Chapter 1102 Reaching an Agreement
When the differences of opinion between the negotiating parties can be quantified in terms of money, it is easier to solve the problem. There is an unwritten rule in the foreign policy of the Haihan Executive Committee, that is, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. In the process of contacting Ming officials, spending money to bribe has always been one of the options.
For a project like organizing immigrants within the Ming Dynasty that requires certain cooperation from local governments, buying off local officials is far more effective than using violent means to solve the problem. If it were not for the firm belief in Zhejiang, it would have to fight Haihan. In principle, die-hard officials will try to resolve problems in a peaceful manner to avoid more trouble in the future. After all, Haihan's development goal at this stage is to recruit immigrants from the Ming Dynasty and expand the scale of trade, rather than conquering cities and territories within the Ming Dynasty. Cooperation with local officials is the main theme.
Of course, the money was not given away in vain. Since Haihan regarded this as a business transaction of a special nature, he would naturally evaluate whether the income could achieve his goals. For example, when buying a local government represented by the local magistrate, Haihan would consider the degree to which the local government can serve him as a bid, and he would also set different standards for this purpose.
For example, if Zhang Pucheng is willing to issue a notice of peace of mind for Haihan's immigration recruitment activities in the name of the county government, he can get a basic offer. If someone is sent to the countryside on behalf of the county government to assist Haihan in publicity, a higher return can be given on this basis. If Zhang Pucheng is willing to personally come forward and publicly support Haihan, the financial rewards he can receive will further increase. To put it simply, how much money Zhang Pucheng can get from Haihan depends on his cooperative attitude and level of contribution.
After listening to Harugong's simple explanation, Zhang Pucheng was even more excited by the grading conditions. If he was willing to cooperate with Haihan without reservation, he could earn an income of three to four thousand taels in a year. , even if he served as magistrate of Fushan County for another ten years, he would not be able to receive such a large amount of salary. Moreover, today's Fushan County is unable to make ends meet and has almost no profit to speak of. Suddenly, a rich man like Haihan comes and makes generous purchases. Zhang Pucheng is really reluctant to let it go.
Seeing Zhang Pucheng's silence, Haru Gong knew that he was still unsure about the matter, so he immediately added another force: "Master Zhang, with my Haihan strength, I can do it on my own without asking for help from the government. This Fukuyama In the county, there should be no other forces except Wanjiajun that can interfere with our actions. We take the initiative to invite Mr. Zhang out of the city to discuss cooperation out of respect for the government. If you think this kind of cooperation is unnecessary, then we will. Don’t force it. In the future, we will not interfere with the river, we will not enter the county seat, and the county government will not hinder our local actions.”
This duck is about to fly! Zhang Pucheng suddenly came back from his thoughts and responded with a smile: "Ha, sir, I didn't say that I couldn't cooperate. You are dedicated to helping the people. As a local parent, I naturally want to support such good deeds. So, I will After the official returned to the city today, he drafted a notice explaining Haihan's measures to relieve the people and posted it at the four gates of the county to reassure people. When he has free time, he will also patrol the countryside and explain this to the people in each village in person. What do you think, Leader Ha?”
"Master Zhang is such a good official who is considerate of the people's sentiments! With Master Zhang presiding over this matter, the local people should be able to solve their survival problems soon." Seeing Zhang Pucheng, Haru Gong finally relaxed and immediately put down a big piece of cake. Stone. Since Zhang Pucheng spoke so beautifully, Harugong also did not hesitate to start a business mutual bragging mode and say a few words to praise the other party.
"Easy to say, easy to say! I just don't know the conditions that Leader Ha mentioned before..." Zhang Pucheng protracted his tone as he spoke, observing Harugong's reaction.
Haru Gong said: "Although the main force of the Wanjia Army has been eliminated by us, there should still be some remnants absconding, so Wanmeng needs to conduct another trial to ensure that the Wanjia Army will not reappear. Let's do this. In three days, we will Bring Wanmeng to the county seat and hand him over to Mr. Zhang.”
