Chapter 1183 Gradual Advance
Although the government has a good idea, this so-called registration system is also a measure to guard against gentlemen and not villains. Most of the people in Haihan are Han people from the Ming Dynasty, except for the young men who serve as soldiers and the cadres who have entered the bureaucratic ranks. Cut your hair short, and your identity will be more obvious. Most people can't tell their nationality from their appearance as long as they put on Ming Dynasty costumes. And if a very small number of travelers want to enter the cities along the coast of Zhejiang for activities, the security measures will probably be greater than when the prefect goes on patrol, and special registration will be required.
The reason why this relevant content was added to the agreement was mainly to consider the face of Ming Dynasty and local officials. Regardless of the actual implementation effect afterwards, this at least shows that the government's entry and exit management of the Haihan people is in accordance with the rules, everything is under control, and senior officials will not be left behind because the Haihan people enter Zhejiang." Inadequate supervision" and the like.
"General Wang, after the agreement is signed, I hope you can implement it as soon as possible and lead your men to evacuate Hangzhou." After Wang Ji put down his brush after signing, he said to Wang Tom next to him in a deep voice: "It would be good for everyone to settle the matter here as soon as possible. ! ”
Tom Wang responded: "Don't worry, Mr. Wang, we will abide by the content of the agreement and begin to evacuate Hangzhou today. I also hope that the Zhejiang government can fulfill the commitments made to Haihan in the agreement as soon as possible and open up the trade rights of various states as soon as possible."
Although both parties have signed a peace agreement, this does not mean that they have put aside their previous grievances and can get along with each other without any grudges. Regardless of whether they were winners or losers before, this agreement only means that the relationship between the two parties has entered a new stage. The conflicts of interest that existed in the past will still exist, even if they will not be as violent as this time. On the field, the two sides will still continue to compete under the table.
If you include the preparation period before taking action, Haihan spent two months on this big move. During this period, a lot of preparation work was done, and the number of people involved in the operation also hit the highest level in the past year. , even far exceeding the kidnapping of officials from Hangzhou last summer. Although the Haihan Donghai Fleet, which plays the leading role in the operation, only maintains the intensity of actual combat training most of the time, and its consumption is much smaller than during the real war, the daily expenses to maintain the operation of the navy and the army outside Hangzhou are still very huge. If the confrontation continues, Zhoushan's military budget for the year will be exhausted in advance. It is also Haihan's own need to withdraw his troops and return to the camp as soon as possible.
As far as the effect of the operation is concerned, the smoothness of the process and the final result have actually exceeded the expectations of the Haihan military during the planning. A bluffing operation made the state governments in Zhejiang extremely nervous. All the counties along the Hangzhou Bay are cities. The door was closed tightly for fear of being breached by the Haihan army. Except for encountering two groups of Ming troops taking the initiative to attack outside Hangzhou, the Haihan Army encountered almost no decent resistance during the entire operation. The Ming Army, including the navy, basically collapsed at the first touch, and their fighting will was very fragile. .
Wang Tom believes that this is also the result of living in peace with the Zhejiang area for too long, neglecting military training, and not being tested in war for a long time. This can also explain to a certain extent why the Zhoushan Islands, which are very close to the mainland, have become a paradise for pirates and armed smugglers for a long time. However, the officials have not been able to come up with any effective methods to restore these areas. included under the rule. Of course, now that Haihan has become the new owner of the Zhoushan Islands, the government has little hope of taking back control of this area. As long as Haihan does not take the initiative to give up the Zhoushan Islands, he can basically classify this area as a It is one of the overseas territories of Haihan Kingdom.
Wang Ji reluctantly looked at the Haihan battleship docked on the river bank, and said to Wang Tom: "Although your navy is powerful, don't think that it can be invincible in the world. We, the Zhejiang Navy, are holding back, just don't want to be As the war expands, I hope your warships will no longer appear randomly on the Qiantang River!”
How could Tom Wang let the other party have the upper hand in words? He immediately counterattacked: "Sir Wang, we have been in Zhejiang for more than a year. Have our warships entered the Qiantang River before? If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty Public Security Too bad, why do we need to dispatch warships to seek justice for the merchants? ”
While Wang Tom distanced himself, he also stepped on Daming. Wang Ji's heart was filled with anger, but this was not the time to lose his temper. Even if he was dissatisfied with Tom Wang, he could only endure it for now, otherwise the armistice agreement that was finally reached might be lost before the ink is dry. It's going to be invalidated.
