Chapter 1530 Struggle of Interests
Guo Ziping felt that the past two days had been a little difficult. Yesterday, he went to meet the special envoy from Haihan, but because his behavior at the Hangzhou dock was too simple and rough, he was mercilessly scolded by the other party. The level difference between the two sides was too far, and he didn't even have a chance to defend himself. He could only bow his head and accept the punishment.
For Guo Ziping, although his current job is not very pleasant, it is indeed very profitable. For every additional port handling control over the Qiantang River outside Hangzhou, his monthly income will increase. Several hundred taels of silver, which is really a lot of money for a gangster leader like him who came from a commoner background. Power, wealth, and beautiful women, these things that could only appear in his dreams in the past, are now truly in his possession. And the great backer who gave him the opportunity to enjoy these things was not Wang Yuan, the general judge in Hangzhou, but the insignificant Haihan people in Hangzhou.
This description does not seem to be too accurate. After all, Haihan's influence in Hangzhou has become increasingly obvious. However, ordinary people do not know that many industries have been penetrated or controlled by Haihan, so it is difficult to have a deep understanding of this. But as a person in the game, Guo Ziping knew how amazingly Haihan had penetrated Ming Dynasty's private capital.
Merchants engaged in maritime trade in Zhejiang will basically be excluded from the trade system established by Haihan if they have not registered with Haihan or find other ways to establish relationships with Haihan. The direct consequences of this kind of treatment will cause merchants to quickly lose competitiveness in the market, because no one will take the initiative to do business with merchants who have been crossed out by Haihan. For these excluded businesses, all aspects of operating costs will increase a lot. Even a small matter like finding a dock closer to the city outside Hangzhou will become extremely difficult from now on.
After controlling upstream industries such as supply of goods and shipping, it will be much easier for Haihan Capital to penetrate into other related industries. Whether it is the terminal handling industry in which Guo Ziping is engaged, or other related industries such as catering, accommodation, warehousing, land transportation, employment, etc., it is difficult to resist the influx of capital from Haihan. As far as Guo Ziping knows, mergers and acquisitions in industries such as the terminal handling industry are also slowly taking place in other industries. Although he didn't know the real reason for Haihan's actions, as far as he could access, Haihan's influence among business partners even surpassed that of the Ming government, and his efficiency in mobilizing social resources was even greater. Far better than the government.
Take the terminal handling industry in which Guo Ziping is engaged as an example. At the terminal he controls, the registered ships of the Haihan Shipping Department can enjoy priority loading and unloading of goods. For certain goods that require urgent replenishment, Guo Ziping can even load and unload goods in a short time. Manpower and vehicles are mobilized from other terminals to complete the handling task in the shortest time. And this kind of treatment is absolutely not available to ordinary Ming ships, even if it costs money.
Although Guo Ziping was under the supervision of general judge Wang Yuan in Hangzhou, in fact, most of the people he directly served were Haihan people, and he knew very well that even Lord Wang Yuanwang obeyed the advice of the Haihan people most of the time. At first, he didn't quite understand Wang Yuan's choice, but then he accidentally learned that the cash that Haihan sent to Wang Yuan's house every month was four figures, and he could only sigh that money can make all the difference. Even high-ranking court officials could not withstand the money offensive of the Haihan people.
In fact, what Guo Ziping has access to is just the tip of the iceberg. Haihan's influence in the coastal states of Zhejiang is no longer as simple as one or a few Wang Yuan. The large network of interests formed in just two years has already Many Ming officials fell into it. Nowadays, in addition to the original import and export business of goods, Haihan's business in Zhejiang has expanded to other industries. Technology-based industries such as the weaving industry have also gradually got rid of the small hand-crafted workshop structure and began to experiment with factory-based production models due to the intervention of Haihan Capital.
Haihan's job requirements for him are actually not too high, which is to constantly use the power of the guild to integrate the handling industry at the Qiantang River dock outside Hangzhou. As for how much force and negotiation methods are used in this process, that is the balance that Guo Ziping himself has to master. However, he has not received systematic training, so when encountering situations with greater resistance, he will usually give priority to using force to solve those stumbling blocks, and in the process, some bloody conflicts will inevitably occur. If Wang Yuan hadn't been covering him up, Guo Ziping's crime would have been enough to land him in jail.
