Chapter 1313 The true face of Fort Victory
"Going to Guangzhou? Will you come back next month?" Liu Shang repeated. When the other party nodded to confirm, the big stone that had been hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground. He and Liao Yuan had originally agreed to exchange news every few days, in case something happened to one of them and the other was still ignorant. This time, he was taken away by Yu Xiaobao, and he didn't even have time to inform Liao Yuan beforehand. Therefore, he had been worried that Liao Yuan would make some irrational actions when he could not contact him on the way, and even expose his identity and implicate himself, making all previous efforts in vain.
Fortunately, by mistake, Liao Yuan also went to other places. Now Liu Shang no longer has to worry about what irrational actions this reckless man will make in a hurry. At least until he comes back from Guangzhou, his situation should be relatively safe.
The man didn't know that Liu Shang had so many thoughts, and asked curiously: "It seems that I haven't seen Mr. storytelling in the teahouse recently. I heard that he has found another job?"
When Liu Shang heard this, it turned out that Liao Yuan was still tight-lipped, and even his own subordinates did not let him know. He immediately said politely: "It's not a high position. I just found another job to do. I don't have to show up in the teahouse for the time being."
Apart from the introducer Chang Degao, teahouse owner Jiang Han and himself, only Liao Yuan knew the details of Liu Shang's recruitment by the Propaganda Department. Chang Degao is an official, and Jiang Han is the person Chang Degao has greeted. These two people will definitely not disclose the inside information casually. As long as Liao Yuan does not tell others, it is difficult for others to know the official status that Liu Shang currently has.
Sure enough, the man didn't doubt his presence, and after a few casual greetings, he said goodbye and returned to the store. Liu Shang also relaxed. He found a nearby restaurant and ordered a few dishes and a bottle of wine to celebrate his luck in escaping again. These days, he has been thinking about this matter, as if he was carrying a huge ideological burden. Only now has he finally let go of this burden.
Liu Shang was drinking with his legs crossed while thinking about the next arrangement in his mind. The work of the inspection team here has come to an end, and they will probably continue to complete the induction training for publicity personnel that has not yet started, and then join the Propaganda Department. This time he went out and interacted with officials from many departments. Under his careful management, he was able to initially establish some official connections. Although it is not of much use now, if he serves as an official in Haihan for a long time in the future, these connections will come into play sooner or later.
Liu Shang felt that his performance with the inspection team this time was pretty good. Yu Xiaobao also expressed appreciation and praise to him many times. Presumably, when he went back to hand over to the Propaganda Department, Yu Xiaobao would inevitably say a few good words for him. . Given Yu Xiaobao's status, this kind of greeting may be of some help to his future career. The only thing I need to worry about is whether my future job will be assigned to another place. If I have to leave Sanya, it may not be so easy to collect some important information in the future.
In the future, there may not be many opportunities for inspection teams like the inspection team to gain access to information on politics, military, economics and trade, social and cultural aspects, etc. However, as a member of the Propaganda Department, there will be many opportunities to contact and cooperate with other departments. Liu Shang believes that If this kind of job opportunity is used properly, you can still collect some information that is not so confidential.
But the biggest problem he faces now is not how to collect the intelligence that Ming Dynasty needs, but whether this intelligence can really change the situation between the two countries after it is collected and sent to Ming Dynasty. This kind of issue should not be considered by Liu Shang. It is something that the big shots in the court should worry about. However, the psychological impact of what he saw and heard in Haihan was too great for him to be able to deal with the existing problems between the two countries. Huge differences are ignored.
The technological advantages that Haihan possesses in various fields of society are not the rumored miraculous skills or sorcery. Liu Shang has confirmed this through his own personal experience. Haihan possesses strong ships, cannons, and many ingenuities. The products are all made bit by bit by craftsmen, and they are not monsters conjured out of thin air by the legendary Haihan people's way of ascending the altar. Even if Liu Shang didn't understand the true principles of these technologies, he could still see that Haihan's various technologies were far ahead of the Ming Dynasty. There were many things that the Ming Dynasty had never heard of, and it was even difficult to imagine them.
