Chapter 550 Alternate Official
When Liu Qian was in a dilemma, the official fleet departing from the Pearl River Pier was going down the river. The first stop of this fleet carrying more than ten officials who were going to take office was Lijiazhuang Wharf in Panyu County, Guangzhou Prefecture. According to the arrangement of the Haihan Office in Guangdong, the fleet will meet up with the Haihan armed ships coming to escort in Lijiazhuang, and then continue its journey south.
For the vast majority of passengers in this fleet, Haihan's surface armed forces are only known by name and have not seen the real thing with their own eyes. Everyone knows that Haihan's warships are as capable of fighting as their militia, and can even deal with enemies that the Ming Dynasty navy has no choice about. However, how powerful the Haihan people's weapons are, few people know. .
There is more than 80 miles of waterway from Zhujiang Pier to Lijiazhuang Pier. It will take at least half a day to get there by going down the river. If you are delayed on the way, you may have to rest locally for one night. You will be on the boat along the way. While there was nothing to do, someone began to discuss how much armed force Haihan had in his hands.
Yan Mingjun is one of these curious people. He was originally a Fujian Juren during the Tianqi period. It took him nearly ten years to go from Qipin County Magistrate to Luoding Prefecture's prefecture magistrate. This speed of promotion is considered to be above average in the officialdom, although it is not as good as those with high rankings. Although he is a colleague of similar status and background, there are not many people of his age who can compare with him. He was born in the 26th year of Wanli, and he is only in his early thirties now. Many people at this age are still hanging around in the seventh rank position, but he is already a Tongzhi of Zhili Prefecture.
However, Luoding Prefecture has both good and bad aspects. In the fifth year of Wanli Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Longshui County was promoted to Zhili Prefecture. The place was small and had no economic foundation, so it was difficult for the current officials to achieve any outstanding political achievements. But because this is Zhili Prefecture, the official rank for the same position is half a level higher. A fifth-grade magistrate in Luoding Prefecture is a full fifth-grade official. Yan Mingjun was just a deputy and stayed in Luoding Prefecture for two years. At first, he wanted to finish his term slowly and wait for the opportunity to be promoted step by step. However, fate is so strange. He didn't have much ambition for an official career, but the opportunity came. It just happened that he appeared in front of him - after the pirate attack on Qiongzhou Island, a large number of official positions were vacated, and his qualifications were just enough to meet the threshold of alternate officials.
After hearing the news, Yan Mingjun became excited. If he could seize this opportunity, it would not be impossible for him to be promoted. Even if it was a transfer at the same level, at least this transfer would correct his position. Now - the deputy position in Zhili Prefecture, it would be a matter of course for him to take up the full-time position in other states.
As for Qiongzhou Island being relatively remote, that is not a big problem in Yan Mingjun's opinion. After a few years of tenure, can't he be transferred back to the mainland to serve? Besides, Qiongzhou Island is a place where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. It will not be under the jurisdiction of Zhaoqing Prefecture like Luoding Prefecture. Yan Mingjun believes that he can also have the opportunity to truly display his governing talents and accumulate some political capital for his future promotion.
Of course, regarding the Haihan people who have emerged on Qiongzhou Island in recent years, Yan Mingjun is not as ignorant as he showed in front of Liu Qian. You must know that although there is no special office set up by Haihan in Luoding Prefecture, there are quite a lot of Haihan products in the local market, and large merchants such as "Furuifeng" and "Golden Shield" cooperate closely with Haihan , also has business operations within the jurisdiction of Luoding Prefecture. These merchants who rely on Haihan will not only do business in Luoding Prefecture, but also spread Haihan culture in various ways. Even though Yan Mingjun has stayed in Luoding Prefecture in recent years and has never been out, he generally knows some rumors about Haihan people.
It is a common consensus among the people that the Haihan people are rich, powerful, smart and courageous. However, from the standpoint of a court official like Yan Mingjun, he would have to add the evaluation of "restless" to the Haihan people.
When Haihan first extended his tentacles into Luoding Prefecture, he was also resisted by the local business community. However, those who opposed Haihan often couldn't hold on for too long. Either they were defeated in the face of the overwhelming money offensive, or they were defeated. Just die inexplicably or disappear without a trace. Although the government also understands that these things are probably related to the Haihan people, they often have no real evidence and cannot attribute the crimes to specific targets.
