Chapter 993 Luo Shengdong’s Family Law
Haihan has developed from a group of unknown overseas visitors to a powerful force that is about to establish a country today. Luo Shengdong, as one of the few outsiders who has experienced it, has witnessed the evolution of this force from scratch, from weak to strong. If the Haihan people hadn't appeared in Yazhou seven years ago, then Luo Shengdong would probably still be working as a soldier in the Yacheng water village and earning a living. At most, he could be promoted to the commander-in-chief, and there would be no need for such wishful thinking as a general-in-command. The step of taking refuge in Haihan indeed fundamentally changed the trajectory of his life. Although his behavior was tantamount to treason for the Ming Dynasty, in this world, who cares about this? In the official circles of Guangdong and Guangxi, there are always a large number of officials queuing up to be recruited by Haihan people. There are countless people who intend to use the energy of Haihan people to get promoted and make a fortune.
In addition to his almost semi-public private salt trafficking business, Luo Shengdong also has another secret mission, which is to act as a spokesperson for Haihan in the official circles of Guangdong and Guangxi. On the one hand, he can open up various joints for Haihan, and on the other hand In the process, he also looked for someone who could be bribed and won over for Haihan. In particular, those local officials with real power who can promote Haihan's trade and immigration are the key targets in Luo Shengdong's eyes. A few years ago, when Luo Shengdong was moving around, he was scolded for his cannibalism, and some people even reported him to Dongchang and Jinyiwei for his intention to rebel. However, in the past two years, they have come to him to ask for help, hoping to cooperate with Haihan. There are more and more people getting involved in guanxi. After all, Haihan today is rich and powerful, and the forerunners who boarded this big ship have become prosperous, which will naturally attract many subsequent followers to flock to him.
Before returning from the mainland this time, Luo Shengdong met with several Guangdong officials one after another. It is worth mentioning that these officials were not military generals, but genuine local officials. Without exception, these people were jealous of the huge benefits hidden in the trade between Haihan and Ming Dynasty, and wanted to get involved and get a share of the profits. If it were other merchants, they might have sent money to their doorsteps long ago, but Haihan is now a big bully in the store, and not everyone is qualified to enter the profit network led by him. Luo Shengdong’s role in this process He is a broker who checks for Haihan.
Luo Shengdong has been working for Haihan for many years. Under the words and deeds of a group of time-travelers, he has a clear understanding of Haihan's employment standards. There are only two types of Ming officials that Haihan is willing to accept. One is like him, Luo Shengdong, who understands current affairs and is willing to surrender to Haihan wholeheartedly; the second is those who come for fame and fortune and are willing to trade power and money with Haihan, or It is through the power of Haihan that he can obtain promotion opportunities in his official career.
Luo Shengdong is a person who has been there, so he naturally knows that the benefits gained by the former are actually more substantial. His task is to find out the wishes of the Haihan people before they personally come to contact him, so as not to waste his boss's expression. Of course, when there are options for retreat, the vast majority of people are still more willing to choose the second method, which can not only retain Ming's official status, but also obtain practical benefits from Haihan. As for a Ming official like Luo Shengdong who completely surrendered to Haihan, he would have no way out if the relationship between the two sides went back and forth in the future.
Before leaving Guangdong, Luo Shengdong made a special trip to Zhaoqing and had a private meeting with Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangdong. Xiong Wencan, who is currently in charge of Lingnan, is actually well aware of these developments in the official circles of Guangdong and Guangxi, but Haihan has become a general trend, and it is difficult for him to come up with effective methods to curb the current development direction of the situation.
In terms of financial resources and force, the governments of Guangdong and Guangxi are no match for Haihan. The only thing that makes Xiong Wencan feel lucky is that Haihan's ambition to expand in the Ming Dynasty seems to have stopped at the Qiongzhou Strait and Fujian Strait for the time being, and there is no sign of intending to set foot on the mainland. As for the ownership of Qiongzhou Island, Xiong Wencan also knew that it was unlikely that Haihan would spit out the meat he had eaten in his mouth. Haihan now wanted to use Qiongzhou Island as the place to establish his country. Xiong Wencan besides pretending to be deaf to this, In fact, there is no better way to deal with it.
The purpose of Xiong Wencan's secret meeting with Luo Shengdong this time was to clarify Haihan's development strategy after the founding of the country, especially his attitude towards the Ming Dynasty. Once Haihan's ambition breaks out, the Guangdong and Guangxi areas close to Qiongzhou Island will definitely bear the brunt of the war. Although Xiong Wencan believes that this situation is unlikely, he has to guard against it. After all, Haihan had launched foreign wars immediately after finishing anniversary celebrations in the past few years.
