thefictionvixens Chapter 249 Customs is also a means
Chapter 249 Customs is also a means
Fuzhou, temporary coastal defense command center.
The telegram was still warm.
Shen Li, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Young Marshal, are you planning to rip that Southeast Asian ship off according to merchant shipping regulations?"
"Otherwise what?"
Chen Zijun folded the telegram and casually placed it on the corner of the table.
"When warships are marked with lines, they're referring to the muzzle of their cannons. When merchant ships are marked with lines, they're referring to evidence. Since they've changed their disguise, let's not use cannons to dismantle it for them."
Shen Li's lips twitched slightly.
"Understood. It's more dignified to have customs and insurance companies handle things like removing one's disguise."
"right."
Chen Zijun nodded.
"Send another telegram to Xiamen, the customs, the Shanghai insurance company, and the Nanyang Shipowners Association. Tell them that three more guidance buoys will be added to the temporary warning waters along the Fujian coast starting tonight. Anyone who still goes in there shouldn't blame me for saying they're not just lost, they're courting death."
"yes!"
Just as Shen Li was about to turn around, Chen Zijun added another sentence.
"Also, order Zhao Dezhu to keep his underwater reconnaissance under control. Yesterday it was a minesweeper, today it's a South Seas ship. The Japanese are probably going to wash their navy clean this time and try to sneak back into the trade routes."
"I'll go right away."
Off the coast of Xiamen, a temporary warning zone has been established. The night fog has thinned, but the sea appears even more gloomy. The medium-sized cargo ship flying the Nanyang flag continues to incline forward.
It wasn't fast. It was so slow it looked like it had really taken the wrong turn.
But it just so happens to follow the same line the minehunter touched yesterday, sticking to it like a shoe sole deliberately rubbing mud on someone else's doorstep.
Two gunboats kept a distance between it, their lights on, but their cannons never pointed directly at it.
On the outermost layer, the Zhen Dong lay darkly on the sea, with only a few dim lights visible, looking like a silent wolf.
On the deck of the gunboat, an officer, holding a megaphone, addressed the call for the third time:
"Attention, merchant ships ahead!"
"Your vessel is approaching the temporary warning waters off the coast of Fujian! Please immediately report your vessel name, flag, port of destination, cargo manifest number, and nearest port of call!"
The cargo ship's deck was a mess. After a long while, a voice with a Southeast Asian accent shouted back:
"My ship is Fu Shun Pingma! It came from Singapore! It's going to Xiamen to transfer cargo! The night fog is too heavy! It's gone off course!"
The officer on the gunboat sneered and turned to the man beside him, saying, "Heavy fog?"
The junior adjutant beside him whispered, "The moon is out tonight. If he still complains about the fog, he must have eyes in the back of his head."
The officer waved his hand.
"Follow the young marshal's rules."
"Send the second round, copy to customs."
Soon, plaintext messages were sent along the route.
Fujian Customs, several foreign firms and insurance companies in Shanghai, the Nanyang Shipowners Association... even Xiamen Port Authority, Pingma Trading Company and several chambers of commerce received the same message—the temporary coastal warning zone in Fujian has displayed guidance buoys and issued three rounds of clear warning signals. If they continue to graze the line, all parties are requested to keep their own records.
Once that move was made, the flavor immediately changed.
What was originally just a boat skimming the line on the sea has now become an open card that anyone can see and anyone can save.
Fuzhou, temporary coastal defense command center.
Shen Li handed the newly copied reply to Chen Zijun.
"Xiamen Customs replied that the inspection boat had already left port. The insurance companies also replied. All three foreign insurance agencies in Shanghai said that since the Chinese side has clearly recorded the information three times, if the merchant ship tries to circumvent the rules again, the subsequent additional insurance liability will not be borne by the Fujian coastal area."
Chen Zijun smiled after hearing this.
"That's right."
"The Japanese love to bring up international shipping routes. Well then, I'll let the international shipping routes take the blame for them first."
Shen Li nodded and then pulled out another piece of paper.
"The Nanyang Shipowners Association has also replied. They said that Manager Lin Bojun will investigate tonight. If a ship is indeed using the Nanyang flag to scout ahead for someone, they will clean house without the young marshal having to say a word. But if someone else is impersonating someone else, they will not take the blame."
"good."
Chen Zijun placed the telegram on the table.
