Chapter 546 Deterrence
The main reason why Qiongzhou Island has been in its current situation in just a few months is the wave of pirate invasion a few months ago. Although Fucheng did not fall, it was surrounded by the pirate army for several days, and the big families here are still frightened. You must know that if the city was broken that day and the vicious pirate army was allowed to invade the city, the rich people in the city would probably be the first to be unlucky.
Although this group of people are not convinced by Haihan's measures to take over Fucheng, and even have some resentment against Haihan due to conflicts of interest, in comparison, the vast majority of people definitely think that the pirates who invaded Qiongzhou Island are more dangerous and terrifying. . As for the local spies who colluded with pirates, it goes without saying that they feel disgust and resentment.
What Qiu Yuan said and the evidence he cited have basically confirmed Zhang Fucheng's charges. Those who had followed him in clamoring for Haihan to revoke the unfair regulations are now silent and have lost all their voices—— Not to mention the rights and wrongs of opposing Haihan's regulations, no one would dare to take the charge of being complicit in the "pirate spies".
Of course, Zhang Fucheng himself felt the change in the atmosphere in the venue very clearly. A moment ago, he was a public opinion leader supported by local businessmen, but in just a short while, the warm atmosphere turned into an ice cellar. Zhang Fucheng didn't even need to look back, he could feel everyone's eyes on his back like sharp knives. Now, of course, he understands that he was severely plotted by the Haihan people, but with both human and material evidence, it is almost impossible for him to clear his grievances.
In a daze, Zhang Fucheng only heard Qiu Yuan's voice continuing: "...Everyone, the case of Zhang Fucheng colluding with pirates and reselling arms is of a very bad nature. After the militia reported it to the Haihan Executive Committee, Tao Donglai The chairman personally ordered the investigation, which lasted nearly three months. The relevant departments dispatched hundreds of people to visit multiple states and counties to investigate, and obtained a large amount of detailed personal and material evidence. The evidence I just listed is only ten of them. No. 2 or 3, I only have four words to comment on this case - Evidence! Confirmed! If you have any questions, you can check the details of this case at the Haihan Department of Justice in Sanya." br>
If some blind person really went to Sanya to inquire about the case with the Ministry of Justice, it would basically be like throwing himself into a trap. The relevant departments have at least a hundred ways to kill a person in Sanya. Therefore, it is actually not that important whether this case has the iron-clad evidence that Qiu Yuan touted.
"Here comes someone!" Qiu Yuan raised his voice and greeted: "Detain this unscrupulous businessman who colluded with pirates and plotted evil! After the replacement official appointed by the Guangdong government arrives, he will be handed over to the parents for interrogation."
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Immediately, four vicious militiamen rushed forward, took out the prepared ropes and began to tie Zhang Fucheng's body. Zhang Fucheng was so frightened that he was weak and had no strength to resist. He just kept shouting injustice. The militiamen who took action had already received orders and did not allow him to continue making noises. They picked up his collar and slapped him with two big mouths, then held his chin, stuffed a ball of rags into his mouth, and then squeaked. Silent. After he was tied up, two militiamen held his armpits with their hands and dragged him out of the venue as if he was being dragged to death.
Seeing everyone in the venue in shock, Qiu Yuan felt indescribably relieved. He smiled and began to finish the drama: "Don't be nervous, everyone. In order to protect the safety of Qiongzhou Island, we have always spared no effort. Here, I can make a promise to everyone: as long as we are here, no pirates will ever attack Qiongzhou Island again.”
However, this passionate speech did not get the cheers that Qiu Yuan expected. Perhaps because they were still in shock, most people still looked dull and failed to keep up with the rhythm he led. Qiu Yuan had no choice but to continue: "As for the investigation and handling of the illegal businessman Zhang Fucheng, please rest assured that our Haihan judicial department will not unjustly accuse a good person, but we will never let a bad person go. The reason why this case is delayed It took so long to be exposed today because according to our investigation, in fact, many local people were involved in the previous pirate invasion, and Fucheng Shipping Company is not the only merchant who has private connections with the pirate gang..."< br>
Qiu Yuan's eyes slowly swept over everyone's faces: "...As far as we know, the pirates not only purchased arms before the war, but also purchased large quantities of medicines, ships, food and other items in advance, and provided these to the pirates There are many people who are suspected of colluding with them and betraying the imperial court!”
