Chapter 1533 Official Communications
Just as Sun Jin expected, Li Song, who was a scholar, obviously lacked enough resistance to this bad news, and immediately burst into tears and expressed regret, hoping that Sun Jin could give him a chance to atone for his sins, and he could expose all the dark history about the prefect He Guanzhi. Come out and get a chance to live. After all, Hao Qing is a man of the rivers and lakes. Although he has a strong desire to survive, he is not as weak as Li Song. Moreover, he really has nothing else to offer in exchange for the understanding of the Haihan people, so he has no other choice but to accept his fate.
However, Sun Jin didn't really intend to take their lives. She just said these words intentionally to beat them up and see if she could force out more things. Sure enough, in order to survive, Li Song wanted to tell all about the eight generations of He Guanzhi's ancestors. There was indeed some intelligence value in keeping him alive.
As for Hao Qing, Sun Jin plans to arrest and take away all his members and send them to different places in the south to reclaim wasteland, to ensure that this shady thing in Ming Dynasty official circles will not spread. For this group of water bandits who changed their careers to work as dock laborers, perhaps colonizing Haihan was not a bad thing, but rather a turning point in their lives.
Of course, Sun Jin had to respond to He Guanzhi's statement, otherwise He Guanzhi would not be able to feel at ease. So he wrote another letter overnight and asked He Guanzhi's confidants to take it back. The letter is nothing more than some extravagant remarks, saying that the misunderstanding here has been resolved, and asking Mr. He not to worry too much. At the same time, he also implicitly pointed out to He Guanzhi that Wang Yuan was on the same side as Haihan and should not provoke him again in the future, so as not to cause misunderstandings like this to end badly.
It is not that Haihan has not considered the possibility of pushing Wang Yuan to replace He Guanzhi. However, such extraordinary means of subverting a local official face too many uncertainties, not to mention that He Guanzhi was popular in Hangzhou last year. After the case, he continued to hold the position of prefect, which shows that he has a relatively strong background, and ordinary mistakes cannot touch him. Even if Haihan can successfully remove He Guanzhi from the post of prefect, he may not be able to ensure that the vacant seat will fall to Wang Yuan. Even if Wang Yuan himself has a certain backstage background, he may not be able to control this situation. You must know that the capital of a prosperous place like Jiangsu and Zhejiang has a top position vacant. It is not just the local officials who are watching here. I am afraid that there will be many people in the capital who are tempted to grab this fat job.
In the end, after weighing the matter, the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Security still believed that this method was not safe enough. At this stage, He Guanzhi was actually willing to compromise with Haihan on some non-critical issues for the sake of financial gain and political future. He also acquiesced to Haihan's various small actions in the Hangzhou area, and even had the possibility of winning him over to Haihan's camp, so Haihan actually had no urgent motivation to remove him from power.
This attitude was reflected in Sun Jin, who only warned her about his previous reckless behavior. As for He Guanzhi's shirk of responsibility, Haihan pretended not to know, which was regarded as accepting his excuse. Of course, both parties involved actually knew the true nature of the matter. Just in order to continue to live in harmony, everyone tacitly took a step back and reduced the matter to a trivial matter, without delving into it further.
For Haihan, maintaining a stable relationship with Ming Dynasty is still the first option, especially in terms of trade and immigration. Daming is still Haihan's main import and export market and population source, especially in prosperous areas like Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The trade volume is already comparable to that of Fuzhou and Guangzhou provinces in the south, which are closer to Hainan Island, and the sales of some luxury goods are even worse. The Ministry of Commerce has repeatedly proposed motions to the Executive Committee, requesting that Zhejiang be listed as a key trade area and that military operations in the area be restricted to avoid affecting trade security.
Of course, the military will definitely refuse to accept such "unreasonable demands". Although the situation in Zhejiang seems to be calm at present, it is based on the fact that Haihan has stationed a certain size of troops in the Zhoushan Islands. If there is no such How can the security of various trade activities be protected by force? Therefore, the military's view is completely opposite to that of the Ministry of Commerce. Instead of restricting military operations, it should strengthen the equipment and drills of the troops stationed in Zhejiang, and use its strength to frighten the Zhejiang government so that it does not dare to act rashly.
