Chapter 1579 Embassy
Xun Pengcheng has been in Haihan for a long time, but this is the first time he met an old friend in Sanya. In fact, he and Wang Hao are not close friends, otherwise they would not even be able to call each other by name after meeting. At that time, the two of them took the exam in the same subject. After the results were released, they both won the title of scholar, so they spent a few days together in Guangzhou. Xun Pengcheng's family had no background, and he didn't find a good way out after becoming a scholar, so he returned to his hometown soon. Some people in Wang Hao's family served as officials in Guangzhou and then stayed in Guangzhou. The two people had different life backgrounds. After the imperial examination, their life trajectories went in different directions, and they broke off from each other. Before this, Xun Pengcheng had never even thought that he would meet Wang Hao again in a foreign country.
"Brother Wang, is this your first time in Sanya?" Xun Pengcheng saw that Wang Hao was not used to it when he got into the car. He also took a look at the structure of the car, so he took the initiative to ask him.
"Yes, I have long heard that Sanya is more prosperous than Guangzhou. Sure enough, it is better to see it in person than to be famous. The Haihan people are indeed capable of building such a big city on the coast of the South China Sea..." Wang Hao looked around at the bustle in the car. Looking at the scene, I couldn't help but sigh: "This place has been a barren fishing village for the past hundred years. The Haihan people can turn waste into treasure and manage such a situation. I don't know how they accomplished it!"
Xun Pengcheng said: "When it comes to the way of doing business, the Haihan people are indeed unparalleled in the world. They are far smarter than Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants, and Zhejiang merchants, and they are full of calculations in everything. If Brother Wang has the opportunity to stay here longer, After a while, I will naturally gradually understand the situation here. By the way, I haven’t had time to ask Brother Wang, are you coming to Sanya for business or pleasure?”
Wang Hao smiled, but did not answer his question directly: "Let's sit down and talk about this later... I think Brother Xun seems to have been here for a long time. Are you already naturalized? Have you arrived in Haihan Kingdom?”
When it comes to nationality, Xun Pengcheng still feels a little embarrassed. After all, giving up the Ming nationality will still feel like forgetting one's ancestors in the eyes of many people, especially someone like Xun Pengcheng, who has only been in Haihan for two years and has truly integrated into the local social life. Immigrants from the Ming Dynasty who had not been in China for a long time were even more reluctant to take the initiative to discuss nationality issues with people coming from their homeland. But from a legal perspective, Xun Pengcheng has indeed sworn an oath to the Haihan Code, giving up his former Ming nationality, joining Haihan nationality and being loyal to the Haihan Kingdom.
Although with Haihan's current national strength and international status, as a Haihan citizen, there is no need to feel inferior when facing visitors from the Ming Dynasty. However, Xun Pengcheng was a famous scholar when he was in the Ming Dynasty, but after coming to Haihan, he There is no official position here, and the identity of this Haihan citizen is really not glorious at all. If it hadn't been for the recent windfall that finally allowed him to get rid of his financial embarrassment, he really wouldn't want to answer Wang Hao's question.
"To be honest, Brother Wang, I have been in Sanya for two years, and I have indeed become a naturalized Haihan citizen." Xun Pengcheng finally told him frankly. Although he cannot be said to have a successful career now, at least he is relatively wealthy among Haihan citizens. It's a big change, but I have to get used to this status slowly.
"I see. There will be a lot of things to do later. I want Brother Xun to clear up my doubts." Wang Hao did not ask about Xun Pengcheng's personal situation, but took advantage of the situation and shifted the topic to the prosperity of Sanya.
Most people who arrive in Sanya for the first time will inevitably be attracted by the bustling port, the prosperous and undefended urban area, the buildings with styles from all over the world, and the wide and smooth roads. Wang Hao is no exception. For him, this place is Everything seemed very novel. As a person who has been there, Xun Pengcheng can actually understand Wang Hao's feelings. When he first arrived in Sanya, he was also in the state of a countryman entering the city. The way Wang Hao looked around now finally made him feel a little proud of his identity as a Haihan citizen.
Xun Pengcheng found a mid-range restaurant on Landscape Avenue. Although the decoration was not as luxurious as those high-end restaurants, it was better because of the good terrain. The street-facing seats on the fourth floor could almost have a panoramic view of the entire landscape building, which was very suitable for entertaining Wang. A newcomer like Hao. This is not the first time that Xun Pengcheng comes here to eat, but in the past, he came here for official entertainment of the newspaper company, and he ate with public funds, but now he ate himself. Of course, with Xun Pengcheng's current net worth, even if he comes here to eat every day, he won't have any financial pressure in the short term. It's no problem to treat Wang Hao to a meal.