"The first culprit must be punished! This beast has been doing evil in Fushan County for many years, and this time it was captured by Chief Ha's men. It can be regarded as good and evil will be rewarded! When I report this matter, I will definitely say a lot of good things for Haihan's righteous deed!" "Zhang Pucheng remembered that he had been coerced by the Wanjia Army in the past few years, and he had been holding back a bad breath in his heart. When the Haihan people handed over Wanmeng in a few days, he would be paraded through the streets inside and outside the county in order to resolve the hatred in his heart. Although Zhang Pucheng was not a spotless and honest official, he was still conscientious and responsible for his jurisdiction. However, due to the situation, he was unable to confront the Wanjia Army head-on. Haihan took the initiative to send troops to eliminate the Wanjia Army. Zhang Pucheng was indeed appreciative and grateful for this matter.
Harugong clapped his hands and shouted loudly: "Come here, bring the gift!"
Several soldiers brought up two wooden boxes, one large and one small. Harugong introduced: "This big box contains some local specialties from Haihan. They are all worthless gadgets. Don't dislike it, Mr. Zhang." !" After that, he opened the box and showed Zhang Pucheng the contents.
There are really a lot of things in this box, including Haihan's most famous mercury glass mirror, glass stationery, ornaments, etc., as well as food such as Sanya special wine, fruit candies, toffee, and daily necessities such as matches and soap. There are even snuffs that have just started to be introduced to the market. They include most of the daily commodities exported by Haihan and basically represent Haihan's current industrial manufacturing level. Harugong took out something and explained its function. Zhang Pucheng was dazzled, and his evaluation of the Haihan people unconsciously improved to a higher level.
Even if Harugong is not good at selling, anyone with a discerning eye will know at a glance that these things are not ordinary, and they will naturally know that what he says is true. Zhang Pucheng thought of the rumors he had heard before that the Haihan people were known for being good at trade. It seemed that they did have some good stuff. Although he didn't know the actual value of these things, Zhang Pucheng could roughly guess that this box of assorted goods was worth a lot of money. He had never even heard of most of the things, not to mention having seen them before. Hearing Harugong say that these things are very popular in the south and are must-have items for the homes of dignitaries, Zhang Pucheng felt that he suddenly turned into a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
Harugong's mouth went dry as he spoke. He grabbed the tea cup on the table and drank a sip. Then he pointed to another smaller box and said, "There is one thousand taels of silver in this. I will pay you again in three months." , Mr. Zhang can count.”
While Zhang Pucheng was polite, he couldn't help opening the box. Twenty-two silver ingots were neatly stacked in the box in two layers. Zhang Pucheng took a deep breath, slowly closed the lid of the box, and said respectfully to Haru: "I would like to thank you on behalf of the local people for your kindness! I also know that your rescue is not in vain, but please be kind." People recruited from the local area.”
Harugong said: "Mr. Zhang, you can rest assured. The area under our Haihan rule has always been peaceful and there is enough food. When these people go to the south, they will definitely live a more stable life than in Dengzhou!"
Zhang Pucheng felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. Although Harugong had no intention of attacking him, this comparison made him easily think of the gap in governance ability between the two parties. He immediately defended: "You are running a farm. I am responsible for governing a county, so there is a difference.”
Harugong smiled and said: "Our Haihan territory in the south is much larger than the two prefectures of Denglai combined. It is more than just one county. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the south under our management." , in terms of the ability to govern local areas, there is indeed a big difference.”
Zhang Pucheng did not quite believe Harugong's "bragging". He believed that although the Haihan people were very rich, how could they replace the role of local officials unless they had already started a rebellion in the south. Zhang Pucheng did not expect that the Haihan he was dealing with was no longer a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, but an independent political power that had become independent this year. Of course, if he had known the news beforehand, he probably wouldn't have agreed to the terms of cooperation so readily. If someone with intentions revealed this, it would be a crime of treason. Even if he was dismissed and lost his official position, it would be a minor offense.
After receiving the benefits now, Zhang Pucheng didn't want to compete with Harugong verbally anymore, so he said a few perfunctory words and took the initiative to say goodbye. Harugong had basically finished talking about the business, so he didn't hold back any more. He asked people to load the two boxes of gifts on the gangster horses captured in yesterday's battle and handed them over to Zhang Pucheng's men.
