Chapter 547 Alternate Official
The Hainan Executive Committee does not intend to completely seal off Hainan Island. While ensuring the right to rule, it will also lose the huge consumer market of the mainland. Moreover, this kind of greedy behavior will definitely make Ming unable to step down. Even if the Ming army in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas is not strong enough to cross the sea to defeat the Haihan militia, it is still a bad idea to enter a state of hostility with the Ming Dynasty for this reason. Therefore, they went through great troubles and arranged an invasion from Annan disguised as pirates. They took the opportunity to cleanse the local opposition forces, and then the Haihan Militia took over the Qiongbei area as a matter of course.
The situation that the Executive Committee hopes to achieve at this stage is the de facto occupation of the entire Hainan Island. As for the nominal ownership, the Executive Committee does not mind allowing the Ming Dynasty to retain its dignity for a while. The local government agencies of the Ming Dynasty can continue to exist on Hainan Island, but from now on they will only exist in form. The executive committee does not intend to return the local governance jurisdiction.
The policy resulting from this line of thinking was to allow the Ming Dynasty to continue to station officials on Qiongzhou Island, and then implement isolated measures against them locally. If you are willing to cooperate, you will definitely have an easier time during your term, and you will probably get a lot of money when you leave. But if you want to come to Hainan Island to cause trouble, the result will probably be the same as the dozens of officials, big and small, who mysteriously disappeared during this pirate attack.
If you don't want to mess up this game, you have to control the details. For example, officials who were once again stationed on Hainan Island by the Ming Dynasty need to be careful and try to eliminate those who have extreme and hostile views on Haihan. Candidates with serious emotions are excluded from the list to try to avoid the negative impact that these people may have after they arrive. As for this check-in work, Haihan did not have the power to directly participate, and he mainly exerted indirect influence through Liu Qian.
Although there were crowds of officials at the Pearl River Pier today, Liu Qian's attention was obviously not focused on them, but he kept looking up to the east. A certain alternate official who was thanking him couldn't help but asked: "Master Liu, are there any other adults coming today?"
Liu Qian responded: "Sir? Hehe, the person who is coming is not a grown-up, but his influence in Qiongzhou, Guangzhou is no worse than that of the adults in the Yamen."
"Such a powerful person, could he be a member of the Jinyi Guards?" the official asked in slight surprise.
Liu Qian glared at him and thought that a guy like this who had never seen the world would dare to go to Qiongzhou Island. If he hadn't seen him pocketing the money so easily, he would have been too lazy to pay attention to him. He snorted and said: "Master Yan, Although you used to be an official in Luoding Prefecture, you don’t know anything about Guangzhou and Qiongzhou, right? If you go to Qiongzhou so deaf and blind, I’m afraid this position will be unstable!”
As a staff member, Liu Qian's words were extremely serious, but after all, he was a popular figure around the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Although the official named Yan was scolded by him a few times, there was no expression of anger on his face. He said with a smile: "I have been in Luoding Prefecture for a long time, and the information is indeed a bit blocked. I would like to ask Mr. Liu for some guidance!"
Liu Qian saw that his attitude was quite upright, so he responded: "The people who have been most popular in Guangzhou and Qiongzhou in the past two or three years are undoubtedly the Haihan people. If you haven't heard of it, I really advise you to get rid of it early. Go back home and don’t go to Qiongzhou Island.”
"I've heard of it. Of course I've heard of the Haihan people. I just didn't expect their influence to be so great. Master Liu, please continue." The official surnamed Yan quickly answered.
Liu Qian's face became a little brighter: "The group of Annan pirates swept across the Qiongzhou Strait a few days ago. The navy stationed on Qiongzhou Island, except for a partial division on the Yazhou side, was completely wiped out, and was unable to protect the sea. Even the sea route from the Pearl River Estuary to Qiongzhou has not been very peaceful in recent months. Now it is up to the Haihan Militia to dispatch their own armed ships to escort the ships coming and going on this channel. The ship went south to take up its post, and I also specially invited the Haihan people to dispatch armed ships to escort the fleet. ”
When Liu Qian said these words, his tone was quite smug. Although many officials in Guangdong's official circles have sat at the same table with Haihan people, had meals and drinks, and have received Haihan's banknotes and provided various conveniences to Haihan people, but the depth of this dealings really matters. , there is indeed nothing in the officialdom that can compare with him Liu Qian - in the past year, those whom Haihan gave gifts to in the official circles of Guangdong were basically guided and paved by Liu Qian, who must be given gifts, who should not be given, and who should be given. How much to give, whether to give money or luxury goods, and through what channels. If Liu Qian didn't contribute to these various matters, the Haihan people would indeed have to take a lot of detours.
