Chapter 1168 Marriage for the Country
Of course, Ma Dongqiang didn't really expect his daughter to learn from Haihan how to become an official and make a fortune. He just wanted to create a reason for the two to meet more. He believed that his daughter Ma Yuling was definitely one of the best among women of her age in the country, both in terms of looks and knowledge. Chen Yixin's rapid change of attitude after meeting his daughter seemed to confirm his view. . Strike while the iron is hot at this time will definitely greatly improve the success of this marriage.
Chen Yixin did not deliberately oppose Ma Dongqiang's proposal. The personnel control in the mining camp was far less strict than that at the Zhifu Island base. If Ma Yuling wanted to come and walk around from time to time, it would not cause any bad effects. As for the "class" mentioned by Ma Dongqiang, Chen Yixin is really interested in finding an opportunity to improve Miss Ma's cultural level, at least in terms of common sense, so that she can be close to the average level of Haihan citizens, otherwise the two of them will continue to work together in the future. The language is difficult to find a few sentences.
However, not everyone is as entangled in cross-border marriages as Chen Yixin, who goes in a big circle and returns to the starting point. For example, Shi Diwen, a naval admiral on duty in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, will hold a wedding in the near future to marry Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo. niece.
Although there were precedents of marriages between members of the Time Travel Group and Ming Dynasty officials before, most of them stayed at relatively low-level official positions and their influence was relatively limited. This marriage at the prefect level is truly the first in history. Although Shi Diwen was only married to the niece of Magistrate Qu rather than his own daughter, and after marrying into the family, she was not a eldest son but a concubine, but its political significance cannot be ignored.
It was after Wang Tom received the telegram from Zhoushan after leading the fleet to leave Zhifu Island that he learned that Shi Diwen had quietly caused such a big thing in Zhejiang. Although I don't know how Shi Diwen did it, I can't help but admire his means and courage. With this relationship, it will undoubtedly be much easier for Haihan to take action in Zhejiang in the future, and the Executive Committee will inevitably extend Shi Diwen's stay in Zhejiang to make full use of the ready-made relationship he has.
The wedding date set for Shi Diwen's marriage was just in time for Wang Tom to rush back from Shandong to attend, so he didn't stop on the way south and went straight from Jiaodong Peninsula to Zhoushan Dinghai Port.
The day the northbound fleet arrived in Zhoushan happened to be the New Year's Eve of the Haihan calendar. Although it was far away from Sanya, the Zhoushan Management Committee still organized a celebration. The pier was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, making it very lively. Shi Diwen arrived at the dock early to welcome the return of the fleet heading north. When the two met again after five months, there was a lot of sadness.
Shi Diwen had already set up a banquet in advance to welcome Tom Wang and his party. During the dinner, Tom Wang found an opportunity and asked Shi Diwen about the origin of this cross-border marriage: "I have only been away for a few months, and you have already captured the little girl from the prefect's family. You are so quick! Hurry up! Tell me, how does this work? I will try it out if I have a chance another day!”
Shi Diwen smiled bitterly and said: "It's not as good as you think! I am called a great knight, and I want to marry for the country! Do you think I want it?"
Tom Wang frowned and said, "How do you say this?"
Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "It's not convenient to talk now. I'll tell you slowly after the table is over."
Accompanying the scene were senior military officers from both sides and cadres from various local departments in Zhoushan, as well as several Zhejiang businessmen who were trading at Dinghai Port. It was indeed a crowded place and it was not appropriate to discuss private secrets in such a public place.
After the banquet was over, Shi Diwen took Tom Wang to his office, served hot tea, and ordered him to temporarily stop receiving guests. Only then did he tell Shi Diwen the reason.
"This guy Qu Yutong has a very deep mind." Shi Diwen took a sip of tea and said slowly: "On the one hand, he wants to use our power to make money and consolidate his position in Zhejiang officialdom. On the other hand, he wants to He has been wary of us, fearing that we would suddenly launch a sneak attack on Ningbo and cause him to lose his official position. After you led the fleet north, Qu Yutong panicked. He thought we were giving up Zhoushan. I left the place and explained to him that we were going to open a new port in the north. He also thought that we might be invading Shandong, but our various activities in Zhejiang could not bypass Ningbo, so we later asked him what he wanted to do. It was a good proposal to build mutual trust, but this guy actually proposed marriage... Hehe, it’s a good idea to tie his future to us!”
