Chapter 1559: Investigating Clues

Although Su Keyi was unwilling to admit it, he also understood that in addition to the trade field, Haihan also had other means to blackmail the East India Company in the military and international relations fields. If the cooperative relationship with Haihan was stopped, it would not only be more

Heyhan is just an opponent. For example, the presence of Spain and Portugal in the Far East forces the Dutch to put aside their disputes over international trade and re-examine their relationship with Heyhan. What's more, there is also Heyhan, who is known as his number one supporter.

No matter how arrogant Su Keyi was about Annan and the Ming Dynasty, which had now officially established diplomatic relations with Haihan, he would not think that the East India Company could fight against so many countries on its own.

Besides, war was not the original intention of the establishment of the East India Company. The shareholders contributed money to maintain the operation of this organization. The main purpose was to obtain profits in the Far East. Making money was the company's first priority. The East India Company is now not only

It is trading with Haihan, but it is within the Far East international trade system under the leadership of Haihan. Once there is a stalemate with Haihan, it is basically equivalent to being separated from the entire trading system. This is a big problem for the East India Company.

An outcome even more unacceptable than a new trade deal.

Give in, what else can you do? Even if Su Keyi's heart is as high as the sky, the current situation is like this. The East India Company cannot offer sufficient conditions to bargain with the Haihan people, and there is no other better choice than bowing its head.

Although the Portuguese are in a slightly better situation than the Dutch in this negotiation, Thomas is really not happy. Since the Dutch dare not fall out with Haihan, there is nothing to gain for him. But Schneider said

The announced trade agreement will be implemented soon. Whether this will be a blessing or a curse for Portugal, Thomas can't tell clearly for a while.

After sending away the gloomy ministers of the two countries, Schneider immediately picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the number of the Minister of Security, He Xi, and informed him of the exposure of the Portuguese merchant ship "Diego".

The "Diego" appears in the waters of Zhejiang and always docks at local ports. The appearance of its hull is obviously different from the ships of the Ming Dynasty and Haihan. It is basically impossible to completely conceal its whereabouts. It was sailed

It is not surprising that the Dutch merchant ships in this area discovered it. However, the transportation mission of the "Diego" to Shandong is confidential, and even the sailors on the ship may not know the final destination. How did this news get to the East India

What Su Keyi from the company found out is a question worth pondering.

Either a Dutch merchant ship quietly entered the northern waters without notifying Haihan and found traces of the "Diego" somewhere, or a staff member of a relevant department intentionally or unintentionally

This secret was revealed to Su Keyi. The former situation is considered a bold act by the Dutch, but it is difficult to find evidence, while the latter situation is more serious in nature. This kind of leak must be investigated and handled by the Ministry of Security.

Su Keyi's identity is quite special. According to diplomatic rules, the Ministry of Security cannot arrest him directly for interrogation. He Xi was a little scratched after receiving this report. But fortunately, the Ministry of Security also has experience in handling such cases, so He Xi hung up the phone.

, and asked the secretary to notify Xu Shiqi to report.

Gong Shiqi, the general trained by He Xi, followed Hao Wanqing to work in the north. Among the people who are following him now, Xu Shiqi is probably the best among them. In fact, Xu Shiqi is not a newcomer. He joined the Security Department.

The time was only more than a year later than Gong Shiqi, and it was just a matter of luck. When Gong Shiqi became famous in the industry after carrying out a beheading operation in Hangzhou in 1634, Xu Shiqi was still working hard to enter the foreign affairs department of the Ministry of Security.

Qualifications. Later, He Xi was ordered to be transferred back to Sanya to take charge of Hainan security intelligence affairs, so he brought Xu Shiqi back to Hainan Island as well.

Although there is no opportunity to go to a foreign country to make contributions, Hainan Island is the key to Haihan's security intelligence affairs, and most of the intelligence personnel sent to Haihan from various countries are concentrated here. If the intelligence personnel account for the population

Proportionally speaking, Sanya is probably the place with the highest concentration of spies from all countries in the Far East.