Precisely because of Liu Qian's effective performance, when people in the Guangdong officialdom wanted to seek help from Haihan but the conditions were not negotiated well, they would often use Liu Qian's special channel to send messages to the Haihan people. For example, during the most panicked period of time on Hong Kong Island, the Ming Dynasty Navy not only found timber merchants to serve as messengers to express goodwill to the Haihan people in the south of Hong Kong Island, but also later found Liu Qian through various channels and asked him to entrust him He came forward to negotiate terms with the Guangdong Office in Guangdong, hoping to maintain peaceful coexistence between the two parties as much as possible.
Although Liu Qian was a little surprised that the navy actually bowed its head to the Haihan militia, he still went to the Guangdong Office. Of course, a veteran like Maliko would not make any actual promises to him. He would only guarantee that the militia would not take the initiative to attack the warships or personnel of the Ming Navy - and use "passive defense" to destroy them when they really need to fight. It's actually not difficult to capture that small naval force.
The current use of Haihan armed ships to escort civilian fleets was actually only implemented after the chaos in Qiongbei. Haihan's external propaganda was to prevent pirates from attacking civilian ships in this area, so the militiamen dispatched armed ships to escort them. But the actual purpose is to control ships entering and leaving Qiongzhou Island. Every sailing ship joining the fleet will be inspected in advance by the militia in the name of safety, and boarding personnel must also be registered on a per-person basis, basically preventing spies from using this channel. The way to get into Qiongzhou Island.
However, this approach is very popular among the people, because many merchant ships and civilian ships have been looted by pirates in the waters near Qiongzhou before, and some of them have never even seen people or ships again. At that time, due to widespread complaints among the people, Qiongzhou City had to send the local navy to suppress the bandits, but they never returned. Now if Haihan had not sent out armed ships to escort, many maritime merchants in the Pearl River Basin would not even dare to send ships to Qiongzhou.
Haihan, however, kept a low profile on this matter as always, claiming that the reason for dispatching armed ships to escort was "a request from the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi" and gave this benefit to Liu Qian. Therefore, many people in the market believe that the reason why Haihan is willing to go to such trouble to do this is partly because of Liu Qian's face. Since then, more people from all walks of life who want to ask for Haihan have found him. Needless to say, Liu Qian asked for help, and the benefits it brought him needless to say. Of course, this has also affected Liu Qian's reputation from the side. Now the outside world generally believes that he is a representative of the pro-Hai Han faction.
As expected, Lord Yan was also on the road, and he immediately followed his words and praised Liu Qian. Liu Qian was enjoying himself when he caught a glimpse of a black carriage driving up the official road in the distance, with horse guards at the front and rear. He immediately put the teacup on the table, stood up and said, "Here comes, my lord." Coming.”
The group of alternate officials who were waiting under the tea tent also stood up one after another when they saw this. Some people were as confused as Yan and asked around who was coming. At that moment, someone explained: "This carriage with a black background and blue edges is only owned by the Haihan Office in Guangzhou. The one who can travel in this carriage is either Director Ma or Director He." Someone next to him responded: "This must be It’s Director Ma. Director He doesn’t have so many cavalry guards when he travels by carriage, he always travels alone.”
This car and several horses soon arrived at the pier. A group of people waiting here suddenly discovered that these knights were carrying a three-foot-long thick-barreled firecracker slung across their backs. The leading knight tightened the reins and jumped When he dismounted, he saw that he not only had a fire gun on his back, but also had a short fire gun inserted into the holster on both sides of his waist and hips. His eyes were like a hawk scanning over the faces of the people present. Even Liu Qian felt it. A chill ran through him.
After confirming the situation at the scene, the man walked to the carriage and reported in a low voice. Immediately, the door opened from the inside, and a middle-aged man wearing Haihan-style shorts, long trousers and leather shoes got out of the car. He was the representative of Haihan in Guangzhou. Director Ma Like. The head of the bodyguard carrying three long and short guns was He Xi's right-hand man Gong Shiqi. There happened to be no other tasks today, so He Xi sent him and the field team to serve as bodyguards.
