Chapter 998 Preparation
The amount of money Haihan spends every year on wooing Ming officials is definitely an astronomical figure for ordinary people. The Executive Committee has always been relatively loose in budget expenditures in this area, so He Xi is also very generous. I hope that Capture the new Dongchang eunuch in one fell swoop.
But Huo Yue, the chief eunuch from the capital, didn't know whether he was deliberately being sarcastic or he really didn't bother to contact Haihan, so he returned all the money and gifts that He Xi had sent. He Xi thought about it and thought it might be because the other party was from the capital and had a bigger appetite than his predecessor from Nanjing, so he sent an extra portion. He Xi thought that this gift was enough, at least 30% more than what his predecessor had received. However, in the end, it was quietly returned by the other party.
Not only that, the Dongchang stall owner who was responsible for delivering gifts in the middle was scolded by his new boss and told to stay quiet. After He Xi heard the news, she knew that the other party might have some problems with Haihan, so she spent some time to find out the news, and finally learned the reason - when Haihan attacked Liuheng Island in Ningbo, Zhejiang last year , Huo Yue’s godson died in the Haisha Gang’s casino.
It is worth mentioning that Huo Yue's godson was also from Dongchang, but he served in Ningbo. It was not that he was against the Haihan people, but that he happened to be having fun in the Haisha Gang's casino at the right time. As a result, he was so unlucky to encounter Haihan who raided Liuheng Island, and he was unlucky enough to die in a random gunshot. After Haihan later found out his identity, they naturally put the blame on the Haisha Gang. The local government in Ningbo accepted a lot of benefits from Haihan and helped settle the matter. After the news came back to the capital, Huo Yue didn't believe this statement at all. Out of grief and anger, he put the account on Haihan's head - the Haisha Gang had been completely destroyed. He kept this bad luck in his heart and had to do something. Just find a punching bag.
I don't know whether it was a coincidence or the result of Huo Yue's own activities, but he was actually sent to the distant Guangdong to take up a post, giving him the opportunity to confront Haihan head-on. Huo Yue thought that he was in a privileged department like Dongchang, and there was no need to sell Haihan people's face. Although the gift given by He Xi's trustee was valuable, Huo Yue was born in the capital and had seen some people in the world, so naturally he would not Being bribed so easily only gave the Haihan people a hard time.
He Xi found out the whole story, and combined with the other party's performance, he could certainly feel Huo Yue's unfriendly attitude. Since the details of Huo Yue's background were not clear yet, it was difficult to take more radical actions rashly. We could only call together the people who were originally in Zhaoqing for a meeting and deploy more stringent monitoring measures to prevent Huo Yue from taking office. Then he made some moves that were detrimental to Haihan. As a result, He Xi's return to Sanya was delayed by a week, so most of the previous security and defense work in Sanya was directed by Hao Wanqing.
"So dishonest? Then what are you going to do?" Hao Wanqing was not too nervous after hearing He Xi's description. In the past few years, the Ministry of Security has secretly solved many troublesome people. In their eyes, the eunuchs of Dongchang are different from ordinary people. Not much difference.
He Xi smiled and said: "It would be best to solve it with money, but if this guy continues to be stubborn and makes me lose my patience, then the special service team will have to go to Zhaoqing. But we can let this matter go for now. Observe for a while and wait until the celebration is over.”
For Ming officials who are unwilling to accept benefits and compromise with Haihan, the Ministry of Security will evaluate the trouble they may cause to Haihan. If they are deemed to be dangerous to a certain extent, they will try to remove them from their posts. Then push people who are willing to cooperate to take charge. For those who have caused trouble and losses to Haihan, the measures the Ministry of Security will take include, but are not limited to, losing their official positions. He Xi's special service team will carry out several special missions such as assassinations and kidnappings every year. The main targets of such missions are Ming officials who are against Haihan.
Although this method is radical and carries certain risks, the effect is equally significant. When officials who oppose Haihan lose their official positions one after another, or even disappear without explanation or die unexpectedly, people with a normal mind will realize that those who oppose Haihan The risks involved in taking a position are extremely high. On the one hand, they will lose their official position or even lose their lives; on the other hand, they will receive benefits and survive their term smoothly. Most people will still choose a relatively safe path.