"Those ship owners in Southeast Asia, don't be fooled by their talk of making money through harmony. If someone actually uses their name to scout out warships, they'll turn on you faster than a bargain hunter haggles over a price."
Underwater, off the coast of Xiamen.
Zhao Dezhu was half-bent over, his ear pressed against the listening tube, his eyes slightly narrowed. The only sound inside the boat was the soft hum of the machinery. After a few breaths, he raised his hand. The recorder beside him immediately stopped writing.
"remember."
Zhao Dezhu kept his voice very low.
"The shortwave rhythm is three long notes followed by one short note, then two long notes followed by a pause, repeated twice. It's about 70-80% similar to the code of that minesweeper wreck from yesterday."
The clerk was taken aback: "Captain, do merchant ships also use military docks?"
Zhao Dezhu sneered.
"A ship can change its flag, but a hand can't change its habits. Radios are like walking. If you want to appear refined, you can't straighten out your limp overnight."
He paused, then said:
"Listen again. If it dares to shake even once more, I'll grab its ears."
On the sea, the Fujian Customs inspection boat has already approached.
This ship was a size smaller than a gunboat, with a grayish-white hull and a customs flag flying on its mast; from a distance, it was almost inconspicuous. But tonight, it caused that Nanyang-flagged cargo ship more trouble than the gunboat.
Because cannons can insult you. But when customs boards a ship, they have to check your cargo manifest.
On the inspection boat, a customs officer with a mustache adjusted his hat and shouted towards the cargo ship's deck:
"Fujian Customs inspection! Report the captain's name! Port of departure! Cargo manifest! Insurance policy! Telegram copy!"
A middle-aged man quickly appeared on the deck. He had a dark face, a shiny nose, and wore a short jacket commonly seen on captains of ships from Southeast Asia. He leaned on the railing, his face full of obsequious smiles.
"Sir, this is really going off track! We're all in business, why ruin things like this!"
The customs officer looked up at him and smiled.
"yaw?"
"Your boat came all the way from the south, and you certainly know how to pick your spots. There's plenty of open sea right there, but you insist on veering off towards the Fujian warning line. What, is there gold in the sea, or are your ancestral graves buried right next to this buoy?"
Several crew members on deck couldn't help but tense up.
The captain was speechless for a moment, and could only continue to force a smile.
"Sir, you jest. My surname is Lin, Lin Ashui. As someone who travels by sea, how could I not be afraid of official rules?"
The customs officer reached out his hand.
"Then bring out the rules. Cargo manifest. Insurance policy. Flight route map."
Lin Ashui hesitated for a moment. In that instant, the smile on the customs officer's face vanished.
"What's wrong?"
"Is it inconvenient to take it?"
"Then I'll have to suspect that what you're carrying on your ship isn't standard cargo, but something else entirely."
Lin Ashui immediately broke out in a sweat.
"Take it! Take it! I'll take it right now!"
Before long, several receipts were handed over.
The customs officer glanced at the package twice before his brow furrowed. The manifest listed fabric, kerosene, dried salted fish, and lifeboats. The insurance policy, however, was only added the day before departure. And the coverage was strange. Ordinary ships sailing to Southeast Asia typically only have sea erosion, collision, and fire insurance. This ship, however, had an extra clause: accidental obstruction of navigation insurance.
The customs officer's eyes turned cold.
This insurance policy name is clearly not designed for business people.
It's as if they were prepared specifically for this purpose, so that they could use it to cause trouble if someone actually tried to stop the boat.
He looked up and said slowly, "Captain Lin, you've bought quite a thorough insurance policy."
Lin Ashui's throat tightened.
"We're on the sea, so it's always better to be careful."
"That's right."
The customs officer folded the insurance policy.
"So I have to be careful now. Get on the boat."
As soon as he finished speaking, several customs officers and two soldiers immediately boarded the ship.
Lin Ashui's expression changed on the spot.
"Sir, this...this isn't in accordance with regulations, is it?"
The customs officer looked back at him as if he were watching something amusing.
"You veered off course all the way to the warning line, and you're still talking to me about the rules?"
"Alright. Let's do it the way we do. You can choose to open the hatch yourself, or I can do it for you. The former is called inspection, the latter is called arrest. You choose."
Lin Ashui's lips trembled, but in the end she didn't dare to argue anymore.
"Open the hatch."