Although the two parties seemed to be in harmony at the signing ceremony and had their own plans, in the end it did not affect the signing and subsequent implementation of the agreement. At the same time that the Haihan people were gathering troops to break up camp and leave, the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang and the subordinate Municipal Shipping Department would also simultaneously send official documents to the state governments, announcing the decision to allow the Haihan people to enter these areas for trade.
Perhaps because of his unhappiness, Wang Ji did not spend any more time communicating with Wang Tom after completing the signing, and left and returned to Hangzhou. The government had already prepared notices to calm the people. After Wang Ji returned to the city, the government officials would go to the streets and post them in crowded places, seizing the time to bring public opinion in a direction favorable to the government.
The most important content of this notice to reassure the people is, of course, to praise the government for successfully relieving the predicament in Hangzhou City, and at the same time to make part of the results of the negotiations between the two parties public. Sensitive words like war will naturally not be mentioned in the notice. The previous actions of the Ming army outside the city were also interpreted as "suppressing the gangsters who caused the Tongsheng Pier fire", while the actions of the Haihan army to block the Qiantang River were It was interpreted as "assisting the government to seal the waterway." Now that Haihan has withdrawn his troops, the government's explanation is that the fire case has been solved, and the Haihan personnel who came to Hangzhou to help solve the case naturally withdrew to the sea. In short, the government seems to have found reasonable explanations for all the previous anomalies. Even if the people do not fully accept these explanations, they probably cannot get a more reasonable explanation from the government.
However, the issue that is hotly discussed among the people is not the withdrawal of troops from Haihan, but the content related to the development of Haihan trade rights newly introduced to Taiwan. On the surface, this thing seems to be the product of Haihan's military coercion, but in fact, local vested interests in Zhejiang are also an important driving force for its success. The lobbying and counter-lobbying surrounding the legalization of Haihan trade has been going on in the officialdom over the past year. There are many large and small interest groups involved, but there is no such strong determination as the Haihan Army. Just knock the hammer down.
Before the two parties signed the final written agreement, the content of the agreement had actually been officially revealed by some people and began to spread among a small group of upper-class people. Everyone who has business dealings with Haihan is very happy, which means that they no longer have to be secretive when trafficking Haihan's goods, and they don't need to worry about their business being banned by the government.
Judging from the smuggling trade situation between the two countries last year, the annual trade volume of this business was at least one million taels of silver, and the profit margins were also very considerable. Prior to this, the import trade of Haihan goods in Zhejiang was almost monopolized by a small number of merchants with agency rights. However, the agency rights that most people bought at the Zhoushan Investment Fair will expire this year. Haihan will definitely hold a new investment meeting in advance by then, so latecomers who missed the last opportunity will soon have new opportunities to join the next round of the game. At this time, Haihan obtained the trade rights of the coastal states in Zhejiang. It goes without saying that the competition for regional business agency rights and exclusive rights at the investment fair this year will be more intense than before.
This is just the import trade. The export trade to Haihan is also a big piece of fat. Textiles, medicinal materials, grain, minerals, porcelain, handicrafts, etc. from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions have been purchased in large quantities by Haihan. Even the various craftsmen and craftsmen who manufacture these goods have become the targets of Haihan's snare.
Since he captured Zhoushan in 1633, Haihan has been instilling the idea of "trade first" into the local business community in Zhejiang, using interests and capital to drive people's hearts. Now, more than a year later, this strategy has gradually begun to bear fruit. The public's focus is no longer on whether Haihan's presence in Zhejiang is considered an invasion of the Ming Dynasty, but on what benefits they can gain from trading with Haihan. The residence of Wang Ji, the chief envoy in Hangzhou, held a grand banquet on the night when Haihan withdrew his troops to celebrate the "satisfactory" resolution of the incident. As a major contributor in the negotiation process with Haihan, Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, was also invited to attend the banquet and received high praise.