Tom Wang also spent some time in Zhejiang before going north, and he also had a certain understanding of the local social environment. After listening to what he said, he could already figure out the general situation.
Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, is undoubtedly an opportunist. When Haihan was stationed in Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang, he first wiped out almost all the local civilian armed forces, fully demonstrating his war strength. Therefore, the people in Zhejiang officialdom who were strongly hostile to Haihan were almost all from Hangzhou Prefecture, which was four hundred miles away from Zhoushan. However, few people in Ningbo Prefecture, which was just around the corner, dared to openly oppose Haihan. After receiving various benefits from Haihan, Qu Yutong acquiesced to Haihan's various actions in Zhoushan without any hesitation, and later cooperated with Haihan to provide him with business and immigration from inland Zhejiang. resource.
However, Haihan suddenly took action in June and pulled out three nails in Hangzhou city: Yu Pingfeng, Guo Zheng, and Liao Xun, which caused a lot of turmoil in Zhejiang official circles. Although there is no real evidence linking the disappearance of these three people to Haihan, anyone with a discerning eye knows that these three people are the leading anti-Haihan figures in Zhejiang official circles. To say that the disappearance of the three people has nothing to do with Haihan, I am afraid. Not many people can believe it.
After the incident spread, Qu Yutong naturally tried to inquire about the relevant information from Haihan. However, this was a top-secret operation that could not be disclosed to the outside world. Everyone familiar with the matter kept it secret and unanimously and firmly denied that it was related to it. However, such a pale excuse has no evidence, and it is difficult for Qu Yutong to completely dispel his doubts about Haihan. Just when he was suspicious, the Haihan Fleet set sail from Zhoushan Port to the north. This huge fleet of hundreds of ships would inevitably cause misunderstandings in Qu Yutong.
In fact, the development of the situation up to this time was still within Haihan's expectation. Haihan also planned to use more practical benefits to stabilize the hearts of the Ningbo officialdom. However, Qu Yutong expressed at this juncture that he would draw a clear line with Haihan and would restrict Haihan's various activities in Ningbo Prefecture.
Although he knew that the other party's attitude might just be a way of bargaining and retreat, in order not to hinder the overall situation, Shi Diwen still took the initiative to tell Qu Yutong that "everything is negotiable." So Qu Yutong proposed a seemingly radical plan, that is, the two parties would consolidate the existing cooperative relationship through family marriage.
This plan is actually very similar to what Chen Yixin encountered in Dengzhou. The difference is that the opponent Chen Yixin encountered was a local tycoon, while the one Shi Diwen faced was a court official of the Ming Dynasty, a dignified fourth-rank local official. The political significance of this kind of marriage is far from comparable to Chen Yixin's situation, and it is not just one person in Haihan who can make a decision and agree or reject the other party on his own. When Tom Wang went north, almost all the travelers from the Zhoushan base followed him, leaving only Shi Diwen to take command in Zhejiang. Since the other party proposed a marriage, it was obvious that this partner was Shi Diwen.
Shi Diwen knew that this matter was relatively big, so he immediately reported it to Sanya's executive committee. The reply he received was to investigate as soon as possible the reason why Qu Yutong proposed this plan. As for whether to actually contact the other party, the executive committee The meeting did not give a final conclusion, but asked Shi Diwen to "deal with it as appropriate."
It was not difficult to investigate the truth of this matter. Soon Qu Yutong himself took the initiative to announce the answer: After the disappearance of Yu Pingfeng and the other two people occurred in Hangzhou City, someone was accused of "colluding with foreigners" , secretly gave Qu Yutong a small report to his superiors. Although it is difficult for such a trivial accusation to really make Qu Yutong overturn, if someone in the court wants to use this to establish his authority or support his own people to rise to power, it is still very likely that Qu Yutong will be removed from his current position. Raised away.
It is almost impossible for Qu Yutong to clear his name. Now there are many industries owned by Haihan people in Ningbo Prefecture. He does not dare to take the risk of offending Haihan and local wealthy businessmen to clear out these industries that have already started to operate. If someone really wants to collect his "crimes", he can easily get a lot of money by walking around Ningbo Mansion. Therefore, Qu Yutong, who was unwilling to give up the current situation, came up with a solution, not to try to clear himself, but to go to the other extreme - if you want to sue me for colluding with Haihan, then I will show you the collusion, except for me Besides Qu Yutong, who else can maintain peace in Ningbo!
