships as the core flagship for him to command operations.

In addition to them, in fact, the military has also coveted the remaining two doctors of the North American Gang for a long time, but there are too few professional Western doctors in the crossing group, and in addition to providing medical security for hundreds of travelers, they also have to constantly train new people and expand the medical team under Haihan's rule, and this goal is obviously not something that can be achieved in a short time. Even though the military has been trying to transfer them to full-time military doctors, it has not been able to obtain the approval of the Executive Committee.

And Johnson, who dragged his family, did not plan to fight around like several others, he just wanted to settle down in Sanya and raise his two daughters in peace. However, the old Morgan, who has been single until now, can't be idle, as long as there is a military operation, he will go to the Military Commission to inquire about the news, and he wants to go to sea with the militia at the first opportunity. This time it can be regarded as fulfilling his wishes, and he finally has a chance to go far away.

It took a week to prepare, and on 16 May, the improvised convoy of missions departed from Shengli Harbor, while the convoy from the Qiongbei Strait was to rendezvous with it near Beishi Island in the northeastern corner of Hainan Island.

At noon the next day, the two detachments successfully rendezvoused at a predetermined place at sea, and then sailed in the direction of the Pearl River Estuary. Before the fleet leaves for Fujian, it will also carry out a replenishment of supplies at Zhennangang on Hong Kong Island to ensure that there is no need to find another supply point to dock during the hundreds of miles on the way.

While the meeting was held in Sanya to confirm the visit, Guangzhou was not idle. After receiving the resolution of the Executive Committee, the Guangzhou Office also took action, on the one hand, to immediately inform Xu Xinsu's people and ask him to send the news back to Zhangzhou as soon as possible, and on the other hand, to hire some sailors and crew members who were familiar with the sea conditions in Fujian to provide navigation for the upcoming fleet.

On 20 May, the mission fleet arrived at Zhennan Port. The convoy of seven ships did not call at the commercial port, but at the military port on Ap Lei Chau Island. Marik of the Guangzhou Office rushed over from Guangzhou and had a brief meeting with Ning Qi and others.

The last time Xu Xinsu came to Guangzhou in order to buy weapons and warships, he was received in Guangzhou at that time, and he was also one of the few people who had face-to-face direct contact with Xu Xinsu among the traversers. Therefore, before going to Fujian, the mission specially arranged this meeting, and Marik provided some first-hand information to Ning Qi and others.

"Xu Xinsu is a very realistic person, if it is placed in our time, he also has the opportunity to become a successful businessman. Marik introduced to Ning Qi: "For him, the benefits at his fingertips are more important than promises that cannot be fulfilled in a short period of time, and no matter how much we promise him, in fact, they can't compare to the silver piled up in front of his eyes." ”

"You mean, in order to reach the terms of the armistice, the Dutch must have offered him a good price?" asked Ningqi.

Mariko nodded and said: "The news we have inquired about through some channels these days, the Dutch should have promised them to give Xu Xinsu more preferential conditions on the route of Japan and the Ryukyus. ”

"Do you know what's going on?" asked Ning Qi.

Mariko shook his head helplessly and said, "I'm sorry, our people are not so powerful as to that extent. However, I suspect that these so-called preferential conditions should also be related to Shibashizhi, otherwise this armistice agreement would not have to be negotiated by Shibazhi. ”

"Probably just to let Eighteen Zhi stop the raiding and harassment war on these important shipping lanes!" Ning Qi nodded in understanding.

With the location of Shibashiba, it was indeed more convenient to intercept the merchant ships from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to the Ryukyus at sea. And Xu Xinsu's maritime armed forces are not strong enough to provide armed escort for these routes, so the attitude of Shibazhi will directly affect Xu Xinsu's income in this trade direction. The Dutch took this as one of the conditions for negotiation, but they also accurately controlled Xu Xinsu's pulse.

"Then what do you think of Xu Xinsu's political attitude?" Ning Qi continued to ask.

