Chapter 994 Official Attitude
Luo Shengdong made his fortune by smuggling and transporting salt. In recent years, he has purchased real estate in Sanya, Haikou, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and other places so that he can live there when he works there. These houses are all equipped with housekeepers and servants. Transferring Butler Wang to Guangzhou, and then moving the local Butler Li to Sanya, this is probably the most appropriate way Luo Shengdong can think of. It would be fine for Zhou Hengxing to forget about this matter in the future, but if he wants to come and ask about it again one day, Luo Shengdong has already dealt with it, and at least he can give an explanation.
Luo Shengdong was tired from traveling all the way and was a little tired after dealing with these things. After asking Butler Wang to leave, he looked through the accounts for a while and then he couldn't hold back his sleep. He went back to his room and slept until dawn.
But early in the morning, a messenger came from Fort Victory, asking him to report to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the morning, and Ning Qi would take time to meet with him. Luo Shengdong didn't even bother to eat breakfast now, and quickly asked his servants to boil water, preparing to take a shower and change clothes as soon as possible before going out. Now, no more than a few years ago, it is very difficult for Luo Shengdong to meet the big shots in the Executive Committee. He still has to report the schedule first and wait for the big shots to be free in their schedules. Moreover, the founding of Haihan is about to take place. From now on, these important figures will have the same status as kings, and it will be even more difficult to get the chance to meet them.
Luo Shengdong naturally cherished this opportunity to meet with the big shots of the Executive Committee on official business. Even when he was soaking in the bathtub, he was thinking about how to communicate with Ning Qi later. In addition to official business, he naturally also had some personal plans, and wanted to take this opportunity to get Ning Qi's advice.
Luo Shengdong hurriedly packed up. His servants had already hired a sedan and were waiting outside the door. Luo Shengdong walked to the door and turned his head to see Butler Wang following closely behind him. He thought for a while and said, "Don't follow me today. Just follow my instructions last night and leave here early."
Butler Wang didn't say anything after hearing this. He knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed, and then ordered his two servants to follow Luo Shengdong out.
When Luo Shengdong rushed outside the Ministry of Civil Affairs, it was not yet open for work, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. It would be fine if he came earlier and waited longer. If he came late and made Ning Qi wait for him, it would be a sin.
Luo Shengdong waited outside for more than half an hour, and finally someone came out and told him to come in. Luo Shengdong entered the office and saw Ning Qi writing at the desk, so he didn't dare to say anything and just stood by the door waiting. After waiting for a long time, Ning Qi stopped what he was doing and greeted him: "General Luo is here! Sit down, sit down, why are you standing? Sit down and talk!"
Luo Shengdong responded and sat down on the chair, but he only sat on half of his buttocks. He said humbly: "I came in just now and saw that Chief Ning was busy, so I didn't dare to disturb him."
Ning Qi ordered someone to serve hot tea to Luo Shengdong, and then got to the point: "I have read the secret letter you sent yesterday, and things went well. However, I still need to ask you about some details, so today I will ask you Come and meet me.”
Luo Shengdong said: "This is something that falls within the scope of my duties. You should do your best to complete it."
Ning Qi was quite satisfied with Luo Shengdong's humble attitude. He nodded and asked, "When I went to Zhaoqing to interview Mr. Xiong this time, did he mention the contents of the letter to you?"
Luo Shengdong didn't know what he meant, but he still answered honestly: "Master Xiong said that day that all the masters in Haihan do not want to see another war in Lingnan. This is a good thing, but I still hope that you can be cautious about the establishment of the country. Deal with it and don’t get into trouble with Ming Dynasty and hurt the harmony that has always been there.”
Ning Qi pondered: "How do you understand what Master Xiong means?"
Luo Shengdong responded hurriedly: "I have limited knowledge, how dare I discuss military and state affairs!"
"It doesn't matter, just talk according to your own ideas. It's okay if you are wrong." Ning Qi advised: "You are originally a member of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. You have met Lord Xiong more than once, and you know more about him than we do. , asking you how you feel is also to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. ”
Luo Shengdong saw that Ning Qi's attitude did not seem to be hypocritical, so he replied thoughtfully: "I think what Mr. Xiong meant is that after the founding of Haihan, he would not rush to over-promote it to the outside world, especially the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty. This matter should be slowed down.”
Ning Qi nodded and said: "From Master Xiong's perspective, this matter may make him feel embarrassed."
