Chapter 1166 - Jinjiang County
Qian Shuixie swallowed hard. Millions in gold and silver—even more impressive than the "Flying Henan Man" plan they'd been promoting! He looked greedily at nearby Jinmen Island, as if seeing a small island made of gold.
"Letting Old Zheng swallow this fat piece of meat by himself—just thinking about it is hard to accept." Qian Shuixie touched the pistol under his arm. He had already mixed his special reconnaissance team members among the sailors and used the opportunity of ferrying cargo on small boats to conduct beach reconnaissance of the transit points on Jinmen Island and the Anping shoreline, calibrating tide tables during these days at anchor.
"Soon, soon. It'll all be ours soon."
As they spoke, a sailor came to report: someone had arrived from Jinjiang.
Xu Ke's spirits rose. As soon as the ship had docked, he'd sent someone ashore in disguise to scout out Lin Shimao's situation in Jinjiang County. According to his plan, the first step was to kidnap Lin Shimao.
Once they had the man in custody, he'd have no choice but to talk. Then they'd deliver him along with Li Shun and the rest, complete with confessions and physical evidence, to the Dutch. The Vestreling case would be resolved with the truth laid bare.
"Have him report immediately."
After a while, a man dressed as a local fisherman was brought in from the deck. He was a sailor from the service company whom Xu Ke had brought along—a native of Jinjiang, sent ashore in disguise specifically to case the joint and prepare the way for the special reconnaissance team.
The scout reported that everything was normal in Jinjiang County—Lin Shimao's gambling den was still operating, nothing unusual. The Zheng family—
Xu Ke had originally worried that Lin Shimao might already have been silenced, so hearing everything was normal put his mind at ease. The next step was to personally lead the team into Jinjiang County seat to command the operation on site.
Beyond thoroughly investigating this case, he also planned to conduct a reconnaissance-style staff tour of both the county seat and Anping Town, fully mastering the local situation—after all, this was the primary duty of a naval intelligence officer.
He asked: "Are all the team members ready?"
"All ready. Including me—we're just waiting for your order, and we'll go ashore and pull this job."
"Good. Messenger!"
At Xu Ke's call, a sailor immediately walked in.
"Tell the fleet commander: we depart at first light tomorrow!"
That night, a hidden door quietly opened at the stern of the Big Wave Shipping salt transport vessel. From the door, a rope was lowered, and ten dark figures slid one after another from the ship's stern into the sea.
The last thing lowered was a small floating raft made of bamboo and inflated leather pouches lashed together. Several boxes and leather bags were secured on top.
Xu Ke and Qian Shuixie led eight team members, swimming while pushing the raft, riding the tide toward shore. At their planned landing point, a faint greenish glow flickered—like ghost fire.
Their designated landing spot was a beach about seven or eight li from Anping City, four thousand meters from the salt ship. For special reconnaissance team members who all had to pass a ten-kilometer armed swimming course, this was nothing to speak of—especially since their equipment was all on the raft.
But for Xu Ke, these four kilometers were rather tiring. Qian Shuixie had specifically assigned two team members to help push him along. Even so, they arrived an estimated ten minutes behind schedule.
Two black-clad figures were already waiting on the beach. Xu Ke knew they were intelligence operatives from the External Intelligence Bureau stationed locally, here to assist their operation.
"Heaven punishes eight feet!" the newcomer challenged.
"Return my territory!" Qian Shuixie gave the countersign.
"This way." The contact hurried to guide them. Xu Ke froze—this person spoke not just standard Mandarin, but a voice that sounded very familiar.
This person should be an Elder! But before he could finish the thought, he was swept along in a quick jog by the special reconnaissance team members.
Along the way, the moon was dark and stars sparse, the road nearly invisible. All around, the chirping of insects blended into one. But the guide seemed to know the path by heart, leading them at a brisk walk. After what seemed like twenty minutes of twisting and turning, they suddenly stopped.
"This is it," he whispered.
Xu Ke looked closely. Before them was a compound standing alone in the middle of vegetable fields—what appeared to be a small temple.
The guide gave a rhythmic knock at the gate, and it immediately opened. The group slipped inside.
The courtyard was pitch black, no lights visible. Still led by their guides, they entered a building and descended stairs. Just as they were disoriented in the darkness, a small flame was struck in the room, then the whole space blazed with light. For a moment, Xu Ke's eyes couldn't open. He blinked for some time before he could finally see: standing opposite, welcoming them, was none other than Chen Tianxiong.
Chen Tianxiong had made a name for himself in Leizhou and become an intelligence operative for the Leizhou Station, disguised as a Taoist priest running the Zou Monk Temple. In recent years, as Leizhou had gradually "Lingao-ized," Chen Tianxiong could no longer accomplish much there. He'd applied to return to Lingao, handed the Zou Monk Temple over to the New Taoism, and while helping out at the Machinery Department had also attended the Intelligence Bureau training program—Xu Ke had taken his course on Ming Dynasty social life in Lingao—preparing for a second overseas assignment.
After Operation Engine began, Chen Tianxiong had been dispatched by the External Intelligence Bureau to Quanzhou Prefecture in Fujian Province, specifically to handle work on the Zheng Zhilong front.
Their current location was a disused side hall in the back courtyard. All the windows had been blocked up, and the ceiling was covered with dense wooden slat screens. The walls were lined with cabinets and shelves, stacked with boxes and items.
"Not bad, my little hiding spot, eh?" Chen Tianxiong said with a laugh. "I've prepared hot water—you all wash up first and change clothes!" Already, someone was bringing in bundles of clothing.
The group bathed and changed into local-style casual clothes. Qian Shuixie told the team members to rest, then he and Xu Ke sat with Chen Tianxiong under the kerosene lamp for a secret conference.
(End of Chapter)