Xun Pengcheng was relieved to make this thing, so he took the initiative to take the menu, ordered a few signature dishes with ease, and then ordered a bottle of Sanya special wine. Wang Hao saw this and asked: "It seems that Brother Xun is a frequent visitor here. It is really prosperous to settle in Haihan!"
"There's no such thing as being developed. Brother Wang is joking. It's just normal level, normal level!" Xun Pengcheng replied with a smile. This meal for the two of them would cost about thirty or forty yuan, which is about thirty or forty taels converted into silver at the current official exchange rate. It is really not cheap anymore, and it is definitely not something that ordinary people can afford on a daily basis. level.
Of course, Wang Hao is not a member of the lower class who has never seen the world. Since he took the initiative to invite him to a restaurant of this level to eat, it is not difficult to guess Xun Pengcheng's living standard. However, if he had met Xun Pengcheng half a month earlier, he might not have had the meal today. At that time, Xun Pengcheng was still racking his brains for the ten yuan and twenty yuan bonus for the front-page article. How could he be willing to do this? Kind of place to host entertainment.
Wang Hao naturally asked about Xun Pengcheng's current livelihood, but of course Xun Pengcheng would not say that his last job was a tabloid reporter. He immediately said casually: "I will do whatever I see to make money. I plan to go out on a boat recently." , find a suitable place to start a plantation... you know the plantation, right?”
Wang Hao nodded and said: "I have heard a little bit. I heard that there are many businessmen from the Ming Dynasty who came to Haihan to set up plantations. It seems to be a very profitable business."
"I can't say it's very profitable, but the long-term harvest of the plantation is very stable, and it's indeed a good business." Xun Pengcheng has been in Haihan for so long, and naturally he has already tried to understand the various profitable businesses in Haihan market, which may be useful to him I had various assumptions about the opportunities I was given to make a fortune. After accepting the money from the Matalan people, he did not intend to sit back and have nothing, but he was not good at business. The only business he could think of that was less risky and easier to manage was, of course, a plantation.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Haihan has various packaged management projects, providing one-stop services from site selection to recruitment of people to cultivate land, planting and harvesting. The owners only need to pay in the early stage, and the subsequent operations can be completely left to the Ministry of Agriculture. , even a layman who doesn’t know anything about farming can still run a plantation. For upstarts like Xun Pengcheng, plantations are an excellent investment project. If you are willing to learn agricultural and management skills, you can take back the plantations and take care of them yourself after a year or two, and the income can continue to grow. Take it to the next level.
In recent years, more and more businessmen have come to Haihan from the Ming Dynasty to look for investment projects, and many of them even come from the distant Central Plains. The reason why these businessmen want to invest in Haihan projects is not just to make money. Due to the continuous war between peasant armies in the Ming Dynasty, some big families in inland areas are also trying to find ways to transfer some of their assets to safer areas. When they came to the coastal area where security was relatively stable and heard all kinds of rumors about Haihan, they naturally sent people to investigate and see if Haihan was really an investment paradise like the legend.
Seeing that Wang Hao seemed to be interested in the topic of plantations, Xun Pengcheng suspected that the purpose of his coming to Sanya was also to inspect the plantations. He immediately said proactively: "If Brother Wang is interested in this business, why not come with me and go there?" I went to Danzhou and Haikou in a few days and heard that the land prices there are much cheaper than in the south. For the price of 100 acres of land in the south, you can get more than ten or twenty acres of land there. " Wang Hao smiled and said: "If you want to talk about land prices, then I would advise you to go to Xuwen County across the strait. There are also many sugar cane plantations over there that are jointly run by Haihan and local gentry. The land prices are higher than those on this island. It’s much cheaper online.”
Xun Pengcheng shook his head and said: "That is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Although it is peaceful now, who knows what the situation will be in ten or twenty years, whether there will be a war... After all, it is not safe. It is better to invest money in Haihan. The best thing is that no country around the South China Sea dares to provoke our country, Haihan.”
Wang Hao's face froze for a moment, and then his smile returned: "Brother Xun is right, but the purpose of coming to Sanya this time is not for the plantation, but for other important things."