Zhang Pucheng returned to the city with two boxes of gifts. Harugong was relieved after negotiating the deal. This kind of bargaining with Ming officials was not something he was good at, but now that he and Chen Yixin were the only two people here, someone had to come forward to negotiate with the Fushan County officials. Fortunately, the process went smoothly. Zhang Pucheng was unable to resist Haihan's temptation in the end. After receiving the benefits, he agreed to cooperate, which also saved Haihan a lot of trouble in the future.
Zhang Pucheng was still trustworthy. The next day, he posted a notice of peace of mind outside the city gate, praising the "Haihan Merchant Group" for assisting the government in wiping out the bandit Wanjiajun, and recognizing Haihan's efforts in recruiting immigrants in Fushan County. This is basically an official guarantee for Haihan. People in the slums outside the county who originally had a wait-and-see attitude now chose to join the Haihan people after seeing the official statement. After all, the Haihan people can provide food and protection, which is all done by the local government. Things that can’t be accomplished. As for the notice saying that the operation to annihilate the Wanjia Army was presided over by the government, this kind of scene can be ignored. The defenders in the city have been hiding in the city for the past few days and have never met the Wanjia Army. Of course, people with a discerning eye know what the real situation is. Who is the person who takes action against Wanjiajun?
It took Haihan two days to transport all the captured bandits back to Zhifu Island. During this period, based on Wanmeng's confession, the special operations battalion and the cavalry battalion also conducted a raid in the slums outside the county town, trying to catch Wanjia Army military advisor Pu Xueguang who was still absconding, but this operation came to nothing. Pu Xueguang probably slipped away quietly when the Wanjia Army was defeated. At the Wanjia Army's stronghold outside the city, there were only a few injured who could not leave because of injured legs and feet. The information he knew was extremely limited. It has no value to Haihan.
However, this action once again alarmed the officials in the county. The soldiers guarding the city thought that Haihan was going to attack the city, so they quickly closed the city gate and reported to the county government. When Zhang Pucheng and Huang Qu arrived in a hurry, everything on Haihan's side was almost settled. Zhang Pucheng sent people out of the city to ask questions, and found out that they were arresting the remnants of the Wanjia Army. He couldn't laugh or cry at this farce. However, this cannot be blamed on the Haihan people for not notifying them in advance, because the two sides had not established a stable news channel before. After such a fuss, both sides realized that this matter had to be put on the agenda. Otherwise, the defenders in the county would be there every day. They are all in a state of high mental stress, and sooner or later they will suffer from neurasthenia and cause even greater trouble.
On the tenth day after the Haihan Fleet arrived at Zhifu Island, the command headquarters summarized the current progress. At present, more than 1,100 immigrants have been recruited from the area near Zhifu Island, which can be considered to have achieved some initial results. Considering that there are currently a large number of infrastructure projects on Zhifu Island that need to be completed, except for a small number of helpless orphans, women and children among these immigrants who will be transported back to the south, most of the young and healthy laborers will be temporarily left on Zhifu Island and allocated Go to various construction sites on the island to participate in construction. For places with the most difficult environmental conditions, such as dock construction sites, the more than a thousand prisoners of war captured in Fushan County were naturally used.
Although Haihan did not immediately fulfill his promise to send immigrants to the south, this was not an unacceptable arrangement for the people who took refuge in Haihan. Most of them actually don't want to leave their hometown and go to a completely unfamiliar environment. At least Zhifu Island is still within the territory of Dengzhou Prefecture, and they can adapt to life here. Moreover, the Haihan people have been carrying out extensive construction projects on the island, constantly building residential areas and various semi-permanent infrastructure facilities. This obviously means that they will take root in the local area for a long time. This move also gives the people more confidence.
In addition, the many ships docked in Zhifu Bay also dispelled the public's doubts about Haihan's maritime transport capacity before coming here. Since this huge fleet can transport thousands of people from the south, of course it can also transport thousands of people from here. Immigrants were sent south. As for whether it will be sooner or later, it is actually not a big problem, because there are no more urgent survival and safety issues at the moment, and the leaders of Haihan have also promised to send away all those who voluntarily go to settle in the south before winter comes. Immigrants who have just escaped from the harsh living environment have nothing to be picky about.
(End of chapter)