"This time, I have to thank Mr. Qu for being in danger and finally turning the tide and saving Hangzhou from the fire. On behalf of the 100,000 people in Hangzhou, I would like to thank Mr. Qu!" Although Wang Ji still has many dissatisfaction with Haihan, he is satisfied with "excellent performance" However, Qu Yutong has completely changed his views and is not stingy with his praise.
Qu Yutong quickly raised his hands and bowed: "Protecting the homeland, defending the country, and stabilizing the place are the duties of a lower-ranking official. Mr. Wang is ridiculous!"
Wang Ji said: "I just observe that the Han people rely on force and act recklessly. I am afraid that they will adopt such unreasonable solutions when encountering similar situations in the future. Ningbo and Zhoushan are across the sea, so they are the first important places to bear the brunt. , I will have to trouble Lord Qu a lot in the future to guard this country’s gate!”
Now that he mentioned his own jurisdiction, Qu Yutong had to use the topic to play on it: "Xiaguan Lu has been dealing with the Haihan people for almost two years, and he thinks he knows them relatively well. The Haihan people value profits, and as long as they let people They are doing business safely, and they are actually not warlike. It is said that they have established a base in Dengzhou, Shandong last year and started to develop there. To them, Zhoushan is just a trading port operated by them. Instead of attacking the Ming Dynasty's bridgehead, although Ningbo is separated from Zhoushan, the local merchants have very close trade relations with Haihan. If Ningbo is in chaos, Haihan's interests will definitely be damaged. Therefore, the Haihan people will not cause trouble in Ningbo. On the contrary, we will try our best to maintain local security and ensure trade safety.”
Wang Ji snorted softly and said: "Your Ningbo Prefecture is the first in Zhejiang to do business with Haihan!"
Qu Yutong said: "Sir, what the Haihan people do is actually for trade. By shutting them out, they are just making enemies for themselves. If they want to cause trouble along the coast, all the states will have no peace in the future. It is better to calm down the trouble. , open the door to let them come in to do business, and the government can get a lot of tax revenue from it. Haihan will naturally not make trouble again, and everyone will get what they need, isn't it beautiful? "
Wang Ji responded: "I'm just afraid that these Haihan people will push their limits and go back on their word. They say they are doing business, but they will develop other ambitions while doing it!"
Qu Yutong said: "What you say makes sense, and I also have the same view. Therefore, in order to prevent future troubles, I think it is still necessary to win over people's hearts as the best strategy."
"Then tell me how to win people's hearts?" Wang Ji asked with interest.
After this incident, Wang Ji already thought that Qu Yutong was a very thoughtful official, so he was very willing to listen to his opinions on how to deal with the long-term relationship with Haihan. After all, although there were many officials present, However, there are only a few people who have actually dealt with Haihan face-to-face. Qu Yutong has been in power in Ningbo all year round and can observe Haihan's movements at close range. His relevant experience must be far more than others.
"Then the official will dare to say a few words." Qu Yutong organized his thoughts and said in a deep voice: "The first thing is to try to educate him. The official thinks that he can send Confucian scholars to study and preach in his jurisdiction and set up academies. Teach the local people my great philosophy. Only by understanding the truth can we know right from wrong and stop doing evil things.”
Wang Ji felt that it made sense, nodded and said: "Go on."
Qu Yutong continued: "The second thing is to try to make its interests common with the Ming Dynasty. To harm the Ming Dynasty is to harm itself. Many of the people of Haihan are Ming people who fled before, and they only need to make good use of them. , the hearts of these people will easily gravitate toward the motherland. In addition to the simplest and most effective method of trade, Xiaguan believes that the people of the two countries can also intermarry. After the blood is connected, Haihan wants to start a war against the Ming Dynasty. , and it is difficult to get the support of its citizens.”
Wang Ji said with some disapproval: "How effective can civil intermarriage be? How many marriages can there be between the two countries every year? How can there be enough to affect national policy in a short period of time! Master Qu's plan is a bit taken for granted."
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Qu Yutong said: "Your Majesty is right, if it is just civil intermarriage, it will be difficult to see results in ten years, eight years or even one or two generations. Therefore, I think that if this plan wants to be effective quickly, it needs people from the upper class of society. To take the lead and demonstrate, the marriage of high-level leaders from the two countries can have a large enough impact.”
(End of chapter)