In fact, intelligence like this has been reported back one after another in the past, but no one believed the authenticity of this information. Even Liu Shang once expressed his disapproval of the "steam engines", "trains" and "high-speed sailing ships" mentioned in the intelligence. He scoffed at the existence of such things, and it wasn't until he came to see them in person that he realized that such unimaginable things really existed in the world. After the intelligence information he collected in Haihan was sent back to the Ming Dynasty, how much could the big shots above believe it?
Liu Shang sighed, knowing that he was worrying about this kind of thing blindly. Can an unknown person like him control the country of the Ming Dynasty? There are so many smart people in the court who can't think of a reasonable plan to suppress the Haihan people in the south. What can I gain from my random thoughts here?
After finishing his meal, Liu Shang paid the bill, then called a rickshaw to take him back to Shengli Port. He found a quiet hotel to stay in, took a shower and changed clothes, and had a good sleep. After getting up and having breakfast the next day, he followed Yu Xiaobao's instructions and went to Victory Fort in a leisurely manner.
Regarding Victory Fort, it has always maintained a relatively mysterious image to the outside world. Everyone knows that this place is the core of the Haihan Kingdom and the most heavily guarded place in Haihan. In order to defend this castle, the Haihan people even A moat was specially dug, and there were countless heavy firearms equipped inside and outside the castle. It is said that when the Haihan people originally designed this castle, they had already considered the situation of being besieged by an enemy force of ten thousand people, so its strength may be far stronger than what ordinary people think of the castle. If Sanya is the first seaport city in the South China Sea, then this Victory Fort can be called the first fort in the South China Sea.
Among the intelligence personnel sent to the island by the Ming Dynasty, some had successfully entered the Fort of Victory. However, the news sent back seemed to be of low credibility. It was said that there was no splendid palace in the fort, and it was all without aesthetics. The various central offices of Haihan are crowded into small gray brick and stone buildings to handle various official affairs and manage the operation of the country.
This situation is obviously very unreasonable. Everyone knows that Haihan State is very wealthy and the senior officials of Haihan are very particular about the details of life. These senior officials of Haihan even use blue and white porcelain for the toilets in their homes. How can they tolerate themselves in such a simple environment? Central office? Moreover, the Shengli Port city area is filled with all kinds of magnificent buildings. How could it be possible for the central government office that manages the country to look so shabby. Liu Shang was also one of the skeptical people. He knew that the Haihan people did not pay much attention to frugality. He ate haphazardly in various places during his trip and gained at least five or six kilograms in half a month. This has fully proved that Haihan also has a luxurious side. Moreover, the local officials' residences he saw everywhere were either requisitioned from the Ming Dynasty's official offices, or they were self-built compounds, and they were not small at all. Since this Victory Fort is the political center of Haihan Kingdom, it shouldn't be too crude.
From the port area, follow the landscape avenue all the way north to the end, where you will find Victory Square, one of the local landmarks, and Victory Fort is located at the northern end of Victory Square. Although it was not the first time for Liu Shang to come here to the landscape avenue of Victory Port, he could not help but be moved by the scenery on this road. This avenue is several feet wide, with flower beds separating the horse and carriage paths from the sidewalks, and the entire road is paved with asphalt. Covered by green trees on both sides of the road, there are rows of street-facing shops, where you can see a wide variety of products from all over the world. There are more shops in the branch alleys on both sides. If you want to transfer all the large and small shops here, you will definitely not be able to do it in two or three days.
Walking on the street, you can see foreigners in fancy clothes strutting around everywhere. Among them are businessmen who are engaged in trade, as well as envoys and students studying in Sanya from various countries. However, Liu Shang had seen more foreigners at once in Danzhou before, so he was not surprised by such a scene.
Liu Shang had never seen such a prosperous urban area in the cities he had visited. Markets in the city are often limited to a limited area, and there are not too many shops concentrated in a certain square. In Sanya, because there are no restrictions by city walls, the markets can extend outward along the roads to form large areas. business district. Haihan's planning in this regard is undoubtedly extremely foresight. The road network built in advance allows commodities from various countries to be easily transported to shops in various parts of the city after landing at the port, and local production can also be easily transported directly to the port for loading. Boat.