Of course, Haihan and their agents are not fools. They usually deal with the government in advance. Yan Mingjun himself has received money many times, so he naturally turns a blind eye to such things. I will rarely ask seriously. Regarding these conflicts of interests among the people, the government's attitude is naturally that it is better to do less than to do more. If you can still get money for doing less, why not do it?
After the chaos on Qiongzhou Island, the Haihan Militia temporarily took over the government affairs and defense arrangements in Qiongbei. Yan Mingjun also heard about it early. He never thought that the Haihan people would control the management of these areas. Instead, he believed that since the Haihan militia was stationed, the security of these places should be better protected in the future. After many twists and turns, he also took Liu Qian's route, and then spent nearly three thousand taels of silver to open up the joints - which was almost all of his personal savings.
After Liu Qian collected the money, he sent someone to reply to him half a month later, saying that the matter had been completed and he just needed to wait patiently for the official order. Yan Mingjun waited and waited, hoping finally to receive the official document transferring him to Qiongzhou Prefecture to serve as the governor of Danzhou. It took him a few days to pack his luggage, take his wife, children, and a few servants, and rush eastward from Luodingzhou to Guangzhou. He stayed in Guangzhou for two days, and yesterday he delivered his luggage to the "Fu Ruifeng" he had entrusted to him. On a merchant ship for hire.
In fact, the real ownership of this ship is the Haihan Shipping Department, but to the outside world, it still borrows the name of a private shipping company to operate shipping. After "Furuifeng" reported the situation to the Guangdong Office, Malik specially arranged a ship for this company, and the price was far more favorable than the same-class sea-going ships on the market.
This 400-year-old sea-going ship had enough cabins, so Yan Mingjun also invited another alternate official to go with the ship. This man's name is Li Jin. He is a fellow Fujianese like Yan Mingjun, but he is a military attache. He previously served as a thousand households in Nanxiang, Luoding Prefecture, and this time he also went to Danzhou to take over the position of local general.
When they were officials in Luodingzhou, they had some friendship because of their fellow villagers. This time they went to Qiongzhou Island to take office together, so they simply took the same boat. Li Jin was one year older than Yan Mingjun, but his wife died of illness early in his life and he never remarried, and he had no children, so he felt comfortable being alone. This time he went to Qiongzhou Island with four soldiers and one servant from his hometown, and occupied the ship. The two cabins will not make the living conditions on the ship crowded.
After the fleet left the Pearl River Pier, Yan Mingjun ordered people to boil water and make tea. Then he and Li Jin sat on the deck, drinking tea and chatting while watching the river scenery along the way.
"Brother Li can stand out from many competitors this time. It's really gratifying!" Yan Mingjun said: "It is said that there are only two places for participating generals this time, and Brother Li won one of them without saying a word. , I really admire Yan.”
Li Jin waved his hands and said: "Brother, you and I are not outsiders, and Li has nothing to hide from you. What's so gratifying about this and that? It's not just money that clears the way, and we use money to do things! To tell you the truth, for this participation My family has already sold out the position of general. If I can’t get it, I’ll have to live in ruins for the next year!”
Yan Mingjun asked: "The position of a military general shouldn't be too expensive, right?" Li Jin glared and said: "It's almost four thousand taels of silver, and it's not expensive! How much money can I get for a thousand households a month? Put on this All my savings since my death were basically poured into it this time!”
"It's such a high price!" Yan Mingjun was also shocked by what Li Jin said. If what he said is true, then Li Jin's purchase of the position of general was actually more expensive than the price he paid for the position of governor. This is obviously unreasonable.
Yan Mingjun shook his head and said: "Either you didn't find the right person, or the person you found tricked you! The price... is really a bit high!"
Li Jin disagreed and said: "High? The price may be higher than that of a civil servant. But the problem is that there is no other way to get the official position this time. Only Master Liu can operate it. Whatever he says is what it is. , no counter-offer, just a few thousand taels of silver to buy peace of mind!”