Among these intelligence agents lurking in Sanya with different identities, there are not only low-level personnel who are monitored and arrested by the Haihan Security Department, but also hidden stubs who have changed their identities and joined the nationality incognito for a long time, staying here briefly as businessmen or crew members.

spies, and even official personnel from other countries openly operating in Sanya as diplomats. With the size and technical capabilities of the Haihan Security Department, it is obviously difficult to monitor or arrest all these foreign spies with different identities.

sky.

It is impossible to completely eliminate the channels for other countries to obtain intelligence from Haihan. The main responsibility of the Ministry of Security is to protect as much as possible the political, economic, military, social and other intelligence information that involves Haihan's fundamental interests. Schneider told

The news reported by the Ministry of Security was either big or small, but He Xi couldn't ignore it, so he sent Xu Shiqi and gave him a general introduction to the relevant situation.

After Xu Shiqi listened to the briefing of the situation and saw that He Xi did not issue specific instructions immediately, he knew that his boss was waiting for him to express his opinion on the matter, so he quickly took the initiative and said: "Chief, I have to say something about myself first.

Regarding your views, please correct me.”

He Xi nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Xu Shiqi said: "Su Keyi himself is of Chinese origin, and there is basically no cultural barrier with my country. He has a unique advantage in collecting intelligence. He is stationed in Sanya on behalf of the East India Company, and he frequently visits various departments in our country. Gao, maybe he accidentally heard or saw the contents of some relevant documents while working in some department, it may not necessarily mean that someone deliberately betrayed the information to him."

He Xi did not express his position, but encouraged him to continue his analysis: "Tell me your reasons."

Xu Shiqi continued: "The reason for his humble position is also very simple. Su Keyi has been dealing with my country for several years, and his coming to Sanya is not recent. This person has almost no loopholes in security intelligence. It can be said that He was very cautious. But when he threw out this information in front of Chief Shi to retaliate against the Portuguese, he should have considered in advance the subsequent impact of the leak. If the source of this information was a Dutch channel, Then it is very likely that it will be exposed due to our subsequent investigation. I think Su Keyi will not act so hastily with his usual style of doing things."

The reasons given by Xu Shiqi coincided with He Xi. Cheng Dapeng, the intelligence chief of the Ministry of Security in Batavia, had already dealt with Su Keyi. At that time, Su Keyi was just a Chinese employee of the East India Company.

Just a clerk. The Ministry of Security has relatively detailed and reliable records about this person's behavior. He Xi had already studied it before summoning Xu Shiqi, and believed that it was unlikely that Su Keyi would commit such a low-level crime in a sober state.

mistake.

"Then the question arises. If he didn't make a mistake in a hurry, he must have some purpose in releasing this information. News like this is actually worthless as long as it is exposed once. What does Su Keyi want to achieve?

What is the effect or purpose of such a move?" He Xi also began to participate in the discussion.

"Perhaps he wants to intentionally attract our attention, and then mislead us to investigate the departments and personnel related to this matter, taking the opportunity to create chaos." Xu Shiqi tried to analyze: "Even if we find nothing in the end, probably

It will still leave a thorn in my heart, and the Dutch may have some long-term plans."

He Xi said: "Relevant to this matter are the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Shipping, the Ministry of National Defense, and us. The confidentiality level of the Diego incident is not low, so only a few high-level officials and those handling the matter know the information.

.If we really want to conduct an investigation, the list should not exceed fifty people."

After hearing what his boss meant, Xu Shiqi seemed to have decided to conduct an investigation, and immediately responded: "Then I will make a list of these people first, and then see which of them have had contact with Su Keyi in the recent past, and use them as key investigation targets first.

No matter which department Su Keyi visited, there will definitely be a visitor record, and you can find out after checking it."

Seeing that Xu Shiqi understood the spirit very quickly, He Xi nodded with satisfaction and said: "No matter whether his purpose is to mislead us into self-examination, the Security Department must do what it should do. Also, in addition to official meetings,

In addition, Su Keyi's recent personal itinerary must also be investigated, after all, we are still not sure whether the source of his intelligence was obtained during working hours."

Xu Shiqi said: "Then the Ministry of National Defense...can you say hello to Chief Yan first to avoid misunderstandings?"