But the more prosperous the city became, the more Liu Shang did not believe that Victory Fort would be as shabby as it was rumored to be. He followed the road through Victory Square and came to the Victory Castle. The outer defenses of this castle are not really majestic and tall. According to Liu Shang, they may not be as good as the city walls of some counties. The moat is only over a foot wide, and the water flow is relatively slow. In the middle is a doorway connected to the main entrance by a suspension bridge. There is a stone gate tower above it, and protective walls extend on both sides.
The outer facade of the parapet is hardened with cement, so you can't tell whether it is wrapped in stone or adobe. The protective wall is not high, but there are many large and small artillery shooting holes on the wall. Liu Shang immediately thought of the densely packed side guns of the Haihan battleship. It seems that the shooting of this protective wall has a similar idea.
There is a gate at the end of the suspension bridge to check people entering and exiting. Employees working inside use a passage with a green number plate next to it. Visitors like Liu Shang must first identify themselves for registration, and then wait nearby. There is a dedicated person responsible for bringing them in.
Liu Shang first registered his personal information, and then took out the introduction letter Yu Xiaobao issued for him in advance yesterday to explain his purpose of visit, and let the officer at the door check it. The officer took it and glanced up and down, then told a soldier sitting next to him: "Call the Youth League office and ask if a gentleman named Liu is here."
Liu Shang saw the soldier pick up a dark thing and put it on the side of his face. There was a crooked string connected to the thing below. The soldier raised his hand and pressed it a few times, and waited. After a while, he whispered a few words, then put down the thing in his hand and reported to the officer that this was indeed the case. Liu Shang knew that this thing was probably an application of the "thousand-mile sound transmission technique" mastered by the Haihan people. It is said that even in the Fuguang area, this technique can be used to send and receive messages instantly. It is extremely scary to think about it. The Haihan people actually popularized this thing to concierges, probably just to save manpower and time. This usage is really luxurious in Liu Shang's opinion.
Immediately, the officer arranged for a soldier to take Liu Shang to the Youth League to handle matters. Liu Shang thanked him quickly and hurried to follow.
After passing through the main entrance, Liu Shang finally saw the true appearance of this legendary place. To his slight disappointment, this place turned out to be just like the rumors. The buildings he saw were all gray brick and stone buildings, and they were extremely dense. The distance between buildings might only be a few feet. , different yamen are only separated by flower beds or green trees, not even courtyard walls. The buildings are connected by bluestone paths, and they are kept clean. There is not even a trace of debris on the ground as far as the eye can see.
Two soldiers were seen standing guard at the door of almost every building. However, Liu Shang noticed that the soldiers here were not equipped with rifles, but the kind of continuous-fire rifles he had seen in the Danzhou military exercise. The short-wheeled musket is inserted into the cowhide holster at the waist, looking quite majestic. There are service personnel coming in and out of various small buildings from time to time. Everyone has a brand of unknown material hanging on a cotton rope around their neck. The colors seem to be different, presumably for identification.
There are eye-catching plaques hanging at the entrance of each building. Liu Shang looked carefully all the way and saw the locations of the "Ministry of Commerce", "Ministry of Defense", "Ministry of Transportation", "Ministry of Finance" and other yamen. Sure enough, no matter what yamen they were, The appearance of these small office buildings are all the same, with a few more and fewer rooms at most. Liu Shang couldn't help but murmur to himself, since this Haihan people are so rich, why don't they build a lot of construction outside the Victory Fort and build all the yamen outside so that the place can be more spacious. Wouldn't it be much more comfortable than having everyone crowded in to work? ?
When Liu Shang was thinking wildly, the soldier leading the way stopped and turned out to have arrived at the Youth League's office. The Youth League has such a big name, but it would have been unexpected that this office only occupies three rooms in a two-story building. In Liu Shang's opinion, it is not as spacious as the office space of the county magistrate in any county government office. , using shabby to describe it is really not an exaggeration.
(End of chapter)