"Ah...it turns out that you were also organized by Master Liu." Only then did Yan Mingjun realize that Li Jin's path was the same as his own, but he still couldn't understand the price: "But why is the price for military attaches higher than that for civil servants?" ? This is inconsistent with common sense! ”
"The situation on Qiongzhou Island is quite special." Li Jin explained: "I specifically asked someone for advice on this matter. The garrison on Qiongzhou Island receives tribute from the Haihan people every year, which is called 'office funds'. This amount is paid monthly. Or they can be paid on an annual basis, which is said to be more than the amount of salary paid. Positions such as generals can also be paid for two to three thousand taels per year. Moreover, the Haihan people will also arrange some ways to make money for the local garrison, such as reselling the Haihan Institute. The production of glassware, refined salt and other things is also very profitable. All the officers who have been transferred back from Qiongzhou Island in the past two years are not very fat. They all say that the Haihan people are generous. , I don’t know how lucrative this is. If I hadn’t acted decisively and quickly this time, this position would probably have been taken by someone else.”
"I see..." This is indeed the first time Yan Mingjun has heard that something like this happened on Qiongzhou Island. These Haihan people are so willing to spend money on Qiongzhou Island, and they don't know what kind of situation they have turned the place into. Anyone who has been to Yazhou in the past two years is full of praise for Haihan's local business operations when they come back. It seems that the money of the Haihan people has indeed enriched the entire civil and military officials of Qiongzhou Island.
Li Jin continued: "Not only that, a fellow man from Fujian came to Luoding Prefecture to find me a few days ago. According to him, the General Soldier in Fujian sends at least a group of officers every year to learn various advanced tactics and weapons from the Haihan people. Operation skills are used to deal with the pirates entrenched in Penghu and Dajuan. Moreover, Haihan also sent people to Fujian to help them train the army. The troops stationed in Guangdong and Guangxi are relatively slow and know nothing about cashiers. "
Yan Mingjun smiled and said: "Brother Li, aren't you also planning to go to Qiongzhou Island to collect money?"
Li Jin sighed: "Of course I have to collect money, but I really want to see what kind of skills these Haihan people have, so that the Fujian general soldiers can ask them for help."
"It's not just the Fujian generals!" At this point, Yan Mingjun also remembered some rumors he had heard: "I heard that in the Annan civil war two years ago, it was the Haihan people who sent their militia across the sea to join the war to help the people in the north. The small court put down the civil strife. According to the merchants who returned from Annan, Hoi An, the largest port in the south of Annan, and Hue, the most powerful city, were both defeated by the Haihan militia. The combat strength of this Han militia should be on par with our Ming army.”
Li Jin shook his head and said, "I'm not saying it's frustrating, but the combat power of the Haihan Militia is probably still higher than that of our army. I heard that 70% of the Haihan Militia are musketeers and artillery, and there are a lot of shield soldiers and spearmen. There are few, which shows that the firearms are far more reliable than those used by our army. I heard that the governor bought a batch of artillery from Haihan six months ago. After the test firing, he was very happy and immediately ordered them to be shipped to the north of Foshan. Cannons are made every year, but I have never heard that the cannons made in any year can make the governor so excited."
"If I, the Ming Dynasty, can acquire this Haihan art of forging cannons..." Yan Mingjun shook his head mid-sentence: "The Haihan people are so shrewd in business, and they will definitely not sell such secret skills to my Ming Dynasty. If they sell it, Secret skill, how will they sell cannons to the Ming Dynasty’s army in the future?”
"The Haihan people know how to make artillery and muskets, and they also know how to train soldiers. The most important thing is that they are also good at making money. If these people can't think of rebelling that day, it will be a big trouble!" Li Jin frowned. : "After I go to Danzhou, if I can find out the shortcomings of the Haihan Militia, I must report it to the court to prevent changes in the future."
Yan Mingjun responded: "Brother Li is loyal and loyal, and I admire him! But Danzhou is now under the control of the Haihan people, so Brother Li still needs to be more careful. The Haihan people are not honest people, they are very courageous. ! ”
"Thank you for reminding me, brother." Li Jin added: "I heard from the Haihan man named Ma earlier that they specially sent warships to escort this time south. Do you really think that our Ming Navy has no one? Master Liu doesn't know what to do. It was arranged, how could we find someone from Haihan to do this?”
"Brother Li doesn't know. Although there is a navy stationed at the Pearl River Estuary, its combat power is far inferior to that of the Haihan people. After the accident of the navy in Qiongzhou, the Guangdong navy has not dared to go south to operate near the Qiongzhou Strait recently. Master Liu has no choice. , and then contacted the Haihan people." Yan Mingjun had asked Liu Qian specifically about this before, so he knew the whole story relatively well.
(End of chapter)