Regarding this matter, Luo Shengdong had already heard from the Haihan people in Sanya, Guangzhou and other places. It was basically certain that Haihan had no plans to use force against the Ming Dynasty after the founding of the country, so the reassurance given to Xiong Wencan was still very stable. What the Haihan people want are the resources, manpower and markets of Guangdong and Guangxi, but they have not shown any particular interest in occupying this area. Moreover, Luo Shengdong knows that the Haihan people have a special affection for the Ming Dynasty, although their words often reveal Although he has a sense of condescending contempt, he has always maintained close contacts with Daming and actively avoided possible conflicts.
If Haihan had not taken the initiative to maintain such restraint, Luo Shengdong believed that the founding of the country would have been possible when Qiongbei fell into Haihan's control two or three years ago. The reason for such a long delay was probably not due to Haihan's lack of strength, but to allow enough time to deal with the official relationship with the Ming Dynasty and avoid breaking up the relationship with the Ming Dynasty and falling into a state of war at the beginning of the founding of the country.
After getting Luo Shengdong's affirmative answer, Xiong Wencan also wrote a letter and asked him to bring it to the Haihan Executive Committee. From Xiong Wencan's point of view, it is certainly impossible to admit that Haihan's founding of the country is valid, nor will he send people to Sanya to observe the ceremony. However, he must also express the Ming government's attitude towards this matter, so there must be someone whom both parties can trust. To serve as a communication channel, Luo Shengdong played the role of messenger.
Although Luo Shengdong did not know the specific content of Xiong Wencan's letter, he judged from the meeting that the other party had acquiesced in Haihan's founding of the country and did not want to start a war because of it - this was consistent with Haihan's attitude. . By taking this letter back to Sanya and handing it over to the Executive Committee, Luo Shengdong could be considered a meritorious service.
Before returning to Sanya, Luo Shengdong sent a telegram from Guangzhou back to Sanya to inform his family of his return time. The journey south was smooth and smooth, and the voyage calculation was very accurate, but I never thought that my servant almost caused trouble on the dock. As soon as he got the boat, he saw Zhou Hengxing and the helpless butler behind him. He also knew that he couldn't afford to let Zhou Hengxing come to the dock to greet him. There must be some reason for him to be here waiting for him.
Although he didn't know what happened, Luo Shengdong greeted Zhou Hengxing very tactfully: "Chief Zhou, long time no see, how are you doing?"
Zhou Hengxing smiled and said: "General Luo, are you coming back from Guangzhou this time?"
Luo Shengdong responded: "Looking back to the commander, I am lucky enough to have fulfilled my duty when I went to Guangdong on official business. I have now brought back a secret letter and will go to Fort Victory to submit it to the Executive Committee later."
"Oh, since there is something serious, let's go and do it quickly. Your butler has even prepared the sedan for you." Zhou Hengxing pointed to the sedan not far away: "I've been waiting for you here for a long time!"
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When Luo Shengdong heard that Zhou Hengxing's tone was a bit wrong, he didn't dare to answer his words. He glared at the housekeeper and said, "What's going on?"
Steward Wang tremblingly stepped forward and responded: "I booked this sedan today and asked them to wait here. Unexpectedly, these sedan bearers were jealous when they saw others taking jobs, so they wanted to pick up other jobs halfway." Not popular enough, so I scolded them a few words... These words were a bit inappropriate. The chief happened to be passing by here, so there was inevitably some misunderstanding..."
Luo Shengdong didn't wait for the butler to finish what he said, and he bowed deeply and said: "Chief, I am so incompetent in discipline that I am making you laugh!"
With Zhou Hengxing's status, he would naturally not make a small report on a servant on such an occasion. Since Luo Shengdong already knew about this matter, he would not ask any more questions. Whether Luo Shengdong pursues the case or not, and how to deal with it, is Luo Shengdong's family matter. Zhou Hengxing will definitely not waste time on such trivial matters. After Luo Shengdong finished speaking, he just nodded lightly, indicating that the matter could be dismissed.
Luo Shengdong glared at the housekeeper again, then said goodbye to Zhou Hengxing and turned around to get on the sedan. The bearers were so frightened that they didn't dare to say anything, so they quickly got up and left. Butler Wang hurriedly bowed to Zhou Hengxing and trotted after him. The sedan didn't go very far when Luo Shengdong gave an order in the sedan: "Go directly to the train station."