Xun Pengcheng was waiting to ask, but the waiter had already started serving the food, so Xun Pengcheng put down his words first, said a few toasts, and then poured wine and toasted to Wang Hao. After the two drank for three times, Xun Pengcheng brought up what had just happened again and asked Wang Hao why he came to Sanya.
"Business." Wang Hao put down his chopsticks, cupped his hands toward the north and said, "To be fair to Brother Xun, I am currently working for the imperial court..."
Xun Pengcheng took a deep breath and immediately began to regret why he invited Wang Hao to dinner today. There was no guard of honor around this guy when he appeared at the dock. He obviously did not come to Sanya for a public visit as a Ming official. Instead, the most covert Ming officials who came to Sanya were spies sent by Jinyiwei, Dongchang and other secret agencies. . Many Ming spies are captured in Sanya every year, but they still cannot stop the spies from all walks of life who come to Haihan one after another. Xun Pengcheng had access to some sensitive information in his past work and had some knowledge of these underground struggles, so he kept silent about the existence of the Ministry of Security. Now that he had finally settled the matter of the horse beating the blue man, and he met Wang Hao again, Xun Pengcheng really doubted whether his fortune would definitely rise or fall.
Xun Pengcheng's desire to survive was quite strong. He had no intention of listening to Wang Hao's words anymore. He immediately put down his chopsticks and frowned: "Suddenly I remembered that I have an appointment with someone today. If I don't go, I'm afraid I'll miss something big. Brother Wang, this meal It’s up to me to invite you, please take it easy, I’ll take the first step.”
"Brother Xun, wait a minute, listen to what I say first!" Wang Hao seemed to have seen through Xun Pengcheng's thoughts, and quickly stood up and held Xun Pengcheng down.
"Brother Xun, do you think that I came to Sanya so quietly to work as a spy for the imperial court?" Wang Hao said as he picked up the wine pot and refilled the cup in front of Xun Pengcheng.
Xun Pengcheng said: "I am just a commoner, and I have no contact with any major national affairs. I'm afraid I won't be able to help Brother Wang." Although he did not say it explicitly, he also admitted Wang Hao's guess in disguise.
Wang Hao shook his head and said: "Brother Xun has misunderstood. The official business I am talking about is not a secret matter, but a major national event! Brother Xun should know about the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ming Dynasty and Haihan, right?"
Xun Pengcheng nodded and said that he knew that this matter had been announced by the Executive Committee more than a month ago, but so far, it has not had any direct impact on Sanya's daily life. The vast majority of Haihan citizens, including Xun Pengcheng, do not feel that the formal establishment of the two countries has brought them any benefits or disadvantages. This kind of change at the international political level will take some time before its subsequent impact will slowly become apparent among the people.
Wang Hao continued: "Since the imperial court has decided to establish diplomatic relations with Haihan, it will definitely send envoys to Haihan to stay permanently. Sanya is the capital of Haihan. In the future, envoys from the imperial court will certainly have to come to Haihan. Live here.”
Xun Pengcheng still didn't quite understand what Wang Hao meant. He just nodded subconsciously, but he was secretly vigilant in his heart. If Wang Hao dared to mention gathering intelligence, he would leave immediately. If it didn't work, he would shout for help - this There are police patrols on the streets at all times.
Then I heard Wang Hao say: "I have received an errand to come to Sanya to choose a suitable place to build an embassy for the Ming Dynasty. Since Brother Xun has been here for a long time, he must be very familiar with the local situation. I wonder if you can give me some advice on this matter? Of course, I won’t let Brother Xun’s work go in vain. I will be rewarded afterwards.”
"Embassy? Embassy of the Ming Dynasty?" Xun Pengcheng felt quite complicated when he heard this explanation.
He has been a reporter in Sanya for such a long time and has traveled almost all over the city. Of course he knows where the embassy is. However, in the past, there were only embassies from Annam, Champa, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries in the local area, but there were no official agencies from the Ming Dynasty at all. As for the Yulin Inspection Department and Yacheng Navy signs in Victory Port, Xun Pengcheng would not regard them as the existence of the Ming Dynasty. But now that he heard that Ming Dynasty was going to set up an embassy in Sanya, Xun Pengcheng felt for the first time the changes brought about by the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Since the two countries have established diplomatic relations, it is reasonable to establish an embassy. However, Xun Pengcheng is still a little doubtful about Wang Hao's appearance. They have already established diplomatic relations publicly. Does the establishment of an embassy need to be so low-key?
(End of chapter)