Qu Yutong hoped that through marriage, the relationship between the two parties would be tied together on the surface. At the same time, he would exert pressure on Zhejiang officialdom through Haihan and would not accept anyone to replace Qu Yutong. Although the purpose is to maintain his position in Ningbo Prefecture, this method can be said to be desperate and extremely determined. It is almost the same as Luo Shengdong's move to defect to Haihan.
Of course, Shi Diwen would not believe his words, so he asked the Ministry of Security to make inquiries in Hangzhou City, and the information obtained confirmed Qu Yutong's statement. The three major yamen of Zhejiang Province, the Chief Envoy Division, the Du Commander Envoy Division, and the Punishment and Inquisition Division, are all in the same direction. They believe that there is a lack of control over the actions of the Haihan people in the Zhejiang area, and the root cause of this lies in the administration of the Ningbo Prefecture, which governs the Zhoushan Islands. Ineffective, so the hat was placed on Qu Yutong's head.
With the opinions of the three major yamen being so unified, it is no wonder that Qu Yutong was anxious. But seriously speaking, he was indeed not unjustly blamed for taking the blame. Haihan took just over a year from the time he attacked Zhoushan to claim the waters east of Hangzhou Bay as his own and spread it out in Ningbo Prefecture. own business system, and uses military and economic means to influence the officialdom of the states around Hangzhou Bay. This is indeed due to the cooperation of Ningbo Prefecture to a certain extent. Without Qu Yutong, Haihan's progress in Zhejiang might have been much slower than it is now.
From this point of view, Qu Yutong can be regarded as a person who made contributions to Haihan's entry into Zhejiang. In fact, the previous purpose of drawing a clear line was to show the senior officials of Hangzhou Prefecture. He himself also knew this It's too late to show off, and it's difficult to restore the impression your superiors have on you. So in private, he did the opposite and went to another extreme, choosing to actively tie himself to the big ship Shanghai Han.
Regardless of whether Qu Yutong did it out of self-preservation or "yearning for an advanced social system", since he has expressed his willingness to join the Haihan camp, in principle Shanghaihan will not refuse Ming officials to make such a choice, even if Qu Yutong On the surface, this man seemed to be greedy for money and fearful of trouble. He didn't seem to be a good official, but for Haihan, even if it cost him thousands of dollars to buy horse bones, he had to be saved as much as possible. Even if he can't keep his official position, he still has to keep this person, which can be regarded as setting an example for many local Ming officials in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangzhou who cooperated with Haihan.
Of course, this matter needs to be handled with caution, otherwise everyone will follow suit and try to marry the little girl in the family to Haihan in order to protect themselves or to climb up the ladder. Troublesome things. The Executive Committee will definitely not send someone to deal with this matter, so the burden ultimately falls on Shi Diwen.
After hearing the ins and outs, Tom Wang held back his laughter and asked, "Did the executive committee ask you to marry this girl in the end?"
Shi Diwen sighed: "The elders of the executive committee said it lightly. It's okay if you don't marry him. You just need to calm down Qu Yutong so that he doesn't make trouble, and protect him so that nothing happens to him. The problem is that Qu Yutong This guy insists that we must get married, what can I do? I am also desperate!”
Tom Wang has known him for many years, but he doesn't quite believe his complaints: "You've always been a member of the Appearance Association. Do you really want to marry a girl you don't like?"
Shi Diwen chuckled and said: "Although Qu Yutong did this in a very unethical way, his niece is indeed a little beauty. I originally wanted to see if people are not compatible with each other, so I can try to solve this matter. I pushed it, after all, it’s not like I’m going to harm the girl if I’m not interested, but after seeing it, I really like it, so I feel a little sorry for myself if I don’t agree.”
"After all, it's still a world of looks!" Wang Tom couldn't help but sigh: "Who in your family knew about this and didn't make trouble with you?"
Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "The statuses are all different, what's the fuss? Isn't it enough to marry a lady from an official family to be a concubine?"
Shi Diwen's wife is also a Ming Dynasty woman whom he married two years ago, but her background is not that prominent and she is just an ordinary scholar's family. As for the reason for getting married, of course the girl's appearance made Shi Diwen right. His wife is also a well-educated person. She has already given birth to a son for him after getting married. She also moved from Sanya to Zhoushan Island to settle down at the beginning of this year.
(End of chapter)