Everyone caught by his eyes was shocked. Most of these people's stance is similar to Zhang Fucheng's. They believe that Haihan's arrival has greatly affected their original business development model, and they have always been openly or covertly opposed to the coast. Qiu Yuan's words were undoubtedly a warning to them.
"...For some merchants who do not know the truth and have gone astray, we still adhere to the principle of treating illnesses and saving lives. As long as we find out that their motives are not to assist pirates, we can forget about it." Qiu Yuan's voice continued to echo in the conference room: "But... for those lawless elements who are stubborn and stubborn and still try to fight against the forces of justice, we will definitely crack down and sanction them resolutely! We will confiscate all illegal income on behalf of the government and punish those who commit illegal acts. Personnel arrested and imprisoned! ”
"Okay! What Director Qiu said is so good!" Just next to the chair vacated by Zhang Fucheng, a dark-skinned middle-aged man immediately responded: "We will be guarded by the soldiers of the Haihan Militia. I will wait for you again." There is no need to worry about pirates invading Qiongzhou! Shameless people like Zhang Fucheng who collude with pirates and murder people should be severely punished!”
This guy who jumped out to hug his thigh was one of the people who was shouting the most enthusiastically with Zhang Fucheng just now, but it is obvious that his brain is much better than Zhang Fucheng's. When he saw that the limelight was not right, he immediately changed his mind and started to be loyal to Hai. Han waved the flag and shouted. Of course, Qiu Yuan was amazed at how thick-skinned he was to be able to sort things out so quickly and make up his mind to change roles.
"What Boss Zeng said is absolutely true. If everyone present at the meeting had Boss Zeng's awareness and integrity, our interim management committee wouldn't have to worry so much!" Qiu Yuan saw that this guy had a more upright attitude, so he gave him the go-ahead. An opportunity.
These people here are not fools. Qiu Yuan spoke so clearly and dared to shut up and not express his position. That is almost the same as Zhang Fucheng who was just arrested. At that moment, everyone spoke out to express their support for Haihan, and mercilessly drew a clear line between themselves and Zhang Fucheng and others. Suddenly, the situation suddenly changed, and the cold atmosphere at the beginning of the meeting suddenly disappeared. Everyone was rushing to speak, fearing that they would be too slow to express their opinions and fall behind and be misunderstood by Qiu Yuan. After finally waiting for everyone to express their attitude one by one, Qiu Yuan returned to the speaking position, cleared his throat and said: "Actually, what happened just now was just a small episode. Let's seize the time and talk about serious matters. About Do you have any opinions on the Haikou Port reconstruction and expansion project I mentioned earlier? ”
Now that things have reached this point, what else can you say? The person who just jumped out to express his opinion has now been imprisoned on the charge of "colluding with pirates" and may even lose his head in a while. In addition to agreeing, who else dares to put forward a second opinion at this juncture?
After coming to Fucheng and having so many meetings, Qiu Yuan felt that today was the only meeting that made him feel refreshed. Of course, he also understood that although this method was very effective, it was still a temporary solution rather than a permanent solution. Those who were unwilling to accept Haihan's rule would only hide their resistance deeper and use more subtle methods. I'm afraid it will be even more troublesome to deal with those who secretly cause trouble in the future than it is now. The top priority is to try our best to promote the gradual implementation of the Haihan social system in the local area. As long as a Haihan-style governance system is established locally, it will not be so easy for the remaining feudal forces to make a comeback.
The naturalized cadres currently assigned to the Qiongbei area are far from enough to support the administrative system based on villages. At most, they can only go to counties. As for the local governance of these temporary management agencies, they still have to rely more on the militia troops stationed in various places and rely on force to achieve management. In comparison, they are far from the level of the Qiongnan area.
