Chapter 2054

Although Xu Yuxing was angry, he had always been relatively prudent in dealing with things, so he did not lose his mind because of this. He knew that at a small scale, the Jin Yiwei colluded with the Spaniards to create trouble in Zhangzhou City, but at a big scale, it might affect the situation in Fujian as a whole.

It may even lead to unexpected changes in the Ming Dynasty. If the relationship between the Xu family and the Ming court is completely broken due to this, then the many troubles that will arise in the future are not something that Xu Yuxing can solve.

To be on the safe side, this matter indeed needs to be reported to Xu Xinsu first, who will weigh the pros and cons before deciding on subsequent actions. However, at the same time, Xu Jiaqi has left in a hurry. In order to prevent the relevant people from escaping, he ordered that all city gates be closed immediately and no one was allowed.

Access for all personnel.

Xu Xinsu quickly received the news from Xu Yuxing, and this unexpected situation was also beyond his expectation. Fujian Jinyiwei had been quite honest in the past few years and did not cause him any trouble, but now

It seems that this kind of composure is more likely to be an illusion deliberately created by Jin Yiwei to numb himself and let down his guard against him, so that he can jump out and cause trouble when the right opportunity arises.

The question lies in whether the Jin Yiwei's behavior of secretly hiding guns in Zhangzhou City was the unauthorized initiative of some of them, or whether it came from a secret order from the court.

If it was the former, Xu Xinsu would not hesitate to show his thunderous skills to these daring people. He would catch those who should be caught and kill those who should be killed. I understand that the Jinyiwei Yamen would not dare to have any big reaction. But if it was the latter, then he would

You must carefully consider whether to pursue the matter publicly and the consequences that may arise.

With Xu Xinsu's current strength, it is not impossible to separatist forces in Fujian, but he knows that apart from being a quick success, it actually does not have many practical benefits for him. Moreover, Haihan has hinted many times over the years.

Go through him, don't try to set up your own business easily, just maintain the current situation.

As time went by, Xu Xinsu gradually agreed with Haihan's view that splitting with the Ming Dynasty would not bring any practical benefits, but would instead lead to war. Although the Fujian Ming army was well-equipped, it would not be able to defeat the Ming Dynasty if it could not get the sea.

Without the full support of the Han Dynasty, it was difficult to replenish the equipment and ammunition required for combat in time. In this case, if a province had to carry the troops of a country, the end would probably not be good.

But Xu Xinsu himself did not take the initiative to cause trouble, but it did not necessarily mean that the court would sit back and watch him continue to grow his personal strength in Fujian. In recent years, Xu Xinsu has taken most of the military power in Fujian into his own hands, and most of the local garrison has become his

Xu Xinsu's private army was a dominant one in terms of economy, and basically controlled the most profitable local import and export trade. Xu Xinsu expanded the army while making money, and at the same time placed a large number of Xu family members in the army and local yamen, slowly taking over the

Officials appointed by the imperial court turned Fujian into their own backyard.

The imperial court was not ignorant of these situations, but the mountains in Fujian were high and the emperor was far away. Even if the big shots in the court knew that Xu Xinsu was a local tyrant here, they were beyond their reach. It was difficult to take any effective measures to restrain Xu Xinsu.

What's more, Xu Xinsu has an even more difficult backer named Haihan.

Of course, if the imperial court determines that Xu Xinsu has become a huge hidden danger to the stability of the Ming Dynasty, it may indeed take some extreme measures to eliminate the hidden danger, but the possibility of this happening is extremely low, because if there is any mistake in the process, it may lead to

Another large-scale civil war broke out in the Ming Dynasty, which was almost an unacceptable situation for the Ming Dynasty, which had been trying hard to avoid the outbreak of war in the south.

Xu Xinsu took a few deep breaths to calm down as much as possible. Any impulsive decision at this time may affect the life and death of thousands of people in the future. He must clarify the current situation and deal with it.

Only by making correct judgments about the situation can we decide on the next response measures.

Dong Yanyun and a group of close aides were already waiting outside Xu Xinsu's study. Although some of them wanted to give advice, they were not summoned by Xu Xinsu and no one dared to break into his study without permission.

Someone asked Dong Yanyun in a low voice what he thought of the news just sent. Dong Yanyun responded: "Now that the city gate is closed, if the relevant people are still in the city, nothing big will happen to the left and right. The worst thing is that a few more people will die."

