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Chapter 728 Weaving a Web
However, there is no need to worry about the Chen family. The most important thing at the moment is to help Lin Liang get a loan to buy cannons, so that the two armed cargo ships can be armed as soon as possible and then put them to use.

"Uncle Fang, why do I feel like you are more anxious than I am? Is there something else going on here? If you don't explain clearly, don't blame me for being picky. These two ships are my lifeblood, and I can't afford to make any mistakes!"

Lin Liang was not stupid at all. Even though he was watching the excitement of a bank run and his mind was full of confusion, once his two ships were involved, he immediately became several times smarter and was able to read people's expressions.

"...You don't believe me and are afraid that I will cheat you!" Uncle Fang was speechless. He couldn't organize any reasonable explanation in a hurry, so he had to play the emotional card.

"Even if the eldest brother and the second brother come, if they don't explain clearly, my ship will not let them lift a finger!" At this time, the toughness and fierceness of the sailor are reflected. Just like the sea, they can turn against you at any time.

"Hey, you're such a stubborn ass. It's a good thing you didn't graduate, otherwise you'd be unlucky in the navy. Okay, okay, stop glaring and follow me... Come on, are you afraid that I'll kidnap you? I'll take you back to Moon Harbor on the boat!"

Faced with Lin Liang, who got angry over a disagreement, Uncle Fang had no other options. He turned around a few times, cursing and looking at a small sloop not far away. Then, as if he suddenly had an idea, he pulled and dragged Lin Liang towards the sailboat.

The boat was very ordinary, just a flat-bottomed boat used by Yuegang people to transport goods. Besides Uncle Fang, there was only one boatman on the boat, a thin and small man wearing a big bamboo hat so that his face could not be seen clearly.

"Your name is Lin Liang. You trained in the First Squadron of the Navy Reserve for three years. In your last exam, you scored 35 points in cultural subjects and 18 points in math and geometry, right?"

But just after the boat left the dock and sailed less than a mile, the boatman suddenly spoke. He spoke Cantonese Mandarin, and it was obvious that he was not a local. What he said was even more strange: it was Lin Liang's test scores.

"Who are you and how do you know all this!" Lin Liang was stunned on the spot. His hands involuntarily grabbed the bamboo pole used to support the boat. While staring at the other party, he was ready to stand up to resist and jump into the water to escape.

"Huang Nanping asked me to come to you. You must have seen the ID card of the reserve instructor. Come and see if mine is real."

The boatman slowly raised his right arm and took off his hat, revealing a dark face. He was not very old, perhaps younger than Lin Liang, but his smile was very mature, and the most impressive thing was his big head.

"...It's real." Lin Liang did not take the ID card handed over by the other party. He had indeed seen that thing before. Although the fonts and patterns on it were different, the material and feel were exactly the same.

At this time, Lin Liang was already relieved. He had never done anything illegal, so he was not afraid of the Navy's investigation. Moreover, the other party mentioned Huang Nanping. If he was really an official in the Navy, it might be a good thing, such as special admission.

"It doesn't matter who I am, and you don't need to know too much. I just want to ask if you are willing to serve the Ming Dynasty and also serve His Majesty the Emperor." The boatman grinned, but there was no warmth in his smile, which made him look more mysterious and creepy.

"...Are you going to the navy?" Lin Liang resisted the urge to jump off the ship and escape, took a deep breath and asked back. If there were more officers like this in the navy, he would not go. He would not be able to eat or sleep well after looking at such faces all day. "It's similar to the navy, but it doesn't belong to the navy. You all work for the Ming Dynasty and His Majesty the Emperor. There are certain dangers, but it's also quite interesting. If you are willing, your future job is to be the eyes of the navy, to find out the enemy's situation before they fight, so as to reduce the casualties of the navy.

If you agree, you can never withdraw from it voluntarily except by death. And you must keep it a secret from everyone, including your brothers and your wife.

Don't be afraid. In fact, you will still be sailing around to transport goods and do business for a long time. Just write down what you see and hear regularly and give it to him. Think slowly. There is still time before you reach Yuegang. Don't make a hasty decision. This concerns your whole life. "

The boatman finally put away his smile and quietly explained the future work and the unique requirements. Then he put on his bamboo hat, patted Lin Liang on the shoulder, walked to the mast, pulled up the full sail, and skillfully controlled the boat to speed up.

Small body, big head, and an officer's ID card, these features all point to one person, a centurion in the Statistics Department, a loyal and martial lieutenant, Wang Datou, with serial number Zhu Sanshiliu.

If Wang Datou has any shortcomings, it is definitely not his work ability, IQ, background or fighting ability, but his appearance. When doing intelligence work, it is a taboo to have too obvious appearance features.

That's right, the boatman who found Lin Liang through Uncle Fang and wanted to develop him into a subordinate was Wang Datou. The reason why he appeared in Zhangzhou was not just for Lin Liang, but also to do some other things.

This time, the Sun Moon Bank was subjected to a premeditated run. On the surface, it was a private commercial act, and the imperial court did not intervene. But in fact, it was still a clash between the old and new forces, but the political struggle extended to the economic field.

Under the emperor's secret order, the Statistics Department launched a focused investigation into this financial war more than two months ago. Although Wang Datou's team was not transferred back, they also had to fully cooperate with Sun Moon Bank to win this invisible war.

Since Wang Datou was promoted to trial 100 and fully responsible for the intelligence work in Southeast Asia, he has been weaving a web like a big spider, using Manila and Da Nang as bases to infiltrate surrounding countries and regions.

But he only had more than 20 members of the Statistics Department, which was not enough. It was useless to complain to the emperor and ask for more people. The Statistics Department was a secret department with very high requirements for personnel. It was not possible to just find a graduate from the Haihu Department, and it was impossible to recruit from outside.

What to do? Wang Datou had a plan. He imitated the way he hired the Alfonso before, using money and benefits to open the way and develop downlines among the Ming Dynasty merchants doing business in Nanyang and the Chinese merchants who lived in Nanyang.

After feeling that the effect was good, they then turned their attention to foreign peoples, such as the natives of Annam and Luzon, and even the Portuguese and Dutch in Macau, Malacca and Batavia.

After more than two years, the official establishment of the Statistics Bureau's Nanyang Team was still only 26 people, but the number of intelligence agents it controlled was as high as 80, and the coverage was very wide, including merchants, sailors, clan leaders, soldiers, and even family members of Dutch officials in Batavia.

(End of this chapter)