Of course, during this period, officials had the idea of deploying troops to arrest the Haihan people in Guangdong and Guangxi, but the news often leaked out before they were implemented, and the consequences were naturally very tragic. Over time, officials of all sizes, including the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, learned the correct way to deal with Haihan - accept the benefits and then provide Haihan with convenience as much as possible. The people of Haihan are profit-oriented but trustworthy. As long as a cooperative relationship is reached, there will not be many things that deliberately embarrass local officials. Even if there are actions that are inconsistent with Ming law, the two parties can at least negotiate and resolve it, and maybe Haihan will do this after the negotiation. Bian can also give more rewards to thank Ming officials for their concessions.
He Xi and Hao Wanqing are both experts at this, so there is no need to explain to each other in detail how to achieve these goals. Although the new head of Dongchang in Zhaoqing Prefecture may cause some trouble for the Security Department, compared with the upcoming founding ceremony in Sanya, these small matters can be put aside and dealt with slowly.
He Xi's return from Zhaoqing was postponed for a week, and He Xi had a backlog of things to deal with. He didn't even have time to go back to his residence to rest. There was a joint working meeting with the police and the military waiting for him to attend. The carriage they were riding in quickly passed by Victory Port Landscape Avenue and went directly to Victory Fort.
At the same time, Tao Donglai was inspecting the preparations for the celebration venue at the mouth of the Tiandu River. The setting of the venue this time was different from previous years. The main venue was not placed in the square outside the gate of Fort Victory, but moved south to Pier 1 of Victory Port, which has rarely been used in Haihan in recent years.
Pier 1 is located in the deepest part of Victory Port, and the ships docked there are the ships that carried the travelers to this time and space, among which the huge New World is the largest. In the past few years, Haihan also held a commendation and medal ceremony on the deck of the New World. However, under the advice of the Ministry of Shipping, these ships have all been sealed. In addition to regular maintenance by technicians, No more idlers waiting to board the ship.
For every outsider who sets foot on the land of Port Victory for the first time, their attention will inevitably be attracted by the tall and majestic hull of the New World anchored deep in the port area, where they can witness the legend with their own eyes. The "Haihan Iron Ship" in "Haihan Iron Ship" can be regarded as a major event that changed their world view for these people. Many people established the concept of "Haihan is omnipotent" in their minds only when they saw the New World.
The venue for Haihan's founding ceremony this time was based on the dock where the New World docked. A large podium was built with a height of two stories and a width of more than 30 meters. At that time, not only the executive committee and leaders of various departments will be on stage, but some invited guests will also be on stage to watch the ceremony. Under the stage is the road through which the parade formation will pass. This 15-meter-wide passage is parallel to the rostrum. On the other side is a public viewing area that is more than a mile long, leading to the port area in the south. , is expected to accommodate at least about 30,000 people.
During this celebration, in addition to the recent large influx of foreigners into Sanya, there were also quite a number of naturalized citizens who already had Haihan household registrations who came from other prefectures and counties on Hainan Island, and even from Guangdong, Fujian, Annan and other places to join in the celebration. This is hilarious. According to estimates from relevant departments, at least 5,000 to 7,000 naturalized citizens will flock to Sanya from other places during the celebration, and at least half of the tens of thousands of local residents will take to the streets to celebrate. . Therefore, in the planning of the main venue of the celebration, the public viewing area and the podium were specially separated by roads, and wooden piles, bamboo fences, etc. were used to divide the viewing area into more than 20 small areas along the direction of the road. Arrange military and police personnel to guide people into the venue to avoid a stampede that is likely to occur when all the people are gathered together.