Of course, the Ministry of Security would rather keep things quiet. After all, the contribution to intelligence work in peacetime is much smaller. If a war really breaks out, the Ming Dynasty's intelligence personnel, both overt and covert, will not be freeloaders. The Ministry of Security will not be so arrogant as to really think that the other party It is completely unaware of the intelligence agencies deployed within its territory.
In the end, it was the news from Liaodong that played a decisive role. Through continuous attacks on Hou Jin in Liaodong, Haihan finally obtained a certain degree of compromise from the Ming Dynasty, and was willing to exchange trade rights in the south for Haihan's military support in the north. This means that the two countries are about to establish formal diplomatic relations, and at this time there is no need to complicate the issue for some conflicts of interest.
The official news of the Ming Dynasty was finally made public in mid-July, and it became a friendly neighbor with Haihan State, and opened to Haihan State the trade rights of the coastal states south of the Yangtze River, as well as the temporary residence rights of some coastal areas in the north. As for the most sensitive issue of sovereignty over Hainan Island, the announcement issued by the court did not mention even half a word. After all, Hainan Island has been firmly occupied by the Haihan people, and there is no hope of getting it back without a national war. And Ming Dynasty was unwilling to publicly admit that it had lost control of the local area. Presumably the emperor and senior cabinet officials also felt that they could not afford to lose face, so they simply pretended not to mention it.
After the news arrived in Zhejiang, everyone from the Haihan camp to the Ming Dynasty breathed a sigh of relief. After establishing formal diplomatic relations, Haihan's trading method in Zhejiang can change from semi-open smuggling to serious business, and this has always been the goal that Haihan's Ministry of Commerce has been striving for.
After moving from underground to above ground, Haihan's business scale is no longer restricted by many objective conditions. Some products have achieved quasi-industrial production, such as glassware, mirrors, books, matches, wine, sugar, edible oil, etc. Wait, you can use larger supply and lower prices to seize the mid-to-low-end market of Ming Dynasty, and it will no longer be a luxury product only for a few rich people.
At the same time, Haihan's penetration of various industries in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty will gradually begin to bear fruit. Of course, the time travelers led by Schneider know how to create monopoly operations better than the businessmen of this era, and use this form of operation to benefit themselves. camp to gain huge profits. As Haihan completes integration and mergers in one industry after another, Haihan's trading system, financial system, and even cultural system and values will penetrate into the Ming Dynasty through the daily operations of these industries, and gradually form a strong influence on Haihan. A more favorable social atmosphere.
Of course, this will be a very long-term process and cannot be achieved overnight. At the same time, it also requires the cooperation of all departments of Haihan to create more opportunities to implement various ideas of the Ministry of Commerce. On July 20, Shi Diwen secretly left Zhoushan and came to Ningbo City, where he met Qu Yutong. This time, Qu Yutong specially invited Shi Diwen to meet in Ningbo. The purpose was to find out Haihan's real plans and follow-up plans for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Because Shi Diwen married Qu Yutong's niece, they were considered in-laws, and their cooperation in the past two years had been relatively pleasant, so they both trusted each other. However, Qu Yutong never dared to call himself an elder in front of Shi Diwen, but regarded Shi Diwen as a soldier. Shi Diwen was also happy and relaxed, so he called the other party according to his official status.
"As for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the imperial court has issued a decree, but it seems that your country has not made a clear position on this matter. Therefore, I specially asked General Shi to come to the government to explain. I would like to hear how your country arranges this matter?" Qu After Yu and other servants brought hot tea and exited the house, they asked Shi Diwen his question straight to the point.
Shi Diwen responded: "Lord Qu, don't worry. The establishment of diplomatic relations is our country's original intention, and a lot of manpower, material and financial resources have been invested in this. Our country will definitely not take the initiative to destroy this agreement. As for why there is no specific announcement. Charter, this is because the Executive Committee is still weighing several key issues. Mr. Qu also knows that our country has many troops stationed overseas, including your country. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, will these troops be stationed in the territory of Ming Dynasty? It will cause resentment in your country, and whether it can intervene in local defense is an issue that our country needs to carefully consider. Presumably, in the Sanya Victory Fort, our senior officials are just like your country's cabinet bachelors, who are busy every day. Meetings are held constantly to discuss relevant matters. It’s them who are the big guys who govern the country, but we don’t have to be so tired.”