That’s all.”

Dong Yanyun's idea is very clear. If Jin Yiwei intends to use the weapons provided by the Spanish to cause chaos in Zhangzhou City, or even assassinate Xu Xinsu or other important figures, then all he needs to do is close the door and remove all Jin Yiwei's people. As for this matter

How to characterize it, and whether to keep it under wraps or use it as an excuse, all depends on Xu Xinsu’s attitude.

Everyone did not wait for long, Xu Xinsu opened the door and let everyone inside to discuss together. After Dong Yanyun and others entered the room and sat down, Xu Xinsu said: "You should already know what happened when you received the notice, I won't

I wasted no time in explaining it slowly. Can anyone tell me where the adults in Zhangzhou City are at this time."

"Prefect Huang has been working in the Yamen since early this morning and has not gone out."

"Chen Tongzhi had a hangover at Hutchison Restaurant with some relatives and friends last night. He went home in the middle of the night and has not gone out today."

"Zhang Tongpan handled official duties at the Yamen in the morning, and hosted a banquet at Dafenglou for two friends who were said to be from his hometown. After the banquet, he went home..."

The whereabouts of almost all high-ranking officials in Zhangzhou City are under surveillance. This is also a security measure that Xu Xinsu has insisted on over the years. However, the local military attachés are not under surveillance. After all, Zhangzhou is a place where the military commanders are from the highest to the highest.

The officers at all levels among the hundreds of households below were basically all Xu Xinsu's people. The officers sent by the imperial court to serve in Fujian could only stay in Fuzhou in the north like other senior officials.

If there are any changes among the local officials in Zhangzhou City after the Jinfa incident, it is very likely that they are related to it. And how many people in the officialdom are involved in this matter will also be one of the important basis for Xu Xinsu to measure the follow-up handling method.

.

After Xu Xinsu listened to the report from her subordinates, she asked impatiently: "Where is Sun Baihu from Jinyiwei?"

"That Sun Baihu... left Zhangzhou City two days ago and his whereabouts are unknown."

Xu Xinsu raised her hand and patted the table and said, "Does it mean that the leader ran away early, and the third child only captured a bunch of minions on the Jinfa?"

Perhaps out of fear of Xu Xinsu, Jinyiwei stationed not many people in Zhangzhou in the past, and there was only one officer, and the two places, one light and one dark, were always under Xu Yuxing's surveillance. This Jinfa

It is a property owned by a certain Jinyiwei commander Qian Shi. It is just a branch in Zhangzhou, and it has been operated very low-key since it opened last year, so no one had regarded it as a hidden danger before.

The Jin Yiwei side may have also believed that Jin Fa Hao's cover-up work was good enough, and they did not expect a sudden search, so that the local Jin Yiwei leader was not in the city when the incident occurred.

Someone responded: "Reporting to your lord, the city is currently searching for the remaining Jin Yiwei. It is expected that all the Jin Yiwei in the city will be captured before nightfall!"

Now that we can't catch the opponent's leader, we can only do the next best thing and try our best to arrest as many Jin Yiwei members as possible in Zhangzhou City. So far, the situation is still under Xu Xinsu's control. As for arresting these Jin Yiwei,

How to deal with the aftermath is actually not a problem at all. If sacrificing these people can prevent the outbreak of war in Fujian, then both the senior officials of Jinyiwei and those who gave orders to Jinyiwei are probably very happy to see these people disappear forever.

Of course, figuring out where the weapons in the Jin Yiwei's hands came from and how they colluded with the Spaniards is also a necessary part of finding out the truth of the matter.

Xu Xinsu suddenly felt a little lucky. If the Haihan people hadn't asked for assistance in the investigation, they might not have been able to discover in time the activities that Jin Yiwei was secretly doing in Zhangzhou City. And maybe when she was careless, Jin Yiwei would use them in the dark.

These weapons are aimed at his own head.

"Temporarily block the news and say to the outside world that we are arresting bandits who have sneaked into the city. In short, we should calm down the people first and don't cause trouble. Interrogate the arrested persons as soon as possible. No matter what method is used, I will receive detailed information before tomorrow morning.

Report!" Xu Xinsu waved her hand and said, "Let everyone else go and do their work first! Mr. Dong will stay here for a moment, I have something to say."