At present, the basic construction work of the rostrum has been completed, and workers are installing several tweeters on the high scaffolding on both sides of the rostrum so that the leaders can speak during the celebration. These tweeters and related equipment were brought over when I traveled back in time, and they were well maintained. After installing them, I tried to turn them off, and there were no problems at all. This kind of tweeter was used in rural village-to-village projects in the past. Although it is cheap, the quality is very solid and the sound is loud enough. As long as the speaker is raised a little higher and turned on to the maximum power, the speaker can be heard for several miles. Can hear clearly. The person in charge of supervising the work here is Liu Shanxia, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Construction. However, there is really no technical content in building a platform like this, so Liu Shanxia actually has nothing to do on this temporary construction site, and most of the work is not needed at all. When he spoke, his group of foremen who had worked in the Ministry of Construction for several years would naturally arrange things properly. Seeing Tao Dong coming, Liu Shanxia invited him to sit down at the tea table specially set up next to the construction site, and then ordered someone to make tea and serve snacks. This place is about forty or fifty meters away from the construction site, and there is a big umbrella for sun protection, so there is no need to worry about too much dust from the construction site coming here.
"You really enjoy this!" The two had known each other for many years before time travel. Tao Donglai didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Shanxia's arrangement. After sitting down and drinking tea, he joked: "I sent you here to supervise the work. , you seem to be on vacation!”
Liu Shanxia smiled nonchalantly and said: "Boss, you have also seen that this kind of work is not difficult, so there is no need for me to guide them step by step. It will be completed before the sun goes down today, and it will be before the celebration begins. There are still three or four days, there will be no problem at all.”
Tao Donglai pointed to the rostrum and said: "Make the awning above stronger so that it won't leak and lose face."
"Don't worry, these construction teams on the construction site are all led by me personally. They are all skilled workers. They will naturally do everything properly." Liu Shanxia showed full confidence in the abilities of his men. This supervision task actually has more political meaning than practical significance. He was sent here mainly to show the importance that the Ministry of Construction attaches to this project.
After the rostrum and public viewing area are completed, the construction department's task is over, and the remaining venue layout work actually does not require much work. However, before the celebration on April 1st, the parade formation will probably need to rehearse here first in order to discover problems that may arise during the military parade.
Liu Shanxia remembered something at this time and asked Tao Donglai: "After the celebration here, do we have to go to Panyu to start the new city project immediately?"
Tao Donglai shook his head and said: "The project in Panyu is not difficult. There is no need for you to go over and give orders. I have important things for you to handle."
Seeing Tao Donglai's serious face, Liu Shanxia guessed: "Is he going on a business trip too?"
Tao Donglai did not deny his guess and gave the answer directly: "I need you to go to Taiwan and leave after the celebration is over in the past few days."
"Taiwan? What project? Why haven't you heard about it before?" Liu Shanxia asked with a puzzled look on his face. Usually, large off-site projects will be notified to him some time in advance, so as to give him time to check and fill in the gaps in the plan and organize the construction team. And he had not heard of any large-scale project arrangements in Taiwan before. Kaohsiung Port has been under construction, but for building docks, a junior foreman who has been in the Ministry of Construction for two or three years can direct the construction. There is no need for a big shot like him to take action, and this is probably not what Tao Donglai was referring to.
"This project... is actually not the work of our construction department. We are participating in the construction as a collaborative unit. For the specific arrangements, you can find a time to meet with Mr. Bai tomorrow. He will tell you the details." Tao Dong Although Lai answered Liu Shanxia's question, he still didn't seem to say anything.
Seeing that Tao Donglai was so mysterious, Liu Shanxia felt a little guilty in his heart, but he did not continue to ask further questions. Bai Kesi is the head of the industrial department. Obviously, Taiwan's projects are related to industry, but Haihan's heavy industry is almost all concentrated on Hainan Island. Liu Shanxia couldn't think of what industries the industrial department would deploy locally, and he kept it confidential. The work was so rigorous that even I was notified until it was about to happen. It was obviously of extraordinary importance.
However, Liu Shanxia still made a request to Tao Donglai: "Can you arrange a better ship this time? Last time I went to Ambona Island for a business trip, it was really uncomfortable to ride on that troop transport ship. It was boring, bumpy, and the speed was slow. When we got there, half of our lives were gone.”
"Don't worry, a special fleet will go with you this time, and we will arrange an exclusive stateroom for you. I guarantee it won't be as miserable as last time." Tao Donglai immediately gave him a guarantee.
(End of chapter)