Butler Wang asked for instructions outside the sedan: "Master, why don't you go home first?"
"Go to Fort Victory to do some business first." After Luo Shengdong said this, he became silent. Butler Wang didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly asked the bearer to turn around and go to the train station. It is more than ten miles away from Fort Victory. It would be too slow to go there by sedan, so it is naturally more convenient to take a train.
After getting off the sedan outside the train station, Luo Shengdong ordered: "I've been waiting for a long time. Please pay more for the sedan bearer!"
When several bearers heard this, they thanked him profusely. Butler Wang knew that the matter was probably not settled yet, so he quickly took out the circulation coupons, paid double the price agreed in advance, and then went to the ticket office to buy two seat tickets. All the way to the outside of Victory Fort, Luo Shengdong asked the housekeeper to wait outside. He verified his identity to the guard, and then the staff inside took him in.
This was not Luo Shengdong's first time entering Victory Fort, so he was familiar with these procedures. However, Ning Qi, who was supposed to hand over the matter to him, was in a meeting and had no time to see him for a while, so he only called a secretary to come out and talk to him. contact. Although Luo Shengdong wanted to personally hand over the secret letter from Xiong Wencan, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to Ning Qi in person, he was worried that if he held the letter and refused to hand it over, he would offend Ning Qi's men, so he had to reluctantly take out the letter and give it to the secretary who contacted him, and also He did not forget to seize this opportunity to show his merit: "When I went to Zhaoqing Mansion, I followed the instructions of the Executive Committee, and I carefully concealed my whereabouts and did not let the outside world know."
The secretary nodded and said: "General Luo has worked hard all the way, so go back and rest early. Today's meeting with the chief is expected to take a long time, and there are other schedules later. I'm afraid I won't have time to see you."
Luo Shengdong said hurriedly: "The people I met here at Zhaoqing Mansion have something to say to the chief, and they must be reported in person."
The secretary couldn't see Luo Shengdong's little thoughts, so he advised: "General Luo, you go back and rest first. When the chief's schedule is free, I will naturally notify you to come back."
Luo Shengdong was a little disappointed when he saw that he couldn't talk to the other party, so he had to say goodbye and leave. After leaving the Victory Castle, the king's butler came up to him. Luo Shengdong said angrily: "Go back home!"
Now the two of them took the train from Victory Fort back to Sanya city. Luo Shengdong bought a riverside villa here two years ago. He spent nearly 30,000 yuan on the decoration, furniture and interior. It is considered a wealthy place in this area. It's one of the best in the human area. He spent a lot of money to buy a property here, not just for a facade, but to move his wife and children to settle here. His two sons, one aged five and the other three, have already completed the procedures for enrolling in school here.
Luo Shengdong has already made up his mind to send his two sons to schools run by Haihan people instead of traditional private schools. After Haihan founded the country, he will definitely be more inclined to hire talents he has cultivated in the future, rather than recruiting from Ming Dynasty like now. Even if you just want the next generation to be wealthy people who are not involved in political affairs under Haihan's rule, they must follow Haihan's social system as much as possible and let them get used to the system here from an early age.
After returning home and meeting his wife and children, Luo Shengdong called Butler Wang into the study, and then asked him about what happened at the dock. Butler Wang didn't dare to hide anything, so he could only tell the truth.
After Luo Shengdong heard this, he pondered for a moment before speaking: "You can go pack your personal belongings later..."
Butler Wang fell to his knees before Luo Shengdong could finish his words: "Master, this villain just made a slip of the tongue. He has already confessed to the leader of the week. Master, please don't fire this villain!"
Luo Shengdong said: "Sir, I don't want to fire you. It's actually not a big deal. It's just that you said such inappropriate things in front of the chief. What would the chief think? You must think that I, Luo Shengdong, am like this on weekdays. Arrogant! If I don't deal with you, the boss will inevitably think of you as a patronizer and conniving person in the future. You have been with me for several years, taking care of my family, and you have done nothing but hard work. How can I fire you because of this? ? Get up and talk.”
Butler Wang then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stood up. He originally thought that he would lose his livelihood because of this, but it seemed that his master still had some friendship.
Luo Shengdong said: "But if you continue to stay here, you may make the chief have a bad opinion of me, so you still have to leave. You will leave for Guangzhou today and replace Li Sangui who is guarding the house there. From now on Just stay in Guangzhou and don’t go back to Sanya in the next few years.”
(End of chapter)