Guo Ziping was not convinced by the reprimand he received yesterday. Although he was indeed afraid of Sun Jin and did not dare to refute, he still believed that what he did was right. How can we know how to obey? He thought people like Sun Jin were aloof and gave orders, but they didn't know how tired the people below were.
A few days ago, in order to settle the quarrel that a group of people at the pier had arisen out of nowhere, he temporarily stopped all three nearby piers and transferred more than 200 people to come over. Only then did he pull out this thorn with his numerical advantage. . Although the opponent paid the price of serious injuries to many people, Guo Ziping also injured a lot of people on his own side, and he did not extract any profit from his opponent. He had to pay for the subsequent compensation expenses out of his own pocket, which was really a loss. Buy and sell. Fortunately, the group of people seemed to be afraid later and did not report it to the official. Otherwise, Guo Ziping would have to go to the government office several times.
Regarding these disputes, Guo Ziping believed that Sun Jin did not understand and did not know the necessity of using force when resolving these disputes on the dock. negotiation? What's there to talk about with those big bosses? Whoever has the bigger fist has the final say. This is the principle on the dock.
Fortunately, this great god had left Hangzhou City at noon today, which made Guo Ziping feel a little better. It's just that he felt that Sun Jin and his party left in a hurry. They didn't bring much luggage when they came out of the city. Even Sun Jin himself came on foot and gave up his black sedan chair to some important person. Go and sit down. Anyway, you didn’t show up at the pier at all. The group of people carried the sedan and went directly onto the boat.
But Guo Ziping also knew that Sun Jin was not an ordinary businessman, but was sent to Hangzhou by Haihan to command characters like himself. This kind of mysterious behavior was completely normal for Sun Jin. . Sun Jin didn't say when she would come back when she left, which probably meant that Guo Ziping could at least be quiet for a few days.
Guo Ziping sent someone to get two bottles of good wine, bought some dishes to go with the wine, and then set up tables and chairs on the pier to start eating. This pier is exclusive to Haihan, and only ships belonging to Haihan are allowed to dock, so no outsiders usually move around here. Moreover, after Sun Jin's boat left at noon, the dock was already empty. He was eating and drinking here, so naturally no one would have any objections to this.
Only halfway through the wine, someone came to report that Sun Jin's ship had returned from downstream again. After Guo Ziping waited for a moment, he saw the jet-black sailboat appearing on the downstream river. Guo Ziping had no choice but to curse and ask someone to close the stall, otherwise Sun Jin would probably have to be scolded again when she came back later and saw this scene of eating and drinking.
Not long after the ship docked, Sun Jin immediately summoned Guo Ziping after disembarking, and asked straight to the point: "Did you drive a group of people away at Fengshun Pier upstream a few days ago, and seriously injured seven or eight of them? ”
Guo Ziping didn't know what he meant, but he responded honestly: "It's true. This group of people was quite troublesome. They injured several brothers at first. The villain also saw that the situation was not good, so he transferred some people from other places. It took a few people to calm down this group of people. The villain has informed the Yamen afterwards, so there should be no trouble.”
Sun Jin nodded and continued to ask: "Then do you know their leader?" Guo Ziping shook his head and said: "The villain also found a way to find out before taking action. The leader of this gang seems to live in Hangzhou. He rarely comes out for activities. He doesn't even have a name. I think the other party is not a problem, so I don't care so much. Sir, is there something that slipped through the net and caused you trouble? Just say a word. Then take people and sink all those guys into the river!”
Sun Jin said: "Do you know where they settled?"
Guo Ziping said: "Didn't you teach me to be careful when sailing a thousand-year boat? So after driving them away that day, I also specially sent people to pay attention to their whereabouts to avoid any entanglements in the future and not to be confused. A clue. Their new location is in Taiping Town, four or five miles downstream. They should still be doing their old job of unloading cargo on the dock."