Everyone stood up quickly, bowed deeply to Xu Xinsu, and then filed out of the study. Only Dong Yanyun was left sitting in his seat without moving.

"Mr. Dong, what do you think about this matter?" Xu Xinsu's most trusted aide is Dong Yanyun, and before making major decisions, he often seeks Dong Yanyun's opinion.

Dong Yanyun said: "Do you want the local area in Fujian to continue to maintain the same status quo, or do you want to take this opportunity to do something big?"

Dong Yanyun actually asked a very vague question, but Xu Xinsu had known him for many years, so she could understand what he meant. She hesitated a little before asking again: "Which one do you think is more suitable, sir?"

Dong Yanyun said: "If it's the former, then it's simple. After the interrogation, kill all the insiders, and then issue a silence order to our people, as if this matter never happened. But the key evidence must be kept in hand.

If Jin Yiwei still wants to pursue this matter for some reason, then take it out and make them nervous."

Xu Xinsu nodded noncommittally, and then asked: "What if it's the latter?"

Dong Yanyun glanced at Xu Xinsu, as if to judge his true thoughts from his expression. After a while of silence, Dong Yanyun said: "In my opinion, it is best not to try this."

"What's the reason?"

Dong Yanyun said: "Although your lord's influence in Fujian is unparalleled, we are not ready to completely fall out with the imperial court. Weapons and equipment, food and grass mobilization, and logistics are far from enough to support a battle.

A total war. In addition, we do not have a definite strategy. After the outbreak, we have no corresponding plan whether to go north, west or south, or to what extent we will stop fighting."

Xu Xinsu said in a deep voice: "You can't go to the north and the south, so don't mention it."

To the south and north of Fujian are Guangdong and Zhejiang respectively, but these two places have a large number of industries belonging to Haihan. The Haihan people will definitely not sit back and watch Xu Xinsu let these places fall into war.

Dong Yanyun nodded and continued: "The Haihan people have never advocated Fujian's independence. If we have to go ahead and do it, the Haihan people will probably ask us to give up by cutting off the supply of arms. In addition, they also have armed fleets stationed in

Penghu and Kaohsiung can block the sea access between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou at any time, so it is basically difficult for us to have the capital to bargain with them."

Xu Xinsu snorted, but did not deny Dong Yanyun's statement. Although he had no obsession with starting an army and establishing his own business, sometimes he still felt a little unhappy when he thought of being controlled by Haihan. He discussed the matter with Dong Yanyun.

, in fact, I just want to listen to Dong Yanyun's advice so that I can calm down and give up those unrealistic plans.

Dong Yanyun said: "The Haihan people attach great importance to the smuggling of weapons by the Spaniards. It can be seen that this has caused them a lot of trouble. If you want to gradually become independent in the future, you can invest more resources in the direction of manufacturing ordnance."

Xu Xinsu was touched by Dong Yanyun's words, and he sighed and replied: "I don't understand this truth, but my husband also knows that these are not the things I spend so much money on to buy weapons and various equipment from the Haihan people every year.

We can't make it at all, so part of the money is actually given to the Haihan people so that they can trust us."

Since cooperating with Haihan, Xu Xinsu has been one of the main buyers of Haihan's arms. The funds spent on purchasing arms every year are at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and sometimes even millions of taels. His subordinates

The troops are from land to sea, and the main equipment is almost all from Haihan. Xu Xinsu is certainly not taken advantage of by spending so much money to buy weapons every year. In addition to arming his own troops, there is another reason that both parties know well.

, which is a disguised form of paying protection fees to Haihan.

Xu Xinsu can obtain part of the weapons manufacturing technology provided by Haihan for technology transfer, as well as the military craftsmen trained by Haihan. However, if Fujian wants to develop its own weapons and gradually get rid of purchasing from Haihan, then Haihan will sit back and watch this.

Does this happen? The answer is obviously no.

Of course, this does not mean that Xu Xinsu has completely given up efforts in this direction. In fact, somewhere near Zhangzhou City, there is an ordnance research institute secretly established by Xu Xinsu. For the sake of confidentiality, except for a few people in charge,

Even close aides like Dong Yanyun had no idea about this. The Spanish-style muskets seized by Xu Yuxing on the Jinfa would be sent to the Ordnance Research Institute later for dismantling and research by craftsmen.
Chapter completed!