But after dealing with the group of businessmen in Fucheng, Qiu Yuan was finally able to free up his hands and feet to start the reconstruction and expansion project of Haikou Port north of Fucheng. The design work of this project has been completed by the Ministry of Construction in the first two months. All that needs to be done now is to invest a lot of labor and start the actual project.
The biggest problem in Haikou Port at present is the sedimentation at the mouth of the Nandu River. Under the erosion of the river for many years, a large amount of sediment has been deposited on the channel at the mouth of the sea, making the effectively navigable river surface narrower and narrower, and the channel water depth also getting deeper and deeper. The shallower. In the past, the waters that a boat with a weight of 400 tons could reach were now in danger of being stranded even if a boat half the size entered.
Haihan does not have enough energy to build a new port here now. 20 miles away is the military port area selected by the military, and groundbreaking has just begun there. With the existing engineering capabilities of the Ministry of Construction, it is obvious that there is no way to build two new ports at the same time in this area. Therefore, as the name suggests, the reconstruction and expansion project at Haikou Port is mainly aimed at improving channel conditions, expanding the wharf based on the existing port, and improving cargo handling functions.
In this era, dredging the waterway is undoubtedly a hard job. Basically, we can only rely on manpower to dig out the silt at the bottom of the river little by little and put it on the boat, briefly drain it, and then transport it to the shore for processing. Although the industrial sector has long had the ability to manufacture steam engines, the existing production capacity is not enough to build professional equipment such as dredging ships. Therefore, the dredging work at the mouth of the Nandu River and Haikou Port can only use the latest technology. The original method was carried out bit by bit using human power.
With such a construction method, the progress of the project will undoubtedly be very slow. The Ministry of Construction estimates that the construction period will be as long as half a year. During this period, Haikou Port will implement access control for sailboats and only part of the piers will be opened in turn for ships to dock. The "port entry and exit qualification certification" mentioned by Qiu Yuan at the previous meeting was not completely groundless. It was indeed a supporting project in the port reconstruction project. Of course, it is an unexpected gain that Zhang Fucheng can jump out to commit suicide so consciously.
January 17, 1631, the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Guangzhou.
More than a dozen officials from Guangdong who were candidates for Qiongzhou arrived at the Pearl River Pier with their families. They will take a boat south from here to Qiongzhou Island to perform their duties. Although Wang Zunde, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, did not come from Zhaoqing Mansion to see him off in person, he still sent his most effective subordinate Liu Qian to Guangzhou to practice for these officials who took office in Qiongzhou.
Liu Qian has gained a lot of weight compared to when he first dealt with Haihan two years ago. This may have a lot to do with his gains in the past two years. The various service benefits I got from Haihan alone were worth more than ten thousand taels of gold. Moreover, Haihan specially left a way out for him. As long as he said something, someone would pick him up from Zhaoqing at any time and go to Qiongzhou Island or any place he designated to settle. Precisely because of this guarantee, Liu Qian became more and more unscrupulous in making money.
This time Qiongzhou Island was attacked by pirates. In order to persuade Wang Zunde to allow Haihan to send troops and temporarily take charge of the government affairs in northern Qiongzhou, Liu Qian accepted Haihan's considerable benefits. After that, there were a large number of vacancies in official positions on Qiongzhou Island. There was also an undercurrent in Guangdong's officialdom because of this, and many people planned to take advantage of this opportunity to move up the ranks. Although the appointments to these positions were decided by the imperial court and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, it was the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi who recommended candidates to the imperial court, so many people tried to use this route to achieve their goals.
The person guarding this doorway is Liu Qian. In the past two or three months, the threshold of his home has been lowered several inches, and visitors who want to have connections come to the door almost every night. Of course, these people didn't come to him empty-handed to establish connections, and Liu Qian also reaped a bumper harvest. His income in the past two or three months suddenly exceeded the sum of his previous years.
Although Liu Qian got rich, he did not forget who was his real God of Wealth. If the Haihan people had not made such a big effort on Qiongzhou Island, he would not have had the opportunity to sit at home and collect the money that others brought to his door. Therefore, during this period, he followed all the instructions given to him by Haihan and became Haihan's non-staff employee.
(End of chapter)