If Haihan wanted to establish diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he would not be able to hide the occupation of Qiongzhou Island from the court. The Ming Dynasty's foreign policy has always been to fight for every inch of territory - although whether it can be defeated is another matter. However, it is obviously impossible for Ming Dynasty to cut off such a large piece of land without saying a word.
Xiong Wencan, who has lived in Lingnan for a long time, naturally knows Haihan's strength relatively well. He also knows that it is difficult to take back Qiongzhou Island from Haihan by force, let alone prevent Haihan from establishing a country. The only way is to acquiesce in Haihan's actions. But if you don't report it to the court, you can delay it for as long as you want. To be honest, it is impossible to hide this kind of thing from the court, and the news will reach the palace in the capital sooner or later. With Emperor Chongzhen's style of dealing with things, it was unlikely that he would accept foreigners occupying his own land and establishing political power. Once he learned of this, in addition to holding the officials of Guangdong and Guangxi accountable, he would probably try to use force to solve the problem.
This is of course a situation Xiong Wencan doesn’t want to see. Fortunately, Haihan has been operating in Guangdong and Guangxi for many years, and the officialdom has basically penetrated up and down. It is unlikely that Haihan’s occupation of Qiongzhou Island and the founding of the country will be reflected through official channels. If If the official circles of Guangdong and Guangxi can unite as one, there is still a possibility of bringing the matter to a close. After all, the capital is thousands of miles away, so it is difficult to know the specific events that happened on Qiongzhou Island, and it is impossible to investigate local officials based on some unconfirmed folk rumors. If local responsibilities really need to be investigated, officials from the major cities in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions are afraid that many will be accused of beheading. They may be unjust if they kill all of them, but they will definitely miss out if they kill half of them. This kind of pressure is also It will force officials in Guangdong and Guangxi to unite to resist pressure from the court. Of course, Xiong Wencan’s efforts alone are not enough for this matter. Haihan still needs to take the initiative to cooperate. The most important thing is that Haihan should not be too high-profile and take the initiative to send people to the capital to apply for establishing diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty. In that case, even if Xiong Wencan is in Guangdong and Guangxi, Covering the sky with one hand is no match for Haihan's own demon. But Xiong Wencan couldn't speak too clearly in the letter to avoid being exposed, so the letter was full of polite words without much substance. After Ning Qi read the letter, he could only send Luo Shengdong to ask for more information. Fortunately, Luo Shengdong didn't know the content of the letter, otherwise he would probably have felt that the hard work of carefully escorting the secret letter back was not worth it.
Ning Qi continued: "The founding of the country is already on the string and has to be launched. This matter does not need to be discussed again. I don't think Lord Xiong has expressed any objection to this. But the relationship with Daming needs to be considered again. .”
Luo Shengdong was surprised and said: "Chief, you need to think twice about this matter! If the imperial court knows about the situation in the south, I am afraid it will be difficult to do anything good. It will only increase the loss of life, and it is not a good thing for Haihan!"
Although Luo Shengdong no longer cares about his official position in the Ming Dynasty, he does not want to see a war begin between the Ming Dynasty and Haihan. The reason is very simple. Let alone the outbreak of war, even if the two sides announce the breakdown of their relationship, his private salt business will probably It would be difficult to maintain it. When the time comes that he loses his role as a salt merchant, Luo Shengdong is worried about whether he can still find other jobs in Haihan. After all, Haihan's employees are increasingly inclined to use the personnel they have trained, and those who were Ming officials are It will be difficult to gain the trust of the Executive Committee.
An official like Luo Shengdong, who did not have much advanced culture and was not good at leading troops in war, seemed unlikely to have any other good options besides using his official position to run errands for Haihan and become a smuggler. If you lose this private salt business, will you become a human trafficker in Nanyang in the future? Therefore, from a personal standpoint, Luo Shengdong strongly agrees with Xiong Wencan's approach and strives to block the impact of the founding of Haihan among the people as much as possible and not to rise to the level of the imperial court.
Ning Qi said: "Don't be anxious, listen to what I have to say first. Haihan and Ming Dynasty get along well, and we have no idea of invading Ming Dynasty, but as a country, we still hope to be recognized by Ming Dynasty. I also understand Mr. Xiong What are we worried about? But regarding the sovereignty of Qiongzhou Island, I think we can properly resolve it with Ming Dynasty through consultation. I believe that the imperial court will definitely have some demands that Haihan can satisfy in exchange. "< br>
After hearing this, Luo Shengdong didn't quite understand what Ning Qi meant. He actually didn't like the roundabout rhetoric of these officials. Both Xiong Wencan and Ning Qi were like this. They didn't say what they wanted to say directly, but always had to talk in roundabout ways. It was very difficult for him to express it. He didn't dare to make random guesses in this kind of words. If there was any misunderstanding, he would be asking for trouble.
