After Mingqiu completed the occupation of Xiamen and Gulangyu Island, he ordered the front finger to be moved to Xiamen Island. Although the security war was not completely over, there was no longer the Zheng family's fort and large-scale troops on the island. [No pop-up novel website] Only some stragglers are hiding in the mountains and forests. Shi Zhiqi mobilized the security forces to carry out search missions. Each team of security forces was assigned a few prisoners, and promised to reward one of their former robes with a silver dollar, so the prisoners led the security forces over the mountains one by one. Ling's arrest. As a result, the security operations on Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island and Kinmen Island soon made great progress.
Now that two-thirds of his mission has been completed, the rest is mainly to prevent enemy counterattacks and cover civil clearance work in Anping, Xiamen, and Kinmen - a euphemism for large-scale raids and arrests in official documents.
The entire civil purge plan will take one to two weeks to complete. Before that, he must ensure that these occupied areas are in the hands of the Senate so that the Planning Council and the Intelligence Bureau can carry out their tasks calmly.
The direction of Anping is the most likely place for a counterattack. The Zheng family has large areas of land and estates in Nan'an and Jinjiang. There are a large number of private soldiers and local warriors. Compared with the Ming Dynasty official army who is immobile when friendly forces are in trouble, these troops only need With someone under command and enough money, considerable combat power can still be unleashed. For this reason, Mingqiu will focus its defense in the direction of Anping. The main army force of the follow-up force was deployed near Anping, monitoring the movements of the two counties at any time.
The raid on Anping killed and captured a large number of upper-level and key members of the Zheng Group. However, there are always some fish that slip through the net, especially in Kinmen and Xiamen. Some people who are quick to see opportunities cross the strait and escape to the mainland before the navy has time to blockade them.
There is currently no definite answer as to how many members of "Eighteen Zhi" escaped. According to the preliminary interrogation of prisoners, it was learned that many of the leading figures in the Eighteen Zhizhi, such as Zheng Zhifeng, Zheng Zhibao, Zheng Lian, and Zheng Cai, had escaped. These people all have great prestige and strength in the Zheng Group, and it is entirely possible for them to organize a large-scale counterattack.
As for Zheng Zhilong, the leader of the Zheng Group, he has been reported as "suspected" to have been killed by the Hornets. Although there is no solid evidence. However, based on the analysis of the photos taken by Qian Shuixie and the evidence extracted at the time, the Intelligence Bureau concluded that the headless corpse was most likely that of Zheng Zhilong. The confessions of many Japanese and Black Guard prisoners they captured on Xiamen Island proved Zheng Zhilong's escape route. However, the two groups of people who sneaked across the blockade had been wiped out, and no one could provide strong evidence of confessions. For this reason, Mingqiu has sent people to exhume the body and sent electricity to Kaohsiung to invite relevant professionals to conduct an autopsy.
Inside the Zhongzuo Office, Mingqiu, who had not rested for several days, was receiving a special guest.
This guest, with blue eyes, blond hair and a tall build, is the Dutch East India Company stationed in Zhangzhou Bay. That is Trodnius, the senior businessman stationed in the Zheng Group. He was appointed by Hans Putmans, the East India Company's governor-general, to be responsible for conducting trade with the Zheng Group.
On the d day of Operation Overlord, Trodnius's ship was moored at Gulangyu Island, and others were resting on the ship. When I heard that someone was attacking Zhangzhou Bay. Trodenius was taken aback, and his caregiver immediately pulled anchor and prepared to flee to the open sea. However, because it was still dark, he did not dare to act rashly. In addition, the Zheng Group is very powerful in Zhangzhou Bay, and foreign enemies may not be able to break into Xiamen Island.
After daybreak, Trodnius realized that the situation was much more serious. Black smoke was already billowing in the bay. The Zheng family fleet seems to be in a bad situation. But at this time, he had received definite news that it was the Australian fleet that came to raid Zhangzhou Bay.
After receiving this news, Trodnius decided not to take the risk of escaping - if he took the risk of escaping during a firefight between the two sides, he could easily be regarded as an enemy by the Australians and be attacked. He has been to Kaohsiung, seen Australian ships, and has some understanding of the Australian naval superiority. If the Australians attack his speedboat, both people and the boat will be destroyed.
Australians always value their promises and keep their word. And never kill indiscriminately. The company has a trade agreement with them, and so far there has been no hostility between the two parties. The Australian fleet should not attack its own ships. He immediately ordered the sailors to seal the fire doors of all cannons, and at the same time hoist the East India Company's flag and the Orange flag, and also hoist these two flags on both sides of the hull to identify himself.
His measures worked, and the Australian fleet sailing from Kinmen did not fire a single cannonball at his ship. Trodnius stood on the poop and watched a grand naval battle display that he had never seen before.