Shi Diwen's words were half true and half false, but they were actually mixed with a lot of water. Haihan did not issue a specific charter, not because the executive committee has not yet agreed on the final result, but because Haihan wanted to make arrangements quickly before the official establishment of diplomatic relations and deal with some issues that need to be dealt with in advance, so as to avoid difficulties in taking action after the establishment of diplomatic relations. .
These issues are mainly related to the ownership of control of certain coastal areas in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to islands, Haihan has actually occupied many places along the coast of the Ming Dynasty in recent years. However, Haihan did not publicly cede territory for autonomy, and the local government concealed the Without reporting, these places are still nominally owned by the Ming Dynasty. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, both sides will recognize Haihan's existing territory in a non-public manner. At that time, the ownership of these places will inevitably become a problem. Therefore, the Executive Committee hopes to properly handle these issues before the two countries formally sign a contract. The areas that should be occupied must be captured as soon as possible and brought under the rule of Haihan.
It is not that these things cannot be carried out a year and a half in advance, but at that time Haihan was still unable to determine when diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty would be established, and he was worried that such occupation of the mainland would trigger a fierce backlash from the Ming Dynasty, so he delayed it. After further delay, it was not until Ming Dynasty expressed its willingness to establish diplomatic relations that Haihan decided to reveal all the hidden cards.
For example, most of the Leizhou Peninsula, Haizhu Town and Panyu County in the south of Guangzhou, the Penghu Islands in the Fujian Strait, and the Shipu Port area under Ningbo Prefecture in Zhejiang Province. These are areas actually occupied by Haihan on the mainland, but they have not been truly declared in the past. control over these places. But now that diplomatic relations are about to be established, the administrative agencies in these places must immediately transfer from underground to above ground, and Ming Dynasty must be informed in a more reasonable way that these areas actually controlled by Haihan will be Haihan territory in the future.
As for whether the Ming Dynasty can pinch its nose and admit this mistake, the Executive Committee is not worried. After all, the two evils are the lesser of two evils. The degree of harm to the Ming Dynasty from Haihan is actually quite limited, but it can help the Ming Dynasty to resist the real danger in the north. The invaders, for the Ming Dynasty, ceding these lands in the south was actually a small loss and a big advantage. Of course, this also depends on whether the rulers of the Ming Dynasty can figure this out. If Chongzhen really got into trouble and thought that not even an inch of land could be lost, then both sides would have to make a move.
However, the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Security conducted an assessment and concluded that the probability of the Ming Dynasty being able to start a war in the south has dropped a lot compared to previous years. The reason is that elite soldiers from many southern states have been gradually transferred to the battlefields in the north and the Central Plains. , and the social atmosphere in the southern coastal state capitals was obviously in favor of Haihan due to the vital interests of the upper class. Even if the imperial court issued a decree to start a war, the execution efficiency in the south would be greatly reduced.
Under such a premise, Haihan dared to act so radically. However, for safety reasons, Shi Diwen's explanation to Qu Yutong was still greatly discounted and he did not tell the whole truth. It wasn't that he couldn't trust Qu Yutong, but he was worried that the other party would go back to find a group of think tanks to discuss and let such confidential information leak out.
Qu Yutong heard that Shi Diwen's words were reasonable, but he didn't doubt that there was a huge ambush in his words. However, this answer still did not clear all the doubts in his mind, so he continued to ask: "After the establishment of diplomatic relations, are there any big changes in the existing business?"
As the magistrate of Ningbo, Qu Yutong had the right time, place and people. When doing business with Haihan, he was the first to get the most, so he made a lot of money in the past two years. There are more than ten business organizations he controls under various names, covering multiple industries, and the main trading partners of these business organizations are without exception Haihan. Of course, this almost deformed business situation was also intentional by Haihan. He used a joint operation form in multiple industries to recruit Qu Yutong into the team, so as to make full use of Qu Yutong's local influence in Ningbo to achieve Haihan's business goals.
(End of chapter)