Ning Qi looked at his confused look and knew that what he said was probably not understood by the other party, so he changed the question and asked him: "Do you know the situation in the Ming Dynasty in the past two years?"
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Luo Shengdong responded: "I have never missed an issue of the various newspapers published here in Sanya. I have read them all carefully. In the past two years of the Ming Dynasty... it is true that there were many internal and external troubles, and it was very difficult for the court to deal with them." He In fact, there is still one sentence that he has not said - if Ming Dynasty had not taken care of itself, how could it have been so easy for Haihan to develop in the south without any resistance.
In 1633, peasant armies were wreaking havoc in Hebei, Henan, and Sichuan provinces. Governments and garrisons in various parts of the Ming Dynasty were busy chasing and interdicting these rebels. Many provinces, including Fuguang, mobilized troops to participate in the encirclement and suppression, but the results were not ideal. At the same time, Hou Jin captured Lushun, Ming's last stronghold in Liaodong, outside the Pass. The generals leading troops for Hou Jin were Kong Youde and others who had previously crossed the sea from Denglai and defected to the Northeast.
At the beginning of 1634, the peasant army captured Kuizhou, Sichuan. After being blocked by the army led by Chieftain Qin Liangyu, they fought their way back to Shaanxi through Yangpingguan, a pass between Sichuan and Shaanxi. However, the troops led by Zhang Xianzhong left Wuguan and entered Hannan from Henan and Shangluoxi, and joined the peasant army returning from Sichuan, making the official army's killing operations useless again. In the coming April, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, which have not had rain for more than half a year, are about to experience large-scale famine, and there will be another chaos that the government cannot contain. The increasingly powerful Houjin Army will not be idle during this year. In the second half of the year, it will invade the Xuanfu and Datong areas many times, making Ming Dynasty's military strength in the north even more stretched.
Ming Dynasty did not find a complete solution to the peasant army that was causing trouble at home and the Hou Jin from abroad who were eyeing it. It could only try to find ways to deal with them, and was exhausted. Under such circumstances, the Guangdong officialdom headed by Xiong Wencan dared to try to conceal the current situation of Qiongzhou Island and Haihan, because these officials also knew very well that the court currently had no way to focus too much attention on the south, even if Knowing that Haihan was making some irregular moves here, it was difficult to take effective measures.
Regarding the international and domestic situation faced by the Ming Dynasty, there will be irregular reports in several print media published in Sanya. These press releases are basically from Haihan's database and adapted from historical records. Although the fate of many people in Fuzhou and Guangzhou has changed due to the emergence of Haihan, the impact on the mainland and the north is not obvious. History is still developing along its original trajectory, so these are adapted from historical facts. Press releases can basically score seven or eight points, and their timeliness is much higher than that of the imperial press.
Although Luo Shengdong is not highly educated, he still has some political sensitivity. He has ordered a copy of all the official print media in Sanya. What he pays most attention to is the domestic news of the Ming Dynasty and the various publications launched by Haihan. The New Deal, and Haihan's press releases often commented on the wars that took place in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the perspective was mostly critical, so as to highlight the stability and prosperity under Haihan's rule. Therefore, Luo Shengdong also has a relatively clear understanding of the situation in the Ming Dynasty in the past two years.
Ning Qi nodded and continued: "The current situation in Ming Dynasty is like a house on fire. It is difficult to put out the fire by just relying on your own strength. Someone has to help pass the water basin to put out the fire."< br>
Luo Shengdong came to his senses now: "What Chief Ning means is... Haihan provided... military assistance to Ming Dynasty?"
Ning Qi smiled and responded: "Do you think this is feasible?"
Regarding Haihan's military assistance to the Ming Dynasty, Luo Shengdong is actually no stranger. From Haihan sending troops to Panyu County, Guangzhou to suppress bandits, to later assisting the Fujian military against Shibazhi, the number of times Haihan provided military assistance to the Ming Dynasty The scale has been increasing year by year. And even most of Haihan's existing territory was taken from Ming Dynasty using this high-sounding excuse. I think that when Haihan sent troops into Qiongbei, it was under the slogan of suppressing bandits. Of course, Luo Shengdong still had some idea of the origins of the pirates who suddenly invaded Qiongbei and became overwhelming.
(End of chapter)