Of course, in fact, the measures taken by the bodyguards still have some elements of demonstration. The pier where the official fleet is docked is only a little more than a mile away from the courtyard of the General Office of the People's Republic of China. It can be said that this place still has the influence of the General Office of the People's Republic of China. Within the scope, almost all the laborers on this dock work for Haihan, and no one has ever dared to cause trouble here. Gong Shiqi led the field team on horseback with short-barreled rifles on their backs and rode around in a circle. It was more about showing off their force than performing a bodyguard mission.
"Director Ma, let me wait a little longer!" Liu Qian took the initiative to greet him with a smile on his face. Although his tone was slightly complaining, his expression was as if he was seeing a relative.
"My lords, Mr. Liu, I have troubled you all for waiting for so long!" Malik bowed repeatedly and said, "I'm really sorry. I just couldn't get away to discuss things with the distinguished guests from Fujian, and it was a waste of everyone's time!"
Someone in this group of alternate officials snorted coldly: "I wonder what kind of distinguished guest is this? Can I wait for more than ten imperial officials to blow the wind on this pier for more than half an hour?"
Maliko glanced at the man and secretly noted his appearance. The expression on his face remained unchanged and he said: "My lord Xu Xinsu, the general of the Fujian Army, came to my place to discuss the purchase of new artillery and warships. Does this lord have any thoughts on this?" What objection? ”
The man immediately lost his temper. Although the civil servants of the imperial court were naturally one level higher than the military attachés, the Fujian General Soldier was not a petty official, and not anyone could humiliate him with words. Xu Xinsu has made great achievements in Fujian in recent years. Not only has his maritime trade business grown, but he has also led troops to defeat the "Eighteen Zhi" who were entrenched in Daguang Island. It only took Xu Xinsu two or three years to accumulate military exploits, rising from a naval officer with 2,000 troops under his command to the commander-in-chief of a province, and his reputation was well-known in Guangdong.
Moreover, there are rumors among the people that General Xu has a very deep relationship with Haihan. Every year, a large number of merchant ships travel between Fujian and Sanya, Qiongzhou. The Fujian Navy's combat power has soared in recent years, and almost all of them have been equipped with light and heavy firearms produced by Haihan. There must be strong support from the Haihan people behind this. It is said that the imperial court was very dissatisfied after learning about the corrupt situation of Guangdong's coastal defense. It has already planned to transfer Xu Xinsu, who has outstanding achievements in recent years, to serve in Guangdong to rebuild the coastal defense. If this day comes, then Xu Xinsu will definitely become someone who can't afford to offend these people here. Big shot.
Seeing that the man had shut up obediently, Maliko had no intention of continuing to pursue him. He said loudly: "My lords, I will go to Qiongzhou Island to take up my post this time. It will be a tiring journey. Our Haihan Office has specially prepared some supplies that can This medicine relieves fatigue and invigorates the spirit. Please accept it.”
As soon as Maliko finished speaking, someone took out several wooden boxes from the back of the carriage. Each one was half a foot long and three inches wide, and only about half an inch thick. Immediately, someone was responsible for distributing it to each house, and every official got one.
Liu Qian heard someone in the crowd behind him muttering: "Haihan people are so poor. I thought the director would be more generous when he came here, but he gave me this useless medicine... Oh, this is not a medicine..." ”
Liu Qian just snorted softly in his nose and cursed a country bumpkin secretly in his heart. As soon as he saw the box, he knew that the gift was not simple, because every time someone from the Guangdong Office sent him a banknote, it was packed in a wooden box carved from rosewood. But he didn't know that this time What is the number of shots taken?
But soon, people began to thank Malico one after another, and it seemed that the amount should not be too small. Liu Qian would not be jealous of Maliko for giving money to these alternate officials who went to Qiongzhou Island. He had cooperated with the Haihan people for a long time. He knew the Haihan people's work habits. To put it simply, you can get as much as you do, as long as you do what you should do. When things are done well, Haihan people will naturally present the banknotes with the scent of ink on time and in the right amount.
After a few words of agreement, Maliko said loudly: "I believe all of you adults know that the wind and waves on the sea have not been very calm recently, and there have been pirates in the Qiongzhou Strait. In order for all of you to arrive at Qiongzhou Island safely, Mr. Liu specially arrived half the time in advance. They came to negotiate with me in more than a month and asked us to deploy armed ships to escort the adults’ fleet.”
(End of chapter)