Marico responded: "I have only been in contact with him for two or three days, and to be honest, it is difficult to see him through in such a short period of time. But I don't think the conflict of interest between him and Eighteen Zhi can be resolved by a truce, and their existence is a natural threat to each other, just as the existence of the Dutch is a threat to our future development. I think that even if an armistice is reached, it will only be temporary, and once one side has relented and thinks that it is strong enough to start another war, then the war between them will be rekindled. ”

"But the problem now is that we don't know on what terms they will reach an armistice, and whether it will be time-sensitive. Moreover, Xu Xinsu concealed this matter from us, and the attitude he expressed was what the Executive Committee was most worried about. If we lose control of Xu Xinsu, it means that we have to spend exponentially more energy to support another person who can replace him. Lao Yan means that we can even support Shibazhi if necessary, but I think this is a bit too capricious and easy to criticize. ”

"There are many mountains in Shibazhi, and they are not so easy to support. Marik has lived in Guangzhou for a long time, and the news he has received is naturally much better than that of Sanya: "This gang of eighteen pirate leaders, do you think who listens to whom? Even if Zheng Zhilong is the strongest, others may not all be convinced of him. Especially in the past two years, Eighteen Zhi has been repeatedly defeated in the coastal areas of Fujian, and Zheng Zhilong's prestige is not as good as before, and he may not be able to make some key decisions now. ”

"You are also saying that when there are too many people in charge, it is easy to get confused. Ning Qi nodded with deep feeling: "There are only nine members of the Standing Committee of the Executive Committee, and they are still the representatives elected by everyone, and when the Standing Committee is held, they often quarrel and quarrel, and they can't agree on their opinions. Every year, hundreds of bills, large and small, are voted on, and few of them can be unanimously voted through or vetoed. ”

"The executive committee can at least discuss in a civilized manner, do you think those pirates who lick blood can sit down and communicate so slowly?" said Mariko sarcastically: "It is said that in the original history, after Zheng Zhilong accepted Zhao'an, the first thing he did was to lead troops to kill his former sworn brother. ”

"You're right. Speaking of this history, Ning Qi does know better: "Eighteen Zhi basically killed each other in the later period, Li Kuiqi killed Yang Tiansheng and Chen Xinji, but he himself was killed by Zheng Zhilong. There are also Liu Xiang, Zhong Bin, Yang Liuyang and seven brothers, all of whom were killed by Zheng Zhilong. And Zheng Zhilong's younger brother Zheng Zhihu was also caught and sunk into the sea while fighting Liu Xiang. In addition, He Bin and Guo Huaiyi later simply took refuge in the Dutch and became their lackeys. The only people who are really on the right path are Shi Daxuan, Hong Xu, and Gan Hui, who later assisted Zheng Chenggong. ”

Speaking of this, Ning Qi changed his words and said: "But then again, the current situation is very different from the original history, Zheng Zhilong failed to kill Xu Xinsu as scheduled, and there was no chance to be recruited by Fujian Governor Xiong Wencan, and under external pressure, their original internal contradictions did not break out so easily." ”

"After all, they have to hold together to resist the current Xu Xinsu. Marik continued: "We have provided military support to the Fujian side for three years, and according to what we know, Xu Xinsu's armed Cheng Dù, who now has at least 3,000 men, has reached the equipment level of the early Haihan militia, and the combat training he has received is basically what he learned from the military attache study class in Shengli Port, and his combat effectiveness can definitely be regarded as an elite army in Fujian." Eighteen Zhi will launch a large-scale attack near Quanzhou in Zhangzhou every three months to half a year, but the results of the past few years have been worse than one year after another, and you can understand the reason. ”

"The stronger the stronger, the weaker the weaker. Ning Qi nodded in understanding.

The war between Xu Xinsu Group and Shibazhi is, in the final analysis, a battle for resources, including land resources, commercial resources, population resources and so on. Xu Xinsu has his back to the mainland, and he already has a great advantage, and even if he is defeated, he can quickly replenish it. However, Shibazhi settled in Penghu and Taiwan Island, the population base is limited, and the war resources are far inferior to those of the mainland, so as long as they suffer a few defeats in a row, their strength will quickly deflated like a leaking balloon. It is already a miracle that Eighteen Zhi has been able to suffer defeat for two or three years in a row and has not broken up.