Yes, it is a naval battle show. Trodnius could only use this word to describe it: the fleet of the Zheng Group is not so much an opponent as it is just a supporting role dancing with the protagonist on the stage. The Australian fleet used the most perfect formation and artillery fire to firmly leave a mark of terror on the heart of the Dutch businessman.
"Zheng Zhilong is finished, and so is Liu Laoxiang." He thought secretly, "God bless the East India Company!"
Trodnius took off his feathered hat and bowed: "Salute to you! Your Excellency, Admiral."
Mingqiu nodded to express his gratitude, and Trodnius then said: "Our master and I would like to express our sincerest congratulations to you for achieving such a glorious victory." He took off his hat and bowed again.
"Thank you for your congratulations." Mingqiu was a little tired. He was over sixty after all, and working for days and nights had left him exhausted. Now a Dutchman appears again - he just stays on his ship, doesn't he? What are you doing here to see yourself? But he is the highest officer of the formation, and he also has obligations in diplomatic work.
"I believe your victory in Zhangzhou Bay will not affect our cooperation..."
"Okay, what do you want to say?" Mingqiu said impatiently.
"That's right..." Trodenius told him his request. It turned out that he had just reached a trade agreement with Zheng Zhilong and purchased a large amount of sugar and silk from the Zheng Group. His ship came to Xiamen to load this cargo.
Part of this cargo has been loaded on the ship, and the rest is still in the Dutch warehouse in Xiamen - luckily it was not burned. Trodnius now asked Minqiu for permission to continue loading and removing the goods stored in the warehouse. He has the warehouse receipt to prove that the goods have been paid for and delivered.
Mingqiu pondered for a moment. This question was too sudden and a bit difficult for him. He didn't study law, so he couldn't think of a similar example, how should he deal with it? Logically speaking, the ownership of the goods belonged to the Dutch, and the Dutch had sufficient evidence that it seemed reasonable for him to ask for them to be removed. But this issue is a bit sensitive, and he doesn't know what the relevant laws established by the arbitral tribunal are. It's not appropriate to make the decision on his own.
"I can't promise you anything now." Mingqiu said after thinking for a moment, "But since you can provide evidence, I can order my subordinates to temporarily seal this batch of goods and not register them as trophies for the time being. You can send someone to Lingao. The Maritime Court conducts relevant litigation”
Although Trodnius expressed disappointment, there was room for change in this solution and he immediately accepted it. Then he tentatively asked what the Senate's next plan was for Zhangzhou Bay, and whether there was any attempt to replace Zheng Zhilong and monopolize Fujian's foreign trade - in particular, whether the Australians had any plans to occupy Anping and Xiamen.
Mingqiu had no choice but to use the word "no comment" to refuse. After rambling and rambling to send Trodnius away, Mingqiu thought to himself: The Dutch were indeed the first-class businessmen at that time. No wonder they were able to compete with such a small country. Millions of people became sea coachmen.
The morning sun rises as usual, and Kinmen Island, which used to have only a few fishing villages besides the Zheng Group's camps and docks, is already bustling with activity. This is the material transfer station for Operation Overlord. The materials transferred from Taiwan are unloaded and transported here. The loot and prisoners collected from Xiamen and Anping are concentrated and registered on the island before being shipped back.
All kinds of goods, gold, silver and weapons were piled up in mountains. The staff of the Planning Institute counted them one by one and reported the numbers. After being registered by a dedicated person, they were sorted and packaged. These workers work every three hours and then take an hour's rest to avoid errors caused by working too long and causing fatigue. Everyone knows that this time the Senate has "made a fortune" again.
Ning Liujin wore a "freshman uniform" with a small wooden sign hanging around his neck, pushing a wheelbarrow back and forth to carry the "trophy". He was captured on Kinmen Island. After running ashore, he hid in the mountains and forests. He was thirsty and hungry. He was quickly forced to surrender under the search of the security forces with big wolfhounds. Everyone said that although the Kun thief killed people like crazy, he never killed people casually and was very kind to the prisoners. For Ning Liujin, no matter how bad the situation was, he would not be beheaded.
Sure enough, he was quickly assigned to work in the labor team after surrendering. The captain in charge saw that his clothes were in tatters and found him new clothes to wear - although the clothes were really weird.
He had a full meal in the evening: it was cooked in a big pot, and it was a little salty and tasted like meat! There seemed to be dried vegetable leaves and the like inside. He didn't know what it was made of, but it was indeed grain and you could eat as much as you wanted. For Ning Liujin, who has been stuffing his stomach with sweet potatoes all year round, this is nothing less than a feast: sweet potatoes are not enough to make you hungry.
Working for the thief seemed good, at least it would be good for his "distant relative" who was a troublemaker, he would have plenty to eat, and no one would be interested in his chrysanthemums. He couldn't help but think this as he drank his sixth bowl of hot goo.