Sun Jin said: "I will assign a team of people to you. You take them to the place where the group settled and try to bring back a few survivors without leaving any trace. I have something to ask them. Can this be arranged?"
Guo Ziping suddenly woke up more than half from his drunkenness. Sun Jin did not use his troops, but the people he brought with him, which showed that this task was probably extraordinary. Moreover, Sun Jin specifically asked him to bring him back alive, which clearly showed the seriousness of this matter.
Guo Ziping knew that this was probably a rare opportunity for him to show his ability, so he immediately patted his chest and agreed: "Please don't worry, sir. I will prepare the carriage and horses now, and we can set off later."
If you want to kidnap someone alive in broad daylight, naturally you can't just carry him on the street so blatantly. You still need to have necessary cover means. The business that Guo Ziping was engaged in was very familiar with the horse and carriage shop. He immediately went to the nearest carriage and horse shop to rent two covered freight carriages. When he returned to the dock, Sun Jin's manpower was already ready, and he immediately Set off by car and Guo Ziping will lead the way to the lower reaches.
Sun Jin made such an arrangement naturally to confirm whether Hao Qing's words were true. If he did not lie about his true identity, then the other information he provided would have credible value. After all, Sun Jin still doesn't believe that Hao Qing really has no direct relationship with Jin Yiwei. As for the secret that Hao Qing said could be exchanged for life, Sun Jin actually didn't care that much.
It was almost dinner time when Guo Ziping led the way to the residence of Hao Qing's gang. However, the few people with sound hands and feet who could still work were on the dock and had not yet returned, so the only accommodation was the wounded. Guo Ziping wanted to see how Sun Jin's men could take people away without leaving a trace.
But Guo Ziping was still stunned when he started. The team first made sure that there was no ambush nearby. After quietly standing in formation outside the house, they each took out the stainless steel swing sticks around their waists and opened them, and then the big man at the head Kicking open the door, everyone filed in through the door in columns. Guo Ziping could only hear a burst of shouting and cursing outside the house, but it only lasted an extreme moment before it became quiet.
When Guo Ziping walked into the house, he saw several people lying around in the room. It looked like they had all been knocked unconscious by this group of people. Guo Ziping secretly thought that this method was indeed clever enough, but was it necessary to take all these people away?
His guess soon turned into reality. The big man leading the team had already come over and asked him to drive the carriage close to the outside of the house, preparing to pretend to leave. So Guo Ziping saw for the first time how arrogant the Haihan-style kidnapping was. Each person carried an unconscious prisoner out of the house, and then placed him on the carriage. Since these prisoners were all seriously injured, there was no need to worry about them struggling to escape, so their hands were simply cuffed with thumb cuffs.
The two carriages left the area quickly. Although they could not completely hide their whereabouts, Guo Ziping saw that these people did not care too much about such details. After all, they all pulled up their masks to cover half of their faces before taking action. Even if someone nearby saw them, it would be difficult to identify their faces.
"So this is the Haihan style of leaving no trace!" Guo Ziping returned to the carriage and pulled off his mask, and he couldn't help but have a new understanding of the Haihan people's methods. Although the target he dealt with this time had little resistance, he had just seen that this team of people cooperated tacitly in the operation, and their attacks were accurate and ruthless. I am afraid that even those few people with good hands and feet would still not be able to withstand such a sudden attack. attack. Guo Ziping weighed himself and realized that even if the most loyal bodyguards were with him, they might not be able to get anything good.
The group of people returned to the dock unscathed, and the carriage drove straight into an empty warehouse that Guo Ziping had arranged in advance. Then they picked up the prisoners from the car one by one, divided them into several groups, and immediately began to ask for confessions.
This kind of cross-interrogation is a common method used by the Haihan Security Department, and it quickly opens a gap in the prisoners. Hao Qing's identity gradually became clear from the prisoners' descriptions. When Sun Jin learned that Hao Qing was actually a water bandit leader on the Qiantang River, she felt dumbfounded at the moment.
(End of chapter)