For the Ministry of Security, the military is a trouble that they are unwilling to take the initiative to touch, because the military has its own intelligence system. People in the Military Intelligence Department of the Ministry of National Defense have always been unwilling to have the Ministry of Security intervene in military affairs, especially in investigations.

The Military Intelligence Office has always believed that personnel involved in the military case should be investigated and handled by the military itself, rather than the involvement of national intelligence agencies. Xu Shiqi has encountered many difficulties in the military during the process of handling cases in the past.

At this level, if you don’t greet and send official letters first, the people working below will definitely have difficulties and find it difficult to achieve their goals.

He Xi nodded and said, "I'll say hello to the Ministry of National Defense later and ask the Military Intelligence Department to connect with you."

Even if He Xi comes forward, it is unlikely that the Ministry of National Defense will be persuaded to bow to the Ministry of Security. Therefore, the best way to handle this matter is to let both parties cooperate to complete the internal self-examination of the Ministry of National Defense. Otherwise, given Yan Chujie’s straightforward temperament, he will probably

He cried bitterly in the executive committee and made jokes like "Dongchang plotted against the Ministry of War" and the like.

As for the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Shipping, they are relatively weak in this regard. They can only cooperate well when the Ministry of Security investigates the case. Moreover, this matter was originally reported by Commerce Secretary Schneider, and the Ministry of Commerce will definitely not cooperate with the investigation.

There will be problems, and we just need to do a little more work on the shipping department.

After agreeing on the general plan, He Xi stopped worrying about the details and handed the case directly to Xu Shiqi. The Ministry of Security had many affairs, and He Xi could not spend money on such a case where the level of leakage could not be said to be too serious.

Too much time, and he was convinced that with Xu Shiqi's ability, he should be able to get to the bottom of this matter.

After Xu Shiqi returned to his office, he immediately convened a meeting with his subordinates to assign tasks. The Security Department was divided into different divisions according to their functions, and Xu Shiqi was in the Special Service Division responsible for case investigation and field operations. This division

Several action groups were divided below. The group led by Gong Shiqi who was far in the north was numbered as Group One, and the group led by Xu Shiqi was Group Two.

The establishment of this group of people is not fixed. Generally, a fixed team of between seven and twelve people will be maintained. Then, according to the needs of the task, personnel will be transferred from other departments to temporarily supplement them, and they will be added after the task is completed.

Dismantle the establishment. For example, in the Spanish espionage case that occurred in Sanya in early 1634, the Ministry of Security used two special service teams during the investigation, each with more than 20 members. In such a temporary establishment, in addition to those responsible for armed operations

In addition to the field team, it also includes civilian personnel responsible for collecting, organizing, and analyzing data.

Xu Shiqi's team was able to obtain the second number in the Secret Service Office, and they naturally made a lot of contributions. However, most of the tasks they performed were non-public, so the awards they received could only be announced internally.

Very few people in the outside world know the existence of this kind of special service team. And handling intelligence-related cases like this one is the specialty of the second team.

Xu Qiqi first listed all the personnel in various departments who had access to the "Diego" route arrangement, and then designated members to investigate relevant personnel in the three departments of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Shipping, and the Ministry of National Defense respectively, and he himself

He is personally responsible for the internal investigation of the Security Department and the investigation of Su Keyi's recent movements.

"According to what we know, the Portuguese merchant ship left Zhejiang waters only half a month ago, so everyone in these departments who had contact with Su Keyi within fifteen days must be investigated.

Not only do I want to know what they talked about with Su Keyi, but I also want to make sure that they have not taken any benefits from Su Keyi, and that their identity and family have nothing to do with Batavia. If there is even the slightest suspicion,

None of you can let it go." Xu Shiqi put forward very strict requirements for his subordinates.

At this time, someone raised another possibility that was easily missed: "What if the Portuguese leaked the news intentionally or accidentally?"

Xu Shiqi said: "We have limited manpower, so we must first investigate the most likely clues. If the most likely causes are eliminated, then the remaining situations that seem impossible may be facts